Highlights: 20×400 and 5x1mile

My last post (click here) mentioned some good things going on in training and racing right now, so I am taking a moment to flesh out some of those details.

First, the post ended with a question, so it might be sensible to answer that question, for any wondering.

Answer: Chose to run. (what was the question?)

Back to the training. My coach (Q) and I have taken this fall to shift the emphasis to greater distances and longer efforts. That means that much of the fall was somewhat experimental, as it pertains to my own past fall training. Lots of long tempos and 2mi repeats and longer periods of high-mileage weeks. After some decent 10mile races and a strong half marathon debut (Detroit Free Press International Half Marathon), we were satisfied that the fall’s goals were met.

The last few weeks, then, have been the transition from this longer aerobic focus to the more interval-driven 10k focus. During this time, I have been running a fair amount of 1k and 1mi repeats, the staples of our cross country interval training (8-10x1k, 5-6x1mi, etc.).

In the last couple weeks, the workouts have looked like this:
– 8x1k (track) in 2:55 avg.
– 5x1mi (road) in 4:48 avg for 1-2 and 4-5, with a 4:33 hammer on rep #3
– 20x4oom (track) in 66.1 avg
*Some of the positives: finishing the workouts stronger than ever before (accelerating through the last few reps); hard reps mid-workout don’t create excessive deficits (this is always tough to accomplish);

These efforts all represent some of my strongest fall workouts ever, so I am definitely pleased with the progress.

The big question on our minds, then, is how will the extended aerobic work translate to 5k and 10k in the next month? That is what we hope to find out very soon!

Before I close this post, I must also give a shout-out to the miraculous efforts of my Physical Therapist (Josh Hanenberg with Agility). I started the season with some pretty ferocious IT Band issues, but his treatment moved me forward very quickly, and between that and other advice and suggestions, he has very much helped me to train at a different level than ever before!

Every Runner Asks: To run? Or…

Here I sit, like most runners on most days, trying to dredge up that absurd desire to lace the kicks and hit the streets. It makes no difference that I have run many hundreds of miles in the last few months or that I have run PR times in both workouts and races several times in the last 90 days. Still, I am sitting comfortably in my hotel room in an unfamiliar city trying to find the motivation to run.

Never mind that it is Thanksgiving Day or that I ran a small 5k Turkey Trot this morning. Never mind the fact that I don’t particularly “need” the miles to accomplish this season’s goals. Never mind the fact that once I leave the hotel, I have no idea where I am going to go.

I have been feeling great on every run in the last seven days, so it isn’t soreness or heavy legs that deters me.

I am looking forward to attempting some of my biggest goals of my career so far in the next two races (Dec. 6 and Dec. 14), so it isn’t motivation or lack of focus and inspiration.

In truth, the only reason I have not yet risen from my seat is quite simply because it is easier to stay sitting. Is that laziness? Is that despair? I think not. I think it is the single most common factor in any decision we make. Choosing anything at all requires moving out of the current norm into some amount of discomfort (however brief) and unfamiliarity (even if only in regard to the moment of norm that preceded it).

This is the same decision I have to make every time I decide to take one more step, however painful or difficult. Sometimes the decision feels easy, natural, demanding little effort to make, but other times, the decision fights back, perhaps with nothing more than mental effort, but often with actual physical pain. Are you sure you want to take that next step at that unbearable pace? Fine, allow me to make you regret it!

The thing is, my choice in that moment is the choice that matters most.

So, here I sit. What will I choose today?

 

Recent Bouts With Reality

What’s the difference between someone telling you about running and the kinds of things runners might experience and someone telling you about his/her running and running experiences? Reality. Enemy to all. Friend to none. But reality has one thing going for him: we all know him, and whether we enjoy his company, we spend a lot of time with him.

Here’s reality: today’s 5-mile tempo on a once-proud cross country course that had only a month ago been entirely submerged in our latest and greatest flood on record. How did that 5-mile tempo turn out? Indulge me as I explain.

Reality wanted to give me a heavy dose of himself today, so here’s what he did. First, he convinced me to run my tempo on the grass. The last time I did that was December. Second, he filled my head the entire time with reminders of a recent track record that is not worth the miles put on the spikes to run the races, let alone the miles put on the body in the planes.

So I ran my 5-mile tempo on the grass today, grass that had not been mowed since the nearly-great flood (for the most part), grass that grew thick and green, meaning it was well watered. Recently. In fact, it was being watered the entire time I was running the workout… by the standing water that was yet still drifting about the course. At this point, you can fill in the gaps. The numbers are now irrelevant, that is to say that they will not be instrumental in motivating anyone any time soon.

