Jan 31, 2018

I'm too busy.

JUST KIDDING. I'm not too busy. Not for you. Never for you.

If you catch me saying any of the following phrases or a derivative thereof, kick me in the shins:

"I'm too busy."
"I have a lot going on."
"I wish I had the time."

To me, they demonstrate an unwillingness to say what you really mean. Here, I'll translate all three into one statement:

"That's not important to me."

Before you react, breathe. Think about it. Isn't that what we mean when we tell someone that we're too busy, have other priorities, or are unwilling to make the time to do something?

I bet that many if not every runner has heard it--"I'd run if I had enough free time."

I do have said free time. Because I make it. Like, sometimes I get three hours of sleep. Sometimes I make dinner at 9:00 PM. Sometimes I'm like, "Joe, let's get some pizza." I make sacrifices (sleep, meals at normal times, and healthy foods) because running is important to me.

Maybe you don't run. If that's the case, then replace "run" with some other activity that you do love. We're all adulting. Adulting is a little different for everyone. The next time that adulting takes priority over something else, by golly, say that. Or challenge yourself--MAKE that "something else" a priority.

Jan 29, 2018

Dave's Spring MIT 2018 - Week Four

It's January 2018! I'm a Dave's MIT coach again. This time around, I'm getting a group of about 50-strong to run a 3:45 full marathon or a 1:52 half. We call ourselves "A Flock of Runners" as an homage to the great 80s band "A Flock of Seagulls." And by "great 80s band" I mean "that group that had one of the all-time greatest one-hit-wonders."

I'm not doing this coaching thing alone--nope. I've got this cool dude as my co-coach. Joe! Yes, husband and wife MIT coaches. It's cute, right? We're cute.


Here's what we logged last week for runs:

Monday: 4 miles (easy)
Tuesday: 4x800 + 4x400 (threshold)
Wednesday: 4 miles (easy)
Thursday: 6 miles (2-6 at race pace)
Friday: Rest!
Saturday: 11 miles (easy)
Sunday: Rest! But I ran five for shits and giggles. And because I ate wings the night before.

That was week four of MIT. The Flock is hanging in there so far. The biggest challenge for me as a coach is to get runners to run the easy miles at a truly easy pace. They're all, "We feel good, let's go faster!" And I'm all, "I'm going to start carrying a taser." That said, Joe has been a lot better at keeping a big chunk of the Flock at our official "easy" pace on the long runs, whereas I have sucked at it. Like, I finished our 11 miles with a chunk of the Flock at about 15 seconds per mile faster than where we should have been. Although that's still 45-ish seconds slower than race pace, I have to glue the Flock to our pace.

About those five miles on rest day yesterday: If you're a member of the Flock, do as I say and not as I do! Full disclosure, Joe and I are coaching this specific group because the goal paces are easy for us. So like, the miles throughout the week have less of an impact on us. And as a result, it's okay for me and Joe to throw in extra miles. Now, if you're running the same miles and workouts with us and you feel like they're easy, then you ought to consider bumping yourself up to the next-fastest group. If it does not challenge you, it will not change you. But if it does challenge you, GOOD. You belong in the Flock.