The Cookie Story

 The mid-winter drought

Continues unabated

Here in Topanga.

When I was a teacher I’d bring a small snack, like a Nilla Wafer or cracker…to give to the kids after recess.

 After weeks of doing this I’d stop one day to see their reaction. I was certain that I’d get at least a few kids wondering why and expressing a little disappointment.

 I’d tell them that there are basically two types of people in the world. Those that would express disappointment at not receiving a daily treat they were given for no reason outside of just being alive, or those that expressed gratitude for all the days they received a treat. What type of person do they see themselves as?

 Sadly, I often feel I fall into the former camp of both not being grateful and not expressing my gratitude.

Letter to a Competitor

 

Rhythms of breathes;

Long, slow, deep repetitive 

Intakes of healing.

It’s always interesting to discover what happens when you throw a few new kinks into a workout.

 It’s great to have a routine that allows for variation, though maintains a core basis from which to build off of. Throughout the years I’ve always tried to keep a speed, tempo and distance session in my training regimen. Over the years I’ve become a bit more relaxed about how structured those are and whether they need to be done on a weekly basis.

 Also being proud, stubborn, recognizing I’m not an elite athlete and also understanding the limits of my wallet I’ve managed to be a happily self-coached decent age grouper.

 So why not just get out there and find out what you’re made of or just how doing something different affects you once in a while? Keep it up.

 But if you are curious to push through and not just be healthy but try to be competitive as well, keep an eye on that scale, as well as whatever you’re using for strength indicators and keep those both moving in the right directions.

 As for the shoes…Unbelievable how expensive top of the line cycling equipment is. I used to ride Lake shoes, which I loved, but when I went to replace them I was shocked at the costs. I went with the best reviewed pair I could find at a decent price. And even at that my Shimanos were still very expensive.

 Running shoes are now skyrocketing in price as well. And where equipment choice used not to be that significant, the new high-end carbon plated shoes are registering improved objective results on both the feet of elites and age groupers alike.  So I’ll go in on that being the competitive bastard that I am.

 Long ago I had a mechanic that thought the problem with cycling shoes is that most of them didn’t allow for the cleat to be moved far enough back. He always recommended putting the cleats in that position to start and then adjust if needed. So it’s great that you feel that has improved your power and comfort.

 Running right now is my focus so I’m far less concerned about the structures of my rides except to make sure I use one of them once a week as an endurance replacement for a long run to keep from beating my legs up so much. So, like you, every now and then I’m going to consciously throw in a few (hill topper) sprints or pushes just for the fun of it AND to see how long I can hold you off.

 I’m not so sure we can avoid slowing down as we age. But by how much and how much that makes a difference in the feel of being out there is debatable.

 I often felt there was an ugly edge to competing when I was younger that I didn’t like about myself. Not to you guys, but I’ve always regretted the way I treated Mary as events neared. Fortunately, that seems to have dissipated with age as so many rough edges to teen-aged males do as we wise up.

 Long friendships like we have are to be cherished as they provide so much richness to the history of life.

 So I thank you as well.

 Talk to you soon. Stay healthy and have fun out there.

Long Term Distance Advice

 Visions are frosted

On the windowless fragments

Of winter’s pale light.

 Thursday, February 4, 2021

I think of myself as an athlete, particularly a long distance athlete. But am I and what does that mean?

 The reason I’m thinking about this now is as I was going down my usual Youtube rabbit hole of shoe revues, I clicked on a clip about marathon training. This guy was an ardent proponent of making sure to include a weekly long run if you’re going to train for a marathon. Just recently I decided to drop my weekly long run and substitute a bi-weekly long bike ride in its place. According to this guy that would mean reducing the effectiveness of my training and likely decreasing my race performance.

 For a day or so I considered how would I be able to work that long run back into my schedule without dropping the ride.

 Then it occurred to me that perhaps, although I do ultras, maybe I’m not an ultra athlete. By that I mean I’m not willing to sacrifice a bike ride or carefully managing my other workouts to ensure that they’re enhancing my running performance.

 I enjoy competing. I’m pretty good at it. But at this point I’m not willing to go all in on run training if that means giving up or greatly modifying the other types of activities I enjoy. Maybe at some point I will and do just what’s best for one particular type of race.

 
But I’m not a professional distance runner and I’m not sure I’d want to be one if I could (Well, that’s a tough one…). Still I’m doing well enough to where I’m enjoying myself and managing to stay fairly competitive. Maybe somewhere down the road that’ll change and it’ll be evident that I’m such a competitive bastard I’ll have to give up riding to keep up, or I’ll stop racing as much as I’d like. But for now I’m going to delude myself that all’s good with all the training I’m doing and it’s what’s best for my long term health and happiness.