Pigman

As I looked out over the distance of the lake, the rocks in my throat plummeted to the bottom of my belly. My knees went weak, a heavy feeling overwhelmed me... "No, that can't be right," I whispered. Then, aloud, "No, there's been some kind of mistake." ----for I was looking out over the distance of the swim for the 70.3 triathlon I would tackle the next morning. My sister, husband, and a few other athletes, who were also taking a sneak peak at the course, soon agreed. I was comforted by their similar apprehensions. Looking at the large orange buoys spread throughout the lake, I swear the swim coarse stretched at least three miles. How in hell was I going to swim this distance? ...a quiet panic struck me, and I covered it up by nervous chatter, trying to occupy my mind by introducing myself to the athletes nearby. One guy who was there was intending to use Pigman as a training day for his upcoming Iron Man in Wisconsin. He told us he'd been spending his Saturdays practicing 3-mile swims.... Somehow, I wasn't comforted by this...After several friendly debates, swift calculations, and the comparison my husband made to driving a golf ball across the lake, we determined that the race directors did indeed know what they were doing and the course was most likely 1.2 miles. Hmmmm…I still left with my doubts.

The night before the race was spent laughing with friends over pasta dinner, exchanging war stories of the various races we'd done. Sitting around listening to the different race feats one another had faced was the perfect recipe to get me pumped for the next day. Call me weird, but I was seriously giddy: my voice high and squeaky, my blood racing, and my hyper personality shifted into turbo-charge! Woo hooo!!!!

---- Back at the hotel, preparations took place-- the taping of power gels on bikes, outfits laid out, gooey power bars placed in pockets, Gatorade's iced down, alarm clocks set, prayers sent up...(prayers over knees, over hips, and over dry goggles... and please not to drown)

Race Day. Dense fog covered the park grounds... The athletes stood and waited like penguins in their wetsuits bobbing in and out of the water...some taking walks, some warming up in the water. I could feel the nervous energy in the air, hanging like the fog around us. The start was delayed. I had put my swim cap and goggles on way too early- my head started to throb. I was scared to take the goggles off because I had placed them perfectly, didn't want to mess with my goggles too much, feared they would leak…ohh, the race day apprehensions…

National anthem...the ladies next me were asking me why I wasn't wearing a wetsuit. They were impressed. HA! Little did they know, it was only for the sole reason that I'm so novice, I just hadn't gotten around to buying one yet.-- third triathlon...The swim start was unlike the two other Tri's I had done where we all started in the water at once in a fluttering mess. At Pigman, we did a 'time trial' start and actually gracefully ran into the water one at a time. Brilliant. Calm. This felt right. For the first time I started the race without that annoying, panicky feeling that says I'm going to drown. Forward I went... one stroke at a time. God, the water felt great. I felt strong. People passed me... more people passed me. Large, strong men and leathery women glided by... on, I went. Sometimes, my mind began to get desperate and it wanted to taunt me that I was the last one. THIS is danger. I wouldn't let it. I refused to think that I was the last one; this would have been the end of me. I would tell myself, I was doing fine, go forward, one stroke at time, orange buoys. I count too... a lot... one, two, three, breathe....one, two, three, breathe.... God, one, two, three, breathe...God, one, two, three, breathe, God....I'm good, I'm strong....one, two, three, breathe, ....And that's how it went....until I got out of the water, running up the hill. I was so happy I had accomplished the swim that I was hollering my 'woo hoos!' as I ran to transition. I heard my husband cheering me on. I screamed like a rock star. Probably, not the best energy saver but I felt so exhilarated I just had to express the enthusiasm. Although I am one of the slower swimmers, I’ve just come such a long way that I can’t help but be excited for overcoming it.

Upon reaching transition, I discovered that there were only a few bikes left. Time to rock and roll. The ride felt good, rolling hills…., a bit slower than I anticipated however…my knee had not completely healed from a previous injury and that knee pain definitely slowed me down. It felt like a knife just found its way in the joint and then hung out there. I kept my mind off the pain. My main focus on the bike was to “practice” nutrition. By this I mean forcing myself to eat or fuel every 15 minutes. I almost choked several times eating power bars and I think I could feel my stomach starting to rot from the sugar, carbs, and caffine- God, I love this sport. The other super fun item was yelling at the volunteers to stop the cars. As I entered the park, a car tried to race me, no kidding. I pointed to the car and hollered to the poor volunteer, “Stop this car!” Don’t cars realize that they will win against a cyclist and we know that… humph…56 miles completed….time to get off the bike.

Transition 2. Drop the bike, strip the shoes… sneakers on, visor, sunglasses…start to run while putting on my watch --what am I forgetting? Off I go…Truly; I know now why they call this action from riding a bike to then running, ‘bricking’. Your legs feel like tree trunks… Adrenaline spiking, I started out a 7 something pace. No Sara, back off. I backed off… the sun got hotter, the miles longer…. I kept running. I was grateful I had force-fed my body on the bike. I was utilizing every ounce of that sugar-carb crap and I was happy about it. I felt like I could actually feel my body respond to the nutrition. Every time I ate and drank I got stronger…. I started passing people. That felt good- finally, passing people. I kept going. Some of the water stations had warm water, not refreshing if you ask me. If they had ice, I stashed it. Yep, sure did stash ice cubes in various places and that’s as far as I’ll go. I kept my pace pretty slow that first 6 miles and really pushed it out the last 6. My chin was up as I passed this one group of buff tri-guys. They were walking up a hill! Can you believe that- walking? When I run, I feel like I’m in my element. Its my safe-zone. I own it and that feels good. Overall, my run was about a nine minute pace. Honestly, it was hard as a runner to look down and see my slow pace, but I had to put things in perspective….I was passing large groups of young, muscular men on the hills… So many people walked, I could not believe it. Walking didn’t even cross my mind; I considered that a good sign.

