I know 2 miles doesn't seem like much, but I have a mile route from my house that rises at about 0.4 then dips back down at the half then steadily rises the last half. Turn around and then back down the hill towards home. The second mile (since it's mostly downhill) is usually quick. I always do the 2 miles before a race to get an idea of how fast I should go out in the race. I'm nervous about tomorrow's 5k. At least it will do what I'm wanting it to do - give me an indicator of how fast I am.
Didn't get a ride in, New Year's Eve party and all.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Sunday - 3/7
Again failed to do what I had planned to. Although today I made a conscious decision to run only 3 instead of 6. With the 5k coming up, I wanted to rest a little and run an old 5k route to get a better gauge of where I am. I wasn't happy with the time, but I rarely am. Rode the trainer for a quick 20 minutes.
Week re-cap: 21 miles running & 18.5 miles biking (all on CycleOps)
The 21 miles of running this week was disappointing considering I was at 16 thru Thursday.
Week re-cap: 21 miles running & 18.5 miles biking (all on CycleOps)
The 21 miles of running this week was disappointing considering I was at 16 thru Thursday.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Saturday - 2/6.5
I know it may not sound like much, but I did get in a quick 20 min ride on the indoor cycle and a 2 mile run. It was not what I was hoping for, but considering at one point today I wondered if I would actually do anything, it's a small victory.
Tomorrow, 6 miles, which will get me to 24 for the week.
Tomorrow, 6 miles, which will get me to 24 for the week.
Practice Makes Perfect
I've always considered myself a pretty decent athlete. I've been able to pick up a sport and perform relatively well at it in a short period of time my entire life. I've called myself a "Jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none" many times. If you want proof, well:
high school - football (started, nothing extraordinary)
track (400 m - 53 seconds, 2nd in district, my running consisted of attending meets)
college - cycling (race or two, nothing serious)
triathlon (very short sprints - twice)
post-college - running (~15 miles/week, a few 5ks, some age group medals)
power lifting (added 25 lbs so running was out)
adventure racing (short one/two day events)
triathlon (again, still sprints)
duathlon (I realized I'm not a very fast swimmer, heck, I'm not very fast at anything, so swimming had to go)
football coach (added another 25 lbs so all physical activity was out)
today - duathlons/(very short) triathlons - I've lost 40 lbs
As you can see, I've run the gamut (not even mentioning my pickup basketball games and the few summers I spent playing church league softball). This past summer I turned 39. The day after my birthday, my wife did the bike leg of a pretty good sized triathlon. As I went down to watch her compete my competitive juices started flowing again. I jumped right in and did a few short duathlons and triathlons and realized that 1) I still don't swim well, and 2) it's difficult to be competitive while running ~10 miles/week and biking ~20 miles/week. So, I've made a commitment (probably WAY too strong a word) to become the best duathlete I can become, considering my age. I don't want to look back, when I'm older, and wonder if I ever could have become REALLY good at one particular sport if I had focused on just one.
So, I'm running more than I ever have (still not what I want to, see previous post to understand why) and I am getting faster. I am blessed that at age 39 my body still is in pretty good condition (both of my running partners are currently on hiatus due to back problems). I will eventually get my running, and my biking up to par, hopefully sooner rather than later. The questions that haunt me, though, are "How good can Faun Ramey become?" and "Am I limited by my genetics?"
I search a lot on the internet for training info, motivational stuff, etc. (unfortunately many times instead of training not after training) and recently came across an article that I found most encouraging. It appears that genetics isn't the most important aspect of becoming an elite at something. Research suggests that practice does make perfect (or at least really good). So, since my parents aren't holding me back, look out duathlon competitors, here I come! If, of course, I can get motivated to train today.
high school - football (started, nothing extraordinary)
track (400 m - 53 seconds, 2nd in district, my running consisted of attending meets)
college - cycling (race or two, nothing serious)
triathlon (very short sprints - twice)
post-college - running (~15 miles/week, a few 5ks, some age group medals)
power lifting (added 25 lbs so running was out)
adventure racing (short one/two day events)
triathlon (again, still sprints)
duathlon (I realized I'm not a very fast swimmer, heck, I'm not very fast at anything, so swimming had to go)
football coach (added another 25 lbs so all physical activity was out)
today - duathlons/(very short) triathlons - I've lost 40 lbs
As you can see, I've run the gamut (not even mentioning my pickup basketball games and the few summers I spent playing church league softball). This past summer I turned 39. The day after my birthday, my wife did the bike leg of a pretty good sized triathlon. As I went down to watch her compete my competitive juices started flowing again. I jumped right in and did a few short duathlons and triathlons and realized that 1) I still don't swim well, and 2) it's difficult to be competitive while running ~10 miles/week and biking ~20 miles/week. So, I've made a commitment (probably WAY too strong a word) to become the best duathlete I can become, considering my age. I don't want to look back, when I'm older, and wonder if I ever could have become REALLY good at one particular sport if I had focused on just one.
So, I'm running more than I ever have (still not what I want to, see previous post to understand why) and I am getting faster. I am blessed that at age 39 my body still is in pretty good condition (both of my running partners are currently on hiatus due to back problems). I will eventually get my running, and my biking up to par, hopefully sooner rather than later. The questions that haunt me, though, are "How good can Faun Ramey become?" and "Am I limited by my genetics?"
I search a lot on the internet for training info, motivational stuff, etc. (unfortunately many times instead of training not after training) and recently came across an article that I found most encouraging. It appears that genetics isn't the most important aspect of becoming an elite at something. Research suggests that practice does make perfect (or at least really good). So, since my parents aren't holding me back, look out duathlon competitors, here I come! If, of course, I can get motivated to train today.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Motivation
As I sat at my computer creating this blog page, I wondered exactly what I was going to post, I mean besides cute pictures of my son and other stuff. Then I came across this post and decided it would be great to use in my virgin post. It is exactly the reason I am creating this blog page and I couldn't have said it more eloquently.
"My motivation waned big time today and I asked myself 20 times while I was getting dressed in the dark- tired and sick.. why am I doing this? I thought of many excuses, none of which really convinced me that going back to bed would yield more satisfaction at the end of the day."
Why do I do it? To steal Tim's words "...it's that feeling of fitness and confidence that we gain from training... On days when you don't want to go out the door.. think that there will come a day when someone will go by you and you will either wish you could catch them.. or you will ... KNOW that you will catch them."
"My motivation waned big time today and I asked myself 20 times while I was getting dressed in the dark- tired and sick.. why am I doing this? I thought of many excuses, none of which really convinced me that going back to bed would yield more satisfaction at the end of the day."
Why do I do it? To steal Tim's words "...it's that feeling of fitness and confidence that we gain from training... On days when you don't want to go out the door.. think that there will come a day when someone will go by you and you will either wish you could catch them.. or you will ... KNOW that you will catch them."
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