Build up 2 Penn Relays

So it seems like it's been for ever since i have posted and may be it has. I'm going it change that right about now!

I did race the 3k at boulder at that was kind of a sub par race. I was 3rd place and it was windy so I wasn't able to really get my legs moving as fast as i wanted too. I ran 8.53 for the 3k and went through the mile at 4.40, but that was more of a negative split to get to 4.40. I had to surge a couple of times just to get into 2nd place and I didn't have much left when i try to catch the leader.

My last couple of weeks I have been able to get some good workouts. I did a 2x2 miles with a 3x 1min. on/1min off in between reps. felt pretty good (5.14, 5.02) (5.02, 5.06) and did those in my adi tempo's, so a little heavier flat then i usually wear.

Then 8x1ks on the track 3.05, 3.03, 3.02, 2.59, 2.58 2.57, 2.58, 2.56. I didn't feel great, but was still able to break down to 2.56. I felt like effort was there, but my pacing was a little slow. Effort is key training here at altitude and my legs felt that sea level pain.

2mile tempo + 4x 800- 4.50, 5.13, 2.22, 2.28, 2.28, 2.20 feeling sharper and sharper for the race.

last workout before penn 10k and I was able to jump in with Gary Stains Group of Robert Cheseret and a couple of other Army WCap guy's. We did a 2k time trial on a cold, snow, and windy Saturday. We went out in 61 first lap and i was not up for that and slow to a 68, and when through the mile at 4.35. They were gone after the first lap, so i pushed it in the rest of the way. That was the best thing i could have done before Penn, because i needed a effort to get my heart pumping like i was at sea level again. That was my race buster that i needed.

I feel very good today and ready to race on Thursday. my legs feel strong, my mind sharp, and

my belief that I can run fast. I plan on going out in 4.30 to 4.35 first mile, 14.20 to 14.30 at 5k, staying right about that pace until 8 laps to go and closing the race up from there. sub 29. min 10k! Thats the plan and not pictures this time, because my camera acted like it took a picture and didn't take it. however I will describe it to you- It was Robert, Augustus, and me at Cheyenne Mountain Track after the 2k time trial and both the track and we were covered in snow. it was pretty cool pic

Back out

Racing Update:
Well after the small setback with my calf back in early March, things have gone well in training. I have only had one week below 80 miles (75) and the rest have been between 81 and 90. The weather has been very nice except the snow outside as of now, but we need the moisture here along the front range, and epically the southern plains.

I have done two races lately, the first being the Mile High Mile and the second being the Boulder Distance Classic. The mile was not bad considering that it was not a favorable fast course with some decent hills around Invesco Field. It was a counter clockwise race starting at the south side of the field, with the finish inside the stadium. There were 1700 or so runners, so it really was much bigger then in years past. The men's mile basically was a BRC show with Myself and Greg Rendil going 1 and 2. I ran 4:28 and Greg ran about 4:31.

Yesterday was the Boulder Distance Classic at the Res. We left Colorado Springs at 6 A:M with temps in the 40's, and arrived in Boulder to snow and wind! Gettinbg out of the car to pick up packets was welcomed with cold, cold temps and wind/snow. I think the three of us were not quite prepared for the cold, but I guess we should have known better being that it is springtime in Colorado. I had decided to run the 15k a few weeks back which is not normally what I would have done. The 15k went off first, and right away it was a three man race between myself, Tyler McCandless sp?? and Japheth Ng'ojoy. It stayed that way until about 5.5 miles when both of them took off as I just sat back and watched. I let things ride and caught back up to Japheth at about 8.5 miles and held on for second. Tyler won in 49:27 as I ran 49:50. Besides the cold weather it was a nice run and something different.
In the 5k Mike Chavez of the BRC team won in 15:30ish and Robby Young took 4th in 15:58, which considering in injuries he has dealt with was a great way to kick start racing again.
Andy Rinne, who runs for the store team ran 16:36 and somehow got the short end of the stick when the final results came out (16:56), so I expect him to have some fast times on more favorable courses later in the year.
Have a good one.

