Monthly Archives: February 2010

“No man becomes rich unless he enriches others” Andrew Carnegie

Thanks to Gordon from www.runtodisney.com for this thought.  He mentioned the other day he has seen many tweets about runners talking about real bad training runs or races.  It really got me thinking about it.  I can assure you that I am as competitive as the next runner.  I have goals and I have BHAG’s.  I have PR’s I want to break.  However at the end of the day it is just about me and my journey of growth as a person and a runner.

I can get outside and run and enjoy the beauty of creation.  I am healthy and happy.  I certainly have had some races I have not been thrilled with but at the end of the day no race is a bad race and no run is a bad run.

After listening to the Lindsey Jacobellis the other day after a huge disappointment she said “At least I am healthy and now I can go on to race another day”.  That was very impactful to me.  This what she has trained for and even she can say, I will be back for another day and accept the result for what it is.

No matter what the run or the race result, I am healthy and growing and can come back to run another day.  Thanks Gordon and Lindsey you are correct, there are no bad runs.

In less than two weeks I will run the Berry Half Marathon followed up by the ING Georgia Half Marathon in less than two weeks after that.  There is no plan, no agenda and no idea how I will approach these.  My guess is since I am going to pin a number on myself I will run as hard as I can.  I do feel good about being able to run close to my best for both of these races after last fall.  Last fall in a matter of 5 weeks I hit 2 half marathons and a 50k just to test myself.  I could not have seen myself performing better than I did in each race.

That is why I like to experiment with different training methods and races just to test methods and see how it works.  Sometimes it works and sometimes it flops.  That is always my approach with training programs.  Take them, use them and see how they work for you.

Berry is a new course for me and I am running with a group of friends I don’t see much so that race in particular I am excited about.  I have only missed the ING once and enjoy the course as well.  Will keep you posted.

“Courage is not limited to the battlefield or the Indianapolis 500 or bravely catching a thief in your house.  The real tests of courage are much quieter.  They are the inner test, like remaining faithful when nobody’s looking, like enduring pain when the room is empty, like standing alone when you’re misunderstood.”  Chuck Swindoll

Just a nice look back at the 2010 race.  Makes me cold again just looking at it.

I was watching the Olympics with my boys this week and we watched Lindsey Jacobellis miss the gate and DQ in her snowboarding event.  Which makes her 0 for 2 in her quest for Olympic gold.  More than not winning the gold it has been how she has lost.  Listening to her interview after it was over was good.  She was taking it in stride and took pride in winning the consolation race and not quitting.

I can relate to her better than I can to most of the athletes out there.  My marathon experiences have mostly resembled pain, suffering and heartbreak and not glory.  I can tell you all about running with legs that feel like they are filled with concrete.  I can tell you about cramping halfway through a marathon and finishing with IT band pains.  That is my marathon story, however it is a story about not quitting.  Hearing how she got back up and will live to race another day was encouraging.

That is a story most of us can relate to.  In fact with the all the athletes at the Olympic games think about how few will actually leave with a medal.  I can relate to the stories of fighting your own battle and giving it all you can.  It is our story, what we do with it is our choice.

“The man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd”  James Crook

I enjoy watching the Olympics and having the chance to see the athletes that have for so long sacrificed what others would not.  There is one reason they are in the place that they are, these athletes turned their back on the crowd.  They refused to do what society says they should.  Instead they chose to push their bodies and minds to the limit.

It also helps me think.  What do I need to turn my back on?  What do I need to say no to? 

The only way to reap the rewards of tomorrow is to sacrifice today.

Already with three races run so far in 2010 I already feel like I have been busy.  This will certainly be my most challenging year so far but I also want to make it one of the most fun as well.  I have finished with my schedule and goals for 2010.  With the Goofy Challenge and Tybee Half Marathon under my belt March will also be a busy month.  I will run the Berry Half Marathon and the ING Half Marathon as well.  After that my concentration will go towards the 24 hour ultra.  The biggest thing I will be trying to do that I missed last year was practicing to run more miles on tired legs.  I should have trained harder for my 50 miler last year and I won’t make the same mistake this year.

I have some back to backs scheduled along with a few doubles mixed in as well.  At the same time I will also fit in some speed work for the Peachtree Road Race just two weeks before the Lone Ranger Ultra.  I hope to reap rewards in the fall from some hard training this spring and really just enjoy myself.

I will run as part of a team in the Blue Ridge Relay in September, Walt Disney World Wine and Dine Half Marathon Relay with my dad and the Atlanta Half Marathon with my wife.(Now she has to run because I made it public!)  I will try to finish off the year with the Disney World Half Marathon or another early 2011 half marathon while preparing for a spring marathon in 2011 as well.

I want to work hard but at the same time be able to enjoy myself.  I think I have mixed in enough hard work and pleasure to make 2010 a memorable year.  More than anything I am looking forward to running with family and friends this fall.

