(Insert Preface Here)
I put my name into the lottery to get into the half marathon a while ago. I haven't done one in the past year so i didn't have a qualifying time. My dad used his marathon time to get in. I didn't get selected in the lottery and I pretty much forgot about it. About 4 days ago my dad said he could get me a number. I think one of his patients had gotten in but couldn't run. So I said I'd do it as part of my long run for the week and not really race it. So yesterday, my dad called me and told me that the guy he was getting he number from didn't realize that you had to go pick up the number the day before the race. So again, I was numberless, but i decided I'd just jump in anyway.
The race started at 7am, so I had to get up at 4:45 to get to the city so we could find parking and get ready and such. I tried to go to sleep at about 10:45, but I haven't gone to bed that early in forever so it didn't really work. I fell asleep at about 1:45, so I got a whopping 3 hours of sleep. Anyway, when I woke up it was thundering, raining, and dark. It was still raining when we got to the city, so we put off getting out of the car for as long as we could, then walked across the park to the bag drop off place. I was a little worried that it would be hard to get into the field because there was a good amount of security and about 14-16,000 people in the race. When i walked into the corrals, some race staff guy asked me what my number was. I said "I don't have one" and walked past him. Very tight security. I lined up at the last minute and was probably about 4000th off the line.
My first mile was 7:10 since i was kind of stuck in traffic. I didn't really care since I was still just thinking of it as my Sunday run. As i kept splitting at every mile though, I realized that there was no way that I was going to run with all of these people and not race it at least a little. From the start, virtually every mile was faster than the previous one. I never really pushed it as hard as I could, but I brought it up to a brisk yet comfortable pace. I really felt fine for the whole time until the 13th mile where I let it out a bit and dropped a 5:34.
Long story short, I ran a 1:23:12. I would've come in 175th and third in my age group so i guess i should've just made up a qualifying time. That's about a 3 and a half minute PR.
My dad ran about a 1:26. He is a beast.
If anyone cares, I'll put my splits up. Also, R2C13 will be ballin outrageous. That is all.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Race mentalities - response to Sambo
Sambo, it's really cool to hear how geared up you are for this year of running. I thought I'd dip into my penseive and see what I could find about race mentality.
Ever since I started running pretty well in high school, I've prided myself on being absurdly consistent. Part of that was our mileage. Low mileage distance programs generally = never feeling flat or bad on race day. That's not helpful though. Let me take you on an exciting little journey through my best races in college. On a side note, Edwar Ramirez just got Manny to pop up and end the inning. Tight.
Open NE's - Hot as balls out, ran the JV race coming off a calf injury. A fair amount our top-7 had rough days but Nick came up to me after the varsity race and said something along the lines of "Don't worry about what happened to me and the varsity guys. Run your race." Striding out before that race I was so fucking pumped. I'm pretty sure I was growling at the people around me. I didn't run Keene State the week before, so I was chomping at the bit to get after it. I took Nick's advice and thought about nothing but how good I felt and how bad I wanted to start crushing people. Billy, Alander and I hammered the whole way until we broke apart a little before 4 miles. Time was slow as hell for a short course, but I was really happy with how aggressively I ran every second for all 28 minutes and change.
ECAC's - Williams. Luckily the only time I ever felt like I had to race against teammates. This would decide who the 6 and 7 guys would be for Conn. My back was up against the wall. I either had to throw down the 8k of my life or go home and call it a season instead of spiking up at regionals and eventually nationals. When I started falling apart a little around mile 3.5, I kept saying to myself "no regrets" which was something Rod and I had talked about after NESCACs. Leading up to and including the hill the last time, I kept saying "no regrets, no regrets" just like in fucking finding nemo. (Know how I know I'm gay?) I guess it worked, I ran my second fastest 8k of the year on a pretty fucking hard course. I really was running for my life, or so it felt.
Husky - Robinson Cano just came up big with a 2 run double. This was probably my best track race ever above 800 meters. Warming up with Lena, Hutch, Tony, and Brunnquell was cool. It felt like we were more of a team out on a mission to run fast than it usually felt in cross. I guess it was because not everyone was running 3k. This was another case of being really pumped to run after a while without a race. Anyway, the strat was to get out hard the first 150 meters and hang on for as long as possible to whoever was near the front. I got out in the lead of the stagger and once we got to the end of the second turn, it was absolutely awesome. We broke from the stagger, I was striding right next to the leader (who was a nasty runner from the school just north of my hometown once upon a time), and just about the whole Tufts team was up on the rail at that split second. Wham. My first college race on the oval, I'm knocking elbows with would-be D-I Jesse Kearns and my whole team's yelling for me instead of running ahead of or behind me. Ended up PRing by 9 seconds over 3000.
Stonehill - first real race back from epic injury indoors. Toed the line in the 1500 with no fucking clue what kind of shape I was in. We went through 1000 at probably 68-70 second pace the whole way. With 500 I was like "wait, I've been here before. I feel amazing. Let's change gears and try to win." Went by a few people from the bell to 200 to go until I was in a healthy second and instincts totally took over. At that very moment when we went into the turn, I suddenly had no doubts whatsoever that I would win, and I had total faith in my ability to go back on the offensive once we hit the straight. Did it, came up on the leaders shoulder at the end of the turn and just felt like I was running him into the ground. Crossed the line almost on a lean in first and felt like I had just won Olympic Gold (by the way, I'm pretty much ready to go with my filthy-good picks for the Olympics pool. anyone else?). Closed in 62.
