Another week living the dream. Of course the dream is a process of development and a mental state far more than it is an actual achievement. I forget that all too often.
I worked 43 billable hours this week. It's not much really, but it is consistent and the amount of work that I get done in an average hour is improving. This week was fun as well. I worked or am working on an articulation lock. Usually I don't mention what I am working on for fear of saying something proprietary, but articulation locks are so common among construction and forestry machines that the sheer amount of time that I have spent on it seems an enormous investment for something that is relatively small. What is interesting about the simulation is that I am using solid elements, nonlinear material properties, and contact interfaces. Those are things that I don't get to use terribly often and it is fun because they are more complex than the standard shell element model.
In the coaching world we continue to have victories and defeats. We had a high profile athlete cause some drama this past week, which I have a blog post 90% written with my take on the situation and reflections on my role as coach. That counts as a defeat because we failed to diffuse the situation before it became a problem. The victory this week happened when several of the athletes, perhaps most, set personal records at the meet on Saturday. We keep telling the kids that we have been through the track season cycle numerous times and had success, we know for the most part what we are doing, and it showed this weekend. Almost all the throwers threw season bests. We had a sprinter run one of the five fastest times in the country. One of the distance runners who greatly doubts her speed ran a new 800 meter best, off of two weeks of injury and rehab. That is just a sampling of the meet, but in short, we rode home from UW Platteville with a bus full of smiles.
My own running was terrible this week. I get stressed every so often trying to fit engineering, coaching, running, and anything resembling a social life into my life and I had a few days this week where I felt like I was failing at them all. You need to have the hard times because they make one appreciate the good times or the successes more. I ran only 61 miles and only one workout. Although it was a very short workout it was 4x200 with 3-5 minutes rest and I averaged 29.5 including one 200 meter repeat in 28.9 seconds. That's nearly as fast as I raced a 200 a few weeks ago! I refuse to accept running 30-31 for hard 200s and calling it good enough. I am faster than that.
In the social life I spent a few hours at a friend's house watching a poker game. That's about it. Because of the feeling of stress in the middle of the week I slept over nine hours a few times. I needed some recovery time.
I am going to include a weekly tracking of the DHT (Double Hull Tankers) stock that I bought so that we can see together how it does. As a reminder I bought it at $1.18 per share. It closed on Friday at $1.08. So I have already managed to "lose" money. However, it is not real money right now as it is instead stock in a company. I did buy more of it when it went down, but that was for a different account so I will not mention that particular stock again. I am not worried because I feel the company financials are still stronger than the price that I bought it for. Additionally with a $0.03 dividend every quarter this stock is returning about 10% a year in dividends at this price. That is ridiculous. I didn't know that any dividend returned 10% a year. Occasionally you hear about 4-5%, but never over 6%.
Life is good. Any complaints that I can think of involve my ignorance and laziness, so I guess I don't have any.
Showing posts with label running. Show all posts
Showing posts with label running. Show all posts
Monday, February 13, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
I Live in Iowa: Week 41
This was such a fun week! I have such a great life. Often I wonder what purpose is it that I have so much when others have so little. I mean this about everything. I have accumulated more wealth this past year than other do in five years. I have some of the most amazing family and friends. Where do these people come from? How in the world am I fortunate enough to be friends with them? How is it that I had such a wonderful formal education? I mean seriously, I went to one of the top 5% of public schools in Kansas. I went to the college that while ranked only in the 50s by the standard rating agencies, has the 9th highest starting salary for undergraduates. In my opinion the measure of starting salaries is a little more descriptive of the value of an education than a ranking based on class size or starting salary compared to cost of attendance. By the way, WPI ranks higher on the starting salary scale than MIT. I'm just saying.
I worked 42 hours and finished some more projects this week. This is great I am hitting my stride, it just took a nine month warmup. Projects that formerly took days and weeks I am doing in hours or days. I feel almost guilty when I start a project and finish it less than three hours later. I feel like I shouldn't be going that fast. However, I still have significant room to grow and improve in the areas of structural evaluation. The things that we are doing with nCode and load surveys are pretty interesting and still not optimized for accuracy and efficiency. Honestly, in five years on products that we have been making for at least 10-15 years we will not need to physically test before we start selling them. Maybe it sounds like magic to imply that something will be able to go from computer screen directly to customer without us trying to break a few at our proving grounds, but the time of that is nearing, and we aren't even close to atomic scale modeling yet. (When we get to the point where normal cluster computers can model structures at the atomic scale and include everything like discontinuities and welding we will really begin using engineering minds.)
I ran two races this week, the mile and the 200 meters. Both went well. The mile I ran in 4:39.59 going through the first 809 meters in 2:15 I slowed down significantly but managed to recover enough to run 33 something seconds in the last 200 meters. The 200 I ran in 28.52 and received deal last place by more than a second out of the 38 people who raced it. I was so slow that about a dozen women beat me. Hopefully, my two races provided some inspiration to the members of my team. For the sprinters I hope that they saw how I put myself in an uncomfortable position and gave it what I had. I ran a sprinter workout with them on Tuesday and was tearing it up in front of them. Hopefully they can say, 'hey this guy only raced two seconds faster than he was running repeat 200s this week. Maybe I can pick it up in practice a little bit.' For the distance runners I hope that they can look at my 200 and think, 'I'm faster than that in the 200, I should be a little closer to him at the longer distances.' Plus, I feel we have a good relationship among our whole team right now, but it could be better. We are having some of our distance runners run 4x200s and 4x400s in meets and the occasional sprinter workout. Similarly sometimes we get the long sprinters to do a longer workout or outside distance day with us. I feel that bridging the gap between strait sprinters and strait distance runners is important to building a loyal team. If you can get those two different groups together you will end up with the jumpers and throwers being in on the huddle as well. When everyone on the team knows everyone else and respects them, you get a lot more cheering and encouragement. Oh yeah, I ran 72 miles this week it was my first 70+ mile week post-CIM.
In other news, I am trying to get a team for Reach the Beach New Hampshire this year. If you would like to join and be part of a relay and run three legs totaling about 20 miles over 24 hours let me know. WPI Alumni runners preferred, but I will take others as well.
I worked 42 hours and finished some more projects this week. This is great I am hitting my stride, it just took a nine month warmup. Projects that formerly took days and weeks I am doing in hours or days. I feel almost guilty when I start a project and finish it less than three hours later. I feel like I shouldn't be going that fast. However, I still have significant room to grow and improve in the areas of structural evaluation. The things that we are doing with nCode and load surveys are pretty interesting and still not optimized for accuracy and efficiency. Honestly, in five years on products that we have been making for at least 10-15 years we will not need to physically test before we start selling them. Maybe it sounds like magic to imply that something will be able to go from computer screen directly to customer without us trying to break a few at our proving grounds, but the time of that is nearing, and we aren't even close to atomic scale modeling yet. (When we get to the point where normal cluster computers can model structures at the atomic scale and include everything like discontinuities and welding we will really begin using engineering minds.)
I ran two races this week, the mile and the 200 meters. Both went well. The mile I ran in 4:39.59 going through the first 809 meters in 2:15 I slowed down significantly but managed to recover enough to run 33 something seconds in the last 200 meters. The 200 I ran in 28.52 and received deal last place by more than a second out of the 38 people who raced it. I was so slow that about a dozen women beat me. Hopefully, my two races provided some inspiration to the members of my team. For the sprinters I hope that they saw how I put myself in an uncomfortable position and gave it what I had. I ran a sprinter workout with them on Tuesday and was tearing it up in front of them. Hopefully they can say, 'hey this guy only raced two seconds faster than he was running repeat 200s this week. Maybe I can pick it up in practice a little bit.' For the distance runners I hope that they can look at my 200 and think, 'I'm faster than that in the 200, I should be a little closer to him at the longer distances.' Plus, I feel we have a good relationship among our whole team right now, but it could be better. We are having some of our distance runners run 4x200s and 4x400s in meets and the occasional sprinter workout. Similarly sometimes we get the long sprinters to do a longer workout or outside distance day with us. I feel that bridging the gap between strait sprinters and strait distance runners is important to building a loyal team. If you can get those two different groups together you will end up with the jumpers and throwers being in on the huddle as well. When everyone on the team knows everyone else and respects them, you get a lot more cheering and encouragement. Oh yeah, I ran 72 miles this week it was my first 70+ mile week post-CIM.
In other news, I am trying to get a team for Reach the Beach New Hampshire this year. If you would like to join and be part of a relay and run three legs totaling about 20 miles over 24 hours let me know. WPI Alumni runners preferred, but I will take others as well.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
I Live in Iowa: Week 40
40 weeks!! That's fantastic! I like consistency and routine, and I'm getting there. Of course I also like new challenges and adventures...
This week at work was a good week. The Deere employees had Monday off but being as I don't work directly for them I did not get eight hours of holiday pay. So I went in and worked for about five hours. It was really nice, sleep ten hours, go for a morning run in the day light, work five hours, go for an afternoon run in the daylight. The rest of the week I resumed my normal 8-9 hour days. Once again I finished two projects this week. Actually three, but one only took me three hours. Then on Friday I was able to talk to my supervisor's supervisor who actually hired me and thank him for this opportunity. I am very blessed to have had 40 weeks doing what I do here. As my debt continues to decline, my bank account continues to climb, my social circle continues to expand, and my aerobic base continues to increase I feel so incredibly fortunate! There is so much wealth and prosperity that I enjoy! No one deserves this much success.
On a side track, I make a point of thanking servicemen that I work with or exercise with because I am so thankful for them working to make the world a better place. I enjoy so many privileges simply because of where I was born. This weekend I finally thanked a serviceman from Afghanistan that saw "action". Everyone else I have encountered was in Iraq, some saw no action because they were stationed at large bases. I realized that I take an interest in their stories because I want to empathize with them and share their pain. It is not appropriate that 1%, often the most disadvantaged 1%, have to bear the burden of safety for all of us in this country. While I never intend to put myself in that position of getting shot at or blown up, refusing to greatly appreciate that sacrifice would be just plain ignorant. While I am ignorant about many things, I feel this topic is too great to avoid.
Circle back toward the title, I finally moved to Iowa this week. My van now has Iowa license plates. It also has 280,700 miles on it and it doesn't like to steer in the cold very well. This worries me because if it breaks, I do not have a backup. Thus, I am officially in the market for a newer vehicle. Feel free to solicit me with you opinions. Keep in mind that I do take a long time to make decisions and hopefully I will not actually buy anything for two or three years.
Coaching is going well. On Saturday we had a track meet at UW Whitewater. In total from the time I arrived at our gym in the morning until we returned it was 16 hours. On the positive side our kids are improving and getting better, even though none of them are performing as well as they would like. But that is the whole point of development, break the perfect performance into trainable qualities and systematically train them in some order over a period of time so that when put together at the end of the season the result is the greatest. That is why we have classes in schools and in college. One lesson or class does not a student make. In other words my athletes, you are probably not going to PR very often until April, then you will run faster than you even desired.
My own running went well. I ran 56 miles, about as much as last week. I talked to the coach at UW Platteville, Tom Anczak because he enjoyed much success as a marathoner in the 70s and 80s and as a coach now. Two of his suggestions were to run my daily runs faster, and to work on my sprint speed. So I am. I did a 10 miler at 6:30 pace and a couple of runs at 6:05 pace this week and a few slower repeat miles around 5:40 pace. In other words, hardly a workout they are so easy, but far harder than my typically daily runs. Next Saturday, I'm getting on the track to run some races. I'm not sure which ones, but I will probably run an open 400 in addition to a distance race. My PR is a hand timed 58 high and I would like to go under 57. I have also volunteered my services to several coaches and athletes as a rabbit in case they desire to run a fast (implied a national qualifying) time.
Socially, RFA/Minnesota Engineering, my actual company had a friday night get together and dinner this weekend. It was a really good time. We all work together and see each other but we rarely talk socially or do anything outside of work and it was nice to get to know everyone a little better.
My life is surely good, I hope that you had a good week as well.
This week at work was a good week. The Deere employees had Monday off but being as I don't work directly for them I did not get eight hours of holiday pay. So I went in and worked for about five hours. It was really nice, sleep ten hours, go for a morning run in the day light, work five hours, go for an afternoon run in the daylight. The rest of the week I resumed my normal 8-9 hour days. Once again I finished two projects this week. Actually three, but one only took me three hours. Then on Friday I was able to talk to my supervisor's supervisor who actually hired me and thank him for this opportunity. I am very blessed to have had 40 weeks doing what I do here. As my debt continues to decline, my bank account continues to climb, my social circle continues to expand, and my aerobic base continues to increase I feel so incredibly fortunate! There is so much wealth and prosperity that I enjoy! No one deserves this much success.
