WEEK FIVE
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Workout:
RUN WORKOUT - Repeat 400's - Total Distance of 21.5k in 1:23:10 (6:12/mile avg)
3.1k Warmup - 13:21 (6:55/mile pace)
30 x 400m - 12k Total Time - 43:27 (5:49/mile pace)
Recovery - 100-150m run after each interval - 4.4k total time - 17:55 (6:34/mile pace)
2.1 k Cooldown - 8:27 (6:27/mile pace)
RUN WORKOUT - Repeat 400's - Total Distance of 21.5k in 1:23:10 (6:12/mile avg)
3.1k Warmup - 13:21 (6:55/mile pace)
30 x 400m - 12k Total Time - 43:27 (5:49/mile pace)
Recovery - 100-150m run after each interval - 4.4k total time - 17:55 (6:34/mile pace)
2.1 k Cooldown - 8:27 (6:27/mile pace)
Notes:
Paid for the two days of rest today. Learned my lesson by beating it into (or out of) myself! Legs had no snap to them today after the two days of letting my legs loosen up too much. Lesson learned is that in track training rest days don't hurt much and actually help as the mileage is low and workouts depend more on fresh legs; while this marathon training seems to require fatigued legs with tight muscle fibers in order to endure the intense labor (thus the rest can not continue)!
One of my all time favorite sports movie speeches is the speech given by Al Pacino in "Any Given Sunday", the speech pertaining the battle for every inch in life. Here is a link to the audio clip of the speech if you haven't heard it (warning it does have some harsh language)... And here also is the script from the speech emphasizing in bold what I will emphasize in this blog:
I don't know what to say really.
Three minutes to the biggest battle of our professional lives all comes down to today.
Either we heal as a team or we are going to crumble.
Inch by inch play by play till we're finished.
We are in hell right now, gentlemen believe me and we can stay here and get the shit kicked out of us
or we can fight our way back into the light.
We can climb out of hell.
One inch, at a time.
Now I can't do it for you.
I'm too old.
I look around and I see these young faces and I think I mean I made every wrong choice a middle age man could make.
I uh....
I pissed away all my money believe it or not.
I chased off anyone who has ever loved me.
And lately, I can't even stand the face I see in the mirror.
You know when you get old in life things get taken from you.
That's, that's part of life.
But, you only learn that when you start losing stuff.You find out that life is just a game of inches.
So is football.
Because in either game life or football the margin for error is so small.
I mean one half step too late or to early you don't quite make it.
One half second too slow or too fast and you don't quite catch it.
The inches we need are everywhere around us.
They are in ever break of the game every minute, every second.
On this team, we fight for that inch.
On this team, we tear ourselves, and everyone around us to pieces for that inch.
We CLAW with our finger nails for that inch.
Cause we know when we add up all those inches that's going to make the difference between WINNING and LOSING
between LIVING and DYING.
I'll tell you this in any fight it is the guy who is willing to die who is going to win that inch.
And I know if I am going to have any life anymore it is because, I am still willing to fight, and die for that inch because that is what LIVING is.
The six inches in front of your face.
Now I can't make you do it.
You gotta look at the guy next to you.
Look into his eyes.
Now I think you are going to see a guy who will go that inch with you.
You are going to see a guy who will sacrifice himself for this team because he knows when it comes down to it, you are gonna do the same thing for him.
That's a team, gentlemen and either we heal now, as a team, or we will die as individuals.
That's football guys.
That's all it is.
Now, whattaya gonna do?
Strangely enough on my run I did think of a football movie and drew motivation from that. It was a battle out there today, I wanted to quit after nearly every interval, but made myself fight; my body was not that tired but my mind was crap. I was thinking of every excuse in the book as to why I should cut the workout short. 1) I was taking short run recoveries instead of standing rest making it much harder on myself - thus less repeats would be acceptable, 2) I was doing this out on the monster country hills and not flat ground as the workout was intended for - thus making it ok to cut it short, 3) it was on loose gravel and I was having to work extra hard, 4) it is very windy today, etc etc. But in the end I fought for every interval (or every inch relating it to Pacino's speech). I fought for every because I knew I needed to beat my mind up today, my mind let me be lazy yesterday and thus my mind would pay the price today.
I battled the conditions surrounding the workout and managed to average 1:26.9 for the 400's. With times all between 1:23-1:31...the hills and up's and down's in mental fight lead to the difference in times. But I fought, I beat my body, and now I feel fully confident in knowing I can fight and will fight from here out, knowing that somedays all the fight in the world isnt going to bring about an amazing workout (like today), but none-the-less I will fight!
Relating it to scripture I draw to 1 Corinthians 9:27, a verse Im sure I have used before on this blog, and know I will use again as it has been a resounding verse in my training since the early years of college.
