Ladies,
I know many of you are hurting, and new pains crop up every day. Let me assure you, this is normal. The only way to get the most out of yourself is to push to your limits, and as you might guess, this isn't without consequences. There will be more pain to come.
Take heart; Sectional is three weeks away, then Regional after that. A lot will be decided in that week. Realistically we haven't a shot for State this year - too many people have to drop too far - but we sit at 50/50 for Semi-State. We need luck, we need the weather, and we need drops. If all three come together, we go.
We can't do anything about luck or the weather, but we still have a hand in the drops. The next couple of weeks will be the last chance we have to affect the outcome of this season. We have two more speed and two more tempo workouts before we taper. They have to count!
Tomorrow we do 800s, Wednesday we tempo. Give it everything you have! Here are last week's numbers:
Resolve to be a little better this week. Take charge of your own fate, will yourself to do it, one 800 at a time. Focus on the only thing that matters at that particular moment, that 800. Run it evenly, under control, but run it strong. Challenge yourself, push. It won't be easy - it will be the most intense running we ever do - but it's the workout that makes you great.
Look, this is a microcosm of what racing actually is - living in the moment, the right now. The perfect race is a balance of forces, of pressure, of focus, and the unbreakable will to do what has to be done right now. The second the mind wanders off to what might happen, or how you might fail, the spell is broken. You've heard of the Zone? The Zone is nothing more than shoving everything else out of your mind but the right now.
Human beings are incredible. The body can endure anything the mind can dream possible, it's only a matter of how much pain you can take. Sure, pain breaks us all down, makes us stop, eventually. That's what pain is for. But you can deny that pain for a bit longer, to endure a bit more than your rival, that's the margin.
Ignoring pain won't give you faster legs, it won't make you jump higher, it won't make you stronger. It doesn't matter. In this sport, ignoring pain means you outlast everyone else, that you maintain whatever pace you can run longer than others can endure theirs. Ignoring pain allows you to break your opponents' will, and here's the funny thing... the more you realize you are breaking the people around you, the more pain you are able to accept. It's why competition brings out the very best in us - we can't be our best unless we are pushed to our edge.
I know many of you are hurting, and new pains crop up every day. Let me assure you, this is normal. The only way to get the most out of yourself is to push to your limits, and as you might guess, this isn't without consequences. There will be more pain to come.
Take heart; Sectional is three weeks away, then Regional after that. A lot will be decided in that week. Realistically we haven't a shot for State this year - too many people have to drop too far - but we sit at 50/50 for Semi-State. We need luck, we need the weather, and we need drops. If all three come together, we go.
We can't do anything about luck or the weather, but we still have a hand in the drops. The next couple of weeks will be the last chance we have to affect the outcome of this season. We have two more speed and two more tempo workouts before we taper. They have to count!
Tomorrow we do 800s, Wednesday we tempo. Give it everything you have! Here are last week's numbers:
| Runner | Target | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | AVG | Total | Pace |
| Danielle | 3:15:00 | 3:13:00 | 3:11:00 | 3:09:00 | 3:11:00 | 3:03:00 | 3:09:24 | 15:47:00 | 6:18:48 |
| Carrie | 3:15:00 | 3:13:00 | 3:11:00 | 3:09:00 | 3:11:00 | 3:03:00 | 3:09:24 | 15:47:00 | 6:18:48 |
| Shelby | 3:15:00 | 3:13:00 | 3:11:00 | 3:09:00 | 3:11:00 | 3:04:00 | 3:09:36 | 15:48:00 | 6:19:12 |
| Alli | 3:40:00 | 3:13:00 | 3:11:00 | 3:10:00 | 3:11:20 | 9:34:00 | 6:22:40 | ||
| Chloe | 3:55:00 | 3:51:00 | 4:00:00 | 3:49:00 | 3:35:00 | 3:48:45 | 15:15:00 | 7:37:30 | |
| Locki | 3:55:00 | 3:51:00 | 4:00:00 | 3:49:00 | 3:35:00 | 3:48:45 | 15:15:00 | 7:37:30 | |
| Bret | 3:55:00 | 3:38:00 | 4:09:00 | 4:00:00 | 4:08:00 | 3:58:45 | 15:55:00 | 7:57:30 | |
| Diana | 4:00:00 | 3:55:00 | 4:15:00 | 4:22:00 | 4:37:00 | 4:17:15 | 17:09:00 | 8:34:30 | |
| Keeley | 3:15:00 | 3:13:00 | 3:35:00 | 3:47:00 | 3:56:00 | 3:37:45 | 14:31:00 | 7:15:30 |
Resolve to be a little better this week. Take charge of your own fate, will yourself to do it, one 800 at a time. Focus on the only thing that matters at that particular moment, that 800. Run it evenly, under control, but run it strong. Challenge yourself, push. It won't be easy - it will be the most intense running we ever do - but it's the workout that makes you great.
Look, this is a microcosm of what racing actually is - living in the moment, the right now. The perfect race is a balance of forces, of pressure, of focus, and the unbreakable will to do what has to be done right now. The second the mind wanders off to what might happen, or how you might fail, the spell is broken. You've heard of the Zone? The Zone is nothing more than shoving everything else out of your mind but the right now.
Human beings are incredible. The body can endure anything the mind can dream possible, it's only a matter of how much pain you can take. Sure, pain breaks us all down, makes us stop, eventually. That's what pain is for. But you can deny that pain for a bit longer, to endure a bit more than your rival, that's the margin.
Ignoring pain won't give you faster legs, it won't make you jump higher, it won't make you stronger. It doesn't matter. In this sport, ignoring pain means you outlast everyone else, that you maintain whatever pace you can run longer than others can endure theirs. Ignoring pain allows you to break your opponents' will, and here's the funny thing... the more you realize you are breaking the people around you, the more pain you are able to accept. It's why competition brings out the very best in us - we can't be our best unless we are pushed to our edge.
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