Thursday, January 28, 2016

Slam Dunks and 8 Lappers

January goes down in history as the month I stepped out of my comfort zone.  If you recall I had this crazy idea to train and race an indoor mile. After the Ultramarathon last year and 6 years of racing Ironman I was craving some FAST!  Now, don't get me wrong, even my Ironman training is sprinkled with some high intensity run and bike workouts but I wanted something different. I wanted to challenge my mind, muscle fibers and lungs.

As it turns out, training and racing the mile came second on the 'Tackling a New Skill' list. My good friend Jeremy Woodward went on a mission to raise money for Tedy's Team which is the team he will race for during this year's Boston Marathon.  Jeremy is a ROCKSTAR and always seems to brew up fantastic ideas.  He set up a fundraiser event that involved 15 mortals from the Concord community teaming up against the star-studded Harlem Wizards.

I was CLEARLY the the ringer of the team standing only 5 feet tall. What I lacked on the vertical side of things I made up for 2-fold in feisty-ness.  I was so confident of my ball handling skills and lateral movements that during warm-ups when a Wizard slam dunked I purposely threw up a brick. When a Wizard spun the ball on their finger tip and dribbled it through their legs I proceeded to dribble the ball off of my foot.

Those poor Wizards had no idea they were getting bamboozled by a honey badger...






The pictures are slightly blurry - but you get the idea. And if you are indeed seeing through my BS you know the only thing I demonstrated was that 7 years of linear training does NOTHING for your basketball game.

On to the next 'Get Out of Your Comfort Zone' task: THE MILE.

 From Left: Kelsie, Dash, Kanoa, Amber, RY, Dad, Rachel.
Editors note: My friend Kanoa is indeed 7 feet tall. He is presently applying for a spot on the Harlem Wizards.

The training leading up to this 8-lapper was FUN! A few days before the race when I was feeling sorry for myself for contracting bronchitis, pneumonia and a super bug I realized that the 9 weeks of  specific speed training had been the real treat.  And not all was lost because I was healthy enough to race and I really believed I deposited a large amount of run efficiency in the bank after the short quick track workouts I added to my routine over the past 2 months.

I also peer pressured my friends, Kanoa, Ry, Rachel, Kelsie and my Dad into racing so it was going to be a wild and crazy time no matter I only had partial lung function.

I'm participating in the USATF All Terrain Runner series this year so BEFORE I raced the mile with bronchitis and pneumonia I chose to race the 3K.  I never said I was smart.


The gun went off for the 3K and I was surprised at how quick my turnover felt.  I had spring in my legs and I felt good!  I jumped right to the front and went through the mile in 5:19.  But as it turns out, one does require oxygen to keep the leg speed going and that my friends was the kicker.  Legs felt great and lungs felt like I was trying to suck through a small inefficient straw.

When I hurt and times get tough I make practice of repeating how much I love the pain of racing and that even though I *think* I'm suffering I can always push a little more. It was also so nostalgic to be back racing on the indoor track again as I spent 5 years at Northeastern making left hand turns.

As we speak I am currently scouring the internet for another 3K/mile challenge when I have full lung function.

However, I am 100% shamelessly retired from my short-lived basketball career...

And as always, a HUGE thanks to my sponsors and partners who let me WAVE MY CRAZY FLAG!!!



DELTA DENTAL, VELOCIO, RUDY PROJECT, MC CYCLE AND SPORT, INFINIT NUTRITION, ACIDOTIC RACING, PBM COACHING







 

No comments:

Post a Comment

Greetings!
Thank you for reading Amber's blog and considering posting a comment. Please know that if you write rude, negative, or just plain crazy comments, I will remove them and Amber will not get a chance to read them. For everyone else, comment away!

-Blog moderator