Broken Promises
The family and I have had an interesting and sometimes tumultuous past few years. And in attempt to not repeat some of our past mistakes, we've made some promises. Promises that we have made before and broken. And made again, and broken.
A promise that I have made countless times over the span of probably two maybe three decades, is to not let this business come between me and my own personal health.
And yet, I still find myself skipping out on workouts, for months on end, eating unhealthful, devising sleep patterns to get by on three or four hours of sleep on a regular basis, pumping myself up with ridiculous amounts of caffeine and then making "recovery" cocktails of electrolytes and various supplements.
And I repeated this pattern on the show I am currently on.
That said, my running regime came to an end several weeks ago.
I had hoped to be well prepared for the Georgia Marathon.
I knew the hills were going to be difficult. And I was going to be ready for them.
I knew the weather might be quirky. And I was going to be ready for what Mother Nature threw at me.
I had planned on using this race as a training run for the Burning Man Ultra, which ironically it still sort of was.
But I broke the promise I made to myself about not letting work derail me, and I found myself unprepared for the toughest marathon course I've run to date.
I considered not running it.
Why put myself through several hours of misery? And then the multi-day painfest that would follow?
And yet I did.
Because I would resent the job I was on, the industry that has been my life for almost three decades, the career that has become engrained in me, that has become part of my DNA.
So I soldiered up and did what I needed to do.
Do or Do Not There Is No Try
The family and I have had an interesting and sometimes tumultuous past few years. And in attempt to not repeat some of our past mistakes, we've made some promises. Promises that we have made before and broken. And made again, and broken.
A promise that I have made countless times over the span of probably two maybe three decades, is to not let this business come between me and my own personal health.
And yet, I still find myself skipping out on workouts, for months on end, eating unhealthful, devising sleep patterns to get by on three or four hours of sleep on a regular basis, pumping myself up with ridiculous amounts of caffeine and then making "recovery" cocktails of electrolytes and various supplements.
And I repeated this pattern on the show I am currently on.
That said, my running regime came to an end several weeks ago.
I had hoped to be well prepared for the Georgia Marathon.
I knew the hills were going to be difficult. And I was going to be ready for them.
I knew the weather might be quirky. And I was going to be ready for what Mother Nature threw at me.
I had planned on using this race as a training run for the Burning Man Ultra, which ironically it still sort of was.
But I broke the promise I made to myself about not letting work derail me, and I found myself unprepared for the toughest marathon course I've run to date.
I considered not running it.
Why put myself through several hours of misery? And then the multi-day painfest that would follow?
And yet I did.
Because I would resent the job I was on, the industry that has been my life for almost three decades, the career that has become engrained in me, that has become part of my DNA.
So I soldiered up and did what I needed to do.
Do or Do Not There Is No Try
Expo Fun
The most recent fitness expo I had attended was for my last "training" run the Hot Chocolate 15K, and it was awesome.
The one for the Georgia Marathon...
Not so awesome.
Oh well. I got my race goody bag with race day necessities and was good to go.
The most recent fitness expo I had attended was for my last "training" run the Hot Chocolate 15K, and it was awesome.
The one for the Georgia Marathon...
Not so awesome.
Oh well. I got my race goody bag with race day necessities and was good to go.
Ode to the Classics...
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."
The opening paragraph to the Dickens classic pretty much summed up my Georgia marathon experience.
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."
The opening paragraph to the Dickens classic pretty much summed up my Georgia marathon experience.
Preparations
This endeavor was clearly on my radar at some point as a couple of my recent blog-posts were about running.
But then again, my posts have been not so current.
The week of prep for the marathon consisted of getting a few nights of regular sleep and tapering off caffeine and hydrating.
This endeavor was clearly on my radar at some point as a couple of my recent blog-posts were about running.
But then again, my posts have been not so current.
The week of prep for the marathon consisted of getting a few nights of regular sleep and tapering off caffeine and hydrating.
Hits, Misses, and Oopsies
Because I neglected to actually for this event, I needed to use my years of experience in not properly preparing for marathons and then successfully completing and surviving them.
I had driven the course several weeks prior and I studied the map the night before, so I did have a strategy for those dastardly hills.
I did look at the weather forecast and prepped accordingly or so I thought.
Because Cindy was out of town, I had to self-support my race transportation. Which went well until I had to get home; more on that ....
What I did Wrong
I didn't put my Advil in a plastic baggie so by mile 18 when I needed pain medication, I had a mushy mix of ipobuffren matter. That was also the state of my electrolyte wafers.
I still ingested both and had beneficial results but not optimal.
The Salon-pas medicated menthol pads were a lot less successful, however it was enough to relieve a cramp in my left knee, so there's that.
Bag Check
I didn't want to mess with it.
Until I finished the race soaking wet with no cash or credit on hand and had to get home on public transport.
Shiverfest, oh well.
Because I neglected to actually for this event, I needed to use my years of experience in not properly preparing for marathons and then successfully completing and surviving them.
I had driven the course several weeks prior and I studied the map the night before, so I did have a strategy for those dastardly hills.
I did look at the weather forecast and prepped accordingly or so I thought.
Because Cindy was out of town, I had to self-support my race transportation. Which went well until I had to get home; more on that ....
What I did Wrong
I didn't put my Advil in a plastic baggie so by mile 18 when I needed pain medication, I had a mushy mix of ipobuffren matter. That was also the state of my electrolyte wafers.
I still ingested both and had beneficial results but not optimal.
The Salon-pas medicated menthol pads were a lot less successful, however it was enough to relieve a cramp in my left knee, so there's that.
Bag Check
I didn't want to mess with it.
Until I finished the race soaking wet with no cash or credit on hand and had to get home on public transport.
Shiverfest, oh well.
Recovery
One of my Specialties
I didn't schedule a massage or a spa session, which I usually do. However with Cindy out of town and Skye being asked to be latch-key kid and beyond, I had to put some things on the back burner.
But I still had my post-recovery toys.
One of my Specialties
I didn't schedule a massage or a spa session, which I usually do. However with Cindy out of town and Skye being asked to be latch-key kid and beyond, I had to put some things on the back burner.
But I still had my post-recovery toys.
Back to the Grindstone
Monday back to work was not easy.
I had several blood blisters to contend with as well as strained muscles and a weakened system, but I persevered and carried on.
Go team stupid!!!
Yay!!!!
Monday back to work was not easy.
I had several blood blisters to contend with as well as strained muscles and a weakened system, but I persevered and carried on.
Go team stupid!!!
Yay!!!!
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