Wisdom Is A Hard Thing To Remember

It seems that expressions of satisfaction based off new found personal wisdom are not to be expected to front at each run just because you have stumbled onto cognitive advancement at a earlier time.

Having felt extreme satisfaction following the Mt Wilson to Bilpin run around a month ago. Thanks to the ethos of running to feel. Merely taking the watch to keep track on were I'm up to rather than were I'm headed. Today I set about running to the predetermined pacing plan and left said wisdom behind.

I'm not sure if it was an ego based mistake or just a lack of pre-run reflection on what worked recently. But I do know it didn't pay out as I had it in my mind last night. The more I reflect on my running over the years the more I think I'm a feeling runner. The fluctuations I experience in both events and in training are significant and all most all of them seem to stem from my mind set.

A stronger mind might control this aspect to work themselves to positive outcome at all times. I however do not seem to possess such qualities. With performance rising and falling as the mental state of mine plays games with perceptions of capabilities.

Today not too many pieces fell right prior to the run start. with the fastest piece of running I did being the run down from the train to throw my gear onto the truck before surging to the start area to step onto the road as the gun sounded to start the run.

A (for me) challenging target of 4.15 kms had been nutted out with the hope of getting in under 90mins for the first time since the uni days had been derived. However at no point across the first 10km did I feel good in the way I had been running. My mind was telling me with every stride that I should have eaten less and earlier before the race, my guts suggesting I should have taken to the throne and my mouth reminding me I had skipped hydration in any form all morning.

If I had ignored the splits and simply run to feel I believe these thought would have played less of an impact as the clock would not be telling me I was falling further behind the pre-run goal with each kilometer. to run to feel I would have settled into an early pace and taken the time to build through the drink stations. Not reinforcing my concerns at each time check.

It was in fact only as I put the watch behind and stopped trying to calculate the next split adjustment that I began to find any rhythm at all. From this point the day lifted considerably. In hind sight the splits pretty much stayed the same with only minor reductions occurring at each km. But the mind began to ease up on the self criticisms and a state of relaxation began to fall on the run.

In the end I was quite happy, though not ecstatic, with the 95mins 20secs recorded as I feel this run provides a fairly challenging track. I have hit the age eligibility for masters games as of today and it is nice to know that I can still churn out a 4.30 min per km half of the back of only 4 disrupted weeks of training. As it is (I guess) nice to know I still have plenty to learn on my mind and body's response to endurance events after 27 years of running.

Note on 'She Who Must Be Obeyed', on the same disrupted preparations of the morning a super effort to churn out yet another PB over this distance. Knocking around 4 minutes of her previous best time. Having been set on the much flatter and much faster Gold Coast course.

Shades of Grey

Have been thinking of various differences this past week. The differences we place on expectations of others verse the expectations we place on ourselves. Have found myself all to eager to offer criticism of others in order to make myself feel better. Something I endeavour to change as of the day before the last one.

Have seen for me the desire to initiate the initial code of conduct for runs amongst the BMMC. Straight from the teachers mouth "If you cant say something nice, then don't say anything at all". This may see reductions in our negative impact on others self image. Or it may just mean the runs become very quite.

To add to this it is time for myself to look for things people do well. Rather than focusing on my perceptions of others weaknesses, placing limitation on others capabilities doesn't actually make me any better any way. Have started by adding a controversial link (to some) on the home blog, but one that I am sure will provide plenty of interesting scanning.

Enough of the shades of grey diatribe. Training was a little unsettled last week with Mon & Tue taken over with year 11 Gnomes on their Outdoor Rec Hike. This occasion always provides enormous entertainment for me. Particularly after 6hrs hiking, having reached Euroka and seeing the realisation that we could have got there in less than 1hr if we had taken the direct path. Did see the biggest brown snake I ever expect to see, just happy the rapid take off it took was in a direction away from the gnomes & I and not towards us.

Got in few good runs Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings. One with BMMC on some solid hills. In the run know apparently know as Animals run (just don't go out bush with work on a Thursday I say). Spent the weekend moving bark, leaves, sticks and wood chip to keep the plants happy so no training outside of the range of a shovel.

Back into it this afternoon with a lap around the espresso run with GPB. Dangerous to bring the low landers up I know. But as previously stated we can all learn things from everyone. Enjoyed the coffee following in 'The Village" amongst the latte set.