I took this photo standing in a rippling stream bed on a trail run this morning. I hadn't hit the trails in ages and with the break in the rain, the sun shining, and things copacetic with work, I couldn't resist bumping my weekend trail run up to today. I thoroughly enjoyed this easy 9-miler with multiple stream crossings and plenty of mud and rocks! This photo, of a shadow of myself, made me think back to what happened in my swim this morning, and how I envision myself as an athlete. My main set concluded with a set of 100s made up of an aerobic 75 and a FAST 25 back. I was hitting them in around 1:32/1:33 but each time I hit that FAST section, what flooded into my brain was "I'm a 1:20 100'er"!! The point is, I've not (yet) done a 100y in 1:20, but I was swimming with the belief that I WAS a faster version of myself. I was swimming AS IF I was faster! I felt amazing -- powerful and strong and able. That 1:20 is coming. I do the same thing in my running and biking. I seek the next faster, stronger, or smarter version of myself. The fun is in trying to get as much as I can out of myself physically and mentally, and whether or not it amounts to speed doesn't really matter. The fun is in the hunt! searching.....Cort.V.2  Do you picture yourself, do you imagine yourself, as the YOU that you want to be, or do you only picture yourself as the you that you are right now? Do you pigeon-hole yourself? Do you limit yourself?

• "I'm a __ minute miler."
• "I could never run further than __."
• "I'm __ years old and can't get any faster."
• "I can only bike at __ mph."
• "I'm not competitive."

  Try imagining the version of you that you want to be. Look at your shadow and fill it up the way you want it filled. Then put in the work to make it happen. It has to start with that vision and the belief! Act "as if" and see what happens!