Route 66 Race Report

Attitude Adjustment:

This race was a psychological nightmare for me. Not the actual race itself but the month and a half leading up it. A few months ago Jono and I decided to run the Route 66 marathon and use the event as the official kick off of our fundraiser. At the time I was really excited to run it but I soon remembered how much I don't love running long distances on pavement.

For my entire life I abhorred running but I have recently realized this was because running on pavement would quickly bore me. After about six months of Jono's persistent nagging I finally went for a run with him on Turkey Mountain and realized that I actually love running...as long as I can mainly do it on trails in the woods. I have always been drawn to this type of environment. I found that running among nature keeps my mind excited and occupied and refreshes my soul. Every time I train on pavement the miles just seem to drag on forever even though I am usually running a faster pace. I want to run because I enjoy it, but it is hard to enjoy a run when all my mind will think about is how much farther until I can be done.

These types of thoughts quickly started creeping into my psyche after we registered. It wasn't long until I went from the elation of knowing I get to run another race to dreadfully wishing I hadn't paid $100 to bore myself to death. This was compounded by the fact that every time I would train on pavement it seemed as though any progress I had achieved in healing my Achilles was set back. I had become convinced that running 26.2 miles on the streets of Tulsa would mean at least a month or two of limping around, cussing at myself, and wondering if and when I would ever be able to get back on the trails. Something had to change. Either I was going to have give up and not run or I was going to have to drastically change my attitude about what was going to happen on November 18th, 2012.

With a week to go before the race I decided that the attitude adjustment option was my ONLY option. Besides, the prior weekend I had run 31 miles on the tough trails of Turkey Mountain and still had a lot of gas left in the tank when I finished. I could do this! I would do this! And I would have two intact Achilles tendons when I finished! It was time for change.

For the next week the first thing I did every morning was spend time meditating on positive and healing thoughts. I was constantly striving to put myself back in the positive attitude I had before my last 50k race. “You’ve got this. Easy Money. The Achilles is strong.” By Friday before the race I was finally feeling ready to run. I had already proven to myself that I was physically ready. It was the mental readiness that was actually harder this time but I was getting that under control. Saturday I continued to build my enthusiasm and with that came the confidence I needed. Jono told me that he could tell a big difference in my voice about the whole thing. By Sunday morning I was jazzed up and ready to go. My favorite author, Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” Sunday was going to be the best day of the year. I told myself it was going to be just another Sunday morning stroll. Basically, that is what it turned out to be. Jono, Jeff, Amelia and I set out to run, and enjoy, an easy 4 hour and 45 minute marathon pace. I crossed the finish line in 4:45:12 and, most importantly, didn't have to go see my orthopedic foot doctor guy the next day!

Lesson Learned: The mental training for a run can be just as important as the physical training. Sure, I was bored (and in pain) for a few moments during the race. But that was expected and I was mentally ready to tackle those issues head on. There is no doubt that if I had not “trained my brain”  I would have either ended up not starting at all, walking much of the last 8 miles, dropping out altogether, or seriously injuring my Achilles while running with such a negative vibe around me. The power of the mind is incredible. Don’t let YOU, and your negative thoughts be the reason why you don’t do something you have wanted to do but may be afraid of. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.”

Thanks for reading,

Paul

P.S. I also need to mention that being able to run with 3 great people helped pull me through to the finish. Thanks Jono, Jeff and Amelia. You guys rock! I had a blast!