That concluded my most recent jaunt with reality. He’s a real stickler for doing things his way, and I suppose I submissively cooperated.

What’s the point?

I’ve known the depths of doubt and despair. In fact, much of the time, I tend to sit near the edge and banter idly with its constantly-inviting inhabitants, and there are a few things that don’t discourage their invitations, such as bombing a workout. But if the runner who experiences a rough patch loses his edge, drifts away from his passion, or simply gives up, where would this thankless sport be?

Therefore, instead of hopelessly wrestling with reality all day, I intend to break bread with his Master as often as possible and perhaps come to understand why exactly reality has it out for us so often. Until then, I don’t mind licking my wounds briefly before my next bout.

Finding Fury

Once again, I find myself a few hours from a race thinking about what running is to me, and not just running but racing, competing. I find myself contrasting the swelling waves of recreational joggers in a world once populated singularly by the abnormal, crazy, and absurd. Runners.

I am not and do not imply that I am ungrateful for the increased popularity of the sport and the inclusion of all people in a once-seclusive realm. Far to the opposite, I am quite certain that this element is one of the factors that is currently driving the successes of Americans on the distance running scene.

The aspect, rather, on which I presently am focused is the role of fury in achievement.

Fury heightens ability and potential, probably scientifically, but definitely practically. It is the expression on every competitor’s face when he/she requires that “little extra” at the most crucial moment. But what conjures it? What ushers in its presence?

For some, it is frustration, knowing that the finish line should have already come, willing it to just be here already. For others, it is aggression, the refusal to yield and the need to dominate. Still for others, it is passion, the uninhibited release of a fire so deeply burning that the state of neither emotion nor thought can extinguish it.

This is what differentiates joggers from runners. This is what fuels a ferocity that refuses to balk at the suggestion of suffering.

When it snows… (in March)

I and many of my fellow Playmakers Elite runners competed in the Spectrum Health Irish Jig 5k in East Grand Rapids, MI this morning. If anyone reading lives in West Michigan, you know how this was a BAD idea. At around 5am this morning, temps dropped to the mid-20s, and it began to snow. After raining all day yesterday, the layer of moisture already on the ground froze, as well. Today’s lesson, however, was very simple: when it snows, it snows for everyone, and when it’s cold, it’s cold for everyone.

The race was obviously different because of the weather. With the first two miles almost entirely into the wind, nobody tried anything significant for a while. I made the mistake of not getting a sense of the field early in the race, who was running and what I might expect from those runners. I moved to trim the pack a little at the first mile mark. Even with the move, the pace never really took on a significant rate, being that footing was not exceptional most of the time. I realized I may have underestimated the field when, after two miles, three guys went by me. I fell in line and waited to see what they would do. For about half a mile, the pace remained a bit crisper, despite the splashes of ice and slush now and then. Not wanting to wait too long (and somewhat in response to another runner’s move), I began pushing hard somewhere between 800m and 600m to go. Three of us continued to accelerate from that point till the finish. Once we passed 200m to go, I turned up the dial and tried to finish it. I only later realized how impressive the runner I narrowly beat was: Ian Forsyth is his name, and he is 40 years old this year. Out-kicking a 40-year-old is usually nothing to boast about, but Ian has wheels like few other 40-year-olds.

The point made earlier stands: it was snowy and cold for everyone. We all commented after the race about the numb fingers and faces. I am still unsure about which endeavor was the most difficult: answering questions immediately after the race or untying my racing flats a few minutes later. Untying the shoes was certainly the more frustrating.

When we stand on the verge of accomplishment and have a chance to look both forward and backward, we most likely all experience the same emotions: fear of failure, anticipation of achievement, regret from past failures, and excitement from past successes. The moment in which we live is the product of the unpredictable collision of unavoidable emotions, and our responses in light of that burdensome product most often determine the condition in which we reach the next moment. Virtue in this moment, defined in this sense by discipline and perseverance, is not attained by suppressing the emotions or obstructing the collisions. Virtue, defined in this sense by discipline and perseverance, is attained by embracing both emotions and collisions, recognizing each in its turn, and determining to press forward, clinging to and being drawn on by the positive while being pressed from behind by the negative.

I say all this while reflecting on the hopes and dreams of future successes. I say all this because the ratio of runners with Olympic dreams to runners with Olympic experiences is extreme, but probability inevitably works in someone’s favor each time. The only way to ensure that it won’t work in my favor is to give in to doubt and hang it up. Also, everyone enjoys to win, so as today saw this rare blessing falling on my shoulders, I intend to graciously revel in this uncommon honor and to move beyond today’s collision of emotion with excited anticipation.

