Friday, May 8, 2015

The Tough, The Badass & The Beast



Me: OH EM GEE

Mr. Tea: What's up.

Me: I just looked at these workouts. She just changed them. I was supposed to run these intervals at sub 8:00 pace tomorrow. Now, Liz wants me to run SUB 7:30 pace for my intervals. The 7:41 400's on Wed made me almost pass out.

Mr. Tea: I don't feel bad for you. It's your own fault. You should never tell her a workout is too easy. IT'S LIZ we're talking about.


Yes. There are times for a fleeting moment when I think, "can I really do this?"

I've talked about Liz's challenge workouts before. They are not normal workouts. They look normal though. You don't realize until you are into the workout that the workout might just be out of your current fitness. 

She does this on purpose. First, she wants to see how you handle real adversity. She wants to see what you will do when you have given everything you have, and she asks for more. Second, whether or not you actually hit the goals she prescribes, is irrelevant. 

Those workouts are about making you MENTALLY TOUGH. 

My run tomorrow....isn't a challenge workout. It's just a normal stupid hard Liz workout, but I couldn't do it if it weren't for those challenge workouts. So yes, for a fleeting moment, I question whether I can do them. Then, I remember what I have done.

Those of you who have known me for years have seen the changes. Even those of you who have known me just since I started working with Liz, have seen changes in me. I hope you do because I feel different than I did a year and a half ago.

It's because of Liz. It's because of the people I surround myself with. Don't ever underestimate the power that people (you hang out with) have over you.

People who have big HUGE goals believe YOU should have BIG HUGE GOALS also. These are the people that after coming in last.....you can say to them, "I want to podium".....and they won't bat an eye. They will say, "THIS is what is necessary. THIS is what you have to do."

If you are honored to have friends like that, hold on to them. They are the people that won't give you bullshit lines just to stroke your ego. These are the people that will give you honest feedback because they want you to succeed as much as YOU do. They will push you harder than you thought possible. They will push you past what you think your breaking point is.

The people that I hang out with (whether virtually or in training groups) are the toughest, most bad ass people I know. They have learned when to turn BEAST MODE on and when to relax.

No matter what life throws at them, you'll never once hear a "poor me" complaint. They just keep going. They don't dwell on the past. They only work to be the best they can be today. It's as if they see every day as their new starting point; and wherever that is.....is OK....because tomorrow, they will be better.

Those are the people I admire. They are who I want to be.