My Big Sur Experience
One day during a recent training session, a client asked me if I ever ran a half marathon? When I told her that I “had never run” in an organized event, she was surprised. Her response sparked some interesting thoughts within me. So much so, that I started periodically looking into races online. Like most people, I thought twice about pushing my body in a new direction, so I did not sign up for any thing right away. It had been several years since I ran any type of distance, but I wanted to unlock the mystery of what was holding me back from registering for a race. At that point, the thought of doing a “distance run” was beginning to intrigue me more and more. The athlete in me wondered, ‘What could I still do out there? Could I run 5 miles still? How about 10? Within a day or two of those thoughts, a friend approached me at the gym inquiring if I had ever heard of the ‘Big Sur’ Marathon?? He proceeded to inform me that ‘Runners Magazine’ rated it one of the Top 3 Marathons in the county. A light bulb went off in my head that this was the race for me. As my first action step, I went home to do some research on the race and I was intent on signing up. Disappointment hit when I discovered the full marathon was already sold out. After searching the website, my hope grew again, when I noticed there was still an opportunity to sign-up for a 21 mile run on the same day and course. Without hesitation, I immediately signed up for that event. Now I had four months to get ready!! Talk about a reality check, I hadn’t run more than 3 miles in several years. In my last newsletter, I shared an article titled “Burn Your Boats” by Robin Sharma. One section of that article reads: “Who you truly are only surfaces when you place yourself in a position of discomfort and you begin to feel like you’re out on the skinny branch. Challenge serves beautifully to introduce you to your best – and most brilliant – self.” It was in the spirit of this article, that my intention then became closing any option of retreat. Determined to hold myself accountable; I published my intentions on my website and started spreading the word to clients and colleagues. Disappointing my clients was not an option, I had to demonstrate the same effort and dedication that I ask from them on a daily basis. I realized that to get the best out of others; I had to get the best out of myself. With this mindset, I devised my game plan to complete this 21-mile distance using the tips on “goal setting” in the previous newsletter. Again those tips are as follows: First on the list was a 10K in Campbell. Training began and was better than expected at the start. It remained on target until I was literally side lined with the flu two days before and could not run that race. Onto plan B. Next on the list was a 10k in Los Gatos. Again training was on target until I injured myself trying to do an acrobatic move at the gym. Let me just put it this way, the handstand was fine; it was the dismount that was the problem! The result was a deep muscle contusion and nerve injury to outside of my left leg. On the positive side, I knew that running would not further exacerbate the injury. It was just something that needed time to heal. With that said, it made each step of running very uncomfortable. Another adversity that I needed to overcome and admittedly the thought of using the injury as an excuse to back out briefly crossed my mind. When doing my best to justify this possibility within myself, the one thing that kept appearing into my thoughts was the following quote: Champions do their best even when no one is else looking. This was very powerful for me because I knew that I could still run the race. Therefore, I wanted to conquer that natural tendency to avoid the unknown. Something was holding me back and I wanted to overcome that feeling. The risk had to be taken. Choosing the safe route was not an option! Therefore, I was back to training the next day. After one month, my first milestone in training was completion of the Los Gatos 10k (6.21 miles) in 54 minutes. Although, only a stepping stone to the larger goal; I proved to myself that I could complete a specified distance and my injury did not stop me! From there, I increased my weekly training runs incrementally: 8 miles, 10 miles, 12 miles and so fourth. Each time, I hit a new threshold of pain and discomfort. I seriously began to wonder if I would be able to complete the 21-mile distance. At 210 pounds, I do not exactly have a typical long distance runner’s physique, nor do I consider myself to be a “runner.” Rather I prefer to think of myself as an “athlete who can run.” Nonetheless, the 21-mile run was obviously a worthy adversary not to be under estimated and I knew I could not back away from the challenge that lay ahead. As the race approached, I began doing some more detail research on the course. Reading, “The Big Sur Marathon is 26.2 miles of the most beautiful coastline in the world – and, for runners, the most challenging.” (Big Sur). The tag-line for the race is as follows: “Beautiful as it is brutal.” The race began at 6:30 in the morning, and required catching a designated bus at 4:45 in the morning that would take the runners on a 45 minute drive to the starting line. Predicted temperatures were in the 40’s and some year’s head winds have reached speeds 40 miles per year. In fact winds are such a factor on the course, there is a point in the course named “Hurricane Point” or referred to by runners as “Huri-Pain Point” which involves a 700 ft ascent over the course of 2 miles. It’s straight up the whole time. The day finally arrived, and in the end I achieved my goal by completing the run in 3 hours and 53 minutes. ‘Big Sur’ delivered all it advertised and then some. The course was both extremely beautiful and challenging at the same time. The course produced on its promise of ‘pain’ when 18 miles in, I experienced some severe cramping in both of my hamstrings. This drastically slowed my pace for last 3 miles, but determined to reach my goal I was able to keep moving. The beauty of the coast and the sense of accomplishment crossing that finish line made it all worth it! It was so revitalizing to overcome the obstacles that were presented along the way. As a fitness professional, this feeling of joy, sense of accomplishment and rejuvenation are what I aspire each of my clients to experience. My hope of sharing this story is to inspire you to conquer the unknown. I encourage you to get outside your comfort zone, set goals for yourself and accomplish them. My wish is that somehow this story inspires you to seek your full potential and to discover, health, happiness and harmony along the way!
Ray Vargas, Certified Personal Fitness Trainer ISOTONEX High Intensity Training & Sports Nutrition Serving the San Jose, CA area Telephone: 408-506-2209 Schedule a consultation here
