Baowolf's Mentor Group- Closed (Page 36)

I read this the other day and I wanted to share it with you. It was on the Half Fanatics bullentin board. Someone was putting together a running program for kids 8 to 12 y.o. and asked other fanatics about lessons learned. This was posted by another Half Fanatic. I won't list the person's name because I don't want her to have her name listed without her permission but I thought it was wise.
---
Subject: Re: Lessons learned from running
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh, I've learned quite a bit. I've learned that whether you cross the finish line as the 100th finisher or the 1000th finisher you still earn the same medal. Pace yourself so you can indeed cross the line.

I've learned that getting up and out of bed to participate in a race is far more than many other people are doing on Saturday mornings. It beats getting to the next level on a video game.

I've learned to NEVER judge others before a race. Many times the ones you think you can beat smile and say, "Good job. Keep it up!" as they pass you.

I've learned that even though you may have been coached and trained by someone else, ultimately it's you who put forth the effort to cross the finish line. Be proud of your accomplishments.

I've learned that water tastes better from the youngest person volunteering at the water stops. Slow down, take the water from the 5 year old. It will make two hearts feel good.

I've learned that the only person who doesn't think you can do it is yourself. You can be your own worst enemy or your best cheerleader. Choose to support yourself.

I've learned it is you against the pavement. Who are you going to let win?

I've learned that running helps other issues in your life. It helps clear your mind and mend your soul.

I've learned you can do races without too much training, but you feel more accomplished and the race is more meaningful when you train. Train.

I've learned it's not polite to pass someone in the chute. If you're going to pass, make your move before the last 10 yards.

HI!!!! I'm back and have a serious tan! It aint no zebra-triathlete tan either! haha. What a fantastic week! Disney cruise. Wow. Amazing. One workout...only one. Lots of eating. And by day 4 I was DONE with alcohol! "Drink-of-the-day" will kill ya! Id love it see the combined weight of every passenger prior to boarding the ship and then the final weight before exiting it. Holy Moly. Morning we debarked (yesterday)I felt a sore throat coming on. Throat still sore accompanied by a major head cold today. Dying to get out and move this body!







Edited by EV3110 2013-08-05 12:04 AM

Hey Elena, welcome back! Sounds like a great time on the cruise. Sorry you brought home a cold as a souvineer, but glad that you got it after rather than during the trip.

Pam, love the maniac's perspectives! One of the best things in races is slapping the little kids' hands along the course. Need to implement her water stop strategy next time too.

Mike, sounds like maybe a recovery day was needed for you anyways, and great way to spend it! No wetsuits on the swim....would have been more like a crab boil if we had them on....water temps are like bath water right now.

Ugh, Jim, sorry there is no progress yet on your wife's hearing. Glad she is getting in some down time before the next round of trying to figure it out. Nice workouts! Hoping you and Mitch can get in some rides together this week.

Steve, thinking your next to last build is peaking this week. Really nice run numbers you posted! Are there any water breaks in there, or was that straight through?

Unfortunately, sloped road is not the problem...sure would be an easy fix if it was though. Chiro did not seem to think I had a leg length issue, and neither did podiatrist. However, I do have a very limited range of motion in my right hip and always have. Crossing ankle over opposite knee, right knee will not go down much. Sitting indian style has always been a non-starter for me. However, I have run well and pain free before (up to HM distance), so I know it's possible.

crab boil! lol!!

Great swim this AM which has me fired up for my race in (gulp!) less than 2 weeks. 2900 yards and I felt stronger as the session went on. The last couple of months I feel like I don't really get warmed up endurance wise in the pool until I get up to 1500 yards or so. Once there, it all just seems to come together. Happy about the bike on Saturday as well, and I'm sure the metal dark spots will go away. The HIM course I'm doing is very hilly so it will be tougher than last time, and that is what probably had me thinking as I was

Jim – Hope your wife gets some good news soon. The training must be very therapeutic.

Pam – Great thoughts on lessons learned. The one about taking water from the 5 yr old rings true. The things we do to keep our kids going is amazing, good for you.

Jay – Talk about bear stories: We were in Yellow stone searching for grizzly sighting. At the end of our second day ready to give up we get word of a sighting down the road. We get there and cars are everywhere. I am driving with the kids in the back, and we spot bears up on a steep ridge on right side. I tell my wife to go ahead and get some pictures. So she gets out and might have been 100 ft from the car when the momma bear appears a little further down the road. The bear looked one way and then started moving in our, and the crowd’s, direction. Luckily it was just trying to cross the road to get to a valley bellow but I never saw my wife’s feet move so fast. It was kind of funny until I remember it was her dummy husband who sent her out there. No harm no foul right?

