But this weekend it was about a new and exciting twist we put to the OTFA Championships our masters team, way back in April I suggested to the club we enter a Masters team in the XC event, so I asked Steve Livingstone, Brent Jarvis, Gary Maxwell and John Cameron to join me and over the summer we added Scott Irwin, it would be fun and besides it would surely get me out running more over the summer. If I could I'd go over my training plan for the past 6 months but I really didn't have one actually I just exercised once in a while....WAIT, WHAT my athletes don't "exercise" they train I make the distinction between exercising and training at least once a week, how could I do this to my self, how could I prep for a race with no training plan, no consistency no structure NO TRAINING? OK so I let life get in the way after all it's all about the athletes right....I mean the athletes I coach all have really high goals, expectations of performing at the highest levels and I've done fairly well with them so far so letting my plan slide a bit was no big deal. I mean really I'm running a 5k XC event and I'm training kids for PATCO, Nationals and Worlds.....you have to set your priorities....right
So really I can't remember any real training, the last I remember is doing two runs in Mexico in mid Oct. in sweltering heat, was sick for 2 weeks after I got back and Saoirse asked me to go for a run on Wed morning this week before school. I know I've done a run here and there but nothing consistent enough for me to actually remember. But no matter today I toed the line with the finest "Masters Runners" in Ontario( that decided to register for the event.)
John Cameron (in blue) #2 Storm Master
We had about 10 kids running as well as the masters team at least one athlete in every event, by far the largest OTFA XC effort from our club ever. So at about 12:10pm we were all at the starting gate, it was pretty much decided that John and Brent and Scott would be leading the charge for the team, Gary's main goal was to finish in front of me and my main objective was to not let that happen, Steve was there to prove he could beat both of us. The gun goes off and away we go, I started right at the back I mean I know I'm not in shape so I figure I'll let everyone else go in front, about 200m in I pass Gary and I'm thinking I'm really not working that hard so this is good, the start is straight and flat and in no time the field strings out but is pretty close, as we pass the mass of tents I'm clearly in the back 40 but the front runner is only 50m or so ahead.
Scott Irwin Storm Master #3
We hit a small up hill piece of the course about 400m in and Gary slips past me, no worries I get on his heels and we get past a few people about 500m in I'm getting short of breath, legs are fine just the breathing gets a bit labored...stick to the race plan stick to the race plan WAIT...I don't have a race plan....I know I have spent the past 2 hrs going over race plans with 8 or 9 different people but...I ...didn't think about one for me....S@#t......OK no worries Gary is only about 50m ahead I'll drop it down a bit catch my breath then get back to my race pace and I can catch .....WAIT.... whats my race pace.....OK don't panic ...lets see last 5 or 10k I did was ....Ok it's 2011, I didn't do anything this year, how about 2010 yes I did a half iron but that was swim/run Jade biked and it was 21k run so that doesn't help much ...OK 2009? No same thing just the half IM....2008???2007 OH COME ON the last time I did a 10k was the Fall Colours in 2007 and the last 5k was the Run for Reach same year....man if I coached me I'd have to kill me.
How can I be so unprepared, I mean I make a large part of my living crossing all those T's and dotting all those i's and here I am 8 minutes into a race and I'm just realizing I'm out of shape (OK that I knew), but I not have a plan and I have no idea how fast I should be doing any of this at???. Gary is now about 100m ahead, the guy beside me asks how far in I think we are it's about 10 min so I say "about 2k, we have another 3k left" and he immediately drops off, so HEY I'm starting to feel pretty good, there' s a group ahead about 40 m so I decide I can bridge up and I do hmmm OK maybe I'm just slow getting into the groove.........ahhh...nope theres no groove...welcome to the hurt locker. Gary is now.....shit he's out of sight.
So I'm 2k or so in (10min 11sec) and I'm getting really distracted thinking about all the mistakes I've made, all the things I didn't do...OK OK focus...you can't think negative and have a positive result...switch your focus, this guy is setting a decent pace...run with him for a bit....Hey he's 60...seriously I'm letting a 60 year old pace me...Oh christ whats happened to me....I feel like throwing up and it's not because I'm working to hard. Oh just up there someone with a 45 and someone with 30...OK catch them and stay with them. Well here I am running with two people who are younger than me so I'm OK (yes they are girls but I know some fast girls so I really don't care) about 1.7 k left and we drop the 30 year old...... yeah. We round the far end of the course about 1k left and my run buddy drops right in behind me hmmmmm I know what your doing forget it I'm ready...... about 400m it becomes a race as she tries to pass I pick it up and for about 100m it's alot of fun...she drops off I finish as hard as I can..... now I feel like throwing up ...........and it is because I worked to hard.
So yea, I'm happy because it was fun, I didn't realize how much I missed competing (for me), I couldn't believe how unprepared I was and that I didn't catch on to these things until I was knee deep in it. I won't change what I do for the athletes I coach, we have big goals for a few of them this year and the next 3-4 years to come and they will get all the attention they need from me and our coaching staff.....but I think I'll race more often in local events, just to keep me in it....to have some fun...to get back to the reason I started all this...today was great, not my best result by far but a start back to more balance, more fun.....thanks to my daughter Saoirse who took all of these pictures, and to the athletes and families and coaches who came out to help, cheer and support us.
Coach Greg
0 comments:
Post a Comment