On a side track, I make a point of thanking servicemen that I work with or exercise with because I am so thankful for them working to make the world a better place. I enjoy so many privileges simply because of where I was born. This weekend I finally thanked a serviceman from Afghanistan that saw "action". Everyone else I have encountered was in Iraq, some saw no action because they were stationed at large bases. I realized that I take an interest in their stories because I want to empathize with them and share their pain. It is not appropriate that 1%, often the most disadvantaged 1%, have to bear the burden of safety for all of us in this country. While I never intend to put myself in that position of getting shot at or blown up, refusing to greatly appreciate that sacrifice would be just plain ignorant. While I am ignorant about many things, I feel this topic is too great to avoid.
Circle back toward the title, I finally moved to Iowa this week. My van now has Iowa license plates. It also has 280,700 miles on it and it doesn't like to steer in the cold very well. This worries me because if it breaks, I do not have a backup. Thus, I am officially in the market for a newer vehicle. Feel free to solicit me with you opinions. Keep in mind that I do take a long time to make decisions and hopefully I will not actually buy anything for two or three years.
Coaching is going well. On Saturday we had a track meet at UW Whitewater. In total from the time I arrived at our gym in the morning until we returned it was 16 hours. On the positive side our kids are improving and getting better, even though none of them are performing as well as they would like. But that is the whole point of development, break the perfect performance into trainable qualities and systematically train them in some order over a period of time so that when put together at the end of the season the result is the greatest. That is why we have classes in schools and in college. One lesson or class does not a student make. In other words my athletes, you are probably not going to PR very often until April, then you will run faster than you even desired.
My own running went well. I ran 56 miles, about as much as last week. I talked to the coach at UW Platteville, Tom Anczak because he enjoyed much success as a marathoner in the 70s and 80s and as a coach now. Two of his suggestions were to run my daily runs faster, and to work on my sprint speed. So I am. I did a 10 miler at 6:30 pace and a couple of runs at 6:05 pace this week and a few slower repeat miles around 5:40 pace. In other words, hardly a workout they are so easy, but far harder than my typically daily runs. Next Saturday, I'm getting on the track to run some races. I'm not sure which ones, but I will probably run an open 400 in addition to a distance race. My PR is a hand timed 58 high and I would like to go under 57. I have also volunteered my services to several coaches and athletes as a rabbit in case they desire to run a fast (implied a national qualifying) time.
Socially, RFA/Minnesota Engineering, my actual company had a friday night get together and dinner this weekend. It was a really good time. We all work together and see each other but we rarely talk socially or do anything outside of work and it was nice to get to know everyone a little better.
My life is surely good, I hope that you had a good week as well.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Meb Won Because Carlos Lopez Won
Back in the early 1980s a young American, Alberto Salazar, was running some very fast times and people predicted he would win the 1984 Olympic Marathon in Los Angeles at the age of 26. However, one of the best coaches at the time, and really the guy that wrote the book on long distance training, Arthur Lydiard was asked to make a prediction about who would win, and he picked Carlos Lopez, who was 36 at the time.
The reason being that all other things being equal, in a marathon the person with the biggest aerobic base has the ability to run away from everyone else at the end. So when Meb Keflezighi at age 36 ran away from Ryan Hall at age 29 to win by 22 seconds over the final miles it should not be a big surprise. He may not be the fastest, but in a championship style race the race is typically won in the final miles and again, other things being equal, the person with the largest aerobic base will win.
It is also interesting to mention that Meb set a personal record at New York City in November at 2:09:13 on a relatively tough course, and then set a PR about ten weeks later in Houston at 2:09:08. When I tell people that I have a long way to go in running, that is what I mean, setting personal records twice at age 36. Now I might move on to something else long before then, and perhaps have a family or something, but the fact is, it takes a long time to reach your potential in this sport. One season or one year is not enough.
I feel like it is a good metaphor for other careers and for life. When will I peak in my professional career, 50s? 60s? 70s? 80s? No way! Not my 80s! But I just asked the question, and like a seed the idea will grow. The question will arise, is it possible to be on top of your game in your 80s? What about socially, with a family? At what point will I be most effective as a family member? I don't know, but the point is, I have a lot to look forward to in the future.
The reason being that all other things being equal, in a marathon the person with the biggest aerobic base has the ability to run away from everyone else at the end. So when Meb Keflezighi at age 36 ran away from Ryan Hall at age 29 to win by 22 seconds over the final miles it should not be a big surprise. He may not be the fastest, but in a championship style race the race is typically won in the final miles and again, other things being equal, the person with the largest aerobic base will win.
It is also interesting to mention that Meb set a personal record at New York City in November at 2:09:13 on a relatively tough course, and then set a PR about ten weeks later in Houston at 2:09:08. When I tell people that I have a long way to go in running, that is what I mean, setting personal records twice at age 36. Now I might move on to something else long before then, and perhaps have a family or something, but the fact is, it takes a long time to reach your potential in this sport. One season or one year is not enough.
I feel like it is a good metaphor for other careers and for life. When will I peak in my professional career, 50s? 60s? 70s? 80s? No way! Not my 80s! But I just asked the question, and like a seed the idea will grow. The question will arise, is it possible to be on top of your game in your 80s? What about socially, with a family? At what point will I be most effective as a family member? I don't know, but the point is, I have a lot to look forward to in the future.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
I Live in Iowa: Week 39
I worked 42 hours, I ran 57 miles, I coached through my first track meet, and I did not sleep enough.
To elaborate on that I was thinking about the progress I have made in one year as a structural analyst is amazing. I am so productive. I finished two projects this week and made significant progress on a third. I am significantly more valuable now than I was a year ago. Basically one FEA class would have been a huge benefit for me, but now that I have on the job training it works out.
I ran a three mile tempo, 4x400 meters, short hills, and a five mile in 31 minutes this week. It's not a great week, but it's huge progress. I am planning to run some indoor track races over the next few weeks with an eye toward bring down my PRs from 400m to 5000m. Specifically, a 56 or 57 400, 2:08 800, 4:2X mile, 8:XX 3000, and something big in the 5000. I would like to get in a high 14s 5k race and see what happens. Can I break 15? I'll let you know in a few weeks after I get a few more workouts in my legs.
Coaching is going well. We have very few runners, but they are excited to be there, and I know we are making significant long term progress. We had our first track meet of the year and a handful of people had PR performances. Most did mediocre. Overall, it's good to know where we stand now. Plus, no one is peaking for the first of 16 meets this year. We want to perform our best at the end of the season.
The Olympic Marathon Trials took place down in Houston and I was glued to my phone checking updates. Hopefully I will be able to watch it at some point, but NBC is typically giving terrible coverage of long distance running. Oh well, only 41 million Americans are runners, hardly a target demographic. Fortunately, there were several media from people microblogging the race.
I hope you all had a good week.
To elaborate on that I was thinking about the progress I have made in one year as a structural analyst is amazing. I am so productive. I finished two projects this week and made significant progress on a third. I am significantly more valuable now than I was a year ago. Basically one FEA class would have been a huge benefit for me, but now that I have on the job training it works out.
I ran a three mile tempo, 4x400 meters, short hills, and a five mile in 31 minutes this week. It's not a great week, but it's huge progress. I am planning to run some indoor track races over the next few weeks with an eye toward bring down my PRs from 400m to 5000m. Specifically, a 56 or 57 400, 2:08 800, 4:2X mile, 8:XX 3000, and something big in the 5000. I would like to get in a high 14s 5k race and see what happens. Can I break 15? I'll let you know in a few weeks after I get a few more workouts in my legs.
Coaching is going well. We have very few runners, but they are excited to be there, and I know we are making significant long term progress. We had our first track meet of the year and a handful of people had PR performances. Most did mediocre. Overall, it's good to know where we stand now. Plus, no one is peaking for the first of 16 meets this year. We want to perform our best at the end of the season.
The Olympic Marathon Trials took place down in Houston and I was glued to my phone checking updates. Hopefully I will be able to watch it at some point, but NBC is typically giving terrible coverage of long distance running. Oh well, only 41 million Americans are runners, hardly a target demographic. Fortunately, there were several media from people microblogging the race.
I hope you all had a good week.
Guessing the Olympic Marathon Trials
On the men's side:
1. Meb
2. Hall
3. Abdi
4. Ritz
5. Gotcher
6. Carlson
7. Cabada
8. Archinaga
9. Carney
10. Jimmy Grabow?
I guessed:
1. Hall
2. Meb
3. Ritz
4. Trafeh
5. Archinaga
6. Morgan
7. Gotcher
8. Hartman
9. Cabada
10. Sigl
That's two of the top three and six of the top ten. And who is Jimmy Grabow? (I just looked him up, he debuted today but was a 1:03 half and 28:35 10k 27 year old who puts in 120 miles per week regularly. Well, that's about what a 2:12 takes.) Also, congratulations to Carlson, Cabada, and Carney who all set PRs today. The toughest part is that Ritz set a five second PR to finally break 2:10 and he gets 4th.
On the women's side:
1. Flanagan
2. Davilia
3. Goucher
4. Hastings
5. Cherobon-Bawcom
6. Kastor
7. Grandt
8. McKaig
9. McMahan
10. Lewy-Boulet
I guessed:
1. Davilia
2. Flanagan
3. Kastor
4. Goucher
5. Lewy-Boulet
6. Hastings
7. Rothstein
8. McGregor
9. Rhines
10. Grandt
That's two of the top three and seven of the top ten. The big surprise of the top ten is Janet Cherobon-Bawcom who set an eight minute PR to 2:29 today. Rumor had it her trainingwas going well, but an eight minute PR is pretty big. Shalane did set a three minute PR to win although New York is considered harder than the trials course.
1. Meb
2. Hall
3. Abdi
4. Ritz
5. Gotcher
6. Carlson
7. Cabada
8. Archinaga
9. Carney
10. Jimmy Grabow?
I guessed:
1. Hall
2. Meb
3. Ritz
4. Trafeh
5. Archinaga
6. Morgan
7. Gotcher
8. Hartman
9. Cabada
10. Sigl
That's two of the top three and six of the top ten. And who is Jimmy Grabow? (I just looked him up, he debuted today but was a 1:03 half and 28:35 10k 27 year old who puts in 120 miles per week regularly. Well, that's about what a 2:12 takes.) Also, congratulations to Carlson, Cabada, and Carney who all set PRs today. The toughest part is that Ritz set a five second PR to finally break 2:10 and he gets 4th.
On the women's side:
1. Flanagan
2. Davilia
3. Goucher
4. Hastings
5. Cherobon-Bawcom
6. Kastor
7. Grandt
8. McKaig
9. McMahan
10. Lewy-Boulet
I guessed:
1. Davilia
2. Flanagan
3. Kastor
4. Goucher
5. Lewy-Boulet
6. Hastings
7. Rothstein
8. McGregor
9. Rhines
10. Grandt
That's two of the top three and seven of the top ten. The big surprise of the top ten is Janet Cherobon-Bawcom who set an eight minute PR to 2:29 today. Rumor had it her trainingwas going well, but an eight minute PR is pretty big. Shalane did set a three minute PR to win although New York is considered harder than the trials course.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
2011 My Year in Review
2011 was a great year for me in many respects. I could make a convincing argument that it was the best year in my life, but a statement that general ignores so many details that I can not admit it was the best year of my life, although, it was a very good one.
Economically this was my best year ever by far. I paid more in taxes this year than I made last year. I made around three times more than I made while being a graduate student in 2009. I wrote down this was the best year professionally for me, but that is not true. Getting a degree, getting a patent, learning about all of those processes are barriers to entry that make them more important in the long run than the first job in the chosen field, in my mind. I worked 1970 billable hours this year. My goal for next year, 2012, is 2100 hours. This is a critical point in my life, the small amount of money that I can save now will go a very long way toward providing me a large amount of money in the future. Since I am not a great saver, compared to my ideals, I will still spend lots of money on food, coffee, running stuff, and other luxuries, the solution is to work a little bit more. I will probably put in the extra hours during the summer when I can run early and work late and still have plenty of sun to shine on me while I run. Plus, I enjoy my job. I have learned so much this year I feel far more valuable now as a structural analyst.
Financially, I did very well. I paid off the first of my 11 loans because it had a high interest rate. the principal was just under 5000 in May when I paid it off. I made the minimum payments on nine of my other loans, and I started paying down the second of my loans and I expect to have it paid off probably in March. I started investing in the stock market. Here is a sample of the investing in oil (USO) that I did this year:
In total I sold four stocks this year for an adjusted cost basis of $3626.40 and a short term gain of $305.00. It's not impressive, but 8.4% in short term gains in a year the stock markets are flat is not bad either. Plus, I have to admit in the last 12 months I have learned so much about investing that several of the investment choices I made last year were not good and I won't make the same mistakes again.
