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training warping my mind?
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 2005-06-10 9:47 AM |
Veteran 285   Michigan |  Subject: training warping my mind?Over the last six months or so, I have been running, swimming, and just started biking. I have made gains in endurance, cut my times and even lost some weight. The other day my wife was complimenting me and asked me how I have been staying motivated. I told her my motivation most of the time is just being ready for my August sprint. There are times, however, when I need something more. During those long runs when I just want to fold up the tent, I psych myself out. I imagine the 'gun to the head' scenario as literaly as possible. I imagine someone is ACTUALLY riding next to me with a glock pointed at me, ready to shoot when I stopped. Or, I think about my family, and how it is dependant on my run that they all stay safe. This keeps me going. I imagine the pain of running 5 miles is less than the alternative. This gets me throught the hard times. MY WIFE WAS MORTIFIED when I told her this. She thinks it's a bit morbid. What do you all think. Am I nuts, psycho, mentally ill? Or is this 'normal' in the world of tri? |
| 2005-06-10 9:50 AM in reply to: #172420 |
Expert 1180 Iowa | Subject: RE: training warping my mind? Yea, you're sick. Welcome to the padded room. |
| 2005-06-10 9:57 AM in reply to: #172420 |
| 974.926 | Subject: RE: training warping my mind? Well, it’s an interesting method of motivation... Interesting enough that I might try visualizing something similar next time I'm on a run or biking... hmmm.... I feel relatively normal enough otherwise, except that I'm doing this tri thing & I still can't run a full 5K. So in my humble opinion I would say you're no crazier than the rest of us.  Ellie |
| 2005-06-10 10:07 AM in reply to: #172420 |
| Veteran 285 Michigan | Subject: RE: training warping my mind? Ellie, We just had a baby two months ago and named her Ellie. We call her Ells Bells, or Elly Belly. Anyway, keep up the work with the running. I went from a Semi-cripple with severe back problems who couldn't walk up a flight of stairs to a 5k'er in about 9 months. Keep at it! |
| 2005-06-10 10:16 AM in reply to: #172420 |
| Member 32 | Subject: RE: training warping my mind? Uber-- You should read The Long Walk by Stephen King (written under the pen name Richard Bachman). Basic idea: it's a walk, starting with 100 people...when you stop, they shoot you. So there's a lot of incentive to finish the race. So tell your wife that you are a creative genuis for the idea and that SK beat you to the punch by a few decades....I guess that great (or warped) minds do think alike! |
| 2005-06-10 10:36 AM in reply to: #172420 |
| Veteran 285 Michigan | Subject: RE: training warping my mind? Hmmm, me having the same basic idea as Stephen King. Pretty scary. I would like to have a share of those royalties, though. Seriously, it is great motivation to imagine pending doom if you wimp out and quit. |
| 2005-06-10 10:40 AM in reply to: #172442 |
Elite Veteran 1817 Cedar Rapids, Iowa | Subject: RE: training warping my mind? beez89 - 2005-06-10 10:16 AM Uber-- You should read The Long Walk by Stephen King (written under the pen name Richard Bachman). Basic idea: it's a walk, starting with 100 people...when you stop, they shoot you. So there's a lot of incentive to finish the race. So tell your wife that you are a creative genuis for the idea and that SK beat you to the punch by a few decades....I guess that great (or warped) minds do think alike! Geez, Beez! I can't believe you said that! I was gonna say that! Great minds think alike, I guess! |
| 2005-06-10 10:42 AM in reply to: #172420 |
Expert 623 Wye Mills, MD | Subject: RE: training warping my mind? Go get yourself an MP3 player. |
| 2005-06-10 10:48 AM in reply to: #172420 |
Veteran 249 Cypress, Tx | Subject: RE: training warping my mind? I have thought similar thoughts...but based upon the fight or flight scenarios.... Based on the few things that "everyman" should be able to do. 1. Everyman should be able to run far enough to save his life..... 2. Everyman should be able to run at a dead ass sprint for at least 250yds. 3. Everyman should be able to swim .5 miles. 4. Everyman should be able to lift his own body weight with his upper body.(pull up) I don't remember where I saw those but they were intended to be thought of as life saving skills. I'm sure there are more. But when I'm running and want to stop I think..."Jeez, if you can't do this what would you do if your wife's life was dependent on it, could you save her....could you keep going...could she count on you?" |
| 2005-06-10 12:27 PM in reply to: #172420 |
| Veteran 285 Michigan | Subject: RE: training warping my mind? You are exactly right. Yes, I believe that if your wife's life depended on it, you could run 100 miles without stopping. It is apparent that most of this is mental. Of course, you need some level of conditioning, but I believe most people don't come even close to their physical potential because of their 'mental' incapacities. I know my body is much stronger than my mind. That's why I am tri-ing; to improve my mental toughness. I think it is working. I was out of town in a business trip and I needed to go to an office building. It was three miles away. I walked. Doesn't sound like much, but a year ago, I would have bitched about walking to the back of the parking lot to get to my car. |
| 2005-06-10 12:30 PM in reply to: #172420 |
COURT JESTER 12230  ROCKFORD, IL | Subject: RE: training warping my mind? SICK, WARPED, and TWISTED thought, but at least you pictured a GLOCK !!! :-) |
