August 4, 2025 • 31 mins
This week on The Back of the Pack Podcast, we lace up for the Spencer C. Duncan “Make It Count” 5K in Gardner, KS — a powerful community event that honors a fallen hero and reminds us why we run. But after crossing that finish line, we shift gears and talk about something a little heavier: what happens when we sign up for a big, exciting goal… and then totally freeze. Yep, we’re talking goal paralysis — that weird brain loop where motivation vanishes and the training plan becomes a ghost you’re afraid to open. Host Kyle shares his own story of signing up for his first 50-miler (and immediately pretending it didn’t happen), and dives into the psychology behind why runners sometimes stall out after the sign-up high fades. From perfectionism to fear of failure, we break it down in real, relatable terms — and offer practical tips to break the freeze and get moving again. This one’s for anyone who’s ever looked at their race calendar and thought: “What have I done?”
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:12):
Hello, everyone, greetings and salutations. Welcome back to another episode
of the Back of the Pack podcast. I'm your host,
Kyle Walker. Thank you so much for tuning in. I
hope everyone is having a wonderful week. We are off
to a pretty decent start. In August here in the Midwest,
we had a very strange cold front come through, so
we've had I don't know, maybe three four days of
below normal temperatures. It has been lovely. We had some
(00:33):
bad air quality. We can thank the Canadian wildfires again
for that, but really it's been nice and cool for us.
So I hope everyone has gotten out there and enjoyed it,
even just a little bit. So I wanted to let
you know over on the Friday episodes, over on the
second Wind episodes, we are doing our march towards two hundred.
So I put that out there and some people are
(00:53):
thinking you're gonna do a two hundred k or a
two hundred miler. No, no, we're talking two hundredth episode.
We are almost to the two hundredth episode of the
Back of the Back podcast. There is no two hundred
miler in my future ever, but we are getting close
to two hundred episodes. So I hope you'll check that
out on Fridays as we kind of talk about where
we've gone, where I'm sorry, where we're going, where we've been,
(01:15):
where we everything. Yeah, we're gonna talk about all of it.
But it's been kind of fun to reminisce a little
bit about kind of how the podcast started out, which
is what we talked about Friday, and how it has
grown over these last three plus years. So pretty fun
over there, So go check out those episodes. Other than that,
this past weekend, we were at the Spencer Seed Duncan
(01:36):
Make It Count five k and that is in Gardner, Kansas.
You might have heard of this last year because the
race actually got canceled last year. So Spencer Sea Duncan,
a service member who is no longer with us. I
believe it was his mother was in poor health last year,
so they're like, hey, Mama Duncan, here is priority. We're
gonna make sure she's good to go and then we'll
be back next year. This was the next year we
(01:58):
were in. The race takes place in Gardner Cake. This
is a course a lot of us has done before.
If you've done anything at the New Century, you've done
this course. They used to do the log Law dog
race out there. They've done Spencer Duncan for quite a
few years. It's a very flat, fast course. I like
this course a lot. You feel like you get decent
(02:19):
downhill without having to go back up it. I wouldn't
even say that there's a hell in this race. There's
more like a mound. You have to kind of go
up this mound in the last mile of it. But
it is really no big deal, even I who have
been going through it lately, and well more on that later.
Even I ran a mildly decent race out there, so
I was thankful. I kind of needed that little bit
(02:41):
of a win that well, yeah, I kind of say that.
Well again, more on that later, but it was it
was a very good event. This is very military themed
event and what was super cool and I give them
all the credit in the world for this. So we're
all standing there in the starting coral. Everyone's looking at
the American flag and it was one of those gigantic
I don't know, fifty to one hundred foot long American
(03:02):
flags being held up by a crane and it's dangling
there and we're there and we're doing the national anthem,
and it's great. I think they had someone actually singing it.
She did wonderfully, but you could hear it from behind.
You could hear the do do Do Do Do Do
Do Do do. They had a flyover of two Chinook helicopters,
the big double bladed helicopters, and I'm telling you, right
(03:23):
as the singer hit home of the Brik, they went
right over the flag and over the crowd on this
flyover for a five hundred person five K it was
really cool. They could not have timed it any better.
It was just the perfect way to start the day.
I'm sure you'll see it. You'll see it out there
if you're friends with any of the local runners, and
(03:44):
I even think someone posted it to one of the
posts on the podcast Facebook page. But you can see
the video of these two Chinnook helicopters coming right overhead
as we're there doing the national anthem. So huge shout
out to Spencer Sea Duncan making count five K for
making that happen, and to the military personnel who were
involved and also making that happen again, very touching and
(04:05):
moving away to start the day. They also have a
lot of military themed vendors there. They have a helicopter
that you can tour. You can go right inside of
it and you see what it's like to be in
one of these big troop transport helicopters. So very cool,
very family friendly event, good course, easy course, well supported,
no problems with cars, no problems with safety. I do
(04:25):
recommend this race. Now. One thing that people complain about,
and I'm not complaining here, I'm simply stating and showing
you people don't like the medals because there's really not
much to them. So this is it. It's a little
dog tag. It's just, you know, one of the little
novelty dog tags with the little rubber on it. See here.
Fourteenth Annual Spencer Seed Dunk and make you count five
(04:46):
k August second, twenty twenty five. So that's what it
says on this. So this is not some big honkin
piece of bling that you're going to take home. But
I feel like this is one of those races where
you don't want to spend your money on the big medals.
You want your money to go towards either the families
affected and you know, whatever the charity might be. And
I apologize that did not look it up beforehand. Something
(05:07):
else that happens during this race. Every maybe tenth or quarter,
not even a quarter, it's definitely closer than a quarter
of a mile. Maybe every tenth of a mile, there's
another military family who are there with a sign of
their you know, fall in love one and that can
get you very emotional. And you know you're running along
and you see it. You can definitely pay all your
(05:27):
respects and all your dues, and I try and give
a little wave to everyone as I go by. But
then you'll see a runner who clearly knew that family.
They know the family, they knew the person that was lost.
And so you know, whether it's the excitement or the
emotions of it, when you watch enough of that, you'll
like it can kind of get you right in the fields.
And so again a very well done event. Highly recommend
(05:49):
this if you are any anywhere in or around Kansas
City at the start of August. It is it is
a great event, so I think you should absolutely get there. Okay,
So that is the Spencer seed Dunkin making acount five
k super cool. Everything's great. Two thumbs up from the podcast. Right,
we've already talked about a two hundred podcast that's coming
up on August twenty second, stay tuned to the Friday
(06:11):
episodes to hear more about that. What we're gonna talk
about today, all right, you know what we're gonna talk
about he today, and there's reasons I hesitate, but we're
gonna get going here, So all right, let me get
let me get to the stuff I wanted to make
sure I'm mentioned here. We're gonna be talking about the
Ultra Marathon that I signed up for, right, Okay, we
know that a month ago, maybe a month and a half,
(06:32):
whatever it is now, I signed up to run a
fifty mile race in September of twenty twenty five. The
actual race date September twenty seventh, twenty twenty five. We're
sitting here now on the beginning of August twenty twenty five,
so we're less than two months, less than two months
to this race it's coming. So I signed up for
(06:52):
this race, all right, I'm super excited at first, you
guys saw it. I'm posting everywhere about it. We launched
a training group within the face page of the podcast
for this race and for the training that it takes
to get there. Okay, So, like we've got it all
mapped out. I've got the the distance you're supposed to run.
