A friend of mine talked me into going to a track meet last friday. I decided if I was going to go I might as well run the 2 mile. My goal was to do it as a workout. Just run 5:20 pace. Once I got there I decided to run each distance event. Just run a good solid effort. Not really race, just tempo.
I got there with plenty of time and set out to run a warmup. As I circled the track I felt so miserable and it was so hot that I felt like walking the entire time. I decided to veer off through the neighborhoods where there was a bit more shade. Within about 10 minutes I was totally and utterly lost. Finally, with increasing anxiety that I would be late for my race I stopped and knocked on the door of a home where I could see people inside. They gave me directions back to the school and I made it. Missed out on time for stretching, bathroom, and the GU I had planned....but I made it.
Right before the race I saw the Georgetown Running Club guys.....great.....2 guys that ran the Olympic Trials..... The race started and I immediately let those guys go. I thought I was being smart about pace but I guess I still got swept along. When I came around I saw 75....too fast. I tried slowing the next lap but again was too fast. After 6 laps of that I was pretty cooked and nearly slowed to a walk. I recovered and jogged it in. No need to race. Just a workout.
In the mile I was better about judging my pace and effort. Plus I was able to get that GU. I didn't time my meals very well because of a weird schedule at work that day. I ran the mile easy cheesy. In the last lap the lead woman came up next to me, but I was already a few seconds faster than my goal and I didn't want to be "that guy" who sprints violently to not get beat by a woman....so instead I let her pass and enjoyed the much improved view.
Next up was the 400 meters. I was cooked. In the 2 mile, that 75 had felt so fast that I was quite certain an all out effort would get me around 60-65. I decided to go full speed and see what I could do. At the start I slipped (I wore spikes without actual spikes in them) and hurt my foot a bit. As I ran I realized at that speed that spikes were necessary and I was slip sliding the entire way. On the first curve a youngster got around me but I couldn't do anything or I'd go sliding off. Once I got to the straight away I was able to make up some ground but then had to slow again for the curve. In some places the track was so worn where the rubber had worn off that I was on the concrete and I was really slipping. Then on the final straightaway I really opened up and reeled the youngster in.
I'm glad I stuck around to do those extra races. With each race I felt better. Not sure if it was because of the GU or if it was that the sun had gone down. It was still horribly humid but cooler was better. In that 400 I ended up running 55 seconds which was WAY fast for me. Plus with spikes I could have gone even faster. My fastest ever 400 was 52.6 , so I wonder how fast, at 37, I could get to my all time PR if I did some training. The best part of the evening was coming off the final curve with 100m to go and feeling no hint of fatigue. So caught up in the race and feeling so good that my acceleration made the finish line feel like it was moving to me instead of me to it. No matter how slow I ran, or how bad my place.....if I could just replicate that feeling occasionally....I'd be addicted for life.
Saturday I took the day off, not by choice, but I had promised to help a friend and that took longer than I thought. Then I had normal TerribleTerry behaviors to perform in the evening and didn't get my run in. Yesterday I wanted to do a long run but bit off a bit more than I should have. I ran 10 miles but at mile 7 my form started to fail so I drastically reduced my pace and just took my time getting home. Lots of water stops in the last 3 miles. Junk miles. Should have done a route where I could have stopped as soon as my form failed.
Last night I was horribly tired and sore. Did a nice foam roller session and ice massage. Today I'll be lazy. Probably just do some swimming and a nice stretching session. I feel like a runner again. If I can run a 55sec 400..... surely I can run good mile with some training. If I get to where I can run a good mile.....a good 5k is just around the corner... and so on....and so on.....
Monday, August 13, 2012
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
PING
During a run through a shady cemetery in Painesville, Ohio when I was 19 years old, the sage Tom Quade tried to express to me the importance of stretching and the problems of aging. At the time I was probably busy hurdling headstones and sprinting off ahead to look good for some cute girl jogging....but the information wormed its way in there and clung somehow to the recesses of my brain. Yesterday after my run I sat on the stairs recovering from a nice, hot, 5 mile run full of excitement at how well I'd ran the last few days due to my new stretching routine. I called Tom while I stretched and it hit me...... I suppose people with kids have this hit them around my age. What I'm talking about here is this slow realization that they, in fact, have turned into their parents.
