Yes, I was super stoked to race the Cedar 12K, however, doing all the right things to prime myself for a great event didn’t quite pan out. It was all good except for the part about going on an airplane and catching a virus that gave my asthmatic respiratory system a real kick — ouch!
One of the beauties of leading others in physical activity is enjoying their experiences, their finish lines, their accomplishments.
Witnessing Margot cross event finish lines never gets boring.
She was apprehensive about racing the 12K because she felt she hadn’t run that distance in a long time but and this is a big but, she has accomplished long distances including a marathon on her own pace and discipline during the pandemic. Margot is strong both physically and mentally. However, “we” signed up together with the intention of making a trip out of it and now she was flying solo — there was an “out” if she wanted one.
BUT that’s not how this story ended
Margot’s first triumph — the coach goes down sick and she says, “I am doing it, I signed up for it.”
Recently, Margot shared with me her new way of thinking, “I am going to do it now while I can,” a message she was reminded about from her late father. Don’t put it off. We chatted a couple of times the day before the race and she diligently went through a short session reminding her body about how to move quickly and efficiently. During her drive up to Cedar, we spoke in length about the experience. Get comfortable, find your groove, take the first 6K and make it a comfortable tempo run. Break down the remainder in pieces focusing on 1K, and one step at a time and when you are done 9K remind yourself of how strong you feel and you only have 3K to go — easy peasy. You do that all the time.
Margot reported back and I saw it on her Strava that kilometre 10 was her strongest and fastest. She had the mental capacity at that point to think about what we discussed….she was three-quarters done. Margot finished the race crushing her goal by more than three minutes and ironically surpassing my predicted finish time for her by three seconds — yes.
I predicted her time without telling her because often we don’t realize just how strong we are.
Training for yourself is fun, challenging, rewarding and at times can be frustrating when faced with injuries and/or illness. Training someone that is full of great discipline, desire and determination is rewarding and humbling. I have great respect for those that are brave enough to get to the start line and learn from every finish line — whether it’s my body or theirs getting across it.
Thank you Margot and a big congratulations on your first ever ribbon. Yup — the icing on the cake — Margot earned a ribbon in her age category for her efforts and when she told me it was her first one ever, in my mind it turned into a huge trophy. I wish I was there to personally witness it but the pictures sure tell a lot.
The moral of this story…
Do it when you can!