Suck it up buttercup

A COUPLE WEEKS AGO I HAD THIS GREAT IDEA OF TRYING OUT THE 5K ON THE TRACK. SO LIKE EVERYONE ELSE I THOUGHT WHAT BETTER PLACE THAN MT SAC. I HAVE HEARD SO MANY GREAT THINGS ABOUT MT SAC, GREAT RACES, COMPETITION AND PERFECT WEATHER. I WENT OUT WITH A PLAN TO HAVE AN EPIC RACE. WELL I HAD AN EPIC RACE ALRIGHT, ONE I WILL NEVER FORGET, ONE THAT IS ETCHED IN MY MIND WITH A BIG FAT DNF BEHIND MY NAME. YEAH I SAID IT DNF! AND NO I AM NOT INJURED. I WILLINGLY JUST PULLED OFF THE TRACK :(
SO HERE IS HOW IT PLAYED OUT. THE GUN GOES OFF WE GET ABOUT 200 IN AND I CAN ALREADY TELL MY LEGS AREN'T THERE. I KEPT TELLING MYSELF IT,S EARLY IT WILL GO AWAY. NO SUCH LUCK. ANYWAY THE RACE WENT OUT ABOUT AS FAST AS I HAD EXPECTED AND I FOLLOWED MY GAME PLAN. WITH 30 WOMEN IN THE RACE AND ME NEVER HAVING RUN IN A TRACK MEET BEFORE I PLANNED ON GOING TO THE BACK OF THE PACK AND BRINGING UP THE REAR. I KNEW CHANCES WERE I WOULD GET LAST IN A HEAT THAT LOADED, I WAS OK WITH THAT. BUT LIKE I SAID IT HURT AT 200,400,1600,3200 ALL THE WAY. MY FIRST MILE WAS GOOD, MY SECOND MILE WAS CRAP AND LAP NINE WAS BASICALLY THE SAME PACE AS I RUN MY TEMPO WORKOUTS AT, AT ALTITUDE. ANYWAY I KNEW I SHOULD HAVE DROPPED AT LAP 5 BUT I HAVE NEVER AND NEVER WANTED TO DNF. FOR THE NEXT FOUR LAPS I FOUGHT WITH MYSELF AND THAN .......... I DROPPED! WALKED TO THE SIDE OF THE TRACK CRIED! WALKED TO MY BAG AND TRIED TO PUT ON A "HAPPY" FACE.
I WOKE UP SAT AND HAD TO MAKE MYSELF GET OUT OF BED TO RUN. FUNNY THING ABOUT A DNF. IT MAKES YOU LOSE ALL YOUR MOTIVATION. I HAVE BEEN TOLD A THOUSAND TIMES NOW, IT HAPPENS TO EVERYONE, ITS JUST ONE RACE, IT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO AND SO ON. ITS SUCH A HARD PILL TO SWALLOW. I KNOW IT WAS JUST A HORRIFIC DAY THAT COULDN'T HAVE COME AT A WORSE TIME AND YES THE SUN CAME UP THE NEXT DAY. HOWEVER TO ME ITS A LOT MORE. I AM NOT A QUITTER! A DNF IS THE WORST THING TO ME. I JUST KEEP SEEING
WENDY THOMAS-DNF
AND THERE IS NOTHING I CAN POINT TO TO HELP ME FIGURE OUT WHAT WENT WRONG. RACING IN SPIKES FOR THE FIRST TIME FELT FINE, BELIEVE IT OR NOT RUNNING IN CIRCLES DIDN'T EVEN BOTHER ME! THE WEATHER WAS GREAT! FIELD WAS PERFECT AND I WAS JUST OFF.
I HAVE GIVEN MYSELF FIVE DAYS TO SULK, ITS TIME TO PULL MY HEAD OUT AND MOVE ON. DOUG WROTE UP MY NEW PLAN AND ITS EXCITING! THERE ARE A LOT OF WORKOUTS I HAVE NEVER DONE, A LOT MORE FOCUS ON PURE SPEED MIXED IN WITH SOME GREAT ENDURANCE WORK. AND LUCKILY MT SAC DID TEACH ME SOMETHING. I HAVE THIS CRAZY BAD FORM BUT WE REALIZED WHEN I RUN IN SPIKES FOR WORKOUTS IT MAKES ME GO TO MY TOES! PICK UP MY KNEES AND BASICALLY RUN LIKE I AM SUPPOSE TO. WHICH MAY NOT SEEM LIKE A LOT BUT WE HAVE BEEN TRYING TO FIND WAYS TO FIX ME FOR A WHILE. I EVEN DID MY 800'S IN THEM TONIGHT AND MY FORM WAS GREAT? UNFORTUNATELY MY CALVES, GLUTES AND HAMSTRINGS ARE NO LONGER SPEAKING NICELY TO ME.
SO FOR NOW I WILL DO A COUPLE RACES IN NORTHERN COLORADO AND REALLY FOCUS ON BOLDER BOULDER BEING THE NEXT BIG RACE. AND ONE THING IS FOR SURE I WILL NEVER VOLUNTARILY PULL MYSELF OUT OF A RACE AGAIN.

