By reading the title of this post, you can probably reason that I have some pretty good news, some bad news, and some ugly news, I mean really, really ugly news. The good news is actually great, and the bad news isn't that bad and the ugly news really isn't that ugly. The college cross country season is steadily approaching. 9 or so more days separates me from the actual beginning of something great. Training has been good, most of the time. Right now I am in a little bit of a rut, but who would blame me? From my last post, I was on top of the training sphere. My body was rocking and rolling and the workouts and miles flowed easily. Unfortunately, I might have over done it slightly, which is why I'm in this so called "rut" that runners experience plenty.
First, the Good
This last Sunday I went out to Sauvie Island, which is like 15 min west of Portland to join in what I would easily classify as one of the most badass workouts I have ever participated in. Meeting up with the usual East County marathon crew and joining forces with Bowerman Athletic Club, a group of 15 or so extremely fit, extremely aerobically inclined males, including myself, proceeded to do a workout that will likely make you mutter, "What. The. Fuck." After a 2 mile warm-up, the planned run of 18 miles at 5:40 pace was underway. You read that right. 18 miles. At 5:40 pace. If only that was the workout we ran, things would have been a WHOLE lot smoother.
The first mile was full of gabbing and grab-ass. And not the usual beginning of the long workout quips or funny comments that are quickly replaced by the need for oxygen. No, it was like a high school lunch room. People having full on conversations. This sure doesn't feel like 5:40 pace. Well, thats because it wasn't. The first mile marker is passed in a paltry 6 minutes flat. And now the fun begins. Panic from the group has the pace dropped immediately to somewhere in the 5:20 region. The rush to make up the time lost begins NOW. Only after a couple guys yell that "oh hey, we have 17 more miles to make up 20 seconds, why are we in a hurry?" that the pace relaxes at 535 pace. And there it stays for a majority of the run.
I feel pretty damn good during this whole affair, let me tell you. The legs are moving quite nicely. The breathing is going splendidly. Mentally I am a monk, simply focused on the task before me. Or that really really good looking female in the car that just drove by... Everything is going perfect. But I have one major flaw in my workout plan that eventually leads to my temporary ruin. Drinking stations. Everyone who trains for a marathon seriously uses them. It's part of the whole race strategy. The more water or carbohydrates you are able to replace, the stronger you will be come mile 24, 25 and 26. So when you look at the water table which was located at miles 6 and 12, you saw a bunch of squirt water bottles, some GU, maybe a little bit of Gatorade, and a bottle of partitially carbonated Coke. Coke? Partially carbonated? THAT would belong to me. And let me tell you all in advance, shaking out the carbonation 20 minutes before the run does jack-squat. So don't do it. Ever. Don't even drink Coke in the middle of ANY workout. It's bad news. Really bad news.
The Bad
We are cruising along. The pack that did start out as a large group is now only 7. Luckily I am among them. The thinning out started when a 5:24 mile was dropped during mile 13. It was a nice mix up from 4 miles in row at 5:30 we had just done. Mile 15 rolls around. I feel good. Actually, I don't really feel anything. I am a lanky tower of 'meh'. The lactate has grown like ivy around my legs and has been there since mile 11 or so. The key now is rhythm. I have two left feet on the dance floor, but on the roads, FORGET ABOUT IT. I'm in the zone. I have Saturday Night Fever. I'm bustin' a move. All is well. We even have Alan Webb, YES THEE ALAN WEBB, join us the last two and a half miles or so. It's a runners dream. Then I am reminded that the Coke I drank a while back, you know, instead of water or actual sports drink, was not de-carbonated. Not by a long shot. I become gasier than a pot of refried beans. Burps punctuate the already tough task of just running at this constant pace for another 2 miles. My stomach rumbles. It comes in waves. Like an incoming tide, it moves further and further up my throat.
Not many people get to say that they have run with Alan Webb. Even fewer people get to say that they vomited mid-run next to him, which is exactly what I did. Now, I'm not proud of it, but so far I think that this is my claim to fame. I puked mid-run next to the greatest American Miler of all-time. Pretty studly stuff. Ended up finishing the work out, puke break included at 5:37 pace. For 18 miles and spending about 40 seconds of it on with my hands on my knees because I thought I would go old school and try and drink Coke for a marathon workout, I would say I was pretty pleased by the result. I would like to say that Kenny Moore and Frank Shorter were full of shit when they used de-fizzed coke as a precursor to Gatorade. From now on, its water for me.
The Ugly...The Really, Really Ugly
So I'm on cloud 9. I have just run 18 miles at 537 pace, I feel fit as a whistle and I can't wait to do my next workout. Reality sets in though. You can only hit your self so many times with a 2x4 and still be standing. I learned that the hard way yesterday. I won't bore you with details, but the fact of the matter is, the 18 mile tempo ravaged my legs. This is the first workout in about a month I have had to drop because of my legs saying 'nope'. It happens, it has happened before and it will surely happen again, but the main thing is trying to adjust training so I by the time cross country rolls around, I'll be chomping at the bit, which I don't think will be a problem. The key to success is winning more workouts than you lose. And since I had mercy ruled the last three, I am ok with tapping out on this last one.
