Up at 5am. Have coffee and wait for a little daylight to show. Head down to the lakefront just before 6. Take off the watch 'cause today no one is timing you. Look at the sunrise.
Run.
This, I like.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
W, As in Speed Workouts
Running is not a team sport. Even when training within a team, your path is a personal one. This is the third time I've trained with a team to run the marathon. While I do recommend team training for anyone who is working toward their first endurance sport event, there is something you need to know about this whole team concept. You would probably never be friends with these folks in any other circumstance but, for 4 months, they share intimacies even your lover/wife/husband/dog won't grasp.
I've no qualms discussing surgery, intestinal distress, menstruation, the benefits of shaving, nipple chafing and toenail loss with any member of my group. Believe me, they've shared the same with me. I know, for example, that one of my coaches shaves his legs just because he "like the way they feel". He also really feels he has weak hips and unattractive legs. Yes, he's straight.
With all of this sharing, one would think it would be easy to talk about the doubt. I'm full of it. I get nauseated Tuesday night when I realize that track training is only a day away. I start to remind myself of how much I am NOT a REAL RUNNER. I mean, just LOOK at me. Track/speed workouts, according to the running gurus, are a vital component to marathon training. They are supposed to build endurance and confidence.
I really DO believe in them.
But, I'm the slowest, oldest, fattest runner in the group.(Yes, I say this every week, as part of my motivational mantra. Slowest. Oldest. Fattest. Go. Team. ) I hate them.
4 more hours til track. 2 (3200 meter repeats) with 6 minutes of rest in between. 4 miles total. I'll finish each interval later than everyone else. And there will be no chardonnay.
Running is not a team sport.
I've no qualms discussing surgery, intestinal distress, menstruation, the benefits of shaving, nipple chafing and toenail loss with any member of my group. Believe me, they've shared the same with me. I know, for example, that one of my coaches shaves his legs just because he "like the way they feel". He also really feels he has weak hips and unattractive legs. Yes, he's straight.
With all of this sharing, one would think it would be easy to talk about the doubt. I'm full of it. I get nauseated Tuesday night when I realize that track training is only a day away. I start to remind myself of how much I am NOT a REAL RUNNER. I mean, just LOOK at me. Track/speed workouts, according to the running gurus, are a vital component to marathon training. They are supposed to build endurance and confidence.
I really DO believe in them.
But, I'm the slowest, oldest, fattest runner in the group.(Yes, I say this every week, as part of my motivational mantra. Slowest. Oldest. Fattest. Go. Team. ) I hate them.
4 more hours til track. 2 (3200 meter repeats) with 6 minutes of rest in between. 4 miles total. I'll finish each interval later than everyone else. And there will be no chardonnay.
Running is not a team sport.
Monday, August 10, 2009
It's as good a day as any to avoid the tempo run.
What I'm doing right at the moment, is NOT participating in my group tempo run. I'm just sitting in the dark cubby cave of my apartment, awaiting the UPS driver. (This was not the planned workout and I'm pretty sure the 15 crunches I may, or may not, do won't make up for the missing 7 miles.) He is "in transit" and he's got my new shoes. I just can't face another run in the old ones. I love that they're biodegradable but I fear that are decomposing whilst I wear them. The sides are split and pebbles are climbing into the gaps. It's all just a fancy excuse though. If I were a badass, I would run in them anyway.
Sometimes, I AM a bad-ass. One year, I ran a half marathon with the top of my shoe cut away because I couldn't stand the pressure on my bruised toe. Bad-ass then. Today, sitter-in -the -dark-ass. I'm looking over at the Merlot and thinking about having a wee motivational chat with it. Come on, driver! I'm caving in my cubby!
Sometimes, I AM a bad-ass. One year, I ran a half marathon with the top of my shoe cut away because I couldn't stand the pressure on my bruised toe. Bad-ass then. Today, sitter-in -the -dark-ass. I'm looking over at the Merlot and thinking about having a wee motivational chat with it. Come on, driver! I'm caving in my cubby!
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