Grind Out the Lows
1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18.19.20.21.22.23…
Are you tired of counting yet? Last Saturday stands as the current record for my toughest run yet. Amid a fierce sun and heavy breathing I resorted to counting my steps to get through last of 11 miles. Not a more than a month ago I triumphed as I completed 13.1 miles with seeming ease, but when the adrenaline isn’t flowing as freely and no one is watching, the motivation is tougher to find.
In my defense, I hadn’t been getting much sleep the nights prior, but I wanted to get a good solid run in this past week to prove to myself I am fit and ready to begin this journey. I wanted to prove that my half marathon wasn’t a miraculous occurrence resulting from the excitement of the race, the ease of the course, or the apex of what I could accomplish. And it worked. Sort of…
Most of the week felt languid, partly because Katie (my wife) was gone and partly because I’m indecisive and didn’t fully commit to any training goals in these weeks leading up to the beginning of my official training cycle. I did have a moment of respite, however, when I threw a movie in for Iris on Wednesday afternoon. My mother-in-law, Julie, walked in from work and agreed to stay with Iris while I went on a run. Having no set goal in mind, I grabbed water and some snacks and headed out to explore.
I didn’t have a destination or time goal in mind. I just wanted to get some energy out and explore. It turns out, this attitude goes a long way as it led to an almost 8 mile run. I found a cool new area to run in and ran the fastest mile I’ve run since high school. (Disclaimer: the mile was mostly downhill, but I’m still counting it.)
If you’ve been feeling stagnant on your walks or runs, try breaking up the routine a little bit. Adding a little impulse can go a long way.
It was a great feeling to be able to say to myself, I think I’m going to turn left here, make a right there, check out this area over here. If I felt myself getting tired, I slowed down. If I felt like I was low on energy, I started walking and had a couple bites of my energy bar. Although I went out a lot longer than I intended, I ended the run feeling refreshed and revitalized.
In stark contrast, “refreshing” and “revitalizing” are not the adjectives I would use to describe how I felt after Saturday’s run.
Within the first 15 minutes I knew it was going to be a tough day. My legs felt heavy, and I couldn’t find a rhythm. I managed the first half pretty well, but around mile 7, I began coming unglued. My run/walk intervals seemed way too far out of reach, and I found myself struggling to maintain even a shuffle.
Having heard about lows like this, I decided to do my best to utilize this experience for learning. I knew that positive thinking was well beyond my reach so I decided to switch to something more neutral: counting. I turned off my interval app and replaced it with an counting intervals. I ran 300 steps and walked 50. To switch it up just a little bit I used a different foot for counting on each set.
Did it work? Kind of… It certainly wasn’t easy, and I wouldn’t say I had fun, but, it got me through the run. Instead of refreshed, I felt gratified. Instead of revitalized, I felt strong. In many ways I relish adversity like this. I feel like I’m paying my dues and depositing into an account from which I will one day soon withdraw.
Even still, I'd rather have fewer workouts like this if I can avoid it.
This week was a tough week as a dad for a couple reasons, but I think the primary reason by far was that Katie was out of town for most of it. What?! Katie went out on vacation without you?! Aren’t you so mad?! The truth is, not really.
Katie has been working relentlessly in both school and work this past semester. On top of her classes and her shifts at Lazy Dog, she’s had to log Clinical Practice hours at the animal shelter in Norco. The end result of this concoction combined with being a wife and mother adds up to little sleep and a whole lot of stress.
For the above reasons, I was glad Katie got the opportunity to enjoy herself a bit. A great situation presented itself, and I was happy she got to take advantage of it. That said, my week with Iris didn’t highlight the best of my parenting abilities.
After just one week I need to give a hearty round of applause to all single parents out there.
Katie and I work so well as a team, and the dynamic shift that occurs when she’s gone is noticeable. Suddenly, I have to be the bad cop every time. Sharing this role helps balance Iris’s attitude towards the both of us. After several days without Katie, it wasn’t fun having dad around anymore.
Don’t get me wrong, we still had plenty of fun, and there were laughs and games aplenty. That said, however, we also had our fair share of rough spots, one of which was a hike at the Claremont Loop on Thursday.
