Discipline

I have learned a lot about discipline the last 24 hours. Dictionary.com defines discipline as activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves a skill; training, or training to act in accordance with rules; drill. I did not show discipline last night. I was given a training regimen to do. I was alone at the track and threw out the regimen provided and instead did my own thing. I ran all the intervals at a pace that was much faster than prescribed. Thus, I missed the whole point of the workout and did not reap the benefits of the workout that I should have.

Too often in life we do not exercise discipline. Even in the everyday duties of life, we tend to do our own thing and not what was prescribed or what was best for us. By doing this, we miss out on the benefits that everyday provides us. We miss out on the simple joys.

I am going to be working on discipline in my life, both in workouts and in everyday living. Maybe I can learn something from this and definitely become a better person because of it.

Wednesday night at Knox

It has been over a month since I have run at Knox on a Wednesday night. It was good to be back. I really enjoy running with Melissa and everyone else that shows up. It is a nice laid back atmosphere that allows each of us to perform to our best. There is no showboating that goes on. It is just fun and supportive. It was also great to meet Micah, a fellow lymphoma survivor who is training for the Dublin Marathon in October.

So here was the prescribed workout:

Track - W/U 15 minutes, stretch, strides, 4 x 400 in 1:30, 200 Rec, 2 x 200 in 40 sec, 200 recovery, 1 x 800 best effort, cool down 10 minutes

Here is how I did:

1st 400 1:24
2nd 400 1:28
3rd 400 1:28
4th 400 1:28

1st 200 0:37
2nd 200 0:38

800 2:39

Great workout. I appreciate the challenges presented. The goal times always stretch me just a little beyond what I think I can do. It was interesting as to how I had just read a chapter on setting your targets by Bobby McGee. Bobby discusses setting your targets above what you realistically think you can accomplish. This is so you stretch yourself and end up much better than when you started. The last 800 did not have a goal time. I asked coach what he wanted me to run it in. I needed a target. He told me no one who had done the workout had broke 2:40. Thus, my target was set.

The same is true in life. We too often set our goals to what we realistically think we can accomplish. By doing this we aim too low and do not end up enjoying the fullness of life that we could have. My challenge to myself this week is to aim unrealistically high and then go for the target.

Tough Week

This week I am tired. The stress of two 40+ mile running weeks has left me mentally and physically tired. It was obvious in my run today as I never got my heart rate to where I wanted it. I still did the planned workout, but am looking forward to my day off tomorrow. As a coach I know the importance of rest days. As an athlete, my coach tells me about the importance of rest days also. But I don't seem to listen. I am going to rest tomorrow. I will be running 15 - 16 miles Sunday, but am going to do it without a watch. The way coach put it, "enjoy the sunrise and nature". I plan on an easy run with no time constraints. I will let you know how it works out.

Tuesday Night Track

I did Tuesday Night Track one last time last night. The tri group that I was training with was awesome. They welcomed me like I was a part of the group. Now for the workout. I was to run 1600 in 6:00, 800 in 2:50, and 400 in 1:15, with a 600 recovery jog between each. My times were as follows:

1st set 5:55, 2:50, 1:14
2nd set 6:17, 2:54, 1:20

So I made the first set and blew up on the second set. Coach said I still get an "A". All in all I am happy as I think the 5:55 is the fastest mile I have ever run. Total for the night was eight miles including warmup and cooldown.

Let the (serious) training begin

Although I have been following Coach Bill's training schedule almost exactly, I have allowed my nutritional habits to slide. Today I start getting serious about my training. This means I start eating right and doing core work. I also have to make sure I am getting the proper sleep. I am lucky in that I have Dana-Sue to help me.

I will keep you updated.

Sacrifice

In keeping with the tradition of posting something meaningful on Fridays, I offer this post on sacrifice.

Every day, we as people are faced with choices. We have choices that are easy to make and difficult choices. Sometimes the choices involve choosing something that would benefit us or something that would benefit others. These are the hard choices that define our character.

I witnessed this in an unusual way this week. My eight year old son was told early Saturday morning that he could choose to swim anything he wanted on June 6th at the swim meet. I had inadvertently signed him up for the wrong strokes at the May 31st swim meet and the coach and I agreed that as a reward for my son's good attitude, he could choose his own strokes for the next meet. As the day wore on, my son excelled in the strokes that I had signed him up for. He placed in the strokes I had signed him up for. After the meet, the coach asked if I could convince Dylan to swim strokes I knew he would not choose. Remember, Dylan was told he could choose his own strokes.

I told Dana-Sue about the problem. She told me she would handle it. Please note we did not tell Dylan he had to swim anything. He came to the decision on his own to swim what the coach wanted him to swim. There were tears shed, but he chose to do what was best for the team, sacrificing his own desire to swim something else. I know many adults who would not choose the same as my son chose. I am very proud of him.

Sacrifice is something that does not come easy. The One who made the ultimate sacrifice, shed tears the night the decision was made. I do not mean to get "religious" in my post, but would be remiss without mentioning this sacrifice. Because of the sacrifice of Jesus, we each have the privilege of sacrificing every day for the good of others. And with this sacrifice comes great reward.

I know that whatever happens in the meet tomorrow, my son has learned something in the process. I am so proud of him and what he has been willing to do. May we all be willing to sacrifice for the good of others. Only then will we know the true meaning of living life to the fullest.

May God bless each of you in your endeavors this week.

Awesome Track Workout

The workout called for 6 - 8 x 800 with a 400 recovery. Each 800 was to be between 2:50 and 3:05. I planned on 3:00 for each 800. When I arrived at track I was told that each 800 was to be under 3:00 minutes. So I did 8 x 800 each under 3:00. They ranged from 2:46 to 2:59, with the last one being clocked at 2:53.

Great workout.

Track Night

Looking forward to track tonight. I usually do Wednesday night track, but my schedule has been crazy lately. I will be doing 6 - 8 800's on the 3:00 or so. I will post how I did tomorrow. Next week it is back to my normal routine.