You think you’ve got it easy and then, when you’re near the end of a 20 mile run, or a 15 mile run (or even a 6 mile run) you feel terrible. You feel like giving up and walking home. You take on a “woe is me” attitude and the run ends up being much less spectacular than anticipated. Somedays runs and workouts are hard because you may not have eaten well the day before, or you’re too stressed out with work or bosses, or because of something a friend said, or the fact that you forgot to order new shoes (and now the knees hurt), or whatever. The possibilities of “things that can ruin a run’ seem endless.
When this happens to me (as it often does) I try to think of the fact that I, like so many athletes out there, have the innate ability to run. I simply slip on my shoes (regardless of how many miles they have on them), take a swig of water, and slip out the door. And I run. I don’t have to worry about the health concerns that some athletes struggle with. I don’t have to worry about whether my prosthetic leg is gong to perform as I intended it to. I don’t have to worry about who’s watching my kids while I embark on a 70 mile training run. I’m lucky in that I can simply run- anywhere and anytime I choose to. Unlike world-famous and hard-core Amy Palmiero-Winters (www.seeamyrun.com) who’s been running and breaking records on a prosthetic limb for over a decade, following a tragic motorcycle accident. Amy has overcome more obstacles, injuries, and surgeries than most of us dare to think about. She just took home the well-respected and much deserved AAU Sullivan Award and this May she will be competing for the US National Team at the Ultrarunners’ 24-hour World Championship on May 13-14 in Brive, France.
At Swim, Bike, Run, Eat! we’ve been fortunate enough to be part of Amy’s team and we’ve been working on developing a fuel plan to get her over those French hills and around the looooong course, so she arrives at the finish line in blazing speed (like we know she will). Stay tuned for the 2010 World 24-Hour Run Championship results and check out http://www.usatf.org/ for more info.
And while we all wait for race day to arrive, check out the recent New York Times article featuring Amy and detailing all that she has endured and all that she hopes to accomplish. But one word of caution, the article just might make you think twice (or eat your words) the next time you feel sorry for yourself on a 20 miler, a 15 miler, or (if you’re like me) a 6 miler.
Click here for the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/26/sports/26vecsey.html?scp=1&sq=amy%20winters&st=cse
