05.15.07
Lucky to have a team
For the past few months I have been the one freaking out about performing well in races and having good workouts and my best friend has been the one to calm me down and bring me back to reality. This past weekend, however, I got to be on the other side of that conversation. My best friend raced the same 25K as Marc this past weekend, but it was her first race as an official elite. She was at the race alone, feeling out of her element, worried about coming in as the last elite, etc. Normalizing her experience and calming her somewhat-irrational fears reminded me that no matter how fast people run, everyone experiences the same anxieties and insecurities about their improvement and performance and validity. As I reminded her that everyone of those runners had a first elite race, a race they weren’t confident they were ready to race, competitors who initially seemed surreal and unbeatable, I realized that I should take my own advice. Getting too wrapped up in the forest doesn’t help anymore than being too focused on the trees. I also realized how lucky I am to have a team with whom I’ll be racing at Friehofer’s — people who will help dispell anxiety when it gets too high, people with whom I can examine the course and discuss race tactics. Having a team takes some of the pressure off trying to navigate important races alone, and I am glad to have that!
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