The BEAST that dwells within (Read 939 times)

Most days, running comes easy. I have no issue with just lacing ‘em up, and hitting the road. Nice, relaxing pace where the miles roll by, easy as you please. Sometimes, though, there is this anxious bundle of energy that claws at the back of my head. It wants more than easy miles. If possible, it is willing to kill me for just one really, really hard mile. I call it the BEAST, and it requires feeding. Pain is the main course, and the BEAST, when hungry, consumes pain in ravenous fashion. These days when the BEAST appears usually go something like this: Q: I feel good today. Fresh legs, nice weather, and some time to myself to enjoy an easy 6’er on the out and back. Legs: System check. Pace – Easy. Turnover – Low. Injuries – None. Feeling – Good. Status – excellent. Affirmed. Lungs: I love you Q. Thanks again for quitting the cancer sticks! YOU DA MAN! Q: Dang, I feel really good. BEAST: THIS TOO SLOW! NO LIKE! YOU RUNNING IN WATER?!?! FAST!! GO FAST! NOW! Q: Whoa, there big fella. Let’s chill out a bit, this is supposed to be an easy run. Nice and slow. BEAST: SCREW SLOW! ME NO LIKE SLOW! ME WANT SPEED!!!!!! ME WANT YOU HURTING! PAIN GOOD! Q: uh, oh. This needs to slow down. I’m a bit uncomfortable here, but I think it’s ok. I mean, golly this quicker pace actually feels kinda good. Legs: System check. Pace – Moderate. Turnover – Easy. Injuries – None. Feeling – Good. Status – excellent. Affirmed. Lungs: I still love you Q! See how good it feels to be alive and able to run a little quicker? YOU DA MAN!!! BEAST: YOU MAJOR SISSY! THIS NOT FAST! ME SHOW YOU FAST! NOW ME PUUUUUUUUUUUUUSH! Q: Good god, what’s happening?!?!? [huff] This is not right. I’m not liking this pace one bit. No siree. I must put a stop [puff] to this [gasp] craziness… Legs: System check. Pace – Quick. Turnover – High. Injuries – Musculature; minor distress. Feeling – Strain. Status – Unstable; holding. Affirmed. Lungs: Uh, ok bro. You know I love you, but if you don’t slow the heck down I may need to flip the furnace switch on and increase the side stitch-o-meter to eleventy-niner-delta. So slow down, ya moron! BEAST: ME HUNGRY! ME KILL YOU TODAY, MR. “Q DA MAN”! YOU WANT BE FAST?!?! ME SHOW WHAT FAST FEEL LIKE!! ME GONNA EAT YOUR SOUL! Q: [heavy gasping] can’t control it. It HURTS. [tears] Stop me. [more tears] Someone stop this. [wheezing as if on iron lung] It is INSANE. [coughing up pieces of own soul] I’m dying. [openly weeping] Legs: System check. Pace – Ape shit insane. Turnover – near tripping. Injuries – Musculature; seconds from total failure. Feeling – Old, overused rubber band. Status – Unstable; Failing badly. Uh oh… Lungs: Dude. DUDE! I warned you about the burning and the pain, didn’t I? DIDN’T I?!?!?! Ok, ya dumb S.O.B. you asked for it, so take THAT! Q: OUCH! Lungs: And how about a little of THIS: Q: Mommy! Lungs: And THIS, THIS, Some of THAT and a little of THIS! Q: … Legs: … Lungs: … BEAST: BEAST: THAT WHAT NOT KILL YOU MAKE YOU FASTER! ------------------------------------------- Do you have a BEAST? ------------------------------------------- Speed is relative; Pain is universal.

