June

Well, the month of June has pretty much come and gone and summer is in full swing. The heat is here, and the rain is not, but nothing can be done about that. Its interesting talking to people who live up in the high country and hearing about how much snow is there right now, and how green everything is. Back in 2005 when I moved to Gunnison, over that summer high altitude running was not a problem at all and all of the trails were clear of snow. I hear that running the trails near Crested Butte or even near the Taylor Park area is a no go due to the high amounts of snow, and down here we just would like to have some rain to keep things somewhat normal. So far this season has reminded me of the 2002 year when temps were high and rain was scarce. We also had to deal with the massive Hayman fire among other things such as water restrictions. Well enough about things out of antibody's control, here is a quick recap of whats been going on.
I didn't really race much in May and used the time to train. June has come and gone and racing is in full swing. Many BRC runners have been having great results such as Tommy Neal and the Man Mario Macias, so I wanted to say congrats to the both of them. I have raced 3 times this month and they have all been top quality fields which I have been glad to be part of. I ran the Uni Hill 2k in early June getting beat by James Hatch who ran a great time of 5:49 on a rather hilly and difficult course. I ran 5:55 and another BRC teammate Peter Remien was third in 5:57 I believe. A week later I ran our local Sailin Shoes 5k which is by far the most deep road race in the springs. I have been dealing with a little Achilles tendon issue on my right leg that just doesn't want to give up, so training has been good but not great. The Wednesday before the race didn't help things as I rolled my right ankle during a run. The end result was a 3rd place finish running 15:29. Agustas Mayo tore up the course and broke the record of 14:48 by 1 second, so congrats to him as he is really getting in shape quickly! The most recent race was the Stadium Stampede which was also the USATF Colorado 5k road champs. A pretty good field was assembled with many very good local runners and BRC'S own Scott D, as well as recent CU grad Matt Tebo. It was a bit of a late start (8:30) which did not bode well for anybody as the temps were already in the mid 80's not counting the additional humidity running along the Plate River. Matt would go on the run 15:12 for the win, and I was second in 15:24 (5 seconds were added on to the times for some reason), but there is a twist to the story. Being that this was a Colorado state champ race meant that all qualifications had to be met and the most important one being a USATF Colorado member. Thinking that I had finished second and being very happy about that , I was later informed that I was the winner due to I believe a processing mistake with Matt's membership. I want to make sure that first and for most Matt Tebo gets the credit for the win. He ran a great race and was gracious in what happened and I hope to see him again on the roads, so Matt Congrats. I has a great time with friends Andy Rinne and Chris Bittinger/Joseph Bittinger who went on to win the kids 1k race as well. I also wanted to say congrats to Robby Young, Amanda Ochi, Cassie Slade, Ali Williams and everybody else who has been running well. That's all for now!

Change is difficult

I have recently come to the conclusion that if you are not seeing any progress or disappointed in results you are seeing stop complaining and do something about it.
A couple of weeks ago I went down to the Springs and put myself into a situation I was really uncomfortable with. I felt like I was way out of my league. Being in a room with Renee, Alicia, and countless others I looked up to scared me a little. I couldn't imagine that Scott Simmons and Renato Canova would think I belonged there. I'm actually going to confess to something before I go any further, I didn't even really know who the coaches were other than I saw a few DVD's in our store by Scott. (go ahead laugh your a** off now, I know I know silly rookie) the original reason I decided to take a risk and head down was because I really needed to meet with Jay Dicharry concerning my mechanics. I have known for a long time I do not have very good form just had no idea how to deal with it. I learned so much! I waste so much energy, am very inefficient , my arms are bad, I lean back the list goes on and on. A couple hours with him and I now have a lot of drills and exercises to do to strengthen my weakness. I spent the next three days running on the trails in the Springs (which made me wonder why I ever moved away) with everyone and trying to just soak in everything I could. On my final day in the Springs I had coffee with Scott and Renato to discuss what they thought I was capable of, what my goals were, and what I was willing to do to get there. That's when I decided this was a chance of a lifetime. I couldn't pass it up! Yes I realize I could very well fail, but the odds are just as good that I will succeed. The point is I will NEVER know if I don't try.