So really, the ugly, even though it is not ideal, really is just "meh" in comparison. That 18 miler, when my legs have finally recovered from the stress, will set me up nicely to roll through the mile repeats and the tempo runs and hopefully lead me to run some pretty huge PR's. I'll give it a go on Saturday again with a light fartlek and then wait. If my "Ugly" is one bad workout after some pretty epic runs, then I think I should be just fine.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Friday, August 6, 2010
The Hay is in the Barn...
Well the last couple of weeks have been great to me. I can honestly say the the last two weeks I have completed two of the best workouts of my short running career. The mileage has been slowly increasing, I should hit 95 this week in SINGLES!!!! That in its self is one of the reasons I have this new found aerobic capacity that is allowing me to do the work I have been doing the last couple of weeks. The other part of the equation is the people I have been training with. For the last couple of Thursdays, I have been making the pilgrimage to the other side of the county to train with East County, basically a group of dedicated runners who have a passion for the sport and despite working 40 hour work weeks, get after it each and every day. They are all currently training for the Chicago Marathon, for which a couple have hopes to run a sub 2:19 to qualify for the Olympic Trials. I have been hopping in with these guys for the last year or two, and the stuff they have been doing has really helped me take my fitness to the next level.
The first of these two workouts we did the last couple of weeks was a 10 mile tempo. Now, self-admittedly, I am not a long workout type of guy. I feel that aerobic capacity has always been a huge crutch in terms of allowing me to run decent times over any distance longer than 3k. On top of that, whenever I do attempt longer stuff such as this, I usually flounder around at 545 pace, trying desperately to survive the on set of lactic acid and god-knows-whatother-bullshit that affects you when you run at a steady state for around an hour. This workout was going to be tough. There were two groups going out at different paces. One was at 5:50 pace and the other was at 5:34 pace. A couple of the faster guys were really beat up so they decided that the 5:50 pace was good enough for them. That left three of us, including myself, to mix it up at the front group. The intimidation factor of 10 miles of tempo is quiet overwhelming. You know that for the first 5-6 miles you should be ok. After all, I had done a 10k with relative ease at 5:20 pace only a month before. But its miles 7-8-9 that really scare you. Any time you do longer stuff like this, the chance of your body saying "Not today" increases with every step you take. But luckily that day all systems were go. I felt amazing. The splits and our legs rolled along the pavement hitting each mile marker faster than our goal pace.
The first of these two workouts we did the last couple of weeks was a 10 mile tempo. Now, self-admittedly, I am not a long workout type of guy. I feel that aerobic capacity has always been a huge crutch in terms of allowing me to run decent times over any distance longer than 3k. On top of that, whenever I do attempt longer stuff such as this, I usually flounder around at 545 pace, trying desperately to survive the on set of lactic acid and god-knows-whatother-bullshit that affects you when you run at a steady state for around an hour. This workout was going to be tough. There were two groups going out at different paces. One was at 5:50 pace and the other was at 5:34 pace. A couple of the faster guys were really beat up so they decided that the 5:50 pace was good enough for them. That left three of us, including myself, to mix it up at the front group. The intimidation factor of 10 miles of tempo is quiet overwhelming. You know that for the first 5-6 miles you should be ok. After all, I had done a 10k with relative ease at 5:20 pace only a month before. But its miles 7-8-9 that really scare you. Any time you do longer stuff like this, the chance of your body saying "Not today" increases with every step you take. But luckily that day all systems were go. I felt amazing. The splits and our legs rolled along the pavement hitting each mile marker faster than our goal pace.
5.32,
5.33,
5.29,
5.34,
5.26,
5.25,
5.28
5.27
5.26,
5.22
I honestly felt like I could have rolled like that for another couple of miles. It was just one of those days. Unfortunately, you can't feel that good every workout. Sometimes, you have to man up, even when your body is telling you that it ain't doing it. That was how yesterday's workout felt.
I met up with E.C. again for another grueling 10 miles of hitting yourself in the head with a 2x4. The workout crowd was scarce today, some of the guys were out at the Nike campus pacing some future or current Olympian through 800's. Jesse, a solid marathoner, who like me, didn't do anything worth noting in high school, but has really become a beast on the roads was the only other person willing to brave the fast paced version of the workout with me. Now, going into this workout I had read the email from the coordinator of this whole spectacle completely wrong. I thought the workout said "4 miles at 520 pace, 4 min rest, 3 miles at 516 pace, 3 min rest, 2 miles at 516 pace, 2 min rest, 1 mile at 516." That is a pretty grueling workout in and of its self, but I was more than mentally ready to cope with the pacing. After all, I had done 10 miles straight at 528 pace only a week before, so with the rest in between, it should be doable. Only after I was told that the entire thing was to be done at 513 pace or faster was I completely beside myself. I had about a hundred different words running through my mind after I had heard that news and "Sweet" wasn't one of them. So that should set the tone for the workout right then and there.
We started the first 4 mile repeat. The plan was to alternate every mile as to share the work load. Jesse started out in the lead and then I took the next mile. Every thing was going good. We were a couple seconds under goal pace, cruising along at 77-78 second quarters. Jesse took over the third mile. And then i started to hurt. Bad. He soon put a couple meters on me and I was unable to take the lead when it was my turn. Finally, after 1200 meters of struggle, I got back in the lead and lead us through 4 seconds faster than our goal time. We had just run 20:48 for the 4 mile portion. Only 6 more miles to go.
