I'm married to a woman who was back at her pre-pregnancy weight within 3-4 weeks after having the baby, so I'm not easy to impress. But Ms. Bretan has managed to wow me.
And the next time I think Simon is keeping me too busy to train, I'll remember this.
No comment is necessary.
While everyone thinks my favorite posts are in the Cheaters or the Dear A$$hole categories. No doubt I love those, but the No Whining posts are the ones I enjoy the most. So I'm gratified to write a second post in that category this week.
Today is the story of Sami Stoner. Though she sounds like a character in the next Harold and Kumar movie, in fact Ms. Stoner is a runner on the Lexington High School Cross Country team in Ohio. She also happens to be blind. I'll spare you the details about the headaches and red tape that were involved to allow her to run with her guide dog. Let's focus on the determination who has lost her sight over the past two years and has not been deterred.
At yesterday's Toronto Waterfront Marathon, there was an impressive daily double of performances by athletes who are redefining what age means.
Getting even more attention yesterday was the only man in the field who could call Whitlock "sonny", Fauja Singh, who became the first 100-year old to complete a marathon. Singh clocked 8:11:05 in his record breaking effort.
And BTW ladies, in case you're looking for a role model, don't forget the indefatigable Ginette Bedard.
The next time I'm tempted to complain that I'm getting old and creaky, I'll think about these two, then shut up and run.
I once got a mosquito bite during a triathlon and gave serious consideration to quitting the race in order to attend to my wound. (For the record, it was a big mosquito.) Sabrina Oei collided with a black bear during a triathlon, crashed, got up and finished the race. It turns out that this happend five years ago and I'm just hearing about it now, but it's never too late to report a fun story that makes me feel inadequate. Full details are available at CBS News.
More Goggins
Based on the reposts and Facebook comments, it seems that I'm not the only one who is impressed by Navy SEAL David Goggins, so here's some more. It's worth noting that while Mr. Goggins is clearly an impressive physical specimen, for me what sets him apart is his mental strength. In this video he says two things that really resonate with me. "If you can see yourself doing something you can do it. If you can't see yourself doing something, usually you can't achieve it" and "when you think that you are done, you're only 40% in to what your body is capable of doing. And thats just the limits that we put [on] ourselves."
While I spent a lot of time studying human physiology, it's worth noting that most of time when we think our body can't do more, it's actually our brain that holds us back. There are many examples in a lab setting. In one study, cyclists were asked to pedal at threshold until volitional exhaustion. When they said they were done, the researchers told them to sprint (above threshold pace) for a short time. And they did it. In other words, when they said they couldn't go on, they were actually able to not only maintain their pace, but they were able to accelerate.
And there are examples in real life as well of people doing "superhuman" things when faced with dangerous situations. Of course just as Mr. Goggins dealt with stress fractures, urinating blood, and other physical consequences of his endeavors, the woman who lifts her car because her baby is trapped under it usually rips her tendons off the bone, but what's noteworthy is that if you had asked her one minute before the emergency, she might have told you that she's weak and unable to lift her groceries, let alone her car.
The body is powerful, but the brain is even more powerful.
Posted at 11:23 AM in Coach's Comments, No Whining | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)