Some of you may know (but most may not), that this summer, our Country celebrated an amazing milestone! 50 years ago, we landed on the moon! That's cool, but Whooop-dee-doo...right! But here is the amazing part of it...50 + years ago, someone DREAMED of something much bigger than anyone had dreamed about. They looked up into the sky and saw the stars far, far away and the glow of the moon and thought, "Lets go there!" Now, there were other "motivators" along the way (beat the Russians in space exploration), but it was the spirit of coming together to pursue something that was literally "OUT OF THIS WORLD!" You need to understand that the technology to do this was way beyond what we had 50 years ago! But that didn't stop them! Airline companies were just barely improving the ability to fly across the ocean's and hold more than 50 people at a time. Computers barely existed and the size of one computer was the size of a house (your cell phones are more powerful than those computers today)! To break the atmosphere required the power of rockets strapped to your ship with the most potent fuel every made and then hope that you calculated correctly (Math!), to come in at the right angles, speed, and location so that you could land softly in a massive body of water called the ocean (and hope they find you)! That doesn't even begin to explain all the details of LANDING on a place that had never been touched before, change in gravity, lack of air, and then attempt to take-off from that same place and get home! These obstacles didn't stop people from pursuing it, in fact, it propelled them to never stop trying! To take those "FIRST STEPS" onto the moon, was a huge undertaking of A LOT OF PEOPLE doing their part to make the DREAM happen.
We also, have taken our "First Steps" of the season! We have just begun firing the ignition of our Rockets...we have put in massive amounts of time and work and sacrifice, to pursue a DREAM! It doesn't matter the obstacles that may stand in our way...we will find the courage, the strength, the desire, the togetherness, to help each other to keep taking those STEPS, toward getting better! The Premier Inv. was an awesome "First Steps" race for us! We had many people (Varsity and ALL), realize that there is a different feeling among our Team this year! Some of you may have looked at your times and thought, "I'm faster than that, why is my time a little slow?" Don't worry about your times exactly (although, many did get some really good times...PR"s!), most of you know, that there is so much more in YOU, and in US, so keep DREAMING, keep talking with each other about the good things and want to keep getting better, keep Trusting the work...it's the only way! Those "First Steps" always lead to greater things...TOGETHER!
You know that we have mentioned many times that we have not "arrived" anywhere yet! And that is true, but what you may not realize are the many little things that you have done to be where you are now! You all have recognized this summer, that it was going to take just a little bit more than you have before, that it was going to require a little bit more dedication, sacrifice, and belief! You can see and FEEL that great things only can happen if we are willing to do the little things...a little bit better!
As we are about to start this season, we want to remind you that "this season" already started last December (for most of you!). That even though, we have our first race of the 2019 season, this Saturday, that you have been constantly building (BECOMING!), what you wanted to be, for some time already (and it will continue to happen till you die.). So we want to help you recognize that you are not the same runner you were when we started! It doesn't matter if it's your first year, or your 4th...you have CHANGED, you have BECOME something BETTER!
We want you to recognize the process that has taken place...not so that you can feel complacent or that you are already "there." It's to help you understand that you are ready to believe in yourself, in each other, in this Team, and run with confidence...that when you get on that starting line, sure you'll have those same nerves acting up, but that you will also FEEL a calm, a strength, a drive that wasn't there before! All you have to do is look at previous Canyon times (yes, last year is updated now!), and look at this summer's Canyon times and you will witness a TRANSFORMATION! It's not always about comparing...you know that we have taught you that, but you must also recognize the distinct CHANGE that has occurred from all the work that you have done...the sacrifice, the time, the consistency, the dedication, the belief in something bigger (even though you couldn't always understand why)! Just look at the Canyon Times from last year, 2 years ago, and so forth, and see what you have done this summer! Even if your times, aren't as fast as you wanted them to be, some of you were unsure if the work was paying off, and yet, look at how much you have CHANGED over the summer, how many MINUTES have been taken off! Look at the significant CHANGES in how many kids have improved! How many girls there are that have made the Canyon club or took more than 4-5 minutes off their first time running it, to where they are now...UNBELIEVABLE! To our guys, who we saw 11 boys under 26 minutes!...Never before has that happened! And many more boys who have CHANGED their previous years bests, by minutes to this summer!