My running had an amazing year! There were so many accomplishments that I am not going to go into detail. Here is a list with many of them:
Economically this was my best year ever by far. I paid more in taxes this year than I made last year. I made around three times more than I made while being a graduate student in 2009. I wrote down this was the best year professionally for me, but that is not true. Getting a degree, getting a patent, learning about all of those processes are barriers to entry that make them more important in the long run than the first job in the chosen field, in my mind. I worked 1970 billable hours this year. My goal for next year, 2012, is 2100 hours. This is a critical point in my life, the small amount of money that I can save now will go a very long way toward providing me a large amount of money in the future. Since I am not a great saver, compared to my ideals, I will still spend lots of money on food, coffee, running stuff, and other luxuries, the solution is to work a little bit more. I will probably put in the extra hours during the summer when I can run early and work late and still have plenty of sun to shine on me while I run. Plus, I enjoy my job. I have learned so much this year I feel far more valuable now as a structural analyst.
Financially, I did very well. I paid off the first of my 11 loans because it had a high interest rate. the principal was just under 5000 in May when I paid it off. I made the minimum payments on nine of my other loans, and I started paying down the second of my loans and I expect to have it paid off probably in March. I started investing in the stock market. Here is a sample of the investing in oil (USO) that I did this year:
| Lot: Acquired 06/29/11 07/19/11 | 32 | $1,225.25 | $1,208.35 | $16.90 | ||||
| Lot: Acquired 08/05/11 | 10/25/11 | 20 | $717.03 | $692.55 | $24.48 | |||
| Lot: Acquired 09/22/11 | 10/25/11 | 20 | $717.02 | $629.15 | $87.87 |
In total I sold four stocks this year for an adjusted cost basis of $3626.40 and a short term gain of $305.00. It's not impressive, but 8.4% in short term gains in a year the stock markets are flat is not bad either. Plus, I have to admit in the last 12 months I have learned so much about investing that several of the investment choices I made last year were not good and I won't make the same mistakes again.
My running had an amazing year! There were so many accomplishments that I am not going to go into detail. Here is a list with many of them:
- Ended a 174 day running streak
- Debuted a 2:34 marathon on a very windy day and 800ft long course
- Ran a new highest mileage week of 140 miles
- Had a legitimate (sub 7 minute pace) 30 mile training run
- Won a five mile, 5k, team triathlon, and individual duathlon, and was second in a half marathon and a four mile race
- Completed a special block workout (2x 2mi warmup, 14mi tempo)
- Managed to throw down 5:20s more than 15 miles into a long run
- Ran several of my best 20 minute tempos getting my paces down to 5:24ish
- Ran better than my previous half marathon PR of 1:17:06 at least eight times
- Ran 4x1600m in my best average (5:08) with a 1:45 400m jog rest
- Ran approximately 3640 miles for an average daily mileage that rounds to 10miles
- Acquired a sponsor
- Acquired a number of positive new friends and acquaintances through my running
Coaching I had a great year. I now get paid to do help younger men and women develop as athletes, students, and people. It is pretty awesome.
Socially, I made the rounds this year. I have quite a few friends now that I am really happy with. I have people to ride bicycles, friends at the pubs, friends to run, friends to help move, friends for summer yard parties, and nice people at work. Also, it was a really good year to visit people so I won't go into details but here is the list:
- February I visited my best friend from high school in St. Louis
- July I celebrated a 21st birthday in Kansas City with some high school friends
- October I went to a good friend's wedding in Omaha
- November I visited some of my menugas from grad school in Massachusetts
- December I visited some family friends in Sacramento
- December I went to Colorado and saw friends from college and summer camp
As far as the dating scene goes... errr... I can't say it has been better in the past, but I just haven't met or spent enough time with a person who is on the same wavelength as I.
As far as climbing and mountaineering it was terrible. I spent one day with a rope outdoors, one day in a gym, but a whole lot of time on a hangboard. It wasn't a total loss, but not much climbing.
As for other things, I have a really nice carbon fiber bicycle, a nice single speed cyclocross, I gardened and got a little bit of good food and I read a handful of books. It was a good year.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Preview of the 2012 Olympic Marathon Trails
To get some background start with this article by friend Mario Fraioli, read everything on this joint website, watch some Flotrack videos, and visit the official site.
Since the fun thing to do is talk about the finish placing I'm going to do that.
On the men's side:
1. Ryan Hall for the win. The guy is fast. He pushes international fields from the start. Even though he ran the Chicago Marathon in October, I am sure he will have no problem popping out a 2:09 or 2:10 leading the entire way if he wants to. If he does sit and kick, I still pick him for the win because he has the fastest half marathon.
2. Meb Kerflezgi in second. Meb ran New York in November so he had even less recovery time and training time. He even had to battle a foot infection after New York. However, considering he ran a PR with a nasal strip chaffing in his shoe, and he has a second at the Olympics, and won New York once (making him one of two American who have ever beat Hall), I think he has the experience, aerobic and strength base to run a 2:09.
3. Dathan Ritzenhein in third. While he is slow at the marathon compared to the times he has done at the shorter distances, he has run 2:10 flat, his slowest marathon was a 2:14 debut at age 23 in New York, and he did get 9th in Beijing (making him the other American to ever beat Hall in a marathon).
4. Mo Trafeh is a 1:00 half marathoner, he mentioned Renato Canova in an interview, and he cleaned up this year on the USATF road racing circuit.
5. Nick Archinaga has run 2:11 twice, both times off of less than optimal marathon prep.
6. Mike Morgan has only run 2:14, but he has run some good times in rough conditions and I hear his training is going well so I expect him to get a little faster.
7. Brett Gotcher is still relatively young but he ran a 2:10 after slowing down the last few miles. He hasn't been totally consistent, but I think his coach Greg McMillian knows what he is doing.
8. Jason Hartman has gotten better the last few years after moving up to the marathon. Given his recent consistency and experience he will probably do pretty well.
9. Fernando Cabada, who I believe is the American 25k record holder, is training under Renato Canova, enough said.
10. Tyler Sigl is a huge dark horse, but as a guy that routinely beats me on the roads I think he has a shot. He paced the women in Chicago at 5:18 pace for 20 miles then a week later ran a 1:06 in Des Moine back in October. Considering the great weather the last few months I would assume he is in good shape.
Wow, that was a terrible description of the placing. I left out Jason Lehmkuhle, Jorge Torres, Abdi Abdirahman, and Justin Young to name a few.
On the women's side:
1. Desiree Davilia is the marathon class of the field. She has consistently improved over the last four years and has the best marathon time for an American woman in the last four years of 2:22 at Boston in 2011.
2. Shalane Flanagan has not done much in marathoning but a second place in New York is a good race. She is quite fast and given the larger aerobic base and experience that she has now I estimate her at second.
3. Deena Kastor has not done really well the last few years in the marathon, but with a 2:19 and low 2:20s to her credit she knows exactly what it takes to run a 2:25 and she probably has a pretty large aerobic base at this point.
4. Kara Goucher has the second fastest marathon time at 2:24 this Olympic cycle and she is certainly going to up front if she is not injured.
5. Magdalena Lewy Boulet went to the Olympic the last time and has lowered her personal record since then.
6. Amy Hastings has only run one marathon, but it was a 2:27 and she lives up at Mammoth Lakes with some of the best marathon coaches. Terrance Mahon even calls here "Little Deena"
7. Stephanie Rothstein only in the last year or two figured out her gluten intolerance, and lowered her marathon PR to 2:29. Now that she has that figured out I imagine she can lower it a little more.
8. Katie McGregor has not been in the 2:20s in the marathon and Team USA Minnesota does not have the reputation that the groups in Mammoth Lakes and Flagstaff do for marathoning but she has solid shorter distance credentials and lots of race experience.
9. Jennifer Rhines went to the Olympics in the marathon way back in 2000 I think. Her huspand is Terrance Mahon and now that she is returning I think she will not make many mistakes.
10. Clara Grandt is a relatively young marathoner but it is hard to ignore someone who runs 2:29 and seems to have herself in a consistently working environment.
Again, that was a terrible description. I left out Zoila Gomez, Melissa White, Tera Moody, Blake Russell, Paige Higgins and more. Well, at least I have something out there. I am pretty sure that Ryan Hall and Desiree Davilia will be in the top three. Other than that, we will have to watch the race Saturday.
Since the fun thing to do is talk about the finish placing I'm going to do that.
On the men's side:
1. Ryan Hall for the win. The guy is fast. He pushes international fields from the start. Even though he ran the Chicago Marathon in October, I am sure he will have no problem popping out a 2:09 or 2:10 leading the entire way if he wants to. If he does sit and kick, I still pick him for the win because he has the fastest half marathon.
2. Meb Kerflezgi in second. Meb ran New York in November so he had even less recovery time and training time. He even had to battle a foot infection after New York. However, considering he ran a PR with a nasal strip chaffing in his shoe, and he has a second at the Olympics, and won New York once (making him one of two American who have ever beat Hall), I think he has the experience, aerobic and strength base to run a 2:09.
3. Dathan Ritzenhein in third. While he is slow at the marathon compared to the times he has done at the shorter distances, he has run 2:10 flat, his slowest marathon was a 2:14 debut at age 23 in New York, and he did get 9th in Beijing (making him the other American to ever beat Hall in a marathon).
4. Mo Trafeh is a 1:00 half marathoner, he mentioned Renato Canova in an interview, and he cleaned up this year on the USATF road racing circuit.
5. Nick Archinaga has run 2:11 twice, both times off of less than optimal marathon prep.
6. Mike Morgan has only run 2:14, but he has run some good times in rough conditions and I hear his training is going well so I expect him to get a little faster.
7. Brett Gotcher is still relatively young but he ran a 2:10 after slowing down the last few miles. He hasn't been totally consistent, but I think his coach Greg McMillian knows what he is doing.
8. Jason Hartman has gotten better the last few years after moving up to the marathon. Given his recent consistency and experience he will probably do pretty well.
9. Fernando Cabada, who I believe is the American 25k record holder, is training under Renato Canova, enough said.
10. Tyler Sigl is a huge dark horse, but as a guy that routinely beats me on the roads I think he has a shot. He paced the women in Chicago at 5:18 pace for 20 miles then a week later ran a 1:06 in Des Moine back in October. Considering the great weather the last few months I would assume he is in good shape.
Wow, that was a terrible description of the placing. I left out Jason Lehmkuhle, Jorge Torres, Abdi Abdirahman, and Justin Young to name a few.
On the women's side:
1. Desiree Davilia is the marathon class of the field. She has consistently improved over the last four years and has the best marathon time for an American woman in the last four years of 2:22 at Boston in 2011.
2. Shalane Flanagan has not done much in marathoning but a second place in New York is a good race. She is quite fast and given the larger aerobic base and experience that she has now I estimate her at second.
3. Deena Kastor has not done really well the last few years in the marathon, but with a 2:19 and low 2:20s to her credit she knows exactly what it takes to run a 2:25 and she probably has a pretty large aerobic base at this point.
4. Kara Goucher has the second fastest marathon time at 2:24 this Olympic cycle and she is certainly going to up front if she is not injured.
5. Magdalena Lewy Boulet went to the Olympic the last time and has lowered her personal record since then.
6. Amy Hastings has only run one marathon, but it was a 2:27 and she lives up at Mammoth Lakes with some of the best marathon coaches. Terrance Mahon even calls here "Little Deena"
7. Stephanie Rothstein only in the last year or two figured out her gluten intolerance, and lowered her marathon PR to 2:29. Now that she has that figured out I imagine she can lower it a little more.
8. Katie McGregor has not been in the 2:20s in the marathon and Team USA Minnesota does not have the reputation that the groups in Mammoth Lakes and Flagstaff do for marathoning but she has solid shorter distance credentials and lots of race experience.
9. Jennifer Rhines went to the Olympics in the marathon way back in 2000 I think. Her huspand is Terrance Mahon and now that she is returning I think she will not make many mistakes.
10. Clara Grandt is a relatively young marathoner but it is hard to ignore someone who runs 2:29 and seems to have herself in a consistently working environment.
Again, that was a terrible description. I left out Zoila Gomez, Melissa White, Tera Moody, Blake Russell, Paige Higgins and more. Well, at least I have something out there. I am pretty sure that Ryan Hall and Desiree Davilia will be in the top three. Other than that, we will have to watch the race Saturday.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Review of Training to Run CIM in 2:30
 |
| Buildup to CIM |
First, an overview: I tried to follow a Renato Canova schedule by doing as much running from + to - 10% of marathon pace as I could handle. I also tried to get in a lot of mileage, much of it ended up being slower than 8 minute pace. I also did some short hill sprints, strides and some faster pace stuff to keep my legs fresh. I place a huge importance on recovery eating and nutrition as well.
