DING! I have it figured out

Well like I mentioned a number of weeks ago, I would be reflecting on this past year, and plotting my course for the next one. So now that the dust has settled and I have had some (not done yet) time to look around, I've realized something/things.
* If it were not for this past years experiences, I would not have learned anything. Only thru trial and error am I able to improve.
* There's no faking it when you want results, your either completely in, or your not.
* A training regimen with all the focus and dedication equal to that of something like Lindsey Lohan's quest for straightening out her life, or Scott Weiland trying to stay straight doesn't cut it.
* Diet when your in your 20s and 30s does not equal diet when your in your 40's. The 40's are cruel but fair...
* Family will always come first, and I simply don't have it in me to short change them, or ever want to.
* My love of the sport can't be altered. My LPM pointed out a simple truth. You can take the man (me) out of the race, but you cant take the race out of the man.
* Dedication along the lines of obsession make it happen.
* There is no pressure when you have a redo, and are honest with yourself as to where you are.
* Today matters....

I am still getting things sorted out, but am happy to know that I am starting to make sense of it all. The frustration is gone because of a change in perspective. Now it's all about putting the pieces together in the puzzle that makes me who I am and seeing what I can do.

drinkin the kool-aid AKA one of the cool kids

UGH, gone are the days I could be hitting the road or trail for a 7am ride. I am sitting here temporarily delayed, looking out at a dark (and brisk!) morning waiting for the sun to come up. A sobering reminder that winter is right around the corner. So since the time changes this weekend, I made every attempt to get out for a late afternoon ride a few days this past week. I recently picked up a new hard tail mountain bike or more appropriately a 29'er, and HAD to get out on that beautiful new machine to spend the required and tedious amount of time adjusting seat height, bar height, and I even swapped 3 different lengths of stems, and bars to get to a place I feel was dialed in(at least initially...) I suffer from a bit of O.C.D. (ala Eddy Merckx) when it comes to bike setup, but it's totally worth it in the long run, or should I say ride. First impressions? At first the big wheels made me feel like I was on a circus bike, and the fact that I spent the last year on a full suspension bike makes the ride even more noticeably different. Aside from that, NO complaints. I come from a simplistic back in the day hard tail rigid bike world, and way back then I even balked and didn't ride with a suspension fork. I have always preferred simple, so the hard tail is where I like to be. The riding feels different, but I am pretty convinced it is faster. The future of the sport? Maybe, but it IS for me. I'm digging it, and I'm digging the insane deal I got it for. NOTE Some situations work out in the end, case in point the bike purchase. I rebuilt my full suspension bike for my LPM ;) and I'm sure she will reap the benefits of a high quality full suspension ride and all the comfort and control it provides her. Not a bad bike to be given, but she is my "A" number 1 supporter, fan and the love of my life so of course I'm going to set her up big time.
The other notable thing I did is pick up some compression wear. I've been toying with the idea for a while and a vendor was at a race expo I was at last night so out comes the VISA, and off I go with the latest performance wear.I actually bought my LPM ;) a pair of the tights in my never ending quest to assist her in staying a healthy, faster, and less injury prone athlete.
 So now it's time to get on the arm and leg warmers, wind jacket, and anything else I may need to hit the trails on that WAY cool 29er that all the cool kids ride, and then I can follow that up with a stroll around the village in some cutting edge recovery compression wearr.
ALLEZ
Ray

Its the end of the world as I know it..

Boy, REM sure makes a lot of good music...

Yesterday morning I completed the last event I signed up for this year. A halloween 1/2 marathon called the Monster dash http://www.chicagomonster.org/. Lots of costumes - note (I was going to dress up in a running singlet from the team I'm on(in theory only) as a crafty artistic move but decided against it at the last minute), plenty of scary halloween music Thriller, Time Warp, LOL,overall a fun event. The course was along Chicago's beautiful lakefront and we never once were running in the streets.All lakefront path... It was cool and windy on the first leg of the out and back course, and aside from the winds was perfect for a running event. I did well. I set a goal of completing it in under 2 hours and finished in 1:50. The most ironic part of this is aside from about 3 runs over the last month with the longest being 9 a month or so ago, I did not prepare for this AT ALL or minimally at best. I went into it with no pressure (aside from getting from start to finish), and it was a pretty strange feeling. I am ALWAYS stressed going into a race, and it was a welcomed frame of mind. I need to work on the prerace stress next year. This proved that stressing out does not do you any good. Easier said than done, but totally worth working on. The family is still amazed how I can still pull this type of results off with no training. What I'm thinking is hmm, just imagine if I trained for it...

