The summer foundation is coming to a swift end! I am amazed every year how fast it goes by, but my amazement is not a negative one...it is an exciting one! We have spent a lot of time and miles, building up for this very reason...not to dread that school is around the corner (ok, I can understand a little dread about that!), but we have worked for this time of the year that is upon us! Let's make sure our attitude matches the effort that we have been putting forth all summer! Just remember, we never stop building the foundation! We will begin adding or tweaking parts of our training, but we always work on what's most important...our foundation!

It is HARC week, and that means that this week is mostly on your own.  WE REALLY WANT TO REMIND EVERYONE, THAT WHETHER YOU ARE GOING OR NOT, THIS DOES NOT LESSEN WHAT YOU MEAN TO THIS TEAM...OR WHAT KIND OF RUNNER YOU CAN AND WILL BE! Just like it was a choice to balance your own personal goals, time, and effort for running and other things this summer...it is still a choice to continue to keep improving, want something better for YOU, and know that all will be well, if you will keep trusting and working!  We have great things to look forward to this season!  WE REALLY FEEL THAT SOMETHING SPECIAL IS ABOUT TO TRANSFORM AMONG OUR TEAM...EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU ARE A PART OF THAT!

Every Moment Matters!  Just like YOU!
M&M's

The Difference...

Sometimes, the day or the moment or even longer...just doesn't seem to be flowing like it should! You are giving your Best to have a good attitude...You are trying to keep your miles up...You are coming as often as you can...You really want to improve...and sometimes it just doesn't seem enough!  If you have ever felt this way, then congratulations...YOU ARE HUMAN!  Here is the beautiful thing about the struggles we have or the "up's and downs" that we encounter in life (or even daily!).  Those type of MOMENTS really allow us to be so much more! Some of life's most powerful MOMENTS come from learning how to ADJUST to anything that comes our way! And running is one of the Best ways to figure this out...if we let it...if we really use it!
Saturday, as I took some of you out to "the Beach" (more like bug infested swamp, it sounds like from your dailymile posts), I watched you guys run off, and I sat there on one of the rocks, I was just wishing that I could be out there! I was having a little pity party about my foot and how would I be able to run my marathon on Monday, or still keep my miles up, and even be able to run at HARC...when it just simply hit me (maybe it was just the Lake smell clearing my head!), "STOP SULKING!" EVERYONE HAS MOMENTS of frustration, MOMENTS that don't make sense, MOMENTS that seem to hold us back...NO ONE gets out of this from happening in our lives, so what do we do?  We have a choice...a choice to do something about it or just keep having a pity party (which changes nothing!).  I truly felt inspired as I continued to watch YOU RUN in the distance, that I really wasn't alone...as much as I wanted to be out there, I felt blessed to have come as far as I have come...to have had so many great MOMENTS up to this point (yes...all the up's and the down's).  So I felt inspired that I would not worry about how long it might take to take care of my "problems" or if I had to postpone certain goals for the MOMENT...I would make new ones and pursue the original ones, in time!  I felt excited to do what I could do...I would go home and bike and not pout about it, but feel blessed that I could still do something!  I felt honored to just be with YOU, as we do most days (even the simple, mundane days...or are they just "mundane" days?), because we are together and those are the MOMENTS that really make it worth it...that make it fun!  So CHOOSE to make the MOMENTS something more than we think they are...CHOOSE to make every day count, because you never know when you might be just "sitting on a rock watching everyone else" and wondering what you should do.  CHOOSE to do something about it...whatever it can be...that is

"THE DIFFERENCE!

Just a little side note: HARC considerations have been sent out this last week.  Please, if you did not make it this time...DO NOT LET THIS DETERMINE WHAT YOU CAN BE!  Most of the time, YOU realize why you may have missed out (your mileage, your attendance, your communication, you are still really new at all of this, etc.)...but that shouldn't stop you from realizing what you WILL still accomplish! As much as HARC is a special place...it is just that because we require it to be absolutely earned and a reward for doing just a little more.  We are not about "punishing" people for not doing the requirements or whether you are the fastest or slowest...we are about REWARDING the EFFORT that is required to make it to HARC...it really is some of the little things, the little sacrifices that we make...just like we mentioned above in the post, those are the things that make THE DIFFERENCE! So keep CHOOSING to do something with this running thing...CHOOSE to take the MOMENTS we have right now and make them something to REMEMBER! 

YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

What are YOU Running Towards?

Instead of asking "Why are you running,"...because YOU are obviously running, we felt it was more appropriate to ask, what is it that YOU are Running Towards?

It appears easy enough to set some goals in the beginning, but sometimes things just don't seem as "smooth" as we assumed they would be (notice, we didn't say "easy"...we all understand that work, some sacrifice, picking yourself up, were all going to be part of it! At some point, WE must realize that in the daily grind of doing this day in and day out, that getting back up when we struggle, that being a part of something bigger (like this Team), that choosing to see what you are Running Towards...that is what allows us to keep going, to want just a little more, to keep doing the workout even though you may have felt like sleeping in...to take a step back sometimes (see the great things you have done, soak it in, and then start up again), to believe that in the end... 

 IT IS ALL WORTH IT!  

I recently read a very profound quote by someone that really reminded me of what makes Running to US, so special.  We tend to look at others, each other, and compare.  We think that someone has extraordinary talent, well beyond your own, and that there is no way YOU will ever become "that!"  Sure, there are people with more talent than US, but that does not make them extraordinary!  What we need to realize is that ALL OF US ARE ORDINARY!  Being human is an ordinary thing...we are all made similar, we all have similar opportunities, we all struggle, we all love doing well, etc!  So what makes something "ordinary" become "EXTRAORDINARY?"  IT IS SIMPLY A CHOICE! We are ordinary people CHOOSING to do EXTRAORDINARY things with what we have been given! That is what separates the GREATS from the goods.  That is what allows even the back of the pack runners to experience bliss by improving MINUTES off their times...to help the varsity level runner realize that the Little Things (times, attitude, perspective, each other), are combined TOGETHER to make something just ordinary (LIKE RUNNING), and make it EXTRAORDINARY!

So...we ask YOU to remind yourself about what it is YOU are really Running Towards?  Take that "ordinary" Moment (of getting to practice, showing up when you're tired, encouraging someone else, getting back up, taking a step back if needed to reset, to go a little farther than last time...etc!), and make is Extraordinary, simply by CHOOSING to make it that way!  Running in the mountains this last week, with no technology/service, I was reminded that the BEST way to make this running thing EXTRAORDINARY, is to simply just ENJOY what I was doing...it didn't matter how fast I went...I just went...and I loved being able to do just that!

Better than YOU used to be!

I have been reading a book for the last few weeks about what it takes to be Great!  Amazingly enough, it talks a lot about HOW WE CHOOSE TO LOOK AT OUR SITUATIONS...OUR MOMENTS!  Do we worry, doubt, and have fear about the things we are pursuing?  Even when it comes to simple things like running?  We often compare ourselves with each other too much, or with the last time we ran it, or if we ran with certain people, or well enough in our minds.  And, you need to know, that it is ok to want to get better, to pursue getting faster and working with your teammates, to help get EACH OTHER there!  But the first step to REALIZING that it is all POSSIBLE, is to CHOOSE TO LOOK AT THESE MOMENTS AS ANOTHER CHANCE TO IMPROVE...not being scared about what MIGHT happen...but to Focus on thinking, doing, acting, and being your BEST!  ATTITUDE!  Instead of looking at your teammate as your competition, look at them as an extension of yourself, because when we finally get out there and compete, WE NEED EACH OTHER!  Look to bettering YOU from where you have started...and that doesn't mean that every run or race, you have to get a faster time (life doesn't always work that way), but YOU will definitely know, when you cross that finish line, or that long run, or whatever type of run it might be, THAT YOU DID WHAT WAS REQUIRED, AND POSSIBLY EVEN MORE, by having a Great ATTITUDE! By being Better than YOU used to be!  This is one of those weeks where we start to separate ourselves...not because we don't want to be with each other, but those who are really committed, decide to keep showing up to practice (but with a renewed desire to better themselves and each other), they communicate regularly with Coaches about situations (their running, their schedules coming up, etc), they understand that what we ask of them, is for the BEST reason possible, they make the little sacrifices of what is asked of them from things like the Run Vivo Project, they go out of their way to check on each other and compliment each other, they do what the Coaches ask of them, because they have asked "why" so that they can learn, they DO what is required...EVEN WHEN COACHES AREN'T THERE!  You see, Running summer miles is not an advantage, but all the items listed above ARE! Let's CHOOSE to have Great ATTITUDES and keep moving forward!
You need to understand that time is going by faster than we imagined (even though it hasn't sped up in any way!)...HARC considerations are just around the corner (less than 2 weeks)!  There are 3 things that we look at really hard to make HARC such a special place.
1. You must be on track for 500 miles for the summer, which means that dailymile is up to date and your mileage is above the required amount (this still does not guarantee you are in, but it is the first thing we look at).
2. We then look at your attendance at practice and/or your communication with Coaches about your schedule!  There is no substitute for improvement than running with your Teammates! There is also no way that, we as your Coaches, can know if you are capable and ok to run the intense HARC runs, without being physically at practice and doing the full runs.
3. We then look to see if the person is truly capable of doing HARC (ability and for Safety!).  This is not about leaving people out...HARC IS THE MOST SPECIAL THING THAT WE OFFER IN OUR PROGRAM...so it is not about favorites...but it is definitely about EARNING it and sometimes, that just means it requires the BEST from you.  If you haven't been giving your Best to do these 3 things, then you probably know the outcome. 
With that all said...NEVER, EVER, STOP TRYING!  Always Believe that it is worth the effort to be your BEST! It doesn't matter if you got a late start, or if the obstacles seemed way too high...YOU REALLY ARE THE REASON WE HAVE THINGS LIKE HARC AND THIS PROGRAM!  So, keep working hard, keep wanting...make this week Amazing...with unbelievable ATTITUDE!

