Marathon Sub Stance

Marathon Sub Stance

Ottawa Marathon Leaders 2014

I am blogging about my sub 3 hour marathon which gets way more notice then better amazing stuff.  For example, a lot of amateur runners can get down to 2:30 or 2:40 in a marathon and that is amazing.  However, the sub 3 hour wall gets all the appeal.  Mainly because anyone can do it and popularity always revolves around the most likely.

For the next few sections, I'll talk about my first trial race, then the fail race, then I'll review the Ottawa Marathon where I, along with many other runners, nailed that 3 hour mark.

Toronto Yonge St. 10K

A target race requires two test races.  A push race and a the upset race.  Either or can be sequenced.

I put the push race first to set the tone for my confidence.

This was the Toronto Yonge St 10 k which is a huge competitive affair consisting of a moderate downhill component.  

I ended up with a time of 37:23 (mm:ss).  

From that finishing value, I went to the RoadWarriorRunning Race Calculator to find that the predictor for the marathon was calculated to 3 hours and 52 second.   That was way past my goal which was a great confidence builder.  Mind you, as said, this was mostly a downhill course.  The marathon did not have a downhill.

Sporting Life 10K

This was my upset race since all confidence building carries with it ego manifestations. Everything ready for the final race, including twelve 30 kilometer training runs. I needed an my ego smashed so that I didn't go out too fast as I always do.  Shattering my ego and picking up the pieces really helps to get it right for the final competition, being more aware of the limitations thought gained through the training regime.  Plus, training to smash my ego scares me so I put more investment to prepare.

I needed to purposely sabotage myself and deal with the challenges, meaning going out faster, finishing way too fast and hurting!  All that hurting and pain made me slow down and helped me remember why racing is not all what appears to be.

From that train wreck, I ended up with 38:22 (mm:ss).  This hurt and set me back a minute from my last race on the same course.  

This was worse than the time that I raced a few weeks before, which set the tone as the upset race.  Which helped to set the focus for the marathon as I wasn't super fragalistic to go superman through the entire 42 k - I had significant limits to take note.

Ottawa Marathon

This was the target race, which meant that either everything would matter or all would shatter.

The first 5 k of the marathon was smooth, the course was perfectly flat and there was more than enough supporters cheering on the sides of the road.

Luckily the sun shadowed by a rolling crisp cool fog which contained the marathon for the next 30 km.  This was too good to be true.

I kept up a consistent pace up to the half marathon since the rolling fog followed us.  Once I hit the half marathon, I did a full check.  I still felt strong, my breathing was consistent, I took water or Gatorade at every station, my feet and legs were somewhat fine, a little tenderized.

Staying relaxed I noticed that I was having a tough time keeping my intended race pace, deviating a bit.  This did increase the pressure for the sub 3 hour but managed to stay relaxed.

Once I reached 30 k, I did another full calibration of all systems.  Since I was told the last 10 k of the race is where it all starts, I was very cautious and scared.

When I reached the 36 kilometer mark, I searched for that usual discouragement in me, but since I did train so diligently, I couldn't find it.  Usually, in a race, I experience a point where I just want to quit. Not this race, no way.

Eventually I reached the 40 kilometer mark.  There was the very minor few runners who stopped in their tracks whom I had no way to help, while the majority of the participants in my sequence were staying strong.  This cluster of runners helped me maintain.  All I could do was watch the runners in front of me and mimic their strength. Eventually, I arm pumped forever to get to the finish line.

Motivation

Substance

What was the motivation to get me from out of nowhere to suddenly achieve a sub 3 hour marathon?

Let`s start with the two main cognitive motivators for goal reaching:

• Substance Achievement
• to posit through that achievement that one exists as a whole distinguishable from it's properties. In these cases, I want to differentiate myself from the social vices and norms.  Creating a standalone definition of myself.
• Emergence Achievement
• a higher-level aggregate demonstration of skill and accomplishment composed by it's properties. In these cases, I find motivation to conform to a distinct group or sub-culture, sharing the resources within that group.

For the most favorable outcome of a race, the strategy is to combine both motivators through race competition and running clubs/community.   

