WORDS OF WISDOM

From Coach Steve

After our son Tommy has gone to bed, and Disney+ has been turned off for the evening, my wife Susan and I usually settle in on the couch and read.  Lately I've been reading classics, sports/motivational psychology,  and books on running – biographies as well as fiction.  If you haven’t read Des Linden’s, Kara Goucher’s or Lauren Fleshman’s bio’s, I strongly suggest you do.  I’ve also read Dick Beardsley’s, Frank Shorter’s, Meb’s, Bill Rodger’s, and a host of other bio’s.  

I just recently picked up Katie Arnold’s book, “Running Home,” from the library.  I was not familiar with her.  She is a contributing editor for Outside Magazine, female winner of the 2018 Leadville 100, and wrote this memoir as a way of understanding her grief over her father’s death (I am after all a runner and a hospice chaplain.)  From the jacket cover; ‘She ran to heal her grief, to outpace her worry that she wouldn’t live to raise her own daughters.  She ran to find strength in her weakness.  She ran to remember and to forget. She ran to live.’

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I’ve beaten this drum before and I will beat it again.  I am all for running goals – PR’s, BQ’s, running 2024 miles in 2024, etc., but I want to challenge you to find a larger life goal for which running is a means to the end.   

Arnold writes, 

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    ‘Everyone follows a different path. The path starts with a persistent voice inside, nudging you to try the unexpected, the improbable.  This is the voice to listen to, not the voice saying 'No.' Not the one saying 'Are you crazy?'  Don’t worry if you don’t understand it yet. You can’t possibly see where the path will take you, twisting and kinking out of sight. Follow it anyway.  Sometimes, the path will be faint and you will think you’ve lost your way and you will be afraid.  This is normal.  The path will lead you on, out of your known world and into a new one, and deeper into yourself than you’ve ever been before.  Running is my path.’

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What’s your path, what’s your journey, and where does running fit in with the larger picture of your life?  Only you can provide that answer, but I challenge you to meditate and reflect on why this crazy sport of endurance running means so much to you.

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- Stephen Hielkema, 9:00s Coach & Leader of MIT's Advanced Training Program

MIT UP NEXT:​

COOKIES & COCOA: 2/17 WORKOUT LOCATION CHANGE TO FLEET FEET LEWIS CENTER

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Craving some delicious Girl Scout Cookies?!

 

Jeff's daughter, Harper, and her Girl Scout Troop 6842 will be at the February 17th MIT workout  with cookies!

 

The girls will have FREE cookie samples and hot chocolate available following the workout, and we invite you to consider supporting their troop by buying a box or nine!

 

If you fill out this form girls will have your cookies set aside for you when you complete your workout. 

 

The girls will collect payment at the workout! 

 

If you don't want to fill out the form now, fear not! The girls will also have a selection of cookies available for purchase following the workout!

 

** Please do NOT fill out the form if you are not attending the workout as we will not be holding cookies at Fleet Feet. Form is only for those who wish to pick up cookies at the MIT workout on 2/17! **

MIT FLICKR PAGE

Check out our weekly Long Run photos at our flickr page below! You can download, share, and relive all of our best moments from the season! 

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