#Almost got sub 22 on 5k and the only thing I did differently is no music or chewing gum but I’m ignoring this bc hearing my own breath for

[somaligovernment]

[gatorjbone]

GASPARILLA DISTANCE CLASSIC – February 22 & 23, 2020

Just when you think your favorite race weekend could not get any better, the bar is raised to a point that would be hard to beat.  I’m getting a little ahead of myself, so let me start from the beginning.

One of the classes I teach at FIU is Multimedia Production I (RTV 3531).  An assignment the students have to do is to record and edit a chroma key segment, also known as a green screen.  I always provide them an example to follow, so I recorded and edited one myself.  My segment was called “I Am a Runner” (catchy title, just like this blog).  I talked about my favorite race weekend, so no script was necessary.  In fact, I actually “nailed” it on the first take.  Once it was edited and posted on YouTube, I sent the link to the race director Susan; I thought she would get a kick out of it.  Boy…was that an understatement.  Susan called me and said the video was AMAZING.  “And when I say amazing, I mean amazing in all caps.”  Not only that…she also asked if she could post the video on the landing page of the race website.  I was thrilled and honored, and told her I would help with any videos she may need in the future.  I sent her the link to this blog, in which she replied: “You continue to amaze me with your lovely words about Gasparilla.”

While Running the Mayberry Half Marathon, I convinced Elaine to enter Gasparilla; it would be her first time.  Lindsey was on the fence for the weekend, mostly because Miami was moved up one week this year.  After twisting her arm for several months (and taking care of her race entry and airfare), she succumbed to my pressure.  Elaine also helped in turning up the heat.  Mary and Doug were all in as well, and we then got word of a special guest appearance by Pam.  THE BAND WAS BACK TOGETHER AGAIN!  This would certainly be a weekend to remember.

Everyone would be arriving around the same time on Friday except Elaine.  Her flight was coming in at 10pm (she could not find a direct flight any earlier 😩).  The host hotel this year was the Embassy Suites Downtown Tampa, which is connected to the convention center where the race expo is held.  This is the first time since I’ve be doing this race weekend that I would be staying here; boy…it did not disappoint!  Lindsey, Mary, Pam and I grabbed lunch, as Doug was still in route.  He met us at the restaurant, and we made our way to the expo.  I called Susan in the hopes of meeting her in person, but obviously she was super-busy (I would continue to pester her throughout the weekend; I’m really sorry for being such a noodge Susan).  I really liked the race shirts this year.  They were very colorful and a departure from previous years.  The challenge jackets were colorful as well, but I miss the windbreaker style from four years ago.  Asics was now providing the official merchandise for the races, replacing Under Armour.  They were selling really snazzy looking compression sleeves, but ran out in the first few hours.  I hope they eventually replenish their supply.  This is a great expo, with lots of good vendors, and plenty of room to walk around (Miami Marathon…please take note). 

The weather for this weekend was pretty cold, which was great for me, but a bummer for Lindsey.  As we made our way down for supper, the temperature was around 51˚, and extremely windy.  On top of that, our dining experience was extremely unpleasant (I won’t mention the name of the establishment, as that’s not really the purpose of this blog.  I’ll say it was a sports bar, and leave it at that).  Besides waiting 30 minutes to be seated, we also waited one full hour until our food was served.  Our server acted nonchalant (as if it were her first day on the job), and the manager didn’t really seem to care.  He gave us 50% off the bill, but we felt as if he should have not made us pay anything at all.  On a positive note, the food was very good.

Hereis the breakdown for all four races:

5K       12,022

8K         4,723

15K       5,480

Half       5,050

A total of 27,275

As we met in the lobby at 6:30am on Saturday morning, there were two “medical updates.”  First, Mary had deferred her race entries, and would not be running this year.  Second, Lindsey had been having knee pain, due in part to a tight ITband.  Her status for the Michelob Ultra Pure Gold Challenge (15K on Saturday and Half Marathon on Sunday) would just have to unfold.  It was 41˚ at the start of the race, with not very much wind at all.  The running strategy was as follows: Pam would run with me, Elaine would run with Lindsey, and Doug would do intervals.  The gun sounded at 6:45, and we were off.  It was great to do a race with Pam again, as we always have the best conversations when we run.  I had recently purchased a percussion hammer, and worked myself over for about 20 minutes before the race. Wow, did it make a difference!  This race was effortless for me, and I only needed to stop twice to pee.  This may be a PPR (personal piss record).  The wind was at our back for the first part of the race, which was a good thing.  As it became warmer towards the end, it was good to have that cool breeze in our faces.  My time was pretty slow, but extremely enjoyable.  As we met the others at the finish line, Lindsey told me her knee started to hurt after the first mile, and she had to walk the last two miles (sadly, she still finished ahead of me).  I was saddened to hear that she would have to skip the half marathon on Sunday, but I’m sure she was bummed out more than any of us.

