ssfletch

This evening I spent 9 miles of time thinking about all sorts of things...the past, the present and the future. The trail was crowded with many, many walkers and runners, all taking advantage of the mild weather and the weak sunshine before the rain that is expected over the weekend. Usually Friday evenings are quiet on the trail. People seem to have many more interesting things to do than go for a run. However tonight was different. I decided to really take it easy tonight, and that lasted all of about 5 minutes as I quickly latched onto the back of some guy who really shouldn't be running that fast looking the way he does. I passed him, and then of course had to keep that pace so he wouldn't pass me back. So silly. I don't know if others do this, but I tend to get my dander up with certain people on the trail. It depends on the circumstances and the person, but I get the urge to pass and off I go. Silly, like I said. Anyway, I noticed a few things as I ran. One, I noticed that I am not really in shape. My breathing is ragged, my legs are wooden, and my heart rate is too high for an easy run. Its all part of the lessons for the year. To slow down a little, to reflect and discipline myself to run and live and act with purpose, rather than at the whim of others opinions, wishes or biases. I imagine this will take some time for a crowd pleaser like me. So far this week, I've run a grand total of 26 miles- tomorrow will be an easy 14 to get me up to my total for the week. No pain in leg or foot!

Today I decided to spend my exercise budget on crosstraining rather than running. I did a series of core exercises and some planks, push ups etc. Doing sets in both morning and afternoon for 1-1.5 hours easily equals a good run. Boy it felt good. I think i'll need to incorporate more of this type of exercise into my regimen because it is so important to strengthen and tone all those areas to be an excellent runner. Beyond that, I took the day off. And I mean OFF. no work, no projects, just rest. Rare for me but really important as well. This year promises to be a great one.

Here we are, on the eve of a new year, looking at the past, trying to make sense of all that has passed. Reminding ourselves of what means most, what we can give up, what we can add. Or perhaps we are just going out for a good time and getting drunk, nothing wrong in that either.

This is a time of natural reflection, a time to spend an hour staring at the water, or at the trail in the dark, as I did this morning, pounding out another few miles in worn out shoes. I was supposed to get up early and meet David and Russ at 6- but slept through the alarm and didn't wake up until 5:54. Shit. looks like I started the new year early by disappointing someone before the sun even came up.
Awesome.

For those who luck here but not on the gazelle forum, my resolutions for the new year are as follows.

1. floss regularly
2. Disappoint at least one person a day
3. Say no more than yes
4. write and mail a personal note to one person I admire weekly
5. Run consistently


It was good to climb out of bed, slip on shorts and head out the door this morning. The trail was quiet, with small groups of runners silently passing. I ran from Barton Springs, and took the trail in a Counter clockwise direction. My legs were still a little sore from yesterday, so I felt tight, like my legs were spring loaded. Not loose and limber, but wooden, like a puppet. Things felt better after a little while and i have no pain in either foot or hamstring - damn nikes. I spent a little while focusing on form, easy stride, quick turnover, steady breathes, but that focus seems elusive for me today, so i gave into maudlin musings, glimmers of hope, and mostly just tried to get through it without stopping.

my total for the week is 17! really putting in the miles!
M - 5
T - 6
W - 6

I have started sitting in the morning - a zen practice called zazen - where for 20 minutes, you sit and try to simultaneously empty your mind while also being completely aware of everything around you, including the multitude of thoughts that emerge, pushing into any quiet space recently excavated. The idea is to not attach to the thoughts, but to observe them and let them move on. It is much harder than you might imagine, and has so many parallels to running well that I will keep practicing it as a way to examine suffering and pain throughout my spring buildup. If I can observe my body and mind reacting to stress without attaching to it, I think it may be a valuable way to run faster. That's the goal isn't it? We don't so this for fun do we? I remember my one strong running season where I raced well. I was talking to Paul Pugh about this yesterday. I ran in fear that whole season, fear of losing my status as a fast gazelle, fear of losing my spot in the DC, fear of being a marked runner by the others in my age group. Not a great way to race, but hey, it did get me some good times that year. So dear blog lurkers, do you really want to run for fun? I see that on some resolutions. This whole run for joy thing has me mystified. Can you help me understand?

