TITLE: Getting Better
AUTHOR: Eugene Wallingford
DATE: July 27, 2005 12:52 PM
DESC: Being better is more fun.  Getting better is work.
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BODY:
Well,
<A HREF="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog/archives/monthly/2005-07.html#e2005-07-04T20_03_04.htm">
   the Gringo did it again</A>.
Lance Armstrong finished his professional racing
with a dominating yet relaxed performance in
the 2005 Tour de France.  (Our friend Santiago
<A HREF="http://www.letour.fr/2005/TDF/RIDERS/us/coureurs/61.html">
   finished 51st.</A>
A disastrous Stage 14 did him in.)

If you watched any of the interviews Lance gave over
the last few days of the tour, you could see that he
really enjoys racing, competing, and winning.  He
relished the challenge that the T-Mobile and CSC teams
threw at him in the mountains.  He would have enjoyed
the raw challenge of scaling the Alps and Pyrenees
had he ridden alone, but having teams of riders try
to take his yellow jersey made them all the sweeter.
And his wonderful closing time trial to cement his
edge placed a perfect exclamation on his tour career.

Watching Lance these last few years has reminded me
that being good is <EM>fun</EM>, as the folks at
<A HREF="http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2005/06/kicking_ass_is_.html">
   Creating Passionate Users</A>
recently wrote:

<BLOCKQUOTE><EM>
    My running coach told me a few years ago, "It's just more fun when
    you're faster."  I wasn't sure what he meant; I was just trying to
    get back in shape and do a decent 10K.  But once I started training
    with much better runners, and began pushing myself and keeping my
    splits and timing my speed work...  it was more fun.  And it wasn't
    like I had any illusion of being competitive.  Being better is just
    more fun.
</EM></BLOCKQUOTE>

You mean running repeats is fun?  Yes.

No, not every moment.  A
<A HREF="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog/archives/monthly/2005-07.html#e2005-07-06T20_23_50.htm">
   few weeks ago</A>,
I had one of those days that, in isolation. wasn't
as much fun as I would have liked.  Getting back
to form in my 1200m interval training has been hard
this season.  The week after the not-so-fun day, I
managed to do 6x1200m, but the last one repeat was
slower than I had wanted it to be.  Last week, I
just wasn't motivated to run fast, so I skipped the
work-out in favor of a steadier 9.5-mile run.

My fatigue last week was a surprise until I sat down
to compute my paces for my runs the previous week.
In addition to the 6x1200m work-out on Wednesday and
a 10-mile tempo run on Friday, I had done an 18.5-miler
on Sunday.  No big deal... until I see that I ran it
in 2:25:37 -- an average pace of 8:01 min/mile.  That
is my marathon goal pace for October!

Being better <EM>is</EM> more fun.  I have no illusions
that I am fast, or that I will challenge even for an
age group prize in the
<A HREF="http://www.twincitiesmarathon.org/">
   Twin Cities</A>.
This is about challenging myself, and getting better.
It feels good.

This morning, I hit the track at 5:15 AM, earlier than
usual so that I could get a bit more done at the office
before a four-day weekend mini-vacation.  It was cool,
unusual after a month of 90-degree highs and 70-degree
lows, but perfect for a work-out.  As the sun rose, I
knew that today was finally a good day of repeats.  As
I started my fifth, I knew that I would reach the days
goal.  In the end, 7x1200m, all in target time or better,
with the seventh repeat being the fastest of all.

Being better <EM>is</EM> more fun.  But without the
local moments of less fun a few weeks ago, I wouldn't
have been better today -- either in setting goals or
achieving them.  As I quoted Merlin Mann a few days
ago in the context of
<A HREF="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog/archives/monthly/2005-07.html#e2005-07-25T08_58_16.htm">
   knowing ourselves as well as we know our tools</A>:

<BLOCKQUOTE><EM>
Making improvements means change and often pain along the
way.  It's hard to get better, and good tools like these
can definitely ease the journey.  I guess I'm proposing you
try to understand <STRONG>yourself</STRONG> at least as well
as the widget you're hoping will turn things around.
</EM></BLOCKQUOTE>

One interview moment with Lance Armstrong stuck with me
last weekend.  When asked what he would miss most about
racing, he said that he would never again be in as good
a shape as he is today -- and he would miss that most
of all.  Not the yellow jerseys or the wins or the
accolades and adulation that come with them, but the
simple state of being in the best possible shape.  I
know the feeling.  Of course, I have an advantage on
Lance -- I didn't start working hard at my running
until a little more than two years ago, when I started
training for my
<A HREF="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/personal/chicago-marathon/">
   first marathon</A>.
That means my body, while old, is still relatively
fresh.  So is my mind.  I hope to keep getting better
for a few more years...
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