Focused aggression and “stuff in the basement”

One of my favorite lines is from the much under-rated 2006 movie Rocky Balboa.
Rocky: "I don't know, there's still some stuff in the basement." Paulie: "What basement?" Rocky: "In here."

I can relate. I do not know why (well, I have some clues) but that is the way I am…
I’ve got stuff in the basement too. But what is this “stuff” that is inside? Well, it’s like a little fire that burns inside. Sometimes it’s just a tinder and other times it’s like a wild fire. For me, it’s the furnace that drives the motor. It’s the same competitiveness that drives me in the work place and on the marathon course.

“The stuff,” is the voice inside that says, “You are better than this.” “The stuff,” gives the middle finger to those who doubted or got into the way. “The stuff,” demands more and is hard to satisfy. Good thing it’s kept in the basement. The basement has some dark corners.
Is “the stuff” healthy for me? I don’t know. Probably not. But I know “the stuff” has pushed me over many walls on the marathon course. Just have to keep it locked up, Bruce Banner.

One race, one mile, and one step at a time,
Jeff
3/31/11 8 Miler Easy

With all due respect... (+weekly report, week 5)

Here I was feeling good about myself early last week... Having run a few fast 8/9 milers and a successful 15 miler in week 4, I felt that little extra bounce in my step, a little swagger in my arm swing, a little bloated in the head.

Then the gods of the marathon smacked this mere mortal on the side of the head and said, "show some damn respect."

I got smacked by, beaten up, and reminded of seriousness the distance yesterday. I barely completed the 16 miler in the miserable rain but it was a timely wake-up call to not slack off. 13 miles on pace but the last three were completely shameful. I lost it mentally. but I do not intend to see it happen again.

5th week of the 18 week cycle now complete. Racked up a total of 45 miles in week 5. THIS week is a recovery week and we wind down to only 37 miles before kicking it up to 50 MILES(!!!) in week 7.

Damn, its already end of March. June will be here in no time...

One race, one mile, and one step at a time,

Jeff

The Zen within

It has been a troubled couple of weeks for me physically and emotionally. I’ve had some real high points of physical breakthroughs (with running) followed by several inexplicable outbursts of anger and frustration.
There are moments in time when running exactly mirrors life. You go through the paces and the daily grind and things sometimes become mundane and repetitive. You start to lose the passion and drive that burned brightly inside when things began. You continue to run, only to run in place.
In running there is one thing that helps to bring the focus back. One thing that is clear and allows me to plan and execute. That is a tangible, measureable, and undisputable finish line. A finish line, a goal, that is as clear as it is unyielding. As a runner, the more you put into the daily grind, the more you get in return in achieving your goal.
In life however, things are just not as clear. You put in the work day in and day out and may never hit your objectives. There are just too many other elements involved. Worse yet, sometimes we don’t even know what the object is! WHAT IS THE END GAME?! How many times have you asked yourself, “what am I doing this for?”
I wish I had the answer. But I do not. Maybe that is a part of the reason I run. Because even if it is for a few minutes a day, I know that the effort I put in is going to take me a bit closer to my goal and objective. Success or failure is all up to me.

One race, one mile, and one step at a time

Jeff
3/24/11 5 M recovery

Weekly report + LA Marathon

On the training front, I am feeling great approaching week 5 of Seattle Marathon training. Was able to complete week 4 (42 miles, 15 mile LR) with zero misses and felt very strong on the weekend 15 yesterday.

Tomorrow is going to be a hard day with a 9 mile Lactate Threshold run (8:00-8:30 pace; 81-92% HR). And this weekend's Long Run (LR) is going to be a race pace 16 miler. I am actually looking forward to his one b/c it'll be a nice early test of my fitness level.

I was so inspired watching the LA marathon from my living room last Sunday morning. The local channel did a great job not only with the elite stories (OMG 2:06!) but also with the coverage of the everyday runner. That is the beauty of the marathon and marathon running. We all have our stories and reasons for our participation in this race. Each unique, interesting, and inspiring. I can feel the positive energy from all the participants even though I was not in that crowd in the rain. LA was my first marathon and perhaps I will tackle it again at some point in the future.

One race, one mile, and one step at a time

Jeff

Breaking new grounds

One beautiful thing about owning a Garmin is that you are able to look back in time and compare your current training to previous years. And that is what I did today.

I have never put in this kind of mileage. I will be up to 42 miles with 15 weeks to go.
Now the task is to focus on the run of each day and get it done.
So far, I have been near perfect. I hope to keep this up... if so, a PR is a sure thing.

BTW, my Garmin HR monitor is broken. will be taking it back to REI tomorrow. I know my resting HR is not 150!

You can do it!

I got a question from a friend last night, “how do I train for a half marathon.”
Well, first of all, I am not as experienced with the half… I’ve probably only ran about 4-5 halves in the past. BUT, the 13.1 is a novice friendly distance as well as a distance that can provide even the experienced runner the opportunity to push for a good pace. I would highly encourage anyone who is starting out in running to run the half as a challenge.
The training schedule is similar to that of a marathon with some variations. I like the Higdon 5 days/ week schedule (link below) with 3-5 mile weekday runs and a progressive weekend long run that goes up to 10 miles before the race. Unlike the full, there is no tapering and the mileage is pretty manageable.
There are several local half marathons coming up. I may do this one as a tune-up to the Seattle Marathon in June: http://www.pcrf-kids.org/reachingforthecure/

What say you?

http://www.halhigdon.com/halfmarathon/novice.htm
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-244-258-6851-0,00.html

Double Down!

Alright, after much thought, I've committed to the Oct Double in Bristol NH (10/1) and Portland ME (10/2).

God help me

When life gets in the way of running

Top ten things that interferes with marathon training:

1. Weather
2. Sleep
3. Wine
4. Beer
5. Eating on time
6. Work
7. Family (except for my lovely wife of course)
8. Social events on Fri. and/or Sat. Nights
9. Chafing
10. Going to the bathroom

One race, one mile, and one step at a time

Jeff
3/2/11 8M 1:08

Running to eat…

It is sad to say that my old mantra of “just run and eat whatever I want” is no longer accurate. That young man with the super metabolism is no longer here. And there is a soft area around the belly that seems to have become a permanent fixture on my mid-section. Check out this article I saw today. The top 25 worst junk food you should never eat. There are a couple of real surprises in here. (except for Vitamin water, I knew that stuff was junk)
http://www.health.com/health/gallery/thumbnails/0,,20307363,00.html

I am on a diet.
So sad.
So I haven’t been very good at my diet but I am definitely watching what I eat. For starters, I haven’t had a late night (extra) meal in a very long time. Thanks to my caring wife, my consumption of red meats had been reduced to maybe an average of 3 times a week. I am eating smaller portions.
Ok, but I am staying with the tradition of a post marathon meal of whatever I want. Oh, yeah, pure junk calories. but I figure after hundreds of miles of training, I deserve it. Some of the best in the past have been:
Costco Dog

A bucket of KFC

The Hat’s pastrami fries

I am hungry now…
What's your fav bad meal?

One race, one mile, and one step at a time
Jeff
3/1/11 10M 1:25:58
829/847/919/907/917/816/811/805/815/806