And again, I was gonna break this down by hours
not miles, because we're doing a fifty miler okay, so
(07:15):
we're we're gonna be out there for my guess is
between thirteen and fifteen hours. So I'm getting my training
done in hours, not miles. We're we're working on the
cross training, okay, not just the running. But you know,
this day we're gonna do arms and back. This day
it's gonna be core. This day is just gonna be
kind of you know, flexibility, maybe do some yoga whatever.
(07:36):
We're getting all this lined up, all right, super excited,
ready to go. We get to week one. Week one
crushed it, great on the diet, perfect on the training.
All right. I was out there Wednesday night. On Wednesday night,
so you know, we were gonna do track work and
everyone's gonna show up. We're gonna do like kind of
little group run thing. And you know, the first night,
no one came. But that's all right, no big deal.
I get it. It's a new thing. So I'm hitting
(07:57):
track work. I'm getting my time in, I'm getting my
running in and everything is great. We two, we're going,
but we're not quite as perfect. I'm not saying it
was bad, but wasn't quite as perfect. But we're still
doing thing. Week three comes, we get the first real
big heat wave in Kansas City, all right, I mean
the first real nasty one, the excessive heat warnings they
(08:20):
don't go outside unless you absolutely have to kind of stuff,
all right, So things really fall off there. And then
really at that point, they didn't just fall off. They
fell off the cliff. I mean they didn't just roll
down the hill. We're free falling down the cliff right now.
Motivation just vanished. Like I started looking at my calendar.
I stopped looking at the calendar. I stopped posting in
(08:44):
the group page for the ultra marathon training. I didn't
open the training plan, and really, every time I thought
about this race, I just I wanted to think about
anything else. And honestly, I didn't feel like I was
being lazy, all right. I think a lot of you
have felt this before. I wasn't being lazy about it,
like it was definitely in the forefront of my mind,
but I was getting to the point I really just
(09:05):
couldn't face it. I could not face looking at the training.
I couldn't face talking about it in the group, and
every time someone brings it up to me, like just
the pit of my stomach falls out. Every know how
you doing on your ultra training is not good. So really,
this isn't just like I'm crazy, even though that can
(09:28):
be argued. There is actually some psychology behind us, and
I'm glad that there is. And it's not just that
I'm cuckoo pants, even though I definitely am kind of
cucka pants. But what it is is there are times
where the mountain can be too big, the mountain that
you are facing, the mountain that you're trying to climb,
and that, honestly, that can be your first five k,
(09:50):
that could be a first ten k, could be a
first half, could be your first full, could be your
first ultra. But you see this goal in front of you,
and you know you got to get up down mountain
to even attempt your goal, but the mountain just looks
too big. And so it is it's not just like
for training for this fifty mile, or it wasn't just
like a training plan. It is now like this mental burden,
all right, And so some of the reasons all right.
(10:11):
At first, it can be overwhelming, all right, and so
like I said, that's the mountain is too big, and
then you know it's the mental burden of training for
fifty mile. Another problem you can have is perfectionism. Okay,
so if I can't do every run, if I can't
follow everything on my training plan, if my diet isn't perfect,
if I don't stretch correctly, then I'm just the whole
(10:33):
The whole thing is lost, the whole ship is lost
if I'm not perfect about it. That's another issue that
we can have when we're facing something like this, is
we get caught up in the perfectionism of it, and
then we sabotage ourselves. We're sabotaging ourselves by being so perfect.
We haven't even failed yet, but we think that because
we're not perfect, we automatically are gonna fail. And that's
(10:54):
definitely one of the issues I have. I always make
these training plans and I sit out and I'm like, okay,
sixteen week training plan. Here we go. First week's perfect,
and then the moment something doesn't go perfect, it's like
you could just set the whole training plan on fire.
At that point, Well, it wasn't perfect. Clearly, I'm not
going to survive this race. I'll be dead on the
course or I just won't show up. But it's that
(11:16):
perfection isn't at least for me, and I know for
a lot of you. If you're looking at yourself, it's
a lot of you that perfection orism can really be.
I don't know it just can. It can weigh you down.
It can almost drag you out of the race before
you even get to the start line. Another issue that
you can have, again, this is the psychology of it,
fear or failure, or it's either fear of failure or
(11:39):
fear of success. Okay, so of course we worry what
if we crash and burn? And then we also can
wonder what if I do finish? What if I do
accomplish this? Now we talked about this before, like when
I ran Boston back in twenty twenty three. When I
finished that race, I felt completely lost, like, Okay, I've
(12:01):
done the a number one thing that I've ever wanted
to do in the running world. I've accomplished the goal
that I had my entire running career. What the hell
do I do now? In that I certainly feel like
that a little bit when it comes to this fifty
miler because the chances of me ever bumping up to
one hundred miler I don't think exist. I really don't.
(12:24):
People keep saying that they might or that they do,
and like, I really don't think that they do. But
it's one of those things if if in my mind
I know that the fifty mile Ultra will be the
greatest distance I ever go, So what do I do afterwards?
I can tell you what I'm planning on doing. Afterwards,
(12:45):
We've got the Ultra Marathon. A month after that we
have the Marine Corps Marathon, and again that's a big deal.
After that, in December, we have Gulf Coast, my redemption
race for my very first and one and only DNF.
So I have things lined up. But in my mind, Ultra,
Marine Corps, Gulf Coast, okay, like it's descending in kind
(13:09):
of importance. And again that's not to take anything away
from any of these races, don't hear that. But again,
it was like I ran Boston, What the hell do
I do now? And I spend a lot of time
kind of descending trying to figure it out, and then okay, oh,
fifty miles Ultra start ascending again. I'm gonna I'm gonna
knock out this fifty. But then the concern in my head, well,
(13:30):
when that's done, what do I do? You know, I
told you on an episode when we talked about Argo,
like I'm at the point in my running career I'm
only doing the races that interest me. I'm only doing
the things that could be a challenge or could be
a fun story to tell on the podcast. Like there's
nothing left that I have to do. I don't have
to do this Ultra. And that is also a mentally
(13:51):
taxing aspect of it. Okay, So another one, and I
never say this cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance, say that I
want this, but I'm acting like I don't, okay, and
that that is a mental mismatch that can give you
both guilt and avoidance. Yeah, I say I want this fifty, okay,
(14:12):
but I am training ear mups kids like an asshole.
It's like the moment I signed up for this, my
body decided, Okay, chump, We're gonna give you every challenge
that we possibly can. Guess what, your right knee now
hurts all the time, not just some of the time.
Now your right knee hurts all the time, deal with it.
Put on more miles in the dead of summer when
(14:34):
we have heat warnings, in heate advisories in Canadian wildfires
messing with our air quality and dry weather or too
much weather. Oh, by the way, we're gonna flood your backyard,
and we're gonna give you your day of working on
moving everything in your backyard because flood water is completely
wrecked it. Don't forget, you're gonna get that. It's also
gonna be on one of the hottest days of the year.