In my case I don't have those little bundles of joy or memories of passed down wisdom on how not to strangle them. My teenage years weren't filled with much in the way of parental advice since I basically made my own decisions and life choices since I was around 14. I mostly spent my teenage years trying to prove to everyone, including Tom, that I knew what I was doing, didn't need their advice, and I was going to do it my way. No matter what the consequences. Instead of the bits of wisdom gleaned from seeing how my parents did things, or positive input from others, I chose to learn from trial and error, and error, and error.
Finally when I went off to college, I may not have realized it yet, but I started to see the wisdom I'd absorbed during those long runs around town with Tom. Of course I still didn't embrace the knowledge, foolishly thinking that I was superhuman and that basic things like physics and entropy didn't apply to me. That biological adaptation, mitochondrial absorption, capillary development and all that mumbo jumbo were words that slow people learned to describe why things just didn't work for them.
Throughout my 20's when I was a running machine and adding weekly to a bix box of medals and trophies for my basement, I didn't think about that place, and that wonderful man as the sage encyclopedia of running knowledge that I've now come to realize. Back then I simply knew that they were my anchor. There's this line in the movie Forest Gump when Jenny is asking Forest all about what he saw when he ran across the Unites States. As he's describing the beauty he witnessed, she says that she wished she could have been there with him. It's a powerful scene to me. He turns to her and tells her. "You were Jenny". In his mind and in his heart she was always there. That was Painesville, St. Claire Street, that route through the cemetery, Strawberry hill, and Tom. They were my home, no matter where I went, who I met, what sort of crazy things I was doing. Those places were with me. He was with me.
Now, having pedaled through a good portion of my 30's and having not needed to access the treasure of running memories and advice, I'm slowly beginning to pull these memories from the recesses of my brain. Those runs where Tom dispensed advice and bemoaned his aging. There wasn't a single muscle twinge, inflammation, ache, or injury that I was feeling that Tom hadn't already experienced and could readily, and instantly, tell me the remedy, the probable time until it healed, and the cause. As I'm restarting my journey as a runner, I'm finding that those rules, that advice, and those pitfalls.....do apply to me. And somehow I'm still that silly guy running up the road to look good for the cuties, and learning by trial and error, and error, and error.
As I was stretching yesterday following a rather spectacular run I remembered an analogy Tom used to use about running and age. He compared good workouts to the perfect "PING" sound a golf club makes when you hit the perfect shot. That feeling that goes through your body as the ball soars in a perfect arc down the fairway. The often felt mystery of where that came from and how you could replicate it. I remember discussing this as we ran through that cemetery just starting one of our runs together. Him telling me how frustrating golfing was and how you'd be just about ready to quit and....PING.... you'd be hooked again for a few more futile hours. He described how as he aged that PING came less and less frequent, and that I should enjoy the fact that I could call upon my body to PING at will.
Yesterday during my run things just worked. The proverbial PING. Which led me to thinking about Tom. So there I was on the phone with him while stretching. Those same stretches he'd taught me 17 years ago that I thought were only for old slow people. It struck me.... Fuck....I've turned into Tom!!!! Then I smiled. NICE!!!
In my case I don't have those little bundles of joy or memories of passed down wisdom on how not to strangle them. My teenage years weren't filled with much in the way of parental advice since I basically made my own decisions and life choices since I was around 14. I mostly spent my teenage years trying to prove to everyone, including Tom, that I knew what I was doing, didn't need their advice, and I was going to do it my way. No matter what the consequences. Instead of the bits of wisdom gleaned from seeing how my parents did things, or positive input from others, I chose to learn from trial and error, and error, and error.
Finally when I went off to college, I may not have realized it yet, but I started to see the wisdom I'd absorbed during those long runs around town with Tom. Of course I still didn't embrace the knowledge, foolishly thinking that I was superhuman and that basic things like physics and entropy didn't apply to me. That biological adaptation, mitochondrial absorption, capillary development and all that mumbo jumbo were words that slow people learned to describe why things just didn't work for them.
