Ted talks: http://www.ted.com/talks/larry_smith_why_you_will_fail_to_have_a_great_career.html
a great talk on why most people are destined for mediocrity. I've spent a lot of time making excuses and accepting mediocrity. over the past month or so i've started to put the excuses aside and step out of my comfort zone. it's pretty scary out here at first, but it's a fun scary. i'm attempting to stretch and see where i can go.
failure is only failure if you give up on it completely, otherwise it's an opportunity to learn and improve.
are you failing or are you learning?
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
- Theodore Roosevelt
Excerpt from the speech "Citizenship In A Republic"
delivered at the Sorbonne, in Paris, France on 23 April, 1910
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Sunday, March 25, 2012
20120325 week summary
a bit tired at this point, my legs are feeling the increased effort. a great week in the books, now lets see how repeatable it is. it seems every run was either a pretty strong effort or a long run. had lots of climbing and some good tempo efforts, and several nice steady longer runs thrown in there. achilles held up nicely through all of this, some twinges here and there, but nothing i'm concerned about yet. when it complained i pulled back.
biggest week since early january and things are still feeling good. i definitely have some soreness in new muscles. looking forward to continuing down this path and discovering some new trails:
Total Time: 16:59
Run: 14:59
Other: 2:00
distance: 93.3
TSS: 845
climbing: 9900'
Friday, March 23, 2012
Strong showing this week - so far
well i've had my share of good runs this week. things are starting to come together nicely. i've yet to push any kind of distance since my trip to arizona, but have been maintaining a good bit of 1 - 2 hour runs consistently. most of them at a decent pace.
the best part is though the pace is turning out to be decent, the effort is somewhere between relaxed and pressing things slightly. i've been running faster on seemingly sluggish legs (i seem to have a good portion of the days without spring in my step) without really pressing the pace. this is a pleasant surprise.
my week started with a nice bit of climbing up a new trail - el capitan mountain. great run with some extra rocky sections and steep climbs, then some goat track at the end. some very fun segments. I was pleasantly surprised with how springy my legs felt on some sections, and how well my achilles held up. i did a precautionary stretch and massage about 1/2 way up. It was truly a good day full of some great views.
the next few days were comprised of mainly flat easy runs to leg my legs take in the el capitan experience. then i did a trip up cowles, which felt pretty good. had some tightness, but nothing to worry about. then an easier run thursday afternoon out in mission trails. it was supposed to be flat, but somehow turned into a bit of climbing. all in all things are still good.
then today (friday) i went out for an easy jog to let my legs recoup from the climbing, and felt very consistent (not great, so i didn't push it, at least not early on). i had some repercussions from the heavy lunch, mostly in the form of a very heavy feeling in my gut, though my legs never really felt like i was pushing, my lungs were struggling slightly due to the overloaded stomach (i'm good at storing lots of food). with about 2 miles left i noticed i was on a pretty good pace, and decided to press it slightly and see how close i could get to 50 minutes without truly racing. i managed a tidy 51:25, and never really went too crazy with the effort. it felt very sustainable except the excess food.
looking forward to logging some good runs this weekend. enjoy . . .
the best part is though the pace is turning out to be decent, the effort is somewhere between relaxed and pressing things slightly. i've been running faster on seemingly sluggish legs (i seem to have a good portion of the days without spring in my step) without really pressing the pace. this is a pleasant surprise.
my week started with a nice bit of climbing up a new trail - el capitan mountain. great run with some extra rocky sections and steep climbs, then some goat track at the end. some very fun segments. I was pleasantly surprised with how springy my legs felt on some sections, and how well my achilles held up. i did a precautionary stretch and massage about 1/2 way up. It was truly a good day full of some great views.
the next few days were comprised of mainly flat easy runs to leg my legs take in the el capitan experience. then i did a trip up cowles, which felt pretty good. had some tightness, but nothing to worry about. then an easier run thursday afternoon out in mission trails. it was supposed to be flat, but somehow turned into a bit of climbing. all in all things are still good.
then today (friday) i went out for an easy jog to let my legs recoup from the climbing, and felt very consistent (not great, so i didn't push it, at least not early on). i had some repercussions from the heavy lunch, mostly in the form of a very heavy feeling in my gut, though my legs never really felt like i was pushing, my lungs were struggling slightly due to the overloaded stomach (i'm good at storing lots of food). with about 2 miles left i noticed i was on a pretty good pace, and decided to press it slightly and see how close i could get to 50 minutes without truly racing. i managed a tidy 51:25, and never really went too crazy with the effort. it felt very sustainable except the excess food.
looking forward to logging some good runs this weekend. enjoy . . .
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
It's been some time now
So i tried to get back into this blogging, and as indicated between my previous post (nov 11??) and this one, it has been less then successful.
it's been a rocky road between here and there. lots of lows and some slow progress. the most notable of which is my acknowledgement that there is something fundamentally wrong with the way i run. this has been a thorn in my side for several years, but took a series of very difficult decisions and realizations on my part to finally seek outside help.
i'm not infallible, i do have flaws, and sometimes it requires someone other than myself to fix them. i will complete my 4th week of rehab tomorrow. it's been a positive experience so far, though i still haven't tested things out officially (haven't gotten to the point at which i've been historically failing), things seem to be improving.
new muscles are sore, most stiffness has been alleviated, range of motion is improving, and i had a fairly good run with some significant climbing earlier this week. i've also had some really poor showings during the last 4 weeks, though none of them have been caused by niggling injuries, just by odd new failures (i think a combination of sleep and nutrition or lack thereof) and typical muscular fatigue.
i've a fairly ambitious lineup this year, and that's just what i've already paid for, if things pan out i hope to add more to the list. fingers crossed (i'd rather be lucky then good), and i will continue to pay my dues (fortune favors the prepared).
i've created a bit of clean up for myself, and unfortunately some of you as well. for this i am truly sorry.
you have helped me far more then i can express or fully thank you for, and i am happy to call you my friends. i cannot thank you enough for being there for me and being as understanding as you have been. i truly hope you never need that level of support. if you do, i will do all that i can to be as good as you have been to me.
it's been a rocky road between here and there. lots of lows and some slow progress. the most notable of which is my acknowledgement that there is something fundamentally wrong with the way i run. this has been a thorn in my side for several years, but took a series of very difficult decisions and realizations on my part to finally seek outside help.
i'm not infallible, i do have flaws, and sometimes it requires someone other than myself to fix them. i will complete my 4th week of rehab tomorrow. it's been a positive experience so far, though i still haven't tested things out officially (haven't gotten to the point at which i've been historically failing), things seem to be improving.
new muscles are sore, most stiffness has been alleviated, range of motion is improving, and i had a fairly good run with some significant climbing earlier this week. i've also had some really poor showings during the last 4 weeks, though none of them have been caused by niggling injuries, just by odd new failures (i think a combination of sleep and nutrition or lack thereof) and typical muscular fatigue.
i've a fairly ambitious lineup this year, and that's just what i've already paid for, if things pan out i hope to add more to the list. fingers crossed (i'd rather be lucky then good), and i will continue to pay my dues (fortune favors the prepared).
i've created a bit of clean up for myself, and unfortunately some of you as well. for this i am truly sorry.
you have helped me far more then i can express or fully thank you for, and i am happy to call you my friends. i cannot thank you enough for being there for me and being as understanding as you have been. i truly hope you never need that level of support. if you do, i will do all that i can to be as good as you have been to me.
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