The Race

Successful methods of motivation and the behavior that it inspires are as varied as the personalities we all possess. But there are some lessons that seem to have a universal inspirational affect.

Of all the stories I've read, and I've real a lot, "The Race" by D.H. Groberg, has made an indelible impact. It teaches us one of life's greatest lessons.

They all lined up so full of hope,
each thought to win the race,
Or tie for first, or if not that,
at least take second place.

And fathers watched from off the side,
each cheering for his son;
And each boy hoped to show his dad
that he would be the one.

The whistle blew, and off they went,
young hearts and hopes afire,
To win, to be the hero there
was each young boy's desire.

And one boy in particular
whose dad was in the crowd,
Was running in the lead and thought,
my dad will be so proud.

But as they sped down the field
across a shallow dip,
The little boy who thought to win,
lost his step and slipped.

Trying hard to catch himself,
his hands flew out in brace,
and mid the laughter of the crowd,
he fell flat on his face.

So down he fell and with him hope,
he couldn't win, not now;
Embarrassed, sad, he only wished
to disappear somehow.

But as he fell his dad stood up,
and showed his anxious face;
Which to the boy so clearly said;
get up and win the race.

He quickly rose, no damage done,
behind a bit, that's all;
And ran with all his might and mind
to make up for his fall.

So anxious to restore himself,
to catch up, to win.
His mind went faster than his legs,
he slipped and fell again.

He wished then he had quit before,
with only one disgrace;
I'm hopeless as a runner now,
I shouldn't try to race.

But in the laughing crowd he searched,
and found his father's face,
That steady look that said again,
get up and win the race.

So up he jumped to try again,
ten yards behind the last;
If I'm going to gain those yards
I've gotta move real fast.

Exerting everything he had,
he regained eight or ten;
But trying so hard to catch the lead
he slipped and fell again.

Defeat; he lay there silently,
a tear dropped from his eye;
There's no sense in running anymore
three strikes I'm out, why try.

The will to rise had disappeared
all hope had fled away;
So far behind, so error prone
I'll never go all the way.

I've lost - so what's the use he thought,
I'll live with my disgrace;
But then he thought about his dad
who soon he'd have to face.

Get up - an echo sounded low,
get up and take your place;
you were not meant for failure here,
get up and win the race.

With borrowed will, get up, it said,
you haven't lost at all;
For winning is no more than this,
to rise each time you fall.

So up he rose to run once more,
and new commit;
He resolved that win or lose the race,
at least he wouldn't quit.

Three times he'd fallen, stumbling,
three times he rose again;
Now he gave it all he had,
and ran as though to win.

They cheered the winning runner
as he crossed the finish line first place;
Head high and proud and happy,
no failing, no falling, no disgrace.

But when the fallen youngster
crossed the line last place,
The crowd gave him the greater cheer,
for finishing the race.

And even though he came in last
with head bowed low unproud,
You would have thought he won the race
to listen to the crowd.

And to his dad, he sadly said,
I didn't do so well;
To me you won, his father said,
for you rose each time you fell.

And now when things seem dark
and hard and different to face,
the memory of that little boy
helps me in my race.

For all of life is like that race
with ups and downs and all,
And all you have to do to win,
Is rise each time you fall.

So, each time you trip and fall,
"Get Up and Win That Race"

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Ironman Chattanooga: We Got This

It has been a year to remember. It was on September 4, 2013 when we jumped, head first, into this Ironman journey. Some first timers, others returning to a distance very familiar to them, but all of us dove into the unknown; The Inaugural Ironman Chattanooga. The reasons for doing this, we have previously discussed, are as varied as there are triathletes vying to earn the title of "Ironman".

Through this journey, we were tested. Our will was tested. Our determination and physical endurance was tested. Our mental constitution was tested. We have found how much discomfort and pain we can endure and how far our limits can be extended. We bent, but we did not break.

And now most, if not all of us, will soon enter the taper period of our training; we have long waited for this. We have followed a strict schedule. We piled on the miles in the pool, on the bike and on the pavement. Some came easy, others not so. We worked on improving and perfecting our stroke if only to cut a few seconds. We practiced our nutrition and for the most part, we have it figured out, we pray however, that nothing changes in the next couple of weeks.

