Bring On The Butterflies
Being Nervous Means You Care
Nervous? Are you nervous? You got some butterflies slam dancing in your chest? Does it feel like your heart is pumping blood through your veins like they are Class VI rapids. Those are the nutsiest rapids of all. Really. I looked it up. However, I did not look up whether or not nutsiest is a real word. But, real word or not you know exactly what I mean. Granted, nuttiest is most likely the word I need to use but nutsiest is the word I want to use. I digress.
This time of year I get messages from so many of you about how you have done the work… the speed runs… the long runs… the big things… and even (most of) the little things. You tell me that you’ve been consistent. You tell me that you feel ready. Ready to race that 10K or Marathon or Ultra. Or you tell me you are ready to run 5K in a row without stopping or take on that crazy run on the trails at your local park or you are finally ready to show up to that group run that you’ve been meaning to go to. I think to myself… great! Then you tell me what you are really writing about. You tell me you are nervous. In fact, some of you tell me that you are nervous to tell me that you are nervous. That’s two layers of nervousness. It’s starting to feel like a first draft of Inception.
Next, you ask me for advice. How do I stop being nervous? That’s usually the question. I get it. I understand. I’ve been there. Not exactly where you are. Nobody but you can be exactly where you are. But I’ve been there… close by. I’ve been on the starting line trying to slow down my heart rate. Buh bum. Buh bum. Buh bum. It’s like the back beat to a Ramones song. And I’ve been nervous the night before a big workout. I’ve been nervous before a run with strangers. I’ve been nervous reading about the training I was going to need to do to be able to run what I wanted to run. I’ve been nervous before talking to a big crowd. I’ve been nervous before I had to talk to one person. I’ve been nervous because I felt all eyes were on me. I’ve been nervous because I felt nobody noticed me. I’m nervous before I hit Publish for every… single… Coach Bennett’s Newsletter I send out. It’s the truth.
So, I feel that I’m actually a pretty good person to come to for advice about your… problem. Your word. Not mine. Because being nervous is not a problem. Unless you allow those nerves to hold you back from where you are meant to go… what you are meant to do… who you are meant to be. Being nervous… to me as a coach… means you care. And I love that. It means what you are about to do and/or what you have done means/meant something to you. Being nervous means you are passionate. Being nervous means you are alive and you are taking a risk on the chance that you may do something extraordinary. Being nervous means you are excited. And good gracious we don’t get excited enough! We don’t get passionate or nerd out about the stuff we love enough. We don’t put ourselves in a position to potentially fail and therefore potentially succeed enough.
Yeah, I led with the failure part there. Why? Because that’s the courageous part. That’s the gutsy part. In those places where failure is a possibility… that’s where badassery lives. Butterflies don’t fly around guaranteed success. Butterflies don’t flitter and flutter alongside easy peezy lemon squeezy. No! They thrive around uncertainty. They are found where the possibility of coming up short or not being enough or almost but not quite are definite possibilities.
Butterflies are found where only the brave choose to go. And the brave are not fearless. Because anyone who is always fearless is an idiot. The brave are not idiots. They know that there are potentially struggles ahead, dangers in the future, difficult situations that may need to be experienced if they continue on this path or cross this starting line. But the brave know that in order to achieve what they want to achieve they will need to knowingly run towards these things and do the best they can to run through them and past them.
So, my advice to any of you currently surrounded by butterflies before a big race or big speech or big event or big run or big game or big test… is simple. Embrace those butterflies. Gather them close. Let them be beautiful reminders to you that you care about something and have passion and that you are brave. Then take a few deep, glorious and delicious breaths and know that I’m excited to hear about how it all goes no matter how it all goes.
Here they come. They know what we’re talking about. Now I’ve got butterflies too. And I’ve got you to thank for that. So, thank you for that. Because I love butterflies.
🦋🦋🦋
Cheers,
Coach Bennett
CHICAGO RUNNERS? WHERE YOU AT?
Because I’m coming to you! That’s right! I’ll be heading to your great city for the Chicago Marathon. And the cool thing is that there are so many fun events to be a part of if you are in town as a runner, supporter or you’re just a super cool Chicago local. Here’s a list of events that I’ll be at as of the writing of this newsletter. I’ll also be posting these events and any updates on my instagram stories.
⭐️Friday, October 11 - I’ll be hosting a Chicago Athlete Panel at 9 AM. RSVP here for this event!
⭐️Friday, October 11 - I’ll be a guest at the Nike Booth at the Expo from 11 AM - 2 PM. The Chicago Marathon Expo is located at:
McCormick Place
Lakeside Center, Hall D
2301 S. Martin Luther King Drive
Chicago, IL 60616
⭐️Saturday, October 12 - I’ll be hanging out and running at the Heartbreak Shakeout Run that starts at 9 AM. RSVP for the Shakeout Run here.
⭐️Saturday, October 12 - I’ll be a guest at the Nike Booth at the Expo from 1 PM - 3 PM.
The Chicago Marathon Expo is located at:
McCormick Place
Lakeside Center, Hall D
2301 S. Martin Luther King Drive
Chicago, IL 60616
⭐️Sunday, October 13 - I have no idea yet where I’m going to be told to go! Updates to follow.
Sometimes Even Easy Isn’t So Easy
Give that beautiful mug you see above here a little tap and watch the video.
NEW COACH BENNETT’S PODCASTS!
More new Coach Bennett’s Podcasts are waiting for you to listen to them! It’s like the greatest gift in the world for all of you that read to the end of the Newsletter.
Did you make it to here? Obviously you did. But did you read your way here or scroll your way here? Either way, thank you for being a part of this community that has developed around this newsletter and the runs and the podcasts. I appreciate you. I appreciate you reading and running and listening. And I’m thankful for you sharing the messages and posts and videos with friends and family and teammates. I’m grateful for you supporting the work. And cheers to everyone that has chosen to be paid supporter. It means a great deal to me. Until next time… take care of yourself. Take care of each other. And I’ll meet you on the next starting line.
Cheers,
Coach Bennett
Thank you to everyone that read all… the… way… to… here.
Coach Bennett! I've been running with you since last August and running my first marathon next weekend! Thank you.
Any chance you'll be at that Hartford Marathon in CT on the 19th? You may have never heard of it lol