Fourth of July 5k Freedom Run - Unfortunately none of you were there for that. I have no doubt that I went into this race more excited, more confident, and more mentally geared up than I have ever been before. Warming up, everything was perfect. Breathing was slow, legs were strong, stride was enormous. Basically everything I did felt nothing short of dominant. My body had never felt that good. Ever. That's what a well-structured down week will do, Jerzy. Standing on the starting line with random people from my town, I seriously felt like a God. The race was over 400 meters in. No one was touching me. Ran 15:49 on what was probably a big negative split and won by a minute and a half.
I guess the majority of my best races come in one of 2 situations. Intense, unyielding confidence, or absolutely scared-shitless desperation. No matter what, I've always raced well if I'm just out there having fun and doing what I love. I suppose the only situation we have under control though is the confidence aspect. If you can keep your mind off of what you have to do over the next 5 miles and just focus on your body, your preparation and your execution, great things will happen. Always have faith in your training. Never doubt your preparation on Saturday morning. And as Ethan has said, "Just fuckin' have fun. That's why we do this, right?"
Ever since I started running pretty well in high school, I've prided myself on being absurdly consistent. Part of that was our mileage. Low mileage distance programs generally = never feeling flat or bad on race day. That's not helpful though. Let me take you on an exciting little journey through my best races in college. On a side note, Edwar Ramirez just got Manny to pop up and end the inning. Tight.
Open NE's - Hot as balls out, ran the JV race coming off a calf injury. A fair amount our top-7 had rough days but Nick came up to me after the varsity race and said something along the lines of "Don't worry about what happened to me and the varsity guys. Run your race." Striding out before that race I was so fucking pumped. I'm pretty sure I was growling at the people around me. I didn't run Keene State the week before, so I was chomping at the bit to get after it. I took Nick's advice and thought about nothing but how good I felt and how bad I wanted to start crushing people. Billy, Alander and I hammered the whole way until we broke apart a little before 4 miles. Time was slow as hell for a short course, but I was really happy with how aggressively I ran every second for all 28 minutes and change.
ECAC's - Williams. Luckily the only time I ever felt like I had to race against teammates. This would decide who the 6 and 7 guys would be for Conn. My back was up against the wall. I either had to throw down the 8k of my life or go home and call it a season instead of spiking up at regionals and eventually nationals. When I started falling apart a little around mile 3.5, I kept saying to myself "no regrets" which was something Rod and I had talked about after NESCACs. Leading up to and including the hill the last time, I kept saying "no regrets, no regrets" just like in fucking finding nemo. (Know how I know I'm gay?) I guess it worked, I ran my second fastest 8k of the year on a pretty fucking hard course. I really was running for my life, or so it felt.
Husky - Robinson Cano just came up big with a 2 run double. This was probably my best track race ever above 800 meters. Warming up with Lena, Hutch, Tony, and Brunnquell was cool. It felt like we were more of a team out on a mission to run fast than it usually felt in cross. I guess it was because not everyone was running 3k. This was another case of being really pumped to run after a while without a race. Anyway, the strat was to get out hard the first 150 meters and hang on for as long as possible to whoever was near the front. I got out in the lead of the stagger and once we got to the end of the second turn, it was absolutely awesome. We broke from the stagger, I was striding right next to the leader (who was a nasty runner from the school just north of my hometown once upon a time), and just about the whole Tufts team was up on the rail at that split second. Wham. My first college race on the oval, I'm knocking elbows with would-be D-I Jesse Kearns and my whole team's yelling for me instead of running ahead of or behind me. Ended up PRing by 9 seconds over 3000.
Stonehill - first real race back from epic injury indoors. Toed the line in the 1500 with no fucking clue what kind of shape I was in. We went through 1000 at probably 68-70 second pace the whole way. With 500 I was like "wait, I've been here before. I feel amazing. Let's change gears and try to win." Went by a few people from the bell to 200 to go until I was in a healthy second and instincts totally took over. At that very moment when we went into the turn, I suddenly had no doubts whatsoever that I would win, and I had total faith in my ability to go back on the offensive once we hit the straight. Did it, came up on the leaders shoulder at the end of the turn and just felt like I was running him into the ground. Crossed the line almost on a lean in first and felt like I had just won Olympic Gold (by the way, I'm pretty much ready to go with my filthy-good picks for the Olympics pool. anyone else?). Closed in 62.
Fourth of July 5k Freedom Run - Unfortunately none of you were there for that. I have no doubt that I went into this race more excited, more confident, and more mentally geared up than I have ever been before. Warming up, everything was perfect. Breathing was slow, legs were strong, stride was enormous. Basically everything I did felt nothing short of dominant. My body had never felt that good. Ever. That's what a well-structured down week will do, Jerzy. Standing on the starting line with random people from my town, I seriously felt like a God. The race was over 400 meters in. No one was touching me. Ran 15:49 on what was probably a big negative split and won by a minute and a half.
I guess the majority of my best races come in one of 2 situations. Intense, unyielding confidence, or absolutely scared-shitless desperation. No matter what, I've always raced well if I'm just out there having fun and doing what I love. I suppose the only situation we have under control though is the confidence aspect. If you can keep your mind off of what you have to do over the next 5 miles and just focus on your body, your preparation and your execution, great things will happen. Always have faith in your training. Never doubt your preparation on Saturday morning. And as Ethan has said, "Just fuckin' have fun. That's why we do this, right?"
Friday, July 25, 2008
My training and questions on race mentality
Hey Guys
I'm bored at work, so I thought I'd give this running blogging thing a shot. First of all to echo what a lot of posts have said before, I think this blog is a really good idea, and well done to j-rags/nick/whoever else was part of putting it up.