Crossing the finish line, I completed the 70.3 triathlon in about 6 hours 10 minutes. Not bad for only signing up for the race about two weeks prior. I was elated. I think the best part of the whole thing was that my sister was doing it too. See, when ya think ya might drown, or its super hot, or your knee bothers you or the hills kick your butt, somehow, its just easier to finish knowing that your best friend is doing it too….on the same roads, the same hills, hearing the same cheers and experiencing the same challenges. Thanks Michelle. I love you honey.

As I hugged and congratulated her at the finish line, we were thinking the same thing. Let’s double it. Iron Man, here we come…

Life and Death is in the Power of the Tongue

I hate you! You disgust me! I wish you were never born! I wish I had never married you. You're nothing to me!

Ouch...I think we can all agree that these words have power. These words can do damage, serious damage. We've all said hateful, regretful things, spoken daggers which we regretfully remember... We understand the harm these words cause when we say them to one another, right?

Then, why do we ignore the damaging effects words have when we say negative things about ourselves? I know I am using an extreme example here, but I'm trying to illustrate a point; words have power. How many times after races have I heard athletes beat themselves up negatively? I hear, "this just isn't my sport." Or, "I'll never be a fast runner." Or, "I'm fat. I'm slow. I suck at this." Well, I say, "STOP WITH THE NEGATIVITY!" Don't you realize your words have power and they can do serious damage?

When it comes to our sports, negative attitudes damage our outcomes in lots of ways. For one, they make you slower and less strong. They can make you lose or give up. They even hurt others. C'mon, you don't want that! Remember, last week I talked about those "creeping thoughts" and not allowing them to control your race or prevent you from doing your best? You've got to combat them with positive thoughts. I know this sounds crazy, but sometimes when I've almost gone cu-put at the end of a race, I will repeat the same thought over and over in my mind and it will be something like, "Sara, you are strong, you are powerful, you will pass that person." I'll repeat it over and over and over. Its amazing but by thinking positively, my chin will raise higher, my core engages stronger, and I am faster for it. You can be too.

Have you ever noticed that many of us won't even accept positive compliments? So many times I'll compliment my dearest friends on their remarkable performances (and I have the most remarkable friends around) and they will kind of nod me off... Or say, "whatever..." I always combat this with a reminder to just say, Thank you. Look, even if we don't believe it right at that second, start accepting the positive encouragement....You'd be surprised how much more confident you'll become, how much more mentally strong you will become, and how your performance will get better because of it.

Accept and Express the positive even if you don't believe it....after a while....you will.
OK, I'm gonna use another extreme example... When I was a little girl, I thought I was fat and ugly. Sad...I know. My mom had to listen to me putting myself down all the time. One afternoon, my mom and I were in the car and I was expressing my negative laundry list of adjectives for myself. She said this, "Sara, life and death is in the power of the tongue." I wish you could see yourself the way that I see you. You are beautiful and you're certainly not fat. She urged me to drop the negative garbage I was expelling and begin to verbalize the positive. I did. Then, I kept doing it. After awhile, I began to like what I saw in the mirror. It wasn't long after that I believed I was a beautiful person. Words have power.

Now, I apply this positive expression during my training and all my competitions. In fact, I strive to be positive in all facets of my life. I urge you to ACCEPT AND EXPRESS the positive. If you're not an athlete, and you aspire to be one, start to express that you are as you make the changes in your life. Start to express the positive.
No more verbal garbage. Continue on, even if you don't believe it at first. And remember, life and death is in the power of the tongue.

Stop Negotiating.

Imagine you're running. Its hot. You're sweating. You're 10 miles in and the last part of your run consists of steep, unforgiving hills. What are you thinking? Are you thinking about how your legs hurt? How your clothing is dripping with salty sweat drops? Are you thinking that no one is around so it's okay that you slow down? STOP NEGOTIATING.

That's what you're doing, isn't it? You're negotiating with yourself to not give your best...to give up the fight. Our minds start to look for "ways out" when the going gets tough. Have you noticed that? Most people don't even realize that they do it. Start to become aware of where your mind goes when you face challenges. I might suggest that the best athletes in the world have stopped negotiating. I might suggest that this mental strength is something that separates the best from the rest of us. That's right, don't let those thoughts enter your mind, not for one second. Keep them out. Its those creeping thoughts that enter our minds and start making excuses for us. Keep your eyes on the target, focus, and don't negotiate anymore. Do not allow one reason to explain why you're not doing your best.

The other day I did about a 12 mile run in 95 degree heat where the heat index screamed 100+. Towards the end of my run, the air had chilled to a cool 90... My last two miles were all uphill. But here's the juice in it. Here's where it gets good folks. Here's where most people give up. Here's where you stop negotiating. I pushed through and up and up and up. My legs were sore from a work out from the day before, but I wouldn't let my mind recall that because then, I would have a way out. I picked a spot in the distance, past the last hill. I focused in and dug deep. I felt the negotiating reasons tug at my brain....If I allowed them in, they would have taunted, 'Sara you're sore from your Total Conditioning class yesterday. Sara's is super hot; everyone slows down in the heat. Sara, isn't your knee still hurting from Saturday's hill workout?' The difference between the best and the others is that the best don't negotiate.

Look at your life. Where are you negotiating? Is it before you even started the workout? Are you already making excuses why you shouldn't move your body today? Do you know you need to call someone and suddenly you're telling yourself you're too tired? Have you told a friend you'd meet them and all the sudden, you reason that you can't make the date because you've got too many errands to run? We negotiate with ourselves all the time...not just during the workouts. I challenge you to keep your mind focused and forbid the thoughts of reason.

Stop Negotiating.