We became comfortable and familiar with those 4 am alarms. We ran in the snow. We ran in the rain. We rode with the head wind and when lucky enough, we rode when the wind was at our backs. Those 3 hour rides, became four, then five and then six or more. We rode enough century rides to make ourselves believe that an 80 miler was an easy (relative term) ride. They were not. When our training schedule came in, we gasped at those bricks. Oh my goodness, those bricks. At first they were easy (relative term). Okay, no... they were not.

We realized early on that this could not be possible without the unyielding support of our family. We became strangers in our own home. But questions were never asked and our mission became theirs. There's not enough paper, enough ink, enough space, enough words to express how grateful we are. So we will do this in the privacy of our own homes, in our own words, at the right time. We are lucky. Very lucky.

We got this.

We are nervous, we are stressed, we are apprehensive, we don't know what to expect. Its natural to worry. Its natural to ask. Its natural to wonder. We asked questions because we want to know. We look for support where we can find it and when we find it, we cling to it. We joined a fraternity of Ironman brothers and sisters. Some of us may not be Ironman yet, but all of us, God willing, will be.

As race day approaches our mind set will be on notice; on high alert. On very high alert. We will be touchy, moody, short tempered and most of us will become quiet. Very quiet. We will climb into a shell and turn off the chatter. We now have the information we need to figure this out. What's our plan again? What will I do? How will I perform? How will I swim? Bike? Run? Lost of questions that we know the answers to but now its time to put it all together.

We will visualize. Every step of our day, we will visualize. We will leave nothing to chance. But we know we cannot predict everything so we will be at peace knowing that we will race the race that's given us and execute the plan we bring. What's beyond our control, we will accept, adapt and move on.

We are at peace.

And now you're there. Time that has been filled with never ending workouts, is now filled with that well earned rest. But while you know you need this rest, your mind will begin to wonder as it begins to wander. There will  be doubt. Have I done enough? What if I had done this? What if I had done that? What happens if? This happens because your mind doesn't know yet, what your body already does. Yes, you are ready.

Have Faith. Have faith in your training. Have faith in yourself.

Finishing an Ironman is no accident. It's the result of hard work, determination and grit. It's the result of those never ending workouts. The results of that missed family time. The result of endless self conversations when you asked yourself why you were doing this. Remember that first bike ride or first solo run when you wondered how in the world would you be ready? That seems so long ago.

And now you're here, among the hundreds of hopefuls. Among the crowd of nerves. Your bags have been turned in, your body has been marked and you have found your place in line. A line that will inch closer to the start when the cannon sounds. When the cannon sounds you will know that your day is about to begin, you will know that you will soon morph into the beast you trained to become. You put on your swim cap, and for one last time, you adjust your goggles.

You jump into the river. The swim will be long. It will take forever, but you reach your destination and when the volunteers reach to give you a helping hand you will know, with a smile on your face you will show, that that one very important step in your journey is behind you. Its time to move on for the clock is ticking. You have cut-off times to meet; no time to celebrate. There will be plenty of that later. But first things first. Time to get on the bike.

As you find your way into the course you will hear the crowd. Yes, those cheers are for you. They're all for you, and those around you. As the miles come, the crowd will thin and the clock will tick. You settle into a pace and you become one with your bike, one with the road. You have broken down your ride into segments because 112 miles at once is much more than you can image right about now. The first 20 miles go by, then the next 20. Before you know it you've reached your special needs bag where you will find, among other things comfort in knowing that your ride is half way done. You saddle up again and you keep going. 20 more mile after 20 more miles.

And now you're in your home stretch. You see the crowds getting bigger and bigger again. You reach your destination and a crowd of volunteers are waiting for you, waiting to take your bike and have you go on. Yes, you have a date with a marathon. You hand off your bike and another volunteer is waiting to hand you your running bag. You go into the tent and quickly realize that from here on out, it's all up to you, your own two legs. Swim... check. Bike...check. Run... here we go.

Keep your Focus. On the task at hand.

And then you're off. First step of a thousand. Your legs are heavy, but they want to move. You fight the desire to push it right off the gate, you know if you do, it will get ugly. So you pace yourself. You have a plan. You will run your plan.

You make it to the first mile, the first aid station. You walk through this because you have to, not because you want to. You take something cold. It's going to be a long haul and you have to settle into your run. You remember you have a plan, you have. to run. your plan.