Second, long runs: My 20+ mile runs came in at 23.5, 22, 22, 22, 21, 20, and 20 miles. That's eight runs 20 miles or longer. One twenty miler in 1:59, the 23.5 miler in 2:24 with the last 11 in 1:03 and pace variation, and a 21 miler in 2:10. Those are my three best long runs ever. I tried a Bill Squires technique, which is focus on the long run and involve some pace variation particularly during the end of the run. Bill would give the team moderate workouts during the week then put everything they did during the week into the long run. It's a genius technique, and I ran several 5:2Xs and a bunch of 5:3Xs more than 15 miles into my long runs. I'll be doing that again. Also, after a 5:2X or 5:3X mile I would often back off and run 5:4X or 5:5X, which is still rather fast, but feels slow after a faster mile. In short, my long runs went extremely well.
Third, long tempos: My 9+ mile tempos were: 14, 14, 12 and a half marathon race. The two 14 mile tempos were on the same day during my special block. Aside from that workout I totally failed to do an adequate volume of tempos this cycle. I did incorporate tempo training into my long runs, which I think is very effective, but there was still a lack of 9-18 mile tempos at or slower than marathon pace in my training. I would ideally like to get in a 12-18 mile tempo every week at about 90% of marathon pace. Failing to do these workouts contributed to hitting the wall my last five miles because I was not burning enough fat during the entire race.
Fourth, short tempos: I had a 20:12 for 6k, 27:40 for 8k, 38:47 for 11.2k, 21:27 for 6.4k, and 37:40 for 10.8k. There were several other tempos of similar distances with paces 5:40+. Those tempos were quite good for me because I had never run 5:24 pace for four miles in a workout before. In the area of 4mmol lactate threshold or anaerobic threshold I did the best I have ever done, which is lacking. A good 6k-8k tempo at that pace every ten days is what it takes, about two every three weeks. A 20 minute tempo is the best workout there is in my opinion, and I didn't do enough of them. I would like to do about twice as many during my next marathon cycle.
Fifth, mileage: I had nine weeks at 100 or more miles with the two highest at 140 and 116. I also had eight weeks between 60 and 99 miles. The 140 mile week destroyed me. I only ran 64 miles and took a day off the next week. While I was running it I was fine, but I crashed after it was over. Overall I am satisfied with my mileage, but I would have liked to do more in October and November (which is another topic). I did have quite a few good medium long runs (14-18 miles), but none at a tempo pace. I greatly enjoy my slow miles and the extra efficiency they give me. It is hard to say what I will change in the future. Perhaps alternating 120 and 100 mile weeks instead of trying for 140. Given that I will be stronger next time it is hard to say now. This is one area I really listen to my body. I feel that I rested better this cycle than I ever have before by taking easy days when I needed them and running miles slow when I was tired. Overall, a step in the right direction.
Sixth, intervals: a 5mi. fartlek with 2min on 1min off the on around 5:15 pace, 4x1600m in 5:07-5:09 with 400m rest in 1:45, a 4:49 1600m with 2x800 in about 2:28 each, and a huge like eight mile fartlek at 1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 3, 2, 1 with rest equal to the previous hard running. Again I pushed what I have done in the past by setting a mile practice PR (1600m 4:49) and an amazing 4x1600m workout that was very consistent. Again I would like to do more workouts on the track of this quality like the short tempos, but I was training for a marathon so this is a lower priority.
Seventh, muscular power: I did three short hill sprints and eight stride sessions and not much in the weight room at all, I would like to more like eight and twelve. There is no reason for me to skip these any week. I should be doing a set of short hills and strides every week, or at least three times each every four weeks. Still it was better than not doing them. Overall, not enough, but what I did went well.
Eighth, nutrition: I did the best job of recovery eating this cycle that I have ever had. I ate soon after almost every workout. I ate quality vegetables and pasta and protein. I probably ate better the last six months than I ever have before. In a way that is unfortunate because while I am skinny for an American I am fat for a marathoner. Due to a friend's eating disorder I long ago set a 120 pound minimum weight limit on myself but I have not been under 126 since then. In other words, I did well but there is room for improvement.
Ninth, racing: I set personal records at just about every race distance I ran. It is hard to complain about that. I think my half marathon came at a good time although a few weeks later or earlier or both might have been better. In the future I would like to do more long races in a build up like 2-3 15k+ distance races.
Tenth, cross training: I rode my bicycles a little under 2000 miles this summer. That is over 100 hours on the bike with most of that in June and July. I think bicycling was a great addition to my training. It helped me develop my aerobic capability and fat metabolism. The routine I had this summer of an hour run followed by an hour bike ride was great and I intend to do it again. However, the amount of time spent on the bike to get the same work out of it as a run makes it impractical during peak running mileage.
Those are the main point of my training. In summary, it was my best cycle of training ever, but there are inconsistencies that I desire to correct the next time I train for a marathon. It was great, it was good, I am blessed, but I want to do better next time.
Monday, December 19, 2011
I'm Hungry.
I was listening to the impact of poverty on children on Talk of the Nation on NPR and had some thoughts. I was on free lunches while I lived in St Louis and reduced price lunches throughout elementary and into middle school. I suppose that means I lived in poverty. I never felt like I lived in poverty because I had plenty of toys and we always had food and the heat always worked at home and we had a home!
As 2011 draws to a close I am realizing that this year when I file taxes it will be the first year that I get paid more than minimum wage for the entire year. I suppose I have been poor my whole life. Even as I write that I cannot actually believe it. Wealth is about so much more than income.
For example, my family always had a place to live but my parents did not own a home from the time I was five until I was 20. We lived in apartments and houses lent to us by my dad's employer. I consider having a house, apartment, or place to live wealth. The same goes for vehicles. My parents have bought only one new car in my 25.5 years, but numerous cars over ten years old. Having one or more vehicles counts as wealth to me. Even though I currently drive an 18 year old van with 277,000 miles, I consider that a luxury item.
I am continually thinking about motivation. How does one get it? Where does it come from? What events lead to increased motivation? What things will decrease motivation? Why do I pound out ten or more hours of running per week? What am I trying to prove? Why do I care about getting the best answer to an engineering problem at work and not just an acceptable answer? Why do I model things with solid (3D) elements when others use only shell (2D) elements? Why did I go to college at WPI in Massachusetts? Why did I get a master's degree?
I finished Steve Job's biography by Walter Isaacson on Saturday. What was Steve's motivation? It seems making the best possible user experience, but that is not 100% clear. I will write a review of the book in the coming weeks.
Motivation is something that is cultivated and grown, but exists within. Can one person give another person the seed of motivation? That is one tough question. If the answer is yes then I give credit to my parents for the roots of my motivation. My family vacationed to Colorado when I was young and we camped, had fires and cooked, and my dad told stories of hiking mountains like Longs Peak. I think that those little trips were the seeds of my mountaineering motivation. It was developed along the way by four summers at Philmont, and numerous hikes and climbing in Rocky Mountain National Park and the 14ers around Leadville. Yet it started with a hike to Emerald Lake and a drive to the continental divide ranger station in RMNP. My other motivations have roots with my parents. When I was six or seven I out sprinted my dad in our back yard. He might have let me win but I decided that I should not be able beat him and I did not want others to beat me unless they were actually faster. However, had he beat me would I have gotten discouraged and chose not to pursue running? Probably... My parents are geniuses. I hope I can do half as well with my kids as they did with my sister and I.
I feel that my motivation wanes when I have more luxury in life. Nice things, which I really like, give me the feeling of being complacent. (I'm struggling to come up with an example. I've been sitting here for at least 10 minutes without writing a sentence.)
I quit acting when I went to college. I did five musicals, four plays, and a slew of speech and drama routines at competitions in high school. The highlight was my senior year when my duet with Dana May Salah was amazing. We cleaned up at just about every meet. We were getting first and second at almost every meet we went to. That was after three years of struggling to make it to finals at local speech and drama competitions. At state that year we expected to cruise through semifinals and compete for the win, but judges rated us terribly. Our second round was the best performance of the year. It was the best acting I ever did. When we calmly walked out of the room we were seriously jumping up and down because we just had the most amazing performance of the year! The judge gave us a ranking of five, with one being the best and ten the worst. Unbelievable. We didn't even make it to semifinals. I did do improvised duet acting also at that state meet and my partner and I got 8th at state with a really really tough draw in the semifinal round. The point being, my motivation for acting left after that state meet. People in my home town thought I was going to go into acting, and were surprised that I cared so much more about engineering. Some were even disappointed.
I had no success in competition acting for two and a half years then I had success at the end of my junior year and lots of success my senior year. I was loaded with motivation at the state meet my senior year. After the rejection I feel I felt acting was a search for acceptance and popularity. I felt that hard work did not necessarily pay off. Success or failure was determined by the whim of another person. In engineering and running and mountaineering and relationships the return on investment seems far more direct. If I train hard in running, I run faster races. If I study more material in engineering, I will have a better grasp of the phenomena. If I climb more I will be able to climb more. If I spend more time with a person we will have a stronger relationship (if we can work past the fact that I am a self centered egomaniac). In the words of my high school running coach, "You get what you get."
Another aspect of my attitude is that I compare myself to the best in the world. Watching the movie Inside Job one person commented that investment banking became a contest. 50 Billion dollar deals were not enough it had to be 100 billion. Unfortunately, I feel that way sometimes. So and so runs a 2:14 marathon, so I want to see if I can do it. So and so climbed Everest without oxygen, and I'm a way better runner than he is so I must be able to do it. So and so started a company that revolutionized the industry, and I'm a far better engineer than he is and more personable too. These thoughts filter down to the way that I live. Why don't I get rid of my van and buy a Mini Cooper like I have wanted for a decade? Because I would rather drive a Prosche 911 Turbo. Why don't I buy a nice bed and some more furniture and a huge TV? Because I would rather buy land and have a house. Why did I go to Pakistan and try an 8000 meter peak instead of trying Denali or Aconcagua first? Because it's bigger and bigger equals better right?
I am clearly delusional. I am obviously crazy. I have accepted those opinions as facts. I fear that these ideas in my head hamper my ability to have a committed romantic relationship. Or any relationship really. On the other hand my focus is very long term. I've been thinking about Mt. Everest for eight years, now it's just the funding. I do know that these expectations and desires set me up for disappointment. March 2010 was a really rough month. Fortunately, I am enough of a normal person to take joy in how far I have come. When I defended my masters thesis I was incredibly happy! After so much time and work, I had something to show. It was the most fulfilling formal educational experience I have had. There were so many times I thought about quitting. When I ran a 4:38 mile at Smith college my senior year of college I was ecstatic! While I planned and still do plan to be able to run under 4:20 in the mile some day, actually getting under 4:40 was amazing because part of me never thought it would happen. It is the same with my engineering. I solve problems and make products last longer, and in 2010, I was not sure I would ever have that chance. I'm a useful addition. I'm part of something. I am economically productive. It is very rewarding.
I still have a lot to do in life. I have a number of "delusions" to chase. However, if this afternoon I end up unable to walk, talk, see, and work for the next 50 years of my life I have enjoyed more success than any one person ever deserves. It is the dichotomy of performance. The new best performance is not enough, yet it is infinitely more than is deserved. I am so blessed!
As 2011 draws to a close I am realizing that this year when I file taxes it will be the first year that I get paid more than minimum wage for the entire year. I suppose I have been poor my whole life. Even as I write that I cannot actually believe it. Wealth is about so much more than income.
For example, my family always had a place to live but my parents did not own a home from the time I was five until I was 20. We lived in apartments and houses lent to us by my dad's employer. I consider having a house, apartment, or place to live wealth. The same goes for vehicles. My parents have bought only one new car in my 25.5 years, but numerous cars over ten years old. Having one or more vehicles counts as wealth to me. Even though I currently drive an 18 year old van with 277,000 miles, I consider that a luxury item.
I am continually thinking about motivation. How does one get it? Where does it come from? What events lead to increased motivation? What things will decrease motivation? Why do I pound out ten or more hours of running per week? What am I trying to prove? Why do I care about getting the best answer to an engineering problem at work and not just an acceptable answer? Why do I model things with solid (3D) elements when others use only shell (2D) elements? Why did I go to college at WPI in Massachusetts? Why did I get a master's degree?
I finished Steve Job's biography by Walter Isaacson on Saturday. What was Steve's motivation? It seems making the best possible user experience, but that is not 100% clear. I will write a review of the book in the coming weeks.
