High standards and Feeling yourself

“You were for sure the fastest mom in the race.”

“Well we don’t celebrate that.” 

Gwen Jorgensen was quick to dismiss her husband Patrick’s attempt to comfort her after the US Olympic Trials 5k in 2021. 

After injury kept Gwen out of the Olympic Trials Marathon, she had a year to become a 5k runner, and by the time she got to the start line, she still wasn’t totally ready. She placed 9th and was content while still feeling the disappointment of her untapped potential. 

When I heard her say, “We don’t celebrate that,” I thought Ouch! Why not celebrate that you’re the fastest, and perhaps only, mom out there?! Your body has done something no one else’s has! Was she holding herself to too high of a standard? Being too hard on herself? 

I got to interview Gwen last week (amazing! so wise!) and when I asked her about this comment, she totally reframed my thinking on “high standards.” 

Gwen tells anyone who will listen: her goal is to win a gold medal in the Olympic marathon. No American woman has ever done that, and when Gwen set that goal many years ago, only two American women had even medaled in the event. Gwen may have an Olympic gold in the triathlon (lol did I not mention that?), but to some runners, her goal can sound lofty.

But someone needs to be the first, so why not her? Gwen said she sees athletes undercut themselves all the time, with big but “realistic” goals, like being the first American finisher, (but not the winner!) of the Boston Marathon. Why not set the biggest goal you can think of? Truly, why not? 

Well I’ll tell you why -  you’ll set yourself up for failure! For disappointment and misery and shame. High standards are good, but if you set your standards too high, you’ll never reach them, and then you’ll have more reasons to feel bad about yourself. Right? 

Wise Gwen says no. It’s not either or. It’s not big glory or big failure with these audacious goals. It’s both AND. You can have the big goal and you can celebrate the smaller wins along the way. You can fail and be proud of yourself and committed to the road ahead. 

Gwen didn’t want to celebrate being the fastest mom in the race because that wasn’t a goal of hers. She could celebrate herself for other small wins like her race tactics and her perseverance in hot conditions, but she didn’t need a consolation prize of “fastest mom.” She was proud of her work and she wanted more.

Gwen still wants to win Olympic gold. Last week, she was celebrating the fact that she ran for just 30 minutes straight. She’s recovering from Covid and her training doesn’t look anything like that of an Olympic gold hopeful right now. But she’s not changing her goal or feeling bad about herself. 

She’s got big goals AND feeling herself. You really can have it all. 

Follow along with Gwen’s journey!

Gwen’s Youtube (she posts great life, training, and race updates here!)

IG: @GwenJorgensen

(Picture credit: Talbot Cox)

Fast Isn't Interesting

Race times are everywhere. A 1:30 half marathon, a 6 minute mile, a 5 hour marathon.

But do they tell us anything interesting?

The time alone doesn’t mark a success or disappointment, no matter how “fast” the time may seem.

The interesting part isn’t someone’s race time, it’s the story of how they got there. How did they become a runner? How did they pick that race? What did they hope to get out of it? What was their training like and what did they learn along the way?

I’d rather talk to someone who never thought they’d be a runner and just ran their first marathon in 7 hours, than someone who regularly coasts through 3 hour marathons but doesn’t really think about what value running adds to their life.

I’m the slowest runner I’ve ever been right now. My easy run pace has gone from 8 minute miles to 10 or 11 minute miles. But magically, running still gives me all the enjoyment, mental clarity, challenge, and fulfillment it always has. Even more, actually. I appreciate and prioritize it more than ever, and you’ll never hear me say I had a bad run, because there’s no such thing. My only challenge is finding some new on-pace running friends, but I can wait patiently for Bumble or Strava to release a run-friends-matching app (my million dollar idea!).

The saying goes: “The journey is the destination.” I think we can love both the journey and the destination, but the journey is the interesting part.

PS - My music recommendation this week is San Fermin. If you want a song to start with, try In This House.

Why I'm Going To Run a Race I'll Most Definitely Lose

The inspiring women of Team Athena!

I’m going to run a 5k this week, and there’s a very good chance I’ll be dead last. Possibly by a lot!