AND A HUGE CONGRATS TO ALL THE LADIES AND GUYS WHO HAD A AMAZING WEEKEND OF RACING! VERY INSPIRING!!!!
ON A G

Fabulous 5k

Like many others Russ and I went to Mt. SAC. Russ raced the 1500m and the 800m. He was exhausted from work so the 1500 wasn't so great, but he ran a 1:53 half mile for his first one of the year. I'm super excited about how well he has maintained his fitness through a tough winter of injuries and many days in the gym. He is very fit and strong and on the right path for a good track season. Hopefully ending with the England championships. It was also great to watch Ali, athletes from my alma mater (Charlotte), and the athletes of UCCS.

Oh how I love the 5k! It's a great distance, long enough to utilize my slow twitch muscles, but short enough that I don't notice the lap counter. The last time I was at Mt SAC I was attempting to break 17 minutes for the 5k for te first time, but DNFed because I had two stresss fractures in my right shin ended up being booted for 14 weeks. So going back to a place with crappy (painful) memories added a bit of nervousness. Fortunately, everything went as planned and I ran a personal best. It was wonderful to have Nicole in the race; we raced well together and helped each other stay on target. Thanks Nicole!!

I had a great race and finished in 16:00.48......POINT FOUR EIGHT! Half a second to breaking 16, that's one more quick step somewhere in the 12.5 laps or if I decreased the time in lane 2 trying to not get boxed in. I was so sad when I crossed the line and found that I was that close to breaking 16 minutes, but then I snapped out of it and became super excited about a great race and personal best time. Races like these are the true reward for all the hard work and time put into training.

Next: 10k at Payton Jordan at Stanford (California)

DFL>DNF?

What a weekend for American distance running. And not just for everyone at Boston, but for lots of people out west at Mt.Sac. Always a hub for amazing races, I got to watch the last bit of Kristen's steeple, Cassie, Nichole and Wendy's 5k, and Matt and Steve's 10k. Lots of green in the fields that night. Not to mention I got to be at the same hotel as Sara Hall, Jorge (or Eduardo??) Torres, and Molly Huddle! Oh and went to In-and-Out burger. Twice. My 10k was....anti-climactic to say the very least. Let's just say I DFL'ed, got the pity-clap, my glute is killing me, and I have yet to actually look at results. I just don't see a reason to add that much more psyhological agony on top of that. Afterward I spent some time wandering aimlessly around a field in the dark convincing myself that at least it wasn't a DNF. DFL trumps DNF...right? Um yeah....not so much. After that, Matt Levassiur and Steph Bylander (who were ridiculously kind enough to shuttle me to and from the meet since Matt's race was right before mine) and I ate our feelings at In-and-Out and talked about how great the 10k is. Yep. But in all seriousness, quite the letdown. And that's all I have to say about that.

<-Bringing up the rear.

The following day I did no running-related activities whatsoever besides watch a track meet for 10 hours while likely contracting malignant melanoma, and I thought no running-related thoughts. The day after that I went jogging-with-a-soft-j on a really nice golf course on some beautiful grass with beautiful trees in 80 degree weather and got yelled at by a maintenance guy who I'm pretty sure was about 14. So now back in Springs and getting my butt/ham fixed and hopefully will be legitimately race-able by the Sneak.