Throughout my 20's when I was a running machine and adding weekly to a bix box of medals and trophies for my basement, I didn't think about that place, and that wonderful man as the sage encyclopedia of running knowledge that I've now come to realize. Back then I simply knew that they were my anchor. There's this line in the movie Forest Gump when Jenny is asking Forest all about what he saw when he ran across the Unites States. As he's describing the beauty he witnessed, she says that she wished she could have been there with him. It's a powerful scene to me. He turns to her and tells her. "You were Jenny". In his mind and in his heart she was always there. That was Painesville, St. Claire Street, that route through the cemetery, Strawberry hill, and Tom. They were my home, no matter where I went, who I met, what sort of crazy things I was doing. Those places were with me. He was with me.
Now, having pedaled through a good portion of my 30's and having not needed to access the treasure of running memories and advice, I'm slowly beginning to pull these memories from the recesses of my brain. Those runs where Tom dispensed advice and bemoaned his aging. There wasn't a single muscle twinge, inflammation, ache, or injury that I was feeling that Tom hadn't already experienced and could readily, and instantly, tell me the remedy, the probable time until it healed, and the cause. As I'm restarting my journey as a runner, I'm finding that those rules, that advice, and those pitfalls.....do apply to me. And somehow I'm still that silly guy running up the road to look good for the cuties, and learning by trial and error, and error, and error.
As I was stretching yesterday following a rather spectacular run I remembered an analogy Tom used to use about running and age. He compared good workouts to the perfect "PING" sound a golf club makes when you hit the perfect shot. That feeling that goes through your body as the ball soars in a perfect arc down the fairway. The often felt mystery of where that came from and how you could replicate it. I remember discussing this as we ran through that cemetery just starting one of our runs together. Him telling me how frustrating golfing was and how you'd be just about ready to quit and....PING.... you'd be hooked again for a few more futile hours. He described how as he aged that PING came less and less frequent, and that I should enjoy the fact that I could call upon my body to PING at will.
Yesterday during my run things just worked. The proverbial PING. Which led me to thinking about Tom. So there I was on the phone with him while stretching. Those same stretches he'd taught me 17 years ago that I thought were only for old slow people. It struck me.... Fuck....I've turned into Tom!!!! Then I smiled. NICE!!!
Monday, August 6, 2012
Return to routine
Right before I left for Mexico I set aside my orthotics again and bought some low drop shoes. I tried running 5 miles everyday while I was there and icing my knees like crazy. Knees still hurt all the time, so bad that my runs aren't really all the much fun. But I'm running everyday which is more than I could endure with those nasty orthotics. Hopefully things will turn around.
I got a bit lazy mid-week while I was there. Late nights and the heat are my excuse. Came home yesterday and did my 5mile loop with Hunters Station hill in it. Started overheating a bit the last mile but it went pretty good. The few days I'd taken off had me pretty fresh.
Something I've noticed about my knees is that days off doesn't seem to help them. The only thing that seems to help (besides tossing the orthotics) is ice massage and lots, and lots of stretching. John pointed out that I ran all those pain free miles in the winter while doing yoga. So I'm inclined to think he's right and I need to increase my stretching routine. I've added 6 new stretches to my routine. Between that and my core work let's see if I can't get something going again.
I only had one wild night in Mexico. I emptied my pockets except for about $80 and handed my wallet to Zoya and strolled off into the night. It was pretty entertaining. Some of the locals went out of their way to show me the city and try to get me drunk. We went everywhere and I saw pretty much everything. I turned down a good deal of offers for things I'm just not into (drugs, paying for sex, that sort of thing) I did meet a nice girl named Wendy who seemed quite intent on sitting on my lap and staring at me even though I couldn't understand a single word of her Spanish.
There were only two times that I felt even the least bit unsafe. First was when we first entered the slum. They were burning some leaves to keep the bugs away and the folks who were mostly blinded by the fire reacted in fear at seeing 3 guys (one of them white) entering at 1am. Before long we were all sitting on buckets and they were telling me stories. It's amazing how educated some of the slum dweller children were. They roused them out of bed (well....cardboard on the floor) because they could speak English. The other time I got a bit scared was a bum on the main road who wouldn't leave me alone. I'd left my tour guides and was walking to get a taxi. I finally had to put my left forearm to his throat and push him against the wall letting him see my right fist cocked back. I think that's the universal sign for fuck off. He was too drunk is all, so it wasn't really that bad.