(14:55):
It's also gonna be before you go out of town.
It's also gonna be before you have to do this, that
or the other, because like really doesn't seem to stop
when you're ultra marathon training. Who de flunk it? Right?
But you really, you know, you wish it would. You
wish everything would cooperate, but no. Family is still going
to family, Work is still gonna work. Life is still
gonna life, whether you're training or not. But that race
(15:17):
date doesn't change. The day that you toe the start
line doesn't change. Just got everything before it can and does.
But we gotta be used to that. So another one
here again in the psychological part of it. The psychology
part is loss of novelty. This is another big one.
Signing up is exciting week seven, eight, nine, ten of
(15:40):
training not so much. Okay, after the excitement of signing up,
after the excitement of telling everyone you've signed up, here
come the expectations that you train into the race. It's
not nearly as much fun. Okay. Training doesn't get you
nearly as many likes on Facebook. Training does not get
(16:00):
everyone to be like, oh my god, you're gonna do
a fifty miler. You know, like when you first announce it,
all of a sudden that goes away, But the training
is still there. And so another issue that can really
mess with your head. It's like, where do the excitement go?
Where it's gone? No one cares anymore. Like you've signed
(16:21):
up for it, you announced it, you got the initial hooray,
everyone's happy for me, and everyone's super excited. Okay, Well
they're not here logging the miles through the week. They've gone.
They're doing their own training. They got their own thing
coming up. You got to find your own motivation to
kind of to not give up, not be a quitter.
Oh sorry, I bustled out a little eminem for you there.
I hope you enjoy it. So how does this show
(16:43):
up for you for other runners? I mean it can
show up for all of us signing up for your
first half of marathon and then not training, been there
buying new shoes or gear but never using them. Hello,
oldest daughter of mine who went to Little Rock, got
roped in by a very good salesman to buy in
some overly expensive running shoes and has maybe be put
(17:07):
them on. I'm gonna say less than ten times since March.
We're in August, so that's definitely a thing. Yes, calling
you out, not that you listen, probably good. Hiding from
your coach, your group chat or your strap a log.
Are you hiding from any of these things? You're not lazy,
you're human, and you're not alone. That's that's all of us, Okay,
(17:28):
So what are we gonna do about this and get
However this affects you breaking the freeze, here's some tips.
First off, shrink the goal right. You don't have to
run fifty miles today, you just have to move today.
I know that today I am going to go out
because we have another mildy, decent day of weather, I
am gonna go out and I think I'm just gonna
I'm gonna run until I feel like I've done something. Okay,
(17:51):
I'm not gonna look at my time. I'm not gonna
look at the distance. I'm gonna do one of my loops,
and then in my mind, if I'm feeling okay, I'm
gonna do that loop again, and then I'm gonna be done,
all right, Because even as far behind in training as
I am, and oh baby, I am light years behind
where I wanted to be at this point, I still
(18:12):
can do something, and I just still need to do it.
I'm behind. I can't make up for it in one day,
all right. That's like, you know, you get a basketball
team that's down by fifty. There's not a fifty point shot, right,
You're not gonna bring it all back on one ridiculous
shot or one ridiculous possession. You just have to chip
(18:33):
away at it, all right, Chiefs, football is about to
start up. When you're down in a game. There is
not a twenty one point touchdown. You just gotta chip away.
You gotta score, your defense, got to get a stop,
you gotta get the ball back. You gotta score again,
You need to make another stop, you need to limit them.
You score again. Suddenly the game looks a lot different. Okay,
(18:54):
So for me, I need to get a run today,
and then I need to drink my protein shake, and
then I gonna start shipping away, and then tomorrow I'm
gonna play my men's indoor soccer, and then I'm not
gonna go out for postgame beers. Okay, I am not
gonna get it all back in one day. That's not
a thing that's gonna happen. But I can start to
chip away just to try and get back. I mean
(19:17):
not even really back on track, not even back on
the training program, but just back into where I would
typically typically be in my running journey, which I'm not
even at that. So we just did the Spencer Seed Duncan.
My time was thirty three thirty. I think that's a
race that should be thirty thirty. That's a race that
(19:38):
it should be maybe twenty nine. If I'm having a
good day, it shouldn't be three and a half minutes
over where I should. Like, that's where I'm at. I'm
behind in my running fitness even for this year. So
this weekend coming up, we have the run to blast
in Greenwood, Missouri, easy course. Love that rinx prd it
last year, last year, this is my five kPr. I
(20:02):
do not expect that same level of success this year
because even in my own running fitness, I am not
where I was last year, and last year I was
training for Berlin, not a fifty mile ultra. So like,
but but I gotta shrink it down because I can't
get it all back in a day in a run.
(20:24):
I can't go out there and run sixty miles, think
it nod to get me ready for fifty That would
actually cause more damage than you would want. All right,
So another thing, Focus on your next step, not the
full mountain. Get out today, don't go out for post
game beers tomorrow. I've got two very doable, very small steps,
all right. Next is name it, say it out loud,
(20:46):
Say that you're stuck. So I'm doing this episode. I'm stuck.
I've been stuck for a while now. If you ask
me how my ultra marathon training plan is going, as
you'll see, I will rapidly try and change the subject
because I don't want to admit how far behind I am,
how uncommitted I've been how I've let life kick me
(21:08):
square in the brass monkeys and all of these things
have happened. All right, there's crazy stuff going on in
my world. But that start line is still there on
September twenty seventh, so I gotta be ready for it
as best I can. Is it going to be perfect? No?
But can I start working and improving now so to
make it a little easier, then yes, yes I can.
(21:30):
All right, So say it that you're stuck. Tell your friend,
tell your buddy, tell your spouse. I'm stuck. Talk to
a friend, to coach, or even your podcast listeners, your
fellow podcast listeners, talk to your podcast host, whatever you
need to do. Talk to people, all right, talk to
your annybody. It's because honestly, no one's going to judge
you like I'm telling you all this right now, knowing
full well I'm going to see most of you this weekend. Yeah,
(21:51):
at whatever race we're at, all right, So I have
no problem telling people I'm stuck. You name it and
then talk to people about it. Reconnect with your why
remember why you signed up? Okay, why did I sign up?
I wanted a challenge? All right, It's it's not Boston
but then once I finish, I can say I've done
a fifty miler. I can say I've done an ultra marathon.
(22:12):
I can I can say these things and kind of
put it on the resume, whatever that running resume might
look like, but that you remember why you signed for
the race. I want my first half marathon. I want
to be able to say I did a half marathon.
That that is a perfectly acceptable goal. So make sure
that you're saying it. Tell people why get it, get
out there, remember why you did it. Next, visualized race day,
(22:35):
how it will feel to finish, not just suffer. Okay,
that'll be That would be a good tip because I
know that the suffer is gonna be real. But now
I got to try and wrap my mind around how
good it's gonna feel to finish, and then let the
community lift you. Uh. Sometimes we just need someone else
to say, get your shoes on and let's go. All right.