Enjoying the Sport

A fellow coach and athlete shared this article with me, and I found it quite insightful.

Invest in Athletic Diversification

The article captures the quintessence of active living, that is to say, an active lifestyle is defined by participation in various differing forms of physical activity. The necessity for the diversification of these activities may likely be limited to teens and children, but I find the message to be important for any who aspire to be fit and active.

Simply put, the wrong motivation to do something will almost never yield desired results. In running, the most common collegians’ response to the question of whether they will continue post-college is, “I need some time off” (or something to that extent). The reason is burnout. Most competitive athletes experience this feeling at one point or another.

Personally, I am not interested in how to avoid this feeling because I believe that it is inevitable if an athlete invests the necessary time and effort to become exceptional in his/her field. More importantly to me is how to respond when the feeling does, invariably, occur. At that moment, the athlete will always ask him/herself, “Why am I doing this?”

Thus, one must have an answer. Allow me to provide one: the enjoyment of the sport.

While the enjoyment of something is never a good enough reason to devote incredible amounts of time and effort to it, it is certainly a necessary part of the motivation. Consider the following fallacies:
– I do it to win. For some, this is definitely true, but consider the mentality of such a one when he/she loses? The efforts no longer have purpose and no longer satisfy.
– I do it because my coach (fill in the blank) tells me to do it. Once again, this reasoning has significant limitations. After all, most are no longer coached after college.
– I do it because I love the outdoors/sun/etc. Well, I live in Michigan. Nobody runs year-round because they like the outdoors. I believe that I spend more time running in cold, cloudy, and/or wet/icy weather than anything else.

Eventually, any who train competitively will also reckon that not every day is enjoyable, that the pain and discomfort of punishing one’s body enough to yield desired results is often quite unenjoyable. This is true. However, the enjoyment of such a thing does not fit into our convenience- and pleasure-seeking society. The enjoyment is deeper.

For a child to understand this, one might raise the concept of exceptionally sour candy. The sourness is not pleasing by conventional definitions, but the experience of consuming excessively sour candy is still, somehow, rewarding. For a student, consider a subject in school that is particularly interesting. In that case, grades become irrelevant. The student desires to learn and to know (I am a high school teacher, and I do witness this phenomenon on occasion). For a professional, consider a career at which one works not out of necessity for the paycheck but out of enjoyment of the work. No longer does the professional go to “work” every day.

Therefore, when I lace up my shoes, I may often tell myself such like, “another day at the office,” “time to put money in the bank,” or “Just Do It™,” but what I am really telling myself is, “This is part of who I am. This is where I live.”

Home, sweet home

When do you feel at home? What thought draws you home with excitement and anticipation? Naturally, the only correct answer to this question is my wife, Andi. However, she travels for work 60-80 days/year, and on those occasions, returning home after a long day at work is not always as welcoming. Thus, I have sought and discovered a temporary substitute (it is important to understand that nothing can actually replace or fill in for her in any degree, but finding something to even just distract me for a short time can be nice).

As it happens, this “distraction” has a name: Precor.

Switch on the fan, set some slammin’ beats, and crank up the belt. Welcome home!

If I were a runner…

I want to be a runner. A lot of people run. I am definitely part of that demographic, but I want it to be more than that. A lot of people run, but not very many people run hundreds of miles a month and travel thousands of miles for races that last fewer than 10 minutes.

This gets me thinking. What would be different about my life if I were a runner? I do not mean this in a literal sense. If so, many people would likely think me to be a pessimist, cynic, or just plain ungrateful. Every once in a while, though, I get a chance to live like a career runner, and I would be remiss to neglect saying that those moments are pretty cool!

Allow me to summarize. Just in the last few months, I have traveled many places, running and competing all the while.

Kentucky: in December, Andi (my wife) and I both traveled to Kentucky to race the US Club Nationals where I finished 10th and Andi had her first official Playmakers (website is not updated) experience.

San Diego: later in December, Andi had an auto show in San Diego, and since I was on break for school, I accompanied her. There we ran some beautiful trails and harbor paths.

Detroit: in January, Andi once again had an auto show during which I was able to join her temporarily, this time in Detroit. I have raced the team marathon with Playmakers for two years now and ran the same course that I have run both years for my leg of the relay. It was somewhat euphoric, but the physical numbness from the cold quickly became mental and emotional numbness until I returned to the hotel!

