{"id":1677,"date":"2009-12-23T03:02:46","date_gmt":"2009-12-23T08:02:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/?p=1677"},"modified":"2009-12-22T22:03:30","modified_gmt":"2009-12-23T03:03:30","slug":"safety-pin-preparation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/2009\/safety-pin-preparation\/","title":{"rendered":"Safety Pin & Preparation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
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Here is a guest post from my friend, the great Mike Nawrocki.\u00a0 It is an interesting story about how even “experienced runners” make big mistakes!\u00a0 Enjoy! <\/em><\/p>\n

I helped coach the MDRA Fall Marathon Program this year.\u00a0 During the week leading up to the Medtronic TCM, I e-mailed the members of the training group about 262 inspirational quotes to ponder in the days leading up to the marathon.\u00a0 Or better yet, as they trudged up <\/span><\/span>Summit Avenue<\/span><\/span> for four miles.\u00a0 And I opened the list with one of my all-time favorite quotes, this one by Roger Bannister.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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“Sport is not about being wrapped up <\/span><\/span>in cotton wool. Sport is about <\/span><\/span>adapting to the unexpected and being able to modify plans at the last minute. <\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>Sport, like all life, is ab<\/span><\/span>out taking risks.” <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Little did I know just how much this quote and all the people who I helped \u201ccoach\u201d (I use that term loosely) this summer would pull me through my own race: the TC10.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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My goal for the TC10 was two-fold: finish in under an hour, but also finish with a smile on my face.\u00a0 I got to the Metrodome about 90 minutes before my race.\u00a0 Every time I got up to walk somewhere, I noticed my sock was sticky. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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And here is a typical conversation I had with myself every time I re-discovered my sock was sticky.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s weird,\u201d I thought, \u201cAnd kind of gross.\u00a0 Feels like peanut butter.\u00a0 Yum I like peanut butter.\u00a0 Especially peanut butter cookies.\u00a0 Oh and peanut brittle.\u00a0 Not really made of peanut butter.\u00a0 But brittle and butter sound the same.\u00a0 Hey!\u00a0 Which one do I like better?\u00a0 Peanut brittle or peanut butter cookies.\u00a0 Gotta go with the latter.\u00a0 Easier to eat in mass quantities.\u00a0 Eating in mass quantities.\u00a0 Awesome.\u00a0 I like fried cheese sticks\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 As you can see it didn\u2019t take me long to forget \u201cThe Mystery of the Sticky Sock.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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For years I have had a reputation for being somewhat of a flake.\u00a0 The fact that I kept forgetting to investigate \u201cThe Mystery of the Sticky Sock\u201d has done little to dispel this reputation. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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In fact, I forgot all about my sticky sock until about a mile and a half into the TC10, when my sock became conspicuously \u201cunsticky.\u201d\u00a0 I had started my race beautifully.\u00a0 I went through mile one in 5:45, which <\/span><\/span>admittedly <\/span><\/span>was <\/span><\/span>20 to 30 <\/span><\/span>seconds faster than I had planned.\u00a0 But given my track record of going out <\/span><\/span>200 to 300<\/span><\/span> seconds too fast in races, who was I too complain? <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Well, me.\u00a0 I began to complain once I realized what was now \u201cunsticky\u201d in my sock.\u00a0 And by \u201ccomplain\u201d I mean \u201ccurse a blue streak that would make a sailor turned red.\u201d\u00a0 I had cracked the case of \u201cThe Mystery of the Sticky Sock.\u201d\u00a0 That sticky thing in my sock was now a very loose, but closed, safety pin bouncing around the inside of my sock and the bottom of my foot.\u00a0 So now I had a new mystery:\u00a0 \u201cThe Mystery of How the *%#$@#!$! That Safety Pin Got in My Sock.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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But I had had more urgent matters to address.\u00a0 We are all familiar with the \u201cfive stages of grief\u201d we supposedly go through after a loss.\u00a0 And in the thirty seconds it took me to realize there was a safety pin in my sock to finally deciding to sacrifice seconds and take the pin out of my sock, I hit all five stages.\u00a0 I had to accept the possible <\/span><\/span>loss <\/span><\/span>of my goal: breaking 60:00 in this race.\u00a0 So much for debating cheese sticks vs. peanut brittle!\u00a0 Instead this is what I said to myself\u2026<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cWhat the *&%^$#@! is bouncing in my shoe?\u00a0 It feels like a safety pin.\u00a0 No way.\u00a0 How the *&%^$#@! did a safety pin get in there!?\u00a0 I\u2019m still sleep-walking in the Metrodome.\u00a0 I\u2019m dreaming this. Seriously, how the *&%^$#@! did a safety pin get in my sock?!?! (stage 1: Denial)\u2026 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2026*&%^$#@! That really is a safety pin!\u00a0 I mean seriously! How does a safety pin get in my sock!!! &%^$#@!*&%^$#@!*&%^$#@!*&%^$#@! *%#$@#!$! (stage 2: Anger)\u2026<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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There\u2019s no way I can stop.