So everything was going great. I had a 76 day running streak going. Workouts were going fairly well. High mileage weeks were becoming routine. I was handling my long runs better and better. Then shit happens!
On our way down to Corpus Christi on Friday I started feeling tight in my chest (a lot like asama). No worries though, I had already run that day and I'm sure just the change in weather was causing it (it was a lot warmer in Corpus than it was in Huntsville). Then at the meet Friday night, I started getting sore and achy. I wasn't overly worried, I figured it was just the long drive. However, once we get back to the hotel after the meet, it hit. I felt like 10 lbs of shit in a 5 lb bag. I didn't go eat with the team as the only thing I could think of was go to sleep. I knew at this moment that I had caught the flu. The number one cause of ruined training plans had it me, and at the worst possible time (like there is ever a good time). I broke the first of my own rules.... don't get sick! The entire trip from this point on was horrible. I had one of my athletes drive my van back while I slept in the back seat the entire way home. I got back home Saturday and had bearly enough energy to get home and make it to my bed. Sunday was a little better, but not much. Monday has gone much better than the previous two days and I should be back to full strength in the few more days.
The most fustrating part is that 1) my running steak ended and 2) I just registered for a 5k race in Houston on Oct 3. I was expected to run under 20 minutes there for the first time. I doubt that will happen now and I may not even make the trip. I already paid my entry fee, which sucks. This same kind of shit happened this past April when I tried to run the Blue Bell 10k in Brenham. Nothing's ever easy. FML!
Monday, September 28, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Good Running = Fun Running; Bad Running = Non-Fun Running
“It’s all fun until you fucking lose!” —David Bedford
My running hasn't been going that well lately. I was able to salvage last week's threshold run; however, things have been getting progressively worse. Nothing to panic about, but I was far busier this past weekend than I would have liked and I missed out on my long run that was scheduled for Saturday. On top of that, I ran at 2pm (not smart, I know). After a long day Saturday and lots of driving, I ran 4 miles on Sunday and had a constant side stitch for the entire duration of the run. It wasn't bad, but my normal trick to getting rid of side stitches didn't work and it was uncomfortable the whole time. I ran 8 miles yesterday, and the side stitch was still there. I ran a 4 mile tempo run this morning, AND THE SIDE STITCH WAS STILL THERE! I can't seem to shake this thing and it's beginning to annoy me. I'm hoping that getting back to a daily training routine and better dietary habits will fix it.
So needless to say, my running isn't going as well as I would like it and when it's not going well it's not a lot of fun.
Run Streak = 73 days
My running hasn't been going that well lately. I was able to salvage last week's threshold run; however, things have been getting progressively worse. Nothing to panic about, but I was far busier this past weekend than I would have liked and I missed out on my long run that was scheduled for Saturday. On top of that, I ran at 2pm (not smart, I know). After a long day Saturday and lots of driving, I ran 4 miles on Sunday and had a constant side stitch for the entire duration of the run. It wasn't bad, but my normal trick to getting rid of side stitches didn't work and it was uncomfortable the whole time. I ran 8 miles yesterday, and the side stitch was still there. I ran a 4 mile tempo run this morning, AND THE SIDE STITCH WAS STILL THERE! I can't seem to shake this thing and it's beginning to annoy me. I'm hoping that getting back to a daily training routine and better dietary habits will fix it.
So needless to say, my running isn't going as well as I would like it and when it's not going well it's not a lot of fun.
Run Streak = 73 days
Friday, September 18, 2009
More Threshold Running
I've been focusing lately on improving my bodies ability to utilize glycogen by trying to get as much running as I can in at 6:45/mile to 7:30/mile. My plan Thursday was to warm up, run 4 miles at my 12.5k race pace on the track, followed by some hill repeats and a cool down.
I felt sluggish in the warm up. I haven't been sleeping much lately, simply because I've been busy. I usually wake up around 5am, and don't get to bed until 10pm (at the earliest). I think this is why I've been feeling a little sluggish. I got done with my two mile warm and proceed into the workout. My goal pace was right around 7:00/mile. I ran 7:10 for my first mile and wasn't feeling too hot. Mostly, I don't think I was extremely motivated to do this workout. I seriously thought about stopping and just continuing on with just a few easy miles. However, my competitive instincts wouldn't allow this. I ran 7:09 for the second mile. After passing the halfway point I was feeling a bit better and decided to pick up the pace a bit, if no other reason than to finish sooner. I ran 6:54 for the third mile, followed by 6:42 for the last mile for a final time of 27:56 (6:59/mile). So I averaged right about what I wanted to and felt pretty good the last two miles after picking the pace up a bit. I got in a quick 8x100m uphill and a mile cool down to give me 8.25 miles for the day.
It was a good run and I'm looking forward to my 5k Race on October 3rd.
