Blog #I

Sometimes you need to be in a bad relationship to know what a good one is when it comes along!

So I heard the title of this blog on the radio yesterday morning and it got me to thinking about a long 3 year relationship that I was in.  And “Sometimes you need to be in a bad relationship to know what a good one is when it comes along” really makes sense.  We all know how it is for a young boy you see that dream off over there and for some reason deep down inside your heart flutters and you’re in love. You can’t explain this stuff folks just the feeling of young love and dreams.  So you scope it out from a distance you try to make yourself look good to build your confidence then you start flirting and you can feel it now, its coming. You yurn for it deep down inside and then you go for it. Then boom it’s on and I mean on like donkey kong kind of on.  Then you’re doing it and that leads to more doing it, before you know it you are doing it all the time. It’s so wild, so exciting, you don’t know how but you’re there.  It’s great this relationship is meant to be. You love it. Youre so happy, people are happy for you, they tell you that it’s great, life is good.  Then it becomes comfortable, almost easy.  You start to think this is meant to be that this is the one for you, that you cannot do any better than this, that this, this right here folks , is forever.  And why would you want anything else?.....Then on a cold windy night out of the blue you look at it and tell it straight out “I don’t have any feelings for you anymore” What? Why? Why would you do this? You were so happy it was so good!

And now youre all thinking what-the, did John just call for all intensive purposes this 9.9 out of 10 babe he has been in a relationship with for years he didn’t have any feeling for her out of the blue?  Did he just call her an “it” in that last sentence? You must be thinking what an ass, this guy is a jerk!   Now hold the phone, I am not talking about a female folks I’m talking about my three year relationship with the 15 minute 5k.  You bet folks I’m done with that! Last night I got down on the track and rolled a 14.59 5000.  An 18 second PB. I’m Pumped.  Not that there is anything wrong with a 15 minute 5k, thats a great time if you are in your late teens, or a impressive weekend warrior, or are on the Ethiopian Woman’s C squad, but I have moved on.  So to the 14 min 5k I say,  as that top forty song goes “Hey I just met you, and this is crazy, but heres my number, call me maybe” So yeah stick around 14 min 5k’s I think we can make something beautiful together.

Let’s take this back a bit to three years ago when I fell in love with this old girl running again. After 3 years at college battling injury I was about ready to hang up the old shoes and quit but John Loney kept me going and BOOM we broke 16 minutes and then I started chipping away and got down to the 15.20 range and then last year was sub 15.20 and I didn’t think I could do any better.  Then fast forward to this spring three weeks ago I head down to a 5k road race thinking 15.0... was in the cards. I love the roads! It was a flat course, perfect day, time to get after it.  So on the Wednesday before this Saturday race we had done a Vo2max workout of 5x1mile and well we got out hard kids. I mean hard I wanted 15.0... so bad. At 3k the wheels came off, and I mean right off, this car was sitting on its frame!  I finished 15.33 and was pissed. Seemed the hard Vo2max session had left a little junk in the body.  The other thing is the were 7, turns on this 5km course! Seven 90 degree turns!  And well you see folks I am not built like most fly weight distance runners. I’m built more like a freight train, I’m tall, big shouldered, heavy. I really shouldn’t be a distance runner I should be a cage fighter, but my lack of ever punching another man in the face makes it highly unlikely that I would succeed in the octagon, alas we find ourselves here running.  Any who, back to the freight train idea, so you know how trains are really slow to get going, but once they do, look the heck out, theyre damn near unstoppable.  You see when my big broad manly build has to hang 7 tight 90degree turns I have to get this big brute up to speed again, unlike the typical little runner who has a much greater deal less weight to throw around. 

So how do we solve this situation? And now is not the time to switch to cage fighting! Boom we hit the track! Freight trains....tracks hahaha I didn’t even plan that but what a segue.  So yeah the track nice gradual curves, this is brilliant! Why didn’t I think of this years ago!

So we hash out a spring/summer track season. This is brilliant.  First race on the schedule or “opener” as all the trackies call it, is last night Hillsdale Michigan for the Gina Relays!  So Monday nights workout  is layed out for me (with all thoughts in the back of my head saying stay in control remember what happened last time you worked out 2 days before a race) and it’s 3x Vo2max miles with 12 mile cruise tempo after.  Oh great here we go again, let’s get the legs full of junk to blow another race.  But I then tell my old self that were still training through these first couple races so this will be better in the long run for the season and I get after it. Rolled up the workout with the boys! Done.  Boom. I am on my way to Hillsdale, the whole way down I tell myself, stay relaxed in the pack and start to move in the last mile if you’re feeling it. We don’t need a Fade from the Front type effort here tonight.  Just get this first one under the belt and we will go from there.  So I am on the line, a cold windy line at that, I go out smart tucked in feeling easy, rolling. This is good. I can’t tell you any splits, I didn’t see them, didn’t hear any of them, but who really cares about any of that junk any way.  I’m in the middle of the pack staying out of the wind as best I can, then the old John comes out! (Oh dear the Old John you see can’t count and run at the same time. I can do one or the other but never both, and when I start to try to do that one of these things doesn’t work)  So I am feeling good tucked in on the inside in 2^nd or third as we head up on what I know realize is 6 laps  remaining.  Not my preplanned race strategy of moving with a mile to go. Oh dear. So I feel the pace slow and I take the lead.  As we head into the wind my big shoulders catch that wind like a $5 Wal-mart Kite in a Hurricane. I Say to self “I immediately regret this decision.”  But it’s too late now so I push on,  Let’s just say the last 800 got ugly.  All I can recall is coming into the last 100m seeing 14.42 and thinking sweet jumping this is going to be tight. Nailed it 14.59.72.   

Thats about it. I am very excited with that.  What else is going on? Works busy, spring fever  with everyone wanting to do reno’s and deck and such. Lifes good

Have a good weekend folks live it up a bit, you’ve earned it. Rumour has it you only live once, so you better get it right the first time!

-John