The miles come slowly. Much slower than you wish they did, but you battle through with the help of the crowd. Your family and your friends are close to you, closer than they've been all day. They encourage you to keep going. You do it. You move on. People are holding signs, you read them. You read them all. You smile at some, you laugh at others. Right about now they all make sense even if they don't. "I'll have to remember that one" you tell yourself.

Half way through you make it to your second, and last, special needs bag. You know now that you have 13.1 miles (give or take) to go. You can do this. You find encouragement in what you find in your bag, perhaps its a note, or maybe a picture, or a verse. Something you put in there to help you make it home. Again, you smile and you keep going.

The aid stations are your salvation. Not just because of the goodies they have for you, but because of the volunteers. Those awesome people that gave up their day to make sure you have a good day. You thank them, you thank them all. That puts a smile on your face, which puts a smile on their face. And then there it is, Chicken Noodle Soup. Cold Chicken Noodle Soup. Take the Chicken Noodle Soup. And flat Cola. Yes, take this as well.

You've heard of mile 18. This will be your last test. You wait for it. If you're lucky you'll run right through it. It hurts. It hurts like hell but you run right through it. You past the test. If you're not lucky enough you'll have to slow down, way down. Maybe you'll have to stop. Stop if you must, but never sit down. Don't ever sit down.

You reach mile 20 and you know that its all downhill from here. Each step is a struggle but you fight through this. One foot in front of the other. Slower than before but you still manage. You find encouragement giving out encouragement. Find a buddy, find a friend, find a stranger. There are no strangers on the course at this point. We're all friends. We're all together in this. Someone else is struggling just like you are. Give them a lift. This will give you a lift.

3.1 miles to go. That's a 5k. With no disrespect to anyone out there, you think to yourself "I can do this in my sleep". The finish line is within reach.

You will Finish strong.

All the emotions of your entire Ironman journey will come together at this point. You'll have flashbacks of all those times when you thought you could never, or how in the world. You pick up your pace because now you can. You found it within you. You're coming home in style.

And then there it is. The finisher's chute awaits you. It's lined up, both sides, with people watching you. All eyes are on you. You've planned it just right and you're there all alone. You're high-fiving each and everyone in sight. Yes sir, yes ma'am, these cheers, the applause, its all for you. You have earned it.

And then you hear it. You've dreamed of this moment. You thought of this moment, and here it is. You cross the finish line, you hear your name. Your legs are wobbly for they have no more, some may need a catcher, others will not. There's no shame in needing a catcher. You let them help you if you need it. They put that medal around your neck, they give you a bottle of water. They take your picture and they hand you off to your loved one.

You hug them. All of them. Everyone cries. You don't want to let go, for you want this moment to last forever. And then, just like that you realize that you in fact are an IRONMAN.

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Mind Games

"Our reaction to a situation literally

has the power to change the situation itself."

We have all heard the old saying: "Pain is temporary, pride is forever", but often times getting from the "pain" to the "pride" is a treacherous proposition.

As triathletes and runners, as well as cyclists and swimmers, we have our training plan nailed to the smallest detail. We know what to do, when to do it and how to do it. We get up each and everyday knowing exactly what's on the agenda for that particular date and time; how long a swim, how long a ride, how long a run.  We watch our progress as time ticks and brings us closer to our goal, whatever that may be.

But as time passes, our body begins to take a hit. The longer the workouts, the more difficult they seem. Progression is methodical but it takes it's toll on our joints, bones, muscles and most dangerously, our mind.

As our physical being begins to ache, we often know what to do. A date with our masseuse, a session with the foam roller, a stint in the hot tub or ice bath, an extra day's rest. Most often, one or a combination of these, is enough to get us back on track.

But what happens when we begin to feel sluggish, in a way that we start not looking forward to our workouts? What happens when the struggle to finish the laps or miles becomes a chore as opposed to a a joy? One of the most important elements of our journey is the "fun". We must have fun. We must look forward to each workout. We must look forward to the progression and the work required to see improvement. Without fun, well... it's not going to be worth it.

At least for me. I have to have fun. But remember that "fun" is relative.

We are not the only ones that are affected when we lose the edge. Our personality changes and those around, those that support our journey, are affected as well. We become irritable, we complain about "everything", we start driving our loved ones away. All of the sudden we could find ourselves alone.

