Blog

Living

In an effort to reclaim something of a “normal” life, I’ve had a busy week. Monday was a birthday party (though I didn’t drink), Tuesday I helped a friend with her fantasy football draft, Wednesday night I went to a ball game (and got to see the Padres beat the Mets in a good one) and last night was dinner with friends. I think we’re even going out to dinner with some friends tonight! I’m on a roll and it’s been a fun week. I went out more this week than I did in a month (or more) when I was really training. But I’m friggin’ exhausted. It’s no wonder I didn’t do this while training!

Getting back into training has been fun, though it’s had its hiccups. The low back pain that was bothering me at the beginning of the week is pretty much gone and my foot has gotten better, but it’s still not 100%. I skipped my scheduled short run yesterday and am going to swim this evening (instead of taking today off, as scheduled). I am hoping to do my long run tomorrow, but I’ll play that by ear. Thankfully, I’ve got plenty of time so I don’t need to push it. On the other hand, I feel like I have too much extra energy that I need to burn. Last week was a four hour training week and this week I have six hours scheduled. Since I’m concentrating on running, I can’t really do much more at this point, but I’m feeling a little anxious and antsy, sorta like I felt during the taper. Hopefully a good swim this evening will help.

Last weekend’s “Play: The New York Times Sports Magazine” magazine had a fun article by a recreational endurance athlete named Stuart Stevens. You can find the article, “Thank God, This Will Only Get Worse” here (subscription required, I think). The article is mostly about L’Étape du Tour, a sick bike race in France that he participated in last month – it follows a Tour de France stage route and is 197 kilometers with a ridiculous amount of climbing, including an ascent up l’Alpe d’Huez. But it also has some interesting reflections on why people subject themselves to the training and racing that is endurance sports.

On training:
“…as you get older and life becomes more complicated, it’s easy to start questioning the value of spending huge chunks of your day going in what amounts to glorified circles. One morning you wake up and it suddenly hits you – all the things you could be doing with an extra 15 to 25 hours a week. It’s an entirely rational epiphany and one that must, of course, be crushed immediately.”

On “fun”:
“‘Fun’ is what happens when you enter that zone where the ordinary is suspended and the normal rules of time and space are strikingly rearranged. Ask anyone who runs a marathon about the difference between those first miles – the ordinary ones – and the last few, when each stride requires the effort of 10 earlier ones. That’s the Fun Zone, when minutes can seem like hours or, just as capriciously, hours can zoom by in a trance-like state. It’s not why most of us take on absurd endurance endeavors, but I doubt we would keep coming back without those moments. It’s a sweaty sort of transcendence.”

On how to race endurance races:
“Without the innate human capacity for self-deception, these events would be impossible. You swear to yourself that it will get easier. Oddly, it usually does, or the body adjusts and it seems easier.”

Run – August 20
Distance: 3 miles
Time: 25 minutes
Average heart rate: 138
Course: West Village
Conditions: Overcast, cool, breezy

Swim – August 21
Distance: 3,000 yards
Time: 55 minutes

Run – August 22
Distance: 5.5 miles
Time: 49:51
Average heart rate: 135
Course: Downtown, across Brooklyn Bridge
Conditions: Overcast, comfortably cool

Bike – August 23
Time: 50 minutes
Average heart rate: 119
Indoor ride