Far From Flabby February

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

So here we are, staring down the barrel of February. January it must be said was a bit of a write-off. Not exactly bereft of running, but I covered perhaps only a quarter of the distance expected. Largely this was due to very inclement weather; unusually tropical, hot and very, very humid. Even prior to sunrise the temperature and humidity have been such that the idea of running amounted to little more than insanity. Anyway, that month is done and "dusted" (sweated, more like), and February has kicked off with ... well, annoyingly more of the same.

Even so, I remain confident of a good few weeks to come. The new treadmill arrives tomorrow, so even if this weather continues, the treadmill's inbuilt fan and indoors-ness will help cover some distance. A return to the podiatrist the following day for new orthotics and new shoes will only heighten my enthusiasm.

I've also agreed to run the Canberra half marathon next April with a friend of mine who similarly feels the need for a race goal. Following that there's the Sydney Half in May, then a serious winter strength-building phase before the race season kicks off again in August, with the possibility of a marathon, perhaps, maybe. We shall see.









 

[Sweder]

the treadmill's inbuilt fan and indoors-ness 

Aye, an there's the rub.

You know I loves and respects ya, but there's just no livin' with the notion.
We are, of course, so, so lucky. A temperate climate, soft, cool breezes, cold, thin air. 
But still. The love of the game is in the chasing, at least it is for me.

I wish you well on your simulator. God's speed. I do not decry it, for, in that bastard antipodean welt, it is nay on essentisal to keep a foot in the game. 

Cry Harry! For God, England and St George. 
And turn that dial to 'undulating', whatever else you do. 

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Harry? George? I'm not entirely sure what you are on about Sweder, but perhaps the following post will help clarify where I am currently in the treadmill transmogrification to running nirvana.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Sri Chi Marathon Man

I need a name. A name befitting a mechanical behemoth that is the new treadmill lurking in my spare room. It's a giant - much, much bigger, stronger, faster and steeper than my previous two treadmills. In a sense this machine is overkill, but then that's precisely what I wanted - something that I'm not pushing too hard but which has loads of spare capacity. This machine has a frame that can't be broken, a deck large enough to hold a picnic on and a motor powerful enough to take my middle-aged long distance exertions with ease. Short of going to a fully commercial model, this beast is about as strong as they come. Or, at least that's how it was sold to me. Time of course will tell.
 
To be able to run again with music is really quite exciting. The streets surrounding MLCMM HQ are too busy, too uneven and at night too dark to contemplate any notion of running with music – the roads and footpaths require constant concentration lest an unnoticed tree root or hybrid motor vehicle leaps from the shadows to prematurely end my running. I’ve been particularly paranoid since Mrs MLCMM broke her arm after tripping over a tree root the year before last whilst running in the dark. At our age, broken anythings take a long, long time to heal and are best avoided if at all possible.
 
Instead, to run in the comfort of my own home and focus on music and of course my running technique, rather than dodging pedestrians, rubbish bins and psychopathic tree roots is a welcome relief and I now look forward immensely to resuming a properly disciplined training program. Perhaps this all sounds rather like a bit of an excuse? Running the streets is not that bad although it’s true that I have perhaps an unreasonable dislike of other people using my roads. Doubtless a psychologist could find some deep-seated personal disorder in there somewhere. I am after all, a Libran cynic. Ironic, isn’t it?

Whatever the reason for my dislike of the local streets, I need to be comfortable with my running environment. This helps to push myself to continue with my running even when motivation flags, as it frequently does. It’s often difficult enough to lace up the running shoes, let alone contend with rubbish bins, manic rubbish truck drivers and rabid dogs. Well OK, to be fair I’ve never actually encountered a rabid dog, but the possibility is always there on the streets, whereas it is far less likely whilst on my treadmill. On the other hand I have encountered manic rubbish truck drivers on the streets, but never in my home, which is just as well.

So I find myself on a precipice, about to launch into a brand spanking new phase of my running life. A visit to the podiatrist today to receive new carbon fibre orthotics and to analyse which of the two pairs of shoes I bought worked best with them was oddly comforting. Discussing shoes and analysing my gait with knowledgeable foot doctors is almost second nature to me now, but at this juncture of my life, when calcification and other such degeneration is making itself evident in the joints and ligaments of my feet and legs, to have an expert confidently assert that I can continue running for a great many years yet is very reassuring.

As I age, there’s always that nagging doubt about how long I can continue to run. Running is a vitally important ally in my battle against mortality, but the older I get, the harder it is to overcome the setbacks and maintain that all-important motivation.