So here's where I am with my summer training: I went abroad in January and got back in early May. I didn't run once while I was there-a combination of needing a mental break and the fact that Cairo's overflowing streets, dense air pollution, and lack of any free public green space aren't really that conducive to running. I also had done some serious thinking over there about whether I was even going to run this year or not. I had not taken off more than a month from running since my freshman year of high school, and for the first month or two I didn't miss it at all. I walked around a lot, so I still felt like I was getting exercise, and the lifting of the burden of having to find a time to run every day (and the guilt if I didn't run) felt kind of liberating. However, as my trip came to an end and I started thinking ahead about the next year back in the US, I slowly came to the realization that I both wanted/needed running to be a part of it. Up to this point, my college career has largely been a disappointment to me. This has stemmed both from my inability to train consistently over the summers and from doing a poor job preparing for races mentally (which I want to talk about later.) So, when I came back to the US, and made a list of 3 simple summer goals for myself, which may seem self-evident for most of the guys on this blog, but were a step forward for me. They were:
1)no unplanned days off
2)eat healthy-i.e. cut the andreas out of my life
3)stretch and abs every day
I also made 3 goals for the xc season:
1)Sub 17:30 at alumni run
2)Sub 28:00 in a 8k
3)make ECACs
So far this summer I've accomplished goals 1 and 2. I took only one unplanned day "off" (really a 2 miler at the beginning of this week-the rest of the low mileage you see for me this week yesterday and probably today is the result of a stomach bug) and eaten healthier than I have maybe my whole life (thanks to 139 College's excellent cooking.) Goal 3 I've been slacking on, probably because my mind doesn't see the immediate link between abs and running (I know, I know, it's there, just bear with my irrationality.) And the plan is paying off because I definitely feel like I'm in close to the best shape of my life. I've been doing training runs at a faster pace than normal, without it feeling that fast (if that makes sense) and I felt stronger in last Tuesday's tempo than I have since I can remember. I still haven't hit the weekly mileages I'd been hoping for, but it's definitely been a large improvement over last summer. I also attribute that to having people to run with every day. Assuming I can get over this stomach thing, I'm feeling ready to put up a strong last month of training before xc (which for me would be hitting the 65-70 mile range/week.)
On a different note, I had some questions for anyone who reads this. As I mentioned above, in the past I've had trouble with race-day mentality. Looking back on past experience it feels almost as if its dumb luck whether I have a good race or not. Obviously this is not true, but let me try to explain what I mean. Going into a race I'm always going to put in a full effort, but some days I can cruise along at 5:45s pretty effortlessly in an 8k, while other days I come through the first mile at 6 minutes and feel atrocious (obviously you guys can readjust these times so they make sense for what you run-My prs 28:45, if that puts them into perspective.) This can happen in back to back races, with no clear difference in training difficulty, diet, sleep, etc. Course and weather could play a role, but it happens variously enough, (and in track) that I don't think it's one specific course, or one specific weather condition, which of course leads me to falsely attribute to how I feel, and hence run, any given day to luck. This leads to over-analyzation and as Brunnquell mentioned in an earlier post, often at least for me, self-over-analyzation often leads to failure.
So I guess what I was wondering is, what are people's general strategies towards dealing with the variability in racing and race mentality in general? For guys who have had runs like Sorensen or Brunnq, where every race seemed to be a big pr, what felt different then from other times in your running careers? Was it confidence? The benefits of additional training? I'd like to hear people's opinion on this. Sorry if this question/topic is kind of basic/irrelevant to summer training, but it's something I'm curious about.
Finally some closing thoughts:
1) Hutch should definitely create his own blog
2) Working in this library has taught me why people in the post office and DMV always have such attitudes, when you become accustomed to doing nothing all day, every small task out of the ordinary seems like a major annoyance
3)I had to take a shit on a run the other day. When emerging out of the woods, right in front of me on the road was this grungy looking guy, wearing a brown leather trenchcoat, black boots, and looked like he was hopped up on something. It was the most scared I've been in a while.
4)Bloom looks skinny in his recent pictures on facebook. It's kind of disappointing.
5)T-29 days to camp
Sam(bo 1)
I'm bored at work, so I thought I'd give this running blogging thing a shot. First of all to echo what a lot of posts have said before, I think this blog is a really good idea, and well done to j-rags/nick/whoever else was part of putting it up.