There has to be huge passion to be selfish to create substance, while at the same time, immerse in a sub-culture or group and contribute (emergence).  It is the mix of both motivating factors which helped me to achieve even greater accomplishments then what alone could be possible.   

Training Entertainment

Training Entertainment

Are you experienced?

This question pushed individualism to a new level, inviting curiosity into an entire generation, and most importantly creating an entertaining value.  Parallel to the passive mind expanding efforts to validate experience came the more active approach to practice with challenges such as the marathon.  Both avenues were essentially challenging one's experience which is a form of entertainment.

To help me develop the capacity to challenge my experience, I've followed many different training regimes from high school and varsity teams, club communities, gym ratting, even Beachbody programs such as P90X, Insanity, Insanity Asylum... All of them totally different technically plans, yet for me, they were all the same.  Exactly the same.  The only difference is the entertainment value.  Beachbody being the most entertaining through the trainer's personality.  Where varsity and high school being the most entertaining through the teammates and competitions.  Clubs the most entertaining through the culture.

That is just how I saw it.  To me, a training plan had to be entertaining or it is irrelevant to me.  Simply because if I challenge my experiences for some reason require some form of entertainment, no matter how serious it has to be.

Marathon Training Plan

Marathon training plans are unique in that they are predominantly structured and serious.  Most people don't include entertainment that into their plan, they simply just follow the plan and they talk about the plan without talking about how they were entertained during the training.  They stick entertainment outside of their plan.  For example, some people entertain themselves by having a treat once in a while, let's say an ice cream.  Other people may find entertainment in doing something fun and new and highlighting that experience, still outside of their marathon training plan.  In all cases, the entertainment value is separated from the seriousness of the training plan.

As for myself, I just want to find the entertainment value in my marathon training plan, that's it.  Give me any plan, and I will search for the value therein, not thereout.  I can find entertainment outside of a training plan just fine, thank you.

In the case of me training for the sub-3 hour marathon, my running club, Longboat Roadrunners, gave me a marathon training plan.  Right away, I chewed on it for some time, digested it and pulled out the following nutrients:

• Support Roster
• Sacrifice List
• Contingency plan
• Milestones
• Entertainment plan

Each of these factors listed above were essential before I would even consider moving forward.  Notably, it is clear that I already accepted the training plan knowing that isn't the only element to achieve.   So, let's bore you through each factor until we create enough foundation to build out the entertainment plan.

Support Roster

Ever notice that the most successful people have excellent support systems?  You will most likely not see a cranky rude person snapping at people while they jump up on the podium (which is ironic because it is the cranky rude snappy people who would like support hence their behavior).

Here is a support roster that I drew up to make sure that I was as polite as possible to these people:

• Running Coach
• Steve Metzger
• Pacing Coach
• George Hubbard
• Sports Therapist
• Christine Loch of North Beach Therapeutics
• Marathon Mentors
• Tony Fletcher
• Mike Bedley
• Michael Brennan
• Injury Prevention Mentor
• Bert De Vries
• Plan Deviation Redemption Mentor
• Michelle Clarke
• Tim Uuksulainen
• Recent sub-3 hour Experts
• Bob Gazzale
• Christian Airhart
• Michelle Clarke
• Jose Tellez
• Gerardo Reyes
• among many others in the club
• Training Comrades
• Lucas Wilson
• Mickey Man
• Laura Lipcsei
• among many others in the club
• Common Sense Reminder Mentors
• Richard Bailey
• Kyle Fraser
• Jimmy, Gregoire and many others in the club
• Super Mentors
• Lucas McAneney
• Rachel Hannah
• Robert Esmie

Most of these support system candidates were available directly just by being part of the Longboat running club.  Others were targets of my support system campaign.  Those were all part of the support roster during and up to the marathon training.  For my current training, I have a totally different roster.

The purpose of building a support system is that it is relevant to acknowledge before getting deep into training.  This preparation is because once you are intertwined into your training plan, you will find those instances of weakness that you tend to panic then sway in the wrong direction without this acknowledged list.

With that support roster developed, I then went ahead to compile the sacrifice list.

