Muhammad Ali once said, “I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’” I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about quotes like that. Thinking about how great champions — heroes of the sports world! — pushed themselves to the limits … overcame obstacles … undertook grueling training to climb high atop pedestals of glory. I am on a similar quest. A similar training program that I hope will bring me greatness. It will push my body to the limits. Finely tune me so I’m ready for anything. No, not just anything. Just one thing — my single-minded focus — my Mt. Everest — my championship — MY glory!!!!
Tips on surviving a 15K race … whatever that is
Just a week or so ago I shared tips on training for a race. A race that was coming up. Only, now it’s in the past. The Jacksonville River Run. A 15K. I have no idea what a K is, but the race was 9.3 miles long. It had a big, hulking bridge on the ninth mile. Gusty winds blew over the top, threatening to throw skinny little runners like me off the side. Yet, somehow I dropped 46 seconds off last year. I finished 273rd (or 237th if you’re dyslexic like me.) That’s out of more than 16,000 runners. Not bad for a skinny boy who almost went over the bridge.I feel pretty good about it. Especially considering a couple years back I suffered a surfing injury that almost ended my running career. I’m not elite or super fast, but pretty proud of where I am. So I’m back to offer some new running advice. It’s my philosophy of running, along with how I survive a race with lots of Ks in it:
Focus. Run. Keep training … must … resist … beer!
Must stay focused. Must keep running. Must stay on schedule. Keep the pace up. Not slack. Not … give … in … to … the … tempta … Oh, the heck with it. I want a beer and some pretzels. So goes my on-again, off-again training regimen for the upcoming 15K River Run in Jacksonville. Mostly it’s on-again. I’m on an overly ambitious quest to get back down to the times I was running in college. At 39, that’s no easy feat. Even more remarkably, I might just be on track. “Might” is the key word, and only if I STAY on track.