Motivation to Run

It has been a long time since there has been a post on this blog. I suppose the two authors have found themselves busy or pulled in other directions. Yet our feet have still been out there pounding the pavement or trails, so why not do a little writing about it? 

A big part of my running journey the past four years has been the significant life change of being a father. Gone are the days of simply running out the door without a care for who might be watching my child, and now children. This has certainly made things more challenging and at times down right impossible. With some creativity and flexibility, however, I have slowly found that I can still go out for some much needed running. Even so, I have been a runner without an immediate and looming goal for the past couple of years. Racing is less appealing as I age and slow down some. I turn my eyes towards other prizes like running a marathon on each continent, but such a glance is quickly dismissed short-term due to certain limitations. So where does a runner find the motivation, beyond the battle of the bulge, to go out there and run when it is just so darn complicated? 

There is a quote in the movie Chariots of Fire when Eric Liddle's character says, "Where does the power come from to see the race to its end? It comes from within." I have always enjoyed this quote even though he says it as a person running a short 200 meter distance. Maybe a post for another time. For today, this quote hits me sideways because the past few years offered me so little internal motivation. The power was not coming from within. I have always been significantly motivated by having a team around me, so the finding and setting goals as an individual 40 something-year-old person on their own is less than motivating for me. I think that is the best way to describe my own self-analysis, but ask me again next week and I might say something else! 

So it was interesting when around October of last year a runner friend from Memphis proclaimed he was going to try to qualify for the Boston Marathon. He was seeking someone to meet him at the marathon he had chosen to run and help him push through to the end. This was my kind of running quest. Someone outside of myself, a teammate so to speak, needed some assistance. Personal evaluation left me questioning if I still had the juice to train for a sub 3 hour marathon. I was slightly relieved when he said at his age he only had to run a 3:20, but then reality sinks in as you also know the faster the better for getting in. Faster is always better! 

I started my training. It was odd training and different from previous marathons I had trained for in the past. The kids and my current schedule persisted as ongoing challenges and I also simply refused to do the same amount of mileage as in the past. I decided I would slowly build up my long run, per the normal training, but everything else would be more by the seat of my pants. Most of my training was done with a baby jogger and pushing one or both of my children. This meant seeking out the flattest part of my mountainous community to run along the river for any hope of drilling some faster paces into my legs. The details of how the rest of it went are the same monotonous ins and outs that we all face when training for a marathon, but the fun part that came along with wanting to help a friend was... fear or anxiety or something along those lines. 

Turns out that whatever feeling I was getting was very good for my running. Any time I would start a longer run or one of my faster training sessions, some small part of me would begin to feel nervous that I would not be ready when the time came. Then my legs would speed up and I would find myself having some great runs. How strangely bizarre it was to welcome anxiety into some aspect of my life and see healthy results! It brought with it a certain type of joy I had not felt while running in some time. This in turn enabled me to feel more confident about planning certain runs and pushing myself more than I otherwise might have done. 

The sad part of this story is that I was not able to physically join my friend for the day of his run. That pesky complicated life ended up winning out and keeping me watching his performance this past weekend on the phone. I hoped my runs on Strava had helped him along the way some but in the end, even if we have a person running next to us, a person is left to their own struggle on race day. The marathon takes who it will and seems to have no discrimination when it comes to ruining the dreams of many a runner. My friend ran a qualifying time and I hope it is fast enough to send him to Boston a year from April. He persevered and ran the hard miles all on his own. Kudos to my friend. 

Then yesterday hit and it was my first run post his marathon. What, if anything, I wondered would motivate me as I ran that first mile. Nothing sprung to my mind and I thought the run would be slow and uneventful. But something of my friend's pursuit still lingered and my body is in better shape than it has been in a couple of years thanks to him. The legs started moving a little more quickly. Beep. I look down and see 7:22 pace for mile two. Well that's 43 seconds faster than my first mile. Beep. 7:13. Ok, well I guess we are going to do something today. Beep. 7:11. Then my mind is into this game too and realizes we have to negative split the next mile under 7 minutes. Beep. Beep. Beep. 

I finished my run and I now look back over what I wrote here today. Maybe the power to finish the run does come from within even when it needs outer inspiration. I spent last night mentally eyeballing the quick Strava segments from my run with jealous thoughts. I revisited my plan for what run will come next and thought wishfully about my long-term plan for my next marathon abroad. It seems there are always plenty of inspirations to get those feet a moving, but sometimes it takes a friend asking for an assist to help shake off the cobwebs (even when you fail to support them as you had hoped). So thank you my friend. And for now I'll sit down to clarify those other little goals that are popping up to keep fueling the machine and holding back all those running demons.

Antarctic Winter Running - Treadmill

It's lazy but because it overlaps so much I posted this running post through my other blog. It's about my attempt to train for a marathon entirely on the treadmill because it's too darn cold to run outside. Read about it here:  http://whyeveryoneshouldmovetonewzealand.blogspot.com/2017/06/running-at-south-pole-during-winter.html

Running in Antarctica

Well I'm finally 100 miles into my South Pole running. Only one of those runs was done outside which means, you guessed it, my running partner is a treadmill.




While I was able to get a few runs in en route to the South Pole while on the continent (see pictures), it is just too darn cold to run outside down here. The one run I went for outside at the Pole, after allowing some acclimation to the altitude, was followed by a sore knee for two weeks. I had been working hard and it was most likely just some overuse. A little rest and I was fine but by the time I wanted to run again the weather outside had certainly gone from maybe you can run in it to you might be crazy to try running in it.




So the treadmill....

