As I mentioned yesterday, I have decided to take a different approach to this year in terms of what I do in regards to fitness endeavors. I believe I am finally rewiring my head to consider how I approach races, training, expectation and results around that. To many, this epiphany and hopefully subsequent actions on my part may seem more on par with a “no duh” event.
But to reinforce this decision, I will blog here as to how I came to this conclusion and why it is important. I am changing habits, and frankly I am not good at that. I will look to leverage this blog as a tool to further my mental schema, and hopefully how I think … and subsequently act.
There are many reasons why I should change my approach to fitness. They are interrelated and so they get gummed up in the calorie burner on the top of my neck. So I will attempt to break them down, one by one, in no particular order of importance.
Here goes: one reason why I should change my approach to fitness and endurance events is that I have long overlooked aspects of my fitness to the point of detriment. Clearly, banging out 70 miles a week for the last 3 and half years has had its benefits. My consistency has been my strength. But in that, it has become my weakness. Given a half an hour window of training, I will spend that time running, to get miles. Some have accused that this was to chase numbers, and there is certainly some truth in that. But it was also built on a belief that to do better at running, I had to do more running. That principle is certainly true in many cases, but I have exhausted that to some extent. I spent all my training dollars on one aspect of fitness. That has made me flawed and weak on many fronts. I lack general strength in so many regards it is disgusting. This may have been forgivable in my younger years, but it has become magnified with age and multiple years of disregarding it. At some point, the spending of training time running looses maximal effectiveness for me, and that time would be better spent on other aspects of fitness … making me a more whole person physically, and probably a better runner to boot.
More to come.
CROSSFIT :P
ReplyDeleteI feel like we are about to watch the first Karate Kid movie
ReplyDeleteFriends don't let friends do Crossfit Sean! LOL!
ReplyDeleteWax on, Wax off:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeyP3Qnet8w
GZ: I think you're injured and such thoughts enter the mind when one is injured. I do, however, understand some of what you're saying. Bottom line: To be a better runner, you need to mostly run--but do it in a way that you're constantly mixing things up. Also, working guys like us have to get in the miles when we can. Some say that's chasing numbers. But it's what you have to do when you work full-time and have a family. I am rarely able to run more than 3 hours at a time because of other commitments. I do what I can. With a family to feed, I don't have the luxury of working part-time or calling running my job or living in a flop house in Boulder in the name of bagging peaks everyday. I do what I can. We all know you do, too. Stay in the game and keep fighting!
ReplyDeleteWyatt
Crossfit is fine. I am not anti crossfit. I am anti crossfit being supposedly the cure to all things fitness.
ReplyDeleteKarate Kid is an 80s classic.
Wyatt ... I am not completely injured, but that is probably a bit beside the point. The foot is not keeping me from running, but its issues are helping me realize some things - and consider how I approach all of this. I have been doing the same stuff for essentially four years. There is something solid in that, but I think it is appropriate to shift it up a bit too. More to come ...
If this is how you are trying to come out of the closet, its really confusing.
ReplyDeleteWhen you doing Green this week? We can hold hands.
ReplyDeleteSanitas, 9 AM, Tuesday. Green TBD.
DeleteI'm ashamed to admit it, but I bought a Living Social deal last week for one month of unlimited CrossFit classes.
ReplyDeleteGood stuff - look forward to reading what you plan on changing. One thing that you didn't mention is that it is not always just chasing miles (or about fitness) when you go out for a short 30 minute jog. You have said before it is partly for the mind. I think heading out for a short run because it is what you enjoy doing is a perfectly reasonable thing to do, even if doing something else may be better in terms of overall fitness/race performance. It is all about enjoyment, right?
ReplyDeleteThe answer is always to run more! JMock is obviously finished, don't you be next!
ReplyDeleteHaha! I hope not, but even finished, I'm sure that I'm still faster than you.
DeleteJustin is nearly married, has a dog, travels to exotic places and can actually drink two beers and not be plastered now. He ain't done yet but he is nearly there.
ReplyDeleteBigger picture on how I think this will change what I do and how I do it ... it might just be a lot of verbiage to say that I am not going to look to get 70 a week all the time, run seven days a week but instead focus on 3 workouts a week ... and instead of filling with junk for the sake of miles do other work.
JMock still has a chance at redemption, but once he cashes in that living social deal, he's finished.
ReplyDeletePlay more guitar
ReplyDeletethere is definitely that.
ReplyDelete