I had pretty good times with the Schaller family. I had a bit too much exposure to Alex in the last 2 weeks between Placid and Mexico so by now I'm glad to get away from that. Other than that the trip was pretty swell. We kept up a pretty good pace of activities and saw and did a lot. I think there's plans being made for a return trip someday :-)
2 videos today that make me smile. First is a short commercial from Nike. I have 2 co-workers I'm working on right now. One has lost 63lbs and the other 18. That's badass!!
The second video is the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction speech. It's a bit long but a really great tribute this guy gives to his mother. I don't remember him as a player...but of course I only sporadically watch football.
http://nfl.cpl.delvenetworks.com/player/yahoo/carousel/embed_code.html?channelId=de89a8aeb3e422bac4eb48567f10ebd0&channelListId&mediaId=38eb524c8ec7436c8375560a64dfa59f
I got a bit lazy mid-week while I was there. Late nights and the heat are my excuse. Came home yesterday and did my 5mile loop with Hunters Station hill in it. Started overheating a bit the last mile but it went pretty good. The few days I'd taken off had me pretty fresh.
Something I've noticed about my knees is that days off doesn't seem to help them. The only thing that seems to help (besides tossing the orthotics) is ice massage and lots, and lots of stretching. John pointed out that I ran all those pain free miles in the winter while doing yoga. So I'm inclined to think he's right and I need to increase my stretching routine. I've added 6 new stretches to my routine. Between that and my core work let's see if I can't get something going again.
I only had one wild night in Mexico. I emptied my pockets except for about $80 and handed my wallet to Zoya and strolled off into the night. It was pretty entertaining. Some of the locals went out of their way to show me the city and try to get me drunk. We went everywhere and I saw pretty much everything. I turned down a good deal of offers for things I'm just not into (drugs, paying for sex, that sort of thing) I did meet a nice girl named Wendy who seemed quite intent on sitting on my lap and staring at me even though I couldn't understand a single word of her Spanish.
There were only two times that I felt even the least bit unsafe. First was when we first entered the slum. They were burning some leaves to keep the bugs away and the folks who were mostly blinded by the fire reacted in fear at seeing 3 guys (one of them white) entering at 1am. Before long we were all sitting on buckets and they were telling me stories. It's amazing how educated some of the slum dweller children were. They roused them out of bed (well....cardboard on the floor) because they could speak English. The other time I got a bit scared was a bum on the main road who wouldn't leave me alone. I'd left my tour guides and was walking to get a taxi. I finally had to put my left forearm to his throat and push him against the wall letting him see my right fist cocked back. I think that's the universal sign for fuck off. He was too drunk is all, so it wasn't really that bad.
I had pretty good times with the Schaller family. I had a bit too much exposure to Alex in the last 2 weeks between Placid and Mexico so by now I'm glad to get away from that. Other than that the trip was pretty swell. We kept up a pretty good pace of activities and saw and did a lot. I think there's plans being made for a return trip someday :-)
2 videos today that make me smile. First is a short commercial from Nike. I have 2 co-workers I'm working on right now. One has lost 63lbs and the other 18. That's badass!!
The second video is the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction speech. It's a bit long but a really great tribute this guy gives to his mother. I don't remember him as a player...but of course I only sporadically watch football.
http://nfl.cpl.delvenetworks.com/player/yahoo/carousel/embed_code.html?channelId=de89a8aeb3e422bac4eb48567f10ebd0&channelListId&mediaId=38eb524c8ec7436c8375560a64dfa59f
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 :-)
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.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Wizzorwack
Everyone tune in tomorrow evening to see a fellow I used to coach run at the Olympic trials. He got 5th at the US championships last year.....and anything can happen in the 800m....
