Resolve.

Okay, so I’ve had an off season. It didn’t begin with the intention of becoming an “off season” but its strange metamorphosis from a quick break to me becoming a “non runner” has left me questioning my resolve and reason for running in the first place. This took some time to ponder I decided…However, three weeks later I found the answers were irrelevant as I’d somehow forgotten the question! I was now a sedentary middle aged man, happy to have a six pack and watch the footy...or was I?

More time past and I tried to be content with just being a “Dude” I was now convinced that I’d somehow pigeon-holed myself into being only a runner. So again I tried to swim with the stream of conformity, willing myself to watch “Master Chef”, and “Who’s Got Talent?” yes, every cringe worthy moment of it.

Then I remembered the question, “my resolve” :It had toppled like dominos, a big metaphorical finger pushed the first domino “goals” It fell into “ambition” that smashed into “motivation” who knocked over “passion” who hit the last domino…”fun”

This all sounds very bad, I know, but wait.

Somewhere in me a longing for something was brewing, it was unclear and trying to name it seemed impossible, although I suspect it had something to do with running.

Then I came upon this poem:

“I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately, I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, To put to rout all that was not life and not when I had come to die Discover that I had not lived.” -Henry David Thoreau

That sums it up more eloquently than I could. Running to me is living, truly living. Try to run up a big hill and you’ll see what I mean. I once devised a system to rate a hills length in “dog years” because struggling on a hill puts you right in the moment, an agonizing moment it may be, but it’s real. The same can not be said for all the blended nights I’ve spent in front of a TV.

Armed with this new realization I’m putting the metaphoric dominos back up, and swatting the hand that tipped them to begin with.

Tonight is going to be cold, and raining, and real. Time to lace up.

The hermit?

I have been a bit of a hermit latley, and I've missed group runs for about three week now!

My crazy work commitments continue…

To be honest I haven’t had much time to run recently, and consequently not much running news to report. That's not to say there isn't news: Another baby on the way, thank you Mr. Stork!

This lull has given me some time to enjoy hanging out with the wife and kids, enjoy some wine, play some piano and read some books that I’ve abandoned for too long.

I’ve allowed my “mountain man” beard to grow (with hilarious results) as I’m convinced it somehow helps me run more like “Tony.”

I have a brand new pair of New Balance “Minimus" begging to be taken for a trot, and with the (extra) long weekend coming up it’s time to get back into the swing of things. Huge congratulations to a trail running mate of mine (Bernadette) on smashing the 100k record (W40), when you train with people like her and with results like that, you know you got to be in a good training group.

Happy trails.

I've been thinking...

“I’ve been busier than a one legged man in a butt kicking contest.”

My car troubles continue…and now my road bike has defiantly given up as well. (Two tire punctures in one week!) Commuting to work this past week has been a nightmare and to top it off it’s still crazy hot!!

I found myself running home last Wednesday, it was typically hot and the scenery is nothing special, I did get to eventually detour away from the smog and noise of passing trucks to the more peaceful and fun single track that webs its way through Thompsons Lake Reserve. The gum leaves provided some welcome shade and the familiar paths were like revisiting an old friend. I grew to love running on these trails a few years ago. They are the closest thing to real nature near my home and I know them all intimately. There is the log where I jumped over “that” tiger snake, over there is the mud trail that I saw a hiker fall and get covered in mud, over that hill is where the kangaroos usually hang out.

I have neglected these trails all summer, working too close to sunset being the principle excuse. Looking back at those early outings I’ve realized how much I’ve grown as a runner, and also what I’ve forgotten. I was certainly naive about running then. I didn’t know about nutrition, or GPS’s or the benefit of minimalist footwear. My weekly mileage was about 40-50k a week (which I though was massive) and I didn’t have a single race under my belt.

I believe, however that my shift in thinking hasn’t been entirely beneficial. You see, I can run father with greater ease, and I can say I’ve finished a few races but I’ve lost a key element to a runner’s arsenal that is more detrimental than any training plateau I’ve ever faced. The key thing that I’d forgotten was this: FUN.
Somewhere along the line, i'd gotten too caught up in racing, or more importantly racing well. My training load became huge, and running became a chore to maintain peak fitness.

