To Be Yourself in a World That is Constantly Trying to Make You Something Else is the Greatest Accomplishment.

Beth D

At some point while training for Olympic distance triathlons I realized that training the swim and bike, for me, had become more work than enjoyment.  And since running had been my triathlon strength it seemed to make sense to switch over to long distance running and hang up my goggles and helmet for good.  Although I do not particularly “love” running I love the structure and focus that it brings to my life.  In addition to making my body stronger, training and racing usually carries itself over to feeling confident about life in general.  

That being said I have finished races where, after running an eleven-minute mile pace, I felt I could move mountains (or at least climb them) and also finished races at a sub seven-minute mile pace riddled with self doubt and insecurity.  At the end of the day whether it is a seven-minute mile, an eleven-minute one or a sixteen-minute -- it is still a mile.  

I knew from the triathlon world that the New York Flyers had a reputation for being warm, friendly and accepting of runners – regardless of pace – so when I was looking for a team that trained in Central Park in a supportive and friendly atmosphere I knew that the Flyers were going to accept me regardless of where I was in my running journey. 

That's Me, Far Left!

While still training for triathlons I was a part of the high intensity Full Throttle Endurance Triathlon Team at Chelsea Piers.  During my first Full Throttle Endurance (FTE) indoor “mock race,” after all of the other athletes had already crossed the finish line, showered and dressed and were well on their way to heading out the door and off to work, I was still counting laps on the track.  Because my coach prior to joining FTE had told me that doing well in endurance sports was all a reward for honesty and integrity I made sure I fully finished every single lap in the pool and the track even if it meant I finished dead last in the race.  It was just me -- the very last athlete to finish the race by more than fifteen minutes -- pounding out every last lap at the indoor track at Chelsea Piers while Head Coach Scott Berlinger stood at the side of the track with his stopwatch when he looked me coolly in the eyes and said “You better not be running this slow in the regular race.”

From that morning on I started to actually do the things that every other prior coach had told me to make me run faster.  And, this time – on this team, I actually started to do the things that this coach was saying to do to make me run faster.  Because we were running indoors on an indoor track and outside along the Hudson, FTE coaches said that when we did our long run on the weekends (“homework”) that we had to make sure to incorporate hills.  And also because other triathlete friends had showed me how much faster running trails makes you when you go back to concrete I started to alternate my long run in the dead of winter every week – hills, trails, hills, trails, hills and trails and more trails.  In attempt to become a faster runner I never repeated the same hill or the same trail in one month – including traveling as far as two hours away by bus in the dead of winter to ensure I stayed in my hill/trail rotation.  While in the city toward the middle/end of my long run I would frequently do as many as nine hill repeats on Harlem Hill because I wanted so badly to catch up to the super fit athletes on my triathlon team. 

Sometime at the beginning of the training season with this super fit team FTE coaches had said, “If you aren’t doing your long run –– it’s going to show.”  I still have a lot of self-discovery (including the possibility of eventually using a heart rate monitor or a Garmin) to do when it comes to becoming a fitter/faster/leaner runner, but for the time being I am happy with my goal of keeping up my streak of never having missed a long run during this long treacherous winter and I am hoping that by end of the 2015 season that it will show :) 

-Beth D.