Sacrifice list

The sacrifice list is an outline of all the nice to haves that get pushed out by the training commitment.  The purpose for this list is for two main reasons:

• Procrastination
• What is most relevant when it comes to training is the fear of missing out when entering into an activity which leaves us pushing off the tasks that we feel may infringe on our entitlements.  So, if you list out what you are missing out on and then deal with it, you are less likely to procrastinate, mostly because what you felt like you were missing out on usually don't come to fruition anyways.  Or when you do engage in that other activity you felt was so important, you end up wishing you were running anyways.
• Compensation
• When times get tough, sometimes you just want to cash in your chips and check out.  If you are compensated well enough, you stick to it.  Unless you are a superstar, there most likely is not enough compensation for the training to prepare for a marathon.  Simply list out what investments and values will be at risk when focusing more of your energy into your training.  Then acknowledge how that can be compensated, whether it is post marathon, or managing your time during.  My wrestling coach in University advised me that when we are training at our peak, we actually are more invested in what is most valuable to us in other areas of our lives because we better manage our time when we are pushed to deal with it.

When you are investing so much of your time and energy in training for a marathon, something has got to give.  Actually, a lot of things have got to give.  It becomes a lifestyle.  And the more involved you get into your training, the more likely you will discover more of what has to be sacrificed.

I have to assume that largest most relevant reason why most people would never commit to a marathon training plan is for one single reason - being more afraid of not knowing what has to be sacrificed and then realizing when it is all too late.  

As for my preparation, I had a sacrifice list and it actually changed throughout the 4 months of the plan.  I am not going to share that sacrifice list with you now.  And the reason is because that sacrifice list is irrelevant now.  All of those things I knew I would be sacrificing are not as valuable as living my life everyday by finding entertainment in my training.  Still, it was important for me to face it before I got involved.

Contingency plan

Usually we develop the contingency plan the day of the race.  Or we develop it when we are fully intimidated and look for ways to find a way out of our initial intent, whether we question our own goals or deviate from the viability of them.

I would recommend you develop your contingency plan before you start training rather than when things get tough.   Realize where you are scared and intimidated and acknowledge it.  Forget about being a hero for a moment and totally mesh yourself with total failure. List out your fallback and stick within it.

Whether that is ripping off your timing bib and jumping in the first cab home.  Or if it is make sure your support team is close by to help you finish.  Or if it is simply to back out of the race before entering, just in case.  Be certain of your contingency plan and think it through.

The main purpose is really to help you commit knowing you are certain you have ways out.  It does minimize stress of feeling trapped.  Don't say that you will not fail at all costs, that you are so certain you will achieve success that you are going for it all out.   Don't do that, because it is just you being hard on yourself.  Feel comfortable with your decisions how you will back out.

As for my fallback plan, I basically told myself that if I failed, I was going to find some friendly people in the race that I could walk with and enjoy the rest of the day.  I did that before at my first marathon where I totally hurt myself.  I ended up walking with some very nice people and it was such a better day than any other day that entire month.   I don't compare my marathon day with other marathon days mostly because I did not have any.  I rather compared that day with other days that month.  It was awesome, so I was pretty cool with my fallback and was happy with it.  I was okay with failing and found solace if I did.

Milestones

I was spoon-fed a marathon training plan from my running club.  I just had to put in some sprinkles of my own made up reality into that plan.  Those are the milestones to give me feedback that I am on track.  I was preparing for a sub-3 hour marathon.  I didn't really have any leverage from other experiences.  However, I raced plenty, ran plenty, been exposed to the running club plenty.  It wasn't like it was out of reach.  All I need to do was simply lay out milestones throughout my plan to help me understand and learn about myself.

