Saturday, May 13, 2017

Motivation - A Tribute Run

It's no secret Doha sucked for running. I completed a few marathons while living there but ran little, sometimes cross-training, sometimes sick, sometimes just plain done. The move to India has been an improvement, but not significant.  Which is why today, on my 20 mile run, I reflected a lot. This was the longest run, outside of a race, that I have done in 34.5 months - nearly 3 years!!!  Therefore, this run was a tribute to the motivators over the years that keep me going.

I started at 5am with a loop of the ridge, a 10k run lining the forest.  It was hot. My mind began to wander to sources of motivation. What came to mind are the people who impacted me in my early running.

Rod Yeacker - my former high school track coach and long-time friend. Usher in my wedding and perhaps the only person in Ortonville I still talk to. Rod helped pace me to my first 100 mile finish and ran numerous other races with me (Crystal Lake, the Crim, and Mississippi). He is my model for a father, professional, and coach, and without him I wouldn't be the adult runner I am today.

Mike Richmond - I am not saying he is "old," but he is a few years my senior, though he never felt like it. Uncle to a guy I used to run with a lot, Mike has always been a friend, a peer. Back in college I would run from his house, and we shared perhaps the worst run of all time together in the snow. This is the guy who runs from East Lansing to Ann Arbor carrying the game ball. He moved out to Cali, reinvented his life, and enjoys bombing down wooded trails. I think of him often on the run.

The Women - Liz Terhorst was one of the state's, maybe the nation's best, runners when she was just a sophomore in HS. She opted not to run in college, but still runs often, after multiple kids and a doctorate in physical therapy, not to mention winning the award for nicest person year after year. I know I can always count on her for a run, and I know she will take it out fast.  Sarah Walker - my wife. Star HS runner. Top 50 in the world in the steeplechase, former top 10 in elite marathons. Yet today she runs to run, for her. Ran every day of both pregnancies, right up till the birth. These ladies are strong.

My loop brings me to sunrise, and there is Bernie Manker, standing at the gate. Since no one else in the running group pitched up, I asked Bernie if he wanted to do a loop. He said he was still getting over injury, so like 9 min miles. I grinned, knowing Bernie. My fastest splits were coming soon.

We took off into the ridge, a wooded area next to campus with trails full of peacocks, pigs, cows, coyotes, and birds. Bernie is AES's Ashton Eaton, the pinnacle of athlete - he can do it all. Bernie was my motivation for the 60-day Ab Challenge I did recently. He is a beast.  He took me up hills and on a new route.

In the (relatively) cooler forest, I thought of other encounters I have had with people around the world.

Jason Coleman - A long-time AES man, Jason started running later in life, but he was hooked. He is the driving force behind AES Runners and is best known for his blog posts on mapping routes in the shape of things (a reindeer for Christmas, a turkey for Thanksgiving, the Millennium Falcon), all on his blog where he dedicates runs to people who donate to the fundraising he is doing to send needy students to summer camp. Jason created the shamrock route for my St. Paddy's party and dedicated it to me. Jason is equally known for playing Pokemon Go on his phone and holding a hell of a pace while he catches them all.  Pursue your passions, people.

Kirsten Leemans - The best training partner I ever had, he pushed me to my limits and beyond many times. Top 50 at Comrades - I don't care what year you do that, you are a balla. Late into the running life, he has never looked back. This man lives and breathes the run. He is the ultimate in no excuses. Rain, illness, work, stress, exhaustion - nothing would stop him from getting in the work he knows must be done. He is running when you are not. And that's why he will beat you. If Superman was a skinny bald dude, he'd be Kirsten. He has a set of guidelines, "Kirsten's Rules of the Fridge" which range from motivational quotes to outright attacks on your psyche. Never let him know you are hurting; it will just make him push more.

Lindsey Parry - The Coach. The man is the National Triathlon Coach for South Africa and Official Comrades Coach. Father, husband, son of a Comrades gold medalist, he does it all, day in and day out. And while he coaches some of the best athletes in the southern hemisphere, he still invites you in for a Coke and a beer post run. Everyone can learn something from this man.

Dr. Stan Fortuna - father to the above-mentioned Liz, I have known this guy for a long time. He always tracks my runs and sends me plenty of updates about his.  Stan finishes some and DNF's others, but he always has a lengthy write-up, is positive about the experience, and is thankful to everyone around him that made it happen, from those on the trail with him to family at home.  He understands the adventure is in the journey, not the destination, and I appreciate that. Hence my blog title.

