Thursday, December 31, 2009

+ Running in Good Faith +


I usually forget to write down any of my workouts and don't enjoy sharing much about them because they tend to be quite personal. Here is an account of one in particular that I think some people can extract inspiration from in an understanding that exceeds the sport itself.

5 x 600m (meters) -- a lap and a half around a 400m track done five times. Before this is done it is wise to get the engine going with a ten minute jog. That's also wise afterward so your body doesn't scream out personified expletives.

Action!

1. 600m -thru the 400m in 86 seconds, but we went 75 ( shit). I haven't done speed work in a while and forgot what a track looked like.
2 min break
2. " - thru the 400m in 84, we went 82 which was better
2 min break
3. " - thru the 400m in 82, we went 78 - fine
3 min break
4. " - thru the 400m in 78, we went 70- whatever! If you feel good, then go for it. Alas! Do not leave it all on the track. If you're form starts breaking down at the second to last repetition, you're doing something wrong (possibly over-training which means you're taking away from your race, where your work actually matters).
3 min break

5. " - through the 400m in 'whatever you can do' says our Coach which made for a 61 sec. 400m finishing with a 30 sec. 200m => a lovely 1:32 at 600m.


I had deferred from doing any speed work in 7 days before doing this workout. Nervous about the whole thing, I had a nightmare about it which is very runner dork of me. Don't be a runner dork. This fear was manifested in the first 600m repetition that miscalculated my coach's plan and could have been worse had I pushed even harder before that last repetition.

So, listen up. I'm about to lecture you.

As a runner and athlete- Your body is always more capable than what you believe it is. Whether you're going out for a leisurely jog or a serious workout doubting yourself will only fulfill the fear. For example, after the first repetition I had thought it was a lot easier than anticipated. All along, I had been fearing failure. Until I realized the ease of the first rep, I was able to calm down for the rest of the workout. This manifested itself into good faith.

If you can fulfill a prophecy negatively, then you can also fulfill it positively. Otherwise, life would be unfair. And you only hear the saying, "Life isn't fair" from your mother when you're five years old (and you've asked her countless times for a sister because your brothers are out to get you).
Life is fair, very fair. Take advantage of this.
It's important to remember ( in order to prepare for any run, event, scenario) you are never a stranger to any challenge. Every endeavor can be related to from past experience. From underwater basket weaving to a toddler's first steps, the doer can relate.
Searching for this relation, is the process known as the journey. If you are a complete stranger things may go wrong. This is called failure. But experiencing second place will help you to know what first place is like.

So whether you're an athlete, artist, dreamer, or professional, there's always more faith to be sought than you may reckon. In the words of P. Diddy (@IAMDIDDY in the Twitter world), "Let's go!".

1 comment:

  1. really interesting to see the nuts and bolts of a workout, so many times its easy to look at athletic talent and just dismiss it as natural or incomprehensible but the thought that goes into it is always so interesting to me. although i'm nowhere near you when it comes to running i can never get enough info when i'm running, i would love splits and vital signs for every run. it actually slows me down when i bring a watch or something because i normally think im never going fast enough and am always just fearful of being lazy. its interesting you say that the workouts are personal...is this to maintain a competitive advantage or something individual about you?

    ReplyDelete

My photo
Born in London. Raised in suburbia. Former Californian. Current New Yorker.

what's happened before

followers