But we continue. We continue because we're not quitters. We continue because, heaven forbid, we made a commitment and we're going to follow through, no matter what. But the journey becomes miserable and gets more difficult each and every day.

So, what's going on? How did we get here? How did things fall so far out of control?

Mind Games.

Before I go on, I must tell you that I'm not a Sport Psychologist, I don't have a fancy degree in the matter, I haven't studied hundreds of subjects to come up with any answers. What I have however, is experience. Real life experience in the subject.Those of you that have followed me for any time at all know that I am not a life long athlete, far from it. Real far from it. At age 52, I was still on the couch, gaining weight and wasting my life away. And then things changed.

I have learned that the body will go longer and farther than the mind thinks is can. Often, the mind wants you to give up, to call it a day, long before your body is ready to do so. You're tired, you ache, there are a thousand other things, your mind tells you, you'd rather be doing. You will look for excuses and options. "I will do this workout later", "I really need to take today off", "my knee hurts", "it's cold outside", "the wind is blowing", "the water is cold", "the sun is in my eyes", etc.

So I have a plan. And I work my plan.

1). I always take the stinking thinking thing and turn it into a positive. When it shows up, I know its time to buckle down and push through. It's my sign.

Regardless of the race I'm training for, I always have a reason and a "goal" for doing said race. This reason is one that I have to believe in and know it adds value to my life and those around me. Once this goal is cemented in my mind, I won't let go. I take it with me wherever I go. Because I know that sooner or later, I will need to refer back to it.

Sometime during the Peak Phase of our training, its when we need to pull this little gem out. On that killer Brick workout, in weather exceeding acceptable levels, our mind is pushing and pushing hard. Our legs are heavy, our lungs are tired. Our family misses us and our friends... well, what friends?! You want to go back, you want to cut your training short. Heck, a couple of hours less today, will not make a difference? or will it? I will know. I will know that I turned back. I wont be happy. But its hard. Real hard.

Remember the reason you're doing this? Remember it well, for this is the time when you need it. This is the time when you want to revisit and refer back to it. Strong enough a reason and you'll finish your workout. You'll finish strong. You'll finish proud. you'll feel good, much better than you feel had you turned back. I won't lie to you, it will suck, but you'll be proud.

2). Visualization. I am a strong believer in visualization. I visualize everything. A good swim. A great ride, an awesome run, and yes, a fast transition. I visualize myself at the starting line. I visualize myself coming out of the water. I visualize myself finishing my bike in one piece. I visualize myself on the run, making it to aid station number one and then two, and then... I visualize mile 17 and thinking "not today, no walls today." And finally, I visualize myself entering the finishing carpet, all alone, having the crowd cheering and knowing that each one of those cheers is just for me. I visualize my wife and daughters, family and friends, all of them at the finish line. It's been a long day, and they're still there. I visualize Mike Reilly calling me in: "Mauricio Sanchez you ARE and Ironman." I visualize all this. And if this doesn't get you goose bumps, nothing will.

3). Mantra. Everyone's gotta have a mantra. Do you?  Sometime before IMKY 2011, I started thinking of one. I knew that I had to have FAITH in my training, in my body and in myself. I knew that I had to have FOCUS. It's gonna be a long, long day. I can't lose my Focus. I have to keep what's important, important. And my mission that day was to FINISH and finish strong. So there it was, my new mantra; FAITH. FOCUS. FINISH. I believe in this so much, I had bracelets made. I've spread a few around. If you want one, drop me a note.  I wear my bracelet anytime I train, any time I race. Any event, any distance. On the bike, I can see it most of the time when I'm aero. On the run, I look at it when the going gets tough. If my Road ID goes on, and it always does, my bracelet goes on as well.

Everyone has a system. This is mine. It's worked and I expect it will continue to work. What do you do? How do you get out of the funk?

The next four/five weeks of IMChoo training are going to get tough, very tough. You're going to doubt, you're going to second guess your decision, you're going to wish you never started this, but you will hold strong for you have a reason, you can see yourself at the starting line and then through the finish line. At times it's not going to be fun, but "fun" is relative.

However, you will make it and I WILL see YOU at the finish line!

"Our environment, the world in which we live in

is a mirror of our attitude and expectations"

~ Earl Nightingale

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