It was something about that 4 minute rest that got me ready to roll again. I lead the first mile of the 3 mile interval. We cruise through the first quarter mile "74". Fuck. I allow the natural tendency of the body to fatigue to gradually step down the pace. We hit the 3 mile at 1539. Right on pace. But not all is well. My intestinal system is fighting the excess of strain and over all nastiness that the last 7 miles has inflicted on my body. I have no choice to be a bear in the woods, or in this case on the side of the road during our 3 min break/recovery jog. Before I can seem to shake the lactate out of my legs the 2 mile portion begins. As we start the mastermind of this entire operation shouts with glee, "It's the grind-it-out 2 mile! HEHEHEHEHEHE" cackling as he trots along on a 3 min recover jaunt of his own. I take the lead the first mile again. I hurt. Bad. I push and pull, but we still hit the mile at 514, a second slower than we should have. Jesse takes the lead and shows every intention of running below 10:26. I flounder behind. 5 meters. 10 meters. 25 meters. The gap increases exponentially. The voice in my legs says, "Your done, just jog it in." And I almost listen. Then the little voice in my head, black eyes, fat lip and all, pushes the legs aside and says "Don't be a pussy." And I start trucking. Just moving. I have a quarter mile to go and I'm using every ounce of mental energy to just put one leg in front of the other a little bit faster than I had the previous step. I close the gap. And then the body steps in. Dry heaves exclaim the effort I'm putting forth. I cross the line. 10:26. And then throw up my lunch. Multiple times. I get my hands off my knees and wipe my mouth. "I hit the time." Jesse, who finished a couple seconds ahead can only shake his head.
The 2 min rest period and the last mile was a blur. I insisted on leading so I could hold myself accountable. Finishing strong in a surprisingly easy 5:10, I clicked my watch knowing that I found out a couple of things about my self that day. I found out that I am ready. For what, I don't honestly know. I found out that the little voice in my head is stronger than the booming voice of my legs. And I found out that I think this running thing, this sick self-mutilation is necessary. This is the best shape I have ever been in my entire life. The hay is in the barn. The hard work of summer base training is almost done. Now I wait. The way things are going for me right now, I might need a bigger barn.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Big Fish in a Little Pond
Its been about two weeks since my last post and two weeks since my much obsessed over 10k race. The recent two weeks is full of good news and bad news. The good news is that I did what I had to do at the local 10k. Much to my annoyance, the guy from last year who had crushed my spirit and beat me last year was a no show. The only other runner of any conceivable fitness was a buddy of mine who is currently training for the Chicago Marathon in October and actually made it into their "Elite Development Program" which means he starts with the other professionals and gets his entry fee paid for. He had done a decent sized workout the day before and really didn't feel like moving too fast that particular day, so he was running the 5k. He did however, help pace me out the first mile or so. We went out at an extremely controlled pace of 5:18. As the course continued up hill, I started to feel good, REAL good. Soon I left my pacer behind and set on what would be a very bland 5 miles that basically turned into a glorified tempo, culminating in a 33:12 win, along with it a course record. I felt if I had someone there for the majority of it, even the first 5 or 6k I feel I could have pulled along to somewhere in the 32:40 region. Still it was a 50+ second pr, and shows how much fitter I am this summer than last year. First of all, I RACED last year to a 34 flat. This year was a lot more relaxed and was significantly faster. Plus I hit the goals I set for myself which is always good. Hoping to go sub 33 next year.
Now fast forward 10 days. Clark County, WA (where I live) has a wonderful running club that meets every wednesday during the summer for 3 mile races/runs. A lot of people from up and coming High Schoolers to old farts still living the dream come and socialize and run. Not everybody does it hard every week, but if you do decide to strap on your flats and race, you are usually going to get your moneys worth ($2 or the $10 membership fee). This last week was at the Washington State University-Vancouver campus. The only word to describe this course is HILLY. And thats an understatement. The first 1k of the course is completely down hill. Which is fine because you are running fast, until you realize the next mile and a half are completely UPHILL, which is not fine because you are running really slow. It then rolls in gently the last half mile for a 3 mile course that has never had anyone break 16:13 until this last week. I was hoping to run right around 16 flat or maybe be the first person to run under 16 for that course. And its not like talented runners havent run this course before. My buddy Shane Geiger, who finished 40th at Division 1 XC West Regionals running for the University of Portland had only run 16:28 on it last year. It's a damn tough course.
It's even tougher when certain people show up. And by certain people I mean Alan Webb's workout partner. These runs have been dominated by the Baumann brothers, two guys in their upper thirties who can still throw down a sub 25 8k and aren't too shabby on the track either. One of the brothers paces workouts for a lot of the Nike Portland athletes such as Ritz, Rupp and Kara Goucher. And when either of these guys show up, "they don't come to these to jog" (an exact quote from our warm up together).
The run starts. Oscar and Arhlin, the two brothers start out in front with me on their shoulder. Oscar had the old course record of 16:13 and is always tough and Arhlin is a beast, even more so than Oscar. Arhlin then takes the lead. And me being the dumbass that I am, follow him. Hell, I get side by side with him and try to show him that I can take what ever you throw at me. The first 1k down hill is brutal. Then the uphill begins. And it doesn't end. We are both breathing hard, looking at our watches, then at each other, wondering will someone quit? He doesn't make quitting an option. He steps up the pace even more as he passes through the mile in 4:35, with me in 4:39, in absolute sticker shock over how stupid that first mile was. I still have a whole mile and change of continuous up hill in front of me and I did THAT????? Oscar is playing it cool coming through in what he calls a "routine" 4:51.
