Archive for July, 2004
Hello 4AM
I’ve been up since 4, first time since before my vacation, so I’m happy to get back towards this groove. I took it slow in my preparation, but now that it’s quarter to 5, I’m going out for a run at Woodsom Farm, that swell heap of hills and fields up the street.
My push right now is on mental toughness. I’m building up my ability to stay in the game no matter what. It’s hard for me. I’m a really easy quitter. I was a really easy quitter. That’s more the language I should use. I used to be good at making excuses. But now, I have a strong personal barometer that tells me when my bullshit is getting ahead of my delivery. And I’m teetering on the edge of BS again, it seems.
So, back out into the fray. Back into double workouts where I can get them, and back into the positive side of my personal accounting books. I’m better than the old me. I’m new here. I’m where I need to be.
Oh, and Kat and I are going to start a new fitness program because the last one we were following really didn’t get either of our engines running. Though it was probably technically really good, neither of us were very woohoo to do it. Heavy on the core, boys and girls. It’s showing up all over the fitness radar that the trick to everything else is the core work. Mmmm, core.
6 Miles and Dreary
It’s entirely my own fault. I was planning to run at 4AM today, outside, on a trail somewhere. But I woke up too late. So, I didn’t go out to run until noon. Obviously, that’s too hot (it’s around 83 right now and 90% humidity), so I went to the gym. I was supposed to run 7 miles on the treadmill.
6 was all I could muster.
It was just too dreary. I wasn’t really in my vibe, and oh yeah, here’s a training tip to avoid. When you’re moving up your mileage, don’t pick the same day to run at faster-than-race-pace speeds for distances. Duh. I burned out fairly early, and from somewhere just after 2.5 miles, I had to coerce myself to keep moving. I broke every rhythm I have. Basically, everything about the run sucked, except for the fact I pulled 6 miles out of my ass when I thought I’d do nothing.
To the plus for today? Body surfing on seven and eight foot waves at the beach while my wife and daughter sing songs on the blanket together. Swimming laps in the gym pool and stretching underwater to release the lactic acid buildup from the run. Coming home to a little silence to reflect on the ways I should’ve approached the run.
Tomorrow is yet another day, and I am injury free.
My Marathon and a Few Books
The local trail running organization posted the link to the marathon I intend to run in November. Well, either the marathon or the whole 50 miles. That’s going to be determined sometime in late September, according to my training schedule. We’ll see. I’m excited. It seems a lot more real now.
I finished reading Over the Edge, by Michael Bane. It was a really great, really funny read. Of course, it filled my head with a few ideas, but nothing to worry about just yet. I’m not *that* incensed to do crazy things. You need to read this, though, just for inspiration and good feelings.
Oh, and another thing. There’s a great little book of life lessons from a lacrosse coach who lost her struggle with cancer, but who left a legacy of great spirit that she passed on through her players. They, and a few relatives, all write lessons based on the events of their coach’s life.
Finally, has anyone ever read HERS magazine? It’s by the folks who do Muscle and Fitness, and I’m not 100% keen on it, but the last issue, where they did a lot of coverage of olympic athletes and their methods, was pretty interesting overall. (Yes, the makeup tips were silly, but hey).
So, what are you reading? I’m jonesing for some really good (or inspiring) nonfiction about either athletes, adventurers, or other silly types.
Alive and Well
Hello gang. Glad to hear from you all, and thanks for your kindness and concerns. I was vacationing up in northernmost Maine, and as such, didn’t exactly want to post that on my website. People breaking in or what have you, eh?
But the trip was lovely (lots of rain), and I got some really neat trail running in while up there. I missed out on using an olympic-grade training facility a mile or two from the campsite, but staying up late negates my ability to get up at 4AM and think about running, so that’s what happened to that. Just the same, after a week away, I only missed one run, and it was a 3 miler of no real note on Thursday. I did my miles the rest of the week, and even trained today at the gym.
Glad to be back, and I’ll have *lots* of RBF blogs to catch up with. Thanks for everyone’s emails.
2 Hamster Miles
Quick hit at Gold’s Gym this morning. Did strength training, more abs and core, and then 2 fast miles on the treadmill. I did 7 and 8 MPH stuff, and really just burned it through. Finally, I jumped in the pool for 20 minutes of swimming to give my muscles a good stretch, and to really relieve some of the general tension. Swimming’s kind of like biking is to lots of you. It’s my “free” experience, where I can just go and do my thing for a while and not feel competitive or as if I’m in training.
So, good quick hit on all fronts.
