As promised in my previous post, here is an expansion of the final three factors I'm trying to optimise in 2015.
This time one year ago, my road racing fitness was close to lifetime best. My 10km running times were fast, with three consecutive races yielded a thirty-odd second improvement on each outing. I was “flying” by my own standards, happily ensconced in that magical bubble of peak athletic performance.
Whilst these respective performances most certainly indicated an exceptionally high level of fitness, a nagging sense of doubt and worry existing in the back of my mind amid the seemingly effortless flow of great competitive outings. In short, a little voice was telling me that my race fitness was perhaps being pursued at the expense of my greater health, more specifically a nagging pain at the back of left heel. My mornings would involve awaking to daily tightness in my left foot, hobbling giving way to limping and finally – when warmed up – to walking and daily running, albeit always with chronic tightness and inflammation.
Pursuing race fitness can be a vicious cycle, where the balance fitness and health can become blurred as one gets increasingly consumed in all things competitive. Fortunately my personal approach is such that I tend to eschew regular speed-work in the conventional sense, only indulging in occasional fartlek in the forest, barefoot sprints on grass or down-slope 200m repeats in a park. I cannot even imagine the track sessions and time trials that many of peers perform on a twice weekly basis. Whilst the more obvious physical aspects (anaerobic/sugar-burning/residual fatigue) are not at all appealing, my personal loathing of such regular intensity spikes is more mentally-orientated, viz a viz:
- Weekly time comparisons.
- Readiness to perform on specific days.
- Living up to constant measurements.
That’s why I train and race without a stopwatch – I’d rather not know!
Even following an approach as abstract as my own does invite comparative analysis though. While these factors might be more introspective and tangible as opposed to measured, self-esteem and personal ego based on recent mediocre race performances can (and have!) take a knock no matter how holistic and balanced a lifestyle.
Following exactly the same race schedule as last year, my intentions were (and are) to improve my times, which is natural and part of the beauty of sport. So far in 2015 – barring one momentous occasion in early January – this has not happened. Two consecutive mediocre performances have resulted in sub-par finishing times, which can lead to all sorts of self-analysis and “poor-little-me” emotions.
Unhealthy thoughts abound, such as: “How can I be that slow?” or “How the hell did those guys beat me?” can lead to the inevitable “I’ll kick those sucker fools butts next week!”
This sort of mindset is telling though, and an indicator of perhaps being a little off-centre. Great results only happen with an ideal mindset, where motivation is pure and flow is in abundance. Red-lining doesn't hurt and digging deep is just a natural extension of personal life force. Former pro-cyclist David Millar once stated that he doubted a repeat of his 2000 Tour de France prologue victory was possible because he wasn't sure if he could push that hard again. As if to highlight the power of a pure mindset, Millar’s warm-up for that particular 10 mile time-trial was reported to be just eight or nine minutes of easy spinning! Pure mindset and motivation lead to a synchronicity that is so powerful that, in some cases, conventional warm-up protocol doesn't even apply.
2015 is a new year with new challenges. Sure, my athletic aspirations remain the same but perhaps should be divided into two subsets:
Superficial/surface-level/ego-driven: fast 10km times; Two Oceans Ultra silver; great cross-country league results.
Longer term/bigger picture/grounded: free of injury; light feeling; love of the activity; daily exposure to nature.
Last year the former was evident at the expense health.
This year sees optimal health (better sleep/no joint pain or “niggles”) being more to the fore at the expense of short distance form. Perhaps I should acknowledge that my working pursuits are such that life is a lot busier this year compared to last. Regular weekend travel complements several week-day evenings of supplementary work. Having more commitments means less time to just lie around. The mind is busy and so is the body. Striving to live up to last year’s standards at face value is simply not practical in the greater scheme of things.
You can’t control you biorhythms but they can certainly control you.
The past few days have seen a recurrence perhaps the most important indicator on which I base my personal athletic philosophy. Since Friday last week, I've been caught and passed by fellow runners/joggers on three separate occasions out on the road or in the local forest. To some, this might be catastrophic but to me it tells me that I truly am “going easy.”
Speed is like dynamite: if handled improperly, it can blow you up!