I'm dying. I can feel my legs start to shut down, over riding my brain. What's worse is that while one runner is slowly leaving me behind, another runner is coming for me. He smells blood. I will my way through the 2nd mile, a dismal 6 min split. Arhlin, way out in front hits 2miles in 10:05, I'm back fighting off Oscar in 10:40. Now a lot of you might be thinking, "10:40 for 2 miles??? A 6 min mile in the middle of a 3 mile race? That's Pathetic!" All I can say to that is, unless you have run this course for yourself, you have no idea what type of sick and twisted things can and will happen to you physically and mentally trying to give it all you got uphill for 5,280 feet. Especially when you try to butt heads the first mile with Alan Webb's pack mule. The third mile is sloppy. The race for first is already lost, but the race for second continues. I have never beaten Oscar in my life, at least head to head. We both look and feel like shit. You can see it in how we race. One of us would surge, trying to leave the other one behind, only to tire too quickly or slow down too much and let the other runner surge by, only to perpetuate the cycle. There must have been 8 lead changes that last mile, only until the last 300 or so meters was the race for second up in the air. I crossed the line in 16:02, Oscar in 16:04. Arhlin took this run to a whole other level with a 15:23 course record that will take some insane summer fitness to break.
So that has been my running life thus far. I think i could've sneaked in a 15:45-15:50ish mark had I not tried to hot dog it the first mile and instead ran with an ounce of common sense, but i'll take the pr considering the circumstances. I don't think I will have any more summer races/fitness checks until actual cross country season, but I am excited to really start upping my miles the next couple weeks. I'm going to hit 80 this week, and then increase each week there after, all in singles until I reach 110-120 when team camp starts, which will begin doubles for the remainder of the season.
Hope summer running is going well for everyone and as always DO WORK!
Now fast forward 10 days. Clark County, WA (where I live) has a wonderful running club that meets every wednesday during the summer for 3 mile races/runs. A lot of people from up and coming High Schoolers to old farts still living the dream come and socialize and run. Not everybody does it hard every week, but if you do decide to strap on your flats and race, you are usually going to get your moneys worth ($2 or the $10 membership fee). This last week was at the Washington State University-Vancouver campus. The only word to describe this course is HILLY. And thats an understatement. The first 1k of the course is completely down hill. Which is fine because you are running fast, until you realize the next mile and a half are completely UPHILL, which is not fine because you are running really slow. It then rolls in gently the last half mile for a 3 mile course that has never had anyone break 16:13 until this last week. I was hoping to run right around 16 flat or maybe be the first person to run under 16 for that course. And its not like talented runners havent run this course before. My buddy Shane Geiger, who finished 40th at Division 1 XC West Regionals running for the University of Portland had only run 16:28 on it last year. It's a damn tough course.
It's even tougher when certain people show up. And by certain people I mean Alan Webb's workout partner. These runs have been dominated by the Baumann brothers, two guys in their upper thirties who can still throw down a sub 25 8k and aren't too shabby on the track either. One of the brothers paces workouts for a lot of the Nike Portland athletes such as Ritz, Rupp and Kara Goucher. And when either of these guys show up, "they don't come to these to jog" (an exact quote from our warm up together).
The run starts. Oscar and Arhlin, the two brothers start out in front with me on their shoulder. Oscar had the old course record of 16:13 and is always tough and Arhlin is a beast, even more so than Oscar. Arhlin then takes the lead. And me being the dumbass that I am, follow him. Hell, I get side by side with him and try to show him that I can take what ever you throw at me. The first 1k down hill is brutal. Then the uphill begins. And it doesn't end. We are both breathing hard, looking at our watches, then at each other, wondering will someone quit? He doesn't make quitting an option. He steps up the pace even more as he passes through the mile in 4:35, with me in 4:39, in absolute sticker shock over how stupid that first mile was. I still have a whole mile and change of continuous up hill in front of me and I did THAT????? Oscar is playing it cool coming through in what he calls a "routine" 4:51.
I'm dying. I can feel my legs start to shut down, over riding my brain. What's worse is that while one runner is slowly leaving me behind, another runner is coming for me. He smells blood. I will my way through the 2nd mile, a dismal 6 min split. Arhlin, way out in front hits 2miles in 10:05, I'm back fighting off Oscar in 10:40. Now a lot of you might be thinking, "10:40 for 2 miles??? A 6 min mile in the middle of a 3 mile race? That's Pathetic!" All I can say to that is, unless you have run this course for yourself, you have no idea what type of sick and twisted things can and will happen to you physically and mentally trying to give it all you got uphill for 5,280 feet. Especially when you try to butt heads the first mile with Alan Webb's pack mule. The third mile is sloppy. The race for first is already lost, but the race for second continues. I have never beaten Oscar in my life, at least head to head. We both look and feel like shit. You can see it in how we race. One of us would surge, trying to leave the other one behind, only to tire too quickly or slow down too much and let the other runner surge by, only to perpetuate the cycle. There must have been 8 lead changes that last mile, only until the last 300 or so meters was the race for second up in the air. I crossed the line in 16:02, Oscar in 16:04. Arhlin took this run to a whole other level with a 15:23 course record that will take some insane summer fitness to break.
