Russ put me in the SwimEx pool today. I ran out of time and had to finish on the elliptical, then did 15 minutes on the bike just for good measure. Basically I ended up doing a mini, stationary triathlon. Back to running tomorrow, FOR REAL THIS TIME. Seriously.
The rest of the team looks good so far. Mostly everyone else is moving up through the training groups and getting faster. This weekend is our first real test of fitness: the alumni/high school meet. After that we should be able to more accurately tell where everyone's at.
Today was also the first day of classes. I'm already confused by Latin and World Religions seems like it may be more difficult than I originally thought. Parking was an absolute nightmare. I got to school around 9:15, only to discover that there was not a single open parking spot anywhere on campus. People were creating new parking lots in places where vehicles aren't normally supposed to be, such as the gravel area by the electrical equipment near the field house, and on the grass next to Wittenberg. I ended up just pretending that there was another space outside the yellow lines in the field house lot, and minutes later others had followed my trend and parked me in. Last year people complained about the parking because they couldn't get convenient spots close to their dorms; this year there literally aren't enough spaces for everyone during the day. If I weren't broken I would seriously consider running to class in the morning.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Anticipation
Today was the opening service at CUW. Students and faculty both new and old packed the chapel to officially start the new academic year. As we walked out afterwards I turned to Richard and stated "So it begins."
Many of my friends complained last year that I never spent any time with them. Between practice and studying I had gradually lost all hope of having a social life. I'm hoping to change that this year through some better time management, but no matter what I do this semester is going to be hectic. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed just thinking about the coming gauntlet of exams and papers, and class hasen't even started yet. Running is the same way. This summer has been such a mess of exhaustion and injury; I want the offseason to start so I can rest. The only problem is that summer WAS the offseason, and the hard part is about to begin. I don't know how my body will survive this, but everyone else keeps telling me that I'm doing great, talking about how "fast" I am. I guess I'll just have to do what I've been doing all summer: take their word for it and keep believing that things will work out. My personal belief is that this is either the beginning...or the beginning of the end. We'll see.
One more day on the bike. I hope.
I'll be back.
Many of my friends complained last year that I never spent any time with them. Between practice and studying I had gradually lost all hope of having a social life. I'm hoping to change that this year through some better time management, but no matter what I do this semester is going to be hectic. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed just thinking about the coming gauntlet of exams and papers, and class hasen't even started yet. Running is the same way. This summer has been such a mess of exhaustion and injury; I want the offseason to start so I can rest. The only problem is that summer WAS the offseason, and the hard part is about to begin. I don't know how my body will survive this, but everyone else keeps telling me that I'm doing great, talking about how "fast" I am. I guess I'll just have to do what I've been doing all summer: take their word for it and keep believing that things will work out. My personal belief is that this is either the beginning...or the beginning of the end. We'll see.
One more day on the bike. I hope.
I'll be back.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Setbacks
Ran about 4 miles today. Started to do a tempo run with Tyler at Tendick Park (while mostly everyone else did hills) but my leg started hurting after 30 minutes. Will dominate the bike tomorrow and Sunday.
I promise to be back running on Monday.
I promise to be back running on Monday.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Believe
Hopefully today is the last day that I have to bike instead of running. Another hour on the sweat machine has proven that I'm out of shape (bikewise at least). This kind of soreness doesn't come around that often. I feel like I've been squatting for the past 3 days rather than cycling. The good news is that my leg is feeling much better. It even survived laser tag last night (which was epic, by the way).
As much as the stationary bike can suck, there's something about it that's almost addicting to me. The ability to just sit there and smash your quads into submission for an hour or two, without having to worry about traffic, turns, or the weather, really lets you focus. Sometimes I think I get a better workout on the bike than I do outside running. The low-impact nature of the activity also lets you go a lot longer than you could on foot, so when it's over I'm usually drained to the max from relentlessly pushing the pace. It's like running on a treadmill; the urge to increase the speed and effort level is nearly irresistible when all you need to do it press a button. Good monster training. It reminds me that I can always do more, try harder. If I can willingly go faster on one of these machines simply because I want to end the boredom sooner, than I should be able to do it in a race.
