Thursday, September 3, 2009

last post before my date with MICKEY

Yes that is right I have a date with mickey this weekend, I am running the Dinseyland 1/2 marathon. My original plan was to strive for my fist sub 2 hour half but I may be hanging with my wife and taking some pictures. Just enjoy the race. So here is how my week went:

Monday-Long swim. I am in a recovery block so my long swim was 1500 meters. It was slow. I didnt feel like swimming. I got in the water and did it. 40:11.
Tuesday-Recovery run. 3 miles without a watch and right before softball practice. It went well.
Wednesday-Ride on some hills. I found a new hill to repeat on. I went a total of 21 miles in 1:25:34 . I felt the best I ever felt on the bike. The hill I climbed to start was 3 min faster than the last time I biked on it. It felt fresher and faster. My ave was slow at 14.7 but I took it easy as I could on the down and pounded the ups.
Thursday-Swim easy. I decided that I just wanted an easy swim. I did some weights and then swam for 20 min straight. Just get it done.

My next block is going to be big again. I have 2 big blocks planned and I am looking forward to it. I am looking forward to it because I am starting feel like an endurance athlete. I began this journey without any specific goals. I had let myself get very out of shape during physical therapy school. Then I starting getting winded with the littlest things. I decided I would walk. Walking turned into running and running started me on a journey to see how far I could go. Can I do a half-marathon? 10 years ago I would have said hell no. A year and a half ago I would have said may be. Then I did the Palos Verdes half. It was brutal. Not the intro to halfs you like. VERY VERY HIlly. Then we decided to try another one. Disney. While training for Disney I still didnt believe that I could do it. Then something funny happened. I was running last years disney and I got mile 10 or 11 and I was dying. I was cramping and I was tired and not having fun. I looked around and said to myself...you know what? I dont feel so bad and I started to push it, and I pushed it and I finished with confidence. I reached down deep and I found something inside me that said I can do this. As my brain drifted off I thought about pain and training and what that does to your brain. I have let my old soft ways rule my life, training, and my perception of what I am capable of. It was then that I decided I wasnt going to limit myself anymore. It was at Disney last year that I fully bought into my new lifestyle.

When I say new lifestyle I mean NEW. The life I live today is light years more healthy and active than I have ever lived. As I sit here reading IM race reports I am excited, encouraged, and jealous. What would I be doing now if I didnt have a few years of "break time." Would I be an IRONMAN now? My new lifestyle constantly evolves. I lost 50 pounds and then my weight just stuck. I havent lost any weight in 8 months. Until this last week. I had an excellent nutrition consultation (thanks MARNI) and have received some excellent information that has resulted in a 7 pound loss. You would think that given the training load that weight loss would come right with it. NOPE. Now I feel in control of my body for the first time in my life, All the baseball, football, basketball, running, cycling, and swimming I have ever done was limited by what i put into my body. If I grew up with these tools what would have gone different? I was never thin. I remember being embarrassed about husky jeans. I played lineman, I hit homeruns, I got rebounds....RUN? Thats for punishment. How much weight in the weight room can I push? How far can I hit the ball? Box me out? i dont think so. Triathlon? Ironman? THATS NOT ME. I CANT DO THAT. THATS FOR LITTLE DUDES. Stick to what I do....power. Here I am reading triathlon blogs and writing one myself. I am running my 5th half marathon and in the midst of training for a 1/2 iron distance triathlon. Im going to use this half marathon as a TRAINING RUN. What? 13.1 miles as a training run? Yes and I am going to train right through it and make a push to silverman. Im going places and as I sit here ranting I am proud of the distance I have traveled. I have a lot more to accomplish and each step of the way brings on more knowledge about how to go about this active life. I love it. My body and brain are the healthiest they have every been and I am just getting started. My next entry will be the happiest race report on earth. Thanks for the rant. QUOTE:

“A healthy body is a guest chamber for the soul: a sick body is a prison”
Francis Bacon, Sr. quotes (English Lawyer and Philosopher. 1561-1626)

Boy it feels good to be free.

5 comments:

Amanda said...

Love this post. You're just as inspiring as the IM RRs. Good luck this weekend.

Jen Feeny said...

Congrats on your journey to the new you! You have come a long ways and deserve the regale in your awesomeness!!!!

Have fun this weekend and um... perhaps you should've said date with Minnie... just saying... good thing you pointed out you were running with your wife... LOL!

GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!

Karl Stutelberg said...

All running, all exercise, all work for that matter -------is a dance with fatigue: manipulation of it, experimentation with it, and finally, acceptance of it. What training is for is to pull its teeth.

A manageable level of fatigue is a useful training tool. It encourages you to relax, lets you seek out the gentlest and most efficient stride. Until you're in shape the first unpleasant signals of fatigue insist that things are going to deteriorate quickly and you're going to grind to a halt; after you're in shape those same signals only remind you to reestablish homeostasis.
Stabilize at this higher level of output, and then, with your fatigue well in hand, you discover you can go on- and on and on.

(This is my favorite part)
Even purely recreational runners can thus come to know what racers know: that the most enjoyable times in running come when you are teetering on the edge of fatigue but hang on a moment longer, and a moment longer, and at some point discover not only that you can bear it but that you can even pick it up a bit.

That is the greatest thrill in endurance athletics - a greater thrill, even, than winning. And it is available to the totally noncompetitive recreational runner, so long as you're willing to avail yourself of the opportunity-the freedom-to experiment with levels of fatigue.

From the book The Elements of Effort by John Jerome

Chuck said...

Great post! Enjoy the weekend and race. Best of luck.

B.o.B. said...

Great job on losing the weight. You were meant to be an endurance athlete and never even knew it. Good for you!!!

Best of luck at Disney. Take lots of photos.