Motivation is something that is cultivated and grown, but exists within. Can one person give another person the seed of motivation? That is one tough question. If the answer is yes then I give credit to my parents for the roots of my motivation. My family vacationed to Colorado when I was young and we camped, had fires and cooked, and my dad told stories of hiking mountains like Longs Peak. I think that those little trips were the seeds of my mountaineering motivation. It was developed along the way by four summers at Philmont, and numerous hikes and climbing in Rocky Mountain National Park and the 14ers around Leadville. Yet it started with a hike to Emerald Lake and a drive to the continental divide ranger station in RMNP. My other motivations have roots with my parents. When I was six or seven I out sprinted my dad in our back yard. He might have let me win but I decided that I should not be able beat him and I did not want others to beat me unless they were actually faster. However, had he beat me would I have gotten discouraged and chose not to pursue running? Probably... My parents are geniuses. I hope I can do half as well with my kids as they did with my sister and I.
I feel that my motivation wanes when I have more luxury in life. Nice things, which I really like, give me the feeling of being complacent. (I'm struggling to come up with an example. I've been sitting here for at least 10 minutes without writing a sentence.)
I quit acting when I went to college. I did five musicals, four plays, and a slew of speech and drama routines at competitions in high school. The highlight was my senior year when my duet with Dana May Salah was amazing. We cleaned up at just about every meet. We were getting first and second at almost every meet we went to. That was after three years of struggling to make it to finals at local speech and drama competitions. At state that year we expected to cruise through semifinals and compete for the win, but judges rated us terribly. Our second round was the best performance of the year. It was the best acting I ever did. When we calmly walked out of the room we were seriously jumping up and down because we just had the most amazing performance of the year! The judge gave us a ranking of five, with one being the best and ten the worst. Unbelievable. We didn't even make it to semifinals. I did do improvised duet acting also at that state meet and my partner and I got 8th at state with a really really tough draw in the semifinal round. The point being, my motivation for acting left after that state meet. People in my home town thought I was going to go into acting, and were surprised that I cared so much more about engineering. Some were even disappointed.
I had no success in competition acting for two and a half years then I had success at the end of my junior year and lots of success my senior year. I was loaded with motivation at the state meet my senior year. After the rejection I feel I felt acting was a search for acceptance and popularity. I felt that hard work did not necessarily pay off. Success or failure was determined by the whim of another person. In engineering and running and mountaineering and relationships the return on investment seems far more direct. If I train hard in running, I run faster races. If I study more material in engineering, I will have a better grasp of the phenomena. If I climb more I will be able to climb more. If I spend more time with a person we will have a stronger relationship (if we can work past the fact that I am a self centered egomaniac). In the words of my high school running coach, "You get what you get."
Another aspect of my attitude is that I compare myself to the best in the world. Watching the movie Inside Job one person commented that investment banking became a contest. 50 Billion dollar deals were not enough it had to be 100 billion. Unfortunately, I feel that way sometimes. So and so runs a 2:14 marathon, so I want to see if I can do it. So and so climbed Everest without oxygen, and I'm a way better runner than he is so I must be able to do it. So and so started a company that revolutionized the industry, and I'm a far better engineer than he is and more personable too. These thoughts filter down to the way that I live. Why don't I get rid of my van and buy a Mini Cooper like I have wanted for a decade? Because I would rather drive a Prosche 911 Turbo. Why don't I buy a nice bed and some more furniture and a huge TV? Because I would rather buy land and have a house. Why did I go to Pakistan and try an 8000 meter peak instead of trying Denali or Aconcagua first? Because it's bigger and bigger equals better right?
I am clearly delusional. I am obviously crazy. I have accepted those opinions as facts. I fear that these ideas in my head hamper my ability to have a committed romantic relationship. Or any relationship really. On the other hand my focus is very long term. I've been thinking about Mt. Everest for eight years, now it's just the funding. I do know that these expectations and desires set me up for disappointment. March 2010 was a really rough month. Fortunately, I am enough of a normal person to take joy in how far I have come. When I defended my masters thesis I was incredibly happy! After so much time and work, I had something to show. It was the most fulfilling formal educational experience I have had. There were so many times I thought about quitting. When I ran a 4:38 mile at Smith college my senior year of college I was ecstatic! While I planned and still do plan to be able to run under 4:20 in the mile some day, actually getting under 4:40 was amazing because part of me never thought it would happen. It is the same with my engineering. I solve problems and make products last longer, and in 2010, I was not sure I would ever have that chance. I'm a useful addition. I'm part of something. I am economically productive. It is very rewarding.
I still have a lot to do in life. I have a number of "delusions" to chase. However, if this afternoon I end up unable to walk, talk, see, and work for the next 50 years of my life I have enjoyed more success than any one person ever deserves. It is the dichotomy of performance. The new best performance is not enough, yet it is infinitely more than is deserved. I am so blessed!
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
I Live in Iowa: Week 34
Another fulfilling week of life. The weekly summary will be a little short this week, but I have other posts lined up for the next few days So it will probably even out.
I ran the California International Marathon on Sunday to a delightful 2:30 finish. It was a nice way to start the week. I ended up running one nine minute mile Monday at practice with my college kids. It sounds terrible and it was even worse to watch, but the day after Green Bay I limped through about .2 miles before I gave up. This was a five times improvement, and I didn't quit because I was in pain I quit because I only wanted to run one mile.
The week at work was also rather satisfying. One of the projects I was working on we wanted to get some testing done and as we started to ask, we found out that another group was actually doing the exact test we desired. I couldn't plan things to work out that smoothly! Then there is all sorts of other excitement such as a new steel and another round of physical build and testing. Plus, while I don't always like criticism, I took a little this week, and the criticism giver was totally and completely right and I was all wrong. Ahh yes, the learning experience.
I spent some time coaching and while we have a tiny cohort of distance runners I am sure that they will all have breakthrough seasons this year.
Finally, I have run since the day after my marathon and I am recovering twice as fast as from Green Bay. My downtime has been filled with pizza, movies and a few glasses of wine. (I even stayed awake until 11PM twice this weekend!)
I ran the California International Marathon on Sunday to a delightful 2:30 finish. It was a nice way to start the week. I ended up running one nine minute mile Monday at practice with my college kids. It sounds terrible and it was even worse to watch, but the day after Green Bay I limped through about .2 miles before I gave up. This was a five times improvement, and I didn't quit because I was in pain I quit because I only wanted to run one mile.
The week at work was also rather satisfying. One of the projects I was working on we wanted to get some testing done and as we started to ask, we found out that another group was actually doing the exact test we desired. I couldn't plan things to work out that smoothly! Then there is all sorts of other excitement such as a new steel and another round of physical build and testing. Plus, while I don't always like criticism, I took a little this week, and the criticism giver was totally and completely right and I was all wrong. Ahh yes, the learning experience.
I spent some time coaching and while we have a tiny cohort of distance runners I am sure that they will all have breakthrough seasons this year.
Finally, I have run since the day after my marathon and I am recovering twice as fast as from Green Bay. My downtime has been filled with pizza, movies and a few glasses of wine. (I even stayed awake until 11PM twice this weekend!)
Thursday, December 8, 2011
My Second Marathon: California International Marathon 2011
Describing the marathon is not an easy task. There is so much suffering and work that goes into it and it feels insufficient to use only words to describe it. In shorter races you can try again in a few days or weeks. In a marathon you get one, albeit very long, shot. However I will try because the experience is so great that not attempting to explain it is a failure.
Over the next few weeks I will write the article dealing with my training highs and lows and another one about my next running goals. For now you get the race day excitement.
My day started at 4:45 AM and I was awake before the alarm went off. Despite only five hours of sleep I was raring to go. Well, as raring to go as I could when it was dark out and an uncertain future loomed. I happily ate half a bagel then I forced the second half down. I drank some coffee on the ride to the start line and tried to eat some chocolate croissant, but there came a point when I just could not stomach any more food because of the nervousness.
We parked near the McDonalds and started to walk up the hill a mile to the start but some shuttle school busses picked us up and dropped us off at the start. My host G and I walked around to calm my nerves. The 200 port-a-potties were emptry at 6:15 AM which is nice because no one likes to wait in line.
I just kept walking around to stay warm in the 37F chill. Finally 21 minutes before the start I went for a 11:37 jog out and back along the start, probably 1.4 miles. After some leg swings and active isolated calf stretches I lined up way in the back (the tenth row or so). I was even behind some 50s and 60s age women. In other words, I had to weave around a few people the first half mile. There comes a point when moving to the front of the pack gets negative looks from the people you are pushing aside. It is a hazard of the sport. A slow person can line up shoulder to shoulder with one of the best in the world if you don't mind some pushing and shoving. Try standing on the line beside Tim Tebow during his first play of the game.
The gun went off and I started my watch just before I crossed the line. I took it out at a pace that felt easy and manageable. The first mile is significantly downhill so it was very fast. I clocked myself at 5:18.85. By that time I was in front of the third pack. The leaders were off quick. The second pack was a mere 5 seconds ahead of us. Clint Verran and another Hansons runner were up in that pack and I had this strange feeling of living a daydream. I have many times on runs imagined running down famous runners in a marathon so to be there a few seconds behind a guy that has performed multiple times and consistently was realizing that I have arrived. I thought I would slow down on the flatter miles so I felt really comfortable with my place.
My next three miles were 5:22, 5:25, and 5:21. I ran with the third pack and I would pull ahead five or ten feet on the downhills and get caught into the second row of the pack on the uphills by maintaining a consistent effort. I knew I would slow down but it was so fun see these splits! I felt so good! I have felt terrible the last three and a half weeks and I have not totally figured out why I felt amazing Sunday.
Going up one of the hills I let the pack run away from me. I have to run my own race and not get lulled into going out over my head. My next miles were 5:33 (27:00 at five miles), 5:31, 5:33, 5:38, 5:43, 5:35 for a 54:59 at ten miles. Every mile was exciting to look at my watch and see that I was putting the feet to the pavement. 5:20s, 5:30s those are not terribly fast mile times but to be able to do them over and over after barely training at those paces was rewarding for all of the training that I did.
With every passing mile I was getting more excited. I figured I would probably slow down, but I also figured there would come a point when all I had to do was run six minute miles to finish and get under 2:30. As I gradually drifted back through the other runners I hit 11 in 5:31, 12 in 5:43, 13 in 5:40 and the half in about 1:12:27, which is a mere 39 seconds slower than my PR. It is also my second fastest half. I felt so good! Well, I felt really good considering that two months ago that would have been a PR for me. In other words, to run a great marathon I think you need to feel totally fresh at halfway and I did not feel fresh. I felt strong and consistent but a 1:12 half is not a walk in the park for me as it needs to be for me to even split at that pace.
I came through 14 in 5:37 for a 1:17:32 total and my first PR of the day. Likewise 15 in 5:49.8 (I list the decimal on that one because I can't usually see the decimal when I am running and there is a mental difference between seeing 5:4X and 5:5X even though in this case it was about 1/5th of a second actual difference) for a 1:23:21 split, 16 in 5:47 for a 1:29:08 split, and 17 in 5:43. At that point I was really excited mentally. That's about 2/3rds of the way through the race and I was averaging something fast. Physically though, things were going downhill. My vison was a little blurry entering the flages for 17 miles. That is typically not a good sign.
My eighteenth mile was 5:51. Not terribly slow, but 5:50s counts as slow in my book. I didn't put negative thought into it because at that point I was working pretty hard and I knew I would run whatever times I would run and as long as I didn't "give up" I would run as fast as I could on the day.
My nineteenth mile was 5:50, 20 was 5:53, and 21 was 5:55. Those miles went... well enough. Passing 20 I made sure to check the little numbers on my watch that gave my overall time: 1:52:27. That was super exciting. I managed to calculate that 37:30 is what six minute pace would be the last 10k. So when I knew that all I had to do was run sub six pace to the finish I was thrilled to know that I would break 2:30.
Alas, no one is done until he or she is done. My 22nd mile was a plodding 6:01. I figured I had something like two or three seconds a mile slower than six minute pace to get to the finish before 2:30 so I was still happy. I hit 23 in 6:05. No problem, I can easily throw down a sub 18 5k. Unfortunately, my legs, specifically my quads and calves, were in pain. Additionally, the sports drink that they gave us (Ultima I believe) was a terrible choice for a marathon as it had no carbs or sugars. I was living through "the wall".
The 24th came and went in 6:08 and I was feeling worse and worse. The 25th passed in a painful 6:09. At that point I knew I was close and I thought, 'less than 2k, less than five laps around the track and if it is good I am under 2:30.' Any energy reserves that I had left I threw into the boiler of final-marathon-mile-torment. I felt that everything before was leading up to this part of the race and I was giving it everything I had. My legs were so heavy as I tried to deal with the pain and accelerate to faster than six minute mile pace. You could have tripped me with a chopstick.