So that has been my running life thus far. I think i could've sneaked in a 15:45-15:50ish mark had I not tried to hot dog it the first mile and instead ran with an ounce of common sense, but i'll take the pr considering the circumstances. I don't think I will have any more summer races/fitness checks until actual cross country season, but I am excited to really start upping my miles the next couple weeks. I'm going to hit 80 this week, and then increase each week there after, all in singles until I reach 110-120 when team camp starts, which will begin doubles for the remainder of the season.
Hope summer running is going well for everyone and as always DO WORK!
Friday, July 2, 2010
28 days later...
So what have I exactly been doing during my 4 week absence from this blog? Well running of course. I'm hitting around 70 mpw for the third straight week in a row. Rather than doing what I did last year, which was hit 100 mpw by the first of July and holding it all the way through September I used the collective wisdom of both my coach and former Eastern runner Paul Limpf to come to the realization that November is a LONG LONG ways away. A lot can happen between then and now. A lot of horrible things could happen, but a lot of really good things could happen too. Hopefully tomorrow is the start of the good things that will start now and continue well into the winter and spring months.
My home town of Ridgefield every year holds a small town celebration for the 4th of July. There is a parade, food, dancing, games. Just an overall good time. This year its on the 3rd because the 4th falls on a Sunday and Ridgefield is all about the Sabbath apparently. What they also have at the celebration is a 10k/5k run. The 10k is something of a tradition for me. This will be the 4th year in a row I have done it and I feel with that type of consistency, this is a really good fitness bench mark for me. Its a race early in the year. There really aren't any expectations. And most of all, its a time/place to strut my stuff in front of the homecrowd. The bitch of it is, I have yet to win it. The two years I did it in H.S. I ran 36 mid, which was usually good for top 5, but some 40+ year old would always squeak by me the last mile or two. Last year, I got second in 34:06. This year I'm going to win it. 'Nuff said. I lost last year to a former professional duathelete. (biking and running). I remember going into that race feeling supremely confident. "I'm a D-1 runner at a small town race, there isn't going to be anyone within 2 minutes of me." The gun goes off after some fan fare by the local running junkies who put on the race. They are actually legit endurance athletes themselves. The wife and husband are both triathletes, and the husband has qualified for the Kona Ironman in the past, so they have a slight idea of what we go through as runners.
As the race starts, the same thing happens that happens at every smaller race: People go out WAYYYYYYYY too fast. I must have weaved and ducked my way through 40 people that first 600 meters. A lot of them were either too young to know better or too old to care. But I stayed smooth. I finally get out in front and settle in. But just as I begin to feel my race, a smaller bulkier shadow latches on to my shoulder.The flat road that is Main St. suddenly leaves the city limits and heads out to the wildlife refuge and beyond. It drops and twists and turns down into a lush green gulley only to spiral back up the trees on the other side. The mile marker is at the mid way point of the hill. I dont get the split because as soon as the marker is about to be hit the shadow disappears and becomes a man. And he is sprinting. Before I can even realize whats going on, this short stocky figure with long hair and thighs from hell burns it up the remaining 200 meters of the hill and creates a vortex of 15 yards on the spot. It slowly inches further and further away from me. And then I think to myself, "Oh Not Uh!" and start actually racing rather than running. It takes me untill a little past the 2 mile marker to make it up to his shoulder. His eyes, they gave away his surprise. It was my turn now to push the envelope and make a move. So I relaxed my shoulders and lengthened my stride covering as much ground as my legs would let me each time they left the ground. The figure soon became a shadow, but a tight shadow indeed. And then it happened. We reached the 5k turn around stride for stride, a solid pace to be sure (I want to say the split was 1630ish) especially for how hilly the course is and how the race consisted of two people. And then he took off, AGAIN. And this time I went with him, at first. But it seemed like every second longer I hung on his shoulder, the faster and more grueling the pace got. Finally, the legs were run right off of me and he broke away blah blah blah he wins in 33:30 blah blah blah, I hobble in 30+ seconds after him even though we had been shoulder to shoulder 4 miles into the race blah blah blah.
I remember talking to my competitor after the race along with Kona Ironman guy and them asking me how my training was. "Well," I said, "You caught me at the end of a 100 mile week (the first of many that summer). So I really didn't have it in me that last couple of miles." Kona nodded in sympathy, He had been down that road before. "Well," said the victor. "You just caught me at the end of a 100 beer week." We talked about his tactics with all of the surging and pace changing. "I was trying to use cycling tactics on you to break you off me. I thought I had you the first time but after you were pushing it on me in the middle I figured I'd go for broke and see if you had the gas or not." I didn't.
This year, my friends, will be different. Not only am I stronger than last year, much more so I am a year wiser. I am also pissed off I haven't won this damn race yet. So tomorrow at 8am PT, I will be doing battle. Not only with what ever runners decide to come out of the woodwork (and there always are a few) but with myself. Because you can believe me, there will be only one person winning that race tomorrow and looking fine while doing it. And thats me.
Hope training is going well for everyone and like always...DO WORK.
Goals for tomorrows race:
1st place
sub 33:30 (I'll be really REALLY happy if its closer to 33 flat.)
