Monthly Archives: December 2008

As the year comes to a close it is always a great time to reflect and look back at what the year was.  Many times as we stay busy with the present day it is hard to take the time to breathe and reflect.  Over the next couple of weeks I want to just help you pause for a few minutes and take an inventory of this past year and a good look at the next.  Each day we will look at one area to focus on. 

It is always a good idea to look back over the past year and see where you have come.  We will start with some of the things you might log on a daily or weekly basis.  Do you log your weight, your eating habits or your runs?  If so go back and take a look and compare today with a year ago.  How has your weight changed?  How are your eating habits today as compared to a year ago.  How were your runs?  What distances and paces were you running?

Spend some time with this and write it down.  After you have written it down we will move on.  Before you can determine where to go you must first determine where you are.  A basic reality check.  There is only one reality.  Seeing where you are know with where you were one year ago is the first step.  Don’t worry about how you got there yet good or bad.  Just start with where you were and where you are now.

If you have not logged this information in the past, this could be a great time to start.  It is simple and it does not take anything complex.  There are plenty of resources such as, fitday.com, buckeyeoutdoors or even just a simple excel spreadsheet.  Try to think back at where you were and begin logging by the first of the year.

One of the best ways to track your progress as a runner over months and years is a training log.  Many times it seems hard enough to find time to get in a run much less keeping a log.  However it is getting easier and easier these days to do so.  There are plenty of online training logs you can take advantage of these days.  Of course there is always the traditional training log book. 

One of my favorite online logs is buckeye outdoors.  However any place where you can record the details of your runs, races and training is ideal.  You want to keep up with your PR’s and it is very important to keep notes on how you are feeling during your training.  That will give you the best picture of how your training is progressing.

Happy logging!

With a race coming up in a matter of weeks I always tend to get the nerves going a little bit.  I have the thoughts of “Am I truly ready?”, “Did I do everything I needed to be prepared”.  Many times I doubt, so I just have to remember that this began months ago.  I did my homework the best I could and I did everything I could to be ready.  I created a plan and I stuck to it.  At some point I finally have to trust the process.

As tough as that can be to do, I eventually have to realize that this plan was created to help me be successful.  There was a reason for the long runs, tempo runs and speedwork.  All of them worked together to prepare for what is to come.

It is sometimes hard to do for a race, so it comes as no surprise that I struggle trusting the process in life sometimes as well.  I try the best I can and do what I can for my wife and my kids.  I do everything I can do be successful at work. 

Sometimes I really just need to TRUST.  There was a reason for the preparation and for the daily disciplines. 

Trust…

Winning does not happen at the finish line, if happens when you get to the start line.  The race is just the victory lap for months of training.  Enjoy the experience.

It is a strange thing about pain. The only real growth that you can have in life is through pain. Nothing of significance is accomplished without sacrifice (or pain). That is what can be so interesting about the pain. It is not fun, however you always appreciate how it shapes you in the end.

If you ask someone in the middle of their problems if the pain is worth it, you might get a negative answer. However, ask them again after it’s over and I am quite certain of the response.

You can’t seem to look anywhere right now without seeing pain. There are two ways to go in the middle of the pain. Will it be worth in the end? Only we can answer that question for ourselves.

“A race is a work of art that people can look at and be affected by in as many ways as they’re capable of understanding.” STEVE PREFONTAINE

One of the very first things I learned is the importance of accepting pain. Too many times in my life I have chosen the hard path and not the easy, so running a marathon seemed pretty normal at first. It did not take long to understand that pain was going to have to become something I treat as just a part of the process. I chose to look at the dictionary and see what it had to say about pain. If I would have read this and new this is what I would be preparing for, maybe I would have thought twice about it…

Pain- localized physical suffering associated with bodily disorder (as a disease or an injury) ; also : a basic bodily sensation induced by a noxious stimulus, received by naked nerve endings, characterized by physical discomfort (as pricking, throbbing, or aching), and typically leading to evasive action b: acute mental or emotional distress or suffering