Another beautiful fall weekend had arrived. I was ready to run the
Deep Creek Half in Telluride:
and planned on a fun easy and relaxing race. It was my 5th
weekend in a row of racing. I felt good and was ready to relax as I drove over
to Telluride. A special thanks to Josh and Heather Blackman who hosted me! Once
I arrived, Heather informed me that I would have some good competition, that I
would have to race!
Mentally I had to change my race approach and strategy. I knew I
would have to race to my potential and face the challenges and overcome them. All runners can race to their
potential, but they need to mentally be ready, knowing they can push themselves
just a little more.
Next morning, I was mentally ready when the raced started. Ryan Becker was my competition. He took off at a blistering pace trying to distance himself early from the other contenders. When faced with a challenge like this it is easy to give up early, instead I tried to limit Ryan's lead and raced after him. Sure I was a little slower that day, but I made sure to stay as close as I could without burning too much fuel, and without mentally being setback. I fell about 10 seconds back, but remained in striking distance. After the initial 1.5 miles, the race turned from dirt road onto an uphill single track. I ran to my potential and used the uphill single track to reel in Ryan. I caught him.
We ran together for the next mile until a significant uphill where I took the lead. I pushed the pace and pulled ahead by 20 seconds on the uphill. The view was fantastic with colorful vibrant aspens in their peak of fall foliage resting on the mountain sides like a fresh quilt thrown gently onto a chair, ready and inviting have a cold race. Fully enjoying the views was difficult. The freshly fallen leaves lay on the meandering single-track trail hiding roots and disguising uneven footing. The added challenge increased both the difficulty and unique quality of the race.
I wore the Altra Paradigms which provided the needed traction and stability while also being slightly lighter and faster. Ryan pushed the speed ensuring that he was not dropped. Overall, I knew I needed a smart strategic race. Ryan was fast on the flats and could hold his own on the downhills. I held a 10 to 20 second lead while Ryan I yo-yoed back and forth. The lead was minimal. At mile 8 on an extended downhill Ryan surged to just a few seconds back from me. I was running pushing the pace and Ryan was reciprocating.
For the next 2 miles we both pushed the pace ran as fast as we could on the ever changing single-track rock-an-root laden terrain. It was here that I mentally had to decide to race to my potential. "What is my potential? What can I do today?" If you want to race at your best then these are the questions that must be answered and can only be answered by you.
I refused to limit myself. I knew I could push the pace just a little more. For the next 2 miles I ran with at first a 10 second lead, then 20 seconds, then 30 seconds... my lead was increasing, ever so gradually, but increasing nonetheless.
At mile 10 through 11 I faced the last challenge: a steep last uphill. Once again I pushed the pace, I faced the challenge and overcame it. I ran down the last mile over a jeep road and into town averaging close to a 5 flat mile pace and won, breaking the course record by over 10 minutes.
This is racing: when you race to your potential. It does not mean that you or I will win every race. It does not mean that you will reel perfect in the process. It does not mean that you will be able to race at 100% capacity in every race.
It does mean you face your challenges head on and give an honest 100% effort. It means that you go out, challenge yourself, and ignore perceived limitations. It means that you push yourself to do more or run faster than you thought you could and then regardless of end results you will have won.
Next morning, I was mentally ready when the raced started. Ryan Becker was my competition. He took off at a blistering pace trying to distance himself early from the other contenders. When faced with a challenge like this it is easy to give up early, instead I tried to limit Ryan's lead and raced after him. Sure I was a little slower that day, but I made sure to stay as close as I could without burning too much fuel, and without mentally being setback. I fell about 10 seconds back, but remained in striking distance. After the initial 1.5 miles, the race turned from dirt road onto an uphill single track. I ran to my potential and used the uphill single track to reel in Ryan. I caught him.
Photos by Heather Blackman
We ran together for the next mile until a significant uphill where I took the lead. I pushed the pace and pulled ahead by 20 seconds on the uphill. The view was fantastic with colorful vibrant aspens in their peak of fall foliage resting on the mountain sides like a fresh quilt thrown gently onto a chair, ready and inviting have a cold race. Fully enjoying the views was difficult. The freshly fallen leaves lay on the meandering single-track trail hiding roots and disguising uneven footing. The added challenge increased both the difficulty and unique quality of the race.
I wore the Altra Paradigms which provided the needed traction and stability while also being slightly lighter and faster. Ryan pushed the speed ensuring that he was not dropped. Overall, I knew I needed a smart strategic race. Ryan was fast on the flats and could hold his own on the downhills. I held a 10 to 20 second lead while Ryan I yo-yoed back and forth. The lead was minimal. At mile 8 on an extended downhill Ryan surged to just a few seconds back from me. I was running pushing the pace and Ryan was reciprocating.
For the next 2 miles we both pushed the pace ran as fast as we could on the ever changing single-track rock-an-root laden terrain. It was here that I mentally had to decide to race to my potential. "What is my potential? What can I do today?" If you want to race at your best then these are the questions that must be answered and can only be answered by you.
I refused to limit myself. I knew I could push the pace just a little more. For the next 2 miles I ran with at first a 10 second lead, then 20 seconds, then 30 seconds... my lead was increasing, ever so gradually, but increasing nonetheless.
At mile 10 through 11 I faced the last challenge: a steep last uphill. Once again I pushed the pace, I faced the challenge and overcame it. I ran down the last mile over a jeep road and into town averaging close to a 5 flat mile pace and won, breaking the course record by over 10 minutes.
This is racing: when you race to your potential. It does not mean that you or I will win every race. It does not mean that you will reel perfect in the process. It does not mean that you will be able to race at 100% capacity in every race.
It does mean you face your challenges head on and give an honest 100% effort. It means that you go out, challenge yourself, and ignore perceived limitations. It means that you push yourself to do more or run faster than you thought you could and then regardless of end results you will have won.