(22:55):
So one of the things we're gonna do, we're starting
that Thursday night run club at Discourse Brewery Brewery brew
Wing Sorry in Overland Park and ninety seventh. The Metcalf
that's gonna happen August twenty second is our first night,
is it no twenty first, twenty first, twenty second, which
every day of that's the Thursday. That's where're gonna start.
So you know what, at least there there's gonna be
a little accountability. I know on that night, I'm getting
(23:17):
three miles. So if you want more information, it's on
our Facebook page, ask me personally. But that's gonna be
kind of fun, all right. So have you ever ghosted
your own training plan? Yeah? Like me, tell us what
race did you sign up for and then you just
completely blocked it out of your mind. It could have
been for your first World marathon, major, could be for
(23:38):
your first marathon, could have been for your first Ultra
like it is for me. But I am sure there
are people out there who have kind of signed up
and then checked out, because I've definitely been that guy.
So please share your story. You'll respond here. When you
see this video pop up on Facebook, let us know
in the comments you know what you did that too.
So like we know, the big goals are gonna scare
(23:59):
you and that's how you know they matter. And again
I'm telling me more than I'm telling any of you.
But we've said this before. We don't have to be perfect.
We just have to show up and then yeah, we
just we got to get back on this. But you know,
this is all summed up in one term, and I
should have led with this, but I didn't. Goal paralysis.
(24:22):
That is kind of what we're gonna be calling this episode.
That's kind of where I feel we are in our process.
It's goal paralysis. This is we set a goal so
big it froze me. Not you. You're probably fine with it.
Kyle's gonna do a fifty miler, dumbass, But for me,
it is absolutely goal paralysis. I have frozen and cannot
(24:46):
move in preparation to try and reach this goal. And
that can be that can be a little bit of
a scary place to be. It is right now. I
actually thought about this episode a while ago and kind
of mapped it out, and then I even got so
paralyzed I didn't even do it when I planned to.
(25:06):
This was supposed to happen like two weeks ago, and
I just couldn't. I couldn't face it my own mind.
But I told myself that this weekend getting back into racing, okay,
so starting at Spencer Duncan. And then I told y'all.
Between Spencer Duncan and November, it is a race or
two every weekend. So I figure, if you're going to relaunch,
(25:28):
if you're going to rEFInd the dedication, if you were
going to re engage with conquering this goal, here is
the period because it kind of has to be, because
you at least have a race every weekend. Anything I
do in between during the course of the week, whether
it be the every other Thursday group runs at Discourse
(25:50):
or at my own training run, or men's indoor soccer,
or just go out for a walk on my lunch
break at work, all of these things will help get
to the weekend where I know that I have a
race or two. Okay, So this weekend coming up, run
to bless in Greenwood, Missouri, Saturday morning, five k, easy course.
(26:10):
Great people. I raved about these people last year. They
are exactly what a church body should be. The weekend
after that, we're less than two weeks away from Rexy Run.
Rexy Run in Lawrence in mid August could be hot.
Who cares, great cause, great race, We love them dearly
The next day the Ronald McDonald House Charity Race. All right,
(26:35):
so hearts for Ronald McDonald House. They are the day after,
so I know that I've got basically a half marathon
coming up in two weeks. It is ten k Rexy
Run ten k Hearts for Ronald McDonald House Charities, back
to back August sixteenth August seventeenth, so it's coming up.
At the end of August, we have the first Ottawa
Half Marathon. Again, Loggerhead no longer is the thing in November.
(26:56):
They kind of moved it forward in the year, I
guess to give every one in there. Everyone who's training
for their fall marathon now has a late summer half
marathon to kind of help keep you along. But I've
got that coming up. So in the month of August,
if you take cumulative weekends, I have two half marathons,
(27:16):
all right, the two ten k's on the weekend coming up,
and then the half marathon at the end, sprinkle in
do a little Salt Bay on some five k's and
then we we're gone. And then we're in September. How
insane is that in September we've got the Heartland thirty
k series, a couple more races sprinkled in around those.
(27:36):
The Zoo Run is in there, and then also oh yeah,
the fifty mile get in October, Marine Corps Marathon, get
in December, Gulf Coast Marathon. So like it's coming. We've
got all this, So this is my time. Maybe it
is your time to personally re engage, re engage in
your training. You're not going to hit that twenty one
(27:59):
point feel good, all right, that's not a thing that's
gonna happen. You're not gonna make it all up in
one day. You're not even gonna make it all up
in one week. And I know that goal paralysis is real,
but we're gonna justo bite off, bite off, little baby
steps that will help move us towards our goal. Just
a step here and a step there, because we're not
(28:19):
getting it all back. And I'm gonna say it again,
goal paralysis, Look at it. Look at yourself. That does
that pretty much what's going on with you? The goal
was so big, you're paralyzed. I get it, I really do,
because I'm there. But we've got all these races. Everything
else I do on top of that is just you know,
(28:39):
sprinkles on top, and sprinkles are for winners. We learn that.
So get back out there, one day at a time.
Do not look at the overall mountain. Look at your
next step. Okay, look at going from here to here,
not from here over, from here to here. That's what
we're gonna do this week. That's what we're gonna do
(29:00):
this weekend. It's what we're gonna do next week. It's
what we're gonna do next weekend. It's gonna be big
steps next weekend when we're pulling back to back ten case.
But that's what we gotta do because like a lot
of you, like me, race morning, we live for race morning.
Getting the training runs by yourself is difficult, and I
will be the first to admit that race morning is
not difficult. That's the fun part. Showing up at the
(29:22):
starting line of whatever you're running, that's the fun part.
And there's a lot of starting lines coming up. The
whole big thing now from August to November, we're gonna
be out every weekend, sometimes twice, So be ready for that,
be ready for a lot more race reviews, and then
we're just gonna keep chipping away until we get to
that fifty miler. And then when we get to that
fifty miler, we're gonna do that fifty miler. When we're
done with that fifty miler. Then we're just gonna find
(29:43):
our next goal. But we're we're done being stuck. We're
done being frozen. What does this say speaking, I'm speaking
it right now. We're done being stuck and we're done
being frozen. Even if you take a little step, we
are still going to take step forward getting ready for
whatever silly nonsense we signed ourselves up for in the fall.
(30:07):
This falls almost here, like August is the last real
nasty hot month of summer, and then we're hitting Labor
Day and the kids are going back to school, and
then we're into September, and then in September, it's just
pumpkin spice everywhere. So we got to be ready for it,
right all right, Well that's all I'm gonna harp on today.
Thank you very much for listening. I hope this resonated
(30:30):
with you a little bit again. In whatever platform you
listen on, share your thoughts, Share where you've been stuck,
Share where you're stuck right now, and maybe someone will
have a way to kind of help you out. Lastly,
great running friends of the program Katie and Cody, they
got engaged this weekend. Oh it's a match made and
Rounders having its So congratulations to you guys, super excited.
(30:53):
I know you were out of town when this happened.
Hopefully well, I know I will see at least half
of this new power couple Saturday night warning at the
run to Blast five K, hopefully both of them. But
congratulations to you both. So Cody and Katie, good job.
