Life’s Like a Movie

Sequels are almost never as good as the original.  That thought came to mind as I watched The Hangover Part II the other day.  It was à propos because I am feeling the effects of a running hangover.  It is understandable and you may have had a similar experience.  You train hard and focus on a race.  Race day comes and whether your performance lives up to your expectations or not, there is the emotional vacuum afterwards.

There is an antidote; the next race.  My next race is the Georgetown Idaho Springs ½ Marathon on August 10^th.  I have never run the race and my goal is to match the time I ran for the Platte River ½ Marathon – 1:21:45.  While I am focusing on a good performance, I am also using it as a tune up for the American Discovery Trail Marathon on Labor Day. 

One of the other remedies for the marathon hangover is to find out what motivates other runners, looking for ways to become a better runner yourself. 

I asked five questions of two athletes I respect – Lenny Laraio, who won the Colfax 10 Miler, and Nicole Mohobian, a repeat winner of the Cheyenne Mountain Xterra ½ Marathon. 

The questions were:

The number of days they ran the last seven days.

Their total mileage.

Their longest run for the week.

Their shortest run for the week.

Whether they thought they had run too many, too few or just the right amount of miles.

Lenny ran 64 miles over six days last week.  His longest run was 17 miles and his shortest run was five miles.  Nicole ran 17 miles over three days last week.  Her longest run was seven miles and her shortest run was five miles.  Interestingly, both were pleased with their mileage for the week. 

Lenny will be competing in the Estes Park Marathon which will be held on June 16^th.  Lenny is a focused, dedicated runner.  Nicole is Director of Public & Client Relationships for Impact edVentures.  Nicole competes in many activities and uses running as a way to build overall fitness.  Both have very positive attitudes towards running and are fun to run with.  They are inspirations for others. 

You can’t just keep running more miles and expect to get faster.  Father time is always trying to drag us down by decreasing our muscle mass, muscle strength and aerobic conditioning.  I am looking forward to the Georgetown Idaho Springs ½ Marathon.  What’s your next sequel?  Life’s like a movie.  Write your own ending.
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Here  are photos of Ryan Turbyfill and me at a recent Phidippides track workout, our tag-team 400 meter relay repeats.