Day 1 Week 8 – Impeach the President?

Marathon Training

67 min (7 mi incl fartlek), light drizzles & 65 degree

After the 16 mile run on Saturday and recovery on Sunday, my legs are back to normal and ready to go this morning.  I am very happy about the recovery and can not emphasize more on its importance.

The light drizzles trailing off my eye brows keep the morning scenes fresh.  No dust, pollution, pollen, nothing.  Only kids playing in the playground waiting for their school bus.  And in a few weeks, schools will be out for the Summer.

While my running in the rain may steal a curious peek from the morning commuters, it is the last week of my base phase training.  I intend to enjoy it as much as possible.  After this week my workouts will be higher in intensity, on top of the distance.

Impeach the President?

There seems to be a growing chorus to start the impeachment process against President Trump.  Personally, I would wait for the 2020 election.  But in the interest of full discussions, here is a tutorial from the National Public Radio on this subject.

Where do you land on the impeachment?

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Week In Review – 9 Jun 2019

The Erie Marathon is on 8 Sep, thirteen weeks away.  As time goes, I am one-third way through my marathon training.  One more week of aerobic strengthening remaining before I transition to lactate threshold/ stamina phase.

With the exception of a tender right heel, I am injury-free and like to keep it that way. My mileage this week has surpassed fortieth (forty-one miles to be exact).  Continue to “climb” the endurance ladder.  And with the stamina phase, my run intensity will go up as well.

Good to verify my training progress.  Because life’s trappings can become mindless and too much of a good thing.  Even our mind can deceive us from seeing beyond the pain and pleasure false choices.  We can get too attached to our emotions.

Clearly, our society is faced with lots confusions.  Trade wars, 2020 elections,  climate change, mass shooting, etc.  I don’t have any idea what does the future hold.  But one thing certain is that I am working on my present moment.  One step at a time.

Have a nice week.

Day 6 Week 7 – Enduring Time Alone

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Marathon Training

183 min (16 mi), overcast & 72 degree.

This morning when I ran my 16 miles, the weather was pleasant with the sun hidden behind the clouds.  Even though I ran alone but I wasn’t lonely.  Many runners grace me with their presence on the C & O Canal Towpath.

I made sure that I hydrated myself enough.  Last Saturday, I didn’t and was thirsty rest of the day.  Three hours was how long it took for me to cover the 16 miles today.  A lot slower (or longer) than I anticipated, but time well spent.

Time Alone

Obviously, long run is physical endurance.  To run three hours, my body has to tap into its stored fat and break them down as a fuel source.  It is not a quick nor clean process.  The long run conditions my body to become efficient in utilizing this virtually unlimited source.

A more subtle aspect of the long run is its effect on mental endurance.  Three hours is longer than most activities.  For instance, I could not sit through a movie for three hours no matter how appealing it may be.  But by spending three hours on my feet, it disciplines my mind.

I suppose this is what makes endurance sports and their training different.

What is your longest training run?

Day 5 Week 7 – Negative Emotions

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Marathon Training

29 min (3 mi), cloudy with soothing breeze, 73 degree.

Negative Emotions

We all have negative emotions.  No argument there.  It’s part of being human.  The question is how well do we take care of them.  In fact the same question applies to the positive ones as well.  Are we driven by them? reacting to them? or hijacked by them?

Easy to say  that I have got my negative emotions under control.  Especially, when that means suppressing the emotions with a poker face.  That is not taking care of the negative emotions, merely hiding them.  Hiding your fears, sadness, or anger never solve the issues.

Instead,  try to be open to them, recognize these emotions (before they hijack you), understand and apply a different perspective such as emotional hygiene or letting go.  Only by facing them, we become familiar with our emotions and gain emotional maturity.

How well do you accept yourself? and others?

Day 4 Week 7 – Tender Heel

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Marathon Training

38 min (4 mi), overcast & 72 degree

My left and right foot have different gaits.  It is clear from the callouses on my soles and the wearing patterns on my shoes that I don’t run evenly.  Not a significant difference but enough for me to notice.

For instance, my right heel has been tender for a couple days.  This symptom usually occurs when I run faster than my easy pace.  Like yesterday’s 5 miles at the steady pace.  Meaning I am pushing or landing harder on my right side.

This morning, I decided to run in regular running shoes instead of the sandals to give my foot more cushion.  Just a precautionary measure until the tender spot gets better. Plus I paid attention to relax my posture, so I wasn’t favoring one side over the other.

My goal is to keep my form balanced as much as possible.  But from practicing yoga, I have learned that our body is never symmetrical (e.g. heart is on the left).  What happens on one side does not automatically translate to the other.