So, quite simply, I will list out the milestones that I set, which really do not follow any suggested approach, so your milestones would be totally a different list based on how you prioritize feedback loops:

• Discovery Phase
• This is the fun phase where I get to a chance to integrate new techniques. Try out new things and develop a capacity to know which tools and which techniques I should focus on when training gets intense.  I overlapped this phase during the phases of the training plan where I needed to slowly increase my mileage
• Integration Phase
• This is integrating with running packs, routes and gear.  Mostly focusing on the Sunday long runs.  There is some storming behavior that develops and sometimes the training pressure takes over the norming integration running in groups, forcing to the front of the pack.  This also involves running outdoors in the elements, deciding what to wear, when to take care and when to settle with the treadmill.
• Ego Venting Phase
• I always get carried away with this phase and it overtakes my entire training plan and messes it up entirely.  So, I set out some time during my training where I allow myself to get out of hand.  Where I mess up, take risks, pushing boundaries and learn.   It really is all about letting my ego have some fun and feel great!
• Redemption Phase
• Any ego venting phase of my training requires some moments of dealing with the consequences.  Usually those are in the form of injuries.  Whether physical or social.  For me, most of my injuries are social injuries.   I prefer social injuries pushing me into redemption phase so that I don't enter into physical injury.  That is where listening skills are valuable.  Listen to your group, listen to your body.
• Relaxation Phase
• This leads into the entertainment phase.  For me to train, I feel it is an investment to my well being.  So, I try not to stress out.  I am continually finding ways to stay relaxed.  There are phases where I test my level of relaxation and find feedback.  
• Full Commitment Phase
• My favorite phase, where I am fully committed to the training as if it was part of my everyday life and seems like it will last forever.
• Crying Phase
• This is where the training feels like it will last forever.   Where I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Every demanding commitment has this phase in it regardless of the reward.
• Ego Building Phase
• This is where I put in all of the time and energy and start extracting gems in my increased potential and capabilities.  I look for areas of my training plan where I get to challenge myself
• Rescue Phase
• This is the time where I feel satisfied with all of the hard work that I invested in my preparation and sit back and relax... before the actual competition.  This is part of the tapering.

Now this is all within the 4 month training plan and overlaps with the training plan.  The point of these milestones is an input into the Entertainment plan.

Entertainment Plan

If you want to have a successful outcome, it can either be enjoyable or totally serious.  I've had totally serious achievements and I received totally serious rewards.  It was serious.

I would prefer to achieve an outcome that is challenging and also enjoyable.  In other words, if I want an entertaining outcome as a result of training, then I need to incorporate entertainment into that training.

So, what can be entertaining out of a challenging endeavor such as a marathon?  It takes some thought, but I can outline what I explored.

Lets find what is entertaining first by cancelling out what is not so entertaining.

• Feeling exhausted
• Injury Prone
• Discouraged
• Disengaged

So, first we find ways to based our training so that we don't have any of those experiences.  That means there requires some extra work and effort on top of our training such as therapy, stretching, drills, healing, eating correctly... All of these would contribute towards minimizing all of those experiences we don't enjoy in our marathon race.

Now that is not entertaining.  Who likes stretching?  okay, so I guess maybe I am making this look more work than what meets the eye.  At least there is some tasks assigned to minimize what could occur that is not so entertaining.  Those are essential in order to achieve those more entertaining experiences.

I did not suggest that entertainment did not come at a cost.  Who assumed that entertainment is free?   Not so much free, entertainment in your training plan takes a lot more work than just blindly following through the training.

Entertaining yourself in your training plan is actually the hardest thing you can do but you train yourself to enjoy it.   Arnold Schwarzenegger had an excellent entertainment plan for his workouts.  He suggested that he derived complete entertainment from the pump itself as if he is in "heaven".

It is a matter of training yourself to find entertainment in the activity.  And if you cannot find that entertainment, then you keep on trying and search for it until it is found.  That journey is a much more satisfying and rewarding journey than in the outcome or competition.  And if you find that entertainment in your activity itself, then you are happier, less likely to push yourself outside of your own growth potential.

Now, I know this sounds like preaching.  So, now I have to share with you how I found that so that I can demonstrate that it isn't just a marketing stunt.

In my previous blog, I suggested that endorphins may also provided an experienced sense of depersonalization.  And in that process, when you reengage yourself, that there may be an opportunity for you to embrace your engaged activity as part of  you.  For example, the waves, those intense periods of feeling like running it too much, then hitting that next level where everything suddenly feels fine.  That can be experienced during a long run just the same after a few extra intervals.

Wave counting was one of my focuses of entertainment training.  I told myself that I would treat myself to experiencing a few waves for specific runs.  Mostly those times where I run alone, I would treat myself to a few waves and wouldn't stop until I did.