Every race I’ve ever run, I’ve entered it with the intent to truly race. I’ve never entered a race purely “for fun” or without a “real” goal.

But my friends on Team Athena are racing, and I want to be out there with them, and I miss the running world, and I want to experiment with my relationship to running and racing.

I want to loosen my grip on my identity as a runner and the attachment I have to being a “good” runner.

I want to let racing feel casual, silly, inconsequential.

I’m not trying to swear off more “serious” racing goals forever, but I’m wondering if being more carefree right now will bring a lightness and ease to those future “more serious” goals.

I want to keep running in spite of the fear that no one will take me seriously as a running coach if I’m “this slow.” I want to push myself to feel confident and happy out there without having to validate my results by saying things like, “I just had a baby and I took a year off running,” or tell people, “I ran in college so I’m still a real runner.” Because really, who cares?

What if I never run faster than this? Won’t I still love running? Won’t it still fill me up with pride, joy, pain, excitement, clarity, and love? Won’t it still be fun?

Why Run? To Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro!

Tend Athletics athlete Anna has been competing in marathons and Ironmans for ten years. In between her workouts, she works to help families build and improve places to call home at Habitat for Humanity. This winter, she had the opportunity to travel to Ethiopia and Tanzania for work, where she and her team were building latrines and communal kitchens in Addis Ababa. 

Anna has long wanted to climb to the Everett base camp, so when a friend suggested they extend their work trip to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, she was all in! 

They hired Kandoo Adventures to lead them through the 7-day climb, with a group of 8 climbers, 2 lead guides, and a team of about 20 porters and cooks. To hear Anna tell it, the porters were a constant source of inspiration, grit, and awe! 

Tell us about the climb! What was it like? Walk us through a “day in the life.” 

We started at the Machame Base Camp (5,000’) and chose the “medium” amount of time for our climb - 7 days, in hopes of having more time to acclimate to the altitude. Luckily we had already been living at about 8,500’ in Ethiopia for two weeks before the climb. 

We were on our feet for about 5-6 hours a day, usually hiking 4-6 miles, except summit day! We spent five days going up, and just two coming down. 

We went at the beginning of the dry season in Tanzania, so we still saw quite a bit of rain. The temperatures were about 70-80*F at the base camp, and got about 10* colder every day, until at the summit temps were in the teens. 

On summit day, we went “to bed” at 8pm, only to be woken up at 10:30pm to start the climb. It’s best to hike at night because the snow is safest when it is packed down, and then you get to the summit at sunrise! We reached the summit in 7 hours, just in time to see the sun come up at 6am. For as joyous and amazing as it is to be at the summit, it’s important to not spend too much time there because there is so little oxygen at 19,341 feet, so after about 30 minutes, we started our descent. 

What were the biggest challenges and how did you respond to those harder times? 

Coming down was definitely the hardest part, as we were already so tired, and the terrain was quite muddy and rocky so you had to be really focused on your footing. We had two long days of descending.   

In challenging times, I can pull from my mental toolkit as an endurance athlete to get myself through. I know that oftentimes when I’m feeling low I need to refuel, and after a snack, it helps if I pick up the pace a little bit to get my momentum going. Usually a guide would notice when we seemed to not look well and they did a great job of helping to distract us with a friendly conversation and help us remember to appreciate the beautiful scenery around us. 

What were the best parts of the climb? 

On the first day of the climb, we saw a type of monkey I’d never seen before - it was black and white with a tail like a skunk. The beauty of the trip continued to be a highlight. We started in a rainforest and then as we climbed the landscape became more arid and sparse. I think we passed through a total of five different microclimates. On one day, the trail was like a river bed surrounded by trees that looked like big Joshua trees, and as we walked the sun was coming out and then suddenly we got our first glimpse of the top of the mountain. It was so big, so grand, and that was a really special moment. 

What did you eat on the climb? 

We were so lucky to have amazing cooks and fresh food, because many of the porters make daily trips up and down from different base camps. For breakfasts, we had oatmeal, toast, eggs, fruit, and a favorite among the American climbers - PBJ! Our Irish counterparts were very perplexed with this obsession of ours. For lunches and dinners we had things like tilapia, soup, rice, pasta, ramen, and a variety of meats. The highlight of our climbing food was definitely the cake that our crew somehow managed to bake on summit day!

