I realized a few weeks ago that I've never actually run a Turkey Trot, or any of the holiday "Fun Runs" that often get both runners and non-runners together for an event. So when I found out that we would be home for Thanksgiving morning, I sensed an opportunity.
Our local running club has had a Trot for as long as I can remember, and it caters to all types of runners. With a 1-mile kids race, a 2 mile fun run for the less-serious, a 5 mile race for the more-serious runners, and a 25K (15 Mile) for the distance crowd. My son has been running for a few months, and he decided to run the 2-miler (he's not ready for 5 yet - 5Ks are still a bit much), so I signed up to do the short race with him.
He was excited to race again, and looked forward to the run all week. The plan was for me to follow him at a discrete distance (he's already too cool for Dad), but at the starting line, he asked me to run right next to him. During the first mile, he would talk to me, and he sprinted for a few seconds to say hi to the coach of his running club. He handled the small hills without complaint, but was glad to see the turnaround when it came. The second mile was a different story. He was quiet and focused, at times closing his eyes to concentrate. When asked if he was okay, he gave short one-word answers. When it came time to sprint to the finish, he hesitated, not sure if his legs had the energy, but then he pushed through and passed another (adult) runner just before the line.
My son always does what he sets out to do. The question is how he feels about it afterward - would he do it again if he could? Despite claims that his legs felt like spaghetti, and that he was tired, he said that he would definitely do it again (the post-race cookies may have helped). In fact, he's decided that he's going to run a mile every day until New Year's Eve, but we'll see how long that lasts. He also wants me to decorate his room with all of the race bibs he's worn and will wear, so it seems he might be serious about this. I just hope that in a few years, I will still be able to keep up with him.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Jack of all Trades, Master of None?
That title saying was one of my dad's, and I heard it all the time. I was over-involved in high school, participating in band, drama, student government, Boy Scouts, all while working to get good grades and working in a part time job (and 2 full-time jobs in the summers). College was no different, with student government, a fraternity, honors program projects, and again, a part-time job during the school year. Here I even tried to have a social life.....
Flash forward 20 years or so, and I'm no different; only my perspective has changed. I've got a more-than-full time job, act as the Cubmaster and a den leader for my local Cub Scouts, and maintain a fairly thorough training schedule for my marathons and my increasing interest in triathlons (plus a nibbling thought about ultra-marathons). I also like to spend time with my wife and sons, so my time seems to be completely filled, yet somehow everything has to get done.
Now back to the title quote: Am I really mastering any of the things I do? My job is going very well, and I've achieved a position that exceeds my expectations at a (relatively) young age. That said, I could do my job better if I focused harder to learn more. I'm proud of the work that I've done in Cub Scouts, and I'm putting my pack on a much more solid footing than it seemed to have, but there are times when events are 'thrown together' near the last minutes. Similarly, I could spend more time in my training, by running longer or cross-training more often, but to do that would be to sacrifice even more time from my family, or to outright drop one of the other roles that I play. Those are tough decisions, and for me, it's a huge balancing act between all of the competing interests.
Not that every one of those communities necessarily wants ME, but they do want the things that I do for them, and I enjoy doing them and being a part of the community. (Well, the running community could do without me - they probably don't realize I exist, but that's much more for me than anyone else). I could drop all but one and focus on it, and probably become a great master, but I think that would leave too many holes in my life to work well. I may not be perfectly happy being pulled in all directions at once, but my guess is that I'd be a whole lot less happy with less balance.
Flash forward 20 years or so, and I'm no different; only my perspective has changed. I've got a more-than-full time job, act as the Cubmaster and a den leader for my local Cub Scouts, and maintain a fairly thorough training schedule for my marathons and my increasing interest in triathlons (plus a nibbling thought about ultra-marathons). I also like to spend time with my wife and sons, so my time seems to be completely filled, yet somehow everything has to get done.
Now back to the title quote: Am I really mastering any of the things I do? My job is going very well, and I've achieved a position that exceeds my expectations at a (relatively) young age. That said, I could do my job better if I focused harder to learn more. I'm proud of the work that I've done in Cub Scouts, and I'm putting my pack on a much more solid footing than it seemed to have, but there are times when events are 'thrown together' near the last minutes. Similarly, I could spend more time in my training, by running longer or cross-training more often, but to do that would be to sacrifice even more time from my family, or to outright drop one of the other roles that I play. Those are tough decisions, and for me, it's a huge balancing act between all of the competing interests.
Not that every one of those communities necessarily wants ME, but they do want the things that I do for them, and I enjoy doing them and being a part of the community. (Well, the running community could do without me - they probably don't realize I exist, but that's much more for me than anyone else). I could drop all but one and focus on it, and probably become a great master, but I think that would leave too many holes in my life to work well. I may not be perfectly happy being pulled in all directions at once, but my guess is that I'd be a whole lot less happy with less balance.
OK, I'm in (over my head?)
If you read my last post, you may know that I was on the fence about running an upcoming marathon in February. Well, someone mentioned to me that we regret more the things we don't do than the things we do, so I bit the bullet and committed. Now that I'm signed up, I wonder why I ever hesitated.
The race in question is the National Marathon to end Breast Cancer, a.k.a. the 26.2 with Donna. This race is being heavily promoted by a number of podcasters that I listen to, including Kevin Gwin (The Extra Mile Podcast), Adam Tinkoff and Eddie Marathon (Slow Runner's Club) and Chris Russell of Run Run Live. Many of them are attending, and frankly, I'm looking forward to a chance of meeting them, along with some other running legends, like Jeff Galloway, Bart Yasso, and even Joan Benoit Samuelson.