El Gordo himself touched on this some years ago. It has been quoted before but is worth repeating:
 
It was only after I finished my first marathon that I could see that, for me, there was no beginning, and there would be no end. The race began long before the start line, and it will never finish.

If you’re anything like me, you’re not running against other people. The only ticking you hear is from the clock of your own life as it slowly winds down. In truth, we run not against a watch but against a calendar.

In that first long race, you’re straining to out-run your own history, your own paralysis, your own paranoia. Like Pheiddipides, the original marathoner, you’re running to deliver news of victory and liberation  —  Your own.

The cycle of motivation and non-motivation that some average runners like me encounter is of course well known, and often likened to the myth of Sisyphus, endlessly pushing a boulder uphill only to have it roll down the other side. At some point we’re going to say “Enough!” and stop, because we are mortal and can, and must eventually do so. That is a frightening thought, and I hope to delay that inevitable permanent cessation of running as long as possible.
 
But like the subject of the myth, we tend to confuse meaning and motivation. Is running only ever about prolonging life? Well no, of course not, but it becomes damnably difficult to find any other meaning when the motivation has gone. The process is the thing however, no matter how hard it becomes, and if we can’t find joy and beauty in the work then the end time will be inevitably sooner. And so we focus on either enjoying each and every run by, for example, running in the countryside and up mountains, or else we enter races and find meaning there. Many do both.
 
Devoid as it is of scenery, a treadmill rather delightfully brings these points into sharp relief. The questioning runner will have to come to understand the true meaning behind the apparently pointless pursuit of the Sisyphusian task and its existential trials. It isn’t easy unless perhaps you are into Sri Chinmoy’s athletic meditation techniques, or Chi running’s yoga-style methods, but I love the challenge.
 
Which brings me back to the choice of name for the treadmill, now so unfairly lumbered with responsibility for my spiritual and mental well-being. Well, actually I think I’ll just let that hang for a while, it’s not that important, really.
 
What is important is that I have my treadmill, my new shoes (Asics 1000 if you give a toss), new orthotics (which cost four to five times the price of the shoes), and my mojo which is now re-found and whirling about my head yelling at me to get the heck out there and cover some ground.
 
Well, I did cover a little ground today. It was my last run in the old shoes - Brooks Adrenalines, which have been my favourite for a few years now, and which I bid a sad farewell to. I’ve a long way to go, but I have entered the Canberra half marathon on April 10, so the race goal is in place. Only nine short weeks to get back to half marathon readiness, but I can’t now be anything other than confident, and I am.

I even have, for the first time in absolutely ages, a Track du Jour for you, and it’s a cracker, and not a little ironic...
 
Happy running, fellow Sisyphusians!

 

 

[Bierzo Baggie]

Nice post MLCM.
Pointless pursuits...Robert MacFarlane wrote about the motivation for climbing mountains in his book "Mountains of the Mind" and he touched on similar themes.
At least I think he did, I only got up to page 10.

How about everybody proposing some names for that treadmill? Sisy? The Beast?

Can see what you mean about running the streets at night, it's a real pain in the arse, especially crossing the road. I deserve to be run over, I really do!
And when you mentioned your favourite old trainers I had to check mine, the ones I use on Wednesdays when I hit the hard stuff. Yep, Brooks Adrenalines.

Looking forward to the Canberra half marathon build-up, isn't that one you've done before?

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Looking forward to the Canberra half marathon build-up, isn't that one you've done before?

Thanks BB. I ran the full marathon in Canberra three years ago, and would love to run it again, but there's not enough time to prepare this year, so it will just be the half this time.

[Sweder]

On the other hand I have encountered manic rubbish truck drivers on the streets, but never in my home, which is just as well.

Or even Manic Street Preachers. Highway Star is a terrific track, by the way. Shame it won't play on here (in my corner of the websphere, anyway).

As for names for the great Beast, if it were me (and we all know where I refuse to stand on treadmills), it would be Sulako or Nostromo, or Fury 161. But what about The Death Star or even Thunder Road (it would even have its own Bruce Springsteen track, how cool is that?).

Speaking of the Boss, he's 67. Here he is, out running, as God intended, in the Great Outdoors.
Ugly spud.

   

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Thunder Road! I like it, I like it a lot. Front running suggestion thus far!

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Adrenaline under pressure.