So here's where I am with my summer training: I went abroad in January and got back in early May. I didn't run once while I was there-a combination of needing a mental break and the fact that Cairo's overflowing streets, dense air pollution, and lack of any free public green space aren't really that conducive to running. I also had done some serious thinking over there about whether I was even going to run this year or not. I had not taken off more than a month from running since my freshman year of high school, and for the first month or two I didn't miss it at all. I walked around a lot, so I still felt like I was getting exercise, and the lifting of the burden of having to find a time to run every day (and the guilt if I didn't run) felt kind of liberating. However, as my trip came to an end and I started thinking ahead about the next year back in the US, I slowly came to the realization that I both wanted/needed running to be a part of it. Up to this point, my college career has largely been a disappointment to me. This has stemmed both from my inability to train consistently over the summers and from doing a poor job preparing for races mentally (which I want to talk about later.) So, when I came back to the US, and made a list of 3 simple summer goals for myself, which may seem self-evident for most of the guys on this blog, but were a step forward for me. They were:
1)no unplanned days off
2)eat healthy-i.e. cut the andreas out of my life
3)stretch and abs every day
I also made 3 goals for the xc season:
1)Sub 17:30 at alumni run
2)Sub 28:00 in a 8k
3)make ECACs
So far this summer I've accomplished goals 1 and 2. I took only one unplanned day "off" (really a 2 miler at the beginning of this week-the rest of the low mileage you see for me this week yesterday and probably today is the result of a stomach bug) and eaten healthier than I have maybe my whole life (thanks to 139 College's excellent cooking.) Goal 3 I've been slacking on, probably because my mind doesn't see the immediate link between abs and running (I know, I know, it's there, just bear with my irrationality.) And the plan is paying off because I definitely feel like I'm in close to the best shape of my life. I've been doing training runs at a faster pace than normal, without it feeling that fast (if that makes sense) and I felt stronger in last Tuesday's tempo than I have since I can remember. I still haven't hit the weekly mileages I'd been hoping for, but it's definitely been a large improvement over last summer. I also attribute that to having people to run with every day. Assuming I can get over this stomach thing, I'm feeling ready to put up a strong last month of training before xc (which for me would be hitting the 65-70 mile range/week.)
On a different note, I had some questions for anyone who reads this. As I mentioned above, in the past I've had trouble with race-day mentality. Looking back on past experience it feels almost as if its dumb luck whether I have a good race or not. Obviously this is not true, but let me try to explain what I mean. Going into a race I'm always going to put in a full effort, but some days I can cruise along at 5:45s pretty effortlessly in an 8k, while other days I come through the first mile at 6 minutes and feel atrocious (obviously you guys can readjust these times so they make sense for what you run-My prs 28:45, if that puts them into perspective.) This can happen in back to back races, with no clear difference in training difficulty, diet, sleep, etc. Course and weather could play a role, but it happens variously enough, (and in track) that I don't think it's one specific course, or one specific weather condition, which of course leads me to falsely attribute to how I feel, and hence run, any given day to luck. This leads to over-analyzation and as Brunnquell mentioned in an earlier post, often at least for me, self-over-analyzation often leads to failure.
So I guess what I was wondering is, what are people's general strategies towards dealing with the variability in racing and race mentality in general? For guys who have had runs like Sorensen or Brunnq, where every race seemed to be a big pr, what felt different then from other times in your running careers? Was it confidence? The benefits of additional training? I'd like to hear people's opinion on this. Sorry if this question/topic is kind of basic/irrelevant to summer training, but it's something I'm curious about.
Finally some closing thoughts:
1) Hutch should definitely create his own blog
2) Working in this library has taught me why people in the post office and DMV always have such attitudes, when you become accustomed to doing nothing all day, every small task out of the ordinary seems like a major annoyance
3)I had to take a shit on a run the other day. When emerging out of the woods, right in front of me on the road was this grungy looking guy, wearing a brown leather trenchcoat, black boots, and looked like he was hopped up on something. It was the most scared I've been in a while.
4)Bloom looks skinny in his recent pictures on facebook. It's kind of disappointing.
5)T-29 days to camp
Sam(bo 1)
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Down Weeks
Along the lines of what Greg and Jragz were talking about, I'd like to write about down weeks and pose some questions. This week, I've decided to take a down week and recover a bit, as I have not taken one yet this summer. I'm dropping about 20 miles this week (from 75 to 55 miles) with a day off. Instead of feeling fresh and ready to go, I have been feeling "flat" and sluggish. Is this why some people don't advocate a large taper before big races- to avoid that "flat" feeling? Hopefully the rest will kick in next week and I'll be ready to go...
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
TUXC Blog
Hey guys,
Now that you all can check out what we've posted over the last few days, I thought I quickly preface it off. The posts below came from the last few days, as we were testing it out, seeing how it worked, what it looked like, etc. Scroll around, read what some of us said, feel it out. As you can see, it's a cool way for us to toss out ideas about training principles and philosophies, races, running news, personal experiences, and all the other ish related to running and TUXC. As I said in the email, get at me or JRags if you'd like to post--it's open to all.
Keep up the good running, logging, and now, posting. Go TUXC.
Nick
Now that you all can check out what we've posted over the last few days, I thought I quickly preface it off. The posts below came from the last few days, as we were testing it out, seeing how it worked, what it looked like, etc. Scroll around, read what some of us said, feel it out. As you can see, it's a cool way for us to toss out ideas about training principles and philosophies, races, running news, personal experiences, and all the other ish related to running and TUXC. As I said in the email, get at me or JRags if you'd like to post--it's open to all.
Keep up the good running, logging, and now, posting. Go TUXC.
Nick
Recovery
Going along with what Jeff said, I have been fiddling with my own recovery drink. But rather than just using protein, it's a good idea to include a complex carb as well. I'm not 100% sure, but the idea is to create an insulin spike, which delivers nutrients to your muscles faster (I think that's how it goes). Simple sugars do deliver the spike, but it lasts only a short while, which is why a complex carb is better. In addition, a 3:1 carb:protein ratio is ideal, so I've read, and I'm not sure if just a scoop of protein powder delivers what we need, especially after long run.
There's a couple of products on the market, like Endurox and Accelerade, but I found one that people seemed to rave about, Recoverite. It's much cheaper to mix my own using the component ingredients, so I've been ordering things. I got a free sample of Recoverite, and it tasted awful, so I'm sort of glad that I'm not using it.The ingredients are protein powder, maltodextrin, an electrolyte powder from the same company that makes Recoverite (Hammer Nutrition), and glutamine (an amino acid). Those of you who read Dyestat with some regularity will know that someone was raving about glutamine. It's part of Recoverite, so I figured I'd include it.