They put it on Facebook, so I know it's not
a secret. It is technically Facebook official, so I can
speak it here, all right, because hey, if it's not
on Facebook, it didn't happen, right, All that's gonna do it.
(31:14):
For this week's episode of the Back of the Back podcast,
I'm your host, Kyle Walker, and it's my pleasure as always, everyone,
have a safe week of training, enjoy what's left of
this nice little coal front. We will see you next week.
Hello, everyone, greetings and salutations. Welcome back to another episode
of the Back of the Pack podcast. I'm your host,
Kyle Walker. Thank you so much for tuning in. I
hope everyone is having a wonderful week. We are off
to a pretty decent start. In August here in the Midwest,
we had a very strange cold front come through, so
we've had I don't know, maybe three four days of
below normal temperatures. It has been lovely. We had some
(00:33):
bad air quality. We can thank the Canadian wildfires again
for that, but really it's been nice and cool for us.
So I hope everyone has gotten out there and enjoyed it,
even just a little bit. So I wanted to let
you know over on the Friday episodes, over on the
second Wind episodes, we are doing our march towards two hundred.
So I put that out there and some people are
(00:53):
thinking you're gonna do a two hundred k or a
two hundred miler. No, no, we're talking two hundredth episode.
We are almost to the two hundredth episode of the
Back of the Back podcast. There is no two hundred
miler in my future ever, but we are getting close
to two hundred episodes. So I hope you'll check that
out on Fridays as we kind of talk about where
we've gone, where I'm sorry, where we're going, where we've been,
(01:15):
where we everything. Yeah, we're gonna talk about all of it.
But it's been kind of fun to reminisce a little
bit about kind of how the podcast started out, which
is what we talked about Friday, and how it has
grown over these last three plus years. So pretty fun
over there, So go check out those episodes. Other than that,
this past weekend, we were at the Spencer Seed Duncan
(01:36):
Make It Count five k and that is in Gardner, Kansas.
You might have heard of this last year because the
race actually got canceled last year. So Spencer Sea Duncan,
a service member who is no longer with us. I
believe it was his mother was in poor health last year,
so they're like, hey, Mama Duncan, here is priority. We're
gonna make sure she's good to go and then we'll
be back next year. This was the next year we
(01:58):
were in. The race takes place in Gardner Cake. This
is a course a lot of us has done before.
If you've done anything at the New Century, you've done
this course. They used to do the log Law dog
race out there. They've done Spencer Duncan for quite a
few years. It's a very flat, fast course. I like
this course a lot. You feel like you get decent
(02:19):
downhill without having to go back up it. I wouldn't
even say that there's a hell in this race. There's
more like a mound. You have to kind of go
up this mound in the last mile of it. But
it is really no big deal, even I who have
been going through it lately, and well more on that later.
Even I ran a mildly decent race out there, so
I was thankful. I kind of needed that little bit
(02:41):
of a win that well, yeah, I kind of say that.
Well again, more on that later, but it was it
was a very good event. This is very military themed
event and what was super cool and I give them
all the credit in the world for this. So we're
all standing there in the starting coral. Everyone's looking at
the American flag and it was one of those gigantic
I don't know, fifty to one hundred foot long American
(03:02):
flags being held up by a crane and it's dangling
there and we're there and we're doing the national anthem,
and it's great. I think they had someone actually singing it.
She did wonderfully, but you could hear it from behind.
You could hear the do do Do Do Do Do
Do Do do. They had a flyover of two Chinook helicopters,
the big double bladed helicopters, and I'm telling you, right
(03:23):
as the singer hit home of the Brik, they went
right over the flag and over the crowd on this
flyover for a five hundred person five K it was
really cool. They could not have timed it any better.
It was just the perfect way to start the day.
I'm sure you'll see it. You'll see it out there
if you're friends with any of the local runners, and
(03:44):
I even think someone posted it to one of the
posts on the podcast Facebook page. But you can see
the video of these two Chinnook helicopters coming right overhead
as we're there doing the national anthem. So huge shout
out to Spencer Sea Duncan making count five K for
making that happen, and to the military personnel who were
involved and also making that happen again, very touching and
(04:05):
moving away to start the day. They also have a
lot of military themed vendors there. They have a helicopter
that you can tour. You can go right inside of
it and you see what it's like to be in
one of these big troop transport helicopters. So very cool,
very family friendly event, good course, easy course, well supported,
no problems with cars, no problems with safety. I do
(04:25):
recommend this race. Now. One thing that people complain about,
and I'm not complaining here, I'm simply stating and showing
you people don't like the medals because there's really not
much to them. So this is it. It's a little
dog tag. It's just, you know, one of the little
novelty dog tags with the little rubber on it. See here.
Fourteenth Annual Spencer Seed Dunk and make you count five
(04:46):
k August second, twenty twenty five. So that's what it
says on this. So this is not some big honkin
piece of bling that you're going to take home. But
I feel like this is one of those races where
you don't want to spend your money on the big medals.
You want your money to go towards either the families
affected and you know, whatever the charity might be. And
I apologize that did not look it up beforehand. Something
(05:07):
else that happens during this race. Every maybe tenth or quarter,
not even a quarter, it's definitely closer than a quarter
of a mile. Maybe every tenth of a mile, there's
another military family who are there with a sign of
their you know, fall in love one and that can
get you very emotional. And you know you're running along
and you see it. You can definitely pay all your
(05:27):
respects and all your dues, and I try and give
a little wave to everyone as I go by. But
then you'll see a runner who clearly knew that family.
They know the family, they knew the person that was lost.
And so you know, whether it's the excitement or the
emotions of it, when you watch enough of that, you'll
like it can kind of get you right in the fields.
And so again a very well done event. Highly recommend
(05:49):
this if you are any anywhere in or around Kansas
City at the start of August. It is it is
a great event, so I think you should absolutely get there. Okay,
So that is the Spencer seed Dunkin making acount five
k super cool. Everything's great. Two thumbs up from the podcast. Right,
we've already talked about a two hundred podcast that's coming
up on August twenty second, stay tuned to the Friday
(06:11):
episodes to hear more about that. What we're gonna talk
about today, all right, you know what we're gonna talk
about he today, and there's reasons I hesitate, but we're
gonna get going here, So all right, let me get
let me get to the stuff I wanted to make
sure I'm mentioned here. We're gonna be talking about the
Ultra Marathon that I signed up for, right, Okay, we
know that a month ago, maybe a month and a half,
(06:32):
whatever it is now, I signed up to run a
fifty mile race in September of twenty twenty five. The
actual race date September twenty seventh, twenty twenty five. We're
sitting here now on the beginning of August twenty twenty five,
so we're less than two months, less than two months
to this race it's coming. So I signed up for
(06:52):
this race, all right, I'm super excited at first, you
guys saw it. I'm posting everywhere about it. We launched
a training group within the face page of the podcast
for this race and for the training that it takes
to get there. Okay, So, like we've got it all
mapped out. I've got the the distance you're supposed to run.
