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The marathon project
Jan. 30th, 2012 01:12 pmYep, marathon. Well, half-marathon, but still.
Beloved!former boss and I are still exchanging emails on an almost daily basis, which is nice. (I miss him!!!!!) A couple weeks ago I asked whether he had any plans to come to Skopje in the more or less near future. He replied that he'd come to the Skopje Marathon, but only if I promised to run the half-marathon with him.
I said yes.
It's a bit daunting, but not unfeasible. The Skopje Marathon usually takes place on the second weekend of May, which leaves me 3,5 months for training. I also have to lose a few more kilos, but I guess that'll work itself out once I up the daily sports pensum.
Right now, the plan is as follows: running at the gym twice a week -- because outdoors is out of the question at the moment and will be till the end of February or thereabouts -- to get into better shape. Right now I can hold an average of 8 km/h for only half an hour, so I have to push that up, step by step, and once I can hold it for an hour, I'll have to increase the speed, and so on. Once it's possible to run outdoors, more effective training will be possible. Plus, I'll ask Elena to dedicate two of our four weekly lessons to playing technical exercises -- that's a lot more demanding than just playing, i.e. will also help me get into better shape.
Also, it'll probably be a good idea to reduce smoking. I don't feel any urge to quit completely, but reducing by half should be possible. I started today, and it's going fine. Early days, though. But I'm pretty confident.
Not that I expect to set any records, but merely being able to say "I ran my first half-marathon at almost 48" is an achievement, right? The weight loss and nicotine reduction are a collateral bonus.
Speaking of marathons: yesterday's Australian Open final was amazing, both in terms of the players' skills and of theeir sheer stubborn determination. They had to play all five sets, because Nadal won the first and fourth, and they played for 5hrs 50min. Apart from the physical effort involved, what I'm even more in awe of is their ability to hold that level of concentration for such a long time.
Hard to say which is more difficult (and I daresay it depends a lot on the individual): a discipline like figure skating or alpine skiing, where you're completely on your own and everything is compressed into 5 minutes, no extensions or surprises, without the possibility of correcting a mistake, or OTOH tennis, where you're also on your own, and if you make mistakes you have the possibility to do better in the next game or set, but you have to keep up the concentration and motivation over very long periods of time.
And finally, speaking of motivation: it's a curious thing really -- when I still used to play the piano, and I listened to one of the world class pianists, it frustrated rather than inspired me, because it was pretty obvious that I could never reach that level. When I watch a brilliant tennis match, on the other hand, I am of course aware that I'll never be able to play like Federer or Djokovic, but watching that perfect technique just makes me want to improve my own skills. The players' unattainable superiority just inspires and never frustrates me. Probably because I'm older now, and because tennis -- unlike the piano lessons -- is totally my own thing, no additional luggage.
/end of deep, thinky thoughts
Beloved!former boss and I are still exchanging emails on an almost daily basis, which is nice. (I miss him!!!!!) A couple weeks ago I asked whether he had any plans to come to Skopje in the more or less near future. He replied that he'd come to the Skopje Marathon, but only if I promised to run the half-marathon with him.
I said yes.
It's a bit daunting, but not unfeasible. The Skopje Marathon usually takes place on the second weekend of May, which leaves me 3,5 months for training. I also have to lose a few more kilos, but I guess that'll work itself out once I up the daily sports pensum.
Right now, the plan is as follows: running at the gym twice a week -- because outdoors is out of the question at the moment and will be till the end of February or thereabouts -- to get into better shape. Right now I can hold an average of 8 km/h for only half an hour, so I have to push that up, step by step, and once I can hold it for an hour, I'll have to increase the speed, and so on. Once it's possible to run outdoors, more effective training will be possible. Plus, I'll ask Elena to dedicate two of our four weekly lessons to playing technical exercises -- that's a lot more demanding than just playing, i.e. will also help me get into better shape.
Also, it'll probably be a good idea to reduce smoking. I don't feel any urge to quit completely, but reducing by half should be possible. I started today, and it's going fine. Early days, though. But I'm pretty confident.
Not that I expect to set any records, but merely being able to say "I ran my first half-marathon at almost 48" is an achievement, right? The weight loss and nicotine reduction are a collateral bonus.
Speaking of marathons: yesterday's Australian Open final was amazing, both in terms of the players' skills and of theeir sheer stubborn determination. They had to play all five sets, because Nadal won the first and fourth, and they played for 5hrs 50min. Apart from the physical effort involved, what I'm even more in awe of is their ability to hold that level of concentration for such a long time.
Hard to say which is more difficult (and I daresay it depends a lot on the individual): a discipline like figure skating or alpine skiing, where you're completely on your own and everything is compressed into 5 minutes, no extensions or surprises, without the possibility of correcting a mistake, or OTOH tennis, where you're also on your own, and if you make mistakes you have the possibility to do better in the next game or set, but you have to keep up the concentration and motivation over very long periods of time.
And finally, speaking of motivation: it's a curious thing really -- when I still used to play the piano, and I listened to one of the world class pianists, it frustrated rather than inspired me, because it was pretty obvious that I could never reach that level. When I watch a brilliant tennis match, on the other hand, I am of course aware that I'll never be able to play like Federer or Djokovic, but watching that perfect technique just makes me want to improve my own skills. The players' unattainable superiority just inspires and never frustrates me. Probably because I'm older now, and because tennis -- unlike the piano lessons -- is totally my own thing, no additional luggage.
/end of deep, thinky thoughts
