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Hi Everyone!
Huge congrats to Cheryl who ran the Palm Desert Half marathon and finished 3rd in her age group and was top 25 in the overall women! And this was a process/training-through race for her next one. Great job!
As for the rest of us … well, we’ve been doing what we can in getting out in this weather. Not to beat a dead horse but this has really been one of the most challenging winters for running that I can remember. And given that, we have two choices: 1. Not let go of the original plan, and keep squeezing out kilometers on the treadmill, finding little run-able strips to go back and forth, trying to force the pace, distance or effort on uneven, sloshy, icy ground while scaling mini snow mountains every block, OR 2. Take a deep breath, and accept.
Accepting doesn’t mean rolling over and going back to bed. It means looking with clear eyes at the situation, and accepting what we can and can’t control. It’s turning long runs into cross-country skiing, tempos into swims, speed into strength at the gym. And accepting is getting out and enjoying runs at at least a minute per kilometer slower than usual, without fighting it or feeling badly.
I’m not telling you which choice is right. I’ve often taken the first path and MADE IT HAPPEN come hell or high water. I’m not sure what drives that when we do it – sometimes it’s fear of giving up control. Or sometimes it’s being in a really good fitness run and not wanting to lose it. For me, maybe it represented a phase in my life when my kids were younger and I wanted to and actually could control so much more in my life. On winter weekends I could setup ski adventures or snowy city explorations or skating parties with friends. I had a vision of a “great day” and would do my best to make that happen. It was the same with my running. Once I had an idea of how I wanted something to look,I was very good at finding a way to make it happen.
As my kids have grown into teenagers, I’ve been forced to learn a new skill. Taking a deep breath, and letting things unfold as they may. This doesn’t mean I don’t care about the outcome or try my best to support in ways that I can. But it means I am not in the driver’s seat and have to accept that choices will be made and consequences will be had which are beyond my control. I have found that this winter this mindset has also influenced my running. The weather and conditions are under just as much of my influence as my teenagers’ choices. It doesn’t mean I’m giving up on my goals or that I don’t care. But I’ve become way better at letting go of my tight-fisted control of how my training should look, and going with the flow a little more. I’m way better able to handle unplanned days off or replacing non-running activities for a training run. No, this is not what an Olympian would do. The elite athletes I know have all fled snow-maggedon and are training down south. They know how to move mountains to get to their goals. But I’m not an Olympian. I’m a dedicated,hopeful, open-hearted, almost 50-year old mom of teenagers who is doing my best and trying my hardest, but knowing full well what is within and outside of my control. I’ll look at the weather, and look at my plan, and if they jive that is awesome. And if they don’t, I’ll take a deep breath, accept, and do whatever I can on that day.
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