| Men 800m | ||||
| Name | Affiliation | Mark | Status | Declaration |
| Nicholas Symmonds | Nike / Oregon TC Elite | 1:43.83 | qualified | declared |
| Khadevis Robinson | Nike | 1:44.03 | qualified | declared |
| Charles Jock | University of California, Irvine | 1:44.67 | qualified | declared |
| Ryan Martin | University of California, Santa Barbara | 1:44.77 | qualified | declared |
| Tyler Mulder | Nike / Oregon TC Elite | 1:44.83 | qualified | declared |
| Elijah Greer | University of Oregon | 1:45.06 | qualified | declared |
| Michael Rutt | New Jersey New York Track Club | 1:45.20 | qualified | declared |
| Casimir Loxsom | The Pennsylvania State University | 1:45.28 | qualified | declared |
| Richard Jones | Santa Monica Track Club | 1:45.56 | qualified | declared |
| Duane Solomon Jr | Saucony | 1:45.66 | qualified | declared |
| Erik Sowinski | University of Iowa | 1:45.90 | qualified | declared |
| Willie Brown | University of Akron | 1:45.91 | qualified | declared |
| Mark Wieczorek | 1:46.00 | qualified | declared | |
| Rob Novak | New York Athletic Club (NYAC) | 1:46.01 | qualified | declared |
| Tevan Everett | New Jersey New York Track Club | 1:46.02 | qualified | declared |
| Brandon Johnson | Asics | 1:46.23 | qualified | declared |
| Brian Gagnon | New Jersey New York Track Club | 1:46.40 | qualified | declared |
| Michael Preble | Texas A&M University | 1:46.43 | qualified | declared |
| Patrick Roach | S.W.I.F.T. Racing | 1:46.58 | accepted | declared |
| David Pachuta | University of Minnesota-Twin Cities | 1:46.62 | accepted | declared |
| Harun Abda | University of Minnesota-Twin Cities | 1:46.65 | accepted | declared |
| Liam Boylan-Pett | New Jersey New York Track Club | 1:46.66 | accepted | declared |
| Andrew Wheating | Nike / Oregon TC Elite | 1:46.83 | accepted | declared |
| Joe Abbott | 1:46.84 | accepted | declared | |
| Tetlo Emmen | 1:46.95 | accepted | declared | |
| Andrew Dawson | 1:46.96 | accepted | declared | |
| Sharif Webb | 1:47.04 | accepted | declared | |
| Lance Roller Jr | University of Virginia | 1:47.07 | accepted | declared |
| Brandon Shaw | Brooks / Evo Track Club | 1:47.13 | accepted | declared |
| Benjamin Scheetz | 1:47.43 | accepted | declared | |
| Christian Smith | 1:47.44 | accepted | declared | |
| Christian Gonzalez | New Jersey New York Track Club | 1:47.49 | accepted | declared |
VirginiaSlim
Last night the folks on my old cycling team had a private party for Joe Dombroski. Last week he won the GiroBio which is the Tour of Italy for people 23yrs old and younger. Joe raced with me as a category 4 and a few races as a category 3 before he skyrocketed to the Pro ranks. He now races for Treck Livestrong which is Radio Shack's development team.
http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/06/news/dombrowski-qa-respect-and-satisfaction-at-the-baby-giro_224979
Before the party we had our normal Wednesday night group ride that the bike shop puts on. It's probably the 2nd hardest group ride in the area behind the "Goon" ride down in Rock Creek Park. 29 miles with 4 sprint points, some tough hills, and one hell of a long fast section back to the finish line.
Joseph (aka Joe, aka Dombro, aka JoDo, aka VigriniaSlim) is off for a week and suffering a bit from Jetlag having just returned from Italy so he rode the scooter. This week since it was a private party the ride was pretty thin. I used to think that meant less talent, but in actuality a small group means after you pull or if you have a bad spell there's not much of a peleton to sag through and then latch on to the back. If you falter for an instant...pooof.....they're gone. I was having a pretty bad day having devoted myself mostly to running lately. That and the switch from 80's and mild, to 100 and humid had me in the hurt locker from the start.
Normally we have a pretty neutral roll out until the first hill, but some old fellow jumped early hoping to sag climb the hill and all he did was excite the young fellows who dumped all their testosterone into the base of the first climb. UGGhhhhhh!!!!!!! I was nearly dropped a dozen times in the run in to The Plains. After winding through The Plains we do 2 loops of a flat loop with little traffic. We have a fast slightly downhill ride into a right hand corner that's normally quite easy, but this time of year the corn in that field is high enough that you can't see if cars are coming. Of course the youngsters don't much care about cars.....and oooof....I was nearly dropped again expecting a slowdown to actually look before blasting into the road.
