A week or two ago, I watched the Tom Cruise version of Steve Prefontaine's story, Without Limits. One of my friends' sons is similar to Steve, he's that really fast kid that can't really find a home in team sports because he's too short, but very, very fast. I thought for him and the rest of us it would a good idea just to watch Steve's story and how far he was able to push himself in such little time. Steve Prefontaine was the ultimate hero and he always ran to win from the front because he knew no other way. In that 1972 Olympic 5000m final, he made a bold move at 600m to go and slowly slipped to 4th place in the last 100m. The announcers that day talked about Steve. They said that, "I think that Steve Prefontaine will win the Olympic 5000m in Montreal."
He never got that chance because he died on May 30, 1975 in a car accident after he had put together a rematch with the Finns at Hayward Field.
Pre stood for a lot of things. He represented athletes in that if you believe in something strong enough you can make it a reality as long as you are willing to hurt temporarily. He stood up to the AAU when athletes' were barely scraping by trying to chase the Olympic dream. Elite athletes are still facing this challenge with only being able to have one sponsor on their jersey. It makes sense for Galen Rupp, the US 10k record holder who is bringing in six-figures, and some of the other top athletes. For sub-elites who are not good enough to have a major sponsorship, they should be able to represent the hometown sandwich shop on their jersey, within reason, if that's who paid for their plane ticket to the trials. Please read up on this issue and support this cause as we head into another Olympic year.
Pre was willing to believe in himself so much that he knew that he could win in almost every race...almost.
As you continue or beginning running, think about what you are planning to get out of the experience through the process.
1) Do you want to run socially with friends and be healthy together?
Look in your community for local running clubs that run a few times a week and make friends on the run and enjoy talking/chatting while breathing a little harder than normal and making your heart stronger so you can live longer.
2) Do you want to eat more food than you should because you love eating which is highly important once you win races because in order to run faster you need enough fuel in the tank?
Again, remember, eating, exercise and sleep are all important. So try to figure out what balance works for you.
3) Do you want to make a certain team or place?
Sign up for a race that looks like fun locally. Once you feel comfortable running, sign up for a destination race and use running as an excuse to travel and overeat :-).
4) Do you aspire to beating a certain individual?
Beat them once and then move onto bigger and better things.
5) Do you want to run for hope for others getting healthy like you?
Then, sign up to run for charity. It is the easiest way to run a major marathon if you cannot hit the time standard. Or if you can hit the time standard and you do not want to run hard for 26.2 miles, it gives you an excuse to have fun with friends to raise awareness for _________ (maybe F.A.T. Chicks?).
6) Who is your hero?
For me, it depends on the day. My husband, my dad, my mom, and my friends all impact me and make me feel like the luckiest person on earth to have their support. I am forever grateful to be surrounded by them.
Point being, goals should be specific and general at the same time and have lasting power or else you will quickly lose motivation if your goal becomes elusive. So stop trying to lose weight or run a sub-4 hour marathon. When you set a goal that is not specific enough or that is too hard to reach in the time you have, you will never know whether know if you reached it and you won't get the yes feeling. Also, if you set one big goal, keep that prominently in the front of your mind because even if you pick up other small goals along the way, that goal is still the only one you truly care about because its the one that will make a difference in your life and keep you running.
Find an activity you like and do it, often. Because then through the enjoyment of the activity you will become happier, healthier and obviously one of the coolest people around. You need to be happy for you. When you set achievable and reasonable goals, you can feel a sense of personal accomplishment in that moment, move on, and continue living a purpose-driven life. If you share this excitement with others, they might want to join. So be prepared to have a fan club.
Still loving the December weather and taking full advantage of the holiday season to gain a few pounds to be stronger and faster next year.
Heidi
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