Mark Allen is a six-time Ironman champion. Brant Secunda is a shaman. They’ve known each other for many years, and collaborated on a book called “Fit Soul, Fit Body”. The book doesn’t detail how to attain fitness, nor does it detail how to attain enlightenment. Rather, it delves into the aspects that come together to create a murkiness of fitness, enlightenment, health, wellbeing, awareness, and all things in between.
I went to hear the men talk at the Boulder Bookstore two nights ago. The place was packed and people were lined up against the walls. Athletes of all abilities were there, a veritable “who’s who” in the Boulder Triathlete community.
Mark told a story of how he was striving to win his 6th (and last) Ironman title. He got off his bike to learn that someone was ahead of him by thirteen and a half minutes. He considered quitting, of walking back to his hotel and just giving up. The short of it is that he did NOT quit, that he overcame his opponent in mile twenty three of the twenty-six point two mile run, and ended up winning his last Ironman title. Was he more fit than his opponent? Did he want it more? Neither of these is true. The fact of the matter was that when he dug deep and allowed himself to clear his mind, silence the chatter, and focus on the task at hand, he was able to persevere and ultimately accomplish his goal. Every time he allowed the chatter, the inner monologue, to get too loud, he fell back and doubted his ability. Only with a still mind was he able to win his 6th Ironman at the ancient age of thirty seven.
I was still thinking about this when I woke Saturday morning to head out in the pre-dawn light. Daylight had been breaking earlier now that we’re past the winter solstice, and it’s plenty bright when I pulled into the parking lot. We’re a small group compared to last week; only nine of us are here to run Doudy Draw to Eldorado Canyon. Without Susan, Cherry and Bernadette to set a tempo pace, Greta, Clare and I settled into an easy clip. Greta is training for a half-Ironman in late May, with several races between now and then. Today’s run is supposed to be an easy two hours. My ears perk up at this; I don’t know if I could do a hard 1:40 tempo run like she was doing last week, but maybe an easy two hours… this is feasible. The pace is easy, the company is lovely, and my mind is calm. I mull the idea of extending my run with her today. I don’t need to be home until 9:30, I could skip coffee with the ladies… hmmm. Possible.
As we climb the hills toward Eldorado Canyon I consider the fact that when my mind is quiet, I can do more than I ever thought possible. I don’t know that I’ve ever had a STILL mind, per se, though I’ve had moments of utter peace and bliss. Many of these moments have occurred on hikes or runs through these very hills when I’m deeply connected to nature and not thinking about the to-do list of the day. Something Brant said the other night resonates with my own deep feelings about this beautiful place where I live; “Boulder is a beautiful place, and many people choose to live here because of their connection with nature.”
Movement and nature. Nature is ever-changing; that is the complexity of nature. On any given day I can go into the mountains and see something that will not be there again the next day, or a week later. Running is the same for me; my energy levels are extremely variable, as are my moods, the distances I can cover, the time at hand, and my state of mind. The state of nature and the state of mind and body when running are both things that are both a part of my being, and separate from my spirit at the same time.
On this particular day, the usual pace-setters are absent. Greta, Clare and I settle into an easy cadence and just… chat. My body knows these movements and I don’t have to think about the physicality of running. I can still the mind and not listen to my inner chatter of “how fast am I going”, or “uh-oh, here comes that huge hill”, or whatever it might be. There’s no hurry, and I am more peaceful.
Greta and I extend our run at the end and head up the Mesa Trail for another few miles. She’s running an easy two hours today, and I’m up for it.
Afterwards, I realized that I made a breakthrough. I found out that I’m capable of running a lot longer and farther than I thought, which also means, in the grand scheme of things, that I am stronger than I thought. This is good for my psyche in so many ways. It brings me contentment and a semblance of inner peace to know that I don’t have to struggle to be something I wish I could be, because I already… AM. Does that make sense? A physical breakthrough created a mental breakthrough. That’s what I like about running. I like where I’m going, literally, and along the way I start to discover that I like the company I keep (me).
