In Pursuit of Balance
Taking in one of my favourite loops here in Cape Town's southern suburbs, much of the route was off-road, some of it in a forest, with the terrain being mostly rolling with some big hills. I like to try and vary my routes as much as possible and, given my adventurous nature, tend to constantly be on the lookout for new paths or back routes. A good friend once related how his university track coach, a former international-class middle distance athlete, would perform his weekly long run on a two kilometre road circuit noting his elapsed splits upon completion of each lap. He went on to say that he could not imagine me following such structure and he is right. Not that I could even begin to compare my ability to that of my him or his coach.
It is that time of the year again where I start thinking of chasing the elusive silver medal performance at the Two Oceans Ultra Marathon. Having got fairly close in 2014, I must admit to having a deep desire to finally breakthrough this coming Easter Saturday. A sub-four hour performance over the challenging fifty-six kilometre journey would no doubt be a highlight for my own personal satisfaction, but at what cost?
I ask myself that question often and feel fortunate enough to draw upon my many conversations with friends, acquaintances and fellow athletes who have already achieved what I have yet to. Sometimes I read something that triggers off a positive reaction, which in turn serves to inspire and motivate me all the same. The content that makes up this blog is an accurate portrayal of my own athletic philosophy. If I had to try and outline this philosophy in only a few words, it would be the pursuit of peak performance through optimal health, fitness and pure motivation. Sometimes this ethos is tested when unhealthy influences, both outside and internal, start to rear their head.
This past Wednesday saw a local 10km road race take place and I had every intention of competing. That is what I told myself anyway, but deep down I sensed a slight loathing of lining up at one of my favourite races of the year. Only a few days before, I had pursued another of my athletic passions, barefoot beach running, in this case almost an hour-and-a-half of free striding along the False Bay coastline. The tangible sense of freedom and athleticism that such a simple activity brings is unexplainable until you actually do it. Coupled with the aforementioned adventure gene, beach running at low tide is perhaps one of my favourite activities, possibly because I don't get to do it very often. The flip side of such a natural activity is that it does expose any "niggles" or imbalances that often remain undetected in our footwear-orientated society. In my case, my right peroneus and rear intercostal muscles were rather tender post-workout, causing a slight sense of concern in the back of my mind.
Perhaps the greater cause for concern was my constant worry of not living up to the great personal result I achieved at this mid-week race last year. Ego is most certainly a great limiter and can serve to cloud one's own motivations, thus deviating from the pure to the not so pure. That said, I cannot begin to imagine the pressure a professional athlete is under when seeds of doubt enter his or her minds. As amateurs, we do it for the love and should see this notion as a luxury and added benefit to our own sporting pursuits. Sometimes though, we need a little reminding.
As I indicated earlier, there are certain things that I hear, see and read that trigger a positive reaction when I'm feeling less that motivated. One of those things this past week was stumbling on a coaching website of two well-known brothers now based in the Southern Cape. In particular, Mauritz Jansen Van Rensburg's own testimony of how he "ran my fastest Marathon 2hr36 with a program suited for 10-15km races" certainly hit home. In short, I had almost forgotten my own intentions of pursuing fast 10km performances on daily jogging and weekend cycling with only a smattering of long runs and intensity. Occasional longer events were (are) to be completed on this basic structure, where peak performance is achieved by "winging it" so to speak. I just needed a little reminding, and coach "Mo's" impressive website gave me the nudge I needed.
As I pedalled next to the Atlantic Ocean early yesterday, my thoughts were eclectic at best. From recounting the work week to marvelling at the sheer intensity on the faces of the aspirant Ironman competitors passing in the opposite direction, I felt looser and happier than I have for a while. As I shifted out of the saddle on the final climb over Constantia Nek, I wondered how a friend was doing in 24 hour Enduro cycling event in Namibia, all the while concious of my own physical sensations. I chose to forgo that 10km event and have no regrets. Instead of a "could have, would, should have" mantra, my mindset has shifted back to the more empowering "wait and see" and "let it happen".
It is amazing what a difference the shortest of time frames make; one day conflicted, the next day validated. Sometimes all it takes is the smallest of things to catalyse a positive physical and mental space.
That said, if I tried to copy exactly what I did one year ago I would be mad.
