I've always believed that a person has reached the pinnacle of Runner Dorkdom once they start blogging about their running. However, at long last I have decided to quit living in denial, stop fighting the feeling, embrace it, and join the ranks. I've never done this before and am a little bit technologically impaired, so we'll see what happens. I might end up writing this whole thing over again.
Speaking of joining the ranks, Cody was generous enough to give me a spot on the BRC team just a couple of days ago. I am pretty stoked to say the least, and it's quite the honor to be able to be part of a team with such tremendous talent and so many accomplishments to boast and I am very thankful for it. It gives you a lot more "umph" when you're working to make something else better in addition to yourself.
Getting up to speed with the training stuff...hmmm...where to start? Well, I just wrapped up my collegiate eligibility after five years of competing for UCCS at the beginning of last March. After a somewhat lengthy layoff for injury post-indoor season, I got things going again around the end of June. It was a bit stop and go until I actually started getting back to doing some pretty solid workouts and mileage at the end of August, and things are going very well now and I feel pretty fantastic. I have run a couple of races during that span of time; one being the RMAC Open 6k in Washington Park towards the end of last October, which went very well. I went there with the intention of it being a rust-buster of sorts, but really didn't feel rusty at all. I initially was worried that I might have forgotten how to race, which seems to happen whenever I'm away from it for a while, but that was not the case and I walked away very pleased with it considering there were some very good runners in that field to keep things honest. Got in some good training for about another month, and ran the Mile Hi Turkey Trot 4 miler (also in Washington Park) on Thanksgiving day. It was another good day and I finished 20-some-odd seconds behind Cass Slade. And I've just been training since then with my sights set on the U.S. Cross Country Championships on February 13th and the hopes of making a world cross team. It'd be sweet to race wearing the U.S.A. and that's pretty much my life's mission at the moment. Obviously it won't be a cake-walk though, so just need to keep grinding away. Training mostly consists of weekly fartlek runs of varying duration and design, hill workouts about every other week, "medium" long runs, and long runs. Plus the little details; drills, strides, core work, and the like.
That's just a brief summary and I'll go into a little more detail down the road, but needless to say, 2009 was a little bit of a (and I hate to say this because I just think it sounds so cliche'...but I'll say it anyway) "re-building year" with not too many races and mostly just getting back on track to where I was back last February, and gaining some more. One of the up-sides to post-college running I have figured out is that you have a little more time on your side to do stuff right and really listen to yourself, rather than having to be hasty and rush things from one race to the next. But I am very pleased to say that I feel like training has been going better than it has in a very long time and I feel better than I have in an even longer time....I feel like a spring chicken again! Hooray! So I am very excited for 2010 and what's to come, and I'm pretty sure that the best is yet to come.
Boulder Running Company/adidas Race Team Blog
Saturday, December 19, 2009
I broke a treadmill.
Hello everyone,
Congrats to everyone at Nationals, again. It makes me so happy to be part of a team again and racing for team titles. It adds so much to the racing experience after college, and it was something that was definitely missing before I joined the BRC. To kick it with all of my awesome teammates for a few days really is an amazing experience.
So I had my best cross country season ever, which isn't saying much. :) I never have been particularly strong over 10K. But I feel that I am finally getting the hang of it - and I can't wait to see this newfound strength translate into faster track times!
So it is getting cold here in Gunnison. It is usually between -10 and 5 degrees every morning. Which means that I have been running on my parents' treadmill quite a bit. I can listen to music as loud as I want and run shirtless, so it is a nice setup. Or...it WAS a nice setup. Because yesterday my fat *ss cracked their treadmill. I literally cracked the thing in half. I mean, I have been letting loose a little bit after Nationals, but I didn't think it had come to this. I was at about 4.5 miles of a 6 mile run, and I heard a loud crack. I was still able to run, but I could feel the center of the treadmill was giving way too much, so I knew something wasn't right. So I finished the final mile and a half toward the very front of the treadmill, nervous that the whole thing was going to completely break, the belt coming unattached and whipping my legs from under me, throwing me back against the wall directly behind the treadmill, rendering me from gaining my footing as the treamdill continued to run...spewing my blood and guts all over my parents' study. It seemed like a good scene for Final Destination 7...or whatever number they're on.
Luckily, I just finished the run and turned the thing over to find that it was indeed cracked right down the middle. The price of being a 170 pound distance runner, I guess.
Anyhow, crisis averted. I will figure out a new place to do my morning runs and I will see you all tearing up the track/road-racing scene this Spring!
Paul
Congrats to everyone at Nationals, again. It makes me so happy to be part of a team again and racing for team titles. It adds so much to the racing experience after college, and it was something that was definitely missing before I joined the BRC. To kick it with all of my awesome teammates for a few days really is an amazing experience.
So I had my best cross country season ever, which isn't saying much. :) I never have been particularly strong over 10K. But I feel that I am finally getting the hang of it - and I can't wait to see this newfound strength translate into faster track times!
So it is getting cold here in Gunnison. It is usually between -10 and 5 degrees every morning. Which means that I have been running on my parents' treadmill quite a bit. I can listen to music as loud as I want and run shirtless, so it is a nice setup. Or...it WAS a nice setup. Because yesterday my fat *ss cracked their treadmill. I literally cracked the thing in half. I mean, I have been letting loose a little bit after Nationals, but I didn't think it had come to this. I was at about 4.5 miles of a 6 mile run, and I heard a loud crack. I was still able to run, but I could feel the center of the treadmill was giving way too much, so I knew something wasn't right. So I finished the final mile and a half toward the very front of the treadmill, nervous that the whole thing was going to completely break, the belt coming unattached and whipping my legs from under me, throwing me back against the wall directly behind the treadmill, rendering me from gaining my footing as the treamdill continued to run...spewing my blood and guts all over my parents' study. It seemed like a good scene for Final Destination 7...or whatever number they're on.