In terms of the timeframe in which this drink is drank, it should be ASAP after the workout. 10-15 minutes is ideal (after all running is finished). Then stretch, abs, other stuff, then a meal about an hour later. At least that's what I've read.
The point of this being, 150A is going to be loaded with strange powders.
Also, everyone do calf raises. I know I hadn't been running for a while, but my shin muscles were incredibly weak, which led to the troubles I had. You guys are probably better off than I am, but this is just a friendly reminder to do any sort of lower leg exercises to build strength and prevent injury.
This post also makes no sense.
There's a couple of products on the market, like Endurox and Accelerade, but I found one that people seemed to rave about, Recoverite. It's much cheaper to mix my own using the component ingredients, so I've been ordering things. I got a free sample of Recoverite, and it tasted awful, so I'm sort of glad that I'm not using it.The ingredients are protein powder, maltodextrin, an electrolyte powder from the same company that makes Recoverite (Hammer Nutrition), and glutamine (an amino acid). Those of you who read Dyestat with some regularity will know that someone was raving about glutamine. It's part of Recoverite, so I figured I'd include it.
In terms of the timeframe in which this drink is drank, it should be ASAP after the workout. 10-15 minutes is ideal (after all running is finished). Then stretch, abs, other stuff, then a meal about an hour later. At least that's what I've read.
The point of this being, 150A is going to be loaded with strange powders.
Also, everyone do calf raises. I know I hadn't been running for a while, but my shin muscles were incredibly weak, which led to the troubles I had. You guys are probably better off than I am, but this is just a friendly reminder to do any sort of lower leg exercises to build strength and prevent injury.
This post also makes no sense.
Random thoughts from work - Part 2 - Recovery
The more I think about the ideal way to structure your week and training cycles as a distance runner, the more important recovery becomes. In the last 6 months, I have become a big proponent of the "workouts don't make you stronger, recovery does" philosophy. Physiologically, its true. The muscle fibers in our legs are weaker and broken down every Tuesday and Thursday night so that Wednesday and Friday are spent repairing cell damage, so that we're ready to go again Thursday and Saturday.
Ah, there enlies the difficulty, how to recovery optimally so that come the next workout, we're ready to safely handle a bigger and more intense load than we have in the past?
Tuesday workout ends at 6:00. Wednesday shake out isn't for another 21 and a half hours. And we don't hit the track on Thursday for 40-something hours. That's a shit-long time to nurse your body back to health. So what's the first thing you do?
1) Hydrating. Some of us are better than others about stretching, abs, drills, strides, things like that. I don't care. Whether you're out on the track stretching or shooting the shit in the locker room, you can be drinking and refueling. Without raw material to use in rebuilding thrashed muscle fiber and tissue, let's be serious, you're fucked. First thing's first, water. As soon as the last interval ends, you can be hitting agua, even before your cool down. Flooding your system with water will dilute your blood, which is probably already thickening if you're dehydrated from a workout out in the heat or an exciting Monday night as always. The more dilute your blood is over the day or two of recovery, the more circulation you can get to your broken down muscle fibers and the more nutrients that can get to the rebuilding sites in your legs.
2) Refueling. Once you've done whatever you do post-workout (stretch and ice bath or just change your shoes), we head out to do the most important training of the week, D-Training. I won't lecture about nutrition, because I honestly don't know much about it, but it's not too hard to know what's good and what isn't at Dewick. No matter what, we all need carbs, proteins, and fats.
Get some energy with good carbs (pasta or fiber-type veggies). 3 mile warm up + 5 mile tempo + 4 mile cool down = 12 miles. That's in excess of 1000 calories that you need to replace. If you replace them with shit (I'm looking at you, buff-chick fans), you're going to be refueled for the next 2 day with shit.
Get something for rebuilding. This is your raw material i.e. proteins. Hit the meat. The good meat, your Peter Browne's Choice Beef, grilled chicken, non-deepfried fish. You can't build muscle fiber out of M&M's and AppleJacks.
Get some good fats. Someone please correct me on this section, I'm probably wrong. When we get out for our runs, and especially long runs, there's only so much fuel (carbohydrates) in our blood stream. 17 mile Sunday run burns about 1500 nutritional calories, which is rarely in our system on Sunday morning (probably left somewhere in the College Ave bathroom area and/or the President's Lawn). Low intensity runs burn mostly fat, so refueling with bad fat (including deep fried everything) is not the way to go. If you need something with good fatty acids, hit the fucking peanut butter jar.
3) Sleep. Doubling at a meet generally doesn't feel that bad at the time. You might be a little tired for the second event, but you can't feel the muscle damage by then. Only by the next morning does it take effect when you feel the stiffness of partially rebuilt muscles. The rebuilding process happens mostly during sleep. GO THE FUCK TO BED. Want to know why professional athletes can workout about as hard as they can every 48 hours? It's probably because they sleep 10 hours a night and nap during the day between easy workouts. If you balance your time right (Hutch, don't worry I'm not lecturing about time management, God knows...) it's not that hard to get to bed by midnight or 1 AM for a 10:30 class. That's 5 or 6 hours after dinner if you leave Dewick at 7.
