Thursday, December 22, 2011

My Glory Days.....

.....are they truly over? Or just beginning?

I love this time of year. This has been a really great week, even though I've been working all week and still have to work tomorrow.

Last night I had dinner with the girls. Girls night is awesome! I needed it so bad! I am feeling a little bit more plugged in here lately. I am feeling less and less alone in this town. Wow, a year and a month and a half later...sheesh. It takes times to get settled and connected and to get life in a routine. That is why I was SO excited when the newest fellow PNW transplant joined us for dinner. She blogs at Navy Wife on a Diet but has just recently switched over to wordpress and is now CackalackyTransplant. Man can I relate to her misery and lament. North Carolina is not horrible, don't get me wrong. It's just not Washington. Coming to NC from WA is a serious culture shock. I might compare it to going from small town North Carolina to New York City....it's just different. It takes some adjustment and getting used to. But the good news is that she, I am not alone! We will all get along just fine! Dinner was a blast and the conversation hovered around running, our recent 5k, upcoming races, training, shoes or lack there of, high heels, and of course diet. I can't wait for our next girls night! I can't come soon enough!

I know I told you all I am reading Born to Run. Right? Well, I am. You should too. Seriously, it's a good book. Anyway, I have been thinking back to my glory days, high school cross country. I was slim, fast, in shape, and naive and lazy. I had no clue what my potential was. I turned down running cross country in college because the race distance was 10k, twice the HS race distance of 5k. I thought a 10k was impossible. Too far. I would die! Right? No way could I do that.....

If I could go back to talk to my 18 year old self there is a lot I would say. Not all of it about running but that would be a nice talk we would have. I wonder what kind of look would be on my face when I told my 18 year old self to buck up, lace up, and get out there and run because someday your gonna run a marathon! You're even gonna do a half iron man! I didn't even know what a marathon or half iron was back then. I was that person who said, "Oh you did a marathon? How far is that?" There is a part of the book in Chapter 28 that has been on my mind. In short there is a discussion where they are talking about the evolution of humans and how we are literally born to run....I'll attempt to summarize. The results of the 2004 New York City marathon were monitored and all the finishing times where compared by age. What they found is that starting at age 19, runners get faster every year until they hit their peak at 27. Does this mean I missed my peak? I was pregnant at 26, nursing, fat and out of shape at 27! No!!!! I don' think so! I still have plenty of time to improve!! And here is why. The question is presented: At age 27 we begin to decline. So how old are you when you are back to running the same speed you did at 19? Wow! You mean I can actually get back to running the way I did at 19? Wait a minute, what you are actually saying is that I could have run BETTER than I did at 19? When I was running sub 7 minute miles, or 7 min miles for 13 one mile repeats? What? Yes! My glory days have just begun? Yes! I think so....Back to the question, we start declining at age 27 but our decline is much slower than our climb to the peak. I'm not sure I want to give you the answer, since this was a cliffhanger for me but if you want to know then just let me know in a comment, or read the book. Essentially we have the ability to improve and if we started out late it's ok, keep running!

So I'm looking at some 5k training. There is another 5k in Feb and I think I'd like another PR. I'll be working on a 2012 goals post but I think from the 5k in Feb I'll move on to training for a 10k, 12k, 13.1, then 26.2. I rarely have ever trained for anything other than a 13.1 or 26.2. I think training, actually training for shorter distance races could be fun. As it is now, both my 5k and 10k finish times predict a sub 4 hour 26.2. Boom!  Oh the places you'll go!! 

I sense a 2012 goal about to go in the books!

The only problem is this Big Sur Marathon I have the end of April. It's not really a problem per say, I am looking forward to it like no other it's just NOT a PR course....it's a Sunday Drive of marathons for me. So I will be looking at the calendar and planning out my races and I can't forget the killer tri season! from about May to August I'll be tri-ing it up......

So are you all ready for Christmas? I am!!!! I am ready to watch LB's face light up as he checks out what Santa Brings him! This year, for some reason, it seems extra exciting. LB gets it and really believes in Santa! I remember believing in Santa and being so excited I couldn't fall asleep. Oh to be six years old again......



11 comments:

  1. Born to Run is AWESOME.

    And I've heard we don't peak in running until age 35... You have years to go!
    Here's the study from Yale:
    http://fairmodel.econ.yale.edu/aging/

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  2. WOW!!! Reading it right now!!! Even better!!!! Thanks!!!

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  3. I would go back and tell myself to start running some races at least in my early thirties before I had kids. What the heck were my excuses on why I couldn't excercise then?

    I might get depressed if I read it. I just turned 40 last week and have only been racing for two years. I can only say I feel my best is yet to come. Hopefully that is true. Maybe in ten years there will be a radical new study and we will all be the fast and fit subjects.

    So much to do still for Christmas. Sadly I think it might be the last year my eight year old son believes in Santa. The questions have already started. Boo!

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  4. Heather!!! noooo!!! don't get depressed!! This book said that at the age of 64 we were back to where we were at 19!! SIXTY FOUR!!! You see we were designed and born to run! So you have gobs of years left to improve and run!! =)

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  5. Hmmmmmm.... so what about those of us late bloomers, who didn't even start running until we were 29?

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  6. My, sort of, unspoken (till now) goal is to get back to the time I think was my PR when I ran X-country in HS. I think it was 21-something. I can do that, right? Right? So, like you, I have a similar goal for 2012: get fit (which, for me, includes losing a bit more weight) and train hard for a superduper 5k. Yikes.

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  7. PS: I read the book and don't remember that part about peaking. Loved that book.

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  8. Hey, I am running in the Big Sur Marathon too :)

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  9. Glad you got some girl time! Faytown is a hard place to get used to. I have been here for 1.5 years and i am just now feeling settled.

    I have to go read that report, but I wanted to share that I am planning on running a half marathon every month with a goal of doing better than the time before.

    I did sign up for the Tybee Island Run fest...check it out. As soon as I paid for registration, I had a panic attack! :)

    I will have to welcome Navy Wife to town too! :)

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  10. Next year will be amazing, I just know it! You are just getting started.

    Merry Christmas to you and the family!

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  11. I believe in Santa.

    is there something you're trying to tell me? ; )

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You're pretty much awesome!!

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