Steve – Yes lesson learned on the data point and I saw the writing on the wall at the beginning of July. The race time was fine especially since July training was way off but it is amazing the effort level required to get improvement. Some of my distress was summer angst and the weather here has cooled off quite nicely. If I can close some other projects the training numbers will be back on track. Also at the end of the race I could tell the training is paying off. After the race, I was not completely wiped and I went home to complete the last 12 ft or so of trench for our ‘free’ hot tub’s electric. Have you ever tried Zyflamend? Not sure how it compares to Alieve and other anti inflammatory drug but it is a natural alternative and it is also supposed to have cancer fighting properties.

Carol – What inspiration for you, sometimes races are tough because it brings out the competitors. I have learned a lot just listening and watching my daughter’s swim training. Keep it up you will be a fish yet.

Mitch – Nice pace numbers. Very nice recovery!

Mike – I feel the training angst but family time is much more important and the walk will do you good. Five miles is a very nice family walk.

This weekend I had a very nice 3 mile run and showed some grit with nice negative splits where I usually let the hills slow me down. Splits 10:10, 9:05, and 9:23. Then Sunday I tried something different and went on a group ride organized by the LBS. A bit disorganized but 4 others showed up and we went on what was, for me, a tough 30 mile ride. Normally it is a 15mph pace, I was slowing them down some but it is a no drop ride and they waited for me at important intersections. Enjoyable and challenging. Then I went home and finished the electric for the ‘free’ hot tub, and started filling it. Well the pump works but noticed some leaks, so still some work to finish….

Thanks everyone for the well wishes for my wife! Yes, training is my therapy!!

 

Started swimming masters again this am! Ugh! 3000 yards and my arms are jello! It'll be good though, just gotta stick with it through the sucky part!Did a 3 mile run after my swim, so my legs are rubber too! Lol

Edited by ironjim 2013-08-05 11:51 AM

Hello everyone. I'm a little sick and had to stay home with the kids today *cough* Its my first sanity day since I returned...long overdue. I'm not sure I'll be able to train because my son has a playoff baseball game tonight and I'm babysitting while my wife takes a training course for school. Perspective time...sometimes we all take our health for granted....I met up with some friends after work and found out a friend of mine had a heart attack 2 weeks ago and had a stent (sp?) put in. He's 41 years old with a wife and two kids...tough family medical history...not active at all. Unfortunately, he also has a genetic disorder that causes his body to cramp up after 20 minutes of working out intensely...so he has to walk etc to try and keep that at bay. I've offered my assistance in helping with diet...gave a few supplements to consider...just hoping he changes. Why do I share?? I think we get aggrivated with ourselves (me definately!) when we don't do as much as we want...its easy to forget how many struggle to get started. Ironic that Pam ran into a community exercise group during her run recently...that maybe something that could help my friend.

I'm officially signed up for the Olympic tri that Mike signed up for a few weeks ago. I suspect this could be really tough if I don't get my butt in gear. Fortunately, motivation is coming back...now life needs to cooperate a little!

Joe: That story about the bears was great! Glad they didn't think your wife was food.

Jim: That rubbery arm/leg thing is the best/worst feeling in the world all at once isn't it! You can add me to the list praying for improvement with your wife's ear situation!

Elena: Welcome back from the cruise. Hope you enjoyed yourself! We are secretly saving for a Disney vacation in January for the kids.

That's about it for now. Getting back on track dietwise...got in a 5K run on Saturday...hoping to run before the game tonigh....as Carol said...baby steps. Hope you all have a great day..go White Sox (my son's baseball team!)

Carol, glad they checked leg length and such. So I guess it is just a flexibility in the hip thing that causes the opposite ankle knee to compensate which results in tweekage?

Yups this is my last week of this build cycle, 1 recovery week then peek build for 2 weeks and taper. Getting to that flat spot in IM training where you are almost there, but the workouts are soo long that you just have a hard time starting them. The weekend workouts were good, then today completely flat on the run and bike and am moving the swim to tomorrow.

Hope they figure out your wife's hearing issues. I know they have funky cochlear implants and such these days, but it would be really neat if they could just give her an antibiotic and clear up some rare infection thingy. Tell her that we are all praying for her.

Jim, I'll be praying for your wife too. I really hope they can find a cure.

Yea, Jay and Mike will get to meet!

Elena, glad to have you back. Folks, I've got a secret. I saw a pix of Elena on BT Girls. I knew she was cute but dang, she is totally hawt. Beautiful. You are just one of those people that is gorgeous inside and out.

