Motivation For MasteRS

At the 2016 U.S. Olympic track and field trials in Eugene, I ran into a running friend whose daughter had recently graduated from the University of Oregon. I asked the 60-something-year-old how his running had been going.

“Oh, you know, every time out is a P.W,” he lamented.

I asked for clarification. 

“Personal worst.” 

I chuckled. I knew of P.R.’s - personal record - the crown jewel of both the Olympic hopefuls and Turkey Day 5ker’s. Achieving a new best time is not simply about getting the opportunity to apotheosize the running lexicon’s ultimate abbreviation. For most of us, what hooked us to any sport was the pursuit itself. Whether it is biking, skiing, weightlifting, or running, self-improvement is the ultimate draw. 

Such sublime philosophical thought presents a dilemma for endurance enthusiasts as they age and their bodies break down …  and slow down. Fortunately, there is a way forward. As the days shorten and the mind debates on whether to brave the cold, dark, northern Maine snow, headlamp and all, or just stay at home … as you contemplate forking out money for the Birkie, you first ski-mo race, hopping on an indoor bike trainer for another grueling sweat-filled session, or braving the ice and elements to log miles for the Boston Marathon or GoPro Games 10k trail run, here is a literary toast to getting our mind right for chasing a bonafide “P.B.” … a personal best.

Approaching my capstone senior collegiate track season, I ensured two things with my 100-mile per week regimen and spartan approach to diet, rest, and recovery. First, I became extremely fit. Then, I became injured. Usually, throwing all of the proverbial eggs into one basket is a surefire way to elicit an almost divine action of perspective reset through the painful teaching of some old-fashioned lesson. Such was my experience. 

In order to preserve my season, I threw myself into every form of cross-training imaginable: biking, skiing, elliptical, you name it. Anxiety gripped me day and night as I watched my season slip away without nary a race start. At first, I felt angry. Over time, however, I realized something very important about the athletic wiring of my psyche: what sports provided for me was an avenue to express, pursue, and cultivate excellence. It didn’t really matter what the activity was, just so long as I could give 100% effort to be the best version of myself within that specialty. On the bike for the week? Tryouts for the Tour de France. Switching to skiing? Let’s train for the Vasaloppet. Sports are a game, at their most fundamental level, and games involve play. The element of play, for me, was pretending I was a professional athlete. 

Sports are also about a deeper sense of purpose. We train and race for something, right? Foundationally, sports are the ultimate training ground for excellence. If you can apply all of the skills necessary to be great on the pitch, you will do so as a mother, engineer, teacher, doctor, writer, or technician. 

Hopefully, you see where this is going. 

Whether it is the aging athlete or the Olympic hopeful, the fuel behind the sports fire can be fed for a lifetime. The shape of the logs you add to the burning coals might change shape, but they’ll still burn. Sometimes, finding kindling in the woods is the real challenge. 

Lifelong runners, for example, have a hard time adjusting to life after arthritis or knee surgeries. What do you do when aging has kicked you out of the sport you loved for the first five decades of life? My suggestion is to discover your true source of joy inherent to sport and cultivate it in a different activity. If your daily jog was simply a way to get the heart rate up and escape -  emotionally and mentally - from the stress of life, there are many alternative routes to this often vital solace. Introspective analysis, necessary for identifying these internal needs, is the first step. Think about your “why?” when it comes to being active. 

Of course, Leadville and the Vail valley are home to many ultra-competitive master’s athletes as well. At first glance, this group of stubborn (it’s what made you great, so let me chastise you a little) individuals would appear to pose a different set of challenges. When your elasticity wanes and your speed forces you from relevancy, or prevents participation altogether, search for new challenges. Maybe you can’t run, but you probably can slide uphill. Skimo is an ever-emerging activity, and competitive and recreational arenas are popping up from Minnesota to Montana to Maine. 

If you are on Nordic Team Solutions, this article may feel like “preaching to the choir.” You are in a lifelong sport. But, are you hungry to ski every day? If the answer is no … why? Perhaps what has already been said actually does apply to you, too. It might be time to ponder your foundational purpose for skiing in the first place. Or, it might be time to analyze different ways to motivate. 

For example, you already are keenly aware of the impact of Nordic ski economy on enjoyment and performance if you subscribe to NTS. If you are coming to skiing from another sport, stock up on the confidence of your aerobic base and embrace the challenge of improving your ski technique. Mastering drills, experimenting with new ones, increasing your glide length, balancing on one rollerski to a crack further down the road than last week, or V2-ing up a slope you couldn’t last year, etc., are all carrots to chase which don’t involve confronting the idea my Oregon friend depressingly labeled a “P.W.” Especially for athletes who have the same mind they did when they were 20, but a totally different body at 45, 65, or 85, finding these competitive spheres can be lifegiving. 

Another way to keep the fire burning is to find a variety of metrics to monitor in training. Instead of structuring your training blocks the same way a professional ski team might or the way you’ve always done since you were in high school, get creative.  Have a block where the focus is simply vertical feet climbed, total hours skied, total hours in a certain technique, total number of visits to the weight room, or minutes spent in L4 per week. Many of these can then easily be transitioned beyond skiing (i.e. vertical feet biked or ran on trails in the summer). Whereas time, VO2 max/lactate readings, etc., are a physiological ticking time bomb that will eventually go in the wrong direction before the total explosion, these other metrics can be chased, topped, and savored training season after training season. Plus, you might find, for a time, that focusing on those metrics actually also improves your race time and more ‘standard’ performance metrics. I could go on for a long time about different ways to color a training journal, but for the sake of space, I’ll simply summarize the concept by saying: have a goal - any goal. Mix it up. Chase it. Make a new one.

My final tip: gratitude. The least talked about secret for being truly joyful in this life is having a sense of thankfulness. 

Be thankful in all circumstances. 

Why? Because in this journey of athletics, every little thing that happens to you and every place you have ever been or are currently positioned, has the potential to shape you into a better athlete.

Growing up in the windchill swept plains of Moorhead, Minnesota, the truly brutal site of so many of my early miles, the chief blessing I received wasn’t an innate Norwegian nice. I’m afraid my nickname growing up was “grumpy Rumpy” for a reason. What I did glean from looking into a blizzard on an out and back 13-miler sure was an appreciation for my current mountain view. Further, I rarely have a problem getting out the door for a ski session, even on hard days, which are easy by comparison to the longstanding “Weather Channel’s Worst Weather City” winner (that’s Fargo, ND….right across the river). Plus, I can draw on those Great Plain’s blizzards when I’m in the middle of a low point in a long race and allow it to carry me through. 

My point is, when injuries and aging seem to knock you out, remember that there is always a purpose and opportunity for growth somewhere else. Embrace all of it with a heart and attitude of thankfulness. 

Perhaps “P.B.” should stand for “personally blessed.”