Since this wasn't a very inspiring or uplifting blog, allow me off-set the doom and gloom for a moment...have I got some inspiration for YOU! Have you ever found yourself wondering, "What would it take to be the best--nay--the GREATEST mid-packer in all the running world?" Well, two brave souls that I have the fortune of being aquainted with are questing to become just that! Check out Springs' runners Matt Copps and Shawn Finley's new blog, Midpack Moments with Matt and Shawn! Follow their trials, tribulations, doubts, frustrations and moments of pure glory! To share in their blood, sweat and tears, click here (and no, this isn't a virus): http://midpackmoments.wordpress.com/

Mt. SAC...and then sick

I headed out to the famed Mt. SAC relays last week despite being sick and deciding not to race. It wasn't in my best interest for recovering, nor would it have been very fun or fast. It hit at just the right time too. Any sooner and I could've recovered before the race. Any later and I wouldn't have realized I was coming down with something, and the race wouldn't have been pretty.

The trip, however, was great as I visited with some high school friends in Santa Monica and got some good rest with an easy week of running. It's a beautiful area, complete with good weather during my stay. We hit up the beach (to run as well as hang out), and I even tried my hand at surfing.

The race was a good opportunity, but I'm not upset about missing it. Up until then, I was really enjoying runs and workouts and was starting to get in shape. I'm feeling better and after getting back into the swing of things, I'll look forward to racing again. Planning on the Cherry Creek Sneak in a couple weeks.

Comeback Conundrum

So, I have this theory which is completely based on antecdotal evidence, and I have no hard proof of which is that when on the comeback trail one must encounter a number of ridiculous setbacks. Now, I don't have any spreadsheets tracking data versus a control group or anything like that. But what I do have is a history of this phenomenon happening to me and my running buddies. Is it a conspiracy or just Murphy's law? Whatever it is is maddening. What else can explain one buddy recovering from a marathon and just when she starts training, she gets hit by a car? Or, any number of perfectly healthy and rested runners get injured within the first few weeks of coming back? For me it's usually some sort of cold or the occasional injury. This last time I swallowed a pill wrong. Yes, you read that correctly - I swallowed a pill wrong! Well it was an antibiotic and it burned my esophagus. I had never heard of such a thing, but it was awful! Swallowing anything except for water was excruciating! Just what a runner on a comeback needs - to not be able to eat for a whole week. By the end of that week, I was so tired I could hardly stand let alone run. But, just when I thought I was going to have to go back on break, I tried some pancakes and with little tiny bites I could eat! Yay! So, from that point on, my esophagus started getting better, and I starting eating and training. I was so happy because who knows what curveball would have come my way if I had to come back from another break? So, I'm happy to say that I pulled through and I should be in the clear now. . . Until the next break.

Off to Boston

So I will be off to Boston this weekend to help with some coverage of the meet. Unfortunately, I was not able to gain entry into the elite mile out there, but I am hoping to race the 5k, at least. We'll see.

It looks like Delaney will be out there, which will be fun. I am going to cheer vigorously for him.

If anyone else is going to be out there, hit me up and we can share a jog or a shirt visit. Good luck to everyone all over the country racing this weekend. I wish that I could be joining the Western team out at Mt. Sac, but I will be able to go to Stanford with some of the crew in a few weeks.

Good luck to everyone and let's have a great weekend!

SAC is BACK!!!

Am nervous...oh so nervous.

The countdown to Mt.Sac has begun! Actually it began like a week ago, but now that we're four days away the nerves are mounting to an extreme. Track races make me ten times more nervous than roads or cross country (which is saying something if you ask anyone who has had the extreme misfortune of spending any significant amount of time around me in the 72 hours leading up to a big race) I think that this is primarily owing to the fact that whatever time you run on a track is pretty honest. There are no hills or muck or any of that good stuff to make it less of a straight-up foot race and more of a foot-race combined with a feat of strength. So however fast you run on a track, well, that's how fast you are or aren't. At least that's how I see it.