And again, I was gonna break this down by hours
not miles, because we're doing a fifty miler okay, so
(07:15):
we're we're gonna be out there for my guess is
between thirteen and fifteen hours. So I'm getting my training
done in hours, not miles. We're we're working on the
cross training, okay, not just the running. But you know,
this day we're gonna do arms and back. This day
it's gonna be core. This day is just gonna be
kind of you know, flexibility, maybe do some yoga whatever.
(07:36):
We're getting all this lined up, all right, super excited,
ready to go. We get to week one. Week one
crushed it, great on the diet, perfect on the training.
All right. I was out there Wednesday night. On Wednesday night,
so you know, we were gonna do track work and
everyone's gonna show up. We're gonna do like kind of
little group run thing. And you know, the first night,
no one came. But that's all right, no big deal.
I get it. It's a new thing. So I'm hitting
(07:57):
track work. I'm getting my time in, I'm getting my
running in and everything is great. We two, we're going,
but we're not quite as perfect. I'm not saying it
was bad, but wasn't quite as perfect. But we're still
doing thing. Week three comes, we get the first real
big heat wave in Kansas City, all right, I mean
the first real nasty one, the excessive heat warnings they
(08:20):
don't go outside unless you absolutely have to kind of stuff,
all right, So things really fall off there. And then
really at that point, they didn't just fall off. They
fell off the cliff. I mean they didn't just roll
down the hill. We're free falling down the cliff right now.
Motivation just vanished. Like I started looking at my calendar.
I stopped looking at the calendar. I stopped posting in
(08:44):
the group page for the ultra marathon training. I didn't
open the training plan, and really, every time I thought
about this race, I just I wanted to think about
anything else. And honestly, I didn't feel like I was
being lazy, all right. I think a lot of you
have felt this before. I wasn't being lazy about it,
like it was definitely in the forefront of my mind,
but I was getting to the point I really just
(09:05):
couldn't face it. I could not face looking at the training.
I couldn't face talking about it in the group, and
every time someone brings it up to me, like just
the pit of my stomach falls out. Every know how
you doing on your ultra training is not good. So really,
this isn't just like I'm crazy, even though that can
(09:28):
be argued. There is actually some psychology behind us, and
I'm glad that there is. And it's not just that
I'm cuckoo pants, even though I definitely am kind of
cucka pants. But what it is is there are times
where the mountain can be too big, the mountain that
you are facing, the mountain that you're trying to climb,
and that, honestly, that can be your first five k,
(09:50):
that could be a first ten k, could be a
first half, could be your first full, could be your
first ultra. But you see this goal in front of you,
and you know you got to get up down mountain
to even attempt your goal, but the mountain just looks
too big. And so it is it's not just like
for training for this fifty mile, or it wasn't just
like a training plan. It is now like this mental burden,
all right, And so some of the reasons all right.
(10:11):
At first, it can be overwhelming, all right, and so
like I said, that's the mountain is too big, and
then you know it's the mental burden of training for
fifty mile. Another problem you can have is perfectionism. Okay,
so if I can't do every run, if I can't
follow everything on my training plan, if my diet isn't perfect,
if I don't stretch correctly, then I'm just the whole
(10:33):
The whole thing is lost, the whole ship is lost
if I'm not perfect about it. That's another issue that
we can have when we're facing something like this, is
we get caught up in the perfectionism of it, and
then we sabotage ourselves. We're sabotaging ourselves by being so perfect.
We haven't even failed yet, but we think that because
we're not perfect, we automatically are gonna fail. And that's
(10:54):
definitely one of the issues I have. I always make
these training plans and I sit out and I'm like, okay,
sixteen week training plan. Here we go. First week's perfect,
and then the moment something doesn't go perfect, it's like
you could just set the whole training plan on fire.
At that point, Well, it wasn't perfect. Clearly, I'm not
going to survive this race. I'll be dead on the
course or I just won't show up. But it's that
(11:16):
perfection isn't at least for me, and I know for
a lot of you. If you're looking at yourself, it's
a lot of you that perfection orism can really be.
I don't know it just can. It can weigh you down.
It can almost drag you out of the race before
you even get to the start line. Another issue that
you can have, again, this is the psychology of it,
fear or failure, or it's either fear of failure or
(11:39):
fear of success. Okay, so of course we worry what
if we crash and burn? And then we also can
wonder what if I do finish? What if I do
accomplish this? Now we talked about this before, like when
I ran Boston back in twenty twenty three. When I
finished that race, I felt completely lost, like, Okay, I've
(12:01):
done the a number one thing that I've ever wanted
to do in the running world. I've accomplished the goal
that I had my entire running career. What the hell
do I do now? In that I certainly feel like
that a little bit when it comes to this fifty
miler because the chances of me ever bumping up to
one hundred miler I don't think exist. I really don't.
(12:24):
People keep saying that they might or that they do,
and like, I really don't think that they do. But
it's one of those things if if in my mind
I know that the fifty mile Ultra will be the
greatest distance I ever go, So what do I do afterwards?
I can tell you what I'm planning on doing. Afterwards,
(12:45):
We've got the Ultra Marathon. A month after that we
have the Marine Corps Marathon, and again that's a big deal.
After that, in December, we have Gulf Coast, my redemption
race for my very first and one and only DNF.
So I have things lined up. But in my mind, Ultra,
Marine Corps, Gulf Coast, okay, like it's descending in kind
(13:09):
of importance. And again that's not to take anything away
from any of these races, don't hear that. But again,
it was like I ran Boston, What the hell do
I do now? And I spend a lot of time
kind of descending trying to figure it out, and then okay, oh,
fifty miles Ultra start ascending again. I'm gonna I'm gonna
knock out this fifty. But then the concern in my head, well,
(13:30):
when that's done, what do I do? You know, I
told you on an episode when we talked about Argo,
like I'm at the point in my running career I'm
only doing the races that interest me. I'm only doing
the things that could be a challenge or could be
a fun story to tell on the podcast. Like there's
nothing left that I have to do. I don't have
to do this Ultra. And that is also a mentally
(13:51):
taxing aspect of it. Okay, So another one, and I
never say this cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance, say that I
want this, but I'm acting like I don't, okay, and
that that is a mental mismatch that can give you
both guilt and avoidance. Yeah, I say I want this fifty, okay,
(14:12):
but I am training ear mups kids like an asshole.
It's like the moment I signed up for this, my
body decided, Okay, chump, We're gonna give you every challenge
that we possibly can. Guess what, your right knee now
hurts all the time, not just some of the time.
Now your right knee hurts all the time, deal with it.
Put on more miles in the dead of summer when
(14:34):
we have heat warnings, in heate advisories in Canadian wildfires
messing with our air quality and dry weather or too
much weather. Oh, by the way, we're gonna flood your backyard,
and we're gonna give you your day of working on
moving everything in your backyard because flood water is completely
wrecked it. Don't forget, you're gonna get that. It's also
gonna be on one of the hottest days of the year.
(14:55):
It's also gonna be before you go out of town.
It's also gonna be before you have to do this, that
or the other, because like really doesn't seem to stop
when you're ultra marathon training. Who de flunk it? Right?