Being injured is no fun, but it doesn't need to be a setback. A lot of us feel like we're moving backwards when we need to rest or cross train for just a few days, even though we're not actually losing anything. But the key is to remind yourself that eventually, when you go back to normal training, everything will probably return to the way it's supposed to be. You'll continue to improve. You might even be better than you were before you started having problems. No matter what happens, no matter what obstacles are encountered along the way to success, you just have to believe. You have to believe that the monster is there inside of you, waiting. Believe that it's ready, and when the moment arrives, that it will come out and make things happen. Even when you're down on the ground, feeling defeated, with no will left to keep trying...believe in the monster. You might be surprised by what you can do with its help.
As much as the stationary bike can suck, there's something about it that's almost addicting to me. The ability to just sit there and smash your quads into submission for an hour or two, without having to worry about traffic, turns, or the weather, really lets you focus. Sometimes I think I get a better workout on the bike than I do outside running. The low-impact nature of the activity also lets you go a lot longer than you could on foot, so when it's over I'm usually drained to the max from relentlessly pushing the pace. It's like running on a treadmill; the urge to increase the speed and effort level is nearly irresistible when all you need to do it press a button. Good monster training. It reminds me that I can always do more, try harder. If I can willingly go faster on one of these machines simply because I want to end the boredom sooner, than I should be able to do it in a race.
Being injured is no fun, but it doesn't need to be a setback. A lot of us feel like we're moving backwards when we need to rest or cross train for just a few days, even though we're not actually losing anything. But the key is to remind yourself that eventually, when you go back to normal training, everything will probably return to the way it's supposed to be. You'll continue to improve. You might even be better than you were before you started having problems. No matter what happens, no matter what obstacles are encountered along the way to success, you just have to believe. You have to believe that the monster is there inside of you, waiting. Believe that it's ready, and when the moment arrives, that it will come out and make things happen. Even when you're down on the ground, feeling defeated, with no will left to keep trying...believe in the monster. You might be surprised by what you can do with its help.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Spinning
Today we had practice at 9 am. I ended up on the stationary bike for an hour because my peronial whatchamacallit is quite sore and stiff. I served as some practice for the athletic training students as well, who did a fairly decent job of diagnosing my ailment (although Russ had to remind them of a few things). By the time I was finished on the bike I was so drenched in sweat I looked and felt as if I'd been using the SwimEx instead. Hobbling around campus this afternoon delivering files (I work in Graduate Admissions) wasn't the most dignifying experience but at least now the rest of me gets a chance to rest. Three months of knee pain has finally come to an end and my achilles managed to survive the hills yesterday. Unfortunately there's no way I'm going to be allowed to run at Lapham Peak tomorrow. Someone else will have to find the halflings this time.
Monday, August 24, 2009
The Beginning
I woke up at 6:55 this morning, five minutes before my alarm. Looking up at the red digital numbers, I moaned silently and turned the thing off before it could scream like a banshee and force me to get out of bed. I laid back down and seriously considered returning to my dreams-my head was throbbing from the day before, the result of a year's worth of sleep debt accumulated over the summer. I rested it on the pillow. Just a couple more minutes I thought. Then I remembered. Pike Lake today. We were leaving at 7:30. I pushed aside my drowsiness and clambered out of bed. 15 minutes later I was at the CUW field house, sitting with my teammates and awaiting the bus that would drive us to the hilly, wooded park for cross country practice.
There's something about the woods that's always intrigued me. Maybe it's the lack of vision in the trees, the sense of adventure that lurks amidst the seemingly endless trails and fallen branches. As a kid I dreamed of playing capture the flag under the shelter of the canopy, building treehouses and hiking through the wilderness for hours. Normally I wouldn't be all that excited to go to practice at 7:30 in the morning, but if it means running around in the forest for an hour I literally jump at the opportunity.
The morning's practice itself wasn't anything particularly extraordinary. Once we'd arrived at the lake Coach Russ gave his usual hill running speech, reminding us to watch our step and maintain proper form. Something about cadence and effort percentages. After that we set out. Most of us did 2 loops on the 4 mile trail, a total of 8 miles. The first lap was quite enjoyable. About 1 minute into the woods I felt the urge to scream "Find the halflings!" as Andy Pfeuffer, Andy Ashenden, Ben Paper, Richard Thompson, and myself tore up the first hill. It's my favorite quote from Lord of the Rings. In fact, I can hardly help from shouting this phrase at some point whenever I run in the woods. As the trees whoosh by on either side I often find myself wishing that I was an Uruk-hai relentlessly chasing hobbits.
