Getting Real

"Running makes you real." - Molly Barker

In Endurance magazine a couple of months ago, Girls on the Run founder Molly Barker wrote a piece on how running makes you real. In summary, she said that when we run there's no faking it. We either can or we can't. We either get up and go for it or we don't. We either worry about what others think/do/say, or we sweat and grunt and gut it out - throwing caution, self-doubt, and others' perceptions to wind.

We were reminded of Molly's wisdom during this weekend's preview ride and run of the Pinehurst olympic tri course. With one month to go before we race our final tri of the season - and our longest tri to date - Sunday's preview made everything very REAL.

The lake is protected and beautiful. We can't wait to see what it looks like on race day. The 40K bike rolls nicely and was somewhat easier than we anticipated. We hope to really be able to build speed and drop time here. Then, there's the run: 10K of seriously rolling hills - with one final steep hill just before the finish line.

As we rode the run course before running a bit of it, we kept looking at each other with ominous stares that said: Whoa. This is gonna be REAL.

Real as in really tough, really a test of all of our training, really a call to focus - and sweat and grunt and GUT IT OUT and NOT give in to inner doubts and mental fatigue-- and really an opportunity to maybe, just maybe, SHINE.

Ignorance may be bliss in some cases - but we'll take the truth and remind ourselves that we're REAL enough to handle it.