In the final chase back into town I was able to jump the climb and get into a breakaway with Jared and Greg and we pretty easily pulled away from the field. After the hill Jared jumped and Greg and I couldn't.....and then Joe came along with the scooter. We never like to give Jared the glory of winning the very group ride that he organizes. Plus we like to piss him off.....so I jumped behind the scooter and drafted all the way up and tried to beat Jared at the finish. 3rd of 3 in the sprint. DOH!!!
During the party it was really great to see Joe and hear all about the race and his experiences in Europe. In the last few months he won a few stages and places 2nd in the Tour of Gila, Won a stage and finished 4th in the Tour of California, and now just won the most prestigious U23 race and beat the current World Champion in the GiroBio. As I stood there watching Joe soaking it all in, watched his dad smiling with pride, and saw the people who just enjoyed being in the presence of the closest thing there is, on this day, to cycling greatness....I realized that I used to be that guy. Different sport and different circumstances...but for a time (in my mind at least) I was near the top of the field with the ability to dream as high as I wanted and with others who enjoyed the journey with me.
As I looked around however I saw Jeremiah Bishop, Jared Nieters, Bryan Burns, Dave Fuentes....and a room filled with people who all (in their disciplines) had at some point also been "The Guy" and yet here we were realizing that we were really just another fish in the pond compared to Joe. I had this same feeling when training with Dmitry. Some people are just on a completely different level....and yet they are so affable and casual that you'd never really know it unless you know. Joe could blend in with any high school or college kid in America, yet here's the best cyclist since Lance Armstrong out zipping along next to me on a motor scooter smiling from ear to ear...just another one of the guys.
I'm reading a truly amazing book right now called "Shantaram". In this book there's a section where a group of gangsters sit around and talk about suffering and happiness. In their discussion they come to the conclusion that true happiness is not possible without suffering. Because if you've never suffered you cannot fully recognize and appreciate happiness. They also conclude that true happiness is relative and that your mind can control much of it. That when you do find happiness it's important for you to find something else to struggle towards....because lottery winners and others who think they've found happiness and quit struggling and suffering end up locked in unhappiness.
I looked around the room and saw people who aspired to be VirginiaSlim and ended up being Jeremiah Bishop, Bryan Burns, Dave Fuentes, etc. Each of those guys have thousands of people who look up to them and don't see any difference between them and Joe. The same as people who run a 4hr marathon can't recognise the difference between Dmitry and myself. Yesterday I stared at Dombro and realized how happy I am. How running and cycling and the accomplishments I've earned in my lifetime have made me happy. Happy enough that I can't seem to really get excited about any sort of athletic goals. But I also saw excellence and realized how far I was from it. That makes me suffer a bit.
Now it's time to use that. My feet and lower legs seem to be adapting slowly to the orthotics. Soon it'll be time to start building. No, I can't be Joe or Dmitry....but I can be TerribleTerry....and I can still find out just how fast this 37 year old body can go. Just how much punishment I can take. If that gets me running a 16:40 5k or a 14:40 5k I need to find happiness in my pursuit. As those gangsters concluded...Suffering is the mirror image of happiness. The only way happiness exists is if suffering also exists. I can't wait to get my miles up and start suffering :-).
Funnest VirginiaSlim memory.....
http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/06/news/dombrowski-qa-respect-and-satisfaction-at-the-baby-giro_224979
Before the party we had our normal Wednesday night group ride that the bike shop puts on. It's probably the 2nd hardest group ride in the area behind the "Goon" ride down in Rock Creek Park. 29 miles with 4 sprint points, some tough hills, and one hell of a long fast section back to the finish line.
