Most ultrarunners really for the most part are douches. Period. This video is a prime example. How embarrassing. What a pussy.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Taper Week
Just a fun week of tapering and trying to stay out of trouble. Long discussion with one of my runners tonight about her springtime plans. Bottom line she is going to have to start from scratch after she gets over some injuries. Sometimes people just don't want to listen and learn thing the hard way. I tried. Now she gets it.
Typical taper week in which I am feeling tired, antsy and eating like crazy. Light running and taking even the short runs easy. I have done a touch of speed work but past that I am playing it very safe. On a good note my legs are starting to feel more springy with each passing day. Today I ran some local trails and just enjoyed being outside in the sun.
Today on my run I was contemplating some of the more challenging and nasty training runs these past two months. There was one in particular where my amigo and I wandered off into some dangerous areas away from the city and had to be careful in regards to which way we returned. He was really pissed off about making the mistake as he was on point. My thought was that nothing bad had happened yet and at least nobody was shooting at us (yet). In the end we made it back unscathed but he was nearly inconsolable. I let him be as I figured that he was taking the situation personally and internalizing it and making it all about himself, the mistake, the wrong turn, all of it. Anyway, we haven't talked much about it since, no reason too actually. But when it was happening I kept thiniking just how un-warrior like he had behaved. Of course his youth bears a bit of the blame but regardless... lessons to be learned were all around that day.
It just reminded me that a warrior, a true warrior does not have time for self-pity. He does not have the luxury at all. All that that he can do is take full responsibility for his actions which led to his present situation and then make the best decisions that he can, still taking responsibility for those decisions as well and work his way out of it.
Typical taper week in which I am feeling tired, antsy and eating like crazy. Light running and taking even the short runs easy. I have done a touch of speed work but past that I am playing it very safe. On a good note my legs are starting to feel more springy with each passing day. Today I ran some local trails and just enjoyed being outside in the sun.
Today on my run I was contemplating some of the more challenging and nasty training runs these past two months. There was one in particular where my amigo and I wandered off into some dangerous areas away from the city and had to be careful in regards to which way we returned. He was really pissed off about making the mistake as he was on point. My thought was that nothing bad had happened yet and at least nobody was shooting at us (yet). In the end we made it back unscathed but he was nearly inconsolable. I let him be as I figured that he was taking the situation personally and internalizing it and making it all about himself, the mistake, the wrong turn, all of it. Anyway, we haven't talked much about it since, no reason too actually. But when it was happening I kept thiniking just how un-warrior like he had behaved. Of course his youth bears a bit of the blame but regardless... lessons to be learned were all around that day.
It just reminded me that a warrior, a true warrior does not have time for self-pity. He does not have the luxury at all. All that that he can do is take full responsibility for his actions which led to his present situation and then make the best decisions that he can, still taking responsibility for those decisions as well and work his way out of it.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Calling it a Day
It has been a long day. Slept in, had some meetings then after lunch I finally got a chance to get a run in. 20 miles, 5000 plus feet of elevation gain and I did it breaking in a brand new pair of shoes. Today was not one of my best feeling or fast days and everything just felt a lot harder than it should.
Had a long talk with one of my runners last night. She finally confessed to fucking off the past month pretty much and not running like she should be. (Which as a good coach I already knew.) She had just ran her first Marathon in December and was pumped to run another and get a nice PR in March. Well, the holiday, a vacation, getting hurt in crossfit classes (which I do not approve of for runners) and just being lazy has really set her back. She should be doing a 10 miler for her long run this week and now she can barely get through four. Merde'! I don't think she will be able to pull it all together to run the National 26.2 in March so I think that I will have her focus on the half marathon, back off the miles in training and have her focus on speed. We will discuss that on Monday.
Tomorrow will be an easy day running. My miles for the week are done as of today, so tomorrow I will just run some recovery miles very slow and enjoy them. I still need to start packing.
There was a beautiful sunset tonight and it was just one of those perfect moments in life. Have a good rest of the weekend!
Had a long talk with one of my runners last night. She finally confessed to fucking off the past month pretty much and not running like she should be. (Which as a good coach I already knew.) She had just ran her first Marathon in December and was pumped to run another and get a nice PR in March. Well, the holiday, a vacation, getting hurt in crossfit classes (which I do not approve of for runners) and just being lazy has really set her back. She should be doing a 10 miler for her long run this week and now she can barely get through four. Merde'! I don't think she will be able to pull it all together to run the National 26.2 in March so I think that I will have her focus on the half marathon, back off the miles in training and have her focus on speed. We will discuss that on Monday.
Tomorrow will be an easy day running. My miles for the week are done as of today, so tomorrow I will just run some recovery miles very slow and enjoy them. I still need to start packing.
There was a beautiful sunset tonight and it was just one of those perfect moments in life. Have a good rest of the weekend!
Friday, January 20, 2012
Coaching... a love/hate relationship
I love to coach runners. Hell, I love coaching and helping anyone achieve their goals regardless of what they may be and that is probably why I spent so many years learning the art and science of the "helping profession." I love to help people achieve their goals whether they be physical, mental, emotional, professional, financial, or whatever. To see someone work, make progress and succeed is one of the most rewarding things ever.
That would be the love part, and now for the hate;
Focusing just on running it can be very challenging to keep an athlete engaged and motivated especially if their reasons for training are not fully clear to either themselves or you. Worse is when an athlete has things going on behind the scenes and you witness them struggling through workouts and not getting results and then banging your own head against the wall trying to work them out of it only to discover (later and after the fact) it had nothing to do with running or the workouts or burnout but more to do with an ex-lover or something non sport related.
