Tag Archives: Smart SIM

Running: Cramming is Not the Way To Go

Posted on by dimsumandsiomai
5

It may not be always the best approach but it looks like I am cramming yet again. I did this a lot when I was still in school. I’d always start a 500-word essay just a night before it is to be submitted. I would only start studying for a final exam just 30 minutes before heading off to school. On most occasions, if you’re not an Albert Einstein, you will surely get mediocre results. It’s sad to think that I have reduced myself to mediocrity when I was still studying when I could have, with the right amount of motivation and skill, been more. With the right amount of effort and participation on my part, I could have done better in school and could have finished with some honors. Sadly, I was happy being mediocre. I was happy living on the sidelines. I was happy not being excellent and perfect in what I do.

What is even harder to fathom is that 4 years after leaving school, graduating, and getting a job, I am still happy with being mediocre. To top it off, there are still instances where I cram my way out of simplest of things when I could have prepared for them earlier. I have no one else to blame but myself for not being able to get out of this mediocrity. I have no one else to burn at the stake but myself when things don’t go as planned.

Things don’t always go as planned but it’s how you react to the unforeseen circumstances that make it or break it for you. 2 months ago, I signed up to run a marathon. It is a run that will be 42 kilometers long and with my current training back then, I would not be able to finish the distance. With 2 months to go before race day, I told myself that I would prepare for the run. Prepare for it I did but the last 4 weeks was the hardest. I was sidelined for two weeks because of the storms that hit the country. I saw myself crawling in my last 16 kilometer run. I saw myself gasping for breath in my last long run after that two week long break.

With only 12 more days until race day, I am yet again forced to cram training into my legs and thighs. I never learn. I could not blame the rains for not being able to run because I could have ran indoors on a treadmill. I could have done some cross training to keep my endurance up. I have no one else to blame but myself for being in this kind of conditioning with just 12 days before the race. Training needs to be stepped up. Training needs to be done.

Here I am again, with 4 years under my belt, cramming my way to mediocrity: cramming my way to build my endurance, cramming my way to rack up some mileage.

My whole life has been about mediocrity. My whole life has been about being on the sidelines. My whole life has been about just being at par. Let this run be my last crack at cramming and being mediocre. I will finish the 42 kilometers strong and never be mediocre ever again.

Running: My Arrogance Got the Best of Me

Posted on by dimsumandsiomai
7

Last week, Monday, I got home pretty early from work. I went down my car as soon as I parked it in from of my house. As soon as I got in my house, I changed into my running clothes. I donned my newly claimed Smart SIM singlet just for kicks. The fit was excellent. The fabric was soft and the singlet felt very airy. I love it. It’s what singlets are supposed to be; light, soft, airy, and easy to move in. Went down to put on my shoes. My NB758′s were sidelined because they were still wet from the previous AAV LSD that I did. I had to settle with my supposed to be retired NB 769′s. I shouldn’t be running much in those kicks anymore. They were stability shoes that I didn’t really need because I was an under pronator.

I set out to do a nice easy 10 kilometer run that night but I ended up stopping at around kilometer 3. The run started out pretty good and like how most easy runs are supposed to, easy. There was a slight breeze that kept me cool. The net like fabric of the SIM singlet not only felt light but felt cool as well. The wind blowing away at my face and at my back made me feel like I was as swift as a gazelle running for dear life because a big grizzly saber tooth lion was right at it tail. I was half way into my first kilometer when I saw other runner going around the village. With that added confidence that I was a swift gazelle, I upped my pace so as not be pawned by the other runners. They were pacing quite fast and I didn’t want them to think I was a slouch that was all show with his SIM singlet and hydration belt and no game. That could very well be that cockiest deed I have ever done in my running career. It was just a casual jog, I had nothing to lose but I still wanted to up my pace. I wasn’t in a race where the fast pace was needed. I just wanted to show off my running speed to those casual joggers.

If I had a Garmin, my guesstimated speed of 5:30 minutes per kilometer would not have been far off from the GPS’s reading. It was a pace way beyond my capabilities but I still tried to maintain it. I ran the pace for about 3 kilometers. I ran the 3 kilometers at a fast pace with the wrong shoes. I landed a lot more on the outside part of my feet which was practically wrong. I was running and landing on the outside part of my feet for 3 kilometers at a fast pace that was really beyond my capacity. I was pushing my legs over their limit. I stopped when as soon as I finished kilometer 3.

The outer sides of my feet felt like they were burning because of all the impact they absorbed. Feet aren’t built to land on their sides. My shins felt like they were going to snap. I had to stop. I had to rest.

Ever since Monday, I haven’t been able to run properly. I attempted to run the next day but stopped after 2 kilometers. I attempted to run again on Wednesday but my shin splints were still there. I rested Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I ran yesterday with a slight hint of pain on my shins. The pain was still there but it wasn’t as bad as the previous runs. My legs are getting better but they are still injured. I ran this morning but the pain was still there.

I need to rest. I need to ice my shins. Maybe taping them will help? Any tips? I must get back in to training if I want to finish good in Smart SIM.