Past meets future

Years and years ago (more years than I'd believe now) I left home after high school and came south for my education. As is not uncommon, I was of an age where it was just important for me to leave what was "old" in order to find something "new". I was full of hope and promise with dreams and ideas to find my way in the world, to strike an exciting new path and to boldly go where....

oh, forget it. It was nothing quite so noble. I left home for university and my family called me to say that I could live, free room and board, if I went to school in their city. And here I am to this day.

When I left, I left behind the small town, thinking it was for good, and for the better. Now after just having returned from Christmas holidays there, I see more and more the old saying is true, " you can take the boy from the home, but you can't take the home from the boy". I see it even more in my seven-year old son. I am convinced he'd fit in perfectly as a small town boy, sliding at break-neck speeds down questionably safe hills, ATV'ing around the property, and chasing animal tracks. In the summer months, he'd be riding his bike everywhere, up and down streets, through yards and away from dogs, all day long until dark. If not doing that, he'd be fishing. After two days up north he'd fit in like he's never been anywhere else. He has the same need for speed (the more the better) that his father has, without quite the same "oh s**%" realization of his own mortality yet. This I know, because he was the first to report to his mother, after we took air at a reckless rate of speed, "Mommy, Daddy said a swear word out loud!!" and proceeded to spell the word to his mother. Yep, another quarter in the jar. You'd think after breaking three bones already, he'd appreciate a little more caution in his life. Not so much.

With the exception of the fishing, he's more and more his father's son. Yes, there's a story there, but we'll save that one for another day. He's hooked on reckless downhill speed, just like his father was. He's more of an individual sports kid than a team sport player. Sure, he plays hockey in the winter - this is Canada, you have to. He likes to go to the driving range and hit a bucket of golf balls. He also plays baseball in the summer, less a team sport, and more a bunch of individuals wearing the same coloured pants at the same time - which is a fashion disaster on anyone other than children. His real sporting interest is his bike, which he rides everywhere he can. He's also a solid swimmer...you see where this is going? Yup, he's already got two of the three disciplines down, and he can run. He's done three triathlons, and in one more way he's still a lot like his father. His favourite part of the race might just be the snack tent afterwards. Okay, so I'm exaggerating a little bit, but if I don't get my bananas after the race......

Peace.

How much is too much?

This is an interesting question. How much training, in any one discipline, is too much? Given that training in one sport, by definition, takes time and focus away from training in any of the others (one could argue "water jogging" is a two-for-one; having no particular expertise or experience, I'll pass on that debate at this time).

In addition to being an interesting question, it's also a largely irrelevant question at this time of year. Rare is the competitor who is plowing away at all three sports full-bore at this time of year. This is the time to "specialize", to work on any identified weaknesses in one of the sports. Additionally, being as this is the offseason one could also argue (and I am making that argument here now) that this is ideally the time to raise this question of "how much is too much?". Now is the time to find the answer, not once the training begins "for serious". Trying to structure a training plan while in the midst of that plan is a little like trying to change the wings on an airplane while in flight. It looks good on paper, but results are bound to suffer when tried in practice.

Suggestions on how to avoid "how much" are laid by one of the true gurus of the sport here. This should serve as a base guideline, while this follow-up story would be on the "don't" page of the "Do's and Don'ts of overtraining". Part two of the don't is the cautionary tale summary.

In future posts, I'll be laying out the guidelines around which my plan for next year will be based. Historically my race results in my age group break down something like this:

Top 50% swim split (half-way through the pack - half are faster, half are slower)

Top 33% bike split (one third are faster, two-thirds slower)

Top 20% run split.

I'd say my biggest limiters are run and bike endurance, and swim form - being a self-coached swimmer all my life will do that to you.

Peace.

Those three little words and the real Boxing Day bonus

Unavoidable really, to those of a certain age and of a certain family structure. Yes, it's true, the three most dreaded words in the vocabulary of any parents anywhere. At this time of year they're repeated almost endlessly, seen in writings everywhere and absolutely not understood by mothers or children anywhere:







wait for it...























SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED.