I’d been trying to go on a hike with a friend of mine for weeks and finally got the opportunity. Iris and I have been on a few hikes before so I felt confident we’d be able to do it together. I was feeling fit enough that I thought I could carry her a significant portion of the hike without too many issues. While Iris can whine with the best of them, she normally gives a decent effort on a large percentage of the time so I had high hopes.
On this particular day, however, she decided she wasn’t having any of it at all. She didn’t want to go, she didn’t want to hike, and she utilized several opportunities to stall the process along the way.
I know there must be a balance somewhere between being an angry drill sergeant and stopping to smell the proverbial (and literal) roses, but I certainly did not find the balance on this particular day.
Even at the start Iris wasn’t interested in walking, and, when she did, she’d take three or four steps to check out what the ants are doing. This habit is fine here and there, and I attempted to encourage the admiration while gently nudging us along, but my well of patience started out lower than I would’ve liked. The gentle nudging quickly turned into cajoling which turned into pleading and finally to impatience and irritation.
I became distracted and primarily focused on getting through the hike instead of enjoying our time out there. When we finished I felt relief that it was over and almost immediately regret that I hadn’t actually enjoyed more myself along the way.
I know I’m not the worst dad out there, but this experience was not one of my better moments. It’s difficult to write about because I’m embarrassed by how I reacted and disappointed in myself. I’ve replayed the scenario countless times in my head thinking of what I should have said or how I should have responded, but none of that will change how I was.
As a bit of a disclaimer, I am highly critical of myself in general and do believe everyone had a bit of fun at various points throughout the hike. We played some tag, ran downhill, and Iris shared some rather creative stories with us. Her energy improved toward the end of the hike, and we had a nice lunch afterwards.
I highlight the negative side of this experience for a few reasons. First, I think it’s important to improve self-awareness even if it’s after an event has taken place. Ideally this awareness improves to the point that maybe next time I will be able to stop myself in the moment. Second, this reflection helps me take advantage of the better moments and better appreciate them.
The good news about parenting is that there are usually several opportunities to be better, often in that same day.
I want to be better than I was yesterday—as a parent, husband, friend, athlete, you name it. That is the path I’m on and the path I return to as quickly as possible when I realize I have strayed. If I keep working at it, I know I will continue to improve.
Not the best this week, but I am fortunate to have more opportunities next week.
The brew I enjoyed at the game was Space Dust IPA by Elysian Brewing. When I first tried this beer, it reminded me a lot of Sculpin, which I’ve loved for a long time but rarely drink nowadays as it is well outside of my desired price range. From the brewery’s website, “The hopping is pure starglow energy, with Chinook to bitter and late and dry additions of Citra and Amarillo.”
David and I see each other very rarely these days, as he lives out in Orange County, and I’ve been engrossed in school and work for the past couple years. At one point, we lived together and hung out almost daily. When we moved out of that place, we lived in the same complex and still got to hang out a few times a week. We’ve shared a lot of good times together, and I was grateful to be able to share this one even if times like this don’t happen nearly as often as I’d like.
Weekly Workout Summary
For those curious, I thought I’d start adding a weekly summary of the workouts I’ve done. As always, feel free to ask me any questions you may have.
Monday - 4.1 easy miles pushing Iris - 11:11/mile pace overall
Tuesday - Rest
Wednesday - 7.5 fun miles - 9:30/mile pace overall
Thursday - 5 mile hike at Claremont Loop
Friday - Rest
Saturday - Rest with a little bit of swimming
Sunday - 11 mile long run - 10:27 pace overall
Hope you all had a great week. I’m planning on getting an entry out early next week and get my subsequent posts out on either Mondays or Tuesdays from here on out. We shall see how that goes.
Will write again soon.
Be well,
UltraDadRunner
Are you tired of counting yet? Last Saturday stands as the current record for my toughest run yet. Amid a fierce sun and heavy breathing I resorted to counting my steps to get through last of 11 miles. Not a more than a month ago I triumphed as I completed 13.1 miles with seeming ease, but when the adrenaline isn’t flowing as freely and no one is watching, the motivation is tougher to find.
