“Attacking the organism with a variety of aerobic stimuli” –
paraphrase of famed coach Renato Canova in regards to his fundamental phase of
training
I love racing. Umm, well, maybe I don’t love the
excruciating pain during the second half of races, but everything else is a
gift to enjoy and savor: the nervous anticipation and excitement on the
starting line, the rush of running in a pack or closing gaps, the relief of crossing the finish line,
glancing at the time on the digital clock with sweat stinging your eyes, the
satisfaction of running a personal best, the testing of your limits, proving to
yourself that you still have what it takes to progress, the camaraderie of
fellow runners, meeting new people, post-race parties, traveling to different locations =Pure
bliss. This is how I like to live and feel alive.
On a side note: I also like to do some new shoe reviews:
At Hansons I didn’t get to race as often as I would’ve liked.
Sometimes I had to go 3 months or longer without getting my racing fix. For me that was way too long, and while
I see some benefits in doing a solid training segment of a quarter or a third of a year in duration
without racing, such a strict training regime was just not for me. Often, I’ve gone
long periods of training that lead to overtraining and/or and anemia. Without
the essential feedback from a recent race performance it was sometimes hard to
gauge how my fitness level was progressing (or digressing) during such training
segments. In retrospect perhaps I
left some of my best performances out on the roads hammering workouts and
trying too hard to hit impressive splits – such demands that slowly lead me
down the path of overtraining instead of super-compensation. The irony is that
runners usually associate over-racing with burnout and staleness in fitness,
while now I’m starting to see how racing more often at different distances might actually help avoid over-training
(and be more fun in the process!) In races you have to show all your cards, and
that kind of hand just isn’t dealt from hard workouts.
I was always thirsty...to race more while training in Michigan: (l to r: Robert Scribner, Me, Chad "Nails" Johnson...Asst. Hansons Coach Don Jackson holds the water)
Adding to my racing schedule listed below, I’m now looking
at doing a half marathon that goes from 8,000 to 10,000 feet before Mt.
Washington next month, then perhaps Pike’s Peak or something later this summer (if I don't have chronic altitude sickness by then). I’d like to
throw in a couple 50k trail races as well. I want to get into Sky Racing and I
want to compete against the best trail/ultra runners. Any race suggestions?
In closing, I wanted to share this video from fellow Oregonian
trail runner Timothy Olson. It highlights his race at Western States and I
think it captures the essence of trail running. I never thought I’d say this,
but it makes me want to try a 100-miler some day. The background music is from
Michael Franti, and it has been stuck in my head for the last two weeks. Great
song.
See you at the races!
-Sage
