The Grind...The Non-Disciplined Need Not Apply
Hello True Believers,
I apologize that it has been a while since I blogged, but life is a always moving journey. I am NOT complaining about any of that, it just simply is what it is. Today is October 6th...I am just 11 days away from October 17th, which means I turn 40, it also means it will the 18th anniversary of my Dad's passing. Now in six days, I will be just 2 months away from the first day of the Walt Disney World Goofy Challenge, the Donald Duck 1/2 Marathon, followed by the next day of the Mickey Mouse Full Marathon. I am also now the Head Cross Country Coach for my daughters' elementary school, and our first meet is in five days.
Anyone who has trained for a Marathon will tell you that usually marathon training programs are 16 weeks, or four months. The one for the Goofy Challenge is longer, but due to being injured and in the boot, it still works out to four months for me (http://www.rundisney.com/training/#disneyworld-marathon). Right now I am in the middle of that four months and this is the part of training I call "The Grind". It is beyond the happy motivation one has when they start, and not at the nervous energy of the days leading up to Race Day.
It is when you question your motivation. It is when you are mentally at your lowest. It is when you're mentally being tested. It is, for some, the time to quit their training because they can't get over the hump of "the grind" and choose a different race and restart their training. These, by no means, are judgement I have spoken with enough runners that I know some of you reading this either know someone or are that person who has succumbed to "the grind" at one point or another...and it may not have just been marathon training, 5K, 10K, 1/2 Marathon, Triathlons, etc. The Grind doesn't discriminate, it targets the will and determination of the best, the worst, and any brave enough to commit themselves to become a better person, not by some magic transformation, but through a baptism of sweat and a birthright claimed from kings, queens and emperors.
The Grind makes those miles that are FAR away from the cheers of the crowd seem never-ending. Potential medals earned might as well be as real as a winning lottery ticket. Race shirts are thought of like straight-jackets. Race swag is about as wanted as a rash. But if you hold on, the morning comes, so to speak. In any race I have signed up for, I have always seen the training through to its end (2 Marathons, 2 Half Marathons, The Louisville Triple Crown twice, and over 20 other races), but this Goofy Challenge is requiring more of me than I have given to a training before.
I am not sure if I have a point in this blog post, other than to vent my mindset right now. I'm battling a "flare-up" in depressions because of missing my Dad; I'm in "The Grind" training for a race where no one I know has done, which means I do not have a peer to turn to for advice or a boost, the way I am often asked to for others on a daily basis. Ironically, since I am training for the Goofy Challenge at Disney World, I keep coming back to a famous quote...one that is one the Mickey Mouse medal, "All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them". - Walt Disney.
-Until the Wheels Fall Off
-Corey, Mr. No Days Off
I apologize that it has been a while since I blogged, but life is a always moving journey. I am NOT complaining about any of that, it just simply is what it is. Today is October 6th...I am just 11 days away from October 17th, which means I turn 40, it also means it will the 18th anniversary of my Dad's passing. Now in six days, I will be just 2 months away from the first day of the Walt Disney World Goofy Challenge, the Donald Duck 1/2 Marathon, followed by the next day of the Mickey Mouse Full Marathon. I am also now the Head Cross Country Coach for my daughters' elementary school, and our first meet is in five days.
Anyone who has trained for a Marathon will tell you that usually marathon training programs are 16 weeks, or four months. The one for the Goofy Challenge is longer, but due to being injured and in the boot, it still works out to four months for me (http://www.rundisney.com/training/#disneyworld-marathon). Right now I am in the middle of that four months and this is the part of training I call "The Grind". It is beyond the happy motivation one has when they start, and not at the nervous energy of the days leading up to Race Day.
It is when you question your motivation. It is when you are mentally at your lowest. It is when you're mentally being tested. It is, for some, the time to quit their training because they can't get over the hump of "the grind" and choose a different race and restart their training. These, by no means, are judgement I have spoken with enough runners that I know some of you reading this either know someone or are that person who has succumbed to "the grind" at one point or another...and it may not have just been marathon training, 5K, 10K, 1/2 Marathon, Triathlons, etc. The Grind doesn't discriminate, it targets the will and determination of the best, the worst, and any brave enough to commit themselves to become a better person, not by some magic transformation, but through a baptism of sweat and a birthright claimed from kings, queens and emperors.
The Grind makes those miles that are FAR away from the cheers of the crowd seem never-ending. Potential medals earned might as well be as real as a winning lottery ticket. Race shirts are thought of like straight-jackets. Race swag is about as wanted as a rash. But if you hold on, the morning comes, so to speak. In any race I have signed up for, I have always seen the training through to its end (2 Marathons, 2 Half Marathons, The Louisville Triple Crown twice, and over 20 other races), but this Goofy Challenge is requiring more of me than I have given to a training before.
I am not sure if I have a point in this blog post, other than to vent my mindset right now. I'm battling a "flare-up" in depressions because of missing my Dad; I'm in "The Grind" training for a race where no one I know has done, which means I do not have a peer to turn to for advice or a boost, the way I am often asked to for others on a daily basis. Ironically, since I am training for the Goofy Challenge at Disney World, I keep coming back to a famous quote...one that is one the Mickey Mouse medal, "All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them". - Walt Disney.
-Until the Wheels Fall Off
-Corey, Mr. No Days Off
oh wow! i so *get* this post!!!!
ReplyDeletehang in there with the grind of things!congrats btw on being coacj for your daughter!!!
AND my sons birthday is also on october 17th...he will be 9.
9????? my how life speeds up once you have children--where is the slow down button when you want it?
anyways,hang in there with everything superman,you can get through this!!!