What were the highlights of being in Tanzania? 

The crisp, fresh, tropical air was incredible! The only thing that may have been better than that were the mangoes. I knew when my friend from Hawaii confirmed they were the best mangoes she’d ever tasted, that they really were the best.

We went on a safari for two days after the climb, so that was of course also very special. And I can’t forget to mention the joys of seeing monkeys and baboons walking around everywhere, even in the city. We woke up one morning to the sound of monkeys on our roof! 

How has this experience affected your life at home, in work, and in sport?

I’ve pushed my endurance to extremes before, but this was definitely the coolest and most exciting way in which I’ve done that. Managing the elevation gain felt like a big accomplishment. I’ll always remember the people I met, the views, and daily experience of the climb as a life highlight. Each time I accomplish a new mental and physical feat, it strengthens my confidence in my abilities and reminds me I’m capable of more than I think. 

What advice would you give to people interested in climbing Kilimanjaro? 

First, bring extra toilet paper! You’ll also want extra hiking socks and your favorite snacks for when you’re feeling sick. Second, always listen to the guides! They know best, always. I appreciated that our guides made us drink at least 3 liters of water each day, and did twice daily health checks on us - checking our oxygen levels, pulse, and appetite. Our guide had summited at least 100 times in their life, so they really are the experts. 

What’s next? 

I still want to hike to the base camp of Everett, and I have a new goal of also hiking Mt. Fuji. 

As far as my running - I’m running the Eugene Marathon in April, and have a long term goal of running a Boston Qualifier! 

Why Run: Trail Marathoner Elizabeth L.

At the end of March I ran the Golden Gate Headlands Marathon, which is a beautiful trail marathon in the Marin Headlands with views like this every step.

The course had 5,000 ft of elevation gain which is about the same as running half way up Mt. Hood - aka a lot. When I learned that the winning woman finished in 3:34 I was incredibly impressed and wanted to talk to her, so, I found and called up Elizabeth and got to learn all about the story behind such an amazing finish!

Elizabeth grew up in the Bay Area and played lots of sports as a kid, eventually focusing on lightweight crew in high school. She competed with the lightweight crew team at Harvard where she became a Two Time All American and her team won Nationals her senior year (2014).

She recalls the team’s fall training “triathlon” - erg 7.5k, run 6 miles, then finish with a full tour of the Harvard stadium steps. Besides this they didn’t run very much as a team but she has always loved running, and remembers running before school sometimes in elementary school just for the enjoyment of it.

After graduating, like most collegiate athletes, she wasn’t sure what her new athletic life would look like, and soon took up running. She had moved back to San Francisco to work as a consultant in the life sciences/biotech industry, and she had some of the world’s best trails and parks out her back door. She ran the San Francisco Marathon in 2015 (3:31) and the Boston Marathon in 2016 (3:25).

Elizabeth with the race’s signature trophy - a rubber chicken.

Megan and David Roche’s book, “The Happy Runner” has really changed Elizabeth’s perspective on training since college. She has come to truly love and enjoy the process of training each day. I haven’t read this book, but in hearing about it, I share the philosophy of enjoying and being grateful for your training, instead of being taken over by the pressure of it.

This marathon was her first trail race, and she started training with a loose plan in mind on January 1. She generally ran 50 miles/week, with one day of 45 second hill repeats, a medium long run on Thursdays (10-12 miles), a long trail run on the weekends, regular runs the rest of the week, and Mondays off. She would also do pilates or yoga on the weekends as what she called her “insurance policy” for injuries. Well said!

Elizabeth plans to run more marathons this year - both trail and road - with the hopes of getting a Boston qualifier on the roads. I have no doubt she will! Long term she’d love to do more mountain running and ultras. She will be moving to Hanover, NH in the fall to attend Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business, and will have a whole new terrain of trails to explore there.

So why run? For Elizabeth, she loves how happy running makes her feel in the moment and when she’s finished, saying, “You’ll never feel worse after a run.”