Confidence....

What is a marathon runner suppose to do when they are in a slump? What can snap you out of a funk? The answers to those are as unique as finger prints. Baseball players in a slump might take hits off of a batting tee to work on their mechanics. A golfer might study video of their swing to dissect the cause of their rough play. Basketball players who are chucking bricks usually try to get a few easy buckets, lay-ups, dunks, or free throws to start some positive momentum. With running the challenge of getting back on track can be pretty complicated. The longer your slump lasts the lower your confidence goes. With a lower confidence often comes less enjoyment and desire. Nobody is motivated to keep grinding out hard workouts and long runs without reaping the fruits of their labor. Success leads to excitement, excitement leads to more confidence, which in turn leads to more success, completing the life cycle of a runners mentality. Some of the top athletes have hired sports psychologist and coaches to continuously inject them full of boaster shots of confidence. I am not fortunate enough to have any of these resources and I have been in a long period of awful running.

Photo doesn't due justice to bleach burns.
 

As many of you have noticed my marathon finish times started to level off in late September. This was partly by design and partly by bad luck. My training during the summer of 2012 was keying on being in top shape in the middle of September, from there I tried to hold my peak as long as possible, while also racing 7 marathons in 7 weekends. I like to use the term racing instead of running as there is a difference. The 5th of those 7 marathons was the Bellingham Bay Marathon where I ran a 2:29:54, that was the start of my confidence going south for the winter. Two weeks after that race I battled strong winds and rain at the MDI Marathon. From there until now it has been a rough struggle. First I got a terrible batch of poison ivy. Which my lovely Granny said, "Put some bleach on it." I listened and bleached burned the inside of my thighs to the point where I could not longer walk because the sores needed to heal. I would not go as far as saying I HATE Granny now, but I promise you I did not send her a Christmas card!

Always nice to be WELCOMED Home.

After not running for eternity, that is 1 week in runners time, my leg was healing enough to be able to walk around. Another week after that and I was back to being able to run. This lasted until November 19th when I cut my leg in a chainsawing accident. Now I had two legs on the mead. All the while I tried to suffer through marathons, and suffer I did. The two freak accidents caused me to walk and run differently, which flared up my shins. Long story short my confidence dropped faster then a cellular phone call in Indiana! I ended up having to skip 3 scheduled marathons and missed more time training. Depression set in, moss was growing on my shoes.



A few easy runs with famous models.

I started 2013 with 4 straight bad races and lots of oddball soreness. This is due to racing and trying to get into shape at the same time. My first marathon in Mobile, Alabama was like running in a sauna, the next marathon I wondered if my prostate was enlarged as I kept having to stop to pee, that was followed by a race where I started too fast, and the final blow to my confidence was blowing head winds at the Mississippi River Marathon which caused me to run a terrible 2:43!

That takes us up to the week before the IMS Arizona Marathon. I flew home from Mississippi on Sunday the 10th. I did not run due to being too sore. Monday I was able to squeeze a whopping 1.75 miles out of my legs prior to walking home due to hurting too bad. Tuesday was a very painful 11 mile run, still scratching the bottom of the confidence barrel. Wednesday morning was a terrible 7 mile run which I had to stop a few times in order to complete, but then the darnest thing happen. By Wednesday night I was ready for a speed workout. I did 2 miles hard, 1 mile hard, half mile hard, not the splits I usually run but at least I was able to run a decent pace. From there until race morning on Sunday the 17th it was all easy runs to prep to race well. Nothing to gain confidence...

My race strategy matched my state of mind. The goal was to break the course record of 2:37, but the probability was not too high in my mind. The race was started with a loud yell of "GO", I must have missed the news of starters pistols being banned. Anyway I set off on a 26.2 mile journey. Hoping to find my confidence, hoping to find that finish line, and hoping to break that course record. Hope is what happens when you are not sure of your fitness. Hope is all you can grasp on to when you are not your normal self.

My son, Miles, was excited to see Daddy's trophy!

Desperate for something positive in my running I decided to race in a different pair of shoes. Not sure if that helped, but I was able to finally have a stronger marathon. Yes I realize that the 2:31:19 time that I ran to win and break the course record was only my 29th fastest career marathon, but that does not mean it is not a huge step in the right direction. It gives base line to work off of as I start plotting my workouts and races for the next few months. Lets go back to the confidence, how can I win 5 marathons since the end of October and not have any confidence? Well that's simple. My confidence comes from my race results, my workouts, and how fast my body is able to recover from both the workouts and races. When I am running strong I can race fast and bounce back to training really quickly. So to answer a question as to how a runner gains back his confidence, well it starts with being able to return to efficient running, being mentally engaged, and having some success. Success leads to excitement, excitement leads to more confidence, which leads to more success, completing the life cycle of runner.