Run Streak = 69 days
I felt sluggish in the warm up. I haven't been sleeping much lately, simply because I've been busy. I usually wake up around 5am, and don't get to bed until 10pm (at the earliest). I think this is why I've been feeling a little sluggish. I got done with my two mile warm and proceed into the workout. My goal pace was right around 7:00/mile. I ran 7:10 for my first mile and wasn't feeling too hot. Mostly, I don't think I was extremely motivated to do this workout. I seriously thought about stopping and just continuing on with just a few easy miles. However, my competitive instincts wouldn't allow this. I ran 7:09 for the second mile. After passing the halfway point I was feeling a bit better and decided to pick up the pace a bit, if no other reason than to finish sooner. I ran 6:54 for the third mile, followed by 6:42 for the last mile for a final time of 27:56 (6:59/mile). So I averaged right about what I wanted to and felt pretty good the last two miles after picking the pace up a bit. I got in a quick 8x100m uphill and a mile cool down to give me 8.25 miles for the day.
It was a good run and I'm looking forward to my 5k Race on October 3rd.
Run Streak = 69 days
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Recovery Week
I'm not a big fan of recovery weeks when it comes to my own training. I know I need them and I know I'll benefit from them, in both the short term and the long term, but they really screw up my training routine. I don't find it too difficult to run higher mileage weeks. I can get into a routine and it becomes a given to wake up early to run, then to run again in the evening. But at the present moment it takes more courage and will-power to NOT run than to just go out and run. I'm having to force myself not to run. Quite a weird feeling. I can't wait to get back to the grind next week.
Run Streak = 66 days
Run Streak = 66 days
Friday, September 11, 2009
Cross Country Running and Life
I've been extremely busy the past 3 weeks but things are beginning to calm down a bit. We had a lasagna dinner last night for the cross country team at our head coach's house. It was a good meal and enjoyed spending 'non-running time' with the athletes. It seemed liked everyone had a good time. As much as I enjoy practice, I enjoy the 'non-running time' with runners even more.
I knocked out a good workout this morning (6 x 1600m @ 10M RP w/1 min rest) and I'm near the end of a 60-65 mile week (205-210 miles the past 4 weeks). My legs are feeling a little fatigued, but not overly so. I am looking forward to a recovery week next week.
We race at the Texas A&M Cross Country Invitational tomorrow morning. Hopefully the weather will be nice and we can get a good race in. I haven't had the team do any 'high quality' training yet and while the team's overall fitness level is really good, they are not really race ready. But I still think we can have a good run.
Being that we are beginning to really get the cross country season started, I wanted to post one of the most well written and inspirational articles I've ever seen in regards to the life lessons learned through running. I hope you enjoy it....
Cross Country Running and Life
By: George Straznitskas
Late November is when many newspapers publish photos of local high school Cross Country runners in their sports' section. Usually these are group shots of kids who have been members of champion teams, or who have made all-league, all-state or all something. I always enjoy looking at these photographs.
Maybe I'm biased, but it just seems to me that pictures of THESE kids always have a different look to them, compared to other team photos I see. Some are short, some are tall. Hair and skin colors vary. However, these kids always appear to me to have a common look to them, in spite of physical differences. They seem to be looking into the camera lens reluctantly, as if each would much rather be grinding out a hilly ten miler than posing.
I think most runners, regardless of age, probably understand these sentiments. For these young people, the photos are destined to become brittle, browned, paper reminders of a great time in their life. A time when, perhaps, an otherwise quiet and somewhat introverted teenager suddenly felt empowered by the act of running competitively. And maybe for a period of 20 minutes, or so, this young warrior threw caution to the wind for the first time, running as hard as possible for as long as possible. Bathed in sweat, bent over and gasping for breath at the finish line, the athlete might have wondered aloud if this is what death must feel like.
In time, this same athlete will surely realize the opposite. Indeed, this is what life feels like. The lessons learned during the harsh cross country season can be applied to the rest of life, whether running or not. To be successful we must prepare, both physically and mentally. We must be willing to lay it on the line, in front of friends, foes and the entire world of spectators. If we fall, we need to get up quickly and get moving again. When our body weakens, we must press on. As our mind is tested by doubt, we must sustain a belief in us. And most of all, we must never, ever give up.
Looking at these young faces pictured in the newspaper, I wonder how each of these runners will utilize these valuable lessons in the years ahead. Will it be in search of Olympic Gold? Maybe these young runners will use there newfound knowledge to pursue excellence in a vocation of business or public service. Let's hope so. However, many will come to realize that many of the answers to life's everyday challenges can be found back on those narrow rocky paths and steep hills they were fortunate enough to have climbed in more innocent times.
Run Streak = 62 days
I knocked out a good workout this morning (6 x 1600m @ 10M RP w/1 min rest) and I'm near the end of a 60-65 mile week (205-210 miles the past 4 weeks). My legs are feeling a little fatigued, but not overly so. I am looking forward to a recovery week next week.