But you really, you know, you wish it would. You
wish everything would cooperate, but no. Family is still going
to family, Work is still gonna work. Life is still
gonna life, whether you're training or not. But that race
(15:17):
date doesn't change. The day that you toe the start
line doesn't change. Just got everything before it can and does.
But we gotta be used to that. So another one
here again in the psychological part of it. The psychology
part is loss of novelty. This is another big one.
Signing up is exciting week seven, eight, nine, ten of
(15:40):
training not so much. Okay, after the excitement of signing up,
after the excitement of telling everyone you've signed up, here
come the expectations that you train into the race. It's
not nearly as much fun. Okay. Training doesn't get you
nearly as many likes on Facebook. Training does not get
(16:00):
everyone to be like, oh my god, you're gonna do
a fifty miler. You know, like when you first announce it,
all of a sudden that goes away, But the training
is still there. And so another issue that can really
mess with your head. It's like, where do the excitement go?
Where it's gone? No one cares anymore. Like you've signed
(16:21):
up for it, you announced it, you got the initial hooray,
everyone's happy for me, and everyone's super excited. Okay, Well
they're not here logging the miles through the week. They've gone.
They're doing their own training. They got their own thing
coming up. You got to find your own motivation to
kind of to not give up, not be a quitter.
Oh sorry, I bustled out a little eminem for you there.
I hope you enjoy it. So how does this show
(16:43):
up for you for other runners? I mean it can
show up for all of us signing up for your
first half of marathon and then not training, been there
buying new shoes or gear but never using them. Hello,
oldest daughter of mine who went to Little Rock, got
roped in by a very good salesman to buy in
some overly expensive running shoes and has maybe be put
(17:07):
them on. I'm gonna say less than ten times since March.
We're in August, so that's definitely a thing. Yes, calling
you out, not that you listen, probably good. Hiding from
your coach, your group chat or your strap a log.
Are you hiding from any of these things? You're not lazy,
you're human, and you're not alone. That's that's all of us, Okay,
(17:28):
So what are we gonna do about this and get
However this affects you breaking the freeze, here's some tips.
First off, shrink the goal right. You don't have to
run fifty miles today, you just have to move today.
I know that today I am going to go out
because we have another mildy, decent day of weather, I
am gonna go out and I think I'm just gonna
I'm gonna run until I feel like I've done something. Okay,
(17:51):
I'm not gonna look at my time. I'm not gonna
look at the distance. I'm gonna do one of my loops,
and then in my mind, if I'm feeling okay, I'm
gonna do that loop again, and then I'm gonna be done,
all right, Because even as far behind in training as
I am, and oh baby, I am light years behind
where I wanted to be at this point, I still
(18:12):
can do something, and I just still need to do it.
I'm behind. I can't make up for it in one day,
all right. That's like, you know, you get a basketball
team that's down by fifty. There's not a fifty point shot, right,
You're not gonna bring it all back on one ridiculous
shot or one ridiculous possession. You just have to chip
(18:33):
away at it, all right, Chiefs, football is about to
start up. When you're down in a game. There is
not a twenty one point touchdown. You just gotta chip away.
You gotta score, your defense, got to get a stop,
you gotta get the ball back. You gotta score again,
You need to make another stop, you need to limit them.
You score again. Suddenly the game looks a lot different. Okay,
(18:54):
So for me, I need to get a run today,
and then I need to drink my protein shake, and
then I gonna start shipping away, and then tomorrow I'm
gonna play my men's indoor soccer, and then I'm not
gonna go out for postgame beers. Okay, I am not
gonna get it all back in one day. That's not
a thing that's gonna happen. But I can start to
chip away just to try and get back. I mean
(19:17):
not even really back on track, not even back on
the training program, but just back into where I would
typically typically be in my running journey, which I'm not
even at that. So we just did the Spencer Seed Duncan.
My time was thirty three thirty. I think that's a
race that should be thirty thirty. That's a race that
(19:38):
it should be maybe twenty nine. If I'm having a
good day, it shouldn't be three and a half minutes
over where I should. Like, that's where I'm at. I'm
behind in my running fitness even for this year. So
this weekend coming up, we have the run to blast
in Greenwood, Missouri, easy course. Love that rinx prd it
last year, last year, this is my five kPr. I
(20:02):
do not expect that same level of success this year
because even in my own running fitness, I am not
where I was last year, and last year I was
training for Berlin, not a fifty mile ultra. So like,
but but I gotta shrink it down because I can't
get it all back in a day in a run.
(20:24):
I can't go out there and run sixty miles, think
it nod to get me ready for fifty That would
actually cause more damage than you would want. All right,
So another thing, Focus on your next step, not the
full mountain. Get out today, don't go out for post
game beers tomorrow. I've got two very doable, very small steps,
all right. Next is name it, say it out loud,
(20:46):
Say that you're stuck. So I'm doing this episode. I'm stuck.
I've been stuck for a while now. If you ask
me how my ultra marathon training plan is going, as
you'll see, I will rapidly try and change the subject
because I don't want to admit how far behind I am,
how uncommitted I've been how I've let life kick me
(21:08):
square in the brass monkeys and all of these things
have happened. All right, there's crazy stuff going on in
my world. But that start line is still there on
September twenty seventh, so I gotta be ready for it
as best I can. Is it going to be perfect? No?
But can I start working and improving now so to
make it a little easier, then yes, yes I can.
(21:30):
All right, So say it that you're stuck. Tell your friend,
tell your buddy, tell your spouse. I'm stuck. Talk to
a friend, to coach, or even your podcast listeners, your
fellow podcast listeners, talk to your podcast host, whatever you
need to do. Talk to people, all right, talk to
your annybody. It's because honestly, no one's going to judge
you like I'm telling you all this right now, knowing
full well I'm going to see most of you this weekend. Yeah,
(21:51):
at whatever race we're at, all right, So I have
no problem telling people I'm stuck. You name it and
then talk to people about it. Reconnect with your why
remember why you signed up? Okay, why did I sign up?
I wanted a challenge? All right, It's it's not Boston
but then once I finish, I can say I've done
a fifty miler. I can say I've done an ultra marathon.
(22:12):
I can I can say these things and kind of
put it on the resume, whatever that running resume might
look like, but that you remember why you signed for
the race. I want my first half marathon. I want
to be able to say I did a half marathon.
That that is a perfectly acceptable goal. So make sure
that you're saying it. Tell people why get it, get
out there, remember why you did it. Next, visualized race day,
(22:35):
how it will feel to finish, not just suffer. Okay,
that'll be That would be a good tip because I
know that the suffer is gonna be real. But now
I got to try and wrap my mind around how
good it's gonna feel to finish, and then let the
community lift you. Uh. Sometimes we just need someone else
to say, get your shoes on and let's go. All right.
(22:55):
So one of the things we're gonna do, we're starting
that Thursday night run club at Discourse Brewery Brewery brew
Wing Sorry in Overland Park and ninety seventh. The Metcalf
that's gonna happen August twenty second is our first night,
is it no twenty first, twenty first, twenty second, which
every day of that's the Thursday. That's where're gonna start.