 

I have always hated treadmills. The few times I have had to use them in life it has always been begrudgingly. Now it is the only option and it has taken some getting used to for certain. It has been tough getting used to living at 9,000 to 11,000 feet (it changes based on the barometric pressure) and my running was definitely suffering from trying to make that transition, but mostly it has just been the treadmill.




Solution?

Well, the only valid option I have found is to watch a TV show or a movie. It seems ludicrous as I have never listened to music while running, but a show or movie can take the mind off of the treadmill for between five seconds and at times up to five minutes! Everything about a treadmill just irks me but in a place where the average temp is currently -80 degrees F with a wind chill of around -124 degrees F, and it's only getting colder, there are not many valid options short of suicidal running outside.

The Wire, season one, has become my good friend. Together we have finally began to cover some distance. I'm still working on getting my pace down but yesterday I ran past the 100 mile mark while the season came to a conclusion. Something about that moment, maybe the only thing in all of my treadmill running, felt right.

Goals?

Well we have a walk/run/etc back to McMurdo challenge. Around about 836 miles from us is the station we all flew in from - McMurdo. As a fun way to stay fit, there is a giant piece of paper on the gym where people can chart their progress by the mile. Not only is it a fun way to compare yourself to your fellow co-workers for encouragement and such, but it also serves, like a running journal, as a constant reminder if you have not added any miles lately.

My personal goals for my time here are to make it to McMurdo and back (much like the original explorers would have had to do but in reverse), to run a marathon on the dang machine (so I can have this continent under my belt - and yes I'd rather do it outside but the timing is just not going to work out), and to hopefully keep in shape without injuring myself so I can do a few runs when back in New Zealand to see what the benefits of eight months of running above 10,000 feet feels like. I'm kind of excited about the last one but it requires the hardest challenge - no injuries.

So there you have it. Running at the South Pole during the Winter kind of sucks. But there are three treadmills and the opportunity is really quite amazing. For now it is a daily struggle to get on the infernal machine but I bet by the time I leave it will have a nickname and I'll end up missing it.

Shout out to Bryan the Mizuno man for sending me down with some great shoes, as always. Thanks!


(no pictures of treadmills - the pics from running around McMurdo were way cooler looking)

It's Called a Crosswalk People

(St Jude Marathon a few years back. I know we are not using the crosswalk here but at least there is a crosswalk in the picture)

With so many political facebook posts dissolving lifelong friendships left and right, I figured we should stop and talk about something that really matters.

Crosswalks.

Yes, well crosswalks and pretty much pedestrians in general. After having run on the roads, mostly out of necessity for lack of any alternative, for over twenty-four years (ouch that hurts to think about) I have come to a few conclusions about what drivers think of runners. And that's all well and good, (not really but whatever) but what I'm talking about here is beyond the general jerk who slings objects (yes it happens) or slurs out of his car window for some reason. Let's go beyond the unexplainable portion of our population who for some reason grow angry and swerve their cars towards the runners on the road.

I would like to talk about the average every day citizen, who I tend to hope is a good person just trying to get to work. I imagine they are in a hurry with places to go. But what I've had a hard time getting my mind around is their lack of understanding of basic pedestrian laws or in general the absence of any empathy for their fellow human being just trying to get a run in amidst the confusion of their day.

Crosswalks. Back to crosswalks. This first started bothering me at a deeper level when I saw people waiting for long periods of time down in Midtown at the crosswalk at Memphis Pizza Cafe. It is a crosswalk in an already slower speed limit area pedestrian zone. Just walk! But rightly so the people of Memphis fear for their lives, knowing they cannot trust a driver to see the crosswalk let alone stop.

Today we ran through a crosswalk on Wolf River Blvd connecting to Neshoba park. It is a busy road and I get why people do not want to stop. But as it is a big road they can see a pedestrian, even a runner, coming across the road quite easily with plenty of time to slow down. They are required by law to stop but grow ridiculously angry if said pedestrian insinuates they should stop as they drive by without even thinking of slowing down. I know because today I did more than insinuate such.

Anyway, enough of my ranting about the lack of knowledge or even compassion of drivers on the road. This is nothing new or in anyway a surprise to anyone who has been on the road, whether in a car or not. Maybe we could be the example when driving cars and begin following the law when we see people at crosswalks.

Oh and in case anyone is confused my use of the term crosswalk has been in reference to those that are not at lights, etc. Pedestrians, including myself, are expected to wait for the signal change. Below is the TN law on crosswalks if you're interested. It's pretty clear if you ask me. I know, you did not.

TCA 55-8-134 - Pedestrian's Right-of-Way in Crosswalks   (a)  (1) Unless in a marked school zone when a warning flasher or flashers are in operation, when traffic-control signals are not in place or not in operation, the driver of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way, slowing down or stopping if need be to so yield, to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within a crosswalk when the pedestrian is upon the half of the roadway upon which the vehicle is traveling, or when the pedestrian is approaching so closely from the opposite half of the roadway as to be in danger.    (2) When in a marked school zone when a warning flasher or flashers are in operation, the driver of a vehicle shall stop to yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within a marked crosswalk or at an intersection with no marked crosswalk. The driver shall remain stopped until the pedestrian has crossed the roadway on which the vehicle is stopped. (b) No pedestrian shall suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle which is so close that it is impossible for the driver to yield. (c) Subsection (a) does not apply under the conditions stated in § 55-8-135(b). (d) Whenever any vehicle is stopped at a marked crosswalk or at any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection to permit a pedestrian to cross the roadway, the driver of any other vehicle approaching from the rear shall not overtake and pass the stopped vehicle.  - See more at: https://www.tn.gov/tdot/article/bikeped-pedestrian-laws#sthash.dLyhKgtm.dpuf