Michael Trahan - a.k.a, Chase Pack or PB. A former athlete of mine, Michael is central to one of the craziest stories of my life. He has been with me for it all, from UNC to Leadville, and paced me the whole way at Western States. He was there for many failures on his own dime. He came to Comrades. We have an epic run planned next summer together.  He is my past and future of running.

Bernie and I circled back to campus, and I had 11.2 miles in the bag. I said goodbye and turned out again. But where? I wanted 16+, but Lodhi Garden is 6.6...that would make 17.8. Time to go. As I stumbled back in the increasing heat, things seemed to cool down, like the reverse of hypothermia. It was 90+ degrees, on its way to 110, and no breeze.  Yet I did not overheat.  When you get faced with the abnormal, you must draw on the abnormal - otherwise, it would be like any other day. So I got to thinking about guys who are abnormal to this story that I still draw on for strength.

Matt Tegenkamp - his future wife and mine ran together at MSU. We have been a big fan for a long time. I regret not going to his wedding (I was coaching university), but he came to mine. Great career, American record holder, one of the best Americans in his event for many years, maybe ever, and a hell of a good pacer. He was the model for my team when we wanted to learn how to run - signed autographs for each one of the guys. What a champ.

Kerron Clement - We crossed paths at University of Florida where I worked in the academic support office for athletes. Even though he was fresh off Gatorade National Athlete of the year, this big shot freshman still called his mother all the time; she was what was important to him. He is caring, happy, and gracious. Now he is a star, with a world record, World Championship, and Olympic Champion to his name; hell, he was in a Beyonce video! We kept in touch for several years after I left UF, but that faded. I doubt he would remember me, but I almost cried when he won Gold in Rio.

Steve Prefontaine - The only guy on here I haven't met, yet he reached me in a way few others could. Larger than life, he transformed running, during his life, after his death, and for me as a snotty 18-year-old. His rebellious streak was emulated by every teenager, and his determination is the stuff t-shirts are made about, books are written, and films dedicated to (all of them literally so). Cut down in his prime, he would have done even more than we ever imagined, and no one doubts that. If there was every proof that the soul lives on, it does with Steve Prefontaine.

I tagged the gate with 18 miles done. That was the longest I had run in years, and could have gone home. But something inside me said, "Keep going. 20 sounds sexier than 18 when you write it up."  So I headed out again, and up a long, 1 mile hill, and it got tough.

When it gets tough, I think of those who have it tougher.  Pain is, after all, relative. My mind goes out to my brother, Matt Walker, who does as much as anyone with half the legs, proving it isn't what you have but how you use it. I respect him because despite this difference, he hasn't changed a damn thing - or maybe he has changed everything....

At the point of most suffering, I cast my mind to Paralympians.  They are better than me. Stronger more determined.  I also think of Rick and Dick Hoyt; did you push your kid in marathons, ultras, and Ironmans, you prick?  Tired? Try climbing Mt. Everest blind like Erik Weihenmayer, you asshole. What are you bitching about? Tear a page out of Kirsten's rules of the fridge, take a concrete pill, and toughen the %$#@ up!

I touch the "summit" of the hill and start back down, a mile to home.  In the home stretch, the only motivation you need is yourself.  Because no matter who trained, encouraged, and paced you, you still have to take every step. A thousand voices can scream "quit!" but it takes only one to silence them - your own. I have won marathons, completed 100 milers and Ironmans, yet someone is always better, stronger, faster. We may temporarily emulate those to pull us through, but we must look inward to make the journey worth it.  What does anyone run for when they don't run for times, medals, or shoe companies? They run for themselves.  If you race for anything else, it is a race you can never win.

So here's to those who inspire us - and here's to you, finding your own reasons to pull out the shoes and head out the door.

Cheers! The ultimate post-race drink!


They'll tell you I'm insane
But I've got a blank space baby
And I'll write your name
__________________

3 comments:

  1. Great write up! Awesome to feel the inspiration.

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  2. "...yet someone is always better, stronger, faster." This humbling aspect of the sport is the thing that I love the most about it. The only thing that matters is overcoming the mental aspects. Great post, thanks for including me in it.

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  3. Amazing!! So honored to be included as a motivator for someone I look up to. Keep fighting! Can't wait to see you.

    Love you bud.

    ReplyDelete