Hello everyone! I'm so glad to be able to blog again and bring you some great news. Daegu, no doubt, was a tough experience to handle mentally. After a much needed rest, I got back on my feet feeling more motivated to train. They say "once you are so down, the only place to go is up". Well, since then, instead of feeling sorry for myself, I got back to training as if nothing happened. I've been enjoying seeing the improvement and changes week by week, month by month. I've been on a good routine of what I'd like to refer to as "sustainable running" - doing what I know I can handle for years and years to come. Being able to balance work and training is an important undervalued part of being an athlete. Not only looking at how much quantity and quality of training, but also paying attention to how much racing I should be doing to stay fresh.
I've also come to make some difficult decisions. One of the decisions I've made recently is to continue to live, work and train in Lowell, Massachusetts. After doing some serious search, sorting out different options, I've come to realize that Lowell is where I belong. It's here in Lowell that I made my biggest breakthroughs in college and it's also here that I have my biggest support system. The negatives of training in Lowell (while also working) is that I will have to cope with training in unfavorable conditions. Cold, snowy and dark winter nights for most of the year. On the other hand, I believe my discipline and motivation to become successful will play a big role in my ability to handle these conditions. I sometimes wonder how guys like Bill Rodgers, Charlie Spedding, Vinnie Fleming and Bob Hodge were all able to handle these conditions and race at a high level. I see no reason why I can't do the same with today's better technologies (better clothes, shoes etc) and the support I have.
Racing so far has been going well. I had a small fitness test race in October (Mayors Cup) where I improved my last year's time by 10 seconds. I am now looking ahead to a long winter of training to lay the foundation for some spring and summer racing.
See you next time and thanks again for reading.
It was great to be able to say hello at Mayor's Cup, and to see you running strong.
ReplyDeleteSeems like you've got the right long-term perspective, which is best in the long run (pun intended). Lowell's lucky to have you, hope to see you around town. Best of luck with your training, keep those miles rolling.