So it transpires that I have no less than five pairs of Brooks Adrenaline runners under my bed. Two of the older pairs have each completed a marathon and still get used for a bit of walking about here and there, but it has to be said are not in their greatest shape. Given they have carried me through my marathon campaigns though, I find it difficult to toss them out, ratty and battered as they are. The oldest pair is not fit to be seen at all and has therefore been relegated to gardening duty. The two newest pairs are still very good running shoes although they are perhaps not in the most sparkling of condition. They have, however, on advice from the vet podiatrist been retired from running duty and will see out their days doing light walking jobs only. In their place is the swanky new young punk about town, the Asics 1000, which yesterday took over the role of MLCMM running shoe with a nice little 8km tempo run on the equally new treadmill which, for the moment is going by the name Thunder Road, at least until someone thinks of something slightly better.

The run went pretty well, or should I say well enough when one considers just how little running I have undertaken in the last twelve months or so. The last kilometre was even a satisfying semi-sprint at something approaching race pace. As a test for new shoes, new orthotics and of course the new treadmill, it all went very well indeed, and suggests a solid year of running ahead.

Or at least it should have. The arrival in town of an old friend last night required the consumption of rather too many drinks for today's scheduled run to be attempted, despite my oft-repeated insistence that running with a hangover is no bad thing. Today it just couldn't be faced, but tomorrow, well that will be a different story.

Yesterday's initial treadmill run was at times quite testing, and so the Track du Jour really chose itself. The Queen/David Bowie collaboration Under Pressure is of course appropriate for a couple of reasons, and a song that has been welcome many times before as it pops up on random play during a run, usually and not a little freakishly at appropriately tough points in the run. Just at the moment however it has of course a rather melancholy tinge to it.

Vale David Bowie.

And it's astonishing to think that it will be 25 years this year since the passing of the equally great Freddie Mercury.

Both of those gentlemen's contributions to the world of music have helped myself and many others I'm sure with our running, and will continue to do so. There will be no more new music from them, but their legacy will remain as powerful as the day it was created.

Run on, friends.

[Sweder]

I had a real problem throwing out my Two Oceans/ Paris Marathon shoes. It was them or me, though.
A woman can only put up with so much stinky old filth in the house.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Still not feeling up to a run after a boozy weekend, I put this one off until mid-afternoon, then wearily laced up the running shoes thinking I'd just knock out a slow, languid 5km. This I did, except that by then I was feeling so much better that I cranked the pace a bit and instead completed a full hour of running. The amazing part about it was that I felt like an actual runner again. Now (I hastily add) this wasn't in any way justified: my pace was slow and the run flat and easy, but I couldn't help feeling chuffed, and could have gone on for quite so time longer than the hour.  Caution prevailed however, and having already covered a lot more ground than scheduled, I did not risk injury by getting carried away.

It's a very encouraging sign however, and only increases my confidence about getting back into some semblance of fitness.

Onwards then, eh?

[Bierzo Baggie]

I think this is a true RC rennaissance we are experiencing. There seems to be a lot of optimism around at the moment and it's contagious!
And I'm sure Thunder Road won't be the final say .....what colour is it? Does it remind you of anybody in particular? Does it purr?

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

And I'm sure Thunder Road won't be the final say .....what colour is it? Does it remind you of anybody in particular? Does it purr?

Well BB, it's black like a panther, so in that sense it reminds me of CharlieCat5, but it's also a little squeaky, so in that regard it's more like Sweder ...

[ducks for cover]

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

On my treadmill turning corners.

There comes a moment, on only quite rare occasions such as during a return to serious training, when everything just all of a sudden comes together in a big, positive rush, embracing you in a joyous bear hug. The running is easier, stronger and more invigorating. The senses are heightened and the combined feeling of enjoyment and fulfilment easily overcomes any difficulty that the run may present. In that moment you are acutely aware that you have jumped to a higher plateau of fitness; you have passed a milestone on the road to race readiness; in short, you have turned the corner and are now facing clear and reachable success.

I had such a moment during my run today. This was my third run in four days, and those three runs have covered more ground than my entire catalogue of runs in January, such as they were. Today I ran longer and further than I have in a very long time. It was only peculiar circumstance that forced the third, longer run today on what should have been a rest day. Emergency duty at work has resulted in me being called in for three unexpected night shifts, and this afternoon was the only time I could slot in my long run, which had been scheduled for later in the week. So despite the heat of the day, I somewhat reluctantly changed into running togs, dragged our largest fan in front of Thunder Road, the large and intimidating treadmill that lives in our spare room, and set off for an uncertain, and rather cautious “long” run. And by long, I mean a mere ninety minutes of slow, conversational-pace trotting. Compared to my running exploits of two or more years ago, this seems barely worthy of mention, but there’s no escaping the fact that when I look at my training log for the last eighteen months, it is a woeful indictment of too few runs at too short a distance, and so today was significant indeed.

