Focus on What You Can Control

Sometimes you get a flat during a key workout, often requiring double effort to get back in the zone.  Other times your body fights back or is forced to fight off a virus.  That's where I am today.  It's been a rough weekend and last night was certainly the worst.  Since my amazing birthday, I have been dealing with some nausea and fatigue....and some stomach issues.  I had to cut a few workouts short and have generally felt like 10 pounds of crap in a 5 pound bag.  Sunday morning I pushed through and finished my 1hr 30 min run (death march) but still bounced back after a nap.  Yesterday's swim workout was the catalyst to my demise.  So here I am fighting off a fever and massive tightness all around.

What does this mean? No racing this weekend! I'll be pulling out of Challenge New Albany :(  which I'm super bummed about but it wouldn't make sense to cram in a race knowing I'm not 100%....especially when I have another 70.3 only 2 weeks later.  I have no choice but to listen to my body!  But hey....I get to lay in bed and watch Le Tour!!!

The 3rd Time Is a Charm. Rob's Glory!

I'm very proud of Tribal Multi-Sport athlete Rob Pulsifer, who fought is way to a Boston marathon qualifying race time.  Seriously, we tried 2 separate races prior to Grandma's Marathon.  Attempt #1.....A draw bridge at mile 16 and 5 minutes of standing around led to massive leg cramps and a slow finish.  Attempt #2.....as everyone lined up to start, they cancelled the race due to weather!  Attempt #3....read below....

The “Why”
I’m the goal guy and feel that life is best lived by having huge goals.  Growing up outside of Boston and living for several years in Connecticut I have been devastated by the tragic events at Sandy Hook Elementary and the Boston Marathon in 2013.  As a father of 2 girls, 3 & 6, it has been difficult to deal with these tragedies as many of the victims were kids not able to live their lives.  Running has been my outlet.  

After the bombings in Boston I made a commitment to qualify for the race, 3 hrs 10 minutes or better for my age bracket.  I had run a half dozen or so marathons, my best race at that time was 4:05:17 and I was in pretty good shape.  So shave an hour off, that’s all right?  Easy right?… Wrong.

Well, I’ve been after it for a year and a half and have had 4 failed attempts but I needed all of those failures to learn the lessons.  So welcome to Duluth...

Weather
Leaving Minneapolis around 11:00 AM, the weather was sunny and 85F... and rising, not ideal race conditions.  By the time I got to Duluth, it was 48 degrees, perfect for the race!  Crazy how you can go from summer to winter in 3 hours, that was a gift from the Big Guy.

Mindset
The night prior to the race I texted a friend and told him I was attempting to qualify for Boston again.  In short he said that I had already failed as my mind was not in the right place.  In the words of Yoda, “there is do and do not, there is no try” and I think that is what my friend was saying.  Immediately after reading his response I made a conscious decision to qualify.  Sounds strange but I knew the night before that I would get it done.  I went into Black Mamba mode... dangerous, fast, and aggressive.  

Accommodations
Having signed up for Grandma’s late, the only place left to stay was the freshman dorm at University of Wisconsin Superior.  Cold, drafty, group bathrooms, no TV... perfect.  This wasn’t a vacation as I was there to do a job and the room reinforced that message.  

The Race
I met up with the 3:05 Cliff Pacer and planned on hanging with him the whole race.  In the first 5k he was well ahead of pace and I decided to back down to 7:03/mile.  The entire race was run on Lake Superior but I never saw the water.  I remember of thinking about perfect mechanics of the first 8 miles (Eyes fixed 30 feet out, 90 cadence, heart rate in the upper 150’s, etc.) Fast forward to mile 21, my “wall” in previous races where a hamstring or quad would lock up but not this day.  At any sign of stress in a muscle group, I would consciously tell my body that failure was not an option and that it wasn’t going to shut down.  It worked!  22, 23, and 24 went down.  I caught the pacer at mile 25 who said we were well ahead of a 3:05 and I could back it down... not going to happen.  Mile 25 was 6:53, Mile 26 was 6:33 and the final stretch was at 5:39 pace.  Mission completed!  Punched my ticket to Boston with a3:03:54.  I learned so many lessons along the way but I think the last one was one of the most important.  Train your mind and your body will follow.  Whatever your goals are, remember to Believe!