Towards the end of the first loop I managed to roll my ankle twice within about 10 seconds. This tweaked one of the tendons on the side of my calf badly enough that I needed ice later. I "rubbed some dirt on it" and kept going. The second loop was a bit more tiring. Ben, Richard, and Ashenden were too fast so I found myself left behind with Pfeuffer, who's quickly becoming somewhat of a wingman. We passed Russ at one point in the middle of the hills (he shouted out some technical instructions about the pace and all that) and later caught up to Sam Huff. The rest of the run was uneventful except for Pfeuffer taking a wrong turn. Afterwards we stretched, iced our wounds and boarded the bus for home.
Later that afternoon we had a team meeting about sport psychology. The mental aspect. This culminated in Russ's infamous "monster discussion," the speech in which he speaks about training your inner monster and letting it out to battle for you. Images of Pokemon flashed through my mind as Russ imparted his wisdom. You see, running is hard. It's painful. And sometimes the only way to inspire yourself to go faster-thereby experiencing more pain-is to get angry. During a race you need to feel the hunger that can only be satisfied by passing your opponents. And every opponent passed intensifies the desire for more. Thus, in order to become better competitors we must all learn to feed, train, release, and ultimately control that monster. Whether you're an Uruk-hai chasing halflings or Godzilla terrorizing Tokyo, at some point you just need to get ugly, mean, and terrifying.
This is a story about finding monsters.
There's something about the woods that's always intrigued me. Maybe it's the lack of vision in the trees, the sense of adventure that lurks amidst the seemingly endless trails and fallen branches. As a kid I dreamed of playing capture the flag under the shelter of the canopy, building treehouses and hiking through the wilderness for hours. Normally I wouldn't be all that excited to go to practice at 7:30 in the morning, but if it means running around in the forest for an hour I literally jump at the opportunity.
The morning's practice itself wasn't anything particularly extraordinary. Once we'd arrived at the lake Coach Russ gave his usual hill running speech, reminding us to watch our step and maintain proper form. Something about cadence and effort percentages. After that we set out. Most of us did 2 loops on the 4 mile trail, a total of 8 miles. The first lap was quite enjoyable. About 1 minute into the woods I felt the urge to scream "Find the halflings!" as Andy Pfeuffer, Andy Ashenden, Ben Paper, Richard Thompson, and myself tore up the first hill. It's my favorite quote from Lord of the Rings. In fact, I can hardly help from shouting this phrase at some point whenever I run in the woods. As the trees whoosh by on either side I often find myself wishing that I was an Uruk-hai relentlessly chasing hobbits.
Towards the end of the first loop I managed to roll my ankle twice within about 10 seconds. This tweaked one of the tendons on the side of my calf badly enough that I needed ice later. I "rubbed some dirt on it" and kept going. The second loop was a bit more tiring. Ben, Richard, and Ashenden were too fast so I found myself left behind with Pfeuffer, who's quickly becoming somewhat of a wingman. We passed Russ at one point in the middle of the hills (he shouted out some technical instructions about the pace and all that) and later caught up to Sam Huff. The rest of the run was uneventful except for Pfeuffer taking a wrong turn. Afterwards we stretched, iced our wounds and boarded the bus for home.
Later that afternoon we had a team meeting about sport psychology. The mental aspect. This culminated in Russ's infamous "monster discussion," the speech in which he speaks about training your inner monster and letting it out to battle for you. Images of Pokemon flashed through my mind as Russ imparted his wisdom. You see, running is hard. It's painful. And sometimes the only way to inspire yourself to go faster-thereby experiencing more pain-is to get angry. During a race you need to feel the hunger that can only be satisfied by passing your opponents. And every opponent passed intensifies the desire for more. Thus, in order to become better competitors we must all learn to feed, train, release, and ultimately control that monster. Whether you're an Uruk-hai chasing halflings or Godzilla terrorizing Tokyo, at some point you just need to get ugly, mean, and terrifying.
This is a story about finding monsters.
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