The Bulldog Syndrome

Out of curiosity, I went to the website for the Hot Lips Hustle 5K to see where I had posted in the results. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that I had placed third in my age group, 47th overall out of 300+, and I didn't even notice. I am extremely pleased! That is the cherry on top of my sundae, a fitting end to a years worth of hard work...

I'm sure you guys are somewhat familiar with the bulldog. They were bred back in the olden days for bull baiting. I won't get into the specifics of what this (blood) sport involved, but let's just say it was the dog's job to immobilize the bull.

The short muzzle and wide lower jaw were needed for the dog to clamp itself to the bull's nose like a vise, and the nose had to be upturned so that the dog could still breathe while clinging to the bull.

Thus, when someone is focused on something, almost exclusively to the detriment of all other things, they are said to have the "tenacity of a bulldog (or insert favorite breed here)".

That's the way I feel about my plans. For me, the plan makes it easy. You do this, on this date, at this pace, and the rest is easy. Plans are not made to be followed religiously. That will only get you into trouble. However, when in doubt, stick to the plan, knowing it will take you where you want to go. There is comfort in that.

Yesterday, the plan called for a 1.5 mile warm up, then one mile at 8:30 pace with a half mile jog, repeated three times. The session ended with a 1 mile cool down, for a total of seven miles. I rolled my legs with the Tiger Tail before leaving the house. At the soccer field, I took my warm up 1.5 miles very easy, at like a 12 minute pace. Then, I proceeded to do the repeats. The first one came in at 8:17. I was afraid I wouldn't hit my pace, so I started out too fast. I found a nice grassy, soft stretch of the soccer field on which to run. The second mile came in at 8:27. I wanted to take advantage of the slightly slower pace to NOT kill myself. The final mile was really hard, but I did it, coming in at 8:28. I took the cool down very easy, at about a 12 minute per mile pace.

When I got home, I drank an Accelerade and rolled my legs again. I can't say enough how amazed I am at the way my legs are recovering. I highly recommend The Stick or the The Tiger Tail before and after each run. It is safer than stretching and it seems to work wonders for me.

Now, my thoughts turn to my long run, which will most likely happen on Friday after work. I plan to load up on Accelerade and run the trails by my office. We'll see how the legs hold up before making the ultimate decision to change the plan.

Wes

ORN: 7 miles, 01:10:49, 1.5 mile w/u, 1 mile @ 8:30 w/.5 mile recovery jog (x3), 1 mile c/d, speed pace, R4/W0.5