| 2005-06-10 1:05 PM in reply to: #172420 |
| Member 32 | Subject: RE: training warping my mind? |
| 2005-06-10 1:27 PM in reply to: #172420 |
| Veteran 285 Michigan | Subject: RE: training warping my mind? I am seriously interested in this book. Sounds sick and twisted. Very intriguing. Anyone know if it is on Amazon? |
| 2005-06-10 1:36 PM in reply to: #172464 |
Elite 2468 Racine, WI | Subject: RE: training warping my mind? Tania - 2005-06-10 10:40 AM beez89 - 2005-06-10 10:16 AM Uber-- You should read The Long Walk by Stephen King (written under the pen name Richard Bachman). Basic idea: it's a walk, starting with 100 people...when you stop, they shoot you. So there's a lot of incentive to finish the race. So tell your wife that you are a creative genuis for the idea and that SK beat you to the punch by a few decades....I guess that great (or warped) minds do think alike! Geez, Beez! I can't believe you said that! I was gonna say that! Great minds think alike, I guess! I thought it too...I guess we are all spending time reading that we should be training LOL! |
| 2005-06-10 2:04 PM in reply to: #172568 |
| Member 27 Seattle, WA | Subject: RE: training warping my mind? uberbeginner - 2005-06-10 10:27 AM I am seriously interested in this book. Sounds sick and twisted. Very intriguing. Anyone know if it is on Amazon? http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0451196716 |
| 2005-06-10 2:22 PM in reply to: #172572 |
| Elite Veteran 1817 Cedar Rapids, Iowa | Subject: RE: training warping my mind? CindyK - 2005-06-10 1:36 PM Tania - 2005-06-10 10:40 AM beez89 - 2005-06-10 10:16 AM Uber-- You should read The Long Walk by Stephen King (written under the pen name Richard Bachman). Basic idea: it's a walk, starting with 100 people...when you stop, they shoot you. So there's a lot of incentive to finish the race. So tell your wife that you are a creative genuis for the idea and that SK beat you to the punch by a few decades....I guess that great (or warped) minds do think alike! Geez, Beez! I can't believe you said that! I was gonna say that! Great minds think alike, I guess! I thought it too...I guess we are all spending time reading that we should be training LOL! No no, not guilty. I must have read the thing 15 or 20 years ago (however old it is) - it just stuck with me all this time, as many stories have from my SK days. He is the one who turned me on to reading when I was in junior high and for some reason (must have gotten lost in the halls) ended up in the library and picked out The Stand. I don't read him any more, and have not for a long time, but I have a very sweet spot in my heart for him, twisted bastard that he is. He started my love affair with reading. Which I of course now only do in bed at night AFTER all my training is done! |
| 2005-06-10 2:48 PM in reply to: #172598 |
Elite 2915 New City, New York | Subject: RE: training warping my mind? Tania, "THE STAND" my all time favorite book and I don't even concider myself a SK fan. Still the only book I have EVER read twice! Trash Can Man!!!! Thanks for the memories |
| 2005-06-10 2:49 PM in reply to: #172420 |
Member 16 Augusta, GA | Subject: RE: training warping my mind? I'm glad to see that there are others out there like me. Although I have yet to imagine something in my mind to keep me going during training, it is something I do when I'm driving long distances and start to get sleepy. I usually imagine the car going off the shoulder and smashing into a tree or some concrete wall and causing a gruesome accident. That usually keeps me driving. I think I'm going to have to find that book as it sounds like it would be a good read for what I often consider a twisted mind. |
| 2005-06-10 3:08 PM in reply to: #172465 |
Veteran 150 Los Angeles | Subject: RE: training warping my mind? wyecrab - 2005-06-10 7:42 AM Go get yourself an MP3 player. I agree with your wife - you are But it seems there is this "do or die" mentality in alot of triathletes. If you didn't have focus how could you train? I guess it's okay as long as you just visuallize the gun. Edited by esparkhu 2005-06-10 3:14 PM |
| 2005-06-10 3:15 PM in reply to: #172620 |
| Elite Veteran 1817 Cedar Rapids, Iowa | Subject: RE: training warping my mind? rollinbones - 2005-06-10 2:48 PM Tania, "THE STAND" my all time favorite book and I don't even concider myself a SK fan. Still the only book I have EVER read twice! Trash Can Man!!!! Thanks for the memories OMG!! It's the only book I have EVER read twice, too!! We rock. |
| 2005-06-10 3:28 PM in reply to: #172420 |
Extreme Veteran 318 fort collins | Subject: RE: training warping my mind? It is all relative!!!!!! What is normal to you is wacked to someone else. When I want to slow down I imagine some dude with a sword at my back and if I go to slow it gets stabbed in my ass or back of head. |
| 2005-06-10 3:42 PM in reply to: #172420 |
Pro 5153 Helena, MT | Subject: RE: training warping my mind? Yup, totally morbid and a little disturbing, but whatever works, right? |
| 2005-06-10 3:50 PM in reply to: #172642 |
| Veteran 293 The Emerald City | Subject: RE: training warping my mind? Tania - 2005-06-10 12:15 PM rollinbones - 2005-06-10 2:48 PM Tania, "THE STAND" my all time favorite book and I don't even concider myself a SK fan. Still the only book I have EVER read twice! Trash Can Man!!!! Thanks for the memories OMG!! It's the only book I have EVER read twice, too!! We rock. Ok, this is getting vewy cweepy..... The Stand and The Shining are the only 2 books I ever read twice. I don't read SK anymore, heck I don't read any books anymore. |
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