08 April 2009

the answer to 'how long is an IM?' often elicits gasps of disbelief from people [often with 'and you are PAYING to this?!'].

and although the day will be, I'm sure, long and exhuasting and full of emotion, it's the getting there that's true test of endurance. the training is the cake and the race is the icing.

a marathon is a long, hard [thatswhatshesaid] race, but there is support: there are other runners, there are volunteers, people playing music from their houses, little kids offering high fives. a 20 mile training run, on the other hand, offers none of that. the training runs are often harder than the race.

last night I met with an old friend for dinner. I planned on getting my workout done in the morning, but, well, you know what they say about the best laid plans. dinner was a cheeseburger + fries [with the most delightful cinnamon seasoning!] and then I had to hit the gym. pool closes at 9:30, gym closes at 10:00. dinner ended at 7:30 and there wasn't time to sit and let all that food digest.

the swim:
2400.00 meters in 52m 21s // 02m 11s /100 meters
400 wu

ms
8 x 25 easy/ hard
12 x 100:
75 easy - 25 hard
50 easy - 50 hard
25 easy - 75 hard
100 hard
^^ x 3
300 kick
300 wd

then: get out of the pool, racoon eyes with goggles marks, natch, and changed into a shirts, shorts, and running shoes for-

the run:
4.64 miles in 45m // 09m 42s/Mi
15 min wu

20 min hills
10 min cd
(treadmill)

[that damned delicious cheeseburger sat like a rock at the bottom of my stomach through most of the workout.]

I was the last one to leave the gym. this, to me, is what training is about. it's about the very unglamourous, the ugly, the tired, the pushing through when you don't want to push through anymore.

reminds me of:
it's just ten percent luck/
twenty percent skill/
fifteen percent concentrated power of will/
five percent pleasure/
fifty percent pain/
and a hundred percent reason to remember the name.
[Mike Shinoda - Remember The Name]

9 comments:

  1. Nice, I like this alot, inspiring, most people would have skipped the work out. Good job!!

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  2. The harder I work, the luckier I get.

    Not sure who said it, but it was some pro athlete answering a question about if he felt lucky about his successful career or something. May have been Gordie Howe.

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  3. Hey nice run !!! also thanks for the extra motivation...i need it today hahaha

    also, here is the link on how to get your BT log

    http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/widgets/

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  4. Nice job being flexible and getting the training in. Great post, love the quote.

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  5. Look at you! Cheeseburger and all...LOVE IT!

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  6. Seeing your blog from bt.com! :) Damn! That's tough period yet on a cheeseburger and fries!

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  7. I like this post a lot! Keep pushing (thatswhatshesaid)!

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  8. That's dedication. You go girl!
    And, you are so right! Training is definitely harder than the race. Not to say that the race is easy but there are all those motivating factors that you listed to pull you through.

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  9. I just found your blog, but I love the song you cited. I sing it in my head all the time. I also like the cake quote - I may have to use it. It is so true.

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