See the good that you are doing! It's hard sometimes to see the CHANGE when you have such a great Team and maybe it feels like you aren't moving up...but look at what you have BECOME due to the challenge of GREATNESS! Look at the Strength that has CHANGED, the drive that has CHANGED, the commitment that has CHANGED, the "times" that have CHANGED, the mindset that has CHANGED! NO, we have not "arrived" anywhere yet...but we sure hope that you are Excited, that you are seeing and believing in the CHANGE that has taken place and that you now move forward and have FUN showing that CHANGE! Don't just take our word for it...go look! Whether you improved a lot, or just a little, or were consistent...the most important thing to understand is that
YOU HAVE CHANGED!
Challenge for the week!: Go back and read over the posts for the summer before our race on Saturday (on the right side of the blog, you will see years and months which then have the title of the post)! See the CHANGE that has taken place by remembering where we have been and where we are STILL GOING! It will make a difference, if you do this throughout the week!
I was recently at an event, and I witnessed this mom and her little 8 or 9 year old son, following her to their seats. The boy looked very tired and worn out, and it was obvious why. He had a bald head and sunken eyes due to a fight with cancer. He looked so frail and yet so tough, so I couldn't help but watch this little boy as we waited for the event to start. I noticed he would lean on his mom's arm every so often and pat her leg. But one time, he simply sat forward and placed his head in his hands as he leaned forward, to rest his head. I could see mom whisper and her lips asked if he was ok? I could see the boys lips say that he was just tired. Then mom patted him gently and told him to lay down on her lap, and this is the part that just struck me...the little boy simply said, "I'm ok mom, I GOT THIS!" It made me realize that no matter the situation, the circumstances...we don't always get to choose WHAT we face, but we get to choose HOW we face situations. That little boy inspired my Heart to WANT to be better, to know that "I GOT THIS!"
I was asked, just recently, "HOW can we become better, Coach? What do we need to do to really take the next step?" At first, I wasn't exactly sure how to answer that directly...I mean, there are so many factors that can affect the PROCESS! But you may already know how we like to respond to most questions, we like to keep things SIMPLE and definitely POSSIBLE!
WE NEED TO DECIDE, THAT IT IS WORTH DOING WHAT IT TAKES!
Are we truly desirous to TRUST our Coaches, to communicate with our Coaches and each other, EVERY SINGLE DAY?...Are we reminding ourselves EVERY SINGLE DAY, what our beliefs are about running?...Are we telling ourselves what we will be EVERY SINGLE DAY?...Are we reading EVERY SINGLE DAY, what our goals are to ourselves so that we KNOW it's worth doing?...Are we training EVERY SINGLE DAY (even on Sunday, rest day!), to be exactly what we believe we are?...Are we taking care of ourselves, EVERY SINGLE DAY, by hydrating, eating, sleeping, thinking, talking, smiling, like the Champion we really want to be?...Are we being POSITIVE with our training EVERY SINGLE DAY?...Are we being courageous (overcoming doubt and fear with Love and Gratitude), EVERY SINGLE DAY?...Are we simply seeing the good in ourselves and each other, EVERY SINGLE DAY?! We could go on and on...YOU can fill in whatever is necessary for You and your Team, if you need to, but EVERY SINGLE DAY is a GIFT! It is a blessing and a privilege to pursue what we are pursuing, so remember...
YOU GOT THIS...EVERY SINGLE DAY!
Train your Mind, your Heart, your Capacity to do the little things, EVERY SINGLE DAY...
and you will be amazed at what will happen!
I found this video on Kipchoge about what separates him from others (in case you don't know anything about Kipchoge, he holds the World Record for the Marathon and was the one who starred in the Breaking 2 hours for the marathon a couple of years ago). This may be geared towards the marathon, but can really be valuable in lots of other aspects...ENJOY!