The sole goal of Thursday night: to run a P.R. That's it. Just so that I know that the last couple years of training haven't been totally in vain and that maybe I've actually moved foward even though I don't always feel as though I have. Since it's always seemed to me that I don't run quite as well on the track, I've mulled over reasons as to why that may be, employed some good old-fashioned self-psychoanalysis, and looked at track races where I ran well as well as ones where I didn't, and noticed a huge difference in my approach to both. Mainly, whenever I turn it into an effort where the end result is strictly to hit a given time, you know, a "hit these splits and nothing else and if you start falling off of pace then you suck and nobody loves you anymore" kind of thing, I tend to run relatively poorly. And you can always tell when this occurs because the person who told you they would yell your splits at you suddenly stops telling you what you're hitting and just says useless and inane things like "keep moving foward!" or "great workout!" Seriously? Don't lie to me. Please just turn away and don't watch. Go get a snow-cone or something. I'll be done when you get back.

But anyway, whenever I find a pack to race, stick my nose in it, and actually race for the sake of competing, the time seems to take care of itself. So the plan for Thursday I have decided is to do just that. Get with a pack and race. Mt.Sac is always a strong and deep field so I know if I compete well, a fast time is bound to come with that. Granted, I have a range of splits that I will listen for in the early stages of the race that will give me an idea of what sort of pace we are at so as to prevent going out at some pace that can't be maintained or improved upon throughout the duration of that 25 lap joy-jog. It's easy to get caught up in the initial adrenaline rush of such a big race at a meet the caliber of this one--I learned that my freshman year the hard way.

May it be another magical night at Mt.Sac!!!

t-8 days to Beantown

At last year's Boston Marathon I finished 20th overall in 2:19:17. That was a small miracle considering my training had gone quite poorly. However, as you may know, that left me 17 second shy of the Olympic Trials qualifying standard (which I have yet to achieve before next years race). I have already competed in one Olympic Trials and considered it an experience of a lifetime, so competing in a second would frankly just be icing on the cake. But, this weekend, weather permitting, I'm taking one more real shot at earning a spot on the line in Houston this January. Boston obviously isn't the fastest course in the world, but for a strong, efficient (but admittedly not super fast) runner like me, it is not a bad course either. Plus, it's tough to beat the crowd support and the accommodations provided by adidas and the BAA. This race is a blast. My training, although certainly not perfect, has gone much better than last year. My total mileage is lower than it used to be, I have a chronic foot injury that bothers me as much as ever, and my workouts have been mostly alone because Art and Greg are both training for the 800 meters or something. However, a couple of my key workouts have been as good as ever.

Workout #1:
Three weeks ago, I went to Nelson Laux's house in Arvada to do my standard marathon pace long run on the "Arthur Loop". This a a crazy, car dodging, kamikaze 3M road loop with gentle rolling hills that is perfect preparation for Boston. I started out by running 10M easy on a dirt path in 71 minutes, followed by 3 laps of the Aurther loop (9M total) taking just enough time between laps to choke down a gel and a couple swallows of Gatorade. Averaging just under 15:50 per lap with my last lap being the fastest, I can honestly say is probably my second or third best effort over that course ever. Probably my best solo effort by far. Nelson joined me for an easy cool down of 3M during which I constantly tried to convince him to get in shape a make a come back.

Workout #2:
2 weeks ago, was my last true fitness test over any distance. I loaded up the family after work and headed to Boulder. While Char took the girls for a walk in the park, I pulled on my road flats, warmed up three miles and did 5 x 2 mile on the Fairview track with a 1 minute rest for gels and Gatorade. Averaging 10:17 while getting progressively faster throughout was a great indicator of my current strength and running economy. And although the last one at 10:13 was hard, I never felt like I really took it too the well and actually felt quite good cooling down after.

Now if only I could start feeling good during my taper, I would be supremely confident going into next weekend. For some reason, I always feel like crap the first week or two of my taper, but usually manage to put it back together by race day. Now, the only thing left is to pray for a tailwind :-)