Puff puff

[andygates]

That's the tough bit of the week out of the way. This afternoon's brick was a bugger, real hurt box stuff. 10 miles bike / 2 run, attacking on each hill; the run was jarring for the first klick or so. I need a stealth MP3 with my drill instructors, dammit. Absurdly humid today too for that full-on Slippery Badger Ov Deelight feeling.

Sometimes I feel strange, working this hard for what will, at best, be an 80th percentile place. The athletes among you will all, if you were there, beat me and get the kettle on before I come in. I used to think that because I wasn't a contender for the top spot, there was no point racing - that racing was purely for that specific win. That changed around this year's half-marathon when I got that you can run your own race; and around the year before's where I realised (obvious with hindsight) that you could use races as training goals, milestones, goads and benchmarks. And like DSP says, you can play your best game and simultaneously not mind coming arse-last. It doesn't mean you're not fighting as hard as you can, working to your maximum, flogging your guts out for times that would make "real athletes" cry.

So I'm going to carry this week on - steady sessions, nothing race-pace from now in, tapering down to rest before the big day. Because really, this is not a normal week, this is an apex week. I want to give this the best I've got, do better than Budleigh, put Bude behind me, kick some arse.

Some fun-runner fatboy participant (rather than competitor) arse. But most assuredly, arse shall be kickéd.

Get the kettle on.

Comments

[alacerus.livejournal.com]

Totally agree chuck. My first half marathon was raced with Xeeny and Skean (Bristol) and when you see them flying past in the other direction you just "Think balls to that there outta my league, I just gotta beat the guy dressed in the scooby-doo out fit in front of me."Go kick arse. I didn't beat scooby, he beat me fifty feet....

[andygates.livejournal.com]

My first half-marathon I was beaten by a guy dressed as a tap, collecting for Water Aid along the route. Maybe everyone has to be beaten by a costumed character, just the once.

[skean.livejournal.com]

Exactly! I say everytime that there is ALWAYS a bigger/faster/stronger/smarter/better looking guy (in my case, 9 times out of 10 its Xeeny. Racing against him is pointless - he is a better runner than any of us will ever be. But racing with him is fun).

Doesn't stop us going out there and wanting it to be the best we can do though. The only time I get annoyed about it is if I think I haven't given it the best I can.