Fast forward a couple of weeks............
Most of my family, friends and running community have been very supportive. Yes I have had to deal with some criticism from people close but the important thing is my family is totally supportive of me. When Scott sent me my first four weeks of training I looked at it with eyes wide scared to death. My first thought was there is no way I can do this. The intensity is a lot more than I am use to and my miles have increased. The first thing Scott told me however was do not let your head decide what you can do try it first and than tell me you can or can't. I have definitely surprised myself. I have done a few things new to me, progression runs, hill sprints, jogging recovery (no more stationary), fartlek to name a few. The last two weeks I have hit 90 miles and I feel great! Now there is a "down" side of course. Before I started with Scott I had a couple races on the schedule, Stadium Stampede and our 4th of July 5k. Normally I race every two weeks, I don't really try to peak for one race I just like to race, go fast and of course try for the W. It's hard for me to remember right now there is a big race I'm shooting for, I can not cut back for these little races coming up, I need to keep my training on schedule and just work the races into my progression. What does this mean? It means I go into these next couple races with 90 mile weeks, my legs are still adjusting to the higher mileage and I'm not sure they will have any pop. This is a hard pill for me to swallow, these 5k's could be really slow. I just keep telling myself "eye on the prize" and hope it gets me through these next couple months and to a huge PR in the half.

BIG BIG NEWS IN COLORADO SPRINGS

Great meetings with the American Distance Project in the last couple of days! Scott simmons and Renato Canova have a great plan for the group and we had a great turnout of top level athletes. On the guy's side: Chris Barnicle, Fernando Cabada, Austin Baille, and Me. On the Women's side: Alicia Shay, Rene Metivier Baille, Wendy Thomas, Lindsey Scherf, and Adrian Chouinard.

I met with Jay Dicharry, top in his field of Bio Mechanical research at University of Virginia. He gave me some great advice on my form. I lean over a little too much and put too much weight on my quads which in turn wastes energy. I also need to strenghten my gluteous minimus and stretch my quads a little more so I can get a more balanced leg drive. Great advice and will be doing everything that Jay passed along to T.

Second, I was able to do a workout with Renato and Scott watching on the track. It's kind of ureal when Renato stops me to say that I need to strike more on my forefoot. He gave me some drills to do after my easy runs to help teach me the sensation of striking on my forefoot. That was so cool! Scott and Canova are going to put together a training plan that sets me up for a 1/2 marathon to qualify for the trials in the fall if I need it. Canova also gave me quite a few more things I need to change, but for this race I don't want to change too much. Sunday I have another great opportunity to meet with Scott and Canova for my new training plan and post race review.

There is also going to be an article or two and photos in Running Times Magazine. They will also have online interviews with all participatnts of the 3 day group orientation of the American Distance Project.

I'm planning on qualifying this weekend at Gary Byjorklund 1/2 Marathon and I really only need to hit 4.57 pace. I do feel that I'm in better shape than I was when I raced the 15K champs and that was at 4:58 pace, I believe. So I know I'm ready to roll and go out in 5:00-4:55 for the first mile and then start to plug away.

I will post more after the race this weekend, but I am really excited to get this rolling with my new coaches!

As Paul Harvey would say...

Goooood Day

Tommy

Since I last wrote a lot has happened. Training had been going very well; I was feeling good, my long runs were good and I was really excited about my upcoming racing season and then things took a dive. I got bit by one of my dogs, a bit of an accident (I won't go into the details of the incident), but I ended up in the ER with a plastic surgeon putting about 100 stitches (4 layers) in my chin and lip. Re-constructive surgery is in my future, so training has taken a backseat to healing.

The good news is I am running some and am planning on running my first trail race--the Pikes Peak Ascent (Crazy I know)!! Since I can't train as hard as I want right now, I decided to do something that will be challenging for me and where I have no expectations. I hate running uphill and I am not a trail runner. So this race will be purely for fun and give me something to work towards so I don't become a couch potato (which is very tempting!).

Goings on

It's been a while without running for me, but 6 weeks is already here! Tomorrow, I see the doctor again to get another x-ray. The foot feels good, like it's healed, but it's hard to tell and things will most likely hurt when starting up again. But mentally, I'm ready to go!