I am not entirely certain what has happened to my running mojo in recent times. While the death of my previous treadmill doubtless contributed to the severe reduction of running hereabouts, the real reasons are in fact multitudinous and wearying to contemplate. Let’s just say circumstances are looking far better now and my return to the running fold is once again serious and disciplined. Hence the hastily re-scheduled long run today, despite the adverse conditions. And my reward was that “A-ha!” turning-the-corner moment when I knew deep within that I at last felt myself running strong and well again.

I stepped off the beast after an hour and a half knowing I could have continued on far longer, but I was already well over my scheduled limit for the week and not wanting, nor having any need to risk the training program through an over-use injury. The reward for the effort thus far was one of immense self satisfaction, overlaid with the buzz of endorphins and the nostalgic delight at returning to a state of fitness and physical well-being that had been absent for far too long.  

The feeling was disproportionately huge compared to the actual amount of work, but sometimes you get rewarded not just for the physical effort, but for the mental discipline as well, so I’m banking it without a hint of shame.

And the Track de Jour? I nearly went for an old favourite, ELP’s Fanfare For The Common Man, but this one seemed somehow more fitting. Given my sedate pace perhaps it’s just the irony, but regardless, it’s a great running track, and 41 years old next month! Enjoy.
 
 
  
  

[Sweder]

Another top TdJ. There are some cracking Hawkwind tunes out there, and that's certainly on the list.
Sadly, my lurking germs made an appearance this week so I dumped the midweek run, saving myself for the weekend assault of ParkRun and Twittens.

[suzieq]

I've been reading your write-ups with interest (as usual) MLCMM, as I've only recently gotten back to running after an injury. Very slow and steady...but great to be back out there! Being that you run on a treadmill, I thought you might be interested to read about a runner from around here who is attempting to break the Guinness World record for the longest distance run on a treadmill in 24 hours. Here's his link (although for some reason I couldn't get it to copy properly): http://runproctor.blogspot.ca/ He's quite an amazing and very humble man, who just happens to be able to run extremely well. Hello to Mrs. MLCMM!

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

I've been reading your write-ups with interest (as usual) MLCMM, as I've only recently gotten back to running after an injury.  Very slow and steady...but great to be back out there!  Being that you run on a treadmill, I thought you might be interested to read about a runner from around here who is attempting to break the Guinness World record for the longest distance run on a treadmill in 24 hours.  Here's his link (although for some reason I couldn't get it to copy properly): http://runproctor.blogspot.ca/   He's quite an amazing and very humble man, who just happens to be able to run extremely well.  Hello to Mrs. MLCMM!

I was wondering what had happened to you Suzie, and if you were OK ... so hoping the injury wasn't too serious for you over there. It certainly is great to get back running after a lay off, so enjoy it!

Treadmill endurance records are crazy things, aren't they? A great way to raise money though, as you can put the treadmill in a very public place, making it ideal for something like Dave Proctor's attempt. I will be very interested to see how he gets on.

Cheers Suzie!

[Seafront Plodder]

I remember at the Expo for the Dublin marathon, there was a guy in the foyer doing a 24 hour jogathon on the treadmill raising money for charity.

The next day he finished the marathon in under 3 1/2 hours. Insane.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

I remember at the Expo for the Dublin marathon...

Dublin? Wasn't that... what, 2003? That was way back in the very dawn of RC time.

Time you laced up the shoes again, SP!

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Sweating on the boss.

With the temperature nudging 30C and the humidity rising to continuous sweat point, it was with grateful heart that I took to my trusty treadmill Thunder Road in the relative cool of indoors for today's scheduled short run.

Over the years I've often run a kind of pyramid tempo run; gradually increasing my pace from warm-up jog to somewhere around race, or even PB pace at about the mid-point of the run before slowly ramping it back to cool-down pace at the end. This is a great work out with a testing middle section but without any injury risk due to sudden acceleration as you may have with intervals, for example. And you can tailor it to any distance, and with the treadmill controlling the pace, you get a great training run without having to think too much, which is always an advantage in my case, and which (importantly) lets me focus on and enjoy the music that I always having playing when on the treadmill.

Speaking of which, it's about time the boss was given his due. Today's TdJ is another beauty, and the song from which my treadmill has taken its name. At least, until something better comes along.

Oh, before we get to that, I should mention that today's run completed a 33km week for me; my first 30+km week of training for way too long. It's good to be back!