20 seconds of courage, grief and flexibility

"Sometimes all you need is 20 seconds of insane courage."  

Congrats to everyone who signed up for a race that gave you butterflies in your stomach or committed to something that sounds too difficult, destined to fail or may hurt!  Also, WOW, I asked for questions, comments and replies to my last email and you all came through!  Including that quote above, from wise sage Matt Damon (in the movie, We Bought a Zoo) So many responses came through that I am breaking it up into two emails. This one has quotes I love, links to reading material and some questions answered. The second is all science-based and will come out once I am back on the grid, January 21st (no Tuesday email next week). Thanks for participating! 

Some quotes from a wise athlete and teacher: 

-Stop worrying about what's coming and prepare yourself to be a person who can handle whatever is coming.

-Never half ass anything whole ass everything. 

EMOTIONAL FLEXIBILITY
Orient yourself towards emotional flexibility instead of happiness. -The Growth Equation
"There's a lot of societal emphasis put on being happy, partly because we all want to feel good and because it's big business selling people products that promise to make them sunnier. Unfortunately, happiness is rarely a state you can will into existence or even control. If a metaphor helps: It’s easier to buy rain gear than it is to try to change the weather patterns so that every day is sunny."

STRENGTH AND THEN WEIGHTS
I want to know about combining strength training and running into one workout and which one to complete first. Well, if you want a deep dive science writer Alex Hutchinson wrote an entire book about it. My short answer is do whichever one is more important to you first (this article agrees). For my coached athletes, if they have short sprints and strength training on the same day I prefer them to do the sprints first, without running tired, and lifting after since lifting a little lighter if tired is really no big deal since that is not the primary sport. The ONE key mistake to runners who do strength right after a run is NOT fueling well enough for the combined effort. If the run is 1 hour and the strength is 45 minutes, you need to treat it as one long workout and have some fuel during your sessions. 

If your strength training is normally with me on Wednesday nights, here is one from the archives so you can get in a workout while I am gone. 

DOES BIKING HELP RUNNING?
Yes! Here is an entire article on it, so get that bike and get out there and ride. "Cycling can benefit runners for both recovery and training. It aids in recovery by flushing the legs out and getting blood to flow through the muscles. You also can maintain a ton of fitness with riding if you are injured." If you want a fun way to learn about rides, check out Portland based rides with Bicycle Kitty! 

SHOULD I RUN THROUGH GRIEF?
Grief is a wonderful reminder of how much we loved someone but it is also a huge a kick in the gut. The new, especially tough part of grief is in the beginning where the kicks keep coming, reminders are everywhere and it is hard to focus. If you are running because you have to, give yourself some grace and decide why you "have to". You can run right through, doing the motions because you can't sit at home and process, but that just puts off the processing. You can run and process and while it may look ugly and your neighbors may be concerned, if it feels good, go for it. Who cares if the snot rolls and the sobs come, feel all the things and do it while moving, that can be extremely healing. 

After the loss of my first dog I thought I would need to be buried with him I was so devastated. I also had a 50k race the very next day. I didn't want to go but I also didn't want to stay home without him there. I went to the race, wore a big brimmed hat and cried for six and a half hours and it was horrible and beautiful and I wouldn't have changed my decision. 

Do what is right for you and don't feel bad just pounding the couch pillows if that is what you need to do. 
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HOW TO HOLD BACK
Some days I put hikes on my athlete plans. either as a day without pounding OR to practice power hiking which is important for races which can be 50% or more hiking when they are mountain races at altitude. Pro tip from one of my athletes, on hiking days when you may be tempted to run, wear hiking boots. No running in those, it feels clunky. 

READING RECOMMENDATIONS

• Jill Outside is adventures of a woman biking and adventuring from Colorado to Alaska. She has been blogging since the early 2000s so there is lots of content there.
• "Be audacious. There is always a best possible path. Your job is to find it and have the courage to follow it." Spend some time reading Ray Dahlio and once you read the first link go on to read this one (don't tolerate problems) and this one (be radically open minded). 

Happy trails!
PS- In case you are still with me here, I have landed in Bergen, Norway, a most gorgeous place from the air. Luggage hasn't made it yet but feeling confident it will arrive late this evening. Fingers crossed since I super need every single item in that bag I spent over a month carefully purchasing to help me survive in the cold! Leaving on a train to a very small town tomorrow morning so it really must arrive!