Tag Archive for "personal best" -

How Far Can You Go?

Due to the flu (no, not the swine H1Nwhatever is going around) I was forced to sleep for 30 hours straight. I know, life is hard but being bedridden is no fun. Finally I bounced back I got my booty to the gym and eased myself back into a routine of the elliptical, tried to get my strength back with the free weights and over all was trying to feel like myself again.

Finally I had a great moinka run (about 4.5 miles). It made me wonder how far can I go? I trained and completed The Grand Rapids River Bank 25k last Spring and since then my mileage has sluffed off a little bit and I have been struggling to feel good after the 6 mile distance. Last weekend I spent a great few days up North counting long walks on the beach, canoeing on an inland lake and strolls through wine country as my workouts; needless to say I needed to get back on track and see where my fitness level really is.

Tuesday rolled around and after class I gave ex-Gazelle employee and friend, John Donnelly, a call to see what his run plans were for the day. “I could go for 40 minutes, or an hour, or and hour and twenty minutes…” my feelings were pretty much the same.

At 5 o’clock we met up and decided the route: to the beach and back. We had an idea of how far it was, but we weren’t quite sure exactly. I just had to be back by 6:30 to make it to class on time. The weather was great, the run was steady and the conversation was fun. Running is my favorite way to catch up with old friends.

Back at his car, 6:28pm. I was tired, and hungry and really curious to see how many miles I had just put on my fairly new, still white shoes. I booked it to class (smelly and sweaty) came home and hit up www.mapmyrun.com to virtually retrace the steps John and I had taken just hours before.

8.5 miles out and back! (I was stoked!) It’s amazing what your body can do when you push it to go just a little further. And with the support of a run buddy you can go further that you would alone any day.

So get out there. Set a goal, grab a friend and see how far you can go.

Saugatuck Area Runners

What are you training for this winter? Just because the sun doesn’t rise as early and it sets before we’re ready doesn’t mean you have to do the same. Get some key pieces that are reflective (I’m not trying to sell you stuff here, you NEED to be careful on those early morning, later evening runs.) and get out and see what you’re capable of!

Then report back here!

Beginnings and Endings

This is BigDaddy enjoying the moments before the Green Bay Marathon.

As a high school teacher, I get to experience graduation season every year. Every year, I see many seniors acting excited to reach the end of their high school journey. I also see many of these graduates hiding fear of this same ending. Many of my kids say, “I can’t believe this is the end. Can you believe this is our last (fill in the blank with any high school memory).” This year, I started listening to students talking about they are excited about. No more essays. No more stupid school rules. No more teacher’s prying questions. These are the most common responses. It made me wonder: why do we so often focus on what is ending and lose focus on what is to come? Even better, let’s enjoy where we are.

Runners would enjoy running infinitely more if they dwelt in the present instead of the past. In Stumbling on Happiness, Daniel Gilbert gives numerous examples of how our minds are faulty at recording past events and horrible at predicting our future. Yet, we define ourselves by personal bests set in the past. Every race I run is instantly compared to my previous best efforts.Yesterday, I did the Panther Prowlat West Ottawa High School. It was a small 5k, no prizes, about 130 runners total. I was aware that John “MadDog” Donnelly would be running, so I knew I would be pushed in the race. Before the race began, I was thinking about the last time I ran this race. I set a PR, but Donnelly beat me by ten seconds. This time, I started hard and led through the first mile. Instead of the enjoying the race, though, I thought about another 5k that I raced with the MadDog. I passed him at the two mile mark only to be re-passed in the last quarter of a mile. Rather than enjoying the first race that I led, I was thinking about the past. I continued dwelling on history through the end of the race. During the last 100 meters, I realized that I was going to win. I have never outright won a race. I did it! I won! Oh, but my time was not as good as last time (on a different course). Immediately, my first outright win was compared to my previous PR. My wonderful wife helped me to realize that this is ridiculous. Even if I didn’t win. Even if my time was 20 minutes slower instead of 10 seconds slower. How could focusing on the past be worthwhile? I should have been celebrating where I was at the moment.

All too often, the moment is lost in plans for the future, too. Too often, I have finished a race only to be looking at Marathonguide.com or Michigan Runnerto find my next race. This robs the present. We need to savor the races we’re running. I run marathons. Training schedules dominate my days to race once or twice a year. I should enjoy the marathon when I’m running it. During those 16-, 18- or 20-week training schedules, we need to live in today’s Interval or Fartlek. If you’re always thinking about the next race, why are you running the current one?

So that’s my lesson for the weekend. Enjoy TODAY’S run. Savor TODAY’S race. Live in TODAY. And graduates, be nice to your parents and teachers.