4) Staying hydrated and fueled all day the next day. Staying hydrated isn't hard, just keep a bottle on you at all times. Grab a fresh liter of Fells whenever you pass by a fountain or are in Dewick. Same story as right after the workout. More water = more circulation = more nutrients = more muscular recovery. Staying fueled is huge, too. Not all muscle rebuilding is done right after the workout i.e. fueled by dinner. The whole next day, your body is still working to get you ready for another hard effort. Once you wake up, every nutrient you consumed at dinner is gone, so haul your ass to breakfast. Or snag a breakfast at dinner the night before. Something with protein so you have a continuous supply of building materials throughout the day. PB&J. It's perfect. Quick and easy to make, cheap to buy, it has proteins and good fats in the PB, and some quick refined carbs in the J to keep your eyes open through early morning plus blocks (even though you shouldn't be tired at this point). Need an even easier way to get protein? Man the fuck up and crush some PROTEIN-RAGE!!! as Cleveland would say. Step one, red solo cup + 8 ounces of tap water + 1 scoop of protein supplement. Step 2, mix. Step 3, pound that shit. Wham, 20 grams of protein designed specifically for rebuilding muscle fiber in athletes unlike food proteins. I'll be dealing from 150A Lewis, and maybe from Baronian for right-after-workouts.
Recovery is not hard, overall, just make decisions that will leave you ready to rock for the next hard effort on the track or trails. Being recovered 45 hours later means feeling fresh and stronger for the next workout, meaning you can run it (or the race) even harder. Recover for the next workout after that, and, you get the picture. It's 6 weeks later and you're in the best shape of your life because you've felt great and ready to crank on literally every single workout and race you've run. What's the worst that can happen, you save money on not buying from Andrea's and you don't sleep through morning classes.
Love,
Common Sense.
Ah, there enlies the difficulty, how to recovery optimally so that come the next workout, we're ready to safely handle a bigger and more intense load than we have in the past?
Tuesday workout ends at 6:00. Wednesday shake out isn't for another 21 and a half hours. And we don't hit the track on Thursday for 40-something hours. That's a shit-long time to nurse your body back to health. So what's the first thing you do?
1) Hydrating. Some of us are better than others about stretching, abs, drills, strides, things like that. I don't care. Whether you're out on the track stretching or shooting the shit in the locker room, you can be drinking and refueling. Without raw material to use in rebuilding thrashed muscle fiber and tissue, let's be serious, you're fucked. First thing's first, water. As soon as the last interval ends, you can be hitting agua, even before your cool down. Flooding your system with water will dilute your blood, which is probably already thickening if you're dehydrated from a workout out in the heat or an exciting Monday night as always. The more dilute your blood is over the day or two of recovery, the more circulation you can get to your broken down muscle fibers and the more nutrients that can get to the rebuilding sites in your legs.
2) Refueling. Once you've done whatever you do post-workout (stretch and ice bath or just change your shoes), we head out to do the most important training of the week, D-Training. I won't lecture about nutrition, because I honestly don't know much about it, but it's not too hard to know what's good and what isn't at Dewick. No matter what, we all need carbs, proteins, and fats.
Get some energy with good carbs (pasta or fiber-type veggies). 3 mile warm up + 5 mile tempo + 4 mile cool down = 12 miles. That's in excess of 1000 calories that you need to replace. If you replace them with shit (I'm looking at you, buff-chick fans), you're going to be refueled for the next 2 day with shit.
Get something for rebuilding. This is your raw material i.e. proteins. Hit the meat. The good meat, your Peter Browne's Choice Beef, grilled chicken, non-deepfried fish. You can't build muscle fiber out of M&M's and AppleJacks.
Get some good fats. Someone please correct me on this section, I'm probably wrong. When we get out for our runs, and especially long runs, there's only so much fuel (carbohydrates) in our blood stream. 17 mile Sunday run burns about 1500 nutritional calories, which is rarely in our system on Sunday morning (probably left somewhere in the College Ave bathroom area and/or the President's Lawn). Low intensity runs burn mostly fat, so refueling with bad fat (including deep fried everything) is not the way to go. If you need something with good fatty acids, hit the fucking peanut butter jar.
3) Sleep. Doubling at a meet generally doesn't feel that bad at the time. You might be a little tired for the second event, but you can't feel the muscle damage by then. Only by the next morning does it take effect when you feel the stiffness of partially rebuilt muscles. The rebuilding process happens mostly during sleep. GO THE FUCK TO BED. Want to know why professional athletes can workout about as hard as they can every 48 hours? It's probably because they sleep 10 hours a night and nap during the day between easy workouts. If you balance your time right (Hutch, don't worry I'm not lecturing about time management, God knows...) it's not that hard to get to bed by midnight or 1 AM for a 10:30 class. That's 5 or 6 hours after dinner if you leave Dewick at 7.
4) Staying hydrated and fueled all day the next day. Staying hydrated isn't hard, just keep a bottle on you at all times. Grab a fresh liter of Fells whenever you pass by a fountain or are in Dewick. Same story as right after the workout. More water = more circulation = more nutrients = more muscular recovery. Staying fueled is huge, too. Not all muscle rebuilding is done right after the workout i.e. fueled by dinner. The whole next day, your body is still working to get you ready for another hard effort. Once you wake up, every nutrient you consumed at dinner is gone, so haul your ass to breakfast. Or snag a breakfast at dinner the night before. Something with protein so you have a continuous supply of building materials throughout the day. PB&J. It's perfect. Quick and easy to make, cheap to buy, it has proteins and good fats in the PB, and some quick refined carbs in the J to keep your eyes open through early morning plus blocks (even though you shouldn't be tired at this point). Need an even easier way to get protein? Man the fuck up and crush some PROTEIN-RAGE!!! as Cleveland would say. Step one, red solo cup + 8 ounces of tap water + 1 scoop of protein supplement. Step 2, mix. Step 3, pound that shit. Wham, 20 grams of protein designed specifically for rebuilding muscle fiber in athletes unlike food proteins. I'll be dealing from 150A Lewis, and maybe from Baronian for right-after-workouts.
