"Run as hard as you can, then let your heart take you the rest of the way!"
The next couple of weeks are coincidentally not just the most important of your training season, but also for the high school teams who are heading into the championship portion of their season. My coach, Coach Smith, demanded the very best from us, even when we had no clue what our true potential could be. Coach Smith knew. He always knew. He knew when to push us harder. He knew when to make us ease up. He knew how to get the absolute very best out of us.
A couple weeks ago, I was running along the Olentangy Trail by TWHS. There is a sign at the trail head at TWHS in honor of my High School Track and Cross Country Coach. Most days I don't look at it. I don't have to as it's forever etched in the forefront of my thoughts. But as it seems to happen almost every year at this time, I stopped. On it is his timeless quote "Run as hard as you can, then let your heart take you the rest of the way."
Right now you are on the brink. On the brink? On the brink of what, you ask? Sounds terrifying. Sounds exciting. It is. And, it is. This Saturday marks the last Saturday workout of the season. It is the last time your will workout alongside your pace group. You've come so far together. Yet, you still have a bit further to go.
You have somewhere between two and three weeks before your race day. The taper is officially here. While tapering does wonders for your body, it can also play some nasty tricks on you mentally. You are now on the brink.
For sure you are on the brink of accomplishing something amazing. This whole journey has brought each of you through a trial of miles that has changed you. You have grown through this experience. You are ready to race. You are ready to jump right back in and do it all over again.
You are teetering on a fine line between being in top physical shape, and succumbing to injury. You're pushing yourself to the limits. Don't let all your hard work go to waste. Shut it down. enjoy the taper. Don't get tricked into thinking you can squeeze one more hard workout in that will surely drop 20 seconds off your time.
Over the next couple of weeks you will experience feeling of elation and doubt. Trust your training. You are ready. Remember, less than one-half of a percent of our population has run a marathon. You are among a small but mighty crowd.
Run from your heart and you'll do just fine.
See you at the next workout!
Jeff