Wednesday, February 16, 2011
and one more thing
Speaking of challenges and victories, I ran a 5K on Saturday, and got another PR! I ran the two miles from my house to the start, and was holding back enough so that I'd have enough juice to get home, and lo and behold, despite the cold and the wind, and despite dying on the hills in the last mile, I beat my New Year's time by 9 seconds. Go me!
in pursuit of victory
I haven't been blogging much - my training is a little bit on autopilot. Nothing earth-shattering, no epiphanies happening on Saturday mornings. It's not very interesting to contemplate the same old same old.
I did go to the shop a week or two ago to adjust my program. I had two main concerns. First, I want to run a half-marathon at the end of April, and I needed to add on the appropriate recovery and training weeks after the race. Second, I'm having trouble getting my midweek mileage in. Six miles on a Wednesday just isn't going to happen. I've been trying to run more days, and many days I was waking up to run a few miles in the dark and cold, and then slogging out a few on the treadmill. Cynthia immediately unburdened me, and put X's through my 6 mile midweek runs. She told me that she didn't start training seriously until her youngest was 10. And it takes her a fraction of the time to run 6 miles. Apparently, the demands of parenting don't discriminate based on how many times you have won the Marine Corps Marathon. By the time Cynthia and I were gabbing about kids and parenting, Mark was able to join in.
Can I tell you how humbling and inspiring it is to have the full attention of two of the sport's greats? I'm barely even a middle of the pack runner, and at that moment, I felt like my training program was every bit as important as anyone with an outside chance of winning a major race. And you know what? It is. To Mark and to Cynthia. To me.
Running has the great gift of meeting you exactly where you are, yet always presenting a greater challenge, no matter your level. My goals may not be as speedy as as an elite athlete, but they are the goals of an athlete nonetheless. My 10:15 stretch goal pace for the 10 miler is no less significant to me than the eventual winners' will be to them. I'm proud to be part of a sport that has room for everyone, and room for everyone to grow, stretch, and be challenged.
I did go to the shop a week or two ago to adjust my program. I had two main concerns. First, I want to run a half-marathon at the end of April, and I needed to add on the appropriate recovery and training weeks after the race. Second, I'm having trouble getting my midweek mileage in. Six miles on a Wednesday just isn't going to happen. I've been trying to run more days, and many days I was waking up to run a few miles in the dark and cold, and then slogging out a few on the treadmill. Cynthia immediately unburdened me, and put X's through my 6 mile midweek runs. She told me that she didn't start training seriously until her youngest was 10. And it takes her a fraction of the time to run 6 miles. Apparently, the demands of parenting don't discriminate based on how many times you have won the Marine Corps Marathon. By the time Cynthia and I were gabbing about kids and parenting, Mark was able to join in.
Can I tell you how humbling and inspiring it is to have the full attention of two of the sport's greats? I'm barely even a middle of the pack runner, and at that moment, I felt like my training program was every bit as important as anyone with an outside chance of winning a major race. And you know what? It is. To Mark and to Cynthia. To me.
Running has the great gift of meeting you exactly where you are, yet always presenting a greater challenge, no matter your level. My goals may not be as speedy as as an elite athlete, but they are the goals of an athlete nonetheless. My 10:15 stretch goal pace for the 10 miler is no less significant to me than the eventual winners' will be to them. I'm proud to be part of a sport that has room for everyone, and room for everyone to grow, stretch, and be challenged.
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