My home town of Ridgefield every year holds a small town celebration for the 4th of July. There is a parade, food, dancing, games. Just an overall good time. This year its on the 3rd because the 4th falls on a Sunday and Ridgefield is all about the Sabbath apparently. What they also have at the celebration is a 10k/5k run. The 10k is something of a tradition for me. This will be the 4th year in a row I have done it and I feel with that type of consistency, this is a really good fitness bench mark for me. Its a race early in the year. There really aren't any expectations. And most of all, its a time/place to strut my stuff in front of the homecrowd. The bitch of it is, I have yet to win it. The two years I did it in H.S. I ran 36 mid, which was usually good for top 5, but some 40+ year old would always squeak by me the last mile or two. Last year, I got second in 34:06. This year I'm going to win it. 'Nuff said. I lost last year to a former professional duathelete. (biking and running). I remember going into that race feeling supremely confident. "I'm a D-1 runner at a small town race, there isn't going to be anyone within 2 minutes of me." The gun goes off after some fan fare by the local running junkies who put on the race. They are actually legit endurance athletes themselves. The wife and husband are both triathletes, and the husband has qualified for the Kona Ironman in the past, so they have a slight idea of what we go through as runners.
As the race starts, the same thing happens that happens at every smaller race: People go out WAYYYYYYYY too fast. I must have weaved and ducked my way through 40 people that first 600 meters. A lot of them were either too young to know better or too old to care. But I stayed smooth. I finally get out in front and settle in. But just as I begin to feel my race, a smaller bulkier shadow latches on to my shoulder.The flat road that is Main St. suddenly leaves the city limits and heads out to the wildlife refuge and beyond. It drops and twists and turns down into a lush green gulley only to spiral back up the trees on the other side. The mile marker is at the mid way point of the hill. I dont get the split because as soon as the marker is about to be hit the shadow disappears and becomes a man. And he is sprinting. Before I can even realize whats going on, this short stocky figure with long hair and thighs from hell burns it up the remaining 200 meters of the hill and creates a vortex of 15 yards on the spot. It slowly inches further and further away from me. And then I think to myself, "Oh Not Uh!" and start actually racing rather than running. It takes me untill a little past the 2 mile marker to make it up to his shoulder. His eyes, they gave away his surprise. It was my turn now to push the envelope and make a move. So I relaxed my shoulders and lengthened my stride covering as much ground as my legs would let me each time they left the ground. The figure soon became a shadow, but a tight shadow indeed. And then it happened. We reached the 5k turn around stride for stride, a solid pace to be sure (I want to say the split was 1630ish) especially for how hilly the course is and how the race consisted of two people. And then he took off, AGAIN. And this time I went with him, at first. But it seemed like every second longer I hung on his shoulder, the faster and more grueling the pace got. Finally, the legs were run right off of me and he broke away blah blah blah he wins in 33:30 blah blah blah, I hobble in 30+ seconds after him even though we had been shoulder to shoulder 4 miles into the race blah blah blah.
I remember talking to my competitor after the race along with Kona Ironman guy and them asking me how my training was. "Well," I said, "You caught me at the end of a 100 mile week (the first of many that summer). So I really didn't have it in me that last couple of miles." Kona nodded in sympathy, He had been down that road before. "Well," said the victor. "You just caught me at the end of a 100 beer week." We talked about his tactics with all of the surging and pace changing. "I was trying to use cycling tactics on you to break you off me. I thought I had you the first time but after you were pushing it on me in the middle I figured I'd go for broke and see if you had the gas or not." I didn't.
This year, my friends, will be different. Not only am I stronger than last year, much more so I am a year wiser. I am also pissed off I haven't won this damn race yet. So tomorrow at 8am PT, I will be doing battle. Not only with what ever runners decide to come out of the woodwork (and there always are a few) but with myself. Because you can believe me, there will be only one person winning that race tomorrow and looking fine while doing it. And thats me.
Hope training is going well for everyone and like always...DO WORK.
Goals for tomorrows race:
1st place
sub 33:30 (I'll be really REALLY happy if its closer to 33 flat.)
Friday, June 4, 2010
The Next Level
So summer training, at least the first week and a half of it is going pretty well. My legs are finally getting under me again and that is making running 10x more enjoyable then having to deal with muscles that prefer the couch than the open trail. One great piece of news is the fact that I am technically now a scholarship athlete! Despite my poor performance at the Conference meets this season, my marks got me a books/shoes scholarship. Nothing crazy I know, but it is kind of a carrot to chase for next season where I want to score at conference rather than participate. In fact, getting on books is a huge boost. It shows that I am going in the right direction and that my improvements and hard work didn't go unnoticed. I'm still going to train with the mentality of a walk-on though. And that's run hard days hard, easy days easy, and miles, miles, MILES!
Today is also significant because of two extremely talented runners named Lagat and Solinsky. An AR and another sub 13 just continues to re-affirm the American Distance Revolution. These guys are showing that it can be done and it takes a lot of elbow grease to do it. Seeing these guys run THAT fast should pump up everyone who loves running. They are taking a barrier that only 5 years ago was extremely tough to break, especially for Americans, and man handling it. I can't wait for the Pre Classic where I think that mark of 12:54 is going to get dropped even further.