 So there it is I'm done. I learned, or better yet realized, a LOT this year, some good, some bad. If anything over the next month or so I'm taking the time to reevaluate what I want or more appropriately what I can do next year. I need to take everything into account. Time constraints, current abilities, current weaknesses, family and work (ugh) obligations. What I want to give up (time, interests, etc) and what I'm willing and able to do. 

So this past year I somewhat foolishly dove into racing(mostly the racing team) without having a solid plan or anything to realistically base my goals and limiters on.I based it mostly on where I left off 10 years ago, and a LOT has changed. To the benefit of this past years experience, I now know (realistically) where I'm at, and what I can and can't do with regards to life and how to live it. Even though it was frustrating, and at times heartbreaking, I can learn from the experience I guess if I hadn't of jumped in, I wouldn't have the answers that I have now. There's still one thing that remains true after all these years. I'm not willing to be absent from ANY of the kids activities, or take away from quality time from my wife. I  realize though that I need to be somewhat selfish with my training time if I plan to excel but there's only so much time and so many things you can do in a day... So it's going to take some reflection to get it all figured out, but I'l be back next year, better than I was this year based on what I've learned, and isn't that what it's all about?? It's the end of the world as I know it -and I FEEL Fine :)

Monster Dash half marathon race photos

Ray

Thats me in the corner...

Yep, another sly reference to a song by a brilliant band, REM...
So it's interesting how God talks to me (you) when you need it most, and the creative way God does it. This past Sunday was one of those days. It started out with being asked to take up the offeratory gifts at mass with my 2 "little people", and a couple things that were said during mass. Later that day I was out doing my training RUN for this weeks 1/2 marathon, and I looked down and found this little rubber flourescent cross. I stopped, picked it up, and put it in the pouch I had on that I was carrying my car key in. I was thinking I found it for a reason, and will make a point of keeping it with me fore subsequent events. As an aside, later in the run,a full grown deer with a huge rack proceeded to come out of the forest and gallop for a good 1/2 mile slightly ahead of me because it could not veer off the trail due to the canal blocking it's escape. It was sureal. I had not see a deer that majestic in a long time and to have it run along with me was sureal, of course it was on a day I did not bring my camera/phone with... Anyway, when I finished the run, I went to get the cross out of the pouch and although the key was still in there, the cross was gone. It had worked it's way out of a hole in the mesh. hmmm... And to think I did NOT lose the car key. Fast forward thru the week and my most recent "conversation with God" came about because I've really started to get hung up on the thought that based on my age, I'm past my prime, and should seriously reconsider my athletic endeavors, and where I'm at in life.Hate to say it's all the trappings of crazy mid life thinking, and it has been REALLY fcuking with my head. I actually had somewhat of a meltdown over it last night.
So this morning the first thing I see is a FB post from a friend who just won silver at the World championships in his age group for the 2000 meter pursuit. Did I say he is at least 10 years OLDER, and he took a silver medal at the WORLD Championships?! It struck me like an eighteen pound sledge, it's NEVER too late, UNLESS I give up, and I've been contemplating that lately. Silly me.Realistically I will probably never get to the world championship arena, but I AM gifted with talent above and beyond your typical athlete,so TODAY matters, and age is irrelevant!So yes God I'm listening and thanks for the bit of hope, inspiration, and Divine Intervention (no doubt) .....
Ray

So what's really happening?!

Here's a bit of personal trivia, if my blog goes silent, it more than likely means I'm in a state of personal turmoil. This has been the case as of late. Work has been hellish, and taking it's toll. I've been so stressed and overwhelmed, that I totally got off track with everything other than surviving in my job, and foolishly trying to stay ahead and on top of everything. The end result is I'm burnt, overwhelmed, frustrated, angry, and simply confused. That's what happens to perfectionists working for perfectionists, and add to that type A personality, and a few other traits that can go either way as well. Without going into great detail, all I can say is I'm getting to a place where some dust is settling on a few decisions I made. It has been rough, but I ultimately learned what I'm willing to do to cope and more importantly what I can't do. Not having a good time right now, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't both scared, and hopeful at the same time.