We race at the Texas A&M Cross Country Invitational tomorrow morning. Hopefully the weather will be nice and we can get a good race in. I haven't had the team do any 'high quality' training yet and while the team's overall fitness level is really good, they are not really race ready. But I still think we can have a good run.
Being that we are beginning to really get the cross country season started, I wanted to post one of the most well written and inspirational articles I've ever seen in regards to the life lessons learned through running. I hope you enjoy it....
Cross Country Running and Life
By: George Straznitskas
Late November is when many newspapers publish photos of local high school Cross Country runners in their sports' section. Usually these are group shots of kids who have been members of champion teams, or who have made all-league, all-state or all something. I always enjoy looking at these photographs.
Maybe I'm biased, but it just seems to me that pictures of THESE kids always have a different look to them, compared to other team photos I see. Some are short, some are tall. Hair and skin colors vary. However, these kids always appear to me to have a common look to them, in spite of physical differences. They seem to be looking into the camera lens reluctantly, as if each would much rather be grinding out a hilly ten miler than posing.
I think most runners, regardless of age, probably understand these sentiments. For these young people, the photos are destined to become brittle, browned, paper reminders of a great time in their life. A time when, perhaps, an otherwise quiet and somewhat introverted teenager suddenly felt empowered by the act of running competitively. And maybe for a period of 20 minutes, or so, this young warrior threw caution to the wind for the first time, running as hard as possible for as long as possible. Bathed in sweat, bent over and gasping for breath at the finish line, the athlete might have wondered aloud if this is what death must feel like.
In time, this same athlete will surely realize the opposite. Indeed, this is what life feels like. The lessons learned during the harsh cross country season can be applied to the rest of life, whether running or not. To be successful we must prepare, both physically and mentally. We must be willing to lay it on the line, in front of friends, foes and the entire world of spectators. If we fall, we need to get up quickly and get moving again. When our body weakens, we must press on. As our mind is tested by doubt, we must sustain a belief in us. And most of all, we must never, ever give up.
Looking at these young faces pictured in the newspaper, I wonder how each of these runners will utilize these valuable lessons in the years ahead. Will it be in search of Olympic Gold? Maybe these young runners will use there newfound knowledge to pursue excellence in a vocation of business or public service. Let's hope so. However, many will come to realize that many of the answers to life's everyday challenges can be found back on those narrow rocky paths and steep hills they were fortunate enough to have climbed in more innocent times.
Run Streak = 62 days
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Breaking Barriers.... at all costs
“My feeling is that any day I am too busy to run is a day that I’m too busy.” —John Bryant, deputy editor of the London Times
I woke up at 4am again so that I had time to run prior to the teams workout and getting the day started. Amazingly, it's not as difficult to do this as I thought it would be.
I got started running around 4:30am with a 2 mile warm up. A half-mile into the warm up I passed the 1500 mile mark for the year. I'm a little OCD about many things, but in particular my mileage. I keep track of it to the nearest 5-hundreths, so I figure this 1500 mile total is about as accurate as it could be. After the warm up, I proceeded with the day's scheduled workout, which as a 4 Mile Tempo Run. After debating with myself of whether I should do it on the road or on the track, I ultimately opted for the road. When I'm on the track I obsess about times and paces too much and I don't think leads to effective training for me. To add to the emphasis of running on feel, I had no idea where the mile markers were for my route, so the entire run was strictly off of feel. I ended up running a 3.95 mile tempo run in 28:13.6 (7:08.4/mile). I was quite pleased with the run. Especially considering it was a hilly course (150ft elevation change). A two mile cool down put my at 8 miles for the day.
Run Streak = 59 days
I woke up at 4am again so that I had time to run prior to the teams workout and getting the day started. Amazingly, it's not as difficult to do this as I thought it would be.
I got started running around 4:30am with a 2 mile warm up. A half-mile into the warm up I passed the 1500 mile mark for the year. I'm a little OCD about many things, but in particular my mileage. I keep track of it to the nearest 5-hundreths, so I figure this 1500 mile total is about as accurate as it could be. After the warm up, I proceeded with the day's scheduled workout, which as a 4 Mile Tempo Run. After debating with myself of whether I should do it on the road or on the track, I ultimately opted for the road. When I'm on the track I obsess about times and paces too much and I don't think leads to effective training for me. To add to the emphasis of running on feel, I had no idea where the mile markers were for my route, so the entire run was strictly off of feel. I ended up running a 3.95 mile tempo run in 28:13.6 (7:08.4/mile). I was quite pleased with the run. Especially considering it was a hilly course (150ft elevation change). A two mile cool down put my at 8 miles for the day.
