Friday, April 4, 2008

Friday 6 miles + gym.

am) 6 miles jogging in 40:00. Then I lifted intensive for core and legs for 40:00. Then dry sauna with massage for 40:00.

Last night I registered for my first race of the new training season. I had mentioned previously that I think my weakness in races is mental strength and that racing more often may be good for me. In sports psychology the
Need Achievement Theory

states that athletes are motivated either to achieve success or to avoid failure. I am very guilty of the latter in my own racing history. The theory asserts that when the tendency to avoid failure is greater than the tendency to succeed, maximum motivation occurs when the outcome of the event is almost 100% certain. Like beating a much weaker opponent or getting crushed by a much stronger one. There isn't much chance of looking bad because losing to a better athlete is expected. When you face a more equal opponent though, motivation should decline because then the loss looks more like a failure because you actually had a legitimate shot at winning.

On the other hand, when the urge to "achieve success" surpasses the urge to "avoid failure," it is predicted that the greatest motivation occurs in highly competitive situations where the outcome is uncertain due to more similar ability levels. These athletes get more satisfaction from pursuing success without worrying about the possibility of failure- something I have never been able to do. You may have heard of "the fear of success".. these athlete don't have it.. They may actually become bored against much weaker opponents, or lose motivation when there is little chance of winning, but when the battle heats up, these are the real competitors. This is where I want to be.
Anyway...
Next weekend (the 13th) I am racing the Horsetooth Half Marathon. Then the following weekend I am racing 25 miles as part of the Desert Rats Running Festival in Fruita. This should be fun as Jo and I will be camping out in the desert with Ben for a couple of days. Ben has camped maybe 10 times starting when he was just a few months old.. he loves the outdoors.
3:05 looks like the course record for the 25 mile.. 7:24 pace on single track trails with 4000 feet of climbing.. no problem ;)

I also weighed myself yesterday on an accurate scale.. 145 pounds. Lighter than I had expected. Below is a sample of what my diet has been like lately. Beth and James inspired these pics ;)

Dinner...


Vegetables for juicing.. this is my breakfast.
And the juice.. quite GREEN!

5 comments:

GZ said...

Wow. That theory is a nice little bundle to consider ... it provides a framework for me to consider in how I go about training ... but it probably is broader than just endurance sports when I think about it (people and their work, their families, their relationships, their relationships with a god if they have one).

I think though failure can be a very strong motivator. "nothing teaches like failure." "you only know your limits when you reach them." In a wierd way, finding where I fail defines how I can succeed.

beth said...

hey there! 1)the food looks GOOD!
2) theory hits home- james keeps telling me to get out and race the other girls, and i tell him (and believe) i'm out there just to do my best and race myself, not others. after reading this, i'm realizing more that maybe i'm just scared of failing in comparison to them and choose to feel good that i "did my best".. yesterday on the track i told james that i was running my 400s and 800s at 90sec/400 because that is as fast as i can go. and i did them all w/in +/-3 seconds of that. on the last one (after 7miles), he said. go all out, just to see. and i ran 1:21. he then called me a sandbagger. maybe he's right!
have a good day and a nice weekend. that trail race looks AWESOME. wish i was there- any good trail races at the end of the summer in CO?

jameson said...

good post. I have dealt with the same thing.

but I do have a question....

"where's the beef?"

Lucho said...

Good stuff GZ and Beth.. Beth- try to really think during your race what is motivating you. Are you there to do just ok? I tend to enjoy the training far more than the racing so I feel that my success lies in the satisfaction of the journey. During races is when you should be doing the most self examination.
James- I am very much a carnivore! I tend to eat meat ~4 nights per week.

ace said...

Great post. And like so many have said there is a lot to consider. Personally, I think choosing to succeed is a better way to go whenever the moment presents itself. But this is often easier said than done from personal experience.

The other thing that caught my eye was the weight = 145! I must say I'm wondering do you have a weight/body composition % in mind where you feel your racing will peak? (I don't know if I asked this question correctly. But I know some people feel "fit" at certain weights and not at others.)