Hey you, yeah you the vicarious blog reading lurker. Get away from the shrubbery and identify yourself. Here I am, baring my innermost soul and you think you can just hang out and read my stuff without some sort of payment? No way. If you read, you must comment. That's my new rule. Participatory blogging. And don't think I won't know those of you who read without at least making some effort to engage in a dialogue here. All my entries are tagged with a special code that lets me know EXACTLY who has read my stuff, and I'll be publishing a daily list of non-dialogic lurkers with email, tel numbers, and a map showing where you live. This stuff is messy, so be warned that if you persist in following my struggles as a runner and human, then you will be in for a rough ride.

With that said, Welcome!

Hope this series of entries lasts longer that the other efforts I've had over the years. Some recent developments have given me some more time to reflect and learn from life's little surprises and I have decided to try a new type of entry that includes a little more than my basic "ran 10, 7 at sub 7, felt good until the last 800 then the wheels came of". We'll just have to see how things transpire.

I am slowly coming back to this thing called running after an extremely taxing fall. Various friends keep asking what I am training for, and I shrug and mumble some lame comment like "training to not run in front of a bus" or some other foolery, but the fact is that I have been nursing a few injuries lately that haven't gone away. I think that a poorly chosen pair of Nikes are the cause, so will be hoping for a decent pair of trainers in the near future. I have also not been motivated to run. Drinking beer has been a much better choice but I'm starting to feel fat. Not fat fat, but unhealthy fat, not in shape fat. So Motivation, what causes it? How do you get it back once it seems gone? Is it something you can cultivate, or is it just either there or not? There are your questions for comment dear lurkers.

Back to my current modest goals. This week I have decided to run 35 or so miles. Yesterday I went for an easy 6 miler on the lake, and enjoyed a relative lack of hamstring pain. I watched a snowy Egret fishing for minnows in the miserable little pond next to the aud. Shores water station. Beautiful bird with an interesting way to feed. It would take one foot and stir up the mud in front of itself, flushing out any panicked fish that were hiding. Then it would shift it's weight to the other foot and do the same thing. I've been interested in all these waders because they all have a different technique for feeding. The Great Blue Heron will patiently wait, while the little blue Heron runs around fluttering its wings (they create a shadow in the water that the fish swim towards). It's a pleasure to watch another being work so diligently and with such focus on a goal. It is a good lesson for us runners, to be patient and focused on our goals, to entice, cajole, and kick our hidden talent out into the open. To live honestly and in the moment.

Speaking of living in the moment, today I ran 7 with Jorge and Paul P. We talked about the weather, and probably averaged 7:30's for the loop. I was in control over most of the run and felt OK, not pushed at all. It is so easy to run with others. I should train alone to conquer the attachment I seem to have with the term easy. Running well takes work, discipline, and suffering. This account will document my relationship with all three hopefully.

Ran 7 with Arthur this morning at 6am, it was good to see some familiar faces on the trail from both marathon training group and misc friends. Ran the first 4 at around 7:30's then dropped to 6:45s for the last few. Felt good for most of it, a little tight but OK. Ended up at the springs for a quick dip- saw scott- then off to work. We are traveling to St. Johns on Wed for 10 days, so I'll be focusing on my swimming while there, since the island is only 8 miles long. Should be interesting-perhaps there are some trails to run as well. I will get back on schedule when I return. Jacks Generic Tri is next event, beginning of august.

Summary of last few days:

Friday - am: rode 1.5 hours (27 miles or so) behind decker lake on the country roads,
pm: swam 1000m at deep eddy

Sat - am: ran 12 easy
pm: bike 17 miles (1 hr)

Sun - run 4 miles

Totals:

S: 3800m B: 4hrs R: 51

Comments: Will add later.

today, I was only able to run. Alarm went off early, but I was feeling the effects of the last 3 days, so I decided to rest for another hour and not ride this morning. I have been a bit ambitious this week, and know from past experience Did the 2 on 1 off Fartlek workout this afternoon, 7 mile loop, then some strides and a circuit of the bootcamp exercises. Felt fairly comfortable, the "on"s were hard, I'd say around 93-95% max, felt like I worked hard. Will ride for 1.5 hours in the morning, and then try to sneak a run in during the afternoon. (or I may get up super early and run before riding at 8).
Totals by tonight:
S 2800m, B 1.5hours R 35

way behind on swimming and biking. Sigh.

