A brief summary of plans, daydreams, and amusements
In the very short-term:
- A small colony of pre-race butterflies has hatched in my stomach ahead of this weekend's triathlon. Of course, this suggests that there were caterpillars and then cocoons in my stomach earlier. (When you click on 'register for race', the pre-race caterpillars magically get into your stomach through an interdimensional...(I am unable to resist)...wormhole.)
Mid-term:
- I will have to learn to love the tempo run if I want to PR (<2:11) in the half marathon. I have never loved tempo runs. Tempo runs are a whole world of pain that speedwork and long runs are not. Pain and misery. Someone teach me how to love a fast tempo please.
- In December I'll be taking part in my first relay with some colleagues - the Standard Chartered Ekiden! 6 of us run 42.2 km in all. Better yet, we're going head-to-head with a couple of other teams from work. (Losers buy lunch!) As long as I'm not first (pressure!) or last (too much pressure!) or working that day (zzz - you know it will happen to me, what else is new) I will be fine.
- Sometime between the Great Eastern Women's Half (November 10) and the time running/ tri season picks up again, I want to have adventures - we're going to India in November for the wedding of two great friends. And I really want to learn to surf or stand-up-paddleboard (the latter is somewhat more likely because I don't have to travel to do it). Anyone want to learn with me?
In the long term:
- I still want to volunteer at a community race. (I was supposed to volunteer at a Craze Ultra station this weekend, but that went out the window when I was recalled to work last-minute on Sunday. Thanks, work.)
- And I'm kind of curious to find out how much faster I can actually get, particularly at the marathon distance. There are incredibly cool runners older and wiser and far more laid-back than I, who go 'to heck with PRs' and wear costumes to entertain other people at races, but I figure I can save the costumes for later, y'know?
In other news, read this piece on John 'The Penguin' Bingham, whom some deride as having ruined competitive running (people run marathons just to finish, rather than to actually compete). Then tell me what you think. I am in two minds about it. I like chasing down other people and passing them. (This happens so rarely that sometimes I just try to finish.) I do enjoy competing. But mostly with myself.
In the very short-term:
- A small colony of pre-race butterflies has hatched in my stomach ahead of this weekend's triathlon. Of course, this suggests that there were caterpillars and then cocoons in my stomach earlier. (When you click on 'register for race', the pre-race caterpillars magically get into your stomach through an interdimensional...(I am unable to resist)...wormhole.)
Mid-term:
- I will have to learn to love the tempo run if I want to PR (<2:11) in the half marathon. I have never loved tempo runs. Tempo runs are a whole world of pain that speedwork and long runs are not. Pain and misery. Someone teach me how to love a fast tempo please.
- In December I'll be taking part in my first relay with some colleagues - the Standard Chartered Ekiden! 6 of us run 42.2 km in all. Better yet, we're going head-to-head with a couple of other teams from work. (Losers buy lunch!) As long as I'm not first (pressure!) or last (too much pressure!) or working that day (zzz - you know it will happen to me, what else is new) I will be fine.
- Sometime between the Great Eastern Women's Half (November 10) and the time running/ tri season picks up again, I want to have adventures - we're going to India in November for the wedding of two great friends. And I really want to learn to surf or stand-up-paddleboard (the latter is somewhat more likely because I don't have to travel to do it). Anyone want to learn with me?
In the long term:
- I still want to volunteer at a community race. (I was supposed to volunteer at a Craze Ultra station this weekend, but that went out the window when I was recalled to work last-minute on Sunday. Thanks, work.)
- And I'm kind of curious to find out how much faster I can actually get, particularly at the marathon distance. There are incredibly cool runners older and wiser and far more laid-back than I, who go 'to heck with PRs' and wear costumes to entertain other people at races, but I figure I can save the costumes for later, y'know?
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| For the full story, go hunt down a back issue of Sunday Life!. |
In other news, read this piece on John 'The Penguin' Bingham, whom some deride as having ruined competitive running (people run marathons just to finish, rather than to actually compete). Then tell me what you think. I am in two minds about it. I like chasing down other people and passing them. (This happens so rarely that sometimes I just try to finish.) I do enjoy competing. But mostly with myself.
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Workouts this week:
Monday - swim 1.5km
Tuesday - track/ 3[1000/400]
Wednesday - midday swim at lunchtime 1.2km
Saturday - 'long' run/ started tired, was tired all the way, legs like rubber. You know some days you feel like you're flying and that you could run for ever? Today was the opposite of those days. 12km. Blech.
Workouts this week:
Monday - swim 1.5km
Tuesday - track/ 3[1000/400]
Wednesday - midday swim at lunchtime 1.2km
Saturday - 'long' run/ started tired, was tired all the way, legs like rubber. You know some days you feel like you're flying and that you could run for ever? Today was the opposite of those days. 12km. Blech.
I read the article and I am totally behind John Bingham. I can't see how having a lot of slow runners in an event would make the elite runners slower - they're effectively not running against the slow runners and they're certainly not training with them. I figure that anyone or anything that gets people out and moving and pushing their physical and mental boundaries has to be a good thing.
ReplyDeleteThat's true, but this more recent WSJ article - http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324807704579085084130007974.html?mod=wsj_valettop_email#articleTabs=article picks on younger runners (really? does everything have to be about Gen Y vs the Boomers?) for ruining competitive running. Discussion going on over in the comments at Miss Zippy!
DeleteIf the organization is good, I think that the Ekiden might be the very best way to run SC, to be honest. All the excitement, with only 10 of the kilometers!! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking about signing up to help at packet pick-up...although SC probably doesn't qualify as a "community race". :)
Ekiden - even better, only 7+ km. Lemme know when you want to go stand-up paddleboarding. (I'm not entirely sure what the difference is between stand-up and regular old paddling - you see further, I suppose, but I'm too short for it to make a difference, no?)
DeleteI'm thinking about signing up to help at Running Guild's next ultra, or maybe the No Frills Run :)