The Company You Keep

After reading Amy Cole's blog about mindset, I reflected on my own mindset, and how I got
there. A quick rewind of Jesse in triathlon. A guy told me about this long,
hard, hot race in Kona. I thought, hhmm sounds like fun. I borrowed his bike
and raced a sprint tri. I thought, hey that was fun! a few years later I saw
Kona on TV and decided I need to try an Ironman. Sooo...I found a bike and rode
around a bit and raced an ironman. I finished! Goal met, you see then I was in
the company of friends and family that thought I was crazy for entering an
Ironman. My company thought I surpassed all the goals in the world.
Then:
I met some people who had actually raced in Kona! They did well in a domestic Ironman and
qualified! Mindset shift, this company thought getting to Kona was possible!
So.. they taught me how to train smarter, suffer more and RACE!! Made it to
Kona.
The next iteration:
What is after Kona? Do it again? Then I actually met a PRO triathlete. He agreed to go on a
run with me!! Big day. Woke up early, stretch, breakfast, freakout, run! Turns
out Pro's are normal people too! This was the seed; if Pro triathlete's are
normal people, and I am a normal person...could I go Pro? Mindset Shift...
Get a coach; train even smarter (thanks Elliot!) pick a race, BOOM! Pro Card!!
You get the picture... in my case the company I kept gave me the confidence to have a
Growth Mindset.Right now I am trying to train with other Pro's. Other Pro's that have won an Ironman. I hope this will help me maybe go top 5 in an Ironman some day. Then who knows, top 3? Ironman champ? Bottom line, I have to THINK I can win before I step on the starting line. Call it want you want. Grow your mindset to the Mindset of a champ, say to your competition, 'no matter what, you will always be a champion.' Have the mindset of a victor. Don't let your mind be a limiter, our body does a pretty good job of that!
The last Iteration:
Even if you cannot train with your idols, you can read about others that have accomplished
amazing things. So, train hard, think positive, and keep that Growth Mindset.

Like a Runner

After saying OVWA (Zoot kicks rocked it!!) to my old half marathon PR, I decided to take a look at what worked. In order to do this properly, lets go back a step. As a triathlete, I have always been under theimpression that I am not running enough to be a fast runner. To compensate for
this I have spent a long time running my easy runs close to marathon pace. Maybe this works well for some, and maybe it is what has given me a solid endurance base.

BUT, in transition from the offy after a late season Ironman
to starting to train again I went back to something I love. Trail running. I
spent January exploring a myriad of trails I have never run in Tucson. Some of
it ended up being run/walk because it was so steep, okay, yes I have cuts on my
back from a duck and roll. Fine, now I have a weak ankle. A few losses that do
not nearly amount to the sum of gains made.

Since I was on trails, I was running slowly. This allowed me to relax, and not look at pace. Then when it came time to sharpen up with a few track sessions to prepare for my first race, the speed was there. I didn’t know how without any fast running, but it was there. I just ran The Lost Dutchman Half Marathon in a 1:15:59. This was 2:30 faster than I ran Rock ‘n’ Roll half in Phoenix a couple years ago. Yes a lot has changed since then, but this is
the fact I keep on coming back to:

If you want to be a fast runner, run like a runner. Hit your
hard runs HARD. Easy runs are time on your feet, nothing more. Don’t get stuck in the middle. It is never a good place to be. I know, you are saying, ‘but I
only run 45 miles a week, I need to make them count!’ Well, here is my opinion,
you don’t. Run like a Runner. Gain the cardio fitness from the bike and swim.
(Especially if you ride like a cyclist and swim like a swimmer)

What better way to celebrate than a photo shoot with Elliot (slept in) and Amy(ran a 1:22) post race?

Next Up: Turns out Pacing Helps!