Thursday, March 4, 2010

The Need for Speed


I am fascinated by all people that are fast.   I love watching all of the events in which speed (human) counts.   I can probably name more track-n-field athletes and endurance athletes than I can  football players right now.  

So, a question that I have been asking more of myself recently.   Why do I not try harder to increase my speed, to PR each race that I do?   Because in all honesty, I really don't try that hard on speedwork; on the run, on the bike, or in the water.    Is the potential there?  Yeah, I would like to think that it is, but the reality of it is that I don't want to push myself that hard.  

It's funny how things have come full circle.   I can remember when I was young that I loved to run, bike, and swim.   I would run just for the sake of running, my mom can attest to this.  I loved to race my friends on the bike and in the water in the summers.  And, I was fast.   I can remember being one of the two fastest girls in gradeschool.   Tiffany and I often tied in alot of the races that we did.  Then something weird happened, I grew and got taller and Tiffany didn't.  With this growth came alot of awkardness and suddenly all that speed that I had seemed to disappear.  

Around the same time I started to become more involved in team sports, in particular soccer.   Which has alot of running.   As I got older this included alot of conditioning and speed workouts and drills.   It also came with the realization that I was no longer fast.   In fact, on my highschool team, I was one of the slowest runners.   And I struggled with all of the runs that we did, particularly the long ones.   I can remember many mornings, after these runs, puking and dry-heaving in the bushes as everyone started practice.   At some point I came to HATE all of the conditioning and even quit the soccer team my senior year because I didn't want to do the conditioning anymore.  

Although I quit soccer in highschool, I did continue to play rec leagues in college and then after a graduated.   Again, as I got older I started to feel my slowness and also my poor conditioning.   So eventually I started to run again (on my own) so that I could keep up with everyone when I played co-ed soccer.   Then a strange thing happened.   Somewhere along the way I actually started to LIKE running.   And slowly, I have built up my endurance so I can do longer distances.   And now I love running, biking, and swimming.  

So, I think one of the biggest reasons I don't push myself to do speedwork is because of the memory of puking in the bushes and the frustration at feeling so slow and hating it.   I am afraid that if I really push myself that will happen again.   And now that I actually enjoy what I am doing, I am reluctant to let that go. 

So, in keeping with the theme of speed, check out this speed work-out we did last week in swim class:
300 warm up
200 kick
200 pull
(10x25 on 30 sec, 25 ez) x 6
drill:  3 x 50 choice
150 cool down

My stats since last the last blog:
Mon:  60 minute run
Tuesday:  2700 swim, 30 minute strength train with a personal trainer
Wed:  60 minute run
Thurs:  2600 swim, 40 minute run
Friday:  rest
Saturday: 17 miler on snow covered trails
Sunday:  rest
Monday:  60 minute run
Tuesday: rest
Wed:  60 minute run
Thurs:  35 minute run, 30 minutes strength

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