Probably some of you are thinking, good! The guy could stand a little humility! And maybe you would be right. I know I am a bit cocky at times but I continue to work on it. It's tough though you see, because the line between arrogance and confidence is a fine one. I need my self confidence, and/or cockiness if you prefer, to get me thorugh the tough spots. Today for instance without a strong belief in myself I would never have made it through my run. As it is, while my adventure reminded me to stay within myself and not get ahead of my true ability, I am also reminded of my mental strength. Let me tell you about it.
As I contnue to build my run endurance my plan is to achieve a certain pace at a certain distance before I stretch it out again. That is what I did with 20 k. When I managed it in 5 min/kms I moved up to the current 24 plus. So last week I did the distance in 5:05 mins/kms so I figured I was ready to give 5 mins a shot. Boy was I wrong! Wrong day, wrong weather, wrong gloves, wrong attitude! It was the most hurt I have felt in a long, long time.
At about 7 kms I knew that I was not over my tough thursday bike ride as my legs were actually sore, a very rare feeling. I hoped it was going to go away but I also knew better. Any pain that comes on that far in is generally there to stay. As well it was minus 8 celsius and I was starting to regret not replacing the gloves that I had known for some time were barely adequate any more. At 8 kms I had the wind at my back for a while and so got a bit of respite. When I turned at 11 kms and felt the cold again I knew there would probably not be any world records today. At 14 kms my hands were really in trouble. I tried everything I could to get my right hand warm but to no avail, and was actually starting to worry a little about frostbite.
The next 3 kms were uphill and I knew by then that it was gonna get uglier. At just over 17 kms I could have turned for home thereby cutting more than 6 kms off my 24. I knew that from a strictly physical perspective this would be the smart thing to do. But I also know that once you start quitting it only gets easier to make it a habit. Kinda like eating ice chocolate cake with ice cream. So the little man on my shoulder seen me past the interesection and I kept plodding along. I pulled my right sleeve completely down over my hand and although it was pretty awkward this seemed to help a bit.
At 19 kms I turned directly into the wind again and my pace was falling off quickly. When I turned again with 3 kms to go I really thought I was gonna walk. I accidentally yanked one of my ear phones out and I simply could not get it back in my ear because my hands could no longer feel anything. I finished the run with them in my hand.
Somehow I kept wobbling along and arrived home at 2:07:05, for an average pace of 5:14 per kilometer.
So! A bit humbled, but maybe not too much. A bit wiser, but probably not too much. A bit sore, but hopefully not too much. And as grateful as ever, but never too much
Right after my run I took Colby to his hockey game where I was further humbled, this time by a childs attitude towards sport and life. His team lost 7-1 and after he got off the ice the first words out of his mouth...."Man that was fun!"
And today I wonder about this. Why the fuck is there an American flag hanging permanently and prominently in our local arena, right next to the queen, and on a level with the maple leaf which hangs on the other side of the old girl??? Please explain.
And for Old John....I love ya man!
(24.3 km run...2:07:05)
“I'm not insecure. I've been through way too much f**king sh*t to be insecure. I've got huge balls. But I've been humbled. That makes you grateful for every day you have."---Drew Barrymore
"True humility is intelligent self respect which keeps us from thinking too highly or too meanly of ourselves. It makes us modest by reminding us how far we have come short of what we can be."---Ralph W. Sockman
Love
Peter
As I contnue to build my run endurance my plan is to achieve a certain pace at a certain distance before I stretch it out again. That is what I did with 20 k. When I managed it in 5 min/kms I moved up to the current 24 plus. So last week I did the distance in 5:05 mins/kms so I figured I was ready to give 5 mins a shot. Boy was I wrong! Wrong day, wrong weather, wrong gloves, wrong attitude! It was the most hurt I have felt in a long, long time.
At about 7 kms I knew that I was not over my tough thursday bike ride as my legs were actually sore, a very rare feeling. I hoped it was going to go away but I also knew better. Any pain that comes on that far in is generally there to stay. As well it was minus 8 celsius and I was starting to regret not replacing the gloves that I had known for some time were barely adequate any more. At 8 kms I had the wind at my back for a while and so got a bit of respite. When I turned at 11 kms and felt the cold again I knew there would probably not be any world records today. At 14 kms my hands were really in trouble. I tried everything I could to get my right hand warm but to no avail, and was actually starting to worry a little about frostbite.
The next 3 kms were uphill and I knew by then that it was gonna get uglier. At just over 17 kms I could have turned for home thereby cutting more than 6 kms off my 24. I knew that from a strictly physical perspective this would be the smart thing to do. But I also know that once you start quitting it only gets easier to make it a habit. Kinda like eating ice chocolate cake with ice cream. So the little man on my shoulder seen me past the interesection and I kept plodding along. I pulled my right sleeve completely down over my hand and although it was pretty awkward this seemed to help a bit.
At 19 kms I turned directly into the wind again and my pace was falling off quickly. When I turned again with 3 kms to go I really thought I was gonna walk. I accidentally yanked one of my ear phones out and I simply could not get it back in my ear because my hands could no longer feel anything. I finished the run with them in my hand.
Somehow I kept wobbling along and arrived home at 2:07:05, for an average pace of 5:14 per kilometer.
So! A bit humbled, but maybe not too much. A bit wiser, but probably not too much. A bit sore, but hopefully not too much. And as grateful as ever, but never too much
Right after my run I took Colby to his hockey game where I was further humbled, this time by a childs attitude towards sport and life. His team lost 7-1 and after he got off the ice the first words out of his mouth...."Man that was fun!"
And today I wonder about this. Why the fuck is there an American flag hanging permanently and prominently in our local arena, right next to the queen, and on a level with the maple leaf which hangs on the other side of the old girl??? Please explain.
And for Old John....I love ya man!
(24.3 km run...2:07:05)
“I'm not insecure. I've been through way too much f**king sh*t to be insecure. I've got huge balls. But I've been humbled. That makes you grateful for every day you have."---Drew Barrymore
"True humility is intelligent self respect which keeps us from thinking too highly or too meanly of ourselves. It makes us modest by reminding us how far we have come short of what we can be."---Ralph W. Sockman
Love
Peter
Way to tough it out Pete. Psychologically, it is such a great workout! Way to go my Ironman!
ReplyDeleteI love you too Old John. Just occurred to me, you should be blogging your perspective on your first triathlon event next year. Not only would I enjoy following it, but it would be a great reference for you for future ones.
Love Old Roo
All that hardship, and you still averaged 5:14/km??? Sheesh, I would have been overjoyed with that! Hehe.
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