Lara: Nice blog! What you are saying has so much truth in it. While I’m not a runner and just have never been able to do this as a sport or exercise activity, I have found in much of life that persistence, doing just the one more thing with a clear focus on the goal, pays off. Often more than talent! As a child I was told I was stubborn because I wouldn’t give up. I was made to feel this was a flaw. As an older adult, I see that so-called stubbornness is only a negative if you are failing to learn from the situation and just keep doing something harmful to yourself over and over again. Mostly I don’t do that. What I DO have is persistence. I will keep on striving toward most of my goals, even as I stumble and fall, if they are important to me. Mostly I eventually get there, some I have to leave behind. Things change–you may SEEM to be behind, but, as the old joke goes, if you are out on the ice with two other people and a polar bear sets his sights on you, you don’t have to be able to run fast–you just have to outrun the other two!
Lara,
Lovely post! I am both a shaman and a woman with an enduring interest in wellness, so I find myself wishing I’d been at that talk.
I am still (a few weeks shy of 60) a runner–and once was a fair one, though not in the league of you Mesa Trail runners! I have hiked those trails. I cannot imagine running them! Yes, as Rosemary suggests, perssistnece is a wonderful thing. It is particularly a good thing when we deal with that murkiness the authors speak of. Life is wonderful, juicy, inspiring . . . and messy. Some of that messiness has to do with encountering our own desire to control it (Life) and discussing that Life will not be controled by mere mortals.
Stillness is good. Discovering we have more in us than we thought is good. Reminding us of all of that is very good. Thank you.
Melanie
Nice. I used to roller blade. Called it my zen experience because I’m not athletic, so the only way I could stay upright was to clear my mind of everything except roller blading. I need to do more of that.
Lara,
What an insightful post. I enjoyed the previous comments by Rosemary, Melanie, and Jerrie too. You beautifully articulate the soulfulness that connects the body’s physicality with the natural world. I especially appreciate it since I’m writing a memoir about hiking the Pacific Crest Trail.
-Gail Storey
Rosemary, Melanie, Jerri and Gail, thank you for taking time to read and comment. Each post is different in that the run is in a new place, we have a different mix of people joining us, and I’m in a different “space” each time. Every run is a journey of sorts, through space, time, and thought. Thank you for your insightful comments.
I’m definitely not a runner – I do enjoy walking though. The phrase that really resonated with me was “silence the chatter.” I could apply this to almost anything I do. The task I least enjoy as an audio producer is transcribing interviews. However, I find if I can “silence the chatter,” then while I’m transcribing I can enjoy all the richness of the audio, the pauses, the sighs, the chuckles and I find treasures I missed first time around. I think it also goes along with just trying to really savor the moment, whatever it is you’re doing.
Lara, that sounds like a very interesting book. I run, but am now living in Summit county. Maybe when I return to Boulder I can go an one of your slow runs!
How interesting that you made it to that book signing and talk. I saw that it was to be happening and wanted to go…so nice to read about some of their message. Have you read the book? I wanted to read it after reading the article in the newspaper. A 2-hr run just sounds blissful!
Pam
Wow.. Nice blog. You have a nice way with words and I agree with you, that every run is different and unique when you are out in nature. Silencing the chatter.. Hmm, we are talking about meditation here
). This reminds me of a time when I was really worried about something happening in the future.. I walked around the campus and felt like exploring a trail near lake washington.. My mind was still going on and on, but when I got into the trail that was lining up nicely with the beach dotted with flowers, I felt the mind lose its grip and gradually silence.. There was no effort on my part.. It was an amazing experience. Btw, it’s inspiring to know that you do a 2 hr tempo run. 2hrs is the maximum I have ever run and that was a long slow distance run.
Looking forward to your next post!
I find that there is internal ‘chatter’ that must be silenced at every race and every tempo run. Can I hit a PR? Is that pang in my side a side ache starting? Did I eat the right pre race food? The list can grow expenentially. You have to have confidence that you trained well, you are running for fun and you are going to make the best of it one way or another. Internal doubt can cause undo stress and screw up a perfectly good run. Block it all out and focus solely on the run ahead. I’m a dog person so I when I get anxiety before a run I think of my dog. Does he worry how far he is going to run? No. Does he worry that he isn’t ready? No. The fact is he has no clue where we are going to run, what tempo or how far. But he is totally jazzed to be there and to be running. If you can tap into that kind of ‘doggie zen’ just being excited to be out doing something you can really focus your mind onto the task at hand.
Hi James! I like your idea of “doggie zen”. It’s good to be able to do this, and I think dogs have something we don’t in this regard! We humans have to work so much harder to shut our mouths/minds and just ride out the experience. I appreciate you taking the time to write; your comments are so insightful. Thanks for sharing!
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