With Solinsky's sudden rise, I was reminded of a site that showed "Duds to Studs" or basically runners who might not have run particularly fast in HS but really took off in college or post-collegiately. Now Solinsky was a STUD in HS, so it doesn't really apply to him, but I was surprised to see names like Frank Shorter and Roger Bannister have times that were extremely average in HS or even less than average and then go on to run world class times. It just shows that most anyone, as long as they are willing to put in the work and get a couple calls their way can run FAST. I always enjoy looking at this site because it reinforces what I'm doing as an athlete and why I am training the way I do. The site is here:
http://www.cs.uml.edu/~phoffman/nats/slowmilers.htm
Hope everyone is having a great last week of school or if you are a lucky bastard and already out of school, enjoying your summer. I know you must be having better weather than the Pacific NW. Do Work!!!
Today is also significant because of two extremely talented runners named Lagat and Solinsky. An AR and another sub 13 just continues to re-affirm the American Distance Revolution. These guys are showing that it can be done and it takes a lot of elbow grease to do it. Seeing these guys run THAT fast should pump up everyone who loves running. They are taking a barrier that only 5 years ago was extremely tough to break, especially for Americans, and man handling it. I can't wait for the Pre Classic where I think that mark of 12:54 is going to get dropped even further.
With Solinsky's sudden rise, I was reminded of a site that showed "Duds to Studs" or basically runners who might not have run particularly fast in HS but really took off in college or post-collegiately. Now Solinsky was a STUD in HS, so it doesn't really apply to him, but I was surprised to see names like Frank Shorter and Roger Bannister have times that were extremely average in HS or even less than average and then go on to run world class times. It just shows that most anyone, as long as they are willing to put in the work and get a couple calls their way can run FAST. I always enjoy looking at this site because it reinforces what I'm doing as an athlete and why I am training the way I do. The site is here:
http://www.cs.uml.edu/~phoffman/nats/slowmilers.htm
Hope everyone is having a great last week of school or if you are a lucky bastard and already out of school, enjoying your summer. I know you must be having better weather than the Pacific NW. Do Work!!!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Building of the Base
So after shaking off a dismal end to a not too shabby season, I have begun the long road to November. Even after only a week I could not wait to get back on the trails and roll around Cheney and enjoy the summer sun. I don't know about you guys, but when I'm not running, my entire schedule/life goes down the crapper. I sleep in late, stay up even later and have a general apathy when it comes to class and homework. There is just something about getting out for a jaunt, doing some light abs and pushups and spending a little bit of time in the training room that makes you feel accomplished, even if you really did nothing to contribute to society.
This summer I have some big expectations in terms of what I want to do to help me continue my rapid improvement and establish my self as one of our teams top runners. The one big thing I did differently this year then any other year was push the limit with my mileage. I think that was the biggest reason I was able to improve by leaps and bounds from my previous years times. So continuing the high mileage over the summer is going to be a priority. I have the green light to get up around the 110s, so we will see how I feel with that mileage later in the summer, but I have a feeling I should be able to handle that more than easily. One thing I did notice in my logs from last summer was a lack of tempos and too much summer racing. So that is going to be a big point of change for me, replacing the wednesday 3 mile club runs with more tempos and fartleks. I'm also going to try to build up more slowly than I did last year. I literally had zero left in the tank by the time conference rolled around, so I am going to try to be as fresh as possible while still stepping up my training.
While in college with 3 seasons, it is a delicate balance between setting your self up for racing well now and racing well in the future. My story this last year was I trained my ass of in the summer, was too tired for xc and then after some rest, had a huge winter and spring of improvement. So I have to keep my log in mind when I decide whether or not running 100+ in early/mid july is a good idea or not. Yes, my workouts did improve during xc, but my racing was not there and at the end of the day, racing and your results is all that really matters. Fortunately, even though I am moving back home, I have more than enough people to train with, which should make this summer my best one yet in terms of running and just overall quality of life. I'm motivated and I'm excited to really REALLY get after it this summer and take my running to the next level.
I just have to give a shout out to a website that has really helped me with all that I know about running and training and can be credited partially with my choice to run higher miles. Actually there are two of them. Both by the young genius himself Steve Magness, who is shaping a new generation of runners daily. Read as much as you can and enjoy your summer months!
http://magstraining.tripod.com/
http://www.scienceofrunning.com/
DO WORK!
This summer I have some big expectations in terms of what I want to do to help me continue my rapid improvement and establish my self as one of our teams top runners. The one big thing I did differently this year then any other year was push the limit with my mileage. I think that was the biggest reason I was able to improve by leaps and bounds from my previous years times. So continuing the high mileage over the summer is going to be a priority. I have the green light to get up around the 110s, so we will see how I feel with that mileage later in the summer, but I have a feeling I should be able to handle that more than easily. One thing I did notice in my logs from last summer was a lack of tempos and too much summer racing. So that is going to be a big point of change for me, replacing the wednesday 3 mile club runs with more tempos and fartleks. I'm also going to try to build up more slowly than I did last year. I literally had zero left in the tank by the time conference rolled around, so I am going to try to be as fresh as possible while still stepping up my training.
