Today was a marvelous day in Seabrook. First, since I knew I was only doing 13 miles, I slept in. Then, to avoid the stupid Easter egg hunt, I parked in a different area of the park. Then it was turn on the garmin and do miles.
I did really well. My shoes were very comfortable. My legs felt tired but no new pains. A lady I see alot stopped me to say she noticed how long I was out there yesterday and she was impressed. I found out her name is Clara.
Whats a Super Dopey? The Goofy and the Dopey come from race combinations available at the Walt Disney World (WDW) race weekend in January. I'll never go there, not only for the expense, but I hate amusement parks in general. A Goofy is a half marathon the first day and a full marathon the second day. When I say I do a Reverse Goofy, I mean I do a full marathon the first day and a half the second. Today was my 5th Reverse Goofy of 2013.
Now a Dopey is new. WDW offers a 5k and a 10k, and the Goofy. All together, its a Dopey. So my Super Dopey consisted of a 4 mile run Thursday am, a 7.4 mile run Thursday pm plus the Reverse Goofy. I call it a Super Dopey since it is more than a WDW Dopey.
Look Ma, no entry fees.
And tomorrow, I'll run some more.
I've changed my free weight routine a few days ago. Now, I focus on just one muscle area and try to go AMRAP (as many reps as possible) with it. Very awesome.
3 comments:
Running a private marathon is the philosophical equivalent of the tree falling in the forest question. Or at least that it the illusion or delusion that is created by the running tribe that must create purpose and meaning through races and specified training. It is all part of the fiction of the individual and a way to separate themselves from the unwashed masses. Training for and running a marathon has to be a complex endeavor and can take on the qualities of a noble and heroic quest and so there is the 16 weeks of training with a specific goal and tempo and intervals at very specific paces because this all adds to the illusion that only a select few can do that. To simply run a marathon without the expos and starting line and chips, etc means that it is not so special and therefore it does not make a "sound" to be consistent the above noted analogy. BUT ... what is more important, the "sound" or that the tree has fallen, the distance covered? Read the authenticity hoax and you will see that a marathon with timing chips and such is merely a means to increase one's status, no different than buying a bigger and better TV or car or any other material goods. Thus from a spiritual basis, the private marathon is a much more desirable feat.
To be honest, that comment is almost the most intelligent thing I've ever heard. Not joking.
We are on the same path and you may call it spiritual enlightenment, I like to call it a connection to the universe. I have come to accept that the universe is indifferent and so purpose and meaning is what we assign to things or activities. At one time, if your father was a blacksmith, you were the child of a blacksmith. Your social standing was set and life was simple. We thought we got rid of that class structure but it was replaced by income. And we keep on replacing it. When 200,000 were running marathons, that was enough to be "special", to differentiate yourself from others. But then more and more people ran marathons and people such as Oprah, the internet allowed like minded people to form tribes that then were able to make up criteria to distinguish marathoners or real marathoners or runners. Anyone can run a marathon but now only a select few can properly train and run a marathon. It gets quite silly whereas someone who runs a 4:15 marathon is actually deemed a better runner than someone who was run 3:30 but without the accepted training. This house of cards must be protected, the integrity of the tribe assured through mutual self admiration and confirmation to a point that virtually no dissension is allowed. So the irony is that one does everything to make themselves a unique individual and then they must surrender that and suppress their opinions or been electronically stoned by the other tribe members. That is the tribe will confirm you are a special and unique individual as long as you conform to what they want to hear.
You can see that with the evolution of ultras. A bunch of people who loved to run a long way. Then it was those who can run a long way in a certain amount of time. Or who can endure the most punishment or the toughest courses or conditions. It is becoming a contest of who can endure the most self inflicted misery. Suppressed immune systems, higher than expected rates of cancer likely from chronic inflammation just to say I am different, I am an individual. It does seem insane but do not share that with the tribe or else.
You are running races for the right reasons. To embrace the experience, to meet and make social connections. You can challenge and push yourself but not to a point where so many ultra runners seem to have the need to do where they are endangering their health. I remember reading a post from one such runner who had to be hospitalized after every such race and was complaining that friends and family thought that doing something that required hospitalization after every time might not be a wise thing to do but there was the tribe to encourage that insanity. Or an ultra runner who dismissed an attempt to do something extraordinary and for charity because the person had not done the training, done the races and this person succeeded. The motivation for the dismissal was clearly fear that a young and reasonable fit person with a huge heart and massive will could do something true ultra marathoners had not been able to accomplish. And if that happened, what was his status worth? It is unfortunate that these concepts and ideas are out there on the net and can corrupt or pollute one's own thoughts. That is that one must have a training plan, run some many miles every week and have a target or the accomplishment, the journey does not hold real meaning. Taking a step back shows us how silly that is but given our society, we cannot help but give it some credibility when it deserves none.
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