Keep it Simple! Winning is a byproduct of something bigger!

Either we are beginning to realize that we WANT and are WILLING to do what it takes to reach our goals in this running thing, or we are realizing that it's not as "high on our list" as we thought.  That doesn't mean that someone doesn't care about this Team or that it doesn't help or inspire them to be better...but the truth is really SIMPLE...here is how we keep it simple!  Sacrifice means working around the "obstacles" that ALL of US have and DECIDING which things must matter more to each of US.  Just because someone doesn't put running first, doesn't mean that they don't care about running...but in keeping this all SIMPLE, one must realize that if it isn't high on the priority list, then you will get out, what you put into it!  We, as your Coaches are not here to punish anyone for how much more or less someone puts into this endeavor...but YOU must also realize, the REWARDS are different for everyone, based on what you do put into this.  For those of you who have been with us for awhile, look back and see how far you have come...just your thought process alone, has probably DRASTICALLY changed from when you first started.  Realize that there are newbies who are feeling that same way right now...trying to figure it out...whether this is really worth the time or effort! We have kids who came to our summer miles mtg, ran for a few days, put a few miles on dailymile and when they saw how many miles others were putting, they haven't tried since...will we go out of our way when school starts to still try and help them to be with us?  Just think about what someone did for YOU when you started and how that MOMENT changed YOU!  I know I didn't realize the true need to sacrifice (prioritize what mattered to me!), when I began this journey many years ago!  Even now as your Coaches, we are constantly learning more and more about what really matters most to US!  Of course we want to WIN! We want to be State Champions, but we have realized that...

WINNING IS A BYPRODUCT OF SOMETHING BIGGER!  IT'S YOU! 

By focusing on the little things, on helping someone get over their fear of belonging, or belief in themselves, or being a part of this Team is worth more than any individual accolade, trying to hold yourself to a higher standard (like the Run Vivo project), and more...AUTOMATICALLY ALLOWS US TO DO GREAT THINGS...that includes Winning!

So our challenge to you this week, and every week...ARE YOU PERSONALLY GIVING WHAT YOU EXPECT TO GET OUT OF THIS?  It's that SIMPLE!  Be happy with what you have accomplished so far, and if you are not, then little by little, start changing that...communicate with us, with your teammates, and that will start a fire, that may seem small at first, but will take off and begin the change into something much bigger and better...no matter what level you may be at right now!

Here is another great reminder of why we started this...for some of us, this started a long time ago, for others, it has just begun..."but what really matters is that we remember that the Moments we have now, are what we will remember when it really matters!" - Coachie

 The video can seem a little "dramatic", but the point is powerful to remember!