PoQ: Last night, I went to see that movie, "Sprint of the Marathon". When I came home, it seems all I wanted to do is in any way to help first timers to finish the marathon...(if I COULD be of any help at all, that is!) And it so happened your "other" thread was in my mind. But, I'm sure many of the posters here went to see the movie and it would look too obvious and kinda embarrassing so I didn't. Anyways, I posted something on your other thread but this is what I forgot to add--in regards to this BEAST. Sometimes, this is how my conversation with my wife (no, I'm not calling her BEAST!) goes. "Okey, I want you to go just do an easy 3 miles today..." --45 minutes later-- She would come home and says, "Man, I felt so good so I pushed 5!" Of course, she just did tough repeats and would have a long easy 2-hour run the following day... This is where some discipline, and some planning, would do you good. The best kind of workout (tough workout) is not that you thrashed yourself to complete exhaustion; the best "hard" workout is when you stop the workout knowing you could have done a bit faster and could have done one more. So next day, how might you feel? Well, man, I can FLY! The pithole is to actually go out and pound some more... A couple of summers ago, I was in Boulder. My Achilles was killing me and one of my calves were a bit sore as well. So I put on jacket and pants and went for an easy jog (mind you, it was in the summer and pretty warm). At th dinner table, Rod Dixon (1983 NYC marathon champ) asked me why I had full jacket and pants. Lorraine Moller, 1992 bronze medalist in the marathon (yeah, I'm just showing off what kind of people I hang around with... ;o)), laughed and said it's because I'm Japanese (they all do that in Boulder!). I told them, actually, because of my Achilles an calf, I wanted to slow down and this was the way to force myself to slow down. Rod actually said, "You know, when I was completing in Europe, the morning after the race, you still have your adrenaline flowing and you want to go out hard. I used to wear extra pants, sometimes even top jacket, to slow myself down..." So you can play this trick. You can go on to do some easy fartlek over some tough undulating cross country course--you can feel a bit tough but it won't allow you to go too fast. The thing is; if you start doing an easy recovery run hard; then chances are, you can't do "key workouts" too hard; so you end up doing mediocor workouts day after day after day. Yes, sometimes you do feel good. If you just absolutely can't control yourself, you need to shuffle your workouts around a bit and make THAT a keyworkout; but don't go out and do an easy 3-miler a fast 3-miler so your point workout of 5 mile tempo becomes a miserable 5 mile struggling plod, followed then by another feel-good 2-miles! Know which workout is important; and nail them first. Discipline yourself to go easy wen you're supposed to go easy by tricking yourself in any way you can.

PoQ: You crack me up. This post is hilarious. I too have a beast, but mine is somewhat less well-developed than yours. Anyways, good one. Nobby: Good advice, as usual. Thanks again for posting.

Great post, POQ. Reminds me of a Johnny Cash song (with a great video) on this theme. http://youtube.com/watch?v=sJJQUtNcNbk

Nice. Yeah I have a beast. Truth is I love that beast.

ZZ - I'm not talking to you again* until you agree to run GR...still, get "heeled" up so you can HTFU!

Find me someone to watch the crotch-fruit (aka "the didlet") and be my personal slave...ahem, I mean support...for the day and you're ON! I will do the half, though. I know I can find someone to keep an eye on Dane for a couple of hours, but not for 4-5 AND being there to hand me stuff, grab stuff, scream at me to HTFU, drive me home, make me an ice bath, etc.

I'm glad I'm not the ONLY one having those exhanges go on in my head during a run! And, your right, fast is most definitely relative! I totally understood that in my last race when I got my arse (and the view of almost everyone elses's in the race) handed to me by 80% of the field of runners. Hey, I was up in Lansing on Monday. I thought about trying to get ahold of you beforehand to see if we could meet up for lunch or sumptin' after my meeting in Lansing, but didn't get around to it quick enough... obviously. Thanks for the great post, Q! Good luck in your race tomorrow.

I'm glad I'm not the ONLY one having those exhanges go on in my head during a run! And, your right, fast is most definitely relative! I totally understood that in my last race when I got my arse (and the view of almost everyone elses's in the race) handed to me by 80% of the field of runners. Hey, I was up in Lansing on Monday. I thought about trying to get ahold of you beforehand to see if we could meet up for lunch or sumptin' after my meeting in Lansing, but didn't get around to it quick enough... obviously. Thanks for the great post, Q! Good luck in your race tomorrow.

Thanks Rick! Yeah, definitely hit me up if you're in Lansing/Okemos area. And if it's lunchtime, bring your gear, 'cause 'ats when the BEAST gets to eat!!!