The saying “the journey is more important than the destination” should be every distance runners mantra. I look at my race calendar for this year, and for the first time in two years, it’s blank…That is liberating.

The significance and feeling of accomplishment of every run should be equal to that of a race...Only a ticking clock distinguishes the two.

Enjoy.

Ultrarunning 2009 Coaching Endurance

Anyone for LSD?

I had some great runs this week. I’ve dumped mileage in favor of speed-work, as work and home commitment have left me time poor, so as the adage goes “it’s not quantity, its quality that counts.”

A few fast midweek jaunts and I was back at “Ern Clarke athletics track” for some more racing fun. This time I tried the Mile, 800m, and 200m, with surprisingly good results. I came 3^rd overall in the mile; I started way too fast and suffered for it the whole race. While I was still panting, head down, hands on knees, and shaking with exhaustion, the nice man with the starting gun called me in to run the 200m….where I got my butt kicked by much more experienced (a diplomatic way of saying “older”) men.

The 800m I ran a much smarter race, I settled in behind the leader and let them set the pace at 700m to go; I kicked hard and “out sprinted” the leader to win my heat. 

This weekend I’m back to my old tricks and one of my favorite stomping grounds, Kalamunda. There will be plenty of pristine single-track, technical climbs, and decent mileage. Yes I’ll be having some LSD this weekend for sure!

(“LSD” is a common running acronym for Long Slow Distance)

more fun.

It’s been a busy week. Work commitments and a full training schedule have wiped me out, which explains why I was sound asleep on the couch at 9:00p.m. Friday night.

As expected my “run to work” plan is very demanding, I was cursing the idea on Tuesday after the commute home left me totally shattered. It was a very hot day and my route has no shade, to top it off I’d worked overtime and forgot I had to pick up my kids from school. By the time I’d realized my plight I had only given myself 45 minutes to run the 10k to the school before they closed! I made it (just) and vowed to modify my plan before my endocrine system becomes too depleted.

My solution was to dust the cobwebs off my road bike and get some smart, low impact, cross training mileage. I soon found myself racing every biker in sight (even if they’re not going my direction) I don’t know what it is about me on a bike but I get COMPETITIVE!

My commute is over undulating terrain, but there is one hill in particular that I love to ride up, “Black Swan Hill” (aka Monte Zoncolan) it’s embarrassingly small and it kicks my butt every time I go up it, so it’s pretty cool.

The highlight of my running week was being introduced to the “Masters Athletics of Western Australia.” They hold track nights on Tuesdays and Thursdays every week.

I joined the track team back in high school…for two days; I hated the idea of running around in circles. Now, a little older and open-minded, my curiosity has gotten the better of me and I wanted to see how I’d fare in sprint events.

I signed up for the 100m and the 400m races along with a few other ultra runners (who have asked to remain nameless to protect their “secret racing” adventures)

The 100m was up first and I was warmed up, stretched and ready to run…I was also terrified! There where people there with racing spikes, starting block thingies, matching singlets, these people know their stuff. I felt pretty embarrassed asking the nice man with the starting gun how the whole “ready, set, go” thing works.

“Do I have to get down…where do my hands go?” I asked nervously.

“You can do a standing start if you like” He said encouragingly. “I just hope you don’t blow a hammy!”

We all cringed at that comment, and then there was a loud bang.

We all ran as hard as we could and I found myself leading…and then it was over, I’d won my heat! That wasn’t so scary after all.

The 400m was up next, all the advice I’d received about this one was “get an inside lane.” The man called us in and the inside lanes were quickly occupied, I ended up in lane 8 (the very outside)

“I don’t see what’s so bad about this?”

Again, a loud BANG and we were off.

I again felt like I was leading for a long time, it was great! Then at 300m in I realized why lane 8 is bad (At 300m you all end up at the same point.) 100m to go it was an all out sprint to the finish, Somewhere I found a gear I didn’t know I had and kicked hard to the finish. I won my heat again! Maybe I’m a sprinter after all.

It’s very exciting to suddenly add a new dimension to my running, and although ultras are my passion, I am going to devote a portion of my training to track shenanigans.

Happy trails.http://www.mastersathleticswa.org/

Pics from last year.