Hi

cewait

DIS Veteran
Joined
Mar 3, 2000
Messages
5,695
Hi all.

Long time, no talk. Sorry for jumping off the board with no explanation. It’s been a long three months.

The last time I visited, I had just completed a nice long run on Kaanapoli Beach in Maui. A couple days later I arrived back in Houston then life went weird. An IT project that I am a sponsor (or customer of) of went south with a major milestone demonstration that failed to work. Rather than allow the project manager to fail, I assumed project manager duties along with everything else. Unfortunately, that was just the beginning of wheels falling off. Without going into a lot of detail, I just had to focus energy on things that keep bread on the table and left extras whither. This coupled with having a person I thought of as a friend get weird and start acting like a child, I went into a mental funk and a complete stopping of running.

So I am back in a limited capacity, training uber hard and trying like many folks to keep priorities normalized. My IT project is still c%$p but is on a course that will right the ship; just months late. Funny, my IT PM seems to have lots of personal issues pop up in weeks where we have tough deliverables. No one seems to care, so I won’t either. Though it is really funny that the guy has a 1yr old and a wife who is a stay at home mom + a nanny. Next week for a huge management meeting, he just announced his nanny quit and he needs to work from home! Finally, I decided to let the former friend be the two faced jerk other friends told me he was and move on.

I am on an expedited training plan that should get me back into January in decent shape, just not where I will want to be. OR maybe it will put me on the disabled list. For those who are wondering... adding about 15-20% distance every other week and doing lots of core/stability work. I am about 4-6 weeks behind and will be on schedule in mid December. READER ALERT – this is not a do as I do thing and should only be followed with extreme caution and knowledge of body.

Even though I am getting back into running shape, I find motivation lacking. This is year 13 for me looping around Disney property and my seventh Goofy. I was able to grab the motivation rings late last year but have not found the will to get out the door without a lot of mental coercion. Last year’s full was # 20 for me, so that had some pull. I am probably not going to enter early next year and see if I find motivation prior to entering. I hate to break my streak but I am not feeling the desire to come to central Florida the first weekend after the first full week of the year. It’s a new feeling for me as I have historically had over motivational issues – biting off more than I should.

As I was exiting, I was trying out the new Forerunner 610. It is the BEST Garmin to date; with the exception of losing a few pixels on the screen in the quadrant data view. Oh, and that the backlight does not flip on when a notice comes out. For the Run walkers the countdown timer works flawlessly, even providing a vibration alert. For those who have the 400 series, there is an improvement when going onto power save mode. Garmin gives the option of a vibration alert for that, also. The largest gripe I have heard from the 400 users is that they turn the unit on when getting into the corral only to have the unit go to power save before the race starts. My office neighbor runs without glasses so he can be screwed in a pre-dawn start. He has no idea what mode his Garmin is in… until heading down the road.

Runkeeper Updates. I am jazzed about the new runkeeper updates. I have not used them but I really think the things like auto pause are a great add.

I hope all are doing well. Will back track through the posts this weekend and see how all are doing.

In the mean time, it is really time to focus on learning what you have in your toolbox this year. As you hit those tough spots from now until the end, remember the little mental tricks used to keep heading down the road. Those are invaluable tools for race day when at mile xx you feel like you want to bail. These tools can keep you from panicking and keep you heading down the road.


Train Hard - Train Smart
 
What a couple of crazy months Coach! Glad to hear that you're getting back on schedule(ish). I'm thinking if anyone can pull off an accelerated training schedule, it would be you!

Glad to have you back :)
 
So, so glad to hear an update from you, Coach Charles! I'm sorry that you've been facing such difficulties, but I'm glad to see you back.

You've given so much to this community, is there anything we can do for you? Motivation-wise, is there anything we can do to get you revved up for the January races?
 

Glad your back Mr. Charles, if you need a running buddy around Houston, let me know.
 
