This post is dedicated to my running partner from Cali and the man who came back this fall with a new level of fight. You both inspire me more than you know and I promise to keep my foot on the pedal as long as you’re both cheering me on…
So when I last left this series of posts, I had let you in on my marathon training plans. I have been making progress on this front, but I must admit, my running didn’t step change until I learned not to train alone.
Last spring, I started running with a classmate. I noticed we could run my normal route much faster than I could alone. She was quietly increasing my speed. There was something about her pulling me along that caused me to increase my speed. I know I do this when I am being competitive, but I had never experienced someone else setting the pace to improve my skills. It absolutely worked, because by this summer I had decreased my time by almost 2 minutes.
The next step change came a few weeks ago, when one of my classmates encouraged me to go out on my road bike. This was a perfect cross training idea because pre-B school I rode quite often. What I hadn’t experienced were the hills of New Hampshire and Vermont.
I was stuck, literally and physically! We had made it about 23 miles when we got to the last hill near Tuck. At this point, the ride shifted from being a physical challenge , to a mental battle. Simply, if I took my foot off the pedal, I wouldn’t make it up the hill.
He and I were on our ascent and I was halfway up, with him urging me on from ahead. I passed one person and she popped off of her bike as I passed. When her riding partner came off of his saddle, I heard myself say, “I can’t do it” and I was off the bike. On that incline, there was no hope of recovery. I had lost the mental battle.
On that day, so many things in my life became clearer, particularly a lot of the conversations I had been having with myself about where I could go in my career. Despite people pulling for me and believing in me, like the classmates described here, I always seem to take myself out of the game. I find a way to limit myself with “I can’t or I’m not good enough”. Frankly that isn’t going to work where I am heading with my career.
So with that insight, I started writing cover letters and interviewing. I started to cast my net more narrowly because I know what I want and I believe I am qualified to achieve it (vs. casting wide so I have options). This is absolutely a first for me and honestly it feels good. For the first time I have clarity on where I am heading because that is what my mind it fixed on and it is what my network is pacing me for.
Stay tuned…more to come once interviews start in a few weeks.
Read the full article: What’s missing from my game? Part 2