However, as races go, we run them to see what happens. My 26th mile was 6:17 and yes I did look at my watch because I hoped that I had hit sub 6. At that point I really did not have a great idea of how fast I was going. I think some people passed me in the last few miles, but I was pretty much at war in my head with my body.
As I made the turn to the finish there were crowds directing me to the men's finish, and when I made the final left turn I saw the clock had already flipped to 2:30 and I was to remain a 2:30s guy for another cycle. I ran through the finish and the finish staff caught me before I fell over. It was over 2:30:20 (gun time was 2:30:24) after it started and six and a half months after I started my build up.
I will of course write more about this in the next few weeks but I am not disappointed with my race or huge positive split. Yes, had I gone out in 1:14 I would probably have run sub 2:30. I felt so good. The thing about the whole experience that does disappoint me is that the sports drink did not have any calories. I learned the hard way that I do not tolerate gels well at 5:40 pace, but sugar water I can drink at that pace. Had I even been able to get in a cup or two of sugar water the race might have turned out better for me the last four miles.
I headed strait for the chocolate milk and then the massage tent when I had my calves and hamstrings stretched. I talked to Kenny of Boulder Running Company who ran 2:19 a 3.5 minute PR, and while he missed out on the Trials, he was really happy with such a big PR. Someone else ran 2:30:04 and was really disappointed about missing the 2:20s but a few seconds. Soon enough I walked the four blocks to my host G's car. We stashed a quart of chocolate milk, orange juice, chocolate croissant, and water there which I proceeded to down on the way to the airport.
Already less than an hour after the race ended I knew I wasn't done. The way that race went down I feel like I have so much more running ability left in me. My training was mediocre at best. Even on my best weeks I only managed two strong workouts. My mileage, while good, could have been better. There was a conspicuous lack of 12-18 mile medium pace tempos (5:55-6:10 pace) that would have been better included weekly. Plus, I went through 10k about 25 seconds away from my PR, and less than 40 seconds off my half marathon PR. That is ridiculous. Had I been totally crazy and ran with the pack that I started with I would have PR'd in the 10k and likely half marathon if I managed to stay with them. I would of course faded harder than I did, but it is not reasonable to set personal records in the 10k and half marathon during a marathon. In other words, I need to get faster at the shorter distances.
How do I feel about not making the Olympic Marathon Trials for 2012? Not terribly bad. I've only had two marathons a 2:34 and 2:30, both with big positive splits, and less than optimal training. I am running marathons 10 seconds per mile faster than I raced the 5k in high school. The progress has been rewarding.
Overall, I had a great weekend in California! I ran a great race (probably the fastest in the US). I spent time with amazing hosts. And I know I can do better in the future. Since I can't help my self I will tell, I am going back to the track for 400-3000m training during indoor season and then outdoor probably 5k/10k and after a trip to Alaska around June, there is a little 100 mile race in Leadville in August that I have been thinking about for eight years...
Over the next few weeks I will write the article dealing with my training highs and lows and another one about my next running goals. For now you get the race day excitement.
My day started at 4:45 AM and I was awake before the alarm went off. Despite only five hours of sleep I was raring to go. Well, as raring to go as I could when it was dark out and an uncertain future loomed. I happily ate half a bagel then I forced the second half down. I drank some coffee on the ride to the start line and tried to eat some chocolate croissant, but there came a point when I just could not stomach any more food because of the nervousness.
We parked near the McDonalds and started to walk up the hill a mile to the start but some shuttle school busses picked us up and dropped us off at the start. My host G and I walked around to calm my nerves. The 200 port-a-potties were emptry at 6:15 AM which is nice because no one likes to wait in line.
I just kept walking around to stay warm in the 37F chill. Finally 21 minutes before the start I went for a 11:37 jog out and back along the start, probably 1.4 miles. After some leg swings and active isolated calf stretches I lined up way in the back (the tenth row or so). I was even behind some 50s and 60s age women. In other words, I had to weave around a few people the first half mile. There comes a point when moving to the front of the pack gets negative looks from the people you are pushing aside. It is a hazard of the sport. A slow person can line up shoulder to shoulder with one of the best in the world if you don't mind some pushing and shoving. Try standing on the line beside Tim Tebow during his first play of the game.
The gun went off and I started my watch just before I crossed the line. I took it out at a pace that felt easy and manageable. The first mile is significantly downhill so it was very fast. I clocked myself at 5:18.85. By that time I was in front of the third pack. The leaders were off quick. The second pack was a mere 5 seconds ahead of us. Clint Verran and another Hansons runner were up in that pack and I had this strange feeling of living a daydream. I have many times on runs imagined running down famous runners in a marathon so to be there a few seconds behind a guy that has performed multiple times and consistently was realizing that I have arrived. I thought I would slow down on the flatter miles so I felt really comfortable with my place.
My next three miles were 5:22, 5:25, and 5:21. I ran with the third pack and I would pull ahead five or ten feet on the downhills and get caught into the second row of the pack on the uphills by maintaining a consistent effort. I knew I would slow down but it was so fun see these splits! I felt so good! I have felt terrible the last three and a half weeks and I have not totally figured out why I felt amazing Sunday.
Going up one of the hills I let the pack run away from me. I have to run my own race and not get lulled into going out over my head. My next miles were 5:33 (27:00 at five miles), 5:31, 5:33, 5:38, 5:43, 5:35 for a 54:59 at ten miles. Every mile was exciting to look at my watch and see that I was putting the feet to the pavement. 5:20s, 5:30s those are not terribly fast mile times but to be able to do them over and over after barely training at those paces was rewarding for all of the training that I did.
With every passing mile I was getting more excited. I figured I would probably slow down, but I also figured there would come a point when all I had to do was run six minute miles to finish and get under 2:30. As I gradually drifted back through the other runners I hit 11 in 5:31, 12 in 5:43, 13 in 5:40 and the half in about 1:12:27, which is a mere 39 seconds slower than my PR. It is also my second fastest half. I felt so good! Well, I felt really good considering that two months ago that would have been a PR for me. In other words, to run a great marathon I think you need to feel totally fresh at halfway and I did not feel fresh. I felt strong and consistent but a 1:12 half is not a walk in the park for me as it needs to be for me to even split at that pace.
I came through 14 in 5:37 for a 1:17:32 total and my first PR of the day. Likewise 15 in 5:49.8 (I list the decimal on that one because I can't usually see the decimal when I am running and there is a mental difference between seeing 5:4X and 5:5X even though in this case it was about 1/5th of a second actual difference) for a 1:23:21 split, 16 in 5:47 for a 1:29:08 split, and 17 in 5:43. At that point I was really excited mentally. That's about 2/3rds of the way through the race and I was averaging something fast. Physically though, things were going downhill. My vison was a little blurry entering the flages for 17 miles. That is typically not a good sign.
My eighteenth mile was 5:51. Not terribly slow, but 5:50s counts as slow in my book. I didn't put negative thought into it because at that point I was working pretty hard and I knew I would run whatever times I would run and as long as I didn't "give up" I would run as fast as I could on the day.
My nineteenth mile was 5:50, 20 was 5:53, and 21 was 5:55. Those miles went... well enough. Passing 20 I made sure to check the little numbers on my watch that gave my overall time: 1:52:27. That was super exciting. I managed to calculate that 37:30 is what six minute pace would be the last 10k. So when I knew that all I had to do was run sub six pace to the finish I was thrilled to know that I would break 2:30.
Alas, no one is done until he or she is done. My 22nd mile was a plodding 6:01. I figured I had something like two or three seconds a mile slower than six minute pace to get to the finish before 2:30 so I was still happy. I hit 23 in 6:05. No problem, I can easily throw down a sub 18 5k. Unfortunately, my legs, specifically my quads and calves, were in pain. Additionally, the sports drink that they gave us (Ultima I believe) was a terrible choice for a marathon as it had no carbs or sugars. I was living through "the wall".
The 24th came and went in 6:08 and I was feeling worse and worse. The 25th passed in a painful 6:09. At that point I knew I was close and I thought, 'less than 2k, less than five laps around the track and if it is good I am under 2:30.' Any energy reserves that I had left I threw into the boiler of final-marathon-mile-torment. I felt that everything before was leading up to this part of the race and I was giving it everything I had. My legs were so heavy as I tried to deal with the pain and accelerate to faster than six minute mile pace. You could have tripped me with a chopstick.
However, as races go, we run them to see what happens. My 26th mile was 6:17 and yes I did look at my watch because I hoped that I had hit sub 6. At that point I really did not have a great idea of how fast I was going. I think some people passed me in the last few miles, but I was pretty much at war in my head with my body.
As I made the turn to the finish there were crowds directing me to the men's finish, and when I made the final left turn I saw the clock had already flipped to 2:30 and I was to remain a 2:30s guy for another cycle. I ran through the finish and the finish staff caught me before I fell over. It was over 2:30:20 (gun time was 2:30:24) after it started and six and a half months after I started my build up.
I will of course write more about this in the next few weeks but I am not disappointed with my race or huge positive split. Yes, had I gone out in 1:14 I would probably have run sub 2:30. I felt so good. The thing about the whole experience that does disappoint me is that the sports drink did not have any calories. I learned the hard way that I do not tolerate gels well at 5:40 pace, but sugar water I can drink at that pace. Had I even been able to get in a cup or two of sugar water the race might have turned out better for me the last four miles.
I headed strait for the chocolate milk and then the massage tent when I had my calves and hamstrings stretched. I talked to Kenny of Boulder Running Company who ran 2:19 a 3.5 minute PR, and while he missed out on the Trials, he was really happy with such a big PR. Someone else ran 2:30:04 and was really disappointed about missing the 2:20s but a few seconds. Soon enough I walked the four blocks to my host G's car. We stashed a quart of chocolate milk, orange juice, chocolate croissant, and water there which I proceeded to down on the way to the airport.
Already less than an hour after the race ended I knew I wasn't done. The way that race went down I feel like I have so much more running ability left in me. My training was mediocre at best. Even on my best weeks I only managed two strong workouts. My mileage, while good, could have been better. There was a conspicuous lack of 12-18 mile medium pace tempos (5:55-6:10 pace) that would have been better included weekly. Plus, I went through 10k about 25 seconds away from my PR, and less than 40 seconds off my half marathon PR. That is ridiculous. Had I been totally crazy and ran with the pack that I started with I would have PR'd in the 10k and likely half marathon if I managed to stay with them. I would of course faded harder than I did, but it is not reasonable to set personal records in the 10k and half marathon during a marathon. In other words, I need to get faster at the shorter distances.
How do I feel about not making the Olympic Marathon Trials for 2012? Not terribly bad. I've only had two marathons a 2:34 and 2:30, both with big positive splits, and less than optimal training. I am running marathons 10 seconds per mile faster than I raced the 5k in high school. The progress has been rewarding.
Overall, I had a great weekend in California! I ran a great race (probably the fastest in the US). I spent time with amazing hosts. And I know I can do better in the future. Since I can't help my self I will tell, I am going back to the track for 400-3000m training during indoor season and then outdoor probably 5k/10k and after a trip to Alaska around June, there is a little 100 mile race in Leadville in August that I have been thinking about for eight years...
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
I Live in Iowa: Week 33
In the interest of tantalizing you for a few more hours you will have to wait another day to read about my recent marathon.
In working news I worked almost 35 hours in four days. I spent much of that time with a bracket for the exhaust on one of our upcoming final tier four machines. For those not in the engine industry there are new emissions requirements coming out in a few years that further reduce the allowable emissions of petrol engines. Basically, greatly over simplified, this means that the muffler is far more extensive and there will be a Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) tank that will need to be filled regularly. In other words, the new emissions requirements contribute to the stimulus of my bank account.
One thing that frustrates me that happened for the first time in high school is when people tell me that I would so strong professionally if I put as much effort into my career as I did into running. That is totally not true. Ten hours a week of engineering would not lead to dramatic progression. I think what they mean is if I spent all of the time I spend running on my career as well as the time I already spend on my career I would enjoy greater success. Okay, miscommunication rant of the day done.
I don't know how much I ran but it was like 45 miles and one terrible 5k tempo. I had one lower leg pain after another. Finally on Friday in California I had a good 40 minutes that was as good as I have felt in more than three weeks. Saturday was just as good. Perhaps there is something in the air in California...
While in California I stayed with family friends from early in my parents marriage and early in my life. Interestingly enough they have a dozen different fruit trees in their backyard and he works at the California EPA. Dare I say, it was stereotypical. The weather out there was great in the 50s and 60s. They were just getting around to raking leaves and some were still mowing lawns.
