Thursday, July 26, 2012

Find your greatness

I spent last week in Lake Placid. I was able to do a few pretty good runs on the JackRabbit trail and a few other cross-country ski trails. I've given up on the orthotics again. As soon as I set them aside my mileage was able to creep back up. Frustrated, but enduring. Watching the Ironman was really cool. It's probably something I should try one day, but for some reason it just doesn't capture me. I did see greatness though. John really kicked some ass.



In Placid I ran all easy runs.  5miles, 13miles, 5 miles, and 7miles.
Yesterday I bought some new shoes and headed to the track.  Some of those college guys sent me a message asking me to do a workout with them.  I had wanted to do another tempo effort at 6minute pace but they had a workout in mind.  I decided to give it a go as much as I could. 

They ran 4xmile with 1 minute recovery and then 2x1000 and 2x200.

I ran the first 2 of the miles right at 5:40, then I cut out early on the last 2 and did only 800's in 2:50.  Then the 1000's we ran at 5:20 pace, followed that up with 2x200 in 29.4 and 29.2

I was pretty happy with that.  Didn't overdue it as I think 5:40, although a reach, is still an achievable pace.  It sure did pep my spirits back up  though.  Even if it's not all that smart to be doing speedwork....and in new shoes.   It felt good....and that's what I'm doing this for.

Off to Mexico...  Let's see what sort of stories there are to be lived down there :-)

Monday, July 2, 2012

grasshopper



There's a variation of Aesop's fable of the Grasshopper and the ant where the ants are seen as bad.  In the fable a farmer is not sufficiently satisfied with the bountiful harvest he's collected from his own fields and stored so he sets out at night stealing the stores of his neighbors.  He's caught, turned into an ant, and forever doomed to spend his summers...and his life...storing up provisions (the life of the typical American).

During the Agrarian Revolution work, due to the primitive nature of our farming skills, became a virtue.  Later the industrial revolution, and those who were able to amass wealth from the labor of others, fostered the belief system in which hard work was held as the ultimate virtue.  As industrialism slowly turned away from the work of people and toward allowing stored sunlight to accomplish work for us (oil, coal, etc), this worldview began to run up against problems keeping everyone emplioyeed.  As our sources of stored sunlight decline, I have a distinct feeling we'll wish we'd have spent our summers leaping and jumping like the grasshopper...instead of heading out into traffic commuting to work and huddling in cubicles like ants.

At any rate....since Tom brought up our cultures inability to sit and enjoy life, I did a bit of reading today about our use of free time.  During my search I found this article.  It's worth a read.

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/30/the-busy-trap/

Speaking of busy.  I finally seem to have a bit of peace from my wisdom holes.  They still hurt strangely.  It seems that my big chompers in the back of my mouth now have move to roam and have moved a bit to where my mouth doesn't seem to close as comfortably.  I'm hoping it's just my brain and I'll get used to it.  I know that I have pain back by my ear where my jaw closes.  I now know how people with TMJ suffer.  I seems to be getting better every day though....but it's been a rough week :-(

This week I finally got to run on Friday.  I did an easy 3 miles at 7:04 pace.  It was 104 degrees...ooof!!   Saturday Mike came over early with Melissa and we went to the ice rink to do the Difficult run/CCT loop. It's 9.2 miles.  My plan was to run 20minutes out and come back.  I felt so bad at 5minutes that I wanted to stop.  At 10minutes I did stop and then when Mike caught me I thought I'd go his pace for a bit.  My back was hurting, my knees, my feet....yuck.  At his pace however and with our conversation flowing before I knew it we were more than 1/2way.  So I ended up doing the entire 9miles with him.  My hips were hurting because all the fallen trees made our pace a bit too slow for me.  Normally I think he runs mid 9's but with all the walking around the trees felled by the storm we were at around 12min miles.

Sunday my hips were hurting from that run.  I got pissed off at my orthotics and did some sanding and glueing.  Then I ran 3 miles and they felt much better.  I started at Route 7 and Difficult run and went to Great Falls.  Then I stopped and stretched for 10minutes and swam (well....more or less floated and looked at high school girls in bikinis) in the river for 20.  Then I did the 3 miles back. 

3 days in a row of running.  We'll see how my orthotic adjustment goes.  So far it feels much better but my knees are still hurting. 

Fri- 3
Sat- 9
Sun- 6

The plan is 3 miles easy tonight with some icing.  Day off tomorrow with lots of motorcycling back up to Ohio.

Now go back to my link read that article grasshoppers and lets start hopping.