Joseph (aka Joe, aka Dombro, aka JoDo, aka VigriniaSlim) is off for a week and suffering a bit from Jetlag having just returned from Italy so he rode the scooter. This week since it was a private party the ride was pretty thin. I used to think that meant less talent, but in actuality a small group means after you pull or if you have a bad spell there's not much of a peleton to sag through and then latch on to the back. If you falter for an instant...pooof.....they're gone. I was having a pretty bad day having devoted myself mostly to running lately. That and the switch from 80's and mild, to 100 and humid had me in the hurt locker from the start.
Normally we have a pretty neutral roll out until the first hill, but some old fellow jumped early hoping to sag climb the hill and all he did was excite the young fellows who dumped all their testosterone into the base of the first climb. UGGhhhhhh!!!!!!! I was nearly dropped a dozen times in the run in to The Plains. After winding through The Plains we do 2 loops of a flat loop with little traffic. We have a fast slightly downhill ride into a right hand corner that's normally quite easy, but this time of year the corn in that field is high enough that you can't see if cars are coming. Of course the youngsters don't much care about cars.....and oooof....I was nearly dropped again expecting a slowdown to actually look before blasting into the road.
In the final chase back into town I was able to jump the climb and get into a breakaway with Jared and Greg and we pretty easily pulled away from the field. After the hill Jared jumped and Greg and I couldn't.....and then Joe came along with the scooter. We never like to give Jared the glory of winning the very group ride that he organizes. Plus we like to piss him off.....so I jumped behind the scooter and drafted all the way up and tried to beat Jared at the finish. 3rd of 3 in the sprint. DOH!!!
During the party it was really great to see Joe and hear all about the race and his experiences in Europe. In the last few months he won a few stages and places 2nd in the Tour of Gila, Won a stage and finished 4th in the Tour of California, and now just won the most prestigious U23 race and beat the current World Champion in the GiroBio. As I stood there watching Joe soaking it all in, watched his dad smiling with pride, and saw the people who just enjoyed being in the presence of the closest thing there is, on this day, to cycling greatness....I realized that I used to be that guy. Different sport and different circumstances...but for a time (in my mind at least) I was near the top of the field with the ability to dream as high as I wanted and with others who enjoyed the journey with me.
As I looked around however I saw Jeremiah Bishop, Jared Nieters, Bryan Burns, Dave Fuentes....and a room filled with people who all (in their disciplines) had at some point also been "The Guy" and yet here we were realizing that we were really just another fish in the pond compared to Joe. I had this same feeling when training with Dmitry. Some people are just on a completely different level....and yet they are so affable and casual that you'd never really know it unless you know. Joe could blend in with any high school or college kid in America, yet here's the best cyclist since Lance Armstrong out zipping along next to me on a motor scooter smiling from ear to ear...just another one of the guys.
I'm reading a truly amazing book right now called "Shantaram". In this book there's a section where a group of gangsters sit around and talk about suffering and happiness. In their discussion they come to the conclusion that true happiness is not possible without suffering. Because if you've never suffered you cannot fully recognize and appreciate happiness. They also conclude that true happiness is relative and that your mind can control much of it. That when you do find happiness it's important for you to find something else to struggle towards....because lottery winners and others who think they've found happiness and quit struggling and suffering end up locked in unhappiness.
I looked around the room and saw people who aspired to be VirginiaSlim and ended up being Jeremiah Bishop, Bryan Burns, Dave Fuentes, etc. Each of those guys have thousands of people who look up to them and don't see any difference between them and Joe. The same as people who run a 4hr marathon can't recognise the difference between Dmitry and myself. Yesterday I stared at Dombro and realized how happy I am. How running and cycling and the accomplishments I've earned in my lifetime have made me happy. Happy enough that I can't seem to really get excited about any sort of athletic goals. But I also saw excellence and realized how far I was from it. That makes me suffer a bit.
Now it's time to use that. My feet and lower legs seem to be adapting slowly to the orthotics. Soon it'll be time to start building. No, I can't be Joe or Dmitry....but I can be TerribleTerry....and I can still find out just how fast this 37 year old body can go. Just how much punishment I can take. If that gets me running a 16:40 5k or a 14:40 5k I need to find happiness in my pursuit. As those gangsters concluded...Suffering is the mirror image of happiness. The only way happiness exists is if suffering also exists. I can't wait to get my miles up and start suffering :-).
Funnest VirginiaSlim memory.....
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