In my defense, I hadn’t been getting much sleep the nights prior, but I wanted to get a good solid run in this past week to prove to myself I am fit and ready to begin this journey. I wanted to prove that my half marathon wasn’t a miraculous occurrence resulting from the excitement of the race, the ease of the course, or the apex of what I could accomplish. And it worked. Sort of…
Runner Highs and Lows
Most of the week felt languid, partly because Katie (my wife) was gone and partly because I’m indecisive and didn’t fully commit to any training goals in these weeks leading up to the beginning of my official training cycle. I did have a moment of respite, however, when I threw a movie in for Iris on Wednesday afternoon. My mother-in-law, Julie, walked in from work and agreed to stay with Iris while I went on a run. Having no set goal in mind, I grabbed water and some snacks and headed out to explore.
I didn’t have a destination or time goal in mind. I just wanted to get some energy out and explore. It turns out, this attitude goes a long way as it led to an almost 8 mile run. I found a cool new area to run in and ran the fastest mile I’ve run since high school. (Disclaimer: the mile was mostly downhill, but I’m still counting it.)
If you’ve been feeling stagnant on your walks or runs, try breaking up the routine a little bit. Adding a little impulse can go a long way.
It was a great feeling to be able to say to myself, I think I’m going to turn left here, make a right there, check out this area over here. If I felt myself getting tired, I slowed down. If I felt like I was low on energy, I started walking and had a couple bites of my energy bar. Although I went out a lot longer than I intended, I ended the run feeling refreshed and revitalized.
 |
| It's cool that Strava keeps track of all of this stuff for you |
In stark contrast, “refreshing” and “revitalizing” are not the adjectives I would use to describe how I felt after Saturday’s run.
Within the first 15 minutes I knew it was going to be a tough day. My legs felt heavy, and I couldn’t find a rhythm. I managed the first half pretty well, but around mile 7, I began coming unglued. My run/walk intervals seemed way too far out of reach, and I found myself struggling to maintain even a shuffle.
Having heard about lows like this, I decided to do my best to utilize this experience for learning. I knew that positive thinking was well beyond my reach so I decided to switch to something more neutral: counting. I turned off my interval app and replaced it with an counting intervals. I ran 300 steps and walked 50. To switch it up just a little bit I used a different foot for counting on each set.
 |
| Note the miles get slower and slower until the very last one when I could see the finish. |
Did it work? Kind of… It certainly wasn’t easy, and I wouldn’t say I had fun, but, it got me through the run. Instead of refreshed, I felt gratified. Instead of revitalized, I felt strong. In many ways I relish adversity like this. I feel like I’m paying my dues and depositing into an account from which I will one day soon withdraw.
Even still, I'd rather have fewer workouts like this if I can avoid it.
Dad is the Best (Sometimes)
This week was a tough week as a dad for a couple reasons, but I think the primary reason by far was that Katie was out of town for most of it. What?! Katie went out on vacation without you?! Aren’t you so mad?! The truth is, not really.
Katie has been working relentlessly in both school and work this past semester. On top of her classes and her shifts at Lazy Dog, she’s had to log Clinical Practice hours at the animal shelter in Norco. The end result of this concoction combined with being a wife and mother adds up to little sleep and a whole lot of stress.
For the above reasons, I was glad Katie got the opportunity to enjoy herself a bit. A great situation presented itself, and I was happy she got to take advantage of it. That said, my week with Iris didn’t highlight the best of my parenting abilities.
After just one week I need to give a hearty round of applause to all single parents out there.
Katie and I work so well as a team, and the dynamic shift that occurs when she’s gone is noticeable. Suddenly, I have to be the bad cop every time. Sharing this role helps balance Iris’s attitude towards the both of us. After several days without Katie, it wasn’t fun having dad around anymore.
Don’t get me wrong, we still had plenty of fun, and there were laughs and games aplenty. That said, however, we also had our fair share of rough spots, one of which was a hike at the Claremont Loop on Thursday.
 |
| Photo courtesy of claremont.ca.us |
I’d been trying to go on a hike with a friend of mine for weeks and finally got the opportunity. Iris and I have been on a few hikes before so I felt confident we’d be able to do it together. I was feeling fit enough that I thought I could carry her a significant portion of the hike without too many issues. While Iris can whine with the best of them, she normally gives a decent effort on a large percentage of the time so I had high hopes.