So you know what, at least there there's gonna be
a little accountability. I know on that night, I'm getting
(23:17):
three miles. So if you want more information, it's on
our Facebook page, ask me personally. But that's gonna be
kind of fun, all right. So have you ever ghosted
your own training plan? Yeah? Like me, tell us what
race did you sign up for and then you just
completely blocked it out of your mind. It could have
been for your first World marathon, major, could be for
(23:38):
your first marathon, could have been for your first Ultra
like it is for me. But I am sure there
are people out there who have kind of signed up
and then checked out, because I've definitely been that guy.
So please share your story. You'll respond here. When you
see this video pop up on Facebook, let us know
in the comments you know what you did that too.
So like we know, the big goals are gonna scare
(23:59):
you and that's how you know they matter. And again
I'm telling me more than I'm telling any of you.
But we've said this before. We don't have to be perfect.
We just have to show up and then yeah, we
just we got to get back on this. But you know,
this is all summed up in one term, and I
should have led with this, but I didn't. Goal paralysis.
(24:22):
That is kind of what we're gonna be calling this episode.
That's kind of where I feel we are in our process.
It's goal paralysis. This is we set a goal so
big it froze me. Not you. You're probably fine with it.
Kyle's gonna do a fifty miler, dumbass, But for me,
it is absolutely goal paralysis. I have frozen and cannot
(24:46):
move in preparation to try and reach this goal. And
that can be that can be a little bit of
a scary place to be. It is right now. I
actually thought about this episode a while ago and kind
of mapped it out, and then I even got so
paralyzed I didn't even do it when I planned to.
(25:06):
This was supposed to happen like two weeks ago, and
I just couldn't. I couldn't face it my own mind.
But I told myself that this weekend getting back into racing, okay,
so starting at Spencer Duncan. And then I told y'all.
Between Spencer Duncan and November, it is a race or
two every weekend. So I figure, if you're going to relaunch,
(25:28):
if you're going to rEFInd the dedication, if you were
going to re engage with conquering this goal, here is
the period because it kind of has to be, because
you at least have a race every weekend. Anything I
do in between during the course of the week, whether
it be the every other Thursday group runs at Discourse
(25:50):
or at my own training run, or men's indoor soccer,
or just go out for a walk on my lunch
break at work, all of these things will help get
to the weekend where I know that I have a
race or two. Okay, So this weekend coming up, run
to bless in Greenwood, Missouri, Saturday morning, five k, easy course.
(26:10):
Great people. I raved about these people last year. They
are exactly what a church body should be. The weekend
after that, we're less than two weeks away from Rexy Run.
Rexy Run in Lawrence in mid August could be hot.
Who cares, great cause, great race, We love them dearly
The next day the Ronald McDonald House Charity Race. All right,
(26:35):
so hearts for Ronald McDonald House. They are the day after,
so I know that I've got basically a half marathon
coming up in two weeks. It is ten k Rexy
Run ten k Hearts for Ronald McDonald House Charities, back
to back August sixteenth August seventeenth, so it's coming up.
At the end of August, we have the first Ottawa
Half Marathon. Again, Loggerhead no longer is the thing in November.
(26:56):
They kind of moved it forward in the year, I
guess to give every one in there. Everyone who's training
for their fall marathon now has a late summer half
marathon to kind of help keep you along. But I've
got that coming up. So in the month of August,
if you take cumulative weekends, I have two half marathons,
(27:16):
all right, the two ten k's on the weekend coming up,
and then the half marathon at the end, sprinkle in
do a little Salt Bay on some five k's and
then we we're gone. And then we're in September. How
insane is that in September we've got the Heartland thirty
k series, a couple more races sprinkled in around those.
(27:36):
The Zoo Run is in there, and then also oh yeah,
the fifty mile get in October, Marine Corps Marathon, get
in December, Gulf Coast Marathon. So like it's coming. We've
got all this, So this is my time. Maybe it
is your time to personally re engage, re engage in
your training. You're not going to hit that twenty one
(27:59):
point feel good, all right, that's not a thing that's
gonna happen. You're not gonna make it all up in
one day. You're not even gonna make it all up
in one week. And I know that goal paralysis is real,
but we're gonna justo bite off, bite off, little baby
steps that will help move us towards our goal. Just
a step here and a step there, because we're not
(28:19):
getting it all back. And I'm gonna say it again,
goal paralysis, Look at it. Look at yourself. That does
that pretty much what's going on with you? The goal
was so big, you're paralyzed. I get it, I really do,
because I'm there. But we've got all these races. Everything
else I do on top of that is just you know,
(28:39):
sprinkles on top, and sprinkles are for winners. We learn that.
So get back out there, one day at a time.
Do not look at the overall mountain. Look at your
next step. Okay, look at going from here to here,
not from here over, from here to here. That's what
we're gonna do this week. That's what we're gonna do
(29:00):
this weekend. It's what we're gonna do next week. It's
what we're gonna do next weekend. It's gonna be big
steps next weekend when we're pulling back to back ten case.
But that's what we gotta do because like a lot
of you, like me, race morning, we live for race morning.
Getting the training runs by yourself is difficult, and I
will be the first to admit that race morning is
not difficult. That's the fun part. Showing up at the
(29:22):
starting line of whatever you're running, that's the fun part.
And there's a lot of starting lines coming up. The
whole big thing now from August to November, we're gonna
be out every weekend, sometimes twice, So be ready for that,
be ready for a lot more race reviews, and then
we're just gonna keep chipping away until we get to
that fifty miler. And then when we get to that
fifty miler, we're gonna do that fifty miler. When we're
done with that fifty miler. Then we're just gonna find
(29:43):
our next goal. But we're we're done being stuck. We're
done being frozen. What does this say speaking, I'm speaking
it right now. We're done being stuck and we're done
being frozen. Even if you take a little step, we
are still going to take step forward getting ready for
whatever silly nonsense we signed ourselves up for in the fall.
(30:07):
This falls almost here, like August is the last real
nasty hot month of summer, and then we're hitting Labor
Day and the kids are going back to school, and
then we're into September, and then in September, it's just
pumpkin spice everywhere. So we got to be ready for it,
right all right, Well that's all I'm gonna harp on today.
Thank you very much for listening. I hope this resonated
(30:30):
with you a little bit again. In whatever platform you
listen on, share your thoughts, Share where you've been stuck,
Share where you're stuck right now, and maybe someone will
have a way to kind of help you out. Lastly,
great running friends of the program Katie and Cody, they
got engaged this weekend. Oh it's a match made and
Rounders having its So congratulations to you guys, super excited.
(30:53):
I know you were out of town when this happened.
Hopefully well, I know I will see at least half
of this new power couple Saturday night warning at the
run to Blast five K, hopefully both of them. But
congratulations to you both. So Cody and Katie, good job.
They put it on Facebook, so I know it's not
a secret. It is technically Facebook official, so I can
speak it here, all right, because hey, if it's not
on Facebook, it didn't happen, right, All that's gonna do it.
(31:14):
For this week's episode of the Back of the Back podcast,
I'm your host, Kyle Walker, and it's my pleasure as always, everyone,
have a safe week of training, enjoy what's left of
this nice little coal front. We will see you next week.
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