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Sunday, October 23, 2011

It's all in your head

If you have been following my blog for even just a couple weeks you know that I adore Chrissie Wellington.
I don't admire her because she wins races.
I mean, yeah. She is an amazing athlete- an absolute animal out there on the course.
What so impressed me about her was how down-to-earth she seemed to be, how passionate she is about the sport and how she uses her fame as a platform for other issues.
What made me bonkers about the girl is her sheer determination to go all out.
HER GUTS.
I may never be the athlete she is BUT I can emulate her attitude.
I can strive to be an athlete that trains hard with her mind in the moment, pushing aside physical discomfort to achieve gains in strength and speed.
I can learn to let my mind go to another place when I am on the race course and leave it all out there.


If you have not read this yet, please click the link and read Chrissie's recap of Kona. It is worth the few extra minutes to read it. It may just spark something INSIDE.
This is a race report that I will revisit often.
This is not a race report explaining her slow(er) swim, or her bike split. It's about her toughness, her mental game, the mental strength require to endure. And pursue and persevere. To summon every fiber within you to push ahead and win.


source


"There were many instances when body and mind were screaming in agony. The pain in my right hip was excruciating, my form was poor with my left foot turned out like a duck, and soon after other areas of my body started to feel the affects from my changed gait. Hamstrings, calves, even my shoulders cried out for me to stop. I had that ugly voice on one shoulder suggesting I quit and take the easy route. But I hate the goddamn easy route, and I know that I can never rest until I know I have given it absolutely everything. So I ignored the pain. I ignored the internal whispers. It was the other voice, the louder one on the opposite shoulder, which gave me the will to continue: which enabled me to keep my head, and to plunder the words of Kipling, to force my “…heart and nerve and sinew to serve their turn long after they are gone, and so hold when there is nothing in you except the will which says to them Hold On!”


This simple paragraph really spoke to me and I know next time I am suffering, I will reach into the depths of my mind and replay this. There will be No easy route for me.


I shared this quote with Jason yesterday and I am happy to report that he has finished Austin 70.3 with a PR of 5:28.


Yet another example of an athlete who trains physically and mentally-
hijacked from Karen's FB page
Congrats Jason!! Lola and I are very proud of you!!




I am getting the pain cave ready for winter training and it's going to be a long winter. It's going to be made up of a lot of hours sweating, hurting and learning. I am ready to take the next step in this process and become "an aerobic beast" (to quote the other lady who totally inspires me & I get to call Coach).


I got a large dry erase board to put up, I am collecting tidbits that inspire me and re-building my wall of motivation. Including this picture of Chrissie with the quote above.


What is your favorite motivation quote? 

14 comments:

  1. She is one tough cookie!!
    I thought there was no way she would win Kona after a 1:01 swim and then to essentially match Carfrae in the run? Unbelievable

    Jason did good....

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  2. oh wow,thank you for posting!
    ive had a bad day today,where those negative demons are yelling at me...this is just what i needed to hear right at the right moment!

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  3. She is amazing! Thanks for sharing that was so inspirational to read what she wrote!

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  4. Holy smokes. On top of everything you mentioned, she's got AMAZING LEGS! Haha holy smokes. You should check out pin boards on Pinterest. There are so many inspirational running quotes and pictures.

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  5. I have read chrissies Blog and you know she never talks about how great she is. No pace, no time, just how she felt, what made her continue and how everyone around her influences her!! Great person she is!!!

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  6. oooh thank you for sharing! I can't wait to check out her race report...she is such an inspiration!

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  7. That quote along with BE FAGRESSIVE was repeated quite often.

    I played the BE FAGRESSIVE quote in the water and on the bike.

    I channeled Chrissie's quote on the run when there was never an opportunity to just run because it was either up or down but never flat.

    You inspire and motivate me.

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  8. I have so many favorite quotes but my newest one is "It's not about perfect, it's about effort...and when you bring that effort every single day, that's where transformation happens. That's how change occurs." - Jillian Michaels

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  9. "I may be a slow-goer but I'm still lapping everyone else on the couch"!!!

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  10. I LOVE Chrissie, thank you so much for sharing the link. She is a beast and so inspiring!

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  11. Its no secret that I dont care about pro triathletes, I follow 2, Bree Wee and Chrissie (I think you would like Bree, she is different as well). I like Chrissie alot, she doesnt give though cookie cutter answers that the others do, we will never see another athlete like her in our lifetime

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  12. I have a couple of favorite motivating quotes.

    "You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself."
    Jim Rohn

    And one from Jillian Michaels too "pain is just fear leaving the body!"

    Awesome story.

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  13. Love Chrissie! Great post.
    Thanks for stopping by my blog with some encouraging words on Sat., I really appreciate it.

    Keep up the great blog, love it!

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  14. I love her! Man, what a tough tough nut. I wish I had just a drop of that!

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Thanks for stopping by- be awesome!