Saturday 091011

My hamstrings were a bit irked today from the squats yesterday – I might of overdid it a tad.  But for what it is worth, this feels very much like the soreness or cramps I get in a bigger climb or longer event.  I am not sure if this sort of work will help address that, but I don’t think it can hurt it (even if they hurt a little today).

I had been thinking I’d head to the track today, but the hamstrings had me questioning if that was a good idea.  As I approached the track, I saw there was a football game, with folks several lanes deep.  It was decided:  easy today.  8 miles.  Hammies seemed to enjoy the massage.

Still trying to figure out how I am going to balance these weeks with a bit less mileage, workouts, the desire to get on a trail occasionally, being casual about all of it and other work.  It is not hard to figure out – it is just feeling what my body will take right now.  The workout with Bob on Thursday was probably the hardest I have run (outside of a race) all year.  It was good.  But apparently tacking on squat work on top of it the next day was not the smartest (I felt them twinge a bit on the last set)

Interview with Lucho.

I think I figured out what really bugs me about the Cloud character over on Roes blog.  I recognize that there might be something worth kicking around in what Cloud is saying.  But anything worthwhile in his message gets lost.  Here’s why I think it gets lost.

I believe the first job of a coach is to find what motivates the athlete – because if the athlete is not motivated, there is nothing to build on. 

For an athlete pursuing Olympic gold, this might be pretty easy to find that motivation.  Most MUT guys (and gals) I have met … their motivation is not just about the win.  Certainly performance in the sport is something we all strive for, but there is something else that is usually in that equation.  Our motivation typically comes from other sources.  It might be the getting out into the mountains, or the desert.  It might be getting your body to a place where the difference between flesh, spirit melt away you become a very raw nerve.  It might be just getting out with friends to screw around.

Cloud presumes he knows an athlete like Geoff’s motivations.   If the motivation of the athlete was only to win (which I doubt, see above), and only to win a particular race, there could be something to consider in Cloud’s words.   But those words would only be helpful if the coach knew they would get results and drive a motivation by calling the athlete an idiot.  Frankly most of us are not motivated by being ridiculed or called dumb when it comes from someone we don’t know and trust.

In fact, I have been motivated by people who I know and trust when they tell me outright I am doing something stupid.  The person who does the drive by and flips me off is just another asshole.  Cloud’s anonymity and insistence on being ridiculously negative is not motivating.  It makes him another asshole, even if there could be something valid in his message.