Last night I rode out past Decker Lake on some farm roads and one scary stretch on FM 973. Shoes are too small so my feet were cramping. I was also tired from morning run. Got in 1.5 hours, 28 miles, saw some cows.

This morning, I started at B. Springs at 6 for 7.5 miles. Pace was wildly erratic, from 8:15's to 6:20's. I worked on my turnover. I was noticing that my stride rate felt slow - whether due to being tired or just inattentive I don't know. Anyway, I was down to 176-175 strides per minute. I consciously focused on picking up stride rate without speed, and was able to hold 180 strides at about 7:15 pace for a while. Legs felt sore and tired at start, but when I picked up, they responded well and I felt good by the end. Don't know if I will get the swim in today.
Saw Scott Mc. at the pool, we chatted about his heroic efforts to train for a triple marathon- yes, that's right. Three marathons in three days, and he wants sub 3:30's for each. Quite a goal. If anyone can gut it out, it's scott.

Picked up a new pair of tri specific Bike shoes from Jack and Adams. Really like the community there. Jack is a good man. Hope they feel better than the SIDI's.

Finally, Swam 2000m (32 laps) at deep eddy this afternoon before giving in to the cold. Fingers were numb. I focused on catch up, finger drag, and deliberate kicking.

Mileage for week
S: 2800m B: 28mi (1.5hr) R: 26

Last night, I drove to Deep Eddy, swam 800m and left. So much for the 3000m workout. I got really cold there and lost enthusiasm real quick. I guess I'll have to make the extra 2200m up over the weekend.

This morning, I decided to run out behind decker lake. It has the advantage of being 5 minutes from my front door, and is usually very quiet. I had also volunteered to put the public notice signs up for the Couples Tri as well, so I combined exercise and civic duty, all in a couple of hours. Got to the corner of Lindell and Decker Ln at 6am. Sun was not up yet, mid 70's, cool and quiet with birds singing and small animals rustling in the grass next to the road. The maintenance crew has been busy out here, picking up the mounds of trash and dead animal parts that are thrown on the roadside by the residents of E. Travis Co. If you haven't noticed, I really hate when people litter, especially when they thrown garbage bags filled with slaughterhouse remains on a country road. This is a common issue on this stretch and I think I'll set up a sting operation with the sheriff. I'd love to make those people come out and pick up all the rotting chicken parts they dispose of so flippantly. OK, Rant over. Ran 8.5 miles in peace and quiet. Recovery run, so didn't keep track of time, other than to notice that I was running slower than normal. Could have been the hills too.

so far this week: S: 800m, B: 0, R:18.5mi

Fasten the seatbelt. We're going for a little carnival ride. More like a sideshow attraction really. You get to vicariously read about my running and other athletic endeavors. How fun!

This morning I ran the 10 mile pace run with the fall marathon folks. We started conservatively with the first 5 at 8's or so, then dropped down to the 6:20-6:30 range for the last 5. total time was 1:12:30 with 40 for first 5 and 32:30 for last 5. Felt ok and in control for most of the run. A few moments of dread at 7.5, then settled down somewhat. Kept breathing at 4/4 until mile 8, then dropped to 3/3. Effort was moderate until 8.5 then hard for final 1.5 miles. Good indicator of relative lack of fitness. Goal for this pace run is to get it down to 65 minutes by end of summer.

I suppose I'd best set up some weekly goals as well since this log helps keep me accountable.

M am: 10 mile pace run
pm: swim 3000m deep eddy

Tu am: 7mi run
pm: 1.5 hours on bike (Elgin)

W am: 10mi recovery run
pm: swim 3000m

Th am: 1.5hr ride
pm: 7-9mi run

F am: 7-10mi run
pm: 3000m swim

S am: long run 15mile run

Su am: long ride 3hr

running 55-60mi Swimming 9000meters bike 6hr

Any bets on whether I'll actually make it?