One of the worst parts of training has to be the repetition. Swim in the same pool, at the same time, in the same lane if it's open. Run the same course, and the trainer, well, we won't go there.
On Saturday afternoon before Ceci's party I was heading out for a short 3 or 4 mile jog. I got out to 109th Ave. and saw two guys, one running the other biking, headed towards me. I knew right away the runner was Brent Hatch, an amazing teacher and runner I used to work with. So, he catches me and I ask him what he's doing. Turns out he's training for the Las Vegas marathon and we bumped into each other at mile 7 of his 22 miler. I decide I've got time to hang with him for awhile, so I pick up the pace and we start chewing the fat.
His story is amazing, I included the link from when he was in Runner's World a while back, we talked a little bit about his cancer and he said it's a bummer because his meds cause cramping during longer runs. (Makes my complaints seem a little immature, I realized I almost complained to the bartender the night before about not putting enough ice in my Brandy 7, sad.)
Anyway, the guy on the bike was one of Brent's buddies, everyone is Brent's buddy, and there is no way I could do justice to the entertainment these two provided during this run. Keep in mind the buddy is on a bike. Anyway, this dude was a NCAA D-1 cross country skiier, 2:25 marathoner and competitive kayaker who gave up endurance sports to hunt for Bigfoot, "with a camera, not a gun." (His words.)
Anyway, long story longer, by the time there's a break in the conversation I'm more than 4 miles from home and still going the wrong way. Realized I was going to have to head back, used Cecilia's party as an excuse because I didn't want to admit I was completely out of gas and barely got home in time to shower and head out the door.
What was supposed to be a slow 4 miles turned into 9 miles at a pace I'm still feelin'. But it was the most unique run I've had in a long time, certainly one I will smile about whenever I see it in the training journal.
Carry on.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
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3 comments:
Great story, one that I heard on Sat but worth repeating to the group. And a good point about "changing it up", we have a long amount of training left, and if you do the same workouts over and over, it will grow old quickly. I know we are all trying to manage time, but if you can do something completely different, it can really help your spirits. The mountain bike ride on Saturday was really what I needed to get me back on pace.
And obviously, with a guy like Brent, it certainly puts things in perspective.
Great story - that guy continues to amaze me and I appreciate the perspective he provides.
Concur with Jack on changing it up - also I really like drills to make the time pass. I think I mentioned this in an earlier blog but this morning I did drills on the trainer and while the time did not race by it certainly didn't hurt as much (drills did, however).
And Slim never complain about too little ice, you should be complaining about too MUCH ice.
Concur. great story for both the inspiration fact, but also because slim got a good nine miler in. good showing. Love days like that.
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