Meanwhile, it took some time to get the motivation to go in the pool, but I finally did and it wasn't so bad. Well, the actual swimming was bad but it was relaxing at the same time. Most days I ran in place in the deep end for a mind-numbing amount of time, but yesterday I learned some tips from a buddy who was life-guarding. If my life ever depending on swimming, maybe there's hope after all.

Also meanwhile, I read/am reading a couple books that have been awesome: Ryan Hall's Running with Joy and Born to Run. I finished the first and am still working on the second. Surprisingly, the two books share a similar theme even though they come from very different perspectives: Hall a well-known, professional marathon runner who is a Christian and the Tarahumara people a primitive, isolated community in Mexico known for their ultramarathon ability. In his journey, Hall seeks a pure, simple love of running, something the Tarahumara are born with. In fact, BtR claims we are all born with it but most lose sight when the focus drifts to substitutes. If I didn't love running for it's own sake, I would've quit a long time ago. Health, awards, times, money, and/or recognition are nice bonuses, but that's all they are. I find that when I get excited about these or other things, I start to question why I run. Sometimes I need reminding or better yet, see it discovered in others' stories.

Possible New Coach

It's been a while since I post and I aways keep meaning to post again and again, but I didn't. I have pretty interesting news for the running world of Colorado Springs. So here's the small scoop; Renato Canova is at least going to use Colorado Springs as his American base for his training group. So he is going to have is athletes that are at Pre Classic this weekend move to town for a month to train here. Pretty Cool stuff, however there is more. Canova and Scott Simmons have worked out some deal and Simmons also wants to try to set up a group here in the Springs. So what they are in the process of doing is putting together 2 things. To jump start Simmons training group; Simmons and Canova will have a free Olympic Trials training group starting in October here in Colorado springs to try and get a good group together that wants to stay. To start to fund the group they are have a distance summit in Colorado springs to raise funds for all of this. Here's the website: http://www.americandistanceproject.com/Index/Welcome.html

To me this is awesome, because I don't have to move anywhere and I will have one of the worlds best coaches ever at least living here part time! I pretty sure I'm in on there training group, but I am hoping to get some individualized coaching from both Canova and Simmons.

As for Racing I have only raced once since Penn and it was a small race back home in missouri. It went surprisingly well since I traveled the whole day before and didn't get very much sleep. I ended up running 14.28 ish. Like I said it was a very small race and they didin't really time the race. At the finish i was like 100 meters from the finish, I stopped, and finished with the girl that Race was raising money for. I had about 100 meters to run 18 seconds that would make it 14.28.

AND training.

It's going well the weekend I raced at home in Missouri and I was able to make a good training weekend of it. I had a good race and then a very good long run and closed it out with a good 1k workout on the track in warrensburg. I started off at 3:03, 3:02, 3:01, 3:00, 2.59, 2.55, 2.54, 2.52. I felt good and was able to slowly break it down to a good race pace type of workout. I have a had some up and down weeks since then, yesterday was pretty good. I did a track/road workout. It was a 3 x 2x1k, 1mile road- the 1ks were on a dirt track and again a road mile. I ran 3.06, 3.06, 4.50, 3.06, 3.06, 4.53, 3.11, 3.12, 5.01. I know I was tiered by the end, but I believe it was more the heat and not me blowing up. It was pretty hot when I ran so I pretty sure it was that that kind of slowed me down on the last set.

What's Next...

I'm racing Gary Bjorklund 1/2 marathon in 2 weeks in Duluth, Minn. I know my fitness is there to run under 1.05 and I know I have the endurance to be there too, however it has to be the right day for me to rock it out.

Run Time!

Tommy

Summertime. Wooooo.

As summer gets underway, I’m definitely missing the weather and trails of Colorado Springs. Tucson is starting to get into the triple digits on a consistent basis and the rattlesnakes have been out of hibernation for about a month. Basically, this means the runs need to be done by at least 7:30 and the trails are closed for business. There are a few runners in town that still brave the trials, however, I haven’t been able to get over my first trail run here where I almost stumbled on 2 rattlers on a 45 minute run. On the bright side, I get to see all my old homeless friends from last summer who haven’t lost their enthusiasm for runners.

