2008 - Autumn

[Sweder]

Living as I do in the most fragile of glass houses I'll resist the obvious chance to chuck a stone or two. I do have a theory though, and half-baked* though it may be I'll lay it down.

I reckon you sabotage your chances in races. It's probably a subconscious thing but it does seem these lapses (lapses to me, catastrophic failures to you) cause more damage than they should. The catalogue of un-used race entries piled up on the right hand side of your main blog seem to bear this out. Most of us would see a week of non-running before a race (not caused by debilitating injury) as a taper, a ploy to springload legs and rest weary muscles. I know that's not what's happening here but why not put that spin on it? Convince yourself you'll get back to the dull trudgery after the race and enjoy free-wheeling for another day or two. So you'll run Brighton a tad heavier than you otherwise would; you might also benefit hugely on the day from not having flogged yourself through the foulness of this week.

It's just a thought . . .

[SIZE="1"]* I posted a comment on Roads of Stone's Obama piece and missed an open goal, referring to Sara Palin as 'the baked Alaskan'. Clearly that should have been 'half-baked'. Doh![/SIZE]

[El Gordo]

Depends what you mean, old boy. I can survive a week of downtime before a race if I'm not pigging out. If I'm drinking alcohol, my eating goes crazy, and I switch into some other bloated being. I don't even have to pig out. I can eat sensibly and lose weight for a month, then have a single square of chocolate and it will completely change the way I feel for a whole day or more. Physically and emotionally. I was nowhere near as bad as this when I started, but have noticed it in the last 3 years or so. Maybe I'm at a difficult age....

I don't think you live in a glass house on this one -- you're a great example of the opposite: someone who can neck half a dozen pints of Guinness and a takeaway curry, then get up 7 hours later and run 10 miles in a tempest. I can't do that, no matter what mind games I try to employ. It brings to mind George Sheehan's remark about runners being "an experiment of one". Nigel has mentioned that he has no problem running just minutes after finishing a hearty breakfast. I can't do it. Nor can you, I think.

It's all or nothing. It's how I function, or don't function. Complete abstinence from booze and shit food is the only thing that seems to work for me now. Apart from last weekend, it's worked brilliantly over the last 6 weeks, and it's the regime I'm now back to. The thing that I find hard to get across is that abstinence isn't a burden -- it feels more like a fantastic sense of liberation.

What happened last weekend was a great reminder of why it has to be this way, and I really don't mind it. Whether I can keep it up for the required period is the big question. I'm going to try -- possibly with a week off around the end of January .

------

Agree that "half-baked Alaskan" is an excellent description of La Palin.

[Sweder]

I'm going to try -- possibly with a week off around the end of January

That's good to hear

You're right of course, as is Mr Sheehan. It's the same when I see runners lift themselves out of their comfort zone or do something extraordinary, like smash a PB out of nowhere or, in the case of the Rockhammer Man, run ten minutes after breakfast. That's just plain weird isn't it? These are things I'd like to be able to do but I can't. There's a bloke on our FLM team who eats porridge more or less on the start line; the thought turns my stomach. Yet Ultra runners often eat along the way . . . so it can't be all that odd

Good luck with the struggle. Just as I can run after a night out with -ahem - certain other people I seem equally capable of avoiding beer without too much trouble. I haven't so much as thought about having a pint this week. Funny old game, Saint.

Hey, perhaps that's us Saint and Greavesey
They knew bugger-all about football either :RFLMAO:

[El Gordo]

Another physiological oddball: I remember reading about a guy who ran across the USA. His secret? Don't drink any fluids. He summed it up something like this: "If I drink water, I sweat, and need to drink more water. So best not to have any, and avoid the problems it causes".

Like most people, I'm sure I'm susceptible to all sorts of 'limiting beliefs' which we need to battle against -- but at the same time, we do gradually understand out what works best for us and what doesn't.

Just to clarify, I'm definitely going to Brighton, whether I run or not. I'm 80% sure I'll take part. It will be a pretty grim plod, but I don't want to miss it. I'm just annoyed with myself for letting the momentum slip at the wrong time. Would have been better to have had a break after it, not before. Doh!

[Seafront Plodder]

You'll run it El G.

I'll be there too, in my capacity of Official RC Photographer.

[Sweder]

I'll be there too, in my capacity of Official RC Photographer.

You have to run it SP . . . I've lined up a series of cheerleaders:
'C'MON EEEEEEYAAAANDEEEE!!!'

[marathondan]

EG, I think there is a bit of a wagon-hopping mentality in many of us. Call it mood swings, bipolar disorder, manic depressive tendencies, or whatever. It’s difficult to stay on the narrow path all the time (and I don’t just mean when you’re walking home from the pub). We all have a naughty side, and sometimes it takes great delight in temporarily defeating the virtuous side. (Let’s face it, liberal rationalists that most of us are, this process is well described by the good ol' battle of good versus evil.) If this is the way you are, then maybe you just need to embrace it. In fact, if you expect to lapse (say) one week a month, then the guilty attraction of the lapse may even be diminished.

Having said that, I think the idea of programming a "binge week" into one's training programme may be taking the "step back" concept a bit far (more "fall over" than "step back"?). However, maybe it shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand...