"No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." - 1 Cor. 9:27
I encourage you all not to get down on yourself if things start slipping in training or in life in general. Get up and fight for that next inch, that next moment, that next circumstance; for that is not only beneficial to your life but is bringing glory to your Creator. God does not encourage us to keep fighting but demands it! So get up and fight in whatever the circumstance is (and if it's running - then fight for every interval, every mile, every minute, or every step; whatever you gotta do to get it done just fight for it!)
The prize not being the earthly means of accomplishment but the promise of congratulations from the Creator at the end of your time for a battle well fought!
Paid for the two days of rest today. Learned my lesson by beating it into (or out of) myself! Legs had no snap to them today after the two days of letting my legs loosen up too much. Lesson learned is that in track training rest days don't hurt much and actually help as the mileage is low and workouts depend more on fresh legs; while this marathon training seems to require fatigued legs with tight muscle fibers in order to endure the intense labor (thus the rest can not continue)!
One of my all time favorite sports movie speeches is the speech given by Al Pacino in "Any Given Sunday", the speech pertaining the battle for every inch in life. Here is a link to the audio clip of the speech if you haven't heard it (warning it does have some harsh language)... And here also is the script from the speech emphasizing in bold what I will emphasize in this blog:
I don't know what to say really.
Three minutes to the biggest battle of our professional lives all comes down to today.
Either we heal as a team or we are going to crumble.
Inch by inch play by play till we're finished.
We are in hell right now, gentlemen believe me and we can stay here and get the shit kicked out of us
or we can fight our way back into the light.
We can climb out of hell.
One inch, at a time.
Now I can't do it for you.
I'm too old.
I look around and I see these young faces and I think I mean I made every wrong choice a middle age man could make.
I uh....
I pissed away all my money believe it or not.
I chased off anyone who has ever loved me.
And lately, I can't even stand the face I see in the mirror.
You know when you get old in life things get taken from you.
That's, that's part of life.
But, you only learn that when you start losing stuff.You find out that life is just a game of inches.
So is football.
Because in either game life or football the margin for error is so small.
I mean one half step too late or to early you don't quite make it.
One half second too slow or too fast and you don't quite catch it.
The inches we need are everywhere around us.
They are in ever break of the game every minute, every second.
On this team, we fight for that inch.
On this team, we tear ourselves, and everyone around us to pieces for that inch.
We CLAW with our finger nails for that inch.
Cause we know when we add up all those inches that's going to make the difference between WINNING and LOSING
between LIVING and DYING.
I'll tell you this in any fight it is the guy who is willing to die who is going to win that inch.
And I know if I am going to have any life anymore it is because, I am still willing to fight, and die for that inch because that is what LIVING is.
The six inches in front of your face.
Now I can't make you do it.
You gotta look at the guy next to you.
Look into his eyes.
Now I think you are going to see a guy who will go that inch with you.
You are going to see a guy who will sacrifice himself for this team because he knows when it comes down to it, you are gonna do the same thing for him.
That's a team, gentlemen and either we heal now, as a team, or we will die as individuals.
That's football guys.
That's all it is.
Now, whattaya gonna do?
Strangely enough on my run I did think of a football movie and drew motivation from that. It was a battle out there today, I wanted to quit after nearly every interval, but made myself fight; my body was not that tired but my mind was crap. I was thinking of every excuse in the book as to why I should cut the workout short. 1) I was taking short run recoveries instead of standing rest making it much harder on myself - thus less repeats would be acceptable, 2) I was doing this out on the monster country hills and not flat ground as the workout was intended for - thus making it ok to cut it short, 3) it was on loose gravel and I was having to work extra hard, 4) it is very windy today, etc etc. But in the end I fought for every interval (or every inch relating it to Pacino's speech). I fought for every because I knew I needed to beat my mind up today, my mind let me be lazy yesterday and thus my mind would pay the price today.
I battled the conditions surrounding the workout and managed to average 1:26.9 for the 400's. With times all between 1:23-1:31...the hills and up's and down's in mental fight lead to the difference in times. But I fought, I beat my body, and now I feel fully confident in knowing I can fight and will fight from here out, knowing that somedays all the fight in the world isnt going to bring about an amazing workout (like today), but none-the-less I will fight!
Relating it to scripture I draw to 1 Corinthians 9:27, a verse Im sure I have used before on this blog, and know I will use again as it has been a resounding verse in my training since the early years of college.
"No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." - 1 Cor. 9:27
I encourage you all not to get down on yourself if things start slipping in training or in life in general. Get up and fight for that next inch, that next moment, that next circumstance; for that is not only beneficial to your life but is bringing glory to your Creator. God does not encourage us to keep fighting but demands it! So get up and fight in whatever the circumstance is (and if it's running - then fight for every interval, every mile, every minute, or every step; whatever you gotta do to get it done just fight for it!)
The prize not being the earthly means of accomplishment but the promise of congratulations from the Creator at the end of your time for a battle well fought!
Thank you for this post. I'm fighting my own battles right now... spiritual, emotional, and physical. I'm learning that it's a process like a puzzle... there are many different pieces but I need to keep working it! Perseverance is key! Thanks for the encouraging words!
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