Recovery is not hard, overall, just make decisions that will leave you ready to rock for the next hard effort on the track or trails. Being recovered 45 hours later means feeling fresh and stronger for the next workout, meaning you can run it (or the race) even harder. Recover for the next workout after that, and, you get the picture. It's 6 weeks later and you're in the best shape of your life because you've felt great and ready to crank on literally every single workout and race you've run. What's the worst that can happen, you save money on not buying from Andrea's and you don't sleep through morning classes.
Love,
Common Sense.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Ideas
Hey guys,
So now that we're getting this thing off to a good start, I had a few ideas that I thought might be good for us to keep in mind--not rules as much as guidelines, to which I'm completely open to responses, criticism, or utter rejection.
Let's try to keep this thing more or less running-related (not that we haven't thus far). It doesn't by any means have to be only about training per se, but let's just keep it from digressing into a blog version of the TUXC email list. (After all, we still have the email list.) For now it will probably remain among the athletes of the team, but if down the road we wanted to open it up to recruits, other NESCAC teams, the coaches, etc., it'd be good to maintain its focus.
Perhaps the subject of this post should have been Idea. I think I only have that one. But what do you guys think?
Nick
So now that we're getting this thing off to a good start, I had a few ideas that I thought might be good for us to keep in mind--not rules as much as guidelines, to which I'm completely open to responses, criticism, or utter rejection.
Let's try to keep this thing more or less running-related (not that we haven't thus far). It doesn't by any means have to be only about training per se, but let's just keep it from digressing into a blog version of the TUXC email list. (After all, we still have the email list.) For now it will probably remain among the athletes of the team, but if down the road we wanted to open it up to recruits, other NESCAC teams, the coaches, etc., it'd be good to maintain its focus.
Perhaps the subject of this post should have been Idea. I think I only have that one. But what do you guys think?
Nick
Canada
I will be at the edge of civilization from tomorrow until Wednesday evening. There will be no internet. It will be difficult, but I can do it. Wish me luck.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Rise and fall of the class of 11111011011 (MMXI)
First time in 9 weeks that 2k11 does not take the crown for mileage log king of the hill.
Discuss.
Discuss.
My Training So Far
This summer is the first summer I have really gotten into running mileage. In high school, I would not run an inch all summer, go to running camp the week before practice started, run 60 miles in six days, and be ready to go. Last summer I ran about 50-60 mpw, but took days off every week due to procrastinating (or I would go out with my friends and come home at 2am and struggle through a short run). This summer I have realized that getting out the door everyday at a set time is the best solution. Sitting at my house all day, procrastinating, only makes things worse. I start to hate the fact that I have to go run, and get psyched out. Once I get out the door, however, I realize why I like to run, and am happy to get it over with.
So far, my training has been going great. At the beginning of the summer, I went to Europe with a few of my high school buddies, and as a result did not run as much as I should have. Since then, I have been steadily building mileage, and I hope to get into the mid 80s if all goes well and I'm feeling good (though I desperately need to take a down week next week).
Workouts so far have gotten better and better. 2 weeks ago was my first tempo (two tuesdays ago). As mentioned before, I did it with Jragz, Brunx, and Jesse. The first 3 miles were completed in around 17:55, and though aerobically I felt perfectly relaxed, my legs were not used to running at the faster pace (though it was barely sub 6 pace). I felt pretty awful at this point of the tempo. During the next 2 miles, we overcompensated, and Brunx and I ended up going 10:50ish for the last 2 (we meant to go 11:20), for a 28:45 total time. What's funny is that the 5:25 pace felt just as easy as the 6:00 pace. Since getting the daunting first tempo out of the way, I have made an effort to do more strides, after realizing that my tempo felt difficult due to poor turnover.
This past Thursday, I went to Franklin Park (for those of you who don't know, it is an 8k course that we race every year) to do another tempo run. The day was hot and I felt tired, so I didn't expect much of myself. I purposely stayed relaxed the first mile, and was surprised to look down at my watch and see 5:40. I was surprise again at 2 miles which I hit in 11:22, despite tackling some significant hills. I went through 5k in 17:30, still feeling very relaxed and in control. Though I don't konw the 4 mile marker, I completed the 8k/5 mile course in 27:27. I recovered within a couple minutes, but the result was both exciting and worrysome. It made me wonder if I am hammering too hard too early during the summer, and risking burnout. Hopefully not, for I did not push myself much harder than I normally would on a tempo run.
p.s. Greg, Paul Norton acknowledges you as his rival, and Gihan Amirsersfsdsdeededena angrily remembers when I outkicked him high school
So far, my training has been going great. At the beginning of the summer, I went to Europe with a few of my high school buddies, and as a result did not run as much as I should have. Since then, I have been steadily building mileage, and I hope to get into the mid 80s if all goes well and I'm feeling good (though I desperately need to take a down week next week).
