As athletes, Oakley and I have a shared inspiration. Our beloved yoga instructor, Shannon Paige Schneider-www.omtime.com, often reminds us to bring full attention to all of our daily movements and interactions. In her words, “It is not THAT you place yourself in the world… it is that you mindfully activate that placement.” She teaches that the significance of my movement in a yoga practice is not THAT I step my foot forward into a lunge position, but rather HOW I choose to execute the movement. Is it with precision? With awareness? With reverence? With grace? Or do I simply toss your foot forward, satisfied with the anatomically prescribed position? Which way, Shannon inquires, do I want to live?
This invitation to mindfulness a prominent force behind Oakley’s success at the Nueces race several weeks ago. Before she raced, she made the decision to dedicate the race to her cousin Steven, who is battling cancer. As she told me after returning home, the course was technical enough that she could barely afford a second or two of distraction between navigating Texas rocks. Yet in those free seconds, she found her mind invariably turned to Steven—as well as the other teachers in her life that that inspire her. Each step was doubly significant—possible because of her devotion to excellence through training but in intention, a dedication to those she loves. In this way, although she placed a fabulous second among the women and ninth overall, she found that the honor she gave each moment made the experience even more significant than just the placing on the results sheet.
My day job is as a different sort of endurance athlete. I am a professional cyclist- www.marakatherine.com. With the example of people like Shannon and Oakley, I have begun to find myself thinking, “The significance is not THAT you win a bike race, but HOW…” As a professional racer, my paid purpose IS to cross the line first whenever possible. But as Oakley found on in Nueces, not all victories are equal—and the technically less prestigious ones are even sometimes those that come to mean the most.
I currently have the women’s record up Sunshine Canyon—a fabulous climb in the town where I grew up. The hill climb is a small, local race and is by no means my most important victory for a resume, but it is a result that I care about deeply because of the pride that I have in my roots. I won a stage up a famous climb in Italy, the Monteserra, but the best part of the experience was not simply standing on the podium, but rather when I could throw my arms in gratitude around my teammate Linda’s legs. I was in awe of everything she had done during the stage, so proud to be her teammate, and too exhausted to stand up. I have noticed that I can win the same race on the same course in successive years and yet have entirely different emotional reactions. Ultimately, the value of a race lies not just in the result achieved but in the attention and importance given to the moments of the experience.
The concept of mindfulness is not only applicable to ultramarathon or elite level stage racing. The high of intimate awareness and precision in physical movement exists in any athletic pursuit. Remember: it is not THAT you move that is significant, but HOW. Are you moving for joy? Or are you quantifying heartbeats and calories the entire time? Are you sprinting with gratitude for movement and freedom, or are you dissatisfied with the performance of your legs on that particular day? Do you adventure outdoors and then return invigorated to hug your family…. Or do you return with anger because no one made you dinner while you were gone? Do you move because you WANT to, or because you HAVE to? And to what degree do you believe the answers to these questions are under your control?
Some days will by nature be better than others—some days we will be stronger, other days our minds will be full of distractions. Upon returning from her race, Oakley was forced to admit that she would actually have to rest in order to return to full strength. It might seem obvious, but knowing that her body was capable of lifting great weights and deftly running for eleven hours straight, it was hard to admit that she could not compare as she normally did on her Tele ski’s the following weekend. For someone who practices yoga and goes to the gym, in addition to running 5 days a week—not out of obligation but because she is truly intrinsically driven to become her most efficient and capable self—this is one of the hardest lessons to learn. For a true endurance athlete to rest requires great patience, great maturity, and above all… great self-awareness. It is astonishingly difficult to realize and to admit that you are tired.
Her mind always focused on excellence, Oakley is already training for her next race, the Squaw Peak 50 on June 5th in Utah. There she will not only have the opportunity to put the lessons of her first race to the test, she will do so with the backing of her new sponsor, Skqurt (www.skqurt.com)! Her performance at Nueces demonstrated that she was actually able to hold her form through hour after hour of racing. She attributed this to her yoga practice and the well-rounded approach she takes to training, but the experience also made her realize that the 50-mile distance is actually a discipline in which she has the power to create great beauty and perfection—in which she can truly excel. Oakley will never be satisfied with anything less than perfection, and I can hardly wait for June 5th to see what unfolds as she takes to the trails of Utah.
Bark! Olive & Oakley's Adventures