In the coaching world the distance runners further dwindled. The two of us distance coaches had only three runners one day. Coaching at the college level seems to involve recruitment... Great teams don't just happen they are recruited and developed.
It was a good week.
In working news I worked almost 35 hours in four days. I spent much of that time with a bracket for the exhaust on one of our upcoming final tier four machines. For those not in the engine industry there are new emissions requirements coming out in a few years that further reduce the allowable emissions of petrol engines. Basically, greatly over simplified, this means that the muffler is far more extensive and there will be a Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) tank that will need to be filled regularly. In other words, the new emissions requirements contribute to the stimulus of my bank account.
One thing that frustrates me that happened for the first time in high school is when people tell me that I would so strong professionally if I put as much effort into my career as I did into running. That is totally not true. Ten hours a week of engineering would not lead to dramatic progression. I think what they mean is if I spent all of the time I spend running on my career as well as the time I already spend on my career I would enjoy greater success. Okay, miscommunication rant of the day done.
I don't know how much I ran but it was like 45 miles and one terrible 5k tempo. I had one lower leg pain after another. Finally on Friday in California I had a good 40 minutes that was as good as I have felt in more than three weeks. Saturday was just as good. Perhaps there is something in the air in California...
While in California I stayed with family friends from early in my parents marriage and early in my life. Interestingly enough they have a dozen different fruit trees in their backyard and he works at the California EPA. Dare I say, it was stereotypical. The weather out there was great in the 50s and 60s. They were just getting around to raking leaves and some were still mowing lawns.
In the coaching world the distance runners further dwindled. The two of us distance coaches had only three runners one day. Coaching at the college level seems to involve recruitment... Great teams don't just happen they are recruited and developed.
It was a good week.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Coming Together or Falling Apart?
My last good workout was November 7th. Since then I have not had a single workout at the level I feel I should be running. October was unquestionably the best month of running I have ever had. However, I had a series of small injuries in my lower legs the last few weeks (plantar fasciitis in my left foot and some lower left leg pain that could be anything from a stress reaction to a calf knot), my grandma died, the time changed so that I am now running mostly in the dark, and my two training partners have been injured or busy when I am trying to do a workout. The combination of all that stuff has hampered my training. However, it might be a benefit.
Emil Zatopek was a and these days Zatopek Syndrome is what we say when a well training person, dare I say training too hard, has to take it easy for an extended period of time and has an amazing performance. He was hospitalized before one of his European Championships for two weeks I think, not running a step until the day before the race, and eventually racing against doctors orders (I could be wrong) he won, or at least did really really well.
I am not sure if my low mileage the last few weeks is making me perfectly ready for a marathon or if I overextended myself a few weeks ago and I am going to race slow. I am leaning toward the former. I have to. I have had a number of just amazing workouts this cycle which are so far beyond anything I have done in the past. One simple example, before this cycle my best 20+ mile run was 20 miles in 2:06. This cycle I have done 21 in 2:10, 23.5 in 2:24 (with the last 11 in 1:03), and 20 in 1:59. That's a night and day difference between where I used to train and where I am now. The question is, did I get derailed these last few weeks?
I have been in this situation in regards to running once before in the spring of 2008. I had an injury in March that setback my training. Then in April my first few races were poor 5k performances. Finally, a week before the last meet of my undergraduate years I ran a strong 1500m PR. The next week I ran a 10,000m that was everything I had been hoping for the entire year.
Regardless of the outcome of my race I have decided that my trip to California will be good. Additionally, I'm still hungry to compete. There are moments in training when I am tired, sore, bored, and frustrated that I am seemingly not progressing. I wonder why I don't just throw in the towel and quit. However, I know why I don't quit, I have made the choice to see how far I can go. I mean "far" in the philosophical way. It's about working hard and committing to something and putting in the work to improve. In other words, at the moment running is like my girlfriend. The cool thing about athletics, unlike just about everything else, is that you have a finite amount of time to progress before you are in your 40s and start regressing. If one can learn the techniques and processes to progress to a high level in a short amount of time those techniques and processes experience can be reapplied in other endeavors. What are the similarities between a successful marathoner and Fortune 500 CEO? A marathoner must educate oneself on the history and technology of training typically through copious reading, mentors (coaches), and self experimentation. A Fortune 500 CEO I would assume would be the person who knows the most about the company, their market, their strategy (all considered copious reading and mentors (colleagues and managers)), and has experience both in management and as an entry level worker (education through both the role of mentors (other managers) and self experimentation). I am sure that double parenthesis are not allowed in English, but they are in math!
Emil Zatopek was a and these days Zatopek Syndrome is what we say when a well training person, dare I say training too hard, has to take it easy for an extended period of time and has an amazing performance. He was hospitalized before one of his European Championships for two weeks I think, not running a step until the day before the race, and eventually racing against doctors orders (I could be wrong) he won, or at least did really really well.
I am not sure if my low mileage the last few weeks is making me perfectly ready for a marathon or if I overextended myself a few weeks ago and I am going to race slow. I am leaning toward the former. I have to. I have had a number of just amazing workouts this cycle which are so far beyond anything I have done in the past. One simple example, before this cycle my best 20+ mile run was 20 miles in 2:06. This cycle I have done 21 in 2:10, 23.5 in 2:24 (with the last 11 in 1:03), and 20 in 1:59. That's a night and day difference between where I used to train and where I am now. The question is, did I get derailed these last few weeks?
I have been in this situation in regards to running once before in the spring of 2008. I had an injury in March that setback my training. Then in April my first few races were poor 5k performances. Finally, a week before the last meet of my undergraduate years I ran a strong 1500m PR. The next week I ran a 10,000m that was everything I had been hoping for the entire year.
Regardless of the outcome of my race I have decided that my trip to California will be good. Additionally, I'm still hungry to compete. There are moments in training when I am tired, sore, bored, and frustrated that I am seemingly not progressing. I wonder why I don't just throw in the towel and quit. However, I know why I don't quit, I have made the choice to see how far I can go. I mean "far" in the philosophical way. It's about working hard and committing to something and putting in the work to improve. In other words, at the moment running is like my girlfriend. The cool thing about athletics, unlike just about everything else, is that you have a finite amount of time to progress before you are in your 40s and start regressing. If one can learn the techniques and processes to progress to a high level in a short amount of time those techniques and processes experience can be reapplied in other endeavors. What are the similarities between a successful marathoner and Fortune 500 CEO? A marathoner must educate oneself on the history and technology of training typically through copious reading, mentors (coaches), and self experimentation. A Fortune 500 CEO I would assume would be the person who knows the most about the company, their market, their strategy (all considered copious reading and mentors (colleagues and managers)), and has experience both in management and as an entry level worker (education through both the role of mentors (other managers) and self experimentation). I am sure that double parenthesis are not allowed in English, but they are in math!
Sunday, November 27, 2011
I Live in Iowa: Week 32
I am so fortunate! On the whole 2011 has been a phenomenal year for me. I have expanded my capabilities and accomplishments in just about every area that I work on, with the exception being climbing. I'm doing it, life that is. I'm engineering and saving the company money by making things lighter and I am making things stronger by identifying weak areas. On Tuesday this week I realized at the end of the day that I ran about six different FEA iterations trying to improve this one area. I realized that in the past running six different concepts would be impossible. The resources to build a machine, gage it, test it, and evaluate the data takes at least weeks and often months. Additionally it costs a lot of money. I was able to do six iterations in one day. That's not even impressive, it's just that I happened to count instead of trying a dozen or more iterations as I have in the past.
I "worked" 44 hours this week including two hours on Sunday and 16 hours on Thursday and Friday of paid holiday. I have been wanting to come in on the weekend for a while but with marathon training and cross country meets I have been otherwise occupied. I again worked on the Disk Saw Felling Head all week. It is such an interesting piece of equipment. The thing that it reminds me of the most is thrust vectoring on jets. Although, it's probably more like landing gear. Regardless, it's a complex dynamic system.
I ran a measly 53 miles including a terrible 6k tempo. The worst I have had in at least eight months. I think there is a plethora of things that have happened to cause me a running setback. I had an amazing month of training in October. It was great. Then my grandma died. Then I had a few little lower leg pains. Put them together and I think you get some terrible running. I feel this is the way that I am being told to take it easy. My life goes in cycles. Things go well, I want more, then I crash, I recover and reevaluate my life, then I repeat the process again. I think that these setbacks will help me be more rested and ready for my marathon. Regardless of the outcome of the race I know that my trip to California will be good.
The UD kids had the week off of school so I did not coach. Do kids go to school at all any more? A week off here a month off there. I'll go be a teacher just for the four months off every year.
What else? Does the world repeat 80 year economic cycles? I am just struck by the similarities between the 1930s and now. On the one hand, we can not find finite element structural analysis engineers and there are help wanted signs all over Dubuque, but unemployment is still high. I don't know what is going to happen. It is certainly interesting.
http://spiraldates.com/?p=575
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_supercycle
http://steadfastfinances.com/blog/2010/08/16/spooky-similarities-between-1930-2010-stock-market/
I "worked" 44 hours this week including two hours on Sunday and 16 hours on Thursday and Friday of paid holiday. I have been wanting to come in on the weekend for a while but with marathon training and cross country meets I have been otherwise occupied. I again worked on the Disk Saw Felling Head all week. It is such an interesting piece of equipment. The thing that it reminds me of the most is thrust vectoring on jets. Although, it's probably more like landing gear. Regardless, it's a complex dynamic system.
I ran a measly 53 miles including a terrible 6k tempo. The worst I have had in at least eight months. I think there is a plethora of things that have happened to cause me a running setback. I had an amazing month of training in October. It was great. Then my grandma died. Then I had a few little lower leg pains. Put them together and I think you get some terrible running. I feel this is the way that I am being told to take it easy. My life goes in cycles. Things go well, I want more, then I crash, I recover and reevaluate my life, then I repeat the process again. I think that these setbacks will help me be more rested and ready for my marathon. Regardless of the outcome of the race I know that my trip to California will be good.
The UD kids had the week off of school so I did not coach. Do kids go to school at all any more? A week off here a month off there. I'll go be a teacher just for the four months off every year.
What else? Does the world repeat 80 year economic cycles? I am just struck by the similarities between the 1930s and now. On the one hand, we can not find finite element structural analysis engineers and there are help wanted signs all over Dubuque, but unemployment is still high. I don't know what is going to happen. It is certainly interesting.
http://spiraldates.com/?p=575
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_supercycle
http://steadfastfinances.com/blog/2010/08/16/spooky-similarities-between-1930-2010-stock-market/
Monday, November 21, 2011
Recovery Trumps Stress
I'm talking about physical recovery versus things that cause physical stress on our bodies like running 18 miles. I took today off, even though I felt good. I was just doing other things, I got a massage, I had a good run yesterday, a workout tomorrow, and a marathon in less than two weeks. As I often say:
1. Stay motivated.
2. Stay healthy.
3. Train hard.
A run today would not boost my fitness for the next two weeks so I decided to recover from my long run yesterday more than I planned. Life is good. All too often I get caught up in the numbers and forget to enjoy my incredible blessings!
1. Stay motivated.
2. Stay healthy.
3. Train hard.
A run today would not boost my fitness for the next two weeks so I decided to recover from my long run yesterday more than I planned. Life is good. All too often I get caught up in the numbers and forget to enjoy my incredible blessings!
Sunday, November 20, 2011
I Live in Iowa: Week 31
Overall a good week. I mean, I find it very hard to complain about my overall situation when things are going so well for me.
I worked just over 43 hours for the week. Since I get paid by the hour and can build up hours working a few extra hours each week is something I like to do. Then I can take more vacation, and get a quarterly bonus (if I work enough hours). I spent the whole week working on a new Disk Saw Felling Head. I won't say which one, because it is one we do not sell yet. I have to say I enjoy working on the DSFHs because the load cases are more diverse than most things that we have. For example, an airplane wing only gets loaded in a few different manners but the DSFHs get abused every which way. So it is interesting. Plus, they are a very visible part of the machine. I can take 180 lbs. out of a boom and three people notice, but I make a DSFH last a few thousand hours longer and half a dozen managers notice. Thus there is a little bit more pressure to get it right.
My running was in the tube most of the week. The special block I had scheduled for Sunday turned into a failure with only two miles at about 92% of marathon pace instead of 2x8 miles at marathon pace. I totaled only 59 mile for the week. My lowest mileage since the second week in July. Thus far in November, the month leading into my marathon I have had one good workout (the seven mile tempo a few weeks ago). I have been having left lower leg troubles, tight/knotted calves, plantar fasciitis, shin pain, etc... However, I ran a seven mile cross country race Saturday. The Living History Farms race is a true cross country race. A dozen stream crossings with some over two feet deep, hills so steep they had knotted ropes to pull yourself up, gravel roads with tennis ball size gravel, and brutal single track trails.
