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 2nd 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