Saturday, November 19, 2011

The Sun Also Rises

Well, after a night's sleep, I can say that I feel a little better.  I feel less achy, and my throat is less sore.  I was able to breathe through one nostril a little better, although as I've been up for about a half hour now, it's start to close back up.  I'm going to give the practice swim a go in a couple of hours, get in a short run, and then chill out hard the rest of the day.

The other day I was clicking around and came across a few articles of interest. 

Man Sails Around World to Decrease Awareness  It's an Onion article, I just found it funny because it's what we joke about all the time.

Then of course, since it's still on my mind, Save MD Men's Track!  There has been an outpouring of support from across the country, from teams to professionals, everybody's signing the petition to help save Maryland Athletics.  Did you know that the track team is actually self-sustaining?  In other words, it doesn't lose money, unlike some other sports we know...

Here is a good article from the Washington Examiner (ha, yeah) about the legacy of Maryland Men's Track and Field.

And, in case you wanted to read the president's report on the issue at hand...

But, onto more important things, specifically now, the race at hand.  I like reading race reports, and particularly appreciate when they are honest, or I find them applicable.  Pete Jacobs, recently 2nd place at Kona, provided some great insight into how he races.  As we all know by now, I am not very technological.  Don't know much about bikes, don't use HRM, don't use power, haven't even had a computer on either of my bikes in at least 3 years.  I simply wear a watch to have an idea of where I am timewise, to help remind myself to eat or drink, and maybe get an idea of how fast I'm going.  But in the end, you can only go as fast as you can go. 

There is always a point, especially during an ironman, but potentially in any distance race, where you think all is lost and you may as well quit.  I imagine that for pros, this is an even tougher reality, because this is their livelihood.  If they don't place, they don't win money.  If they drop out, maybe they can save it for another day.  If you look at tomorrow's pro field here at Ironman Arizona, it's one of the top fields of any IM race this year, and the pattern is the same: "I didn't have a great race at Kona, so I decided to salvage my season/capitalize on fitness/earn some points by racing AZ."  And why not?  The 6 weeks or so in between the two is enough for a professional to break it down and build it back up, and what else are they going to race, right? 

Anyway, Pete Jacobs once again ran the fastest split of the day on the Big Island, and I was surprised to read that he doesn't wear a watch.  I would like to get to that point, but for now I think I need to at least wear a watch on the bike and run, so that I can put a time with an effort. 

My final article is from Jorge Torres, former CU Buff and pro runner, who, along with his twin brother used to rip it up.  Jorge was hit by a car while in Ireland for a race, and got pretty mangled - not bad enough to cause him life-threatening injuries, but bad enough to keep him out of the 2012 Olympic Trials (marathon).  He vows to come back.  Sounds familiar!  I wish him the best on his journey, and I'll draw some inspiration from it myself.

Might check back in later, but if not, I'll try to get some words up following the race!

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