I also entertained myself in that feeling of finding rhythm.  Whether it is through the mediation of running or just plainly finding a good beat through my stride and almost dancing to it.  To me, I find that entertaining and definitely count that into my entertainment plan.  I have explored listening to music during running, but it really puts an escape on your own entertainment plan.  I feel most likely because it is music created by someone else whereas our own rhythm discovered through meditative activities such as running allows for much more meaningful growth.

Lastly, the entertainment of my thoughts or conversations.  While running, when I lose myself through the depersonalization phase, I let go of all those daily clingers.  Then I start entertaining myself with thoughts of things that seems funny or hilarious.  I've caught myself laughing aloud passing by people most likely looking crazy.  So, I keep an observation on my thoughts during my training and value that entertainment.   When I run with other people, then I also find some of the conversations we have turn quite amusing, almost as if we were in an improvisation class at Second City.

Those are samples of entertainment that I can share with you that are superficial enough that can be potentially reused.  However, there is a more deeper sense of entertainment that I was able to pull out of my training and preparation for the sub-3 hour marathon.  The harder I trained was a result of finding more of a sense of this entertainment, which for me was more of a meditative personal journey that really is only relevant for me.  It is not so much a spiritual journey mostly because when I am running, it doesn't feel so spiritual the harder I go. I acknowledge the entertainment value.  In that sense, I don't look for entertainment elsewhere, for example, dreaming of an ice cream to eat after the workout.  Or the next big social party or the next vacation.  I pull all of those away from my mind and focus entirely on the entertainment of the moment.  That way, when I am not running, when I am not training, when I am not entertained, I want to go back in.

You need an entertainment plan that you train with if you are looking also to be entertained for your marathon race.  Much the same as training with confidence, staying relaxed and feeling strong.  All of these you develop in your training to replicate for race day.  Most important to me is the entertainment value, because the more we feel entertained, the more we open ourselves up to grow and explore that which contributes towards achieving the goals most meaningful to us.

Breaking Into Reality

Breaking Into Reality

Breaking the marathon 3 hour barrier is like breaking into reality.   I broke the 3 hour barrier a few months ago and would like to tell you about it.  I thought a lot about it and the more I wanted to share the experience, the more I realized everyone already does this without even realizing it.  So, I switched from wanting the share the experience of the marathon 3 hour barrier, reviewing my training and all the elemental contributions with the premise of breaking into reality.

Consciousness is unreal

What a bold statement, to suggest consciousness is unreal.  No individual standalone entity wants to hear that.  Everyone wants to feel they exist independent of the dependencies of the earth, sun, water and air.  Yet if you really try to grasp the moment, there may be some bumps that stir your sense of reality.  You attempt to control by finding that balance, pushing yourself to get to that equilibrium. Then you check yourself not realizing, that moment you tried to grasp is over.  For the next moment, you tell yourself that the homeostasic sensory systems are in check, you've established yourself and feel a part of the reality around you and then invest into the very next few moments ahead of you.  At a greater extent, you feel comfort in that investment of the next moments ahead, and even more ahead of that.  You then brace your entire consciousness to tangle all moments ahead, your entire reality into the future, forever and ever.  All the while, not realizing, you are already setting your consciousness to an unreal state because you cannot forge yourself into any given moment since it is a continual balancing act.

Do you agree?  Let us please test this out to validate.  For the next few moments, let's see if your consciousness is unreal.  Are you ready for it?  okay great!  So, all you have to do is one single activity... RUN.

Get it?  Run?  See, try it, just go out there and run.  That very activity challenges your complacent consciousness in more ways than needed to describe.  The idea is exposed, I put it forth, and if you don't know what I am talking about, then let's explore it through feelings.

The Feel of Running

Why do you enjoy running?  To stay in good shape, to maintain health, to get faster, strong, more efficient...  Those all are great advantages however, none of them explain the enjoyment in the moment whilst.   It has been suggested that endorphins plays an important role in the experiential enjoyment of running.  Did you realize that endorphins, being inhibitory, play a role in a sense of depersonalization and derealization?