Hey Coach. Great to see you back. Alot of us look to you for information, especially when it comes to the January races. I would hate to see the streak come to an end. You are the only one I "know" who has the streak going, so it is kind of neat to follow you as you keep it alive. But you have to do what is best for you (which is keeping the streak alive - in my opinion). By the way, next year is the 20th anniversary of the marathon (I think)- I really don't see you missing that.

Thanks for the info on the Garmin. I am still with the 305. I stayed away from the 405 due to all the complaints that I have heard. Maybe I will try the 610. The 305 meets most of my needs though.
 
Thanks for checking in Coach!! We missed you and were so worried about you!! Sorry about all the chaos you are dealing with, but we are all here to help you through it. After all, that is what you have done for so many of us, so we owe you big!! :thumbsup2

Really sorry about the friend thing too...we have all lived and learned and thought someone was a certain way, defending them from others that warn us about their true colors only to find out that those who warned were right. Amazing how that happens and it really sucks! :( Well, if anything, even if most of us have never met you in person, you are a true friend to all of us and we couldn't have accomplished finishing races without your advice and encouragement. :goodvibes

If there is anything you need, please let us know!!
 
Was worried about you. Glad you're back and wish you the best.

John
 
Really sorry about the friend thing too...we have all lived and learned and thought someone was a certain way, defending them from others that warn us about their true colors only to find out that those who warned were right. Amazing how that happens and it really sucks!

That is so true! When people help others without any reason or expectations in return only to burn you, it is sad :confused:

Look forward to see you again Charles at the races :)
 
Hi, again, Charles!! I posted a little more to you on the Pasta Party thread. Glad to have you back. So sorry about the other stressors. :grouphug:

I know what you mean about motivation...I've gone through that with Ironman. Maybe try to just come out and have a little fun. If you want a really easy pace, come run/walk with me in the BOMOP. I think that's where I'll be. Or FOBOP. LOL You know what I mean, I hope!
 
Charles, good to see you back!

I've been in a bit longer funk than that, but sounds very similar in a lot of ways. Getting the motivation back has been hard, and slow. I wish you all the best!
 
Great to see you back, but sorry to hear all your news. I hope work works itself out. Sorry about the friend. Been there, done that. Will probably be there again. :) I know you'll pull it together in time for Goofy. I think your body can handle that accelerated schedule better than most of us. I mean, how many years have you been running?;)
 
Welcome back! I've only known you a short while, but your advice is clearly held in high regard by the members of this forum. Best wishes!
 
Glad to see you back Coach!

Terri
 
Great to see you. Love reading about your insight & wisdom. Hoping you find the motivation that you fill others with!
 
Charles life does throw us challenges, been there done that brother athlete. I had to recover from the unexpected end to a 25 year marriage and several friends turning against me because I wouldn't turn against another friend. We don't know how strong we can be till being tough is our only option. Hope you find your path. True friendships are those where we can over come a disagreement just as you would with a family member. I considery friends family.

I'm setting my sights on being a force in the world of 60+ race walking. Yeah I dream big, but I'll work hard and see where it takes me.

Anyway good luck with your future challenges and welcome back.

Dave
 
Coach,

Hope things improve for you--both with work and running. Just glad that you are healthy and still out there running.

Maura
 
Coach it's good to see you posting on the boards again. I've been bouncing around these boards a fair amount looking for your wisdom and was pleasantly surprised to see some of your posts this evening. I'm sorry to hear about the friend issues and everything going all pear shaped at work. I hope that everything works out for you.
 
Hey Charles good to hear from you. I haven't been around much myself but for other reasons (IMFL training). Life sucks at times but hey, if we didn't have bad times we wouldn't know how good the good times really are. You'll make it through!

One of my best Disney experiences was running with you for my 1st Goofy. Of course seeing you in tights was not the highlight :) Had a blast though.

I do miss Disney as there is nothing like it for a race. I'll be back but with November Ironmans in the next few years it may have to wait.

Welcome back,
Duane
 












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