I'm not going to try to set a PR at this event; I think the conditions are going to be too rough for that. My training will all be in winter weather, running the hills of Dutchess County NY, and the race will be in Florida on a flat course. That may sound better, but a flat course demands a lot out of your calves that hills do not. If training goes really well, and the conditions are ideal, I might go for it, but more likely this will be a training marathon....
for my next one, which will hopefully be in May. I'm certainly not signing up for it until after the Donna race, but if all goes well, I'll toe the line at the NJ Marathon again, and try to beat my 2011 time by at least 5 minutes (setting a PR in the process).
Of course, this all hinges on having enough time to train properly, and time is a luxury I don't have (more on that next post).
The race in question is the National Marathon to end Breast Cancer, a.k.a. the 26.2 with Donna. This race is being heavily promoted by a number of podcasters that I listen to, including Kevin Gwin (The Extra Mile Podcast), Adam Tinkoff and Eddie Marathon (Slow Runner's Club) and Chris Russell of Run Run Live. Many of them are attending, and frankly, I'm looking forward to a chance of meeting them, along with some other running legends, like Jeff Galloway, Bart Yasso, and even Joan Benoit Samuelson.
I'm not going to try to set a PR at this event; I think the conditions are going to be too rough for that. My training will all be in winter weather, running the hills of Dutchess County NY, and the race will be in Florida on a flat course. That may sound better, but a flat course demands a lot out of your calves that hills do not. If training goes really well, and the conditions are ideal, I might go for it, but more likely this will be a training marathon....
for my next one, which will hopefully be in May. I'm certainly not signing up for it until after the Donna race, but if all goes well, I'll toe the line at the NJ Marathon again, and try to beat my 2011 time by at least 5 minutes (setting a PR in the process).
Of course, this all hinges on having enough time to train properly, and time is a luxury I don't have (more on that next post).
Thursday, November 10, 2011
A typical guy?
Commitment. It's a word from which many guys recoil in horror. That's never been me - I'm more of the type who will jump into something and then find out what's required. That's the approach that got me involved in Scouting, sent me overseas for five years, and introduced me to the fine arts in my younger years, and all of that worked out great
So why am I suddenly reluctant to commit to anything, even things that (I think) I want to do? I'm not signing up for races in advance, I'm resisting travel to see my team in different places; I can't even seem to get myself to sign up for Scout activities that I KNOW I'm going to do! In the back of my mind, I'm wondering if I'm waiting / hoping / worried that something else is going to come along that is more important or urgent. Maybe I don't want to make a commitment for fear that I'll have to break it; that's not an unrealistic scenario at present.
I suppose that I just need to accept that I'm taking a risk of disappointing myself or others if I need to cancel on something, whether it's a marathon in Florida, or a campout, or even just a group workout. It won't be the end of the world, and chances are the others may not even notice my absence. As the saying goes: You would care less about what people thought about you, if you realized how rarely they did.
So why am I suddenly reluctant to commit to anything, even things that (I think) I want to do? I'm not signing up for races in advance, I'm resisting travel to see my team in different places; I can't even seem to get myself to sign up for Scout activities that I KNOW I'm going to do! In the back of my mind, I'm wondering if I'm waiting / hoping / worried that something else is going to come along that is more important or urgent. Maybe I don't want to make a commitment for fear that I'll have to break it; that's not an unrealistic scenario at present.
I suppose that I just need to accept that I'm taking a risk of disappointing myself or others if I need to cancel on something, whether it's a marathon in Florida, or a campout, or even just a group workout. It won't be the end of the world, and chances are the others may not even notice my absence. As the saying goes: You would care less about what people thought about you, if you realized how rarely they did.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Blog Reboot: Time to Train!
November has begun, and the first snow has fallen, so it's time to start planning for next year's races. My wife has now finished her latest marathon, and I've been keeping in shape over the summer and fall, so I've got a good base to work from and not a lot of time before my next marathon.
It's also time to reboot this blog, which I haven't been able to do over the summer due to a new job and other obligations which occupied all of my time. Now that I've settled into all of my jobs, I think I'll get a little bit more time to record my comments.
It's actually been a good year for running - I've set PRs at a few distances, including the 10K and the half marathon. More importantly, I think I've helped a few people, including my son and my sister to get more involved in their own running careers and I am hopeful that they will keep it up.For me, 2012 will be the year to set a few more PRs, and hopefully get in two or three marathons.
This week, I had a good couple of runs (and one bad one) including my long run today at 14 miles, which I did at about a 9:30 pace. Today was also the NYC marathon, and while I was not running it, I would have liked to. Maybe next year, if I can get into the lottery, but I might also choose a smaller, more runner-friendly marathon.
Next time, I'll discuss my fear of commitment, and in future posts, my sense of entertainment, my running history, weekly updates on my training, and also a few non-running posts (just so I can vent during this election year)
It's also time to reboot this blog, which I haven't been able to do over the summer due to a new job and other obligations which occupied all of my time. Now that I've settled into all of my jobs, I think I'll get a little bit more time to record my comments.
It's actually been a good year for running - I've set PRs at a few distances, including the 10K and the half marathon. More importantly, I think I've helped a few people, including my son and my sister to get more involved in their own running careers and I am hopeful that they will keep it up.For me, 2012 will be the year to set a few more PRs, and hopefully get in two or three marathons.
This week, I had a good couple of runs (and one bad one) including my long run today at 14 miles, which I did at about a 9:30 pace. Today was also the NYC marathon, and while I was not running it, I would have liked to. Maybe next year, if I can get into the lottery, but I might also choose a smaller, more runner-friendly marathon.
Next time, I'll discuss my fear of commitment, and in future posts, my sense of entertainment, my running history, weekly updates on my training, and also a few non-running posts (just so I can vent during this election year)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)