\u00a0 Every second is precious.\u00a0 Here\u2019s the deal.\u00a0 If I move the pin around a bit, I\u2019ll find just the right spot for it\u2014a safe little nook for the pin to be where it won\u2019t bother any toes.\u00a0 And if I run just right, who\u2019s to say it will ever open?\u00a0 … (stage 3: Bargaining)\u2026<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2026You know what?\u00a0 That\u2019s the dumbest thing I\u2019ve ever told myself.\u00a0 And I\u2019ve told myself some dumb things.\u00a0 Wow a lot of dumb things now that I think about it.\u00a0 Seriously how the *&%^$#@! did a safety pin get in my sock?!?! What kind of a rookie error is this?\u00a0 I\u2019m an idiot (stage 4: Depression).\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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And of course the final stage is Acceptance.\u00a0 I came to accept that the prospect of a pin stuck in my big toe was quite a bit worse than the prospect of not reaching my goal-time.\u00a0 So it took me about a minute to get my shoe and sock off, shake the pin out, <\/span><\/span>and finally <\/span><\/span>get the sock and shoe back on.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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As I hopped back up and started running again, I debriefed a little. <\/span><\/span>I took stock of where I was at. <\/span><\/span>Unable to answer the burning question of the moment (how the <\/span><\/span>*&%^$#@! <\/span><\/span>a pin got in my sock), I tackled bigger issues.\u00a0 I thought about how I had a built-in alibi.\u00a0 If I didn\u2019t break 60 minutes, I could explain away <\/span><\/span>any seconds over the one hour threshold to<\/span><\/span> \u201cThe Mystery of How the *%#$@#!$! That Safety Pin Got in My Sock.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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But I thought about it a little more.\u00a0 Part of racing is preparation.\u00a0 Some of us take it for granted.\u00a0 I have learned I can\u2019t.\u00a0 If I can\u2019t get my socks on without endangering myself, that has to be factored into my time.\u00a0 I thought <\/span><\/span>about many of the <\/span><\/span>e-mails and spoken advice I preached to the training class.\u00a0 And they all had two central themes: 1) Prepare for <\/span><\/span>every possibility, as<\/span><\/span> much as you can, logistically and mentally, and 2) what you cannot prepare for, adapt to it quickly and smartly. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Not only had I preached this to the people in the MDRA training program, but I had seen them practice it.\u00a0 I needed to be like them.\u00a0 I had failed myself in terms of the first half of the message (preparing logistically), and it was now up to me to follow-through on the second-half and adapt. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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I made it to the two mile mark in <\/span><\/span>just <\/span><\/span>over twelve minutes.\u00a0 Close to where I wanted to be. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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My mind went back to both the Bannister quote and to so many runners in our training program who had talked with me about how to train through injury, illness, and personal setbacks.\u00a0 And I saw so many of those same people that morning in the Metrodome ready to toe the line for the marathon.\u00a0 And thanks to them, I was able to put \u201cThe Mystery of How the *%#$@#!$! That Safety Pin Got in My Sock\u201d behind me, and adapt to a new plan.\u00a0 I could have quit my goal.\u00a0 I had the alibi.\u00a0 But I told myself I had to factor my own carelessness and distractibility into my time.\u00a0 The risk was to go for my goal, even though less than two miles into the race, my entire plan blew up in my face.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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And like Sir Roger Bannister said, isn\u2019t that sport is all about?\u00a0 Learning to take risks and adapt to adversity?\u00a0 So I did it.\u00a0 I finished in under an hour, and with a smile on my face.\u00a0\u00a0 But I do not believe I could have done if I didn\u2019t spend all summer with the people in the training program.\u00a0 I saw people adapting and taking <\/span><\/span>risks <\/span><\/span>on a regular basis at our practices.\u00a0 So I just want to say thank you to everyone in the class for that.\u00a0 You guys did a great job just by signing up and taking the risk that is training for a marathon.\u00a0 You were the inspiration I needed at mile 1.5 of my own race.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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It seems silly to think that preparing and running in a race will help me for life\u2019s bigger challenges.\u00a0 To quote the Mighty Mighty Bosstones: \u201cI\u2019<\/span><\/span>m not a coward;<\/span><\/span> I\u2019ve just never been tested.\u00a0 I\u2019d like to that if I was I would pass.\u201d<\/span><\/span> But every day we lace up our running shoes to train for a race.\u00a0 And every race we run, where there are no guarantees, we are training ourselves to step up to the bigger challenges life will throw at us.\u00a0 And that is why I run.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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But seriously, how the *%#$@#!$! did that a safety pin get in my sock?\u00a0 Some mysteries, I have come to accept, go unsolved.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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