A little background.....
I've completed 2 marathons (LA 2001 a weekend or two before getting married, Suzuki Rock N Roll San Diego 2003), 4 half marathons (Pacific Shoreline twice, Long Beach once, Great Race of Agoura Road/Trail once (my longest & hardest, involving lots of pain, dehydration, and bloodletting (my own)), and too numerous to list 10ks and 5ks.
I am slow. I alternate running and walking to drag my sorry butt through the miles. I'm definitely in the Athena category. In fact, I think my goal weight is still within the Athena category (but that's mesomorphic/endomorphic me with muscles!). My fastest per mile pace EVER, when I was a lithe 19 year old running twice a day during Camp Buckner for summer training for West Point (and trust me, I sucked at running there, too) (running twice a day because I sucked so much), was 7:45. Trust me, I've not been near that pace (or body weight) in, well, 18 or 19 years.
For those runners who get pissy about run/walkers taking up space and time during events, suck it up and play nice. I'm trying to get better. Every race I do I try to improve my times. I check the cutoff times for races and if I don't think I'll finish well within them, I don't enter. I wish I wasn't slow, I don't rejoice in being slow, but damn it, I'm trying to get faster. And thankfully, I've never been LAST in any event, though that might very well change next weekend at the Tri for Life.
When in the Army in Germany I sold my Alfa Romeo (I looked great in that little car -- when it was running/working) and bought a Cannondale mountain bike which I occasionally rode recreationally but primarily used for commuting, including during the winter, on ice. Yep, wiped out a couple times. I sold that original bike and bought another Cannondale mountain bike, the M800 I still have, and decked it out as a touring bike with front and rear panniers, handlebar bag, etc, and in summer of 1993 toured by myself about a week through Switzerland and northern Italy (before I got fed up, got on a train back to Germany, dropped off the bike with a friend, and took the train back to Italy).
After moving back to the States I really didn't ride, and have just started up again. Dave & I bought really nice Treks last fall (him: Madone, yeah, like Lance, me: 5000 WSD aka Rocket Bike) and have been riding on & off since -- more seriously recently.
Swimming-wise, I think I'm competent but not great; at West Point I swam for our company intramural team (you had to do intramurals, you just chose what you wanted) and was relatively slow but I don't think last.
I am slow. I alternate running and walking to drag my sorry butt through the miles. I'm definitely in the Athena category. In fact, I think my goal weight is still within the Athena category (but that's mesomorphic/endomorphic me with muscles!). My fastest per mile pace EVER, when I was a lithe 19 year old running twice a day during Camp Buckner for summer training for West Point (and trust me, I sucked at running there, too) (running twice a day because I sucked so much), was 7:45. Trust me, I've not been near that pace (or body weight) in, well, 18 or 19 years.
For those runners who get pissy about run/walkers taking up space and time during events, suck it up and play nice. I'm trying to get better. Every race I do I try to improve my times. I check the cutoff times for races and if I don't think I'll finish well within them, I don't enter. I wish I wasn't slow, I don't rejoice in being slow, but damn it, I'm trying to get faster. And thankfully, I've never been LAST in any event, though that might very well change next weekend at the Tri for Life.
When in the Army in Germany I sold my Alfa Romeo (I looked great in that little car -- when it was running/working) and bought a Cannondale mountain bike which I occasionally rode recreationally but primarily used for commuting, including during the winter, on ice. Yep, wiped out a couple times. I sold that original bike and bought another Cannondale mountain bike, the M800 I still have, and decked it out as a touring bike with front and rear panniers, handlebar bag, etc, and in summer of 1993 toured by myself about a week through Switzerland and northern Italy (before I got fed up, got on a train back to Germany, dropped off the bike with a friend, and took the train back to Italy).
After moving back to the States I really didn't ride, and have just started up again. Dave & I bought really nice Treks last fall (him: Madone, yeah, like Lance, me: 5000 WSD aka Rocket Bike) and have been riding on & off since -- more seriously recently.
Swimming-wise, I think I'm competent but not great; at West Point I swam for our company intramural team (you had to do intramurals, you just chose what you wanted) and was relatively slow but I don't think last.
posted by Steph at 8:48 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home