Mad Manatees 2015.3 CLOSED (or Poptarts? Pet pics?) (Page 21)

Speaking of equipment check.  You should see my dining room table where I've thrown all my stuff to pack.  It is a small mountain.  It is times like this that I really appreciate running events. 

My race went really well last night. It was a 4K distance on the trails and I was about redlined for the entire run. Which gave me a good idea of exactly how long I can run that hard.

Anyway, I ended up #1 woman. I'll do a rr soon. I took a different approach on this race just trying some stuff. 

Ha! Single sport events have me more paranoid now because it seems way too easy to pack for!

I can believe it!  That is one reason Kevin keeps saying that if I want to race in Europe, maybe running would be a better idea. Then again, he's the one who shot down my RnR Dublin plans a few years back...

Kevin is just mean!!

I haven't figured out how to pack for my Wednesday night XC races.  They're after work and I never know what clothes to pack.  The weather's been so unsettled, it could be 85* or 60*; and sunny, cloudy, raining or all 3.  I find that my bag fills up no matter how light I try to pack.  Feels like when I go on a trip--the stuff always expands to fit the allowable space, then expands a little more.  (Ugh. This conversation just made me realize that I left my water bottle at home.  Should have packed last night instead of this morning!!)

I dunno man.  When getting ready for the relay I realized that most of my work packing from a tri was the cycling stuff.

He has since changed his mind but at the time he was like, "What is there to do in Dublin anyway?"  I was just speechless!  The following year he said, "Let's go to Dublin."  It hasn't worked out with our schedules since then though.

We have Vineman at the end of July.  He's going on a mountain biking trip to Bend at the beginning of September and then I have B2B in October.  I'm just hoping that we can make it to Asheville amid all that goodness.  I kinda wanted to to RnR San Antonio in December but I'm on the fence on that one.

Kevin is just mean!!

I haven't figured out how to pack for my Wednesday night XC races.  They're after work and I never know what clothes to pack.  The weather's been so unsettled, it could be 85* or 60*; and sunny, cloudy, raining or all 3.  I find that my bag fills up no matter how light I try to pack.  Feels like when I go on a trip--the stuff always expands to fit the allowable space, then expands a little more.  (Ugh. This conversation just made me realize that I left my water bottle at home.  Should have packed last night instead of this morning!!)

Congratulations!  Everyone clear out, here comes the Salty Express!

He has since changed his mind but at the time he was like, "What is there to do in Dublin anyway?"  I was just speechless!  The following year he said, "Let's go to Dublin."  It hasn't worked out with our schedules since then though.

We have Vineman at the end of July.  He's going on a mountain biking trip to Bend at the beginning of September and then I have B2B in October.  I'm just hoping that we can make it to Asheville amid all that goodness.  I kinda wanted to to RnR San Antonio in December but I'm on the fence on that one.

I pretty much run in the same thing (shorts and a tank) from 40 degrees to 80 degrees. All you need is lightweight gloves and a beanie if it dips below and then just take the tank off if it goes above. Can't get much more simple than that! 

Speaking of Max King, and interesting article on training your weakness:

http://running.competitor.com/2015/05/trail-running/maintain-your-strengths-while-working-on-your-weaknesses_128859

My race went really well last night. It was a 4K distance on the trails and I was about redlined for the entire run. Which gave me a good idea of exactly how long I can run that hard.

Anyway, I ended up #1 woman. I'll do a rr soon. I took a different approach on this race just trying some stuff. 

Definitely interesting and a good reminder.  I like how he points to how important it is to maintain the strengths that got him into the sport in the first place.

Insanely awesome. 

Once, just once, it would be cool to know what it feels like to be the first anything.

Well, then you have this: http://www.runnersworld.com/columns/fear-and-self-loathing-at-the-races?cid=socMOT_20150610_47283746&adbid=10153378112992090&adbpl=fb&adbpr=23403427089

Which is inline with a previous conversation in the group.

Struggling myself today after yesterday's race.  It was as good as it could have been, really.  I went in with a plan, stuck to it and got the expected result (~10 mpm), tried to see it as a training run, met some of my fellow runners who are doing the series, and the post-race food was amazing (pizza from a food truck).  In that respect, it was good. 

On the other hand, the only 4 people I beat were a 9 y.o., her dad, and two women who were really slow, and my knee hurts like heck today.  There's really nothing I could have done better but it sure hurts my ego to be so far down in the standings and I don't like the physical pain after what felt like a mediocre performance.  I'm pretty discouraged today and am worried about the ramifications for my tri season.  Bleah.  Feeling like pig poop.

Struggling myself today after yesterday's race.  It was as good as it could have been, really.  I went in with a plan, stuck to it and got the expected result (~10 mpm), tried to see it as a training run, met some of my fellow runners who are doing the series, and the post-race food was amazing (pizza from a food truck).  In that respect, it was good. 

On the other hand, the only 4 people I beat were a 9 y.o., her dad, and two women who were really slow, and my knee hurts like heck today.  There's really nothing I could have done better but it sure hurts my ego to be so far down in the standings and I don't like the physical pain after what felt like a mediocre performance.  I'm pretty discouraged today and am worried about the ramifications for my tri season.  Bleah.  Feeling like pig poop.

I think we've all been there. There is the part where you KNOW you could do better and the part where you are happy with what you did. I know I've been in both places (although I admit one is more frequent than the other).  However, when I am completely honest with myself, I know there needs to be a balance. And that seems to be a struggle for many of us. Sure I want to win, or go as fast as Matt or Adrienne, but that isn't who I am. I know I can't measure myself by them, it isn't fair to me to do so. But I also know that I can improve, and that is where I have to focus. We can all make improvements to different things at different times of our lives. 

My challenge then is simple. Find that balance where I strive to make improvements, yet am happy with where I am.  It will probably be easier to do if I compare myself to me, not to others. And by me I mean the real me, not the HS me that was an athlete in multiple sports. The real me that has a job, a family, friends, a community that I care about, and is actively pursuing many hobbies. The me from a few years back that wouldn't have thought of running a 5k and now can drop into one without any problems. The me who didn't even know a Half Marathon was a thing and has since completed multiple races.  

I hope you can keep the discouraging thoughts to a minimun, Mary. Work through them and know that you are the farthest thing from Pig Poop!!!