I have recently come to the conclusion that if you are not seeing any progress or disappointed in results you are seeing stop complaining and do something about it.
A couple of weeks ago I went down to the Springs and put myself into a situation I was really uncomfortable with. I felt like I was way out of my league. Being in a room with Renee, Alicia, and countless others I looked up to scared me a little. I couldn't imagine that Scott Simmons and Renato Canova would think I belonged there. I'm actually going to confess to something before I go any further, I didn't even really know who the coaches were other than I saw a few DVD's in our store by Scott. (go ahead laugh your a** off now, I know I know silly rookie) the original reason I decided to take a risk and head down was because I really needed to meet with Jay Dicharry concerning my mechanics. I have known for a long time I do not have very good form just had no idea how to deal with it. I learned so much! I waste so much energy, am very inefficient , my arms are bad, I lean back the list goes on and on. A couple hours with him and I now have a lot of drills and exercises to do to strengthen my weakness. I spent the next three days running on the trails in the Springs (which made me wonder why I ever moved away) with everyone and trying to just soak in everything I could. On my final day in the Springs I had coffee with Scott and Renato to discuss what they thought I was capable of, what my goals were, and what I was willing to do to get there. That's when I decided this was a chance of a lifetime. I couldn't pass it up! Yes I realize I could very well fail, but the odds are just as good that I will succeed. The point is I will NEVER know if I don't try.
Fast forward a couple of weeks............
Most of my family, friends and running community have been very supportive. Yes I have had to deal with some criticism from people close but the important thing is my family is totally supportive of me. When Scott sent me my first four weeks of training I looked at it with eyes wide scared to death. My first thought was there is no way I can do this. The intensity is a lot more than I am use to and my miles have increased. The first thing Scott told me however was do not let your head decide what you can do try it first and than tell me you can or can't. I have definitely surprised myself. I have done a few things new to me, progression runs, hill sprints, jogging recovery (no more stationary), fartlek to name a few. The last two weeks I have hit 90 miles and I feel great! Now there is a "down" side of course. Before I started with Scott I had a couple races on the schedule, Stadium Stampede and our 4th of July 5k. Normally I race every two weeks, I don't really try to peak for one race I just like to race, go fast and of course try for the W. It's hard for me to remember right now there is a big race I'm shooting for, I can not cut back for these little races coming up, I need to keep my training on schedule and just work the races into my progression. What does this mean? It means I go into these next couple races with 90 mile weeks, my legs are still adjusting to the higher mileage and I'm not sure they will have any pop. This is a hard pill for me to swallow, these 5k's could be really slow. I just keep telling myself "eye on the prize" and hope it gets me through these next couple months and to a huge PR in the half.