My story about bears and Yellowstone: I worked in Yellowstone one summer. We were taught to climb a tree if we encountered a bear. On my last hike out, I looked down and saw a little bitty snake crawling across the path. I screamed and my friend thought that a scream meant a bear and he climbed a tree. He is yelling, "Bear! Climb a tree!" and I thought that he had actually seen a bear.

Was afraid that I would be too sore from last night's boot camp but started the day off before the soreness could catch up with me. Got 6* 1/2 mile intervals in. I expected every even set to be slower because of the incline but was pretty consistent. 8:04, 8:00, 7:52, 8:11 (had to slow because neighbor was backing out of his driveway and didn't see me), 7:47, 7:56. No where close to Steve's tempo run but I'll take it.

Edited by Pink Socks 2013-08-05 5:51 PM

Elena - great pic!!!

Hey Everyone,
had a busy weekend taking our youth group to a youth conference out of town. Twelve hours of sleep over three nights with a bunch of junior high boys will get ya everytime. We had a blast though! I guess the lack of sleep will prepare me for my beautiful princess that will be with us soon.
Anyways! I got a thought about training and wanting to share with all of you. I was looking over my July logs and was disappointed. I had one real great week and the other weeks were spotty on the training. I begin to ask the question, Why was this? I thought of being busy and summer, however I had to be honest to my self and say that I had taken the fun out of training. I began to focus on times and especially local competition times of riders in my age group. Slowly my focus was on there times rather than on my training. I lost the fun out of training. I am glad I have realized this and now have got priority in order. I am wanting to reach my PR's however I have to keep in mind that first and foremost I do this training because I enjoy being a triathlete. Just wanted to get your thoughts on this.

Its great seeing everyones logs. Lets keep it up going into the fall!!!!

July Log
Swim: 3h 35m - 7650 YdBike: 5h 43m 06s - 91.56 MiRun: 1h 53m 03s - 9.34 M

oh, brother, I am the poster boy for losing perspective on things with this sport. In reality, I am a BOMOP triathlete who does this for fun, fitness, and to check out hot tri chicks in lycra outfits . Yet, I am always beating myself up for maybe missing a work out, or not being fast enough at such and such, or for whatever issue comes up. I do realize the only person I need to satisfy in this is me, as I'm the only competitor I really have in these races. If I take a moment to truly look at what has happened the past 3 years, and that I'm about to take on my 2nd HIM race of the season, I feel pretty good about things since I got off the couch at age 43 (after about 20 years of nothing). Actually, I'd have though you were completely insane if you'd told me 3 years ago I'd be where I am. I once thought doing a single triathlon would be the coolest thing ever, and now I"m about to do #15. The hard part is remembering all the good things about what I'm doing when faced with some of the downsides (like injury, etc).

Mike- So true!! Great inspiration! It is hard to take a step back and look at the big picture when you are watching others. I like what you said about doing this for me. Its like what your quote says you must do the thing you cannot do. Good Stuff

Pam, your intervals are looking really good! And given that you are pulling that off during the hottest part of the summer, I predict a strong fall running season for you. LOL on the tree climbing misunderstanding. However, I think climbing a tree to avoid ANY snake is a perfectly reasonable thing .

Steve, I know just the thing for those long workouts, and ipod!!! (where is the sarcastic font thing, yes, know how you feel about that). Right leg/hip is the one that gets messed up so much, and that is the same side as the lack-o-flexibility. Noticed today that new exercise added yesterday is making my right hip make a small popping sound with every rep...will ask about that at PT tomorrow for sure.

Mike, 20 years on the couch....yes, you have made incredible progress. Speaking of which, since I think you are our resident fish....got any flip turning advice? I tried it for the first time today, and managed to do it a few times and get close enough to get a reasonable push off the wall after a couple tries. BUT, I held my nose with my hand and STILL got a little water up my nose. Sooo....are you blowing air out through your nose the whole time?

Jared, darn those bouncy teenagers! Good practice for you on the lack of sleep with the baby coming though. Very thought provoking question re: the balance between the competitive side and remembering to keep the fun in it.