Workouts so far have gotten better and better. 2 weeks ago was my first tempo (two tuesdays ago). As mentioned before, I did it with Jragz, Brunx, and Jesse. The first 3 miles were completed in around 17:55, and though aerobically I felt perfectly relaxed, my legs were not used to running at the faster pace (though it was barely sub 6 pace). I felt pretty awful at this point of the tempo. During the next 2 miles, we overcompensated, and Brunx and I ended up going 10:50ish for the last 2 (we meant to go 11:20), for a 28:45 total time. What's funny is that the 5:25 pace felt just as easy as the 6:00 pace. Since getting the daunting first tempo out of the way, I have made an effort to do more strides, after realizing that my tempo felt difficult due to poor turnover.
This past Thursday, I went to Franklin Park (for those of you who don't know, it is an 8k course that we race every year) to do another tempo run. The day was hot and I felt tired, so I didn't expect much of myself. I purposely stayed relaxed the first mile, and was surprised to look down at my watch and see 5:40. I was surprise again at 2 miles which I hit in 11:22, despite tackling some significant hills. I went through 5k in 17:30, still feeling very relaxed and in control. Though I don't konw the 4 mile marker, I completed the 8k/5 mile course in 27:27. I recovered within a couple minutes, but the result was both exciting and worrysome. It made me wonder if I am hammering too hard too early during the summer, and risking burnout. Hopefully not, for I did not push myself much harder than I normally would on a tempo run.
p.s. Greg, Paul Norton acknowledges you as his rival, and Gihan Amirsersfsdsdeededena angrily remembers when I outkicked him high school
Light Reading
Fat Greg can get all the food he wants next year, cause he's going Unlimited. I'll be sure to grab a few vegetarian potstickers for you.
Now, for those of you who don't know, TullyRunners is a great site. It's run by this guy who sometimes helps out at Tully High School (where Lopez Lomong went to high school). He does all kinds of statistical analysis and articles. He has a system of "Speed Ratings," which he uses to compare XC performances from different races, because obviously time cannot be used. He's scary good at it, predicting sectionals, states, and even NTN with eerie accuracy. The site really is a blessing, especially if you live in NY. Anyways, some of the aforementioned articles are pretty interesting. If you're bored or have lots of free time, they're good to read. This guy, John Raucci, wrote a lot of them.
http://tullyrunners.com/Articles/RaucciArticle.htm
http://tullyrunners.com/Articles/RaucciFollow1.htm
http://tullyrunners.com/Articles/RaucciFollow2.htm
http://tullyrunners.com/Articles/RaucciFollow3.htm
Index page - http://tullyrunners.com/Articles.htm
You should check out Tullyrunners.com too, if you look real hard you can find a few pictures of me.
Now, for those of you who don't know, TullyRunners is a great site. It's run by this guy who sometimes helps out at Tully High School (where Lopez Lomong went to high school). He does all kinds of statistical analysis and articles. He has a system of "Speed Ratings," which he uses to compare XC performances from different races, because obviously time cannot be used. He's scary good at it, predicting sectionals, states, and even NTN with eerie accuracy. The site really is a blessing, especially if you live in NY. Anyways, some of the aforementioned articles are pretty interesting. If you're bored or have lots of free time, they're good to read. This guy, John Raucci, wrote a lot of them.
http://tullyrunners.com/Articles/RaucciArticle.htm
http://tullyrunners.com/Articles/RaucciFollow1.htm
http://tullyrunners.com/Articles/RaucciFollow2.htm
http://tullyrunners.com/Articles/RaucciFollow3.htm
Index page - http://tullyrunners.com/Articles.htm
You should check out Tullyrunners.com too, if you look real hard you can find a few pictures of me.
ramble on
well the sox are getting messed up. they just brought in timlin who is the white flag in the bullpen. i need something to get through the next few innings so here it goes, thought i'd waste some bandwidth with some random thoughts. these might be coherent, but probably won't be.
1. if it says use a leash, there might be a reason. like come on. i love dogs. i used to have several. but come on dude there's probably a reason you're supposed to keep them on a leash. like, so it doesn't try to turn some poor guy into a chew toy. and if your dog does try to eat my face, don't get mad at me when i push it off me. i'm too pretty to be dog food.
2. vitamin water is quickly becoming one of my favorite drinks.
3. i should have started lackey on my fantasy team. that was dumb.
4. fat hutch misses being able to swipe a card and getting all the food he can eat. even if that means having to endure lo cal whipped potatoes.
5. i'm tired. i'm tired way too much now. that seems to be the one downside to doubles/higher mileage. seriously, i'm like a fucking senior citizen. i go to bed before my classes next semester will end. thats bad. i might need an intervention.
6. or a different job. i swear at work we have fucking possessed voodoo clocks. i leave the house a little before 7, get home at like 5:30 and am only on the clock for 8 hours. i think that defies the law of physics. can we get an engineer on this? you guys might be good for something after all.
7. craig hansen: one of the best pitchers in baseball...when he's losing by more than 8 runs. seriously, he just pitched a 1-2-3 inning. i think its the first time in his career he's done that. and the sox are losing by 8. if this was a close ballgame, i guarantee he gets shelled for 2 or 3 runs. wasn't this the guy we refused to trade a year or 2 ago because he had the stuff to become a top reliever? yeah, that worked out well.
8. anyone know why webby didn't run today?
9. go see batman. if you've already seen it, go see it again. its good. its that good.
10. i'm sick of hearing about farve, but i think i've gotten to the point where i can accept the existence of football. i think. unless it gets to be september and i see them walk out on the field for the first time and my head explodes. that could still happen too.
ok at the risk of sounding way too much like angry alex i'm gonna stop this list now.
one more thing though, i miss racing. a lot. theres a pretty big 5-miler here tomorrow that i really want to run. it probably won't happen though. