Saturday, July 2, 2011

Going Fishing : A matter of Principle

“Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.”



- Henry David Thoreau



I have started a slow build back.I had the king of the Mountain run on Sunday and I was sore so Monday was a rest day .I ran 12 km on Tuesday with 3 x 1600m at threshold pace .I was doing about 5min per km pace accept for the last 1600m when I fell apart .Managed the 12 km in about 1.15 although I am not sure if the Garmin was accurate at the start as it was still locating the satellites. I somehow lost the data and so did not have anything to download.It was a gruelling slow run in the dark around kings park.

On Wednesday , I hiked up to the Running Centre to join the group.It was a large group and I took off with the slow runners and we were quickly overtaken by the fast runners and I stayed with them . They were running 4.30 min per km pace and it was hard to stay with them I struck up a conversation with one of the guys who is heading over to Switzerland this Sunday for IM Switzerland . He sounded real fast so I presume he will be hunting for a Kona spot.







As the Garmin will show it was a fast run for me despite the slow start.Averaged under 5minutes in respect to moving pace.

On Thursday I was meaning to ride to work but just slept thru and instead I ran in the evening a slow recovery run  around Kings park. It was cold and dark again .Did about 6-7 km in 45 minutes.

I  did another run on Friday .It was suppose to be with some hill repeats but I still felt slow in my left hamstring and did one hill and the rest on relatively flat terrain . It wasanother 7-8 km run but it was really slow probably from the fatigue and it was a lunchtime run as I wasn't able to run in the evening.

I had done approximately 56 km since Sunday with a long run on Sunday again. I had a quiet day today and no riding or swimming this week. Iam still trying to work through my plans for the preparation for Busselton.

Which leads to the 3 pieces of reading. The piece by Lindsey on firstoffthebike , Chuckie V blog and Maccas book. All with pearls of wisdom.


firstoffthebike.com - Blog - Fishing and triathlon


A matter of Principle

The message I take away from the two pieces above are simply , it is a slow journey ,learn patience, it has to be fun , don't repeat past mistakes, it is a marathon and rest is equally important , and learn how to read your body. The last is extremely hard for me.

Iam now trying to piece together a different nutrition regime and working to a different plan as my body has definitely learnt how to adapt to the old training plans . It need a new impetus to build upon. Will be trying to be open to new ideas and adapting older ones. I do know it is a slow process for me and rest is going to be critical to avoid any injuries.

Finally , the Tour DE France has begun and IM Austria and Korea are on in a few hours. Will be following closely .Wongstar a TBB athelete is racing her final race as a TBB athelete at IM Korea and she has in the 4 years improved her IM times from a post 12hr race to a sub 10 hr race. She has announced her departure from professional racing  The Wongstar; Most exciting news and Looking for clues : TBB Milestone. Brett Sutton 's short message about what the Wongstar has achieved is an inspiration for all .

It is very cliche in Endurance racing to see the metamorphosis of the everyday non athlete into an Ironman .But each has its own story and each its own trail or journey. It is no less inspiring and so enjoyable to watch from the sideline and thru following her blog and others like her. These are the gel moments to energise my own conviction to do my best , to improve. The time does not matter , only knowing what you have done.

As Lindsey Corbin in her short piece alluded to. I am no fisherman and cannot comprehend the joy of fly fishing. Yet is it really about catching the fish ? Yes it is but it is also about how we all go about it . Isn't that it, in the end. Did you have fun and did you do it right?

Finishing a race in a PB time is wonderful. But knowing the effort, the mistakes and  lessons learnt make it all the more sweeter.

1 comment: