Marathon training is in full swing, roller derby training is in the new non-off-season. Training is definitely on my mind..
This here is going to be the type of blog post I used to write, back in Livejournal days. When I’ll go on and on with thoughts that are loosely related at best, peppered with quotations. Consider yourself warned, but sometimes the thoughts just need to get out.
“Somewhere in the world someone is training when you are not. When you race him, he will win.”
-Tom Fleming’s Boston Marathon Training Motto
This is a common mantra in distance running. We can train for months or even years for an event. It may be easy not to see the significance of individual workouts, but it all comes together. I posted this quote on Facebook, and someone responded that it was an easy way to fall into obsession and insanity.
Well…um…
Honestly, though – for me it also raises the question of “what is training”? Training isn’t purely physical, although that’s a big part of it. it’s mental preparation, it’s nutrition and rest and confidence and just simply overall dedication. For me this quote isn’t about just time going through the motions, which may confuse some. I fully believe that fewer, but more targeted workouts, will win out over junk miles any day. The sentiment (threat?) of “he will win” isn’t just about the physical training, it’s about who wants it more (which may manifest itself in more training time). or as Pre put it, “A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guts.”
I guess my thought is that it’s really drive and dedication that determines success, and training is often just evidence of that. Yesterday I didn’t feel well, but it was important to me to get those miles in, to prove to myself that I could do it. I didn’t go particularly fast, I didn’t run a new or exciting course that helped me break new ground, but I renewed my faith to myself that January 16 is important to me and I am going to work towards that day as a goal.
I’m completely comfortable with the fact that in running, I’m competing first and foremost against myself, and sometimes I let myself lose. When I think back to when I trained for the Rock n Roll Arizona Marathon in 2009, I just shake my head at how I let my training fall apart a month before the race. I had a FIRM goal in mind, but then I didn’t put in the training to back it up. And guess what, my god-given talent didn’t rain down on the girl who didn’t put in the time. I was frustrated and disappointed with myself, but I couldn’t look back and say “I did all I could”.
Last night I watched a rugby movie: “Forever Strong.” So far I’m 2/2 with inspirational rugby movies – I really enjoyed “Invictus” as well. The movie was about a father-son relationship, but also how a team built on character and self-respect moreso than individual effort can be successful and strong. In the movie, the team faces a loss, a rare occurrence for them. The coach asks them if they did their best, if the other team truly outplayed them. And the next morning, the whole team is up early, running together. Now, I’m a runner so of course that type of cross-training and team bonding appeals to me. But there was something else too: the athletes met and worked together physically the very next day. They didn’t lick their wounds or point fingers or try to over-analyze what specific plays worked or didn’t work. They simply got out there together and got back to training. Who knows – maybe it WAS punishment. But it was something to do that would ultimately benefit their next effort.
“Training is money in the bank.”
I was talking about training with a friend, and she mentioned that this was a favorite statement a fellow runner had given her while she was training for Ironman. We all like to pull a paycheck, and be able to spend our cash where and when we want. Training is about making those deposits. It may not be much every time, but it adds up. Training is that extra cushion that lets you get what you want when the day comes. To go back to the mental game, it’s that extra security: you know you’ve made those deposits and can draw on them if and when the time comes.
“You have to forget your last marathon before you try another. Your mind can’t know what’s coming.”
-Frank Shorter
Ok, this one is completely and utterly false for me. I barely stop running and I have the next race on my mind. For me, it’s about always knowing there’s room for improvement, although Dr. Wayne Dyer would dismiss it as “always striving and never arriving”.
For awhile, I was thinking of the next race because every marathon WAS the training for the next one. I ran 7 marathons in both 2006 and 2009. Then I took some time away, and right now I feel very focused in my training (as evidenced by my recent posts). It took awhile before I was able to commit to really wanting to do well in the marathon again (or at least get back to a level I’m content with), but I’m there. I’m devouring books: Run Less Run Faster, Fast Track: Training and Nutrition Secrets from America’s Top Female Runner, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running and I even just picked up Devoted: The Story of a Father’s Love for His Son about Dick and Rick Hoyt. Is reading going to get me to the finish line faster? Well, it’s not going to make my muscles stronger, but it may help me in other ways. It may be the motivator to bundle up and hit the road, it may help me pick up some healthier habits, it may give me something to think about during those long lonely miles. THAT’S training.
And cheesy as it may be, it came to mind and I’ll end with this.
Training is love.