These things need to be communicated to your coach. No, I will not take it easy on you because you are sad and if anything I will step up the volume of work to remind you to be true to yourself and your goals. Sympathy is in the dictionary between shit and syphilis, or at least in my copy.
As a coach I attempt to work as hard for my runners just as much as I expect them to work hard in training. Nobody gets to slack off. Sometimes as a coach I have to step my own game up, my speed, my mileages, not only for my own benefit and training but to also show that it can be done, and to set a positive example. As I learned a long time ago on the teams, "Lead from the front!"
I need to start packing for North Mexico (Texas) for a little 100 miler they are having there in a couple of weeks. I am looking forward to running around "gringo's" and being north for a bit.
That would be the love part, and now for the hate;
Focusing just on running it can be very challenging to keep an athlete engaged and motivated especially if their reasons for training are not fully clear to either themselves or you. Worse is when an athlete has things going on behind the scenes and you witness them struggling through workouts and not getting results and then banging your own head against the wall trying to work them out of it only to discover (later and after the fact) it had nothing to do with running or the workouts or burnout but more to do with an ex-lover or something non sport related.
These things need to be communicated to your coach. No, I will not take it easy on you because you are sad and if anything I will step up the volume of work to remind you to be true to yourself and your goals. Sympathy is in the dictionary between shit and syphilis, or at least in my copy.
As a coach I attempt to work as hard for my runners just as much as I expect them to work hard in training. Nobody gets to slack off. Sometimes as a coach I have to step my own game up, my speed, my mileages, not only for my own benefit and training but to also show that it can be done, and to set a positive example. As I learned a long time ago on the teams, "Lead from the front!"
I need to start packing for North Mexico (Texas) for a little 100 miler they are having there in a couple of weeks. I am looking forward to running around "gringo's" and being north for a bit.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Another Perfect Day
The sunrise this morning as I was getting ready for my morning run. Ended up in the mountains, about a 2500 foot elevation gain. It was a lot warmer by the time I got down. It ended up being just over a ten mile run.
Of course a day just gets better when it ends up with some fishing and cervezas!
La vida es vida!
Of course a day just gets better when it ends up with some fishing and cervezas!
La vida es vida!
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
The Fate of American Ultrarunning
I used to hate on Kilian, I admit it but after watching him these past two years or so I have to hand it to him, the boy can outright fucking run. Period.
Watching Kilian run, or seeing him in interviews it is easy to see the reason for his success. He runs out of pure joy and love for the sake of running. He has a purity that has yet to be soiled. It could just be his youth but I think that it is just overall genuine.
I do fear though that Kilian and his com-padres from Team Salomon are not even close to being finished kicking the shit out of the U.S. in the big races whether in the states or abroad. I mean really, do we have any strong American ultra runners left? As ironic as it seems, even maybe the best ultra men on American soil are Brits so they don't count unless G.B. is now an American colony which last I checked it wasn't.
No, the biggies that we have or used to have are either getting too old or have suffered way too many repetitive stress injuries, or yet another one is plauged from as I can best tell Bipolar II, or some funky nutritional deficiency that prevents him from running more than two good weeks at a time. Our youngest and possibly strongest future ultra runner is so young that he is still in puberty and more than likely uneducated in the ways of women thus far. I imagine that even as he gets a little older you will see his star twinkle out just as quickly as it had began to show.
No, the U.S. is probably doomed for a while and won't be seeing any big wins in the future. Maybe it it time to bring the Tarahumara back? Maybe they can represent N. America as whole? That might be our only chance.
Watching Kilian run, or seeing him in interviews it is easy to see the reason for his success. He runs out of pure joy and love for the sake of running. He has a purity that has yet to be soiled. It could just be his youth but I think that it is just overall genuine.
I do fear though that Kilian and his com-padres from Team Salomon are not even close to being finished kicking the shit out of the U.S. in the big races whether in the states or abroad. I mean really, do we have any strong American ultra runners left? As ironic as it seems, even maybe the best ultra men on American soil are Brits so they don't count unless G.B. is now an American colony which last I checked it wasn't.
No, the biggies that we have or used to have are either getting too old or have suffered way too many repetitive stress injuries, or yet another one is plauged from as I can best tell Bipolar II, or some funky nutritional deficiency that prevents him from running more than two good weeks at a time. Our youngest and possibly strongest future ultra runner is so young that he is still in puberty and more than likely uneducated in the ways of women thus far. I imagine that even as he gets a little older you will see his star twinkle out just as quickly as it had began to show.
No, the U.S. is probably doomed for a while and won't be seeing any big wins in the future. Maybe it it time to bring the Tarahumara back? Maybe they can represent N. America as whole? That might be our only chance.
First Blog Entry
Not one to shy away from the truth and honestly expressing myself I will open this blog by merely stating, "HOKA'S ARE GAY!"
Seriously... if you need a running shoe that looks like it has a stack of maxi-pads for a sole... maybe it is time to take up shuffleboard.
But the MT100's rock!
Seriously... if you need a running shoe that looks like it has a stack of maxi-pads for a sole... maybe it is time to take up shuffleboard.
But the MT100's rock!
Friday, January 6, 2012
My New Blog
Welcome to my new blog where I will post candidly my thoughts mostly in regards to running, ultrarunning and all other aspects of trying to lead an impeccable life.
More to follow, I assure you.
More to follow, I assure you.
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