The 2010 Winter Olympics have impacted my training. What inspiration! What a party!
Seeing world class athletes at peak performance in the most competitive events in the world has caused me to think about what could have been and what can still be.
Watching the biathlon made me wish I'd behaved with my bb gun. Had I not shot the window out of the barn when I was 8, my Mom wouldn't have taken it away. Had my Mom not taken my bb gun away, I might have been able to get a pellet gun. Had I graduated to a pellet gun, I might have been able to take up biathlon and had I done that, maybe I'd have been 1/2 second away from a medal, too? Or maybe instead of just ripping the pow on my skis, I'd have taken up downhill racing or aerials?
The question of participating in the Olympics is moot. I feel like a container of cottage cheese that has passed its expiration date. For this weekend warrior it's too late for the Olympics in this lifetime.
So how to channel this inspiration?
It got me to thinking about whether I should up the ante and aim to compete more than complete this year. Even went into the crawl space and dug out my training logs from when I was competing as a runner, triathlete and XC skier. Scary the amount of training it takes to get beyond fit. Certainly easier to age gracefully. Why was it that I rarely got injured? Not sure where I found the time, either?
On that happy note, there is more science out there to support the idea of quality vs quantity in training. My buddy Greg Horner shared these links from Clarence Bass that support interval training:
Sprints Build Endurance - 2 Minutes as Potent as Two Hours
Complete Fitness in 12 Minutes per Week
So goes the argument that I don't have the time to be competitive again!
Injuries? I've concluded that they are divine retribution for past misdeeds. I will have to learn to live with things wearing out and parts falling off now that the odometer has rolled-over on a half-century and 100 ultras.
I signed up for KneeKnacker. 'Have to complete that one. Maybe aim to knock some time off last year by taking Mr. Bass's advice and doing more intervals with those long runs? Watch out, RunRik, Jackson's thinking age group glory!
Paul and I are back to talking about running 100 miles together at STORMY this August. Yikes... that's a long way to run! I renewed my gym pass, too. 'Started to ride the spin bike. Doing a few laps in the pool.
Did the Olympics inspire you? What are you going to do about it? Let's compare notes at the night run!