My name will not show up in the results because my friend broke his ankle two weeks ago and they would not let him transfer the number to me, so I just ran under his name. The picture above has me in it, not the guy in red of course but the guy in the black singlet coming out of the stream below him. I think this was the stream crossing that was two or three feet deep. Coming out of it I tried to stretch out my legs, but after taking a five second ice bath they did not want to stretch...
It was a great race, plus I enjoyed spending seven hours with my supervisor and his wife, the conversation was great. I don't have very many engineering/entrepreneur/economy/current events discussions in my daily life. The LHF race was the most technically difficult race I have ever done. Now I just have to figure out how to do something like that in Dubuque. Over 7500 people ran the Living History Farms race because it is different than your typical road race. Dubuque has a whole bunch of land that could have a race like this, in fact we have bigger hills and streams than central Iowa so it would be even harder. Although, I think that shorter than 7 miles would be better. Perhaps a 7k or a 4.7 mile run or 1.8 leagues. Some very non-standard distance that would take most people less than an hour but almost everyone more than half an hour.
Coaching this week I spent some time with the sprinters and throwers and trying to talk our resident can't-take-time-off runner into taking time off and doing yoga. One of the perks of coaching is getting all the new team clothing. I mean we have some really good clothing and since I typically don't buy much new clothing I tend to appreciate new stuff. We have a hoodie that is especially nice.
In economic news, do not expect any big improvement (media coverage) for the next month, but expect things to increase dramatically in the first couple months of 2012. At least at my company we are anticipating a new round of hiring in the next calendar and fiscal year. The actual economy in the US has been getting better all year but the stock market and big banks continue to yo-yo so there is a lot of hesitation in companies and consumers about increasing expenses. However, both companies and people have begun saving very seriously and we are likely approaching a tipping point where all of that money will burn a hole in some people's pockets and expenditures will go up. For example, John Deere is having trouble finding people to do finite element structural analysis. If we (with all of our big company benefits) are having trouble everyone else probably is too. So if these companies want to continue to get work done and fight for qualified employees, salaries will go up. This happens when people at the top who know about the extra cash will decide that getting the work done in a timely manner is important and they will increase the salaries they offer to new employees. I am not sure if that applies to retaining current employees, but I hear Siemens is hiring finite element structural analysis engineers in Boulder to do analysis on composite wind turbine blades...
I worked just over 43 hours for the week. Since I get paid by the hour and can build up hours working a few extra hours each week is something I like to do. Then I can take more vacation, and get a quarterly bonus (if I work enough hours). I spent the whole week working on a new Disk Saw Felling Head. I won't say which one, because it is one we do not sell yet. I have to say I enjoy working on the DSFHs because the load cases are more diverse than most things that we have. For example, an airplane wing only gets loaded in a few different manners but the DSFHs get abused every which way. So it is interesting. Plus, they are a very visible part of the machine. I can take 180 lbs. out of a boom and three people notice, but I make a DSFH last a few thousand hours longer and half a dozen managers notice. Thus there is a little bit more pressure to get it right.
My running was in the tube most of the week. The special block I had scheduled for Sunday turned into a failure with only two miles at about 92% of marathon pace instead of 2x8 miles at marathon pace. I totaled only 59 mile for the week. My lowest mileage since the second week in July. Thus far in November, the month leading into my marathon I have had one good workout (the seven mile tempo a few weeks ago). I have been having left lower leg troubles, tight/knotted calves, plantar fasciitis, shin pain, etc... However, I ran a seven mile cross country race Saturday. The Living History Farms race is a true cross country race. A dozen stream crossings with some over two feet deep, hills so steep they had knotted ropes to pull yourself up, gravel roads with tennis ball size gravel, and brutal single track trails.
 |
| Proof I was there. |
It was a great race, plus I enjoyed spending seven hours with my supervisor and his wife, the conversation was great. I don't have very many engineering/entrepreneur/economy/current events discussions in my daily life. The LHF race was the most technically difficult race I have ever done. Now I just have to figure out how to do something like that in Dubuque. Over 7500 people ran the Living History Farms race because it is different than your typical road race. Dubuque has a whole bunch of land that could have a race like this, in fact we have bigger hills and streams than central Iowa so it would be even harder. Although, I think that shorter than 7 miles would be better. Perhaps a 7k or a 4.7 mile run or 1.8 leagues. Some very non-standard distance that would take most people less than an hour but almost everyone more than half an hour.
Coaching this week I spent some time with the sprinters and throwers and trying to talk our resident can't-take-time-off runner into taking time off and doing yoga. One of the perks of coaching is getting all the new team clothing. I mean we have some really good clothing and since I typically don't buy much new clothing I tend to appreciate new stuff. We have a hoodie that is especially nice.
In economic news, do not expect any big improvement (media coverage) for the next month, but expect things to increase dramatically in the first couple months of 2012. At least at my company we are anticipating a new round of hiring in the next calendar and fiscal year. The actual economy in the US has been getting better all year but the stock market and big banks continue to yo-yo so there is a lot of hesitation in companies and consumers about increasing expenses. However, both companies and people have begun saving very seriously and we are likely approaching a tipping point where all of that money will burn a hole in some people's pockets and expenditures will go up. For example, John Deere is having trouble finding people to do finite element structural analysis. If we (with all of our big company benefits) are having trouble everyone else probably is too. So if these companies want to continue to get work done and fight for qualified employees, salaries will go up. This happens when people at the top who know about the extra cash will decide that getting the work done in a timely manner is important and they will increase the salaries they offer to new employees. I am not sure if that applies to retaining current employees, but I hear Siemens is hiring finite element structural analysis engineers in Boulder to do analysis on composite wind turbine blades...
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
I Live in Iowa: Week 30
Thirty weeks! I'm practically a native!
Worked 34 hours due my grandmas funeral, which I talked about several times over the last week if you did not hear already. Work is work. In the words of a mentor at Kohler, "Some days it [engineering] is the most interesting thing in the world, other days it is work." To be honest I was productive and finished two projects this week, but I had other things on my mind as well which made it difficult to stare at a computer screen for eight hours a day.
My running went okay. I have my best pace variation tempo ever Monday but no other quality running the rest of the week. 77 miles total including the seven mile tempo in 38:42 or something.
Coaching we had our regional meet this Saturday. Several of the kids set personal records, but not as many as I hoped. Frankly, I was disappointed, not with the kids, but that we didn't set them up to PR at the last meet of the year. On the other hand ten out of eleven runners set personal records this year which is a good percentage for any team. Also, I would like to mention that we had the cross country runner with the most playing time at regionals this year. That is to say last place in the men's race. While some may be shocked that he ran so slow, it was nearly a 30 second PR for him and he improved with every single race this year, plus he is a 10.9 100 meter guy so 8k is not his strong suit.
What else? I suggested buying Deere stock a few weeks ago at 61-62 and it is up to 75 now. I did not buy any because I had no money, but Bill Gates bought $571 million around that time. I am not going to suggest selling it now (I would retire with it) but if you needed a quick 20% profit there you go.
http://www.isaiahjanzen.com/2011/10/great-recession-is-not-going-to-relapse.html
Worked 34 hours due my grandmas funeral, which I talked about several times over the last week if you did not hear already. Work is work. In the words of a mentor at Kohler, "Some days it [engineering] is the most interesting thing in the world, other days it is work." To be honest I was productive and finished two projects this week, but I had other things on my mind as well which made it difficult to stare at a computer screen for eight hours a day.
My running went okay. I have my best pace variation tempo ever Monday but no other quality running the rest of the week. 77 miles total including the seven mile tempo in 38:42 or something.
Coaching we had our regional meet this Saturday. Several of the kids set personal records, but not as many as I hoped. Frankly, I was disappointed, not with the kids, but that we didn't set them up to PR at the last meet of the year. On the other hand ten out of eleven runners set personal records this year which is a good percentage for any team. Also, I would like to mention that we had the cross country runner with the most playing time at regionals this year. That is to say last place in the men's race. While some may be shocked that he ran so slow, it was nearly a 30 second PR for him and he improved with every single race this year, plus he is a 10.9 100 meter guy so 8k is not his strong suit.
What else? I suggested buying Deere stock a few weeks ago at 61-62 and it is up to 75 now. I did not buy any because I had no money, but Bill Gates bought $571 million around that time. I am not going to suggest selling it now (I would retire with it) but if you needed a quick 20% profit there you go.
http://www.isaiahjanzen.com/2011/10/great-recession-is-not-going-to-relapse.html
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
I Live in Iowa: Week 28
Another nice week living the dream, or something like it. What to say...
I spent most of the week meshing plate steel assemblies because most of India was on vacation for Diwali so I had to (or rather I chose to save John Deere the time) do my own grunt work. The designs that I am working with are getting better and better with every iteration that I run. I learned this past week that because of my optimization on on particular assembly (a boom) I am saving John Deere over $200 per machine. Plus, I am saving them 85kg in that optimized boom on the working end of the machine so they will be able to pick up a tree 200lbs heavier now.
It is exciting because there is relatively little recognition in the work that I do. Having even one person (the design engineer in this case) recognize the huge amount of weight and money that we took out of the boom goes a long way toward keeping me motivated. Now if only I would get a bonus or a pay raise because I just saved my company over $1000 per week, on just one of my shorter easier projects...
I ran 82 miles with two tempos on the track. I have been putting in a strong week followed by an easier one, and this was an easier one. I had a workout the Saturday before and the Sunday after so it was sandwiched between two hard workouts. I continue to progress really well, it just takes time, and rest, which honestly, I am going to run so well once I taper.
Coaching was a good week. Nine out of the eleven starters that we had on Saturday at the IIAC meet set personal records. That kind of success is almost unheard of. That being said, our team started with almost nothing, so compared to other teams, we have a long way to go. We also had one runner DNF. It was or is a situation very similar to Jenny Simpson (formerly Barringer) at the 2009 NCAA XC national meet.
That presented an interesting experience because it is similar to the experience I had just before I left Colorado in March 2010. When a top runner DNFs there are so many questions and trying to figure out what is wrong, having gone through a similar experience I feel I was able to do more work to get her mind on the right track in the seven minutes it took us to walk back to the team than I would have in a month or more had the 2009 and younger Isaiah been doing the talking. I feel like the de-facto UD runner sports psychologist now.
Growing up, or whatever it is called as you age, is continually interesting. It is amazing how the things that plagued me when I was even a few years younger are the same things that a bothering kids now, and the solutions I used work for them as well.
I spent most of the week meshing plate steel assemblies because most of India was on vacation for Diwali so I had to (or rather I chose to save John Deere the time) do my own grunt work. The designs that I am working with are getting better and better with every iteration that I run. I learned this past week that because of my optimization on on particular assembly (a boom) I am saving John Deere over $200 per machine. Plus, I am saving them 85kg in that optimized boom on the working end of the machine so they will be able to pick up a tree 200lbs heavier now.
It is exciting because there is relatively little recognition in the work that I do. Having even one person (the design engineer in this case) recognize the huge amount of weight and money that we took out of the boom goes a long way toward keeping me motivated. Now if only I would get a bonus or a pay raise because I just saved my company over $1000 per week, on just one of my shorter easier projects...
I ran 82 miles with two tempos on the track. I have been putting in a strong week followed by an easier one, and this was an easier one. I had a workout the Saturday before and the Sunday after so it was sandwiched between two hard workouts. I continue to progress really well, it just takes time, and rest, which honestly, I am going to run so well once I taper.
Coaching was a good week. Nine out of the eleven starters that we had on Saturday at the IIAC meet set personal records. That kind of success is almost unheard of. That being said, our team started with almost nothing, so compared to other teams, we have a long way to go. We also had one runner DNF. It was or is a situation very similar to Jenny Simpson (formerly Barringer) at the 2009 NCAA XC national meet.
That presented an interesting experience because it is similar to the experience I had just before I left Colorado in March 2010. When a top runner DNFs there are so many questions and trying to figure out what is wrong, having gone through a similar experience I feel I was able to do more work to get her mind on the right track in the seven minutes it took us to walk back to the team than I would have in a month or more had the 2009 and younger Isaiah been doing the talking. I feel like the de-facto UD runner sports psychologist now.
Growing up, or whatever it is called as you age, is continually interesting. It is amazing how the things that plagued me when I was even a few years younger are the same things that a bothering kids now, and the solutions I used work for them as well.
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