How balanced are your forms? 

 

 

 

Day 3 Week 7 – What Does The Future Hold?

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Marathon Training

62 min (7 mi: 1 w/u & c/d + 5 steady pace), sunny & 67 degree

What Does The Future Hold?

I am not a navel gazer.  Nor do I believe that we can meditate the world’s problems away.  But when it comes to practical approaches on solving our day-to-day dilemmas, starting with ourselves is a good idea.

For instance, questions like why am I angry?  what do I fear?  how can I make a difference? are uniquely ours to answer.  Nobody else knows better.  And the answers, whether we figured them out or not, affect our interactions with others.

And “I don’t know” or “I can’t” may be the first blush reaction.  But don’t give up.  Persist. At a minimum, create inner space and leave the door open to allow the right responses to present themselves when the timing is right.

Brother Phap Dung, a monk & senior disciple to Thich Nhat Hanh, has this quote that I really like, “The future is built with  the present moment . . . The future is not something that will come to us; the future is built by us, by how we speak and what we do in the present moment.”

How are you building your future?

Day 2 Week 7 – Food Coma

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Marathon Training

38 min (4 mi), cool & 49 degree

Food Coma

Confession. I am having a food coma from overeating today.  Why?  Because I went to a lunch buffet.  Wait, let me be clear that I am not blaming the buffet but am taking full responsibility for my mistakes.

Mistake No. 1 – My appetite has been on the rise, in sync with my weekly mileages.  The more I run the more caloric intakes I need to fuel my body.  So it sounds like a good idea when a new buffet restaurant opened recently near my house.

Mistake No. 2 – I treat buffet like a food marathon. Not that I necessarily want to eat everything in sight.  Only the ones that look appetizing.  Well, the food was fabulous. Tasty and lots of selections.  I have no complaint other than my eyes were bigger than my stomach.

Mistake No. 3 – Timing. While running, blood circulation is diverted from the stomach to supply oxygen and other needed nutrients to the legs.  A full stomach has the opposite effect – blood circulation is diverted from the rest of the body to the stomach to work off the foods.

Result:  As you can imaging, I am wiped out for the rest of the day.  Unproductive as in I feel sleepy, lethargic, and a full blown food coma.  And fully guilty as charged.

Have you ever experienced a food coma?

 

Day 1 Week 7 – Beyond Pain and Pleasure

source: http://www.independent.co.uk/

Marathon Training

67 min (7 mi) + strides, sunny & 64 degree

Beyond Pain and Pleasure?

Short of human survival, our choices of where to focus our attention are commonly on pain and pleasure.  More explicitly, to avoid pains and seek pleasures.  The entertainment industry serves a case in point.

Furthermore, advertisers capitalize on the same human desires to peddle their goods and services.  Food, travel, clothing, medicine, you name it.  We indulge along as the willing participants.  It is normal.  Nothing wrong.

But let’s pause for a moment and ask: is there more to life than the pain and pleasure dichotomies?  The answer is a resounding yes.  And the “Tank Man” stands out as a shining example on this thirtieth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square in China.

What would motivate you to go beyond pain and pleasure?

Week In Review – 2 Jun 2019

Freedom in not free.  If you want peace, prepare for war.  I get that.  But trade war is a different kind of war, altogether.  First, nobody wins in a trade war. In fact, many lose. And second, trade war should not be a substitute for policy.

In dealing with complicated issues on international relations, the profit/lost bottom-line approach of business framework is naive.  It oversimplifies nature of the problems or causes and ultimately risks sabotages our own economy in return.

Therefore, no need to until the 2020 election to have an epiphany in that politicians often game issues/ solutions to their own advantage.  Instead of campaigning for our interests, they are in it for their own.

Lastly, it is June. Happy to report my training is going well.  And I have signed up for the Erie Marathon again.  My goal is to repeat my performance from last year or better yet improve it.

Have a nice week.

Day 6 Week 6 – Erie Marathon Again

 

 

Marathon Training

15+ miles, sunny & 70 degree

Longest run to date with favorable weather.  Low humidity and relative cool temperature are always helpful.  And having Brandon as my running companion made the long run more enjoyable.

Erie Marathon Again

First of June.  I have signed up for the Erie marathon.  Again.

Ran it last year and liked the course.  Not only because the course is flat which is a plus, I also like the straight forward route without too many twists and turns.   With the entry capped at 2,200, the race is small enough to make the logistics considerations easy.

Another big advantage in picking this marathon is the repeatability.  I am familiar with the course – loop twice around the Presque Isle State Park.  No guesswork necessary.  Best yet, I can re-use my training plan with adjustments and see if they make any differences this time.

Have you signed up for any races?