Now, I've graduated university, so I think it's fair to say that I could consider myself an intelligent man. I've assembled bicycle racks and changed changed headlights and taillights. I've taken apart and rebuilt brake calipers, and with a son of "that age" I've put together more Lego than I thought I'd ever see in my life. Fixed more flat tires, on cars and bikes, than I care to remember. I've gotten my bike flat tire change split under ten minutes, with hand-pump (no CO2 - you want to talk about "cheater minutes" :0)). I've replaced light fixtures, toilets, shower heads and spent two weekends ripping out and replacing flooring in my house (okay, so it was laminate, but still...) By no means am I Bob Vila, but I think I'm somewhere north of Tim "the tool man" Taylor, if you know what I mean. Spent most of the day yesterday engulfed in this activity. For those who have been there, you know what I mean. For those who haven't yet had the joy, let me tell you - no words will do it justice. I'd be more than happy to not see another 3/16" hex bolt or to have to assemble slot "A" into notch "B" and to wire/wrap cross bar "C" with mesh "D".


The real Boxing Day special is soon to begin...

Now that's winter!

Does shoveling the driveway count as "cross-training?" Don't know, but it should, especially three times in two days. Not really "sport-specific though, is it?

So yesterday, according to schedule was the "long run" day - 13 miles was the plan - this, the day after the company Christmas party the night before. Woke up and couldn't see out the front window of the house. "Okay", I told myself, "adapt the plan"...

Then after shoveling and tobogganing with the little monkeys, who are at an age where they're completely impervious to cold (perhaps because they were eating great huge handfuls of snow) I realized that the run wasn't going to get in yesterday. Still the off-season, so no big deal, and still managed to get five runs in.

In the grand scheme of things, so what? I missed one run. Got to hang out with the kids, watching them happily plow over each other in their plastics sleds and howling laughter while they did it. Not beneficial to the aerobic base, but certainly good for the mental fitness. After all, there shouldn't be any "A" workouts in December. There'll be plenty of those in the spring and summer.

Lesson learned? Some days the plan goes out the window, and you just wing it. Good lesson, good day for it.

Peace.

AFS?!?

Spent the weekend living through my daughter's birthday party - she's turning five. If you have the opportunity I highly recommend taking your next birthday party offsite. I have no affiliation with any of "those places" - if you have kids, you know where they are, but I am entirely in favour of taking the mess, muss, fuss, bother and noise (especially with seventeen five-and-thereabouts-year-old girls, and their mothers.

On an entirely unrelated (but slightly funny to me) note, I noticed after I filled in my shoe log for Friday that the total mileage on the shoes was a coincidentally familiar number: 140.6. Got in a five medium-length runs this week, none over 7.5 miles, but the frequency is starting to come up to a respectable level. And, after last week's "float like an anvil" triumphant return to the pool, I haven't gone back yet. Need to get in some cheater hours first - gotta get that arm strength back up.

So, what's "AFS" all about? It's not my initials, nor is it any affliction I' m aware of. AFS is an acronym for "always finish strong". I find it comes in handy after the half-way point of any long-course event. This is a little beyond playing mental games with yourself, tricking yourself into running or riding to the next mile marker, and then tricking yourself into doing it again. It's also a little more than the golfer's subconscious desire to crush the tee shot on the first hole, and to hole out the fifteen-foot put to finish the eighteenth hole, always "looking good" in sight of the "crowd" at the clubhouse, even if he/she has scuffled/dunked to a one-twenty in between. Like they say, "it's better to look good than to feel good".

"AFS" is a combination of the two. Keeps my concentrating on economical form (as much as possible) as the fatigue starts to set in, and saps my will to live. It pushes back the desire to quit, to pack it in and jump on the "loser truck" (call it any other name, it's still the loser truck to me). Above, there was very little looking good, and even less feeling good, and a lot of talking to myself about bringing it home, sealing the deal, and finishing what I started. It's just one more extension of yet another old saying (last one for today): "If you believe you can, or believe you can't, you're right."

'Til next time.

ap

Newbies of the world, unite!

This is interesting. I will admit that in my first year I did not nearly enough training (one swim, a couple easy rides and over-run-trained for my first marathon - gave myself a good ole IT band problem and started "tapering" seven weeks out from the marathon). Note to anyone: when planning to run a marathon, generally the last "long run" should be longer than fifteen miles. In the words of my coach/friend/cheering section at the time, "the shorter the long run, the longer the pain." Too true, my friends, too true.



News

My response to this (originally posted at the Running Room)is relisted here.

The whole attraction, of course, is that it's NOT easy. 30 000 people (give or take) from 6 billion (that would be 6 000 000 000!!) is one half of one tenth of one tenth of one tenth of one percent (or is that one more tenth?! ). Whatever the actual number, I don't think everyone's doing it.

There are no guarantees, just as in life. That's why people plunk down $2 on the Super 7 every week, or sit down to watch the Maple Leafs every weekend (there are especially no guarantees there ). That's why we all roll out of bed in the dead of morning, to hit the road, running or riding (or running or riding to the pool) in pitch blackness - because we can. Because we want to. Because we need to find out - because there's no guarantee what will happen next.

