I was a distance runner in college and remember one day asking my coach how she prescribed paces for tempo workouts. She went on to describe how a tempo paced workout should be “comfortably uncomfortable” – definitely faster than an easy run, not an all out race pace, but on the edge of true discomfort. For whatever reason, I think about that conversation a lot and just ran with it (literally). I think about how I entered into the world of endurance sports and that the whole process was certainly uncomfortable, scary, but all so exciting at the same time. She made the whole experience life changing and eye opening for me. Yes, I was at a very moldable age at that time as so many college students are just trying to figure out their lives, but that conversation and her entire coaching philosophy was exactly what I needed at that time in my life to get the wheels turning.
I wonder what runs through other people’s minds as they sign up for things like the Iceman race, decide to change jobs, to start a family, to pack up and move to a new and unknown place. As humans we are creatures of habits and routine, so I simply don’t believe any of those things are completely comfortable decisions that were made in 100% confidence. But what fun would life be if we stayed in the confines of our little comfort zones?
I can relate this to everything I’ve ever done on the bike – biking was not my first endurance sport and I certainly still feel like an imposter sometimes when people refer to me as a “biker”. Biking is scary for me; the speed, the trees, the other riders in such close proximity, the planning, the inevitable mechanic issues. Gosh as I list all these things I’m starting to question how in the world did I fall so hard in love with this sport!? Well, it just took a little extra push for me to understand that the real fun starts where your comfort zone ends – get used to it folks.
Photo caption: Myself and Coach Karen Lutzke following a cross country race
Thank you to our 2024 Iceman Cometh Challenge Ambassador Allyson Klug @allysonklug