Doing the Work

It has been quite sometime since I have written a blog post.  The reasons are long: Grand Kona Slam and it's blog...a two person task; work; training; and life in general.  Writing my blog posts always seem to fall to the bottom of the list, so they got lost.  I wasn't trail racing often, and not in my finest form, and who really wants to read about someone swimming for hours on end??  But, truly all this time has added up to become where I am today and what the future months hold for me.  Without these past two years, I wouldn't be filled with the people and experiences that will drive me to tomorrow.  So, whether documented or not they are in my head and heart.

Over the past months I have been witness to what focus and determination can create.  I have the great fortune of being around amazing people who are not afraid to share their stories of what has given them success, and what they know it takes.  At the end of the day there is no secret...it is about hard work, crossing every t, and dotting every i.  I know how to do the workouts, but since my singular focus of getting my a$% to the finish line at Western States in 2010 have I done the work? 

bloody, dirty, and determined

In my prep to swim around Key West
, I completed every swim on the schedule, but didn't do the extras: weight and core workouts.  When I had the current in my favor I didn't have the strength to totally take advantage, and when I hit the last two miles I didn't have the strength to fight the waves.  I had the endurance, but that piece of the puzzle I hadn't completed showed up on game day.

I got more out of being at Run Rabbit Run 100 than I could have hoped for.  The moments of crewing were amazing as I am the most fortunate person to have wonderful ladies, and guys, to share time with; it was awesome to see Paul do his thing for so many hours and run so very well; it was great to get to run down the road with him...even if my downhill pace (what I perceived he should be running) was a bit quicker than he wanted to run; it is special to get to see so many friends succeed and help in any way possible; it is inspiring to watch Bryon Powell work his butt off and stay positive and in great spirits throughout his work; and in the end it was the perfect example of what the spirit and soul of ultra-running is all about.

Amongst the most competitive runners there were smiles, thank yous to volunteers, funny outburts that are not mean spirited but real expressions of exhausted brains manning the simplest of tasks; and just good old competition...real, honest, hard freaking work!

I learned the lesson to never pretend to think that I am going to race on the same weekend that Paul is racing.  I am just not programmed that way.  I am not going to turn off Paul's race and do what I need to do to get ready for mine.  Never going to happen.  I ended up with 26 miles on 20 minutes of sleep, but it wasn't necessary to push my body to that.  I needed to be all in to crewing for Paul, and not 90% with 10% on me.  That does not serve his race well, and I was never going to have a successful run.  It was wonderful to see him "get motivated" for a sub-24 hour finish after having long hours of trashed legs.  It was awesome to get to cheer on friends as they were coming in for their finish!  And, another highlight of a Friday race is having the day to lounge, visit, and share time with special people post-race.  It is in those moments that you gather the special stories; you experience the moments; and you learn if you are willing to listen.

The best way for me to show my thanks for the words and information shared is to go DO THE WORK.  Again, it will not be about doing the most, but doing what I know needs to be done to accomplish my goals.  There is no turning back, but making each day forward exactly what it needs to be.  I guess I will call it a bit of a welcome back :)