I think the author's main issue in the article is not with those who come unprepared to races, but those who come unprepared and unwilling to abide by or accept the race rules, i.e. cutoffs, etc. Paying an enormous entry fee does not buy anyone the right to override decisions made by qualified (officials) with regard to the racer's safety on the course or personal health and well-being.

I don't see an issue with beginners - weren't we all beginners once? I suffered (badly) in my first sprint tri (note to self: one swim and one ride is NOT enough preparation. If there had been a "dark" cut-off in that race (which started at 7:00 a.m.) I might have been in trouble. Nor do I see an issue with back-of-packers. There are only about fifty people in any race over 1000 people that have a shot of winning in any division and let's face it, the rest of us B.O.P.ers (I count myself proudly in that group) are the ones that keep paying the bills, to the race organizers and equipment suppliers by virtue of our sheer numbers, by buying the shoes, and suits and wheels and bikes and gels and bars....you get the idea.

Am I going to win any time soon? Probably not, not in terms of hardware or anything like that. But, I am going to keep winning the battle with myself. I am going to get smarter, fitter and more educated about what works and what doesn't. Technology aside, I'm not sure if I'm going to get more "aero" or not (as I age, possibly more buoyant, though ) I am going to keep redefining not what is humanly possible, but what is "Aaron-ly possible".

So, next time out, I am going to welcome the inevitable butterflies in my stomach. I am going to nod "hello" to the usual faces I see in the usual races, whether I know who they are or not. I am going to stare out at the water before the start and wonder once again, "what was I thinking?" I am going to thank as many volunteers as I can, and I am finally going to be happy that I've come from where I was (106th of 124 in that first race, by the way) to where I am now.

Peace.


My end comments on this: I've been in this sport for three years. I am constantly learning new things, new ways to do things, and just as often new ways to not do things. I'm still a newbie in the sport, and I welcome in more and more newbies - hey, the more the merrier. I just wish I could get to the registration lines ahead of more of them.

AP

Soar like an anvil, the evil of snowplows...

Well, this week, I finally took the plunge, and got back in the water on Tuesday morning. I'm sure you're all thinking it looked just like that (above). Actually, it felt more like:

Less smooth, graceful flight and more fighting to stay alive and not get run over. The plan was for a nice easy 2000m swim or so. I don't think I had that in me. HR was spiking all over the place, and I think I finally "pulled the plug" at about 1250m. Got some work to do, but that's okay. This is the run focus part of the programme. I'm hoping to ease back into the swimming, but this just makes it clear that I can't put it off too much longer.

So today, I think, might just be the official end of the outdoor bike season. Held off 'til snowfall last year, and I was actually riding on New Year's Day outside last year (although I guess technically that was this year). Now, it doesn't look like it's going to go quite that far, not after today.

While we're on the topic of snow, let me take a moment to direct a rant at a certain group of people. Those people for whom a special corner of you-know-where should be reserved, along with the people who sneak eleven items through the "eight items or less" express lane, or those who snack on peanuts without paying for them at the bulk food store, or those who wheelsuck at the back of the draft pack without ever taking a turn to carry the load at the front (especially those who draft in non-draft-legal events). Yes, you guessed it - I'm talking about snowplow drivers - specifically snowplow drivers who wait until you've shoveled forty-five minutes worth of heavy, back-breaking, wet snow out of the driveway, then steamroll on an unwavering path down your street, scraping the asphalt bare, down to the black, then leaving a two-foot high glacial deposit and barrier at the end of the driveway that only an army vehicle could traverse. Vengeance will one day be mine, buddy. The circle of life will rotate and one day karma will dictate that a blizzard of snow will descend upon your driveway, on the one day in July when your plow is "in the shop" for buffing and polishing. Be warned.

I've taken the first steps to starting up the run club at work - my current working plan is to start up at the "learn to run" level, with the objective being a 5- or 10-K road race sometime around the time of the Mississauga Marathon. However, the interest level of the group will dictate whether those options are reasonable. I'm thinking that there may be some "guest speakers" among the group who, maybe for the price of a pair of socks, or some pancakes :o) would be willing to speak to the group. We'll see how far this goes.

I've gotten three runs in this week so far, with a ten-miler on the board for today(!!) Ran home last night from my son's hockey game - a good, winding six-mile path. I'm hoping to not drive myself insane on the treadmill tonight - too wet out to go that long outside. Stay tuned.

ap