Well, as the new year approaches, I've been starting to hear a lot of people make affirmations that things are going to change once the clock strikes midnight. I feel almost the same way as I sit here with a bout of sickness and lack of mileage being tallied away on the scoreboards. But I do know, that after the last marathon I experienced and the minimal training that took place once I found out that I wouldn't be racing in New York City occurred; I should be stepping up my game and producing more miles.
I don't feel that there is a motivational factor going on, I feel there is a draining factor that sucks the life out of me. Something sucking my will to live... And of course it's stemmed to those ungrateful kids I teach... I hate to type it, but I am exhausted after a day with them, and if I somehow knew how these kids were, I would have never taken that position. It's a bad thing to say, but I can't comprehend how evil 9 year olds can be to one another. I know I am the teacher, and I'm suppose to teach them right from wrong; which is why my soul gets sucked from my barely standing body each day I pry two children away from each other as they torment their lives just to make themselves feel better...
Well, I will try not to complain publicly anymore and express that the good news is that with the new year, I am halfway done with teaching, and fully aware of the problems parents have on their hands, or lack of parenting. I just need to find a way to not be as drained from work, and run more! Now that problem, seems to be a problem in itself... Do I start to care less? Do I just quit, as many staff members have this year? Or, the one solution I've been missing - run in the mornings and evenings! Run even when I'm tired, because it's only going to make things better! My new plan of action will be to just run as much and as often as possible, and before I know it, Spring will be here and Freedom will be upon the Horizon
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Thursday, December 6, 2012
New Olympic Trials Marathon Standards
A) So, the new Standards are out, and many people are a bit discouraged with the bar being raised once again.
B) Why does the usatf want to cripple our sport when the options are right in front of their face to improve our fan base and public interest? Does running a 2:18/2:43 really make those that are seeking participation and interest in our sport increase their efforts and rise to those new standards? As if, because having an "easier" time standard will automatically make runners only run what's expected of them. I don't think so.
C) Bring it on!!! Keep raising that bar, and just try to keep me out! Cause, I ain't backing down and would love to hit that "A" standard to run another great race all on your dime usatf! (Actually, it's the host city that pays for it, the usatf doesn't do jack shit for the runners, except tell us what to wear in the race).
D) WTF?!?! Why excluded all those potential runners, families, and fans?!?! Let's close down an entire city, block off all the streets and let 50 runners occupy it, because they felt that in the last 4 years all they wanted to do was have a chance to make the Olympic Team and represent their country!
E) All of the above wrapped and warped into one giant post.
Well, either way, all the talking and posting on Letsrun or tweets (I don't tweet) isn't going to change the time standards. And, in a selfish kind of way, I don't feel impeded by the new standards. I do feel disappointed though. I knew this was coming, and knew the idiotic thought process behind the usatf and their perception of squeezing down on the lifeline that feeds them - the runner. They (usatf) feel that by increasing the time standards, they are raising the bar, when in fact they are just pulling down the shades and blocking out the light! The more they keep excluding runners, jumpers, and throwers, the less and less people will care about them and move onto more inclusive activities. There is no need to push away all those talented runners. And in my opinion, I'd rather see a bad runner have the opportunity to race in the trials, than a good runner out on the sidelines.
The new times are:
A Standard: 2:15 Men / 2:37 Women
B Standard: 2:18 Men / 2:43 Women
Alt. B Standard 1:05 half marathon Men / 1:15 half marathon Women
All I know, is that a lot of good runners will be left out, and I'm not going to wait until the last minute, or in my case, the last week to qualify. My goal is also the "A" Standard. So, when the window opens on August, 1st, there'll be a surge of runners going after it! Good Luck to us all, and hope to hear that you're training hard and ready to race!
Recovery and Reflection
Well, the worse performance of my life was this past weekend at the Las Vegas Rock and Roll Marathon. A combination of all events in my life from August until the finish of that race was the greatest indicator of how I felt. Excitement, chaos, turmoil, frustration, anger, happiness, relief, and finally...... acceptance. All this, crammed into 26.2 miles, is that normal or even possible? Well, when you run that slow (for me), then yes! I guess I'm not as down on myself as I could've been, since the New York City Marathon was cancelled, I was just going through the motions.
I've always been told, and have used this saying in my classroom that, "you learn more when you fail". Well, I guess the only thing I learned was the fact that miles are VERY VERY IMPORTANT! As well as the motivation to race hard. After the New York City marathon was cancelled, I guess my thought to run another race kind of floated away. I thought I was excited to race a marathon, and hopefully win one, but once I re-upped my training, and fortitude to go one more month, I guess the fire was already dwindling away. As for racing in Vegas, that city just isn't a place I'd want to be in for more than 24 hours.
So, as the long run soreness escapes my body, along with the self-pity, I am starting to refocus on my next training cycle and what I need to fix. I finally wrote up a plan; actually, two plans, and will be running again by the end of this week. Since I am still busy with school, and dealing with the fact that these 3rd graders need me more than I need them, I will attempt to keep my mileage at 90 miles a week. It's not in the same neighborhood as most of the other "elite" runners out there, but it's all I can manage. And I feel that with that, along with key workouts; the Boston Marathon will be a success!
A side note on the crazyness happening in my class... One of my students' dad was found dead in a burning car in the Bosque (forest area by the Rio Grande). That is the second family member death this year from one of my students... It's a different world down there (Los Lunas), as most of these incidences are Drug related. 'Breaking Bad' is a reality, and I'm here worried about getting mileage in for a leisurely marathon.
I've always been told, and have used this saying in my classroom that, "you learn more when you fail". Well, I guess the only thing I learned was the fact that miles are VERY VERY IMPORTANT! As well as the motivation to race hard. After the New York City marathon was cancelled, I guess my thought to run another race kind of floated away. I thought I was excited to race a marathon, and hopefully win one, but once I re-upped my training, and fortitude to go one more month, I guess the fire was already dwindling away. As for racing in Vegas, that city just isn't a place I'd want to be in for more than 24 hours.
So, as the long run soreness escapes my body, along with the self-pity, I am starting to refocus on my next training cycle and what I need to fix. I finally wrote up a plan; actually, two plans, and will be running again by the end of this week. Since I am still busy with school, and dealing with the fact that these 3rd graders need me more than I need them, I will attempt to keep my mileage at 90 miles a week. It's not in the same neighborhood as most of the other "elite" runners out there, but it's all I can manage. And I feel that with that, along with key workouts; the Boston Marathon will be a success!
A side note on the crazyness happening in my class... One of my students' dad was found dead in a burning car in the Bosque (forest area by the Rio Grande). That is the second family member death this year from one of my students... It's a different world down there (Los Lunas), as most of these incidences are Drug related. 'Breaking Bad' is a reality, and I'm here worried about getting mileage in for a leisurely marathon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)