While in college with 3 seasons, it is a delicate balance between setting your self up for racing well now and racing well in the future. My story this last year was I trained my ass of in the summer, was too tired for xc and then after some rest, had a huge winter and spring of improvement. So I have to keep my log in mind when I decide whether or not running 100+ in early/mid july is a good idea or not. Yes, my workouts did improve during xc, but my racing was not there and at the end of the day, racing and your results is all that really matters. Fortunately, even though I am moving back home, I have more than enough people to train with, which should make this summer my best one yet in terms of running and just overall quality of life. I'm motivated and I'm excited to really REALLY get after it this summer and take my running to the next level.
I just have to give a shout out to a website that has really helped me with all that I know about running and training and can be credited partially with my choice to run higher miles. Actually there are two of them. Both by the young genius himself Steve Magness, who is shaping a new generation of runners daily. Read as much as you can and enjoy your summer months!
http://magstraining.tripod.com/
http://www.scienceofrunning.com/
DO WORK!
Monday, May 17, 2010
DFL and DNF
The title of this post pretty much speaks for its self on how I raced this weekend. The steeple was pure abstract horror as I went out the back the first 1k and then struggled to a 1012, a good 44 seconds slower than I ran two weeks ago. Even with the altitude conversion, my pathetic effort didn't even break 10 minutes. I wish that this was one of these races that I could look back and say "Oh this was the reason why I ran this time" but I don't honestly know what happened. The altitude always plays a part in racing at conference, but I think that doesn't cause you the kind of performance that I had this weekend. The 10k was, well, the 10k even if I didn't complete it.
It's funny how sometimes when things are seemingly going great with your training and racing you can still have a sobering performance like the one I had this weekend. When it was all said and done this weekend our distance squad had a rough weekend. We had at least 2 people in every event from the 1500 to 10k yet only managed two 7th place performances. Being a walk-on I have talked a lot about taking advantage of the opportunities that are given to you. Well this weekend was a wasted chance at taking my running to the next level. The way that this weekend went down reminds me of a great blog article by one of my personal favorite runners, Nate Jenkins. A while back he wrote an entry entitled "Nothing hits harder than life" which I feel really speaks to my situation. I know I'm not the first person to have a bad race, so I know that this isn't the end of the world. It just feels crappy. Fortunately I was able to find some kind of hollow victory in knowing I didn't have the worst day in sports, especially since I wasn't wearing a Boston Bruins uniform, who had just completed giving a way a 3-0 series lead and then a 3-0 lead in game season, ending their playoff run. So I feel a little better about my run after knowing there are 30 or so guys who are a lot more pissed about how they did than me.
That Nate Jenkins blog entry can be found here, and its a must read/bookmark. It always hits the spot especially when I feel like I'm not running to the best of my ability or just have a really crummy workout.http://www.flotrack.org/saucony_2009xc/blogs/64831
Despite this less than stellar finish to my sophomore year, I really couldn't be happier with how I have progressed as a runner and as a human being. Especially after a really really shaky cross country season, I couldn't have pictured my self as a 8:25 3k/9:28 steeplechaser at all until it actually happened. I had some good races where I really took advantage of the moment, but I know that the next step in my progression as a runner is running well not only during the season and continuing to get faster as it progresses, but to also run well at the big conference meets and score points. So hopefully I can look back in a couple of years and laugh about how far I have come.
Until then, I'm going to analyze the ole' log and talk with my coaches about how they thought my season went and then I'll make sure to work on those things this summer and hopefully, HOPEFULLY, will have another year of great running and some more unreal improvements.
Hope everyone is running well. Do Work!
It's funny how sometimes when things are seemingly going great with your training and racing you can still have a sobering performance like the one I had this weekend. When it was all said and done this weekend our distance squad had a rough weekend. We had at least 2 people in every event from the 1500 to 10k yet only managed two 7th place performances. Being a walk-on I have talked a lot about taking advantage of the opportunities that are given to you. Well this weekend was a wasted chance at taking my running to the next level. The way that this weekend went down reminds me of a great blog article by one of my personal favorite runners, Nate Jenkins. A while back he wrote an entry entitled "Nothing hits harder than life" which I feel really speaks to my situation. I know I'm not the first person to have a bad race, so I know that this isn't the end of the world. It just feels crappy. Fortunately I was able to find some kind of hollow victory in knowing I didn't have the worst day in sports, especially since I wasn't wearing a Boston Bruins uniform, who had just completed giving a way a 3-0 series lead and then a 3-0 lead in game season, ending their playoff run. So I feel a little better about my run after knowing there are 30 or so guys who are a lot more pissed about how they did than me.
That Nate Jenkins blog entry can be found here, and its a must read/bookmark. It always hits the spot especially when I feel like I'm not running to the best of my ability or just have a really crummy workout.http://www.flotrack.org/saucony_2009xc/blogs/64831
Despite this less than stellar finish to my sophomore year, I really couldn't be happier with how I have progressed as a runner and as a human being. Especially after a really really shaky cross country season, I couldn't have pictured my self as a 8:25 3k/9:28 steeplechaser at all until it actually happened. I had some good races where I really took advantage of the moment, but I know that the next step in my progression as a runner is running well not only during the season and continuing to get faster as it progresses, but to also run well at the big conference meets and score points. So hopefully I can look back in a couple of years and laugh about how far I have come.
Until then, I'm going to analyze the ole' log and talk with my coaches about how they thought my season went and then I'll make sure to work on those things this summer and hopefully, HOPEFULLY, will have another year of great running and some more unreal improvements.
Hope everyone is running well. Do Work!
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