On this particular day, however, she decided she wasn’t having any of it at all. She didn’t want to go, she didn’t want to hike, and she utilized several opportunities to stall the process along the way.
I know there must be a balance somewhere between being an angry drill sergeant and stopping to smell the proverbial (and literal) roses, but I certainly did not find the balance on this particular day.
Even at the start Iris wasn’t interested in walking, and, when she did, she’d take three or four steps to check out what the ants are doing. This habit is fine here and there, and I attempted to encourage the admiration while gently nudging us along, but my well of patience started out lower than I would’ve liked. The gentle nudging quickly turned into cajoling which turned into pleading and finally to impatience and irritation.
I became distracted and primarily focused on getting through the hike instead of enjoying our time out there. When we finished I felt relief that it was over and almost immediately regret that I hadn’t actually enjoyed more myself along the way.
I know I’m not the worst dad out there, but this experience was not one of my better moments. It’s difficult to write about because I’m embarrassed by how I reacted and disappointed in myself. I’ve replayed the scenario countless times in my head thinking of what I should have said or how I should have responded, but none of that will change how I was.
As a bit of a disclaimer, I am highly critical of myself in general and do believe everyone had a bit of fun at various points throughout the hike. We played some tag, ran downhill, and Iris shared some rather creative stories with us. Her energy improved toward the end of the hike, and we had a nice lunch afterwards.
I highlight the negative side of this experience for a few reasons. First, I think it’s important to improve self-awareness even if it’s after an event has taken place. Ideally this awareness improves to the point that maybe next time I will be able to stop myself in the moment. Second, this reflection helps me take advantage of the better moments and better appreciate them.
The good news about parenting is that there are usually several opportunities to be better, often in that same day.
I want to be better than I was yesterday—as a parent, husband, friend, athlete, you name it. That is the path I’m on and the path I return to as quickly as possible when I realize I have strayed. If I keep working at it, I know I will continue to improve.
Not the best this week, but I am fortunate to have more opportunities next week.
Brew Overview
This week’s beer is one of my favorites and was especially enjoyable because I got to drink it with family. David, my brother-in-law, got tickets to an Angels game wherein we got to watch the Atlanta Braves receive a massive pounding. The seats were great, and the stadium exploded when Pujols hit the 599th home run of his career.
 |
| No foul balls caught but plenty of action nonetheless. |
The brew I enjoyed at the game was Space Dust IPA by Elysian Brewing. When I first tried this beer, it reminded me a lot of Sculpin, which I’ve loved for a long time but rarely drink nowadays as it is well outside of my desired price range. From the brewery’s website, “The hopping is pure starglow energy, with Chinook to bitter and late and dry additions of Citra and Amarillo.”
 |
| Photo courtesy of ElysianBrewing.com |
David and I see each other very rarely these days, as he lives out in Orange County, and I’ve been engrossed in school and work for the past couple years. At one point, we lived together and hung out almost daily. When we moved out of that place, we lived in the same complex and still got to hang out a few times a week. We’ve shared a lot of good times together, and I was grateful to be able to share this one even if times like this don’t happen nearly as often as I’d like.
Weekly Workout Summary
For those curious, I thought I’d start adding a weekly summary of the workouts I’ve done. As always, feel free to ask me any questions you may have.
Monday - 4.1 easy miles pushing Iris - 11:11/mile pace overall
Tuesday - Rest
Wednesday - 7.5 fun miles - 9:30/mile pace overall
Thursday - 5 mile hike at Claremont Loop
Friday - Rest
Saturday - Rest with a little bit of swimming
Sunday - 11 mile long run - 10:27 pace overall
Hope you all had a great week. I’m planning on getting an entry out early next week and get my subsequent posts out on either Mondays or Tuesdays from here on out. We shall see how that goes.
Will write again soon.
Be well,
UltraDadRunner
I know how you felt on/after that long difficult run. I went on a training bike ride this week and it was pouring rain for all but the first mile of the ride. It was hard to keep going at a lot of points but I felt really accomplished and that I'd had a valuable experience that could prepare me for a race.
ReplyDeleteBiking in the race doesn't sound appealing at all. I think it's good to push outside of your comfort zone. Those outside factors are good opportunities to do that.
ReplyDelete