Last year Chris Solinsky broke the American record in the 10,000 meter track event. He recently had an interview with Runner's World. I found one of his comments particularly enlightening:
Runner's World: It's one thing that you broke 27:00 for 10,000 but the fact that you broke 13:00 in the 5000 indicates that there are no psychological barriers in terms of time anymore for you, are there?
Chris Solinsky: Yeah. I mean, the 10K was obviously a great race in terms of the time that I ran, but for me, it's knocked down a lot of mental barriers that I had in races. I was actually just talking to the guys today about how the 10K last year really opened my eyes to being able to not look at the lap counter. Before, I'd be too cognizant of how much I had left, and who was there, the things you shouldn't be thinking about as much. But in that 10K, I thought more in terms of time, how much time I had left. I remember at one point I looked at the clock and we were at 19:00 and I was like "well, that's like seven or eight minutes left, I can hammer, I can do anything for seven or eight minutes." When I finally stopped thinking of it in terms of laps, it kind of opened things up for me, and that's where it went for the rest of year. It changed my mental focus and how I approached things drastically and that opened a lot of doors for me.
I find this interesting as I consider my own mental approach to racing. There have been a few times where, rather than focusing on either how much distance is behind me or how much remains in front of me before finishing, I've focused on how much time I have left. Similar to Solinsky, I've found that this approach has somehow made the push to the finish easier than the "distance approach". I've only done this a few times by more or less stumbling upon it rather than by premeditated planning. Now that the approach has been confirmed by an American record holder, I plan to use the approach consistently going forward.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
OBJECTIVE
3 mi.
ACHIEVED
3.22 mi.@ 8:13
6:46 AM 73° 86% 3 mph
Humid this morning. Seems like it may rain today - which we need. I felt sluggish.
Had my fourth treatment at Koala. They've back working on my back since last Friday. The routine is essentially focused massage on my lower back followed by ultrasound then electro therapy. From there I do physical therapy which consists of stretching - back, glutes and outer thighs ?(I guess that's really glutes ... ???). I then do some single-leg balancing on a "Thera band" foot pad (it's unstable so forces me to lose some muscle to stay upright). Last Monday they hit me with back extensions and crunches using an exercise ball. And that's where I believe we all discovered my weakest link - pitifully weak abs! After all that, a chiropractor adjusts my low back. I'm not sure about the overall benefit yet. It does force me to do some strengthening which I'm sure doesn't hurt any.
My latest theory is that the back issues are either associated with the chair in my Chicago office or the seats on planes that I'm spending time on. I've essentially ruled out the hotel beds that I've been sleeping on. You've gotta love the scientific process ....
PRE RUN
weight=164.5
body fat=22.5%
POST RUN
water, multivitamin & Kashi GoLean cereal w/skim milk
3 mi.
ACHIEVED
3.22 mi.@ 8:13
6:46 AM 73° 86% 3 mph
Humid this morning. Seems like it may rain today - which we need. I felt sluggish.
Had my fourth treatment at Koala. They've back working on my back since last Friday. The routine is essentially focused massage on my lower back followed by ultrasound then electro therapy. From there I do physical therapy which consists of stretching - back, glutes and outer thighs ?(I guess that's really glutes ... ???). I then do some single-leg balancing on a "Thera band" foot pad (it's unstable so forces me to lose some muscle to stay upright). Last Monday they hit me with back extensions and crunches using an exercise ball. And that's where I believe we all discovered my weakest link - pitifully weak abs! After all that, a chiropractor adjusts my low back. I'm not sure about the overall benefit yet. It does force me to do some strengthening which I'm sure doesn't hurt any.
My latest theory is that the back issues are either associated with the chair in my Chicago office or the seats on planes that I'm spending time on. I've essentially ruled out the hotel beds that I've been sleeping on. You've gotta love the scientific process ....
PRE RUN
weight=164.5
body fat=22.5%
POST RUN
water, multivitamin & Kashi GoLean cereal w/skim milk
Friday, April 29, 2011
OBJECTIVE
3 mi.
ACHIEVED
3.24 mi.@ 8:01
6:45 AM 56° 82% 1 mph
Back at home. Felt okay. Back was a bit bothersome. I really think that problem is either the chair in my Chicago office or the seat on the plane.
PRE RUN
weight=166
body fat=22.4%
POST RUN
Diet V8 Splash, multivitamin & oatmeal w/brown sugar & skim milk
3 mi.
ACHIEVED
3.24 mi.@ 8:01
6:45 AM 56° 82% 1 mph
Back at home. Felt okay. Back was a bit bothersome. I really think that problem is either the chair in my Chicago office or the seat on the plane.
PRE RUN
weight=166
body fat=22.4%
POST RUN
Diet V8 Splash, multivitamin & oatmeal w/brown sugar & skim milk
Thursday, April 28, 2011
OBJECTIVE
3 mi.
ACHIEVED
3.39 mi.@ 8:19
5:40 AM
Cool breeze blowing through the Windy City this morning. I felt slightly on the sluggish side. Took a new route down to the Lakefront Trail. From Club Quarters went up the hill past the Hyatt then down Columbus. Instead of turning on Illinois continued two blocks to Ohio. Wanted to see a high rise apartment that looked interesting from the internet. It is close to the water ... with a bunch other high rises around it. Ahhh, urban living .... Hurmphhhh!
PRE RUN
-
POST RUN
water
3 mi.
ACHIEVED
3.39 mi.@ 8:19
5:40 AM
Cool breeze blowing through the Windy City this morning. I felt slightly on the sluggish side. Took a new route down to the Lakefront Trail. From Club Quarters went up the hill past the Hyatt then down Columbus. Instead of turning on Illinois continued two blocks to Ohio. Wanted to see a high rise apartment that looked interesting from the internet. It is close to the water ... with a bunch other high rises around it. Ahhh, urban living .... Hurmphhhh!
PRE RUN
-
POST RUN
water
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
OBJECTIVE
2 mi.
ACHIEVED
2.11 mi.@ 8:02
7:40 PM
First evening run in a long time. Run from Club Quarters Hotel along Chicago Riverwalk to Lakefront Trail. (I've obviously made it sound further than it really was!) I did get to see part of the Lakefront Trail that I haven't seen before. There were a bunch on Canadian geese and a scraggly cottontail rabbit along my way.
I felt okay. Abs were sore from the routine the doc put me through yesterday. I think she has isolated my weak link ....
PRE RUN
-
POST RUN
water
2 mi.
ACHIEVED
2.11 mi.@ 8:02
7:40 PM
First evening run in a long time. Run from Club Quarters Hotel along Chicago Riverwalk to Lakefront Trail. (I've obviously made it sound further than it really was!) I did get to see part of the Lakefront Trail that I haven't seen before. There were a bunch on Canadian geese and a scraggly cottontail rabbit along my way.
I felt okay. Abs were sore from the routine the doc put me through yesterday. I think she has isolated my weak link ....
PRE RUN
-
POST RUN
water
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