Let Your Mind Run - A Memoir of Thinking My Way to Victory de Deena Kastor

Date de parution : 04.2019
Format : Broché
Nombre de pages : 304
Résumé : NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NOW WITH A NEW WORKBOOK Deena Kastor was a star youth runner with tremendous promise, yet her career almost ended after college, when her competitive method-run as hard as possible, for fear of losing-fostered a frustration and negativity and brought her to the brink of burnout. On the verge of quitting, she took a chance and moved to the high altitudes of Alamosa, Colorado, where legendary coach Joe Vigil had started the first professional distance-running team. There she encountered the idea that would transform her running career: the notion that changing her thinking-shaping her mind to be more encouraging, kind, and resilient-could make her faster than she'd ever imagined possible. Building a mind so strong would take years of effort and discipline, but it would propel Kastor to the pinnacle of running-to American records in every distance from the 5K to the marathon-and to the accomplishment of earning America's first Olympic medal in the marathon in twenty years. Let Your Mind Run is a fascinating intimate look inside the mind of an elite athlete, a remarkable story of achievement, and an insightful primer on how the small steps of cultivating positivity can give anyone a competitive edge. Running seemed fail-proof. There were no tryouts, no one was cut, everyone participated and got a ribbon. Most kids started with the sprints, but my mom ruled them out because a few girls in the valley were already racing at a national level, including future Olympian Marion Jones. Ever protective, my mom thought if I got clobbered in the sprints, my self-esteem would plummet, so she had me join the distance-running group. My dad drove us all to the track on the first day. I was braiding Lesley’s hair when we pulled in to the school and the chaotic scene caught our attention. Kids were jumping into sandboxes, arching over bars, falling into big blue mattresses. Coaches were shouting and pointing and clapping. My mom, with a plush stadium cushion in one hand and my sister’s hand in the other, made a beeline toward the bleachers. I followed my dad, who had offered again to be a volunteer coach. We scanned the field to find the distance team and were eventually directed to a group of about eight boys and girls huddled around head coach Sal Pratts. Coach Pratts was a big personality stuffed into a short, strong frame. “Today’s warm--up is a half mile on the track, then five minutes on the trail,” he said. Wary of doing something wrong, I asked, “How many laps is a half mile?” “Two,” he said. My dad held up two fingers. “Where’s the trail?” Coach Pratts started to give me directions, but then said, “Just follow Noelle, if you can keep her in your sights.” Noelle was tall and leggy, with short, curly brown hair and big white teeth highlighting a friendly smile. We hit the track. Noelle had been running for a few years and her experience showed, but I found I could keep up with her. This was a relief; I just had to watch her to know what to do. Our half mile complete, I followed Noelle out the gate. The school abutted the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains, and we followed a dusty trail a short way into the hills. I looked up and was taken aback. The land was open and wild. There were fields of dry grasses and chaparral broken only by large arching oak trees. Rattlesnakes hidden in yellow flowering brush shook their tails, and horses grazed in the fenced--off meadows. I’d seen the mountains on the drive to the mall and thought they were pretty, but never knew you could go into them. When it was time to turn around, I didn’t want to. I loved running right from the start. It was simple and fun. It lacked rules and structure. There was no equipment to fuss with, no technique to learn. ...