Run Streak = 59 days
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Late Start
I slept in a bit this morning and didn't get started with my run until about 9am. Fortunately, the weather is cooling off, so the late start didn't negatively impact my workout.
I went over to Forest Hills again for a 2 x 2 Mile workout @ 12.5k Race Pace w/3 minute rest. I did this workout two weeks ago and averaged 14:07 for each 2 mile segment. After a two mile warm up I was feeling pretty good and had a feeling it would be a pretty good workout. I've had some pretty early mornings the past 2 weeks, so I think the extra rest did me some good. I ran my first 2 mile cruise interval in 13:40. My goal was just to run 14:00, but I felt good and under control. I had hit the mile in 6:42 and tried to hold back some in the second mile. After a 3 minute walking rest I started my second cruise interval and I hit the mile in 6:45. I was feeling pretty good, so I decided to just go with it. I finished in 13:30 feeling great. This workout was supposed to be a cruise interval workout, but I probably worked past my lactate threshold and got some VO2 stimulus out of it.... but oh well. I was feeling good and just went with it. Next time I do this workout I'll run 3 cruise intervals instead of 2, hopefully that will help keep me from running them too quickly. Good day today!
Run Streak = 56 days
I went over to Forest Hills again for a 2 x 2 Mile workout @ 12.5k Race Pace w/3 minute rest. I did this workout two weeks ago and averaged 14:07 for each 2 mile segment. After a two mile warm up I was feeling pretty good and had a feeling it would be a pretty good workout. I've had some pretty early mornings the past 2 weeks, so I think the extra rest did me some good. I ran my first 2 mile cruise interval in 13:40. My goal was just to run 14:00, but I felt good and under control. I had hit the mile in 6:42 and tried to hold back some in the second mile. After a 3 minute walking rest I started my second cruise interval and I hit the mile in 6:45. I was feeling pretty good, so I decided to just go with it. I finished in 13:30 feeling great. This workout was supposed to be a cruise interval workout, but I probably worked past my lactate threshold and got some VO2 stimulus out of it.... but oh well. I was feeling good and just went with it. Next time I do this workout I'll run 3 cruise intervals instead of 2, hopefully that will help keep me from running them too quickly. Good day today!
Run Streak = 56 days
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Life's Interruptions
Tuesday morning I woke up at 4am so that I had time to run prior to having set up for practice at 6am. I had debated with myself if this was a good idea, and I tried to convince myself that the extra sleep I would be getting by sleeping until 5:30am would do me some good, as I could just wait to run in the evening (personally, I prefer the morning). But I decided against that thought and woke up early to get my run done. I ran 8 miles at Forest Hills with my last 3 miles in 22:20. Practice went well with the team afterwards and I made it through most of the day without feeling any undue fatigue from the early morning.
At about 3pm I received a phone call from my mom, asking if I could come home (to Lockhart) that night so that I could take her to the hospital for surgery in the morning. Her doctor had discovered melanoma on her right calf a few weeks ago. I knew she was going to have surgery and I had been making plans to be able to come home whenever she had it scheduled to make sure she had a ride to and from the hospital and to make sure her recovery was going okay. However, she was expecting it to be in mid September. I quickly tied up some loose ends to make sure my team knew what to do while I was gone and that my classes were either covered by another professor or cancelled/rescheduled. I also had to make sure everything was prepped for our first XC competition on Friday. After all that and getting the teams afternoon practice started I left to go to my house, throw some clothes in a bag and head to Lockhart. I got to Lockhart at about 10:30pm and I was exhausted from the long day. Needless to say, I'm now glad I woke up at 4am to run, otherwise I may have had to miss a day in my running streak.
Her surgery went well and she's doing just fine. I'm getting all my running in (though I'm missing the elliptical) and I can't wait to get back to Huntsville Friday morning.
Run Streak = 54 days
At about 3pm I received a phone call from my mom, asking if I could come home (to Lockhart) that night so that I could take her to the hospital for surgery in the morning. Her doctor had discovered melanoma on her right calf a few weeks ago. I knew she was going to have surgery and I had been making plans to be able to come home whenever she had it scheduled to make sure she had a ride to and from the hospital and to make sure her recovery was going okay. However, she was expecting it to be in mid September. I quickly tied up some loose ends to make sure my team knew what to do while I was gone and that my classes were either covered by another professor or cancelled/rescheduled. I also had to make sure everything was prepped for our first XC competition on Friday. After all that and getting the teams afternoon practice started I left to go to my house, throw some clothes in a bag and head to Lockhart. I got to Lockhart at about 10:30pm and I was exhausted from the long day. Needless to say, I'm now glad I woke up at 4am to run, otherwise I may have had to miss a day in my running streak.
Her surgery went well and she's doing just fine. I'm getting all my running in (though I'm missing the elliptical) and I can't wait to get back to Huntsville Friday morning.
Run Streak = 54 days
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
