Watch and learn then get inspired!

It's always interesting to hear what motivates folks to push themselves. I am not only interested in athletic inspiration but I love to know what drives people to do stuff be it work, athletics, volunteering or whatever. I think whatever the motivator is it crosses over into other venues. Meaning if you are super career oriented the reasons or drive will spill over into other things and the same goes for athletics.

I get motivated by lots of stuff but some biggies are other people, fear, disappointment and passion. Now as you read that list you are probably thinking wow, those are not good drivers but in my world they are. I will start with people. I absolutely admire people that push themselves to achieve. I am not picky about the achievement but the discipline and hard work that goes into the achievement gets me really fired up. On the athletics side of things I get inspired by the folks who push outside their comfort zone and do things that seem unattainable to them. I get pumped up watching super fit people work out. I love being around first time ultra runners and seeing their enthusiasm and excitement when they tow the line for their race they trained so hard for. I also get moved being around parents who set amazing examples for their children even when it's not easy. I am surrounded by motivators every day or maybe I surround myself with people who inspire me I am not sure. Needless to say I love it and it fuels me big time. Taking in all the energy, lessons and learning from their discipline makes me want to be better

I am also motivated by fear. Things that scare me or things I don't want to do make me want to overcome it. I am not sure why but I have been this way as long as I can remember. I absolutely despise being inhibited by fear. There is such thing as the gift of fear (I know that's a book and a must read but that's not what I am talking about here). I think the gift of fear is just a play on words. You know, those turn something bad into good things. Fear is a powerful motivator for me. I hate fear having any control over what I want to do. For me fear raises my senses, makes me a better planner and ultimately much more aware and in the moment. Fear drove me to sign up for something yesterday that truly scares the hell of me. I haven't told my friends yet but we are getting together for a goals/Christmas Camp celebration and I will share it. Fear serves me well.

Disappointment will also make me raise the bar. I hate to fail at my goals. I am certainly NOT afraid to fail but would rather not. When I do, when I let myself down, when I let my family and friends down I seem to spend very little time pouting. Don't get me wrong I am certainly not Susie Sunshine when I am disappointed but I find the emotion a captivating driver. The need to avoid disappointment gives me wings to many things I would rather not. They could be simple things like having dinner ready for my family when they get home, making sure my animals are well taken care of, not showing up late when meeting others all the way to finishing strong in a race. When I feel I have disappointed myself or others I hate it so I would say it's a huge motivating element.

Passion is always motivating isn't it? I get all excited when someone tells me their story and I can see the passion in their eyes. I don't care what they are talking about. Bill and his passion for flying makes me want to go do things. I can feel the excitement when he talks about it. The expressions people make and the light in their face when they are truly excited and passionate about what they are doing. I think this is the hardest one to find so when your around someone who truly has it it's contagious.

There are other things that get me fired up but those are some of the meat. So yesterday when I went to do my tempo run I was fearful as I approached the trails. I could feel the apprehension because I didn't want to disappointment myself. I had to do a 90 minute run. The first hour was a gradual build up to 3B or M-Pace. After holding M-Pace (7:48) for 25 minutes I had to do 3X10 minutes at T-Pace (7:17) with a 2 minute rest in between. The run was going really well so after 40 minutes all my fear left and I knew I could hit the numbers. My T-Pace effort was too fast. The first 10 minutes was a 7:06 pace, too fast. My second 10 minute segment was 7:19...better. My last 10 minute segment was 6:46 waaaay to fast. My pacing needs some serious work. This T-Pace is really good for me. At 7:17 I am close to my all time best of 7:09 and it's early in the season. I think if I can keep myself in check and not over do things I can hit that again. I felt pretty rested going into this tempo though.

After the run it's weight training with Sarah and Leta. Both are great training partners and Sarah is simply shredded. It's pretty motivating to work out with her. She is so incredibly disciplined and it shows. Plus, how can someone look so cute while working out????

This weekend a few of us are heading down to Eugene for their fat ass run called the MLK run. I have never done this event and am really looking forward to it. It has around 6K of climb in the 30 miler so that will be good training for C2M which by the way I am scared to death of!