"The pain of training is nothing compared to the pain of not reaching your potential" -Josh Cox (via Twitter)

Last night as Mario and I were driving back from Roxboro, I was trying to decide what our workout would be this morning.  I expressed to Mario that I didn't feel that the girls were pushing themselves (or I wasn't pushing them) hard enough.  Granted, this is not cross country practice, but I wanted them to really push themselves to a new level.  That way they could really relish in their accomplishments and feel that satisfaction.  What Mario said had a big impact on how I handled today.  He said "inspire them."

I woke up super early this morning so I could find the inspiration for them, for myself and our workout.  After a delicious spinach and fruit smoothie in the VitaMix, I sat down to TweetDeck and started reading.  I follow @RunningQuotes and I knew that was where I wanted to start.  From there I found what I was going to say the girls with the hopes of "inspiring them."  Josh Cox (US 50K record holder) had tweeted the following earlier in the day: "The pain of training is nothing compared to the pain of not reaching your potential."  I knew those girls were capable of pushing themselves much harder and today I was going to inspire them to do so.

By 7:02 am, my six girls along with one newbie were there and ready to work.  I decided to do our stretching routine first and then share my quote of the day.  I explained to them that we were going to be doing some speed work and it was going to hurt a little.  We talked about the quote, the workout, and how to apply one to the other.  But before the headed out, I stressed to them that this was THEIR workout and not their friends'.  If they wanted to push harder, then do it. If they couldn't keep up, then that was okay.  As long as they knew they were trying their hardest, then it was a workout well done.

I wish there were some way to explain all the determined faces I saw this morning or all the small feats they accomplished along the way.  Just to give you a few examples: One girl stopped after mile one to ask for a bandaid (she had a blister) and of course I didn't have one. (Note to self: bring first aid kit on Wednesday.) She walked one lap and when she came back around she looked at me, almost as if she were asking permission, and said I'm going to keep running.  Well by all means, I'm not going to stop you - go for it! That girl was "Laura" - refer to the previous blog entry - and she did not come in last today.  

Another example was when a man came out to the track to run some laps and I challenged the girls on their interval lap to try and pass him.  Well if you can imagine, this man was doing his laps minding his own business when out of nowhere, a pack a red faced girls came chasing him down.  Oh it was awesome to say the least.  And not to be sexist, but what it made it even more awesome was the fact that these were high school girls who do not run, passing a grown man who does run (we've seen him out there many times before).  I think it was a real confidence booster for them.  And the most gratifying comment of the day was when a girl said to me "I know that was faster than my mile we did last week.  I ran the whole time and didn't stop."  I have no idea if she was correct because I wasn't timing them today, but what mattered was the fact that she felt that way and she was proud of herself.

I don't know if it was the green spinach smoothie, the hard work I saw this morning, or a combination of the both, but it was a great way to start my Monday morning. When we left the track, I told the girls to make sure they did something special for themselves today.  They worked extremely hard today and they deserved to reward their efforts.  And although nobody said it, I feel like by really pushing themselves, the girls have a little more self confidence to take on the day.

Happy Monday everyone!
Tracie