Jamaica: herein lies the highlight of my winter travels. In the end of January, I was selected to represent Team USA at the NACAC Championships based on my 10th place finish at the 2012 USA Club Nats race. For almost a week, I truly did live like a runner!

Today – Chicago: at this exact moment (February), I am sitting in a hotel in Chicago, once again accompanying Andi during an auto show trip. Deciding to not make the same mistake as Detroit one month ago, I am running on the treadmill during my brief weekend hiatus in the Omni-Chicago hotel. And once again, I am reminded what life as a runner would be.

The natural question, now, is this: what is life as a runner like? Let me list the ways…- traveling far more than the human body desires (races, training sessions)
– spending far more than a normal salary can afford on restaurants (eating while traveling is a curse)
– doing far less than a sane mind requires (what shall I do today… I’ve got it! – Run!)
– being far more content than someone who does all of the above at once!

Unfortunately, “living the dream” is never all that it is assumed to be. I have known many who have actually had the opportunity to do just that. The misfortune is not in the experience. That is simply a blast. The misfortune is in the end. The dream, by its very nature, cannot last. Instead, I find great pleasure in tasting the dream on a rare enough occasion to maintain motivation without sacrificing my future once the dream has expired, namely my family and career (there are more things one would sacrifice, but these are among the more prominent).

If I were a runner… well, allow me to be the one to shrug my shoulders. When a man crosses the finish line, do people ask if he is a runner? I have more finish lines to cross, so ask me some other time.

Rip’s Story Part 2: Middle School

I believe it is about time for part 2 of the story, my part in just another runner’s story!

As I distinguish my intention in these videos, I have decided that my motivation really comes from the fact that most young athletes will never realistically believe in their own potential mostly because they do not consider themselves “good enough.” I hope my story might encourage others to consider that patient discipline can accomplish much that the lack of instant success often conceals.

Missed Part 1? Watch it here! (Click Here)

 

Armstrong, Doping, and Conscience

I will offer my opinion in lieu of Armstrong’s confession. Most will be sick of hearing about this sometime between yesterday and 25 years ago, but as another athlete aspiring toward victory, I believe myself qualified to offer an opinion as any who sacrifice an otherwise comfortable, if complacent lifestyle for the frustration and disappointment of seeking personal betterment.

(I know this is long, so if you read nothing else, read the last paragraph.)

I will not make this post political, but I will note that if applied appropriately and responsibly, my perspective on doping would relate directly to veritably every political scandal and debate in the postmodern world.

Politics aside and from one aspiring individual to a world of aspiring individuals, doping embodies two issues: the conscience of the individual and the values of the society.

In this manner, and to first address the latter, the purpose of law is not to rid a society of crime because as an imperfect people, crime will exist as long as imperfection exists. Instead, the purpose of law is to establish and perpetuate values. Therefore, doping is restricted in order to communicate in athletics the value of fairness and honesty. As a society, should we always strive to prevent doping entirely? Yes. Will we? No. Many have suggested that tighter restrictions and severer penalties are necessary to reduce doping, but what is the intent? Is there a limit to rational and justifiable consequences? If an athlete dopes and the sponsor knows, should the sponsor be penalized? If an athlete dopes and his uncle knows, should his uncle be penalized? We may justify the former, but we will not likely justify the latter. Even so, we cannot entirely abandon the hope of protecting fairness, for the moment that we do, we cease to value fairness and in so doing, punish those whose conscience is strong enough to forbid them from dishonest gain.

This raises the most important aspect: individual conscience, and herein lies my heart. Historically, society’s values have inevitably collided with individuals’ consciences, resulting in controversy. As long as society’s values are supported by the majority of individuals’ consciences, the values will be maintained. However, when the majority of consciences fall to the opposing values, those values will replace the former as society’s values.

Thus, practically speaking, we realize the role of the individual athlete. I am among those whose individual consciences currently align with society’s value of fairness, but I have to ask myself, as many do, is it worth it? When so many achieve so much in the name of unfairness simply because their consciences allow them to embrace it, why must mine forbid it? The answer is simple. If my conscience forbids my participation in unfairness merely because society values fairness, I can be assured that present frustrations are much more likely to transfer my loyalties.

However, this athlete does not derive his conscience from society’s values. This athlete is neither motivated nor demotivated by the inclement ebb and flow of society. My conscience is anchored to a much deeper and weightier Truth, and by honoring it, I unconditionally guarantee this: whether I stand on a starting line or a podium, I stand without guilt and without shame. No medal, however solid its gold can be raised higher and prouder than this trophy I bear now and always, and no committee will ever find either means or cause to strip me of my reward.

(Not what you were looking for in a running blog? Try previous posts!)