Quite possibly that sense of depersonalization and derealization may force your you to re-evaluate and appropriate to a new pattern, which may mimic the pattern you thought you were aware of in a previous state.  If you are well acquainted with the new pattern and not impose any stress reactions, then you integrate yourself seamlessly.  You feel that the previous state of consciousness and the new state of consciousness are the same since it is independently aligned with all of your faculties.  That alignment of your faculties is essentially the value of great training to understand how to handle yourself upon establishing your new sense of reality post the derealization phase.

In other words, if you develop the capability of breaking into reality seamlessly during intense moments that simulate a race, then you can achieve the same capability to push your limits for your race competitions.

The Sub-Three Hour Catalyst

For a moment, we can step away from the concept of breaking into reality.  Rather, let's explore reactions and the observable results.  This helps us realize all of the possibilities that are out there beyond our known conscious capabilities.  Starting off with acknowledging what the catalyst will be that will help you attain the favorable result.  It is then the catalyst that is the additional substance which increases the rate of a reaction that we feel will allow us to maintain our sense of reality.  So you would think the catalyst is something you add at the end?  For a marathon, and more so, for a sub-three hour marathon, adding that magic touch or special trick to get your through doesn't fly so well.  Therefore, the catalyst for a marathon is most likely the worst to search for and maintaining your sense of reality is at risk.  However, your feeling after running is much better than before you started, in most cases, if you took it safe and with care.

It is the complete acceptance of the training which is required.  And finding motivation to endure that training is key.  So without a catalyst, all we are left with is ourselves.  And with our own self, we need to endure a training plan and lead ourselves to a state in which we are able to control ourselves in a very demanding activity to the extent of completing the challenge in a timely fashion.

We all know training is key.  But I am taking this a step through another pathway to suggest that the training and the commitment also provides something noumenal.  Explained through the concept of breaking into reality or another way said, the connection between conscious states broken by the derealization phase experienced during running.

This blog entry has delivered the introduction to this concept and I will continue to write a continuation blog which will further explore my training and engagement to break the 3 hour marathon.   I won't bore you with the training, but rather share a very deep insight into the human psyche to which I feel everyone is capable to leverage to achieve.

For the next few blog posts, I will explore this through my training and race experiences.

The next blog "Training Entertainment"

The Big Bang of Running

Introduction

A usual way to express an interest in running is to first hash through the origin.  All runners do it, which seems to be the only sub-culture which elaborates greatly on the origin of things.  There was once a philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, who appealed to origin of things, mostly to set the tone to cut out one's unnatural tendency to accept the observable moment as truth.  

A runner knows that the observable moment is the worst assessment to value their engagement.  It is rather the ongoing overarching goals that push them forward and not so much the current status, unless of course, the current status means a PB (personal best).  Other than that, any single runner's current performance is always a stepping stone for the next goal.  And each goal that is set tops the previous, not so much by a factor of time improvement, but a set of many variables that all merge together at the future point of contact.

All of these goals, the future outlook, all seems to be the story for each runner to at least look at one single point of origin, the big bang of their contribution to the game.  

So, it is of the interest also for this blog post to go through the origin of... running.

The Big Bang

The initial interest to saturate myself into the running world may not reflect my current reason why I maintain involvement.  A few reason for this, but the most notable is that I was younger at the initial point of integration and now an older, somewhat different person.  The difference mostly due to the fact that whatever was happening back then just is not the same anymore, even if I try to force it.   Still, we runners are always asked why we first involved ourselves in such a lifestyle and we always like to respond with the same level of intensity as our current status.

Assuming that I will not answer the question directly, what got me involved in running, since it changed to why I do it today... What initially got me involved in the running world?

The Origin of Running

Every race changed my perspective.  Actually, every time I went out and ran my perspective changed.  Even more so, every time I ran with others in my running club, my perspective changed.  What was my original perspective compared to what it is now?  I really have no idea however I could sit and tell you a lot of stories, a lot of PB's, a lot of injuries and really compel you into something that seems dramatic enough to be my reason for starting to run.

All I know is why I run now and I feel so privileged to still be able to keep on going.   At least I can tell you this much, this post is the origin of my running blog summing up what got me this far since I started.