Month: October 2012

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How To Believe in Yourself

I wrote something in my last post that I wanted to take a few steps further.

There had always been a disconnect with running (and let me tell you that running was the entire piece of any triathlon puzzle for me).  It always seemed so hard (and still does), but building slowly and being a part of a group tricked me.  I have always been athletic and while I never saw myself as a runner, others did and I started to believe.

Whether it’s sports or art or music or business, we all have interests that seem to keep popping in our heads, and, at least with me, the reason I am slow to dive in is because I don’t really believe I can do something.  It’s like we have to prove it to ourselves.  That we are not only capable, but worthy of what we seek and desire.

I could walk around my office and ask 50 people what their dream is, and I bet over 40 would say something other than they are doing.  But why?  Why won’t they (we) go after true passions in life?

It’s no different in team sports.  Some teams just believe they are going to win.  But how did they get there?  By jumping in the fire.  Playing out of their league.  By winning.  And winning can be defined however we want.

We label ourselves and that becomes who we are.  “What do you do?”  “I’m a marketer . . .I’m a garbage man . . . I’m an accountant.”  But really?  Is that who you are?

I have always had a problem with that question.  Yes, for my daily job, I do marketing, but I am so much more than that.  I’m guessing you are too.  I have known a lot of people who say and live as photographers, artists, or doctors, who, quite frankly, aren’t that good at what they do.  The difference is, they believe it and keep doing it.  When you honestly live that life, you gain confidence and get better whether you like it or not.  Triathlons are no different.

When did you finally feel comfortable saying you were a triathlete?  After the first race?  The second?  Have you admitted it yet?  Does it define you?

There has always been a nagging voice inside my head that says, “You can do anything you set your mind to,” and while I trust that voice, I don’t always believe that voice.  Triathlons (running and swimming in particular) have slowly changed my tune.  My real passion is to be a creator and writer and film maker or something in those realms, and I’m moving toward the edge of that cliff and building confidence to dive in.  In short, all of this training and all of these races and support have rekindled my faith.  Faith in the right path, faith in myself.

We tend to ignore time, but it’s always there ticking away in our subconscious.  We say we’ll go after that dream tomorrow or next Saturday when have have all day to work on it.  But if we have a true passion in life, we really have no choice but to start now or it will pre-occupy days, nights and weekends that never show up.  We can do whatever we want, we just have to prove it to ourselves and believe.

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Crushing 1/2 Iron

As I limped around the house today, Jim and Daniel were in Augusta laying down personal bests in a Half Iron.  Jim’s flowing hair crossed the finish line at 5:27 and Daniel’s bouncy locks (in his first 1/2) dropped in at 5:31.  Needless to say, they and I are pumped.

Jim said the conditions were perfect and the course was “easy” but I say anytime you power your own body for 70.3 miles over 5 and a half hours, your accomplishment is legit.  That said, I’m starting to understand where he’s coming from.  And even Daniel said, “I had no idea my body would be able to hit some of those splits.”

The capability of the body is truly mind blowing.  I have always trusted its ability to heal and go the another inning or quarter or round, but never have I understood the literal interpretation of going the extra “mile.”

What starts with 60 second running intervals quickly turns into 5 minutes, then 10, then 20, 30, etc. If you would have told me I would EVER run for two straight hours and finish a 1/2 marathon, I would have called the loony bin.  That seemed so impossible, I can barely put it into words, but the question is why?  I watched Country Music Marathons for 6 straight years, even made videos for a few, and for some reason it never dawned on me that I TOO could do what many overweight, un-athletic, and even very old people were doing.  Running 13.1 or 26.2 miles.

There had always been a disconnect with running (and let me tell you that running was the entire piece of any triathlon puzzle for me).  It always seemed so hard (and still does) to me, but building slowly and being a part of a group tricked me.  I have always been athletic and while I never saw myself as a runner, tons of others did.  I started to believe.

I was off to the races, literally.  I kept putting another challenge in my sights and kept hitting those targets.  Each time my confidence grew and while the 1/2 marathon was quite a quest, it wasn’t until I did my first Sprint Tri that I felt like I belonged.  Total time was nearly an hour less than the my 1/2, but it was the combination of events and the strength of how I finished that made me stand up and take note of what was going on.  I just did the seemingly impossible and not only was I not tired, I felt great.

That said, the Olympic Distance intimidated me, mainly because of the swim.  And since I’ve rehashed this a bunch of times, the very fact that I completed the swim, carried 20 mph on the bike, and finished the 10k without pain gave me enough confidence to sign up for Ironman Wisconsin.

They say write it and it will come true.  And while I’m quite sure these stories will bore the fuzz off of many lips, I have to keep going.  Looking ahead at new targets.  Why do we do that?  I think it’s more than because we can, it’s because if we’re not growing, we’re dying.

Today’s Diet:
Breakfast – 2 cups of strong ass coffee from Barista Parlor, scrambled eggs, 2 sausage patties, french toast, water at Mitchell’s Deli
Dinner – Grilled fish, steamed spinach, pickle, too much bread!

* Injury Update:  I iced my knee for the whole Wisconsin/Nebraska game last night and considering the outcome, I should have been icing my head.  The knee is still a little tender, but I will likely take at least a week off from running and focus on yoga, upper body and core work, along with swimming.