Stoking the Fire

Winter is tough on me for training.

I have a tough time getting up when it's still pitch dark out.  Especially when I know it's really cold outside.  Even though I have good winter running gear and actually feel really good after a run in the cold; getting motivated to get out of a warm bed of flannel sheets is hard to do.  Now if it's raining and cold?  No way.  Not doing it.

I had a paper route as a kid and working hard in the cold and wet for over an hour just isn't going to happen to this guy any more.  Unh uh.  I know that's wimping out, but I figure that's one area I can just let slide and cheat a little.  I mean it doesn't really rain much in the winter here in Virginia anyways, so it's no big loss to begin with.

But I do have to find ways to get over some of that and build that endurance base I need to be able to really roll this spring.  Sub 5 isn't going to just happen.  I'm going to have to bust ass to do it.

So I'm thankful for anything that comes along and gets me fired up.  And this week I've gotten three.

First, a video put up by my friend Tina.  If you haven't seen it, watch it now.

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To see someone absolutely transform themselves like that is simply amazing.  The courage and dedication!  And a statement of his gave me goosebumps and I've used it twice all ready in situations.

"Just because I can't do it today, doesn't mean I won't be able to do it later."

How freeing is that?  Try and fail.  So what?  Keep trying because failing is meaningless if you keep on trying.  Someday you won't fail.  You'll succeed and surprise even yourself.

The second happened last Sunday at track practice.

The team had gotten together for our first practice indoors at a really nice local track.  I had done all I wanted to do for running for the week so I decided to do just a little pyramid for fun and keep a feel for running fast on the track.  I ran a 100 in 16 seconds, then a 200 in 33, a 400 in 80, another 200 in 33 then a final 100 in 15 seconds.  All the other guys there were sprinters, so they were doing their stretches and warm ups while I did my pyramid.  It was nice hearing them yell at me as I went by and really nice to feel that breeze and power in my legs.

Afterwards two of the guys, Kestner and "Spoon", pulled me over and got all serious on me.  Both of these guys are nationally ranked.  And I mean people in Masters Track know who they are because they actually place in national meets against former Olympians and Pros.  On top of that they're both very knowledgeable and excellent coaches.  Kestner said, "you have good endurance, you can go along time.  You need speed."  Spoon chimed in with, "we're going to make you faster."

They laid out a once a week workout for me to put in now to build my speed.  "You cannot run a sub 5 mile if you can't run a quarter in 60 seconds," Kestner said.  Remembering back to high school I guess that was true.  I could turn a 440 in 56 or 57 and my mile was in the 4:40's.  Now when I think about how I go all out and just hit 15 seconds in the 100; I wonder how the hell I'm going to get to 60 for four times the distance.  Kestner said I'm going to do it easy come February.

Well the workout basically consists of running 50 meter sprints with a ton of rest between them.  I did them that Sunday with the sprinters and even though they were targeting only 90% of speed I was with them on the first sprint, and actually won the last 4!  Spoon would laugh at me because I would smile so big and actually run hard 10 meters farther than everyone else, but the distances are so short I wasn't even breathing hard.  Either way, when I told Kestner I knew he was holding back he told me he wasn't enough for me to beat him.

After the workout they asked me how old I was.

"49 until May."

"Damn!" our All American hurdler and 400 guy said.

"Fine," Spoon jumped in.  "You'll do the Penn Relays with us in the 4 x 400 in 2014."

Sweet.  Now I've got to earn that spot, but the thought of being able to run in front of thousands of people with three of the four guys that got 5th in the country last year would be so totally cool!

Finally, my co-hort Bob, hit that point in life where you just say, "that's it I'm freaking going to get in better shape!" and he came up with a the perfect, ridiculous goal of 500 push ups a day.

No ramp up to it, no I'll hit my first 500 in a month.  Just, "I'm going to do this now!!"

Everybody else started in, too.  Tina's doing handstand push ups, Jennie is gutting it out, Karen is in it.  It's just contagious!!

So I threw in 200 push ups today and have put them, along with 20 pull ups (I've still got a little shoulder pain that makes those tough, but 'get over it pretty boy') onto every day of my calendar.  No more once a week.  Everyday.  And I'll do at least 30 sit ups as well.

I've kept on my distance running and did the sprints again this past Sunday.  The went just like Spoon and Kestner said they would, and I can see how this will work.

With all this going on I feel so confident, so sure that I am going to fly in July in Hershey, PA at the State Games of America!

Sub 5 in the 1500.

Sub 5.