The Importance of Recovery
Last night was a rest day from my home workout program. Kat went off to the movies, and I stayed home with my daughter. I put her to bed just before seven, and then fell asleep on the couch. I stayed asleep until Kat came home (not counting a quick phone call around half past eight), and then when she got home, I talked with her a little while, but was in bed before ten.
I think my body really appreciated the rest and recovery time. Though I’d run twice that day, just giving myself the evening off seemed like a break. Friday is my only completely clear day off, and that seems very appreciated by my body as well. In his book, THE NEW TOUGHNESS TRAINING FOR SPORTS, James Loehr spends a great deal of time discussing how the way to build toughness of any kind (Mental, physical, emotional) is through fluctuating between stress and recovery. I believe in that theory.
My efforts so far have involved listening to my body. Not the dismissive gripes of a body who doesn’t appreciate getting up at four and running three or four miles before the sun’s fully awake. But I definitely listen to the larger systems at work.
So, it’s worth considering. Remember that recovery is when your muscles repair and grow. Recovery is when all the hard work of your run gets stacked into place. Rest and recovery are about giving your systems a chance to clear the back log. I find it a good thing to train as hard at recovering as I do at running, and I’m going to commit more effort to fitting that philosophy into my days.
2 More Miles at Lunch
Jumped on the old treadmill for two more miles after some ab work. I ran at a 10 minute pace for most of it, but for the last 200 meters, I broke into a 6.5 minute pace to simulate sprinting to the finish line. No problem. I still FEEL that hip flexor pain and my glutes are still a wee sore, but I don’t feel injured. That’s a nice thing.
Man, nice to have Blogger back up and running steady.
4 More Miles at the Farm
I went back to Woodsom Farm today to completely explore what I touched upon yesterday. It’s smaller than I thought at first glance, but then, running makes everywhere seem smaller than it looks, doesn’t it?
Four miles where nearly 2/3 was hills. I found myself either partway up a hill or just descending another hill for most of the run. For some reason, I really like hills. They feel like a challenge that you can conquer. You run up, and of course it burns and takes lots of effort, but once you’re up there, you feel like: hey! I’m up here and you’re not! Maybe that’s the 8 year old boy still trapped in me.
I saw lots less wildlife today. Just one rabbit, about 30 mourning doves, a dozen vocal crows, and who knows how many other birds whose names are not mine to know. Oh, and I gave blood. LOTS of it. Damned bugs.
Body felt great. There was no sense of pain from my hip flexor, and my glutes were sore, but warmed up to the challenge without any complaint. It felt great, but I was also very cautious and careful not to overdo anything. I had a great coach last night telling me to listen to my muscles, because they’re doing the work and they know when enough’s enough.
Thanks, Coach!
Checking In
I still feel a bit sore in the hip flexor, and my glutes are just burning, but otherwise, I’m feeling like it was a short term pain, not something giant. I was able to work out last night, except for a few obvious stretches (backwards lunge with a twist). So, I’m feeling okay. I’ll go out and give myself another ginger 3 plus miles on the farm down the street before venturing off to the woods again.
3 Miles at Woodsom Farm
I started out with five minutes of walking, and I felt my hip flexor immediately. I pushed four fingers into that spot and just kind of massaged it while walking. By the time I got to the park, I felt fine, so I tried a short slow jog. No problem. I picked up pace a little. No problem. I ran to the other end of the park. STILL no problem. And then, I looked down the long road to Woodsom Farm.
Sure, why not?
The farm is beautiful. It’s town property and well groomed. There are tractor trails all over the sloping hills, sweeping meadows, and forests. When I arrived, a woman was just taking her two beautiful labs out for a walk. I passed them and saw a rabbit just standing around ten feet in front of me. It didn’t move until the dew from my running shoes splashed it. Good thing I got there before the dogs.
The only part that hurt on the run were the downhills, so I did the smart thing and tried to run uphill as much as possible. Thankfully, in my town (and especially on this farm, it turns out) hills are not in short supply.
Not wanting to *really* tempt fate, I decided to stick to the mileage I planned, and so I turned right and ran the last long field distance towards the road back to home. I met another runner who was still just plowing the road, and I almost said, “What the hell are you running out here with the cars for? There’s good field just begging for you.” But hey, to each their own. I startled my second rabbit then.
The farm’s property goes across the street evidently, so when I looked down by a little manmade pond near the big tractor that must’ve cut these lovely paths, I nearly booted a rabbit like kicking a pebble. He took off like a bullet, and I burst out laughing.
When I hit my mileage and was close enough to home, I started walking to cool down. Immediately, I felt my hip flexor again. It turns out that my long walking strides are much more taxing on those muscles than my shorter running stride. But what the heck does that say about my running method? Something to look into, I guess.
So, a great run, beautiful scenery, and a nice morning without pain.
