(Re)Initialization

So after the conclusion of what by all accounts could only be described as a spectacular failure to realize my competitive potential while running for Caltech, I've decided that I'm finally fed up with being a weak little bitch. To that end, I've decided that I want to get back in marathon shape in time for the Austin marathon (in February, about 5 months away).

After looking back over my performance the previous few years, I think the one take-home lesson is that it doesn't matter how good your training is if it isn't consistent. I also think that an objective assessment of the situation would indicate that it was only in my freshman and senior years that I really had anything approaching the necessary consistency in my workouts, which essentially explains my disappointing performances from sophomore to senior year.

My old high school cross country coach used to say that the hardest part of running was getting out the door in the morning, and in retrospect, I think that's true. I've come to the conclusion that my biggest running problem is just that I'm just naturally lazy. To try to counteract this, I've been trying to integrate running into part of an overall daily routine, (i.e., going at around the same time of day, so that it just becomes something that I get up and do as a matter of habit). I've been running pretty regularly over the summer (with the exception of the last week or so, due to my uprooting myself and moving halfway across the country), and I've been feeling pretty good so far. In fact, I've actually been feeling better than I can remember for a while in terms of running. I've also been regulating my nutrition much better than I had been at Caltech, which I think also accounts for some of this improvement. I've also been told that Austin has a pretty big running community, and one of the other UT grad students mentioned that there's a UT marathon club that I'm planning on joining. There's also (apparently) a series of races that build up to the Austin marathon; I think there's a few 5K's, then a 10K, a half-marathon, and something like a 30K, and then the actual race itself. In fact, after looking around on the Inter-tubes, it seems like there's some kind of road race going on just about every weekend here (Garrett actually sent me a link to one called the Skirt Chaser 5K).

Other than that, Austin's pretty solid. The other guys in the department seem pretty cool and pretty knowledgeable, and I've got a sweet setup at the university (no TA duties!), so all I really have to do is sit around and think about math all day (which, if left to my own devices, I'd probably be doing anyway :-). My current interest of the month has been "groupifolds", which I can only describe as KICKASS - these things are the coolest thing I have every seen in my life. I'm super serial.

-DR