Sharpen Your Strengths

“Work your weakness.”  That’s what some “experts” love to say.  “Focus all your energy on the things you need to improve upon, or you’ll never get better.”  There’s a piece of truth to that but there’s also some missing wisdom here.  OWN YOUR STRENGTHS.  

I’m a strong closer in a race.  I used to call it a slow-starter but something as simple as reframing the way I thought about myself, helped me make a major change.  I realized that it took me a little longer to “warm up,” sometimes even 60 miles (100 milers run a VERY LONG TIME) but for me, that was going to be my secret weapon.  I started really training to maximize it.  I would force myself to kick and get faster the further into a run or race.  Why?  Because I knew I could.  Was I going to charge hard when the gun goes off and lead from the front? Nope.  That’s not my style.  But I love to hunt and will patiently wait a race out.  To go from 12th, to 10th, to 6th, to 1st or 2nd.  My strength is a slow grind that can take hours.  

So here’s my pro-tip to you:  Sharpen your strengths.  

I’m not saying skip the stuff you struggle with.  Not at all.  But for God sake, let’s stop taking the fun out of the health and fitness space.  Love to climb?  Charge it.  A daredevil on the descents? Bomb those downhills and don’t hold back.  I have a little saying I use, “Do what you do and do it the best.  And then fill in the cracks and edges with the rest.”  What’s your secret weapon?  What makes it truly yours?  This week, instead of fixing failures, let’s focus on your special strengths.  What are you known for?  And if you don’t know, it’s time to figure it out.  Find it.  Own it.  And then sharpen it like a tool.  Once you can do that, you’ll find the very best…you.

Afraid to Win

We're a society of big goal setters. We make big plans and announce them to the world with hopes they’ll hold us accountable.  We want to achieve great things and yet many times our big plans become big disappointments.  Those let-downs are part of life and the “rational you” understands it but the “emotional you” wants to protect yourself from ever feeling it again.  You don’t want to risk it…the risk of failing and feeling that empty spot where your hard work left you far away from where you thought you were supposed to be. 

So what happens next?  We self-sabotage.  Whether we know it or not, the fear of failing keeps us tucked in safely and watching from the side.  It’s really not a fear of failure so much as it’s a fear…of letting yourself win.  “Um..no,”  you might say to me, but hear me out while I explain.  We’ve been burned before and we know the heartache that comes when the bottom falls out and there's no win in sight.. but…if you succeed, there’s another little piece of this puzzle that is equally terrifying: EXPECTATION.  If you win, then guess what?  From now on, that’s just what you’re supposed to do.  (that's not reality but it is according to your mind) but that’s a real fear and a pressure that we often don’t even acknowledge is happening in our lives.  Whether it’s training for a race or dealing with a difficult relationship – we know that once we hit a certain level of success, there’s the pressure to perform every single time you toe the line.  Except there’s not.  What’s so hard to see is the benefit of falling and finding your footing to get back up and start all over again.  Nobody gets great by always being great.  The greats get great by saying, “I know I’m not going to succeed every single day, but if I don’t ever try I’ll definitely never win.”  There are countless face-first falls you probably never see but tenacity to get back up separates the winners from the rest.  You don’t have to finish first to win the race.  Just walk away with the knowledge that you didn’t sell yourself short when the gun went off that day.  Don’t negotiate deals with yourself or give yourself an out.  Show up to win and keep the promise that you made.  Only you control the lesson that you’ll take away.  Don’t be your worst enemy because if that’s the case you’ll never beat your own brain.  Instead be your biggest fan and tell yourself you’re getting out alive, because after all...wasn’t that the most important part of your grand plan?

Busting a Rut

It’s easy to get comfortable.  Doing the same things you’ve always done…over and over.  We’re creatures of habit after all.  We all do it and it’s usually because it’s the path of least resistance… or less thought.  You run the exact same route, day after or day, eat the same foods, see the same people, think the same things… you see how this can trickle down to everything else in your life without a second thought.  But, what happens when you wake up one morning and that old routine you once loved so much wasn’t what you really wanted at all?  In fact, the thought of it actually makes you sick.  That sounds dramatic, right? However, I’m pretty sure every person reading this right now has felt the exact same way. 

Example – I don’t always listen to music when I run but when I do, I set these different playlists for certain runs.  I love taking the time to pick the perfect songs and make the music flow exactly how I’d like it to be. I love those playlists and I’ll hit certain parts of a run and that specific song will come on and it’s like I expected it.  That’s my jam!  I knew it was going to be the thing to serenade me to the top of that hill…..   and then, at some point over a period of time, that song makes me want to scream.  “Ugh..I hate this song! You’re the worst One Republic! If I hear this again, I’m just going to lay down in the middle of my run and cry!”  Ok, that may be a little dramatic, but you get the point.  What happens next? I take my headphones off.  I leave them at home for the next several weeks. 

That’s a small example but it can make or break your runs.  It can challenge you, just like getting off the roads if you’re a roadie.  Heading for more hills if you’re always looking for the fastest, flattest course you can find.  The goal of this blog is to help you think about ways to become more mentally tough and one way is to step out of your comfort zone.  Let go of that control.  Find the things that scare you and then just sit there...just wait there until you’re not afraid any more.  That’s when the magic happens. That’s when real change takes place.  Yes, it might be uncomfortable or difficult at first but that’s the beauty of busting a rut.  It’s getting through it and seeing what’s waiting for you on the other side. 

Getting Real

Running is a lot like life.  You can have a training run or a race that feels amazing.  You feel invincible and you're on top of the world.  And then.....just when you're starting to enjoy those endorphins from your running high, the bottom falls out and you're down in a ditch, covered in dirt.  (Not that that would ever happen to anyone around here....)  It's a weird one, that relationship we (I mean me) have with running.  Some days I love it so much and I can't imagine my life without it.  Others, I want to set my shoes on fire and drive over them with the car.  That, ladies and gentleman, is your coach talking right there.  I say all this to show that even the most experienced runners and those who even coach, struggle with the good AND the bad days too.  It took me a long time to understand that THIS is part of being a runner.  It's really part of being passionate.  A bittersweet relationship that gives but it also takes and you have to be willing to go with the flow.  It's taken me far too long to learn those lessons and I'm still learning new ones every day.  But for now, I hope you join me in our attempts do deal with the OTHER side of the running: the stuff that goes on inside the mind.  To me, that's what really gets you across the finish line.