I agree with making time to recover and getting rest after a busy season of running.  However that being said, it begins to make me a little lazy and I sometimes have a hard time regaining some momentum.  I knew this week I needed to do something to get it going again.  Sometimes I think success can breed complacency.  After a solid year and great runs you need to create some urgency and ideas to refocus on the next goal.  It can happen in any area of your life.  How many times have we had a real successful stretch and feel like it comes easy.  Then you ease up and hit a brick wall and realize you can’t let off the accelerator.

One thing I did this week was to run a double one day.  I ran 5 in the morning and another 5 at night.  It really seemed to wake up my legs and my mind.  It also seemed to help give me some focus.  The next step was to further define my goals for this year and also how I would reach them.  That means a slight increase in miles but a better concentration on strength training and nutrition.

I allowed myself some laziness to disconnect and relax and let the body heal but you have to set a limit of when you need to get ramped back up.  I felt my limit quickly approaching so a little renewed focus this week has me get it going for 2010.

The only limitations we have on a daily basis are the ones we place on ourselves.  I was fairly pleased with my year this past 2009 for the most part.  However, there are some areas that I let slip and I am know without a doubt they were the limitations for further success this past year.  For me they were cross training, strength training and just overall nutrition.

When you are putting in 40, 50 or 60 miles a week it is very easy to tell yourself you are doing enough.  It is easy to say well I can eat what I want because of what I am doing.  I know some of the issues I have had in the past couple of races go back to those issues.  Those are areas that I really want to put some concentration on this year.  I have made those more important in the overall picture of my goals this year and I know the importance.

A big deal for me this year is going to be the Lone Ranger 24 hour Ultramarathon this summer.  Last year for my 50 miler I let my strength training slip and know it played a big factor in how I ran and how I felt near the end of the race.  I don’t want that to happen in Philly this summer.

I can make as many excuses as I can think of and even justify those actions, but when race day comes I can’t avoid the topic then.  Don’t limit yourself.

“There are two ways of exerting one’s strength: one is pushing

down, the other is pulling up.”

*Booker T. Washington

I will have a more detailed race report in the next couple of day but the half marathon in Tybee this past weekend went great.  It is a place I am sure I will race again.  I enjoyed the flat course and the race experience.  I finished healthy and strong in 1:36:21.

They have made some nice improvements in the past couple of years since I was last there.  The most important thing is I came away from it healthy and had a great time.

Many people lead bad lives that would gladly live good ones but do not know how to make the change.  They have frequently resolved and endeavored it; but in vain, because their endeavors have not been properly conducted…

Most people have naturally some virtues, but none have naturally, all the virtues…if a man would become a painter, navigator, or architect it is not enough that he is advised to be one, that he is convinced by the arguments of his adviser that it would be for his advantage to be one, and that he resolves to be one, but he must also be taught the principles of the art, be shown all the methods of working, and how to acquire the habits of using properly all the instruments; and thus regularly and gradually, he arrives, by practice, at some level of perfection…

On the whole, though I never arrived at the perfection I had been so ambitious of obtaining, but fell far short of it, yet I was, by the endeavor, a better and happier man than I otherwise should have been if I had not attempted it.

Ben Franklin

One thing I always encourage others to do is to tell others what you are doing.  If you have a goal or something you are hoping to do tell everyone.  The more people who know what you are doing, the more pressure you are under to follow through.  They will ask you about it and hold you accountable.  In Tybee two years ago my good friend Richard was probably the biggest reason I finished.  That morning as I was getting dressed for the race I received an incredible and inspiring text message from Richard.  The thought that he was up that early trying to inspire me carried me the rest of the day.

In Tybee at mile 18 you passed the area of the start/finish line when there was a full marathon.  It would have been so easy to pull off and quit.  I was in pain and had almost convinced myself to quit.  All I could think about was that text message.  In the text message he ended with a “You are the man!”  Well I kept thinking I can’t quit and still be the man.  That would be an awful phone call when he calls to ask about the race telling him how I gave up.  That is all it took to keep me going.

Tell everybody, whether it is inspiration or pressure it can carry you to the finish.

A movie that I really enjoy watching with my oldest son is Disney’s Meet the Robinson’s.  If you have not seen it the basic idea and the theme of the movie is to ”Keep moving forward”.  Failure after failure can happen but keep moving forward.

As I looked back at Tybee a couple of years ago I do enjoy thinking about the things I learned.  The biggest lesson I took away from that weekend back shut up and keep going.  I was in the physical condition to run the four hour marathon and I came in prepared.  I also executed just how I wanted.  My body just did not cooperate.  There was nothing I could do about it.  There was no need to complain or get upset.  I went to complete a marathon so I just needed to take care of business and get it done.  This means at some point you just have to forget about the present circumstances and keep moving forward.

Things happen and failures occur.  Sometimes they are your fault and other times they are not, regardless of that you have to just keep moving forward.