Luckily, I just finished the run and turned the thing over to find that it was indeed cracked right down the middle. The price of being a 170 pound distance runner, I guess.
Anyhow, crisis averted. I will figure out a new place to do my morning runs and I will see you all tearing up the track/road-racing scene this Spring!
Paul
Friday, December 18, 2009
OMG!!!!!!
Hey guys and gals! hope everyone is doing well! First off, Congrats to everyone at Club Nats again! Just wanted to let everyone know that I truly enjoy being a part of Boulder Running Company/Adidas. Makes me feel like part of a family!
Anyways... since then, I took a couple days off. Started running back on Tuesday. Didn't want to come back too strong, being that those days off was my transition for a long time. Today will be my first hard workout since last Saturday. The reason behind the Title of my blog tonight is due to Plachy Hall @ Adams State College. Me and Nick Lara were about to do a workout on the indoor track today around 2:30 p.m. today. I waited for him for a minute at the track, when a janitor that is employed at Adams told me that the whole facility was closed due to graduation tomorrow.
Myself and Nick decided to jump on the Alter-G treadmill and do the workout there. Once again, another janitor told us that nobody should be in there due to the cleaning and getting ready for graduation ceremony. Nick spoke with the Athletic Cordinator @ Adams, and even with his help... we had no luck doing the workout!
So here I am waiting for later hours to go back when nobody is around and get to that Alter-G!!!
I don't know exactly what i'm doing... but I will come back and write about it when I finish(hopefully I can jump on it first off)!
Stay tuned!!!!!
Anyways... since then, I took a couple days off. Started running back on Tuesday. Didn't want to come back too strong, being that those days off was my transition for a long time. Today will be my first hard workout since last Saturday. The reason behind the Title of my blog tonight is due to Plachy Hall @ Adams State College. Me and Nick Lara were about to do a workout on the indoor track today around 2:30 p.m. today. I waited for him for a minute at the track, when a janitor that is employed at Adams told me that the whole facility was closed due to graduation tomorrow.
Myself and Nick decided to jump on the Alter-G treadmill and do the workout there. Once again, another janitor told us that nobody should be in there due to the cleaning and getting ready for graduation ceremony. Nick spoke with the Athletic Cordinator @ Adams, and even with his help... we had no luck doing the workout!
So here I am waiting for later hours to go back when nobody is around and get to that Alter-G!!!
I don't know exactly what i'm doing... but I will come back and write about it when I finish(hopefully I can jump on it first off)!
Stay tuned!!!!!
Good weekend of work.
Boulder Running Co./adidas defends women's team title; men of ZAP Fitness win third team crown at USATF National Club Cross Country Championships.
LEXINGTON - The women of Boulder Running Company/adidas successfully defended their title and the Zap Fitness men won their third team championship in four years Saturday at the USATF National Club Cross Country Championships at Masterson Station Park in Lexington, Ky.
The 12th annual USATF National Club Cross Country Championships featured mare than 1,000 athletes representing America's top post-collegiate club teams from across the United States. Athletes competed for a total prize purse of $30,000, as well as team and individual titles at 10-kilometer for men and 6-kilometer for women.
In the open women's race, Serena Burla (Ellisville, Mo.), used the final one-kilometer uphill to pull away for the individual title, running 20:23 for the 6 km course. Kim Conley (West Sacramento, Calif.) took the runner-up spot, finishing in 20:36 as Alissa McKaig (Blowing Rock, N.C.) finished third in 20:38.
In the team race the Boulder Running Company/adidas had more of a fight on their hands as they dueled with McMillan Elite through mid-race before pulling away for a 15 point win. The Asics Aggies took third with 109 points.
In the men's open race, David Jankowski (Blowing Rock, N.C.) made a decisive move at 4.5 miles to pull away from Josh Simpson (Morgantown, W.V.) for the individual win, running 29:18 for a nine second win over Simpson. Jankowski's teammate David Nightingale (Blowing Rock, N.C.) took third in 29:40 to help solidify ZAP's 32 point team victory over Boulder Running Company/adidas. International City Racing Track Club finished third in the team standings with 96 points.
LEXINGTON - The women of Boulder Running Company/adidas successfully defended their title and the Zap Fitness men won their third team championship in four years Saturday at the USATF National Club Cross Country Championships at Masterson Station Park in Lexington, Ky.
The 12th annual USATF National Club Cross Country Championships featured mare than 1,000 athletes representing America's top post-collegiate club teams from across the United States. Athletes competed for a total prize purse of $30,000, as well as team and individual titles at 10-kilometer for men and 6-kilometer for women.
In the open women's race, Serena Burla (Ellisville, Mo.), used the final one-kilometer uphill to pull away for the individual title, running 20:23 for the 6 km course. Kim Conley (West Sacramento, Calif.) took the runner-up spot, finishing in 20:36 as Alissa McKaig (Blowing Rock, N.C.) finished third in 20:38.
In the team race the Boulder Running Company/adidas had more of a fight on their hands as they dueled with McMillan Elite through mid-race before pulling away for a 15 point win. The Asics Aggies took third with 109 points.
In the men's open race, David Jankowski (Blowing Rock, N.C.) made a decisive move at 4.5 miles to pull away from Josh Simpson (Morgantown, W.V.) for the individual win, running 29:18 for a nine second win over Simpson. Jankowski's teammate David Nightingale (Blowing Rock, N.C.) took third in 29:40 to help solidify ZAP's 32 point team victory over Boulder Running Company/adidas. International City Racing Track Club finished third in the team standings with 96 points.
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