My workouts have been reduced to about once a week over the last 3 or so weeks, and I have a half Marathon to do this Sunday. LOL As all of you know, I won't back out, and will be standing on the startline regardless of my current shape (or lack of). Which brings me to an important thought that has been in my head over the last couple of days. I'm blessed, lucky, fortunate, etc for my physical abilities, and have taken them for granted. My brother and my LPM ( ;) ) made a comment at breakfast yesterday how only I could pull off a half marathon with 3 runs in 3 weeks. It's like they write it off as a given. The reason that has been resonating so much is my LPM is struggling thru another injury not from overtraining but "other". I feel so bad for her, she wants to run so much, and yearns to run injury free and accomplish a few different race distance goals, but has experienced setback after setback. I've been fully supportive and most recently decided to build her up the full suspension mountain bike I rode this past summer for her to cross train on. YEAH I did get a 29er hard tail to take it's place so everyone wins :) BUT, the fact remains, I can go out and(insert event here) run a half marathon etc with little to no training, and she can't get her body to cooperate to get her thru a seasons worth of running uninjured that SUCKS! I did offer advice to her last night. I was hesitant because NOBODY wants to be told they can't do something they really want to do, but I hope it helps. I mentioned that she may want to cross train or ultimately focus on riding (and even swimming) for awhile. Change her direction... If running is bringing on so much injury she might benefit from riding, and trust me I've set her up REAL good with some great riding equipment. That's the benefit of marrying a cyclist ;) I'm sure if she gave it a chance she would probably totally enjoy cycling, YES I'm talking to you ;). There's a reason there are so many silent sports to choose from, and having a kick ass ride is much more exciting than having a nice pair of running shoes....
So yeah, I've realized how fortunate I am, and appreciate that more so than ever lately. It's ultimately influenced some of my recent choices on life and how to live it....
Ray

Take me x2 out to the ball game

 It's my dads birthday today, and I landed up scoring two great seats for the White Sox game yesterday (last game of the year) and he and I went for his birthday. The weather has been cold lately, but the seats were sheltered from the winds and we were actually warm basking in the sun during the game. nice...

  I got the tickets for free, and decided to get a birthday wish put up on the scoteboard for him. The cool thing is the cost to do that equaled what I would have paid for the tickets, so it was totally worth it, a few innings before it was up there my dad commented that the White Sox have the best scoreboard in the major leagues. He was thrilled to see it! nicer...



And to make the day even BETTER a foul ball was hit, bounced off the upper deck and landed right in our row, a dive across a few seats and I had it in my hands. Dad, Happy Birthday! Priceless....

:)
Ray

Run like Hell!

YEP, that's a great Pink Floyd tune (and the current image you see on my blogsite) Riding for the year as far as goals are concerned, is behind me, and I have switched into running mode. Over the last week or so I have transitioned to building running fitness which at this point is almost like starting from step one as far as endurance and speed are concerned. Outside of a run each week there hadn't been much if any of it done over the summer. That has officially changed. I'm now making it a priority over riding mostly because of a Halloween half marathon I'm signed up for, and to help shed some pounds I've put on. Along the lines of running, I've been TOTALLY digging a couple apps I have for my new smartphone which KICKS ASS! How have I been able to live witrhout this killer EVO phone?? It's taking over my life LOL Couple programs I'm digging are Cardio, and IMapmyrun (and ride). The cool thing is these programs layout your route when your done, thanks to GPS tracking, and upload all the stats of your workouts for later review. It should be cool to follow the improvements as time passes. The only thing I don't like is I cant track my runs when I'm in the trails, and I REALLY dig running in the forest. I also have to find a good solution to carrying mty phone without it feeling like it's in the way...But oh well, the coolness and wow factor outweigh the current shortcomings.
Last night, I ran on Argonne Labs trails to get in a 10 mile run, crushed limestone, rolling terrain, and a "woodsy" feel. It was reassuring to see my "base fitness" can get me thru a 10 miler with little preparation, but I felt heavy and sluggish mostly because running outside of 1 day a week with the running club I started late in the summer, or not at all = where I'm at. I'm sure with focus, persistence, and (unfortunately) being self centered with my training time, I should be able to get things together and make some decent improvements over the next month. Like the recent change in seasons, I am appreciating the change in activities but will miss riding (like missing summer). I guess you need to change things up a bit to appreciate what you really like.
Run on....
Ray