...and we're done*

Ok not really, but I had to recently say that to my spring racing season. 

Actually, it’s been weeks since I called it quits on racing for a bit (spoiler alert: this was a good decision). I’ve been wanting to write something about this for a while; but keep scrapping ideas and haven’t really known where to go with things at risk of sounding too narcissistic (I mean who really cares about my splits and times, etc.), or worse: too ‘fluffy’ (or is it extra?? Okay moving on). I am, however, a believer in finding something useful out of any experience if at all humanly possible. So a three-race season it is!

I thought I’d share with you all some lessons and observations I made along the way from a short, but moderately successful racing season. I’m always learning things as I move along, and I hope at least a thing or two that someone may find useful and/or interesting as well. So let’s get into it.

The best laid plans....

Are just plans; but we need to make them anyway. Anyhow-long story short, I had to make the decision to take a two-week rest period a month early after some crazy fatigue that left me not wanting to do anything but sleep or on a good day just stare at the wall and call it good. Yeah….not normal and really not fun. It wasn’t just running that didn’t sound appealing, but walking across the room, eating, or doing much of anything really. The verdict: low ferretin (i.e. iron). I felt a little like this (by the way, anyone remember Hyperbole and a Half??) ....

I didn't know where my legs were. 

Okay, cool. I can work with this and it’s a positive in itself to have something objective to work with instead of just wondering why the idea of running suddenly sucks and staring at a wall doesn’t. By the way, I don't wish that on anybody.

To frame this positively,  I’ve been since able to take my break and resume moving forward. This summer’s going to be all about taking care of myself and getting strong and I can’t wait. Now onto the main topic at hand. Thanks for hanging in for the background details!

So…. Here are some things I learned, reaffirmed, and observed and kind of put into themes over the last few months. It’s amazing how even if you do something a long time, there is so much that you don’t know. And that’s not always negative.

Okay, good stuff first-

Simplify. Running is a simple sport that can be complicated by people. Now-go back and read that line again.  Remember that. I was reminded of that as I had to navigate sometimes trying to do too much at once. That’s all I’ll say about simplicity, well, because. Simplicity.

Speaking of simplicity, don’t be afraid to take a risk and get outside the box. For me, this was eliminating some significant distractions, but for others this could mean trying a new event, trying to push yourself just a bit further than you have before, or go for it when the moment arrives.

While I experienced an uncontrollable with the iron status (ok, it is controllable but was not expected), I am proud of the work I put in- I was able to put in more miles than probably ever because I started to believe I was strong enough to do so without getting significantly injured. That will undoubtedly help down the road with strength. That and my exploits of racing without a watch…. The first step is believing that you have it in you-even if just for a fleeting moment.

Confident racing through controllable effort. Races #2 and #3 I went in knowing that I would and could run a solid effort. Key word: effort. In a world full of unknowns, effort is one of the things we have full control over. Let go of obsessing about the outcome and think about how you want to approach and execute-then you’re getting somewhere.

And the other stuff…

Listen to your body. Yes, that is a cliché. But it’s a cliché for a reason. There’s only so many days you can blame your workload on being really stinkin’ tired. And if you don’t listen to your body, then listen to someone else. Mind the self-serving bias where we attribute negative events to something on the outside in these situations. And guess what? You do this enough, you learn your body and who knows, can make even more progress after hitting reset.

So about hitting reset, everybody needs to do it, so don’t be afraid to pull the trigger if things start getting weird. In my case, I went from hitting every workout to bailing on every workout. Not normal. I’ll admit, part of what kept me from pulling the plug sooner was getting caught up in the perceived need to keep up and do as much as others. Only you know and can do you, fellas. Have the courage to do what you need to do despite what others are doing.

Everything is temporary. As bad as I felt for a couple weeks, I knew this situation was temporary. A lot of athletes tend to struggle with setbacks and take them more personal than necessary. How I got through it was borrowing from my own stuff and reminding myself every day that I wasn’t stuck.

Every season is different, and that's okay. More than okay- it's normal. Don’t forget to pay attention to all the good stuff along with the stuff you wish didn’t happen. We can only control our attitudes, our efforts, and our preparation, and sometimes it takes accepting things we necessarily didn’t envision for ourselves and working with it.

If you got to the end of this post, thank you for reading. Whether it is pushing harder or pulling back, both are just as courageous. Challenges come and go. And that’s how I think its supposed to be.

Keep going. Contrary to what the title indicates, I am far from done. How about you?