31 August 09: Cramping

I went for a run in the afternoon today. Straight after weights. Following up a lunchtime soccer session. On the same day as PE, which was admittedly speedball/vortex, but still left me pretty tired chasing around in the hope of catching the thing.

Conditions were good, despite bucketing rain leaving a wet pavement. No choking pollution induced by Toorak Rd roadworks. No gale force headwind up the long northward straight. No excuses for a bad time from the environment.

First lap was a fairly sluggish 7:47. My best lap was 6:56, but then again I have had some fairly leisurely 8:00+ laps so it wasn't too bad. On the second lap, 3 slow minutes in, i started cramping.

After lap 1 I was getting tired, but then after a few hundred metres my legs started getting that dreaded feeling. It wasn't a mega cramp which left me rolling around begging for the torture to stop. I knew at that point that I had to stop and stretch.

My legs were pretty much screaming 'STOP!' There wasn't much point continuing; I was hardly on a record time, and with my limited knowledge of sports science, there were fears permanent damage would be done. I walked pretty much the rest of the way, tried a few slow jogs which led to more cramping then had to stop again.

The result? A grand time of 12:30.7, a full 1 minute and 22 seconds slower than my next best time in which I walked most of it with a stomach ache.

I do believe there is an underlying lesson to be learnt here apart from the obvious 'don't try running 3 k's after a lot of sport on the same day'. Just as too much physical exertion may burn you out and not produce much in terms of results, the same could be said for studying.

What is the point of studying if your thoughts are elsewhere?
Just how much redox theory or wave-particle duality or John Wade or calculus will an indifferent mind absorb?

The upcoming months are about doing the best that you possibly can; the aim is to fulfull your potential.
The key word here is 'you'. While we all dream some time or another of that 99.95, for some that goal is not realistically attainable; yours truly is still hoping, but accepts with a wry smile that there are others smarter, more gifted, harder working and with a better set of subjects than himself.

It's important to keep in mind your own abilities and limitations; while we hear about many people triumphing over adversity due to sheer willpower, there are just as many who accept the gulf between them and their goal, turn their attention elsewhere and find something they find just as fulfilling but better suited to their unique skill set.

My friend Tom suggested my blogs were too long, and while I was hoping to keep this one short it seems like its grown longer than his hair! Its time for me to stop rambling.

Lawrence

26-Aug-09: sacs are winding up.

Nothing much to talk about here.

Went for a run around the block, pushing myself hard in the second lap to come up with the best time I've got recently, only to realise when I got home that it still wasn't as good as the one set 5 months and a day ago. Still felt good though; I reckon a run once in a while helps refresh the body and gives a break from all the study we have to slog through.

Today was the first time I used the internet since Sunday night. In a way I'm proud of this 'achievement', but it throws up an interesting question: does that mean I'm ashamed of using the internet?

Initially, the answer is no. The internet's a great way for connecting and entertainment. However, I think the sense of achievement comes from the fact that many times in the past, I have moped about on the computer; not so much surfing on the net as wallowing in its vast ocean of potential distractions.

We just had our last prac sac for chem. We've already had our last ever english sac as well as our last non-trial-exam spec sac, and physics sacs are starting to run out. It seemed just a few months ago that we were having our first sacs and getting all worked up about them, but now they're just another stop on the way to the big thing: the end of year exams.

Revision for these exams are starting to pick up, with a full blown english trial exam in about a week. In private study today I was talking to some students who did methods with me last year, and while I did do a lot of practice exams, it was nowhere near what they did; some of them did double or even triple the number that I did. Even though my methods mark was better than I had hoped, perhaps doing those extra trial exams would've given me the score I truly wanted.

I think that this, like my recent running time, shows me just how much harder I can work; that no matter how difficult things may seem during the revision period, there is no real limit to how much practice one can have, and if there is one, it's certainly way above how hard I worked for methods and bio last year.

I'm determined not to make the same mistake this year, and I know that while the year is nearly over, there's still half of the english assesment, 2/3rds of maths, and 1/3 of the sciences left to go, so there's plently of room for all of us to do well!

Cheers,
Lawrence