Summer Wins

This summer has been different from most; fewer races and new stressors and obstacles to work through. Despite everything, the coaches and athletes of Lifelong Endurance got and challenged themselves towards growth.

Coach Hillary Osborn

I took on the Leadville 100,000 foot challenge. I’ve been intimidated by hard vertical climbs in the past. But this summer I’ve done more vert then ever before; involving 14 fourteeners, big mountain runs with friends and weekday peak tags. I’m more confident on the climbs now and have totally fallen in love with high ridge lines and alpine views. 

My second big win has been focusing on supporting friends in their big goals. I had the honor of pacing my friend, Becca Jay, while she went on the set the FKT for the female with the most 14er climbs in 24hrs all while raising awareness for Black Lives Matter. 

I also paced my friend Tim Barr at Never Summer 100k. He finished 2nd in the masters category and had a course PR. 

Brian Dunfee

This summer was grueling but productive!  

What’s gone well: I’ve been super consistent with my workouts despite the Texas heat (although my treadmill has made it much easier for many of my runs)!!  Working with you as coaches has been so great from a personal accountability standpoint.  I never want to skip a workout because I don’t want to see red in Training Peaks.  Not all of my workouts are A+, but they don’t always need to be. It’s about making progress one day at a time and you can’t make progress if you don’t show up.  Simply logging miles is a win in itself some days!  Staying consistent without having an actual race to train for is a big win too!  I’ve done a handful of virtual races this summer, but they just aren’t the same.

What’s made me happy: Seeing the success of my peers this summer on IG has been awesome and inspired me a lot - especially when I’ve felt burnout.  Seeing my personal progress and fitness has made me very happy as well - as I’ve logged more miles this summer than ever before in my life!  I started 2020 with a goal of running 1,000 miles... I achieved that goal on August 2!!!  This alone puts the biggest grin on my face!

Adventures: We stayed low key this summer with everything going on, but did get a few small weekend trips in as a family to give us a change in view for a few days. This photo is from a short beach trip we took in July.  

Sally Kate Humphrys

My biggest win this summer was staying on track during family vacation. I know it seems simple, but I've never been so dedicated to my workouts that I'd stick to the training calendar while on vacation. I usually use that time off as an excuse to not get in all my miles. Recently, we made a trip from Texas to Wisconsin to visit my in-laws. I got in almost all of my mileage and totally nailed my long run. It was awesome!! 

I've had lots of other small wins throughout the summer too - more on track with workouts, added in physical therapy exercises and strength training, added in yoga, and have stayed mostly on board with nutrition and hydration. I even did my first trail run at the local lake and really enjoyed it! It's been a summer of growth for sure! Since I left the world of organized sports after college, this is the most consistent and on track I've ever been for more than a few weeks. Honestly, it's all because of you - the folks at Lifelong Endurance. I'm so thankful for the support, the workouts that are challenging but not impossible, and the community. I'm very thankful. 

Ruth Atkinson

I compare this year and this summer to the lesson learned in the movie, The Grinch Stole Christmas. Woah, wait, what? 

I know, just hear me out.

In the movie, Christmas was “taken away” by the Grinch. He took away their lights, decorations, trees, presents, cards...everything that he thought made up Christmas. 

YET! Christmas still happened. The spirit of the holiday was still there. If anything, Christmas came with more true spirit than it would have in a normal year.

This is what I think of when I look back on the last four months of training.

Was there a race? No. Did I get a ton of medals? No. Did I get to run with others all of the time? No. Did I get to show up to a starting line, and feel the rush of winning my age group? No. Did I get handed a free banana by a stranger after pushing my own limits? No. The list goes on…

YET! I still chose to stay training. Running was not cancelled. Working hard and bettering myself was not cancelled. Taking some leaps into new ideas when it came to strength training was not cancelled. This list goes on too...

There was so much about what I do every single day in training that was not cancelled! If anything, I am more disciplined. I am stronger. I am motivated. I have drive and the mental fortitude to keep going when no one is there cheering for me. I can keep going when the world is falling around me. I can keep going when it’s hard and my body wants to just stop.

Training is a part of who I am, and helps me connect with my own emotions and feelings. I can finally hear myself and sort out my opinions vs. the opinions of the world. Training allows me to actually be me. So, if I learned anything this summer, or had a win to share, it would simply be that I learned to lean in when it starts to feel hard. I learned that running and training make up a part of me that I will never give up. 

Most importantly, I learned that I can discover who I am today while simultaneously working on the person I want to be tomorrow. That, my friends, is just as good of a win as any other kind in my book. Races or not, medals or not, this summer I won.