You Don't Know... Bolas

Part III: Final Prep

Femezy seems to have already dropped a solid preview of USA Champs for everyone, which, in all honesty, should have been my responsibility as the meet kicks off this week. Who would've thought this blogging would become a means for tension within our group--people stealing ideas, calling one another names (not super pumped about the one currently trying to be coined for me), comparing individual blog views. Seeing as how our audience is aware of the looming races, those that are essentially the pinnacle of our season, I will indulge you in some of the prep that has taken place over the last couple weeks leading into USAs.

We finished up our final ‘complete’ (involving 3 workouts and a long run) week of training two weeks ago before heading to Indianapolis for a couple of tune-up races. Indy gave us a chance to further prep for USAs, working on race tactics and dropping down in distance to find some closiing speed. At this point in the season, the mentality might be one of achieving near-perfection. By that, I mean you want every workout, every core session, and every race to feel money, to be spot-on. The physical strength continues to progress, but it’s just as important to gain some confidence in the days leading up to USAs, feed off the positive energy you get from a great workout, race, etc. Thus, our preparation heading into the US Champs may be a bit more disciplined and exact. Certainly, due to my “nervous nellie”-like personality, I overthink this whole process, these last few weeks before USAs. Needless to say, I’m all about stressing recovery and fully take to heart the idea of tapering--cutting back on overall workload, while, as Coach Gary enforces, making sure all of the little things are maintained and performed even crisper, with more diligence. The warm-up and cooldown drills, the physical therapy, the core work, those ancillary activities that supplement our actual miles all season. So even while tapering, we maintain our routine, a structured system meant to squeeze out every little half-second of potential.

I have found that running, racing in particular, is all about momentum. We train to build physical fitness and we race to then test that fitness, usually against others.. But just as important is the drive to build momentum from one session to the next, from one race to another. Progress, success, whether you measure it with a killer track workout or race victory, feeds that mental well that we continuously draw from each time we toe the line. There are hiccups along the way, workouts where you don’t hit the times, a race that didn’t go as planned. But that’s in the job description. The best athletes (and hopefully this includes the members of Furman Elite) find a way to bounce back from a let-down and work to generate momentum once again. I’ve always felt the only cure for a bad race, or bad workout, is simply another race. So, at this point in the season, now two days out from the 1st round of the 1500m, I crave that momentum we’ve worked all season to build. The physical work has been done. It’s in the bank. The final piece lies in the mental preparation, the confidence in the training, the momentum we’ve established.