PRACTICING WHAT I PREACH: IT AIN'T EASY!

Last week, my son, Stratton started a new semester of gymnastics. His first semester left him feeling as though he was ready for the Olympic trials. He has some natural abilities mostly based on the fact that at almost 9 years old he only weighs 48 pounds. This makes it easier for him to hoist himself into positions that other more gravitationally challenged children might have a bit of trouble with. And truth be told, most of the kids in his class (other than him) basically roll around on the floor picking their noses and grunting. So of course, he's a superstar.

Last week he came home from his new semester nearly in tears. He was placed in a group of kids ranging from 10 to 13 (remember, he's 8) who all have very strong skills. They were doing triple back flips into the "pit" and one handed cartwheels and he was struggling just to reach the high bar, which just is not possible for him without standing on the low bar. He came home ready to quit or at the very least be transferred back to the class with the floor rolling grunters.

My motherly advice was this: if you want to quit, you can, and if you want to go back to the other class you can - totally up to you. But can I ask you a couple of questions? Yes - okay, do you like stepping over those kids on the floor? No. Do you think you will learn new skills by staying in a class with kids who are rolling on the floor? No. Do you want to be challenged or do you want to always stay the same? Challenged. Do you just want to be the best in the class? Yes! Even if that means just being the best floor rolling, nose picking, grunter? No! So what do you think you might want to do? Wait before you answer the question - let's talk running for a minute - I never miss an opportunity to talk running!

There is a saying that "you have to run your own race". It's not about the person in front of you or behind you. Just you. Everybody has a different set of circumstances that they bring to the race. Their circumstances are not our business or problem and certainly not within our control. It is our business to work with what we've got and do our best. You just have to run your own race!

I'm proud of his decision: he's sticking with the difficult class. I am fully confident that one day he'll be doing triple back flips and one handed cartwheels. The physical skills can be learned but we have to remember to teach the mental skills too.

Today I had to swallow a big dose of my own medicine however. I was scheduled for a 7 mile run. I carefully reviewed the course for the 10-mile race that is coming up (2 weeks from tomorrow) and picked out the 7 most hilly, treacherous miles on the course and decided that if I am not going to do the full 10 prior to the race (which I am not planning to do, yikes!) I should at least be mentally prepared for the hardest parts. The only place I could find to park my car was at the bottom of a massive hill (pictured here, but I assure you the picture does not do it justice!). But to get my seven in, I would have to climb that hill at the very end of the run and then jog back down to finish. Good prep since in the race this hill falls at about mile 9 and is followed by another of equal stature that stretches about to the finish.

As I stepped out of my car two quick runners pranced past me . . . I nervously hop in behind them and think, well at least they are in front of me so they won't have to pass me. Then I turn around and I notice that there is a stream of about 15 runners pouring down the big hill right toward me, evidently everyone decided to come out and run "the course" today. Ughh, I do a quick calculation and figure that they will catch up to me and overtake me on THE hill (the one that should be called a mountain). And in fact they do. One by one they prance by me on that hill. So light on their feet that it actually looks like their feet never hit the ground. I count 1..2..3...4...13...14...15 there they all go! Well good, at least no one is watching my butt in these ridiculous tights anymore. As I watch them disappear in front of me I fantasize about each of them having to run with a 30 lb back pack on. Bet they'd be running with me then! I think about my advice to my son. About running his own race. It's just not easy not to care about what everyone else is doing. In my head I buy it, after all, it's just not physically possible for me to run their race (as my feet do actually hit the ground, and stay there for a while, and I am carrying that 30 lbs). I'm cool with it, I know it's going to be lonely. But I check my heart rate and I am way off the plan. I have now been running "tempo" for 3 miles and the plan for today was to start out in zone one and work my way to tempo by mile 6. Guess whose race I was running? Not mine! I plodded along considering this for a while and then as I rounded the bend I saw "them" waaay out ahead, but I could see them!!! The other runners. It's really hard to just let them go. I remind myself that last year they were probably all preparing for this same race and I was "running" in cycles on the treadmill: 2 minutes walking/1 minute running for a whole 20 minutes. And now I am 2 weeks away from a 10 mile road race in which I intend to come in last but to run the entire 10 miles.

So I need to practice what I preach and run my own race. Got it! But after coming to that conclusion I still had several miles of pondering left so I got to thinking how much of a metaphor that is for life. We all have to run our own races with our own set of circumstances. I am surrounded by so many powerful people who inspire me. Starting with Camryn on her hard diabetic road. She's running her race. And so many friends and family members who are cancer survivors - running their own races.

One of my personal inspirations is a friend who is a two time breast cancer survivor, has completed multiple marathons and triathlons and has her own share of everyday challenges like the rest of us. She's currently training for the Boston Marathon, perhaps I'll run with her on Monday and she'll remind me what it means to be a true champion. Oh, by the way, she's turning 68 this summer!