I think that different things motivate each of us at different times and to different extents, so I guess "it depends" is my answer. As for me, I'm into S/B/R primarily to stay motivated to live a healthy lifestyle and because it encourages me to be more adventurous. I feel like I'm always reinventing how to best accomplish that. Sometimes training to get a PR, race a longer distance, etc. provides that motivation. Other times, those same thoughts tend to push me away from it, and I realize its time for me to lighten up and focus on bike rides with friends, not paying attention to running pace, laugh at myself for holding my nose while trying to learn to flip turn, etc. I ask myself often "Is this healthy (mentally, physically, spiritually) right now, or is it wearing me down more than it should?" and the answer is different at different times. As far as feeling competitive with others, I have those impulses in the heat of the moment (do NOT try to pass me in the last part of a running race), but it is not an effective longer term motivator. Did I like getting the few AG awards that I have (running)? -- you bet. Would I have liked to come in 3rd instead of 4th in my "best" triathlon -- definitely. But does aiming to get one at the next race really motivate me to work harder day after day than I might otherwise....not so much.

Good afternoon everyone! I have just returned from my 6 month post op visit and got some good news/bad news. Good news...cleared to do both tri's I signed up for...bad news, got nixed with the marathon. My doctor has been very aggressive with my recovery and really hasn't said no to much I've wanted to do...so I'll accept this. I'll have to find another way to do a race for my deceased friend...maybe next year.

I'd like to take a second and ask for prayer requests. Tomorrow, my wife is going in for minor surgery (having a hernia removed) Normally, this wouldn't be a huge deal but it is for us. I've watched my wife nearly die twice during surgery (both our kids were C-sections) so we're nervous. She not a hemophilia (sp?) but surgeons have huge issues getting her to stop bleeding post-op and she's almost bled out twice....

On a more positive note, I found a 2x IM finisher who's a low carb athlete! I found her while listening to Vinne Tortorich's podcast. Vinnie is a low carb advocate...to be fair no grain, no sugar advocate. I found her blog, sent an email and have corresponded back and forth a few times already. I've told you all a number of times I like being low carb and finding someone who's done an IM (IMLP) twice with this diet method makes me feel better about it! She didn't carb cycle at all or carb load prerace like I've read about a lot. Very happy about this! Mandy's blog is caratunkgirl.com for anyone who maybe interested.

I like the conversation about keeping things in perspective and realistic expectations. I think its so easy to get ultra competitive and forget that getting to the finish line is all that matters at the end of the day. I've said this before...but statistically, we are in a small percentage of the entire society to finish a triathlon of any distance. I know the number is 2% for marathons.....

Jay, will definitely be praying for your wife tomorrow. Plz let us know how things went asap. Hug to you all.

Jared, Carol nailed it. Sometimes I need a goal to keep me focused but then other times, I have to throw everything away and just focus on finding my happy. I hit rock bottom in March and decided to not sign up for anything until I was ready. Now I'm experiencing pure joy now with my running.

Ive been sick as a dog. Haven't had a cold like this in a very long time. Felt bad yesterday but much worse today. Slept most of the day. Just want to be well. Will catch up w all that's going on in a day or so.

Jay, said a prayer for your wife, you, and your family.

Yes, Jay, praying for your wife, and for you. Waiting is harder than being the patient.

Elena, ugh, hope you feel better soon. Next time bring back a better souvineer (sp?), OK?

Carol - A good diagnosis is the start of a good recovery and it sounds like you are in good hands. It is too easy to get in bad habit that must be undone sometime later.

Jared - My motivation is a thought of how cool it would be to live to 120. Ok my wife thinks I am crazy but if you can maintain quality of life during that time period then think of all the marvelous changes in the world you could witness. Of course it is easy to loose perspective during your journey and Carol has mentioned some of the games played to keep perspective and motivated.

Jay - Praying for your wife.

This week has been real good WO wise. Just back from a challenging 3.39 mile run. There is a hill of about 72 ft according to mapmyride on the last 1/3 mile, I was saving a little bit to try and make it all the way up and almost did without walking. Next time! Splits 9:28, 9:44, 9:30, and 12:31.

Much love and prayers jay

Looks like a lot going on again. My prayers to all who are in need of the attention of doctors, self or spouse.

So there is a mind body connection. So it makes sense that your body can tell your mind back off this is too hard or your mind tell your body I am too stressed crave chocholate or something. You then have social complexities and such.

Particular events have bigger stress cycles like IM training has a predictable really flat spot where I am right now, and a really high rate of injury right here ... ya my knee was bugging me Sunday. So wisdom comes from doing the dance a few times and knowing where the currents are that pull your mind or body in a particular direction and then being centered enough to get to where you want to go, knowing that it is the journey and not the outcome that is important. Some days we get emotionally blown around more than others but the faster we can regain our center, the more control we will have over the emotional course of the journey. The type A's will struggle more with pacing the type B's will struggle more with intensity.

But when you melt it all down you are all family to me and to the extent that I can help anyone through any single piece of the dance I am here. You all also help me through as well.

Jay -- hope all turns out well!!!