I’ve had some setbacks in my training since my last race nearly a month ago. I came down with a nasty bug that was compounded by allergy problems, and I ended up taking a week completely off to heal and concentrate on my last week of finals. Now that school is out of the way for the time being and I’m healthy again, I’m trying to come back in time for the Atlanta Peachtree on July 4^th. Since graduating college, this has been my favorite race by far. There is something special about seeing the sun come up at the starting line and seeing 55,000 people lined up behind you. It’s equally special to run a 10k course lined with people fired up to cheer for some Americans on the 4^th of July. Hopefully, this year will be as fun as the last 2.

A short recap of the last few weeks...

• First, a huge thank you to Cody, David, and Adrian for helping with a mile repeat workout this past Saturday. Poor Cody showed up to Monument Park without knowing we would be there and quickly got suckered into pacing me. Cody was a great pacer and pulled me through the first 5 mile reps between 5:24-5:26, and then killed me on the last rep as he dragged me to 5:11!! Adrian had an amazing workout especially after having a two hour drill and strength session at the gym the day before. David was a great coach and kept me controlled. Russ and Jay also had intervals on the road and ran very well. Amanda and Ashley did threshold workouts and had a very good day. Shannon happened to have an easy run at the park as well. It was like a mini team meeting.


• Congrats to Ashley for graduating from PA school!


• Congrats to all the BRC Adidas runners who took on the new course at the Bolder Boulder.


• Workouts have been wonderful through the month of May. I have surprised myself with some faster paces that I wasn't sure I could hit and I defeated a couple workouts that previously were defeating me.


• I ran on the Colorado Trail in Buffalo Creek on Sunday. Great trail and scenery. It was a gorgious day with blue skies and warm weather. There was an attempt to get in the South Platte River afterwards, but when the water feels like it's below 40 degrees I can't make myself even get a foot in.


• Monday was another adventurous run at Golden Gate Canyon State Park. We had never been to this park but saw that there was a ton of trails. We definitely should have investigated a bit further...the trails were ridiculously difficult and gained altitude quickly. I was not ready for that after a huge mile repeat workout and a long run. There was some awesome sites on the trail though. There was a lake with an old cabin. At the top of the mountain you have a great view of Mt Evans and some other snow covered peaks. The most interesting thing we saw was the mountain lion kill that was on the trail. It was a bit strange, the hind was separate from the skeleton and the legs were broken off and scattered about. Luckily, no mountain lion sighting. Fair warning - this is probably a good trail run, but don't do it when you are tired or in need of a recovery day.

This weekend I'm running a local 5k to keep the brain fresh for competition. Then in two weeks I'll race the mile on the track at Boulder for a last workout before USA Nationals. I can't wait to go to Eugene, to race and to explore. Until next time, happy running and go BRC Adidas!!

Bolder Boulder

I've shirked my blogging duties long enough, and it's time to get back into it.

The Bolder Boulder will be my first serious race back after a medium hiatus from running that began with hernia surgery last winter. (My advice to everyone on this is don't get a hernia because its not fun. Women might have an easier time with this than men.) My training is finally going well--I've been logging 70+ miles for the last several weeks with some solid workouts--and I've had a couple of moderately successful low key racing including most recently a win in a 5k in Portland, OR while my wife and I were on vacation.

I'm focusing on the Bolder Boulder not because it's my favorite race, nor because I'm particularly good at the 10k (I'm much better at the 5k and shorter races), but rather because it's the only race non-runners in Boulder care about. When people find out I'm a runner the first thing they ask is, "did you do the Bolder Boulder?" and then "How did you do?" I might as well do everything I can to maximize my street cred with my friends and neighbors.

After that I'll be focusing on some 5ks and the Boulder Races Series (the 2k, 3k, and mile) which is more of my forte anyway.

25K Championships

I spent my weekend in Grand Rapids, Michigan at the 25K championships. When I first got here, it was ridiculously hot and humid. I was a little nervous, but the heat and humidity died down on Friday night and gave way to rain and thunderstorms. It was a wet race, but I was still happy with my time and performance. I was hoping to finish somewhere between 1:36 and 1:40. 1:38:36 was right in the middle and a 4 min PR! I'm going to take a short break and then start training for the Chicago Marathon in the fall.