Sunday, December 16, 2007

Updating my bike miles

I continue to do most of my miles commuting back and forth to work. I was gone for a week in November. I already have about as many miles in December as I had in November.

August bike miles=319.2
September bike miles=174.6
October bike miles=308.9
November miles=163.4

Miles for 2007=3340.5
Miles since June 2006=6279.5

Follow up to my earlier post-I've figured out how to attach my DIY headlight!

Friday, December 14, 2007

"My mind was a mile away..."

On Thursday I went out to the Indiana Dunes to run run my favorite route-Trail #9. It's a great winter day to run. Although it's cloudy, there's not much wind so the weather seems mild even though the temperature is still below freezing. There are only two other cars in the parking lot at Wilson's Shelter. It's easy to imagine that I'm the only person here. For the first half hour I see nobody. As I crest a small hill about a mile from the end of the run, I see a guy walking along in front of me. He's got a walking stick in his right hand but he's not using it. He's just swinging it as he walks along. This guy has done nothing to suggest he knows I'm closing in on him. I'm now only about 20 meters behind him. It's time to announce my presence.

"Hello," I shout. He seems to jump a foot in the air.

As I pass him he replies, "My mind was a mile away!"

"Sorry," I say,"Go ahead back there."

I go around a corner and up and over a small hill. I don't look back, but, I know he's out of sight behind me. Soon my mind is a mile away again too.

How often have I had this experience-countless times. I've heard it referred to as a "runner's high" but it it seems anyone can experience it.

Professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced "CHICK-sent-me-high-ee")coined the term Flow to describe the sensation runners and others have experienced but have trouble describing. He's written several books about it. It's like Michael Jordan being in "the zone."

I'm a member of the coach's association in Indiana. The IATCCC coaches clinic in late January 2008 has a speaker giving a presentation entitled "Flow Theory: The Path to Peak Performance." I don't know about that, but, I'm fairly sure it's the path to peak experiences-a winter run at the dunes.

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Stuff

I made it through the trail marathon in Bloomington, Indiana, over the weekend, albeit, slowly. Steve and I camped near the finish, then rode the bus to the starting line. Steve won a slab of wood signifying a top three age group finish. I won nothing. It was good.

Into the Wild was playing at the local theater so we decided to go see it. Beautiful movie but it seems they glorified this guy's journey more than was necessary. He really was a pathetic hero to my way of thinking-a sad way to die. I read the book awhile ago.

I've been bike commuting the past two days and not running. My knees are still aching from the trail run. It reminds me I'm not as young as I used to be. I used to bounce back from a long run and be back running within the next day or two. Now, it takes longer.

It looks like I may be riding home from work tonight in the snow (and the dark). I've still got slicks on my bike so it could get interesting-I'll just take it slow. Combine this and my recent headlight woes (my battery seems to not hold a charge very well over the last couple of weeks) and I'm feeling a bit anxious. I hope my 6:00 PM appointment doesn't show so I can start an hour earlier. I've got a home-built headlight that really works great but I still haven't figured out how to attach it to the bike! Maybe I'll get time this weekend. By the time I get home during the week, I just haven't mustered the energy to figure it out. I did try a couple of velcro-inspired options but it just wasn't secure enough. Buying a new light isn't out of the question but I shutter to think about spending more for the light than the bike is worth. We'll see how it goes.