Slightly related to this, I had been wondering recently whether a "running holiday" is a good part of an ongoing training plan. No, I don’t mean the annual Almeria Mini Break, but the idea of (say) taking a month off from running every year. I’ve just had an enforced one, and most residents of this parish seem to suffer from a loss of running mojo once a year or so. Again, embracing our limitations could have a positive effect.

[El Gordo]

Well, Hal Higdon and other luminaries do recommend a 'training holiday'. Mine lasts around 10 months a year, and I'm certainly raring to go after that.

[stillwaddler]

Your eating plan looks like perfectly good carb loading to me...I predict you will complete Brighton in fine form.

[Antonio247]

Congratulations on losing so many pounds in just a few weeks, EG. What counts is the whole period, not just having some excess two days. If you go on losing weight like this, you´ll have to change your nickname into "El flaco" when you come to Almería.


Good luck in Brighton next Sunday. Take it easy.

[Sweder]

. . . you´ll have to change your nickname into "El flaco"

El Flaco. Excellent

[El Gordo]

El flaco.... Hmmm, yeah, I like that. When I drop below 200 pounds (90kg), I'll change my name.

The gym has saved me. I've had 3 tough gym sessions during this period of binge recovery, and has made it much easier to get back on the road, as I did this afternoon. Previously, I'd have had 5 or 6 days of complete inactivity which would make the first couple of runs difficult.

Carbo-loading for a 10K, SW? Nice try - thanks.

[William_Shakespeare]

Ay, to train and to diet, is't:
But to my mind, though I am native here
And to the manner born, it is a custom
More honour'd in the breach than the observance.

[glaconman]

El Gordo;

To add my own thoughts. I think it's entirely normal to have the odd weekend off-the-rails.

By nature we are emotional, creative, instinctive and spontaneous. And yet we're often engaged and immersed within a world that betrays this. We engineer processes and create abstract versions of our world. We normalize, order, design and index.

I think this creates a great deal of subconscience dissonance. Going for a run is one way of dealing with this and it can help to get rid of some of the clutter.

But another way is to get abit pissed. It allows us to enter a different state of mind where we can wipe the slate of all this abstract order.

Perhaps balance could be achieved in another way. But it feels like an irresistable impulse nonetheless.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Fullers London Pride -v- Flora London Marathon.

(Both will mess with your head and your waistline and demand your full attention.)

[El Gordo]

El Gordo;

To add my own thoughts. I think it's entirely normal to have the odd weekend off-the-rails.

By nature we are emotional, creative, instinctive and spontaneous. And yet we're often engaged and immersed within a world that betrays this. We engineer processes and create abstract versions of our world. We normalize, order, design and index.

I think this creates a great deal of subconscience dissonance. Going for a run is one way of dealing with this and it can help to get rid of some of the clutter.

But another way is to get abit pissed. It allows us to enter a different state of mind where we can wipe the slate of all this abstract order.

Perhaps balance could be achieved in another way. But it feels like an irresistable impulse nonetheless.

Excellent post, GM. I know what you're saying, and can't disagree with the general sentiment.

Trouble is, once I opt to 'enter a different state of mind [to] wipe the slate of all this abstract order', i.e. go to the pub, I find it very difficult to snap out of it and return to the pure ascetic life. Or not without lingering consequences. A bad day is a form of contamination that doesn't instantly disappear. It's like the breaking of a spell, or losing the rhythm and momentum. I worry that the more it happens, the more normal it will seem. Basically, I don't trust myself. I'm more upbeat about running than I have been for a while, and I guess I'm anxious to preserve this positive state of mind.

The human instinct seems to be to proceed in the direction I'm already going. Once deflected, I continue until deflected again. I've written about this a few times. It's all about momentum. We need to try to keep pointed the right way.

Thing is, it's not as if I'm craving unhealthy food and booze. I'm not at all. I'm really enjoying the (relatively) healthy life. You say that "going for a run is one way of dealing with this and it can help to get rid of some of the clutter." You're dead right, and I want that to be my main outlet for as long as possible. If I could trust myself, I'd throw in a weekly bottle of wine or night in the pub. How nice to be able to do that and leave it there. I'm not a depressive type, but I am finding that filling this Adonis-like temple with toxins just makes me feel pissed off and demotivated. Getting and staying excited about running is largely dependent on feeling right in the old brain box.

Yes we can! Yes we can!

Hurrah!!!!

[marathondan]

Hail Marys? Hail Paulas, shurely!

You may like this, or you may find it sacreligious...

[Sweder]

Thanks Dan; I've just lost my breakfast . . .

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Great to see you getting out there and posting a decent time too EG. Well done mate, you've done very bloody well indeed. And you seemed to enjoy the experience, which is even better.

Looking forward to the next instalment!

[El Gordo]

Thanks. As always, I enjoyed the 'having done' more than the doing, but yes, I'm pleased and surprised by how well it went compared with my expectations.

I've decided that the gym has done me good, by allowing me to continue the cardio-vascular work even when I don't fancy running, or am feeling wary about putting too much pressure on the knee. Previously, I'd have abused this downtime but so far, I've managed to channel it into some other worthy activity.