experience and understanding - thoughts and snippets from Around the Crown 10k PR (9/1/19)

thoughts come and go and the older we get the more they tend to just be thoughts and less likely to be followed up by actions unless we consistently practice intention. or maybe we just find ourselves "busier" which, if you think about it, is really only us feeling more bound to responsibility that may be critical or may be things we get sucked into through routine and societal expectations and a lack of intention that when we blink, we wonder - where the time went, the day has gone, and all thoughts thoughts that we had that didn't come to fruition. and if you think about it, there is never more or less time in a day, and there is never wasted time - just time that we are doing something else. all that to say, while i have had consistency in running the sacrifice has been a loss of putting so many thoughts down that i used to seem to find easier to relay onto this blog, or my written journal. I know we can't do everything, and i do keep in mine that while i may not be doing one thing, i'm doing another thing, and time is never wasted - it's just used differently. Still, i have maintained a desire to not give up on using writing as an outlet, because i think it can be a great way to complete the gift that running allows through it's contemplative-ness that conjures wonderful ideas, and it always feels i completed the function when i hit the keys. not that i always get to what i thought or wanted to say, nonetheless something better than nothing. it would feel like a waste to never move the idea from the head to the pad. and that feeling of a waste is a bit egotistical, but think of all the great things written in history - they didn't have to be written, but the world and history is better for those people taking the time to get them out, and utilize the written word for the betterment of mankind. as if i'm doing a great deed, ha i am not, but if feeling complete gives peace, then in the least that peace will be a nice energy i carry that can have a positive impact with my fellow man who comes across my path.

so what have i been thinking lately? (on my runs) - i have been thinking that one of the reasons distance running lets the runner maintain a high level of success into late 30s is because of the accumulation of mental experience we gain from all the long runs, races, downs and ups, trials and successes. The early 20s runner has peak physical ability, but what keeps the fall off stabilized in the physical department is the increased mental focus, belief, and stories of overcoming we gain through the years.

Last Sunday i raced a fantastic inaugural Charlotte 10k race. Around the Crown 10k. It was something new as it was the first race in the city that was on i277. it was pretty thrilling to run on an interstate that had never been run on before. as it is a city loop it had a banked curvature to it that was not common, complete with a nice descent and even more of an uphill. As it started out with the down, i was clicking off a bit of a quicker pace yet from the experience I trusted my ability to go with it, and during the uphill as I was falling off pace I also trusted that I could comeback the last couple of miles and make it up. both of these ended up being true, and also when I needed to get back in gear I had the awareness that i had to make an intentional mental shift to "snap out of it" by changing gears and push myself until i felt like i was running a race and not trying to hold on. The surge paid off, as i passed some people back, and got back on track to my pace (faster than actually) and was able to finish the race with a new big PR. I found that the trust early on going quick, the trust to comeback during a hard spell, and the realization to surge all were marks of experience that I had gained during so many previous training runs and races that overshadowed my 35 year old body who still hasn't been able to train like I did in my hay day.

The Fragility of Running

This was thought up on my run, of which I just finished not more than 5 mins ago...

Long distance running is one of the most delicate and sensitive sports. This is something I have thought about since college. No other sport's scale of performance slides as much by the balance of so many variables that go on on an hourly basis, every day of the week, every week of the month.

Let alone your diet, sleep history, and stress levels - how you train, when you train, and the conditions of your training all play into this equation which ebbs and flows daily and is manifested in your most recent run. Not even regularity promises improvement, assuming you are correctly following all the other "non running" related factors. How you train is just as big of a piece of the puzzle.

Continuing to run each day like you have been won't get you to the next level, although it will get easier to do. You have to train harder and faster. You can't continue to do what you have been doing, and magically get better. You have to shoot for new target times, you have to push yourself into deeper pain, and you have to go further. And once you bring this new piece to the table, you then slide the scale further towards the risk of injury and burnout, and premature peaking.

Even from a merely recreational standpoint, you'll notice this phenomenon from time to time when you have a great run on a Friday, take a couple days off on the weekend, and go out on a Monday and wonder why in the hell it hurts so bad and you are so much slower and lethargic. The degree to which you feel a "random" off day is not as noticeable as it would be in basketball, soccer, or football. Yes, those are skill sports, and the off day happens nevertheless in any of those sports - but having played many sports, I've never been as amazed at how delicate and needy running is.

So many things come into play with how you will feel on your next run. Sometimes you can't put your finger on it, and sometimes the answer is clear. Running is a needy mistress. She takes time, effort, attention to detail, and persistence to get over the rough patch of your training and keep on going...all while trying to balance the scale to achieve your goals.

Today was one of those days. I had a pretty poor outing, but I got through it. I have a constant battle with wanting high performance, and also living how ever I want. Both cannot be achieved, but I'm never convinced to allow one to rule. Such is my state, and such is true for many things in life. However, I am proud to say that while the battle wages on in running, my maturity in other more important parts of life have improved.

Happy running....

rep your street/road

for Charlotteans out there, or those who feel qualified to answer, what street or road in Charlotte represents the most time and memories. For me it's Sharon Amity, and even after it turns into Sharon Ln...(where it eventually dead ends into Sharon). I guess that means life takes a turn, and I have some comfort that the street change quarter stream still caries more or less the same name. Any rate, it's funny the life I have lived started at the beginning of Sharon Amity - up the North side. Off from my home, young friends living off the road, popular shopping mall off of it (Eastland), middle school friends and bike explorations, parents first place in town (apartment - 1983), basketball practice churches, fast food stops, road races, burials. I drove down that road tonight. Spurred up a lot of memories. In fact, I was on it because I was visiting one of the aforementioneed good friends from yesteryear. So good night, I have a track workout in 6 hours!