                  We made our way back to the hotel for breakfast…and what a breakfast it was!  You name it; they had it (and it was included in the price).  Jen drove up for the day to spend some time with us, and she got there just in time for a cup of coffee.  Lindsey, Elaine, Doug and I moseyed our way to the after-party for a well-earned beer and live music.  They had really good looking coffee mugs, but you needed to finish in the top ten-percent of your age group to get one (I guess I’m going to have to bug Susan one more time).  Just in case you were wondering, I did see Meb once again in the elevator; this makes six years in a row.  I told him my video was on the website, and I was trying be more Gasparilla famous than him.  Lindsey told me back in the room that I am embarrassing.  After a shower, we went back to the expo, since Elaine had not been able to go on Friday.  Lindsey and I each bought a medical-grade massager (and by “each bought,” I mean I foot the bill for both of them).  It looks like something you would buff your car with, but it really digs deep into your muscles.  We did an early supper at Columbia Café (where else?), and were joined by Jen and Jay (Pam’s sister and brother-in-law).  The food was excellent, and the service was even better.  Back at the hotel, we were in time for happy hour (also included in our stay).  I had a glass of wine for the road, and was in bed by 8:30.

The half marathon was starting at 6:00am, and I woke up around 4:15.  I went to town on the percussion hammer, and met everyone in the lobby at 5:30.  The weather at race time was 52˚, so no jacket was needed.  I wore compression sleeves and a short sleeve shirt.  Pam informed me that she would be running with Elaine today, so I would have to fly solo.  It was probably a good thing, as I didn’t expect my bathroom good fortune from yesterday to hold up again.  True to form, I had to stop and pee after one mile.  Lindsey had told Elaine to look for the iconic saxophone player around the two-mile mark; as anticipated, he was there.  They must have shuttled him ahead, as I saw him jamming out again four miles into the race.  The sun was out in full force after five miles, and I was able to take off the compression sleeves.  I was not sore at all, but I did stop at almost every port-o-potty.  Truthfully, it was more because I was running “lone wolf,” as opposed to really having to go.  I saw Elaine and Pam after their turnaround, so they ran with me for a few steps (what a magnanimous gesture on their part).  My pace was actually quicker than the 15K, and the weather was outstanding.  The course is beautiful, and I truly felt blessed to be there.  I even stopped to take a photo with some of my closest Star Wars friends.  We all met up at the finish line, and the medals were outstanding (as always).

                    Breakfast back at the hotel, a quick stop to Publix for Pub Subs for the road, and off to Tampa Airport to drop off Elaine and Lindsey.  Elaine loved the weekend, and plans on entering again next year.  I had asked Susan to consider me for race ambassador for next year; she told me I am already an ambassador.

How can you top greatness?  The Gasparilla Distance Classic always seems to know how.

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[dinakaplan]

Four Things To Help Propel You To New PBs

After completing my first 5k in 2012 in 22:39 I was adamant I was able to run a sub 17 minute 5k.

I’m still not 100% sure why I set myself the target of the sub 17…

I can only assume I was influenced by parkrun UK.

Anyone who knows Parkrun knows that they have a “sub 17 male page”. The page lists all males who have dipped under 17 minutes. I think I took that to mean it was a decent standard and went for it.

Fast forward to January 2017 and I had still not achieved my goal. Granted, I was painfully close. I had run a 17:05 5k in the summer of 2016 feeling the final hurdle was a mere formality.

Things didn’t go to plan in the second half of 2016 and here I was, a new year and the doubts about whether I would ever get the monkey off my back.

On Boxing Day 2016 everything changed.

Why?

I decided enough was enough. I realised that, if I didn’t change both mentally and physically I would never reach my goal.

To explain a little more.

On Christmas Day 2016 I went out for a long run. In essence I flogged myself. As per normal routine I had driven to my parents house in Chester-le-Street near Durham. I had planned an out and back run. I would set out for 45mins mostly uphill through Sacriston and into Durham. I’d then turnaround and head back home.

Things weren’t feeling good. Within 10mins the heart rate was too high and the pace too slow. I knew something was wrong. But I didn’t want to quit. I refused to listen to my body.

Somehow I completed the run. I was absolutely shattered. I had ran over 12 miles and my heart rate had averaged 160bpm. OK it was maybe only a little higher than normal but I felt it.

I proceeded to load up on the usual Christmas excesses. I was given a massive plate of Christmas dinner which I think I ate in record time. The world was a wonderful place. It was only a couple of hours later that I took a funny turn. I won’t go into details but it put me to bed and I had to cancel a Boxing Day trip to my partners parents house.

I was down in the dumps.

I felt weak and I felt dejected about my running in particular. I felt down on my luck, like the world was against me. How would I ever achieve my goal? How would I ever reach my running potential?

I blamed everything else – my job, my lifestyle. Food and drink getting in the way. Temptation. Work trips. Alcohol. Chocolate. Late nights. Too tired. Not enough time. Can’t fit it in. Not my fault. The list was endless, playing around in my head over and over. It was self loathing of the worst order.

There was one thing not on my excuse list – ME!

And so it was sitting in my house, lonely, feeling sorry for myself that it dawned on me. I would never reach my goal unless I changed. The key moment came stumbling through Netflix. I found a documentary about Tony Robbins. For those not aware of who Tony Robbins is – he is a personal development guru from the USA.

I want to make it very clear – I have read many self development books over the years. I have always been sceptical. I have always found most to be useful for a while but I have always ended up back to my old ways – negativity and regret. But this was different. I sat through the whole documentary – mostly sniggering, laughing, cringing. But a seed was planted somehow.

Fast forward to January 2017 and I was almost religiously listening to Tony Robbins and through him I discovered another self help guru – Jim Rohn. Jim Rohn got me the sub 17.

By all means look up Tony Robbins and Jim Rohn! It can’t do any harm. Almost everything they teach can be applied to your mindset and running.

Without going into more detail now about exactly what I did, I want to give you 4 things I did do and  that you can do starting tomorrow that will propel you towards improved running, PBs and ultimately your true potential.

Write down your goal and commit to it in the form of a Daily Affirmation

Here is an extract from my daily journal (written around 5th April 2017 – note I ran my 16:44 PB on the 19th May 2017).

“Running / Fitness Affirmation” – I am 100% committed to reducing my 5k running time from 17:05 to <16:00 before 2020 so that I can win a veteran Masters England vest at Cross Country. This would give me a platform to share my story with hundreds of others and help them to set goals and reach their dreams.

Above everything else, this Daily Affirmation started to come up at times of difficulty and challenge. For example, in the middle of a difficult threshold run, when it would have been easy to quit, I noticed the mantra “I am 100% committed” appearing in my mind. I wasn’t looking for it. The words appeared and I was able to latch onto them.

This works.

By committing to your goal every day you are cementing it in your mind.

Developing a daily affirmation is simple, follow these steps:

Step 1 – state the result you are committed to and why Step 2 – state the necessary actions you are committed to taking and why Step 3 – Recite the affirmation every morning with emotion Step 4 – Constantly update and evolve your affirmations

Put in place a plan to achieve your goal

It goes without saying that merely chanting a Daily Affirmation will not magically give you the result you desire. Not where running is concerned. So after you have decided on your goal and your affirmation it is important to work out what you need to do to achieve it.

With running it is easy to do what you have always done. But to get better you must do things you have never done.

I am a big believer in 80/20 training. If you have never done 80/20 training I would strongly urge you to do so.

80/20 training is derived from the Pareto principle (a universal law) which says that 80% of results comes from 20% of inputs.

In running terms this means 80% of your training should be “easy” and 20% “hard”. My advice is for the 20% to be lactate threshold and VO2 max training and the 80% recovery and easy running. It is simple to divide the percentages based on time. I advocate time over distance. So, for example, if you have 4hrs of running per week – 48 minutes would be threshold and VO2 max intensity and the remainder easy.

I will be writing more on this in future articles as well as more details on the importance of Lactate Threshold training.

Do not quit on your plan until the goal is achieved

One of the reasons elites succeed and “mere mortals” tend to fail is that elites are committed to never giving up. How many times do elites face adversity and come back to greater things, especially injuries? How many times do people face a challenge and simply quit?

I have to say I talk from experience.

I have probably tried every sport imaginable. I have gotten decent at most I have tried. But unfortunately I have never mastered any. I have simply not stuck it out long enough. This stint I am currently in with my running (just over 5 years) is probably the longest I have maintained a discipline ever!

Anybody who has read about the 10,000 hours rule knows that it takes longevity to achieve mastery in any discipline. Therefore you must have the goal, affirmation and plan and you must also commit to it until you achieve what you have set out to achieve. There will be ups and downs but you must keep the trend of improvement over the long term.

Do something different on top of all of the above that will compound over time

This could be anything that is linked to running, or at least should help running, that you have never done before that could make the difference to improve. Anything, no matter how simple or how small.

In my case, I was forced to accept that I could no longer ignore Strength & Conditioning. I was getting too many injuries that were destroying my progress.

So, again, at the start of 2017 I undertook a S&C class. 1hr per week was all it took to make a huge difference. I credit this change (in addition to points 1-3 above) as a key catalyst to achieving my sub 17 5k without having to run more miles. To compound that even further I introduced a simple daily exercise routine as follows –

50 star jumps x4

15 push ups x2

5 minutes of 10 burpees each minute (usually 20s of burpees and 40s rest)

What I noticed was my confidence and self esteem improved over the weeks since incorporating this very basic routine. Confidence is created by doing things you can and should do. Confidence is eroded by not doing things you can and should do.

So ask yourself – “What can you do today that could help propel you to new heights with your running?”

I would love to hear your answers to that very important question.

If you liked this article please subscribe to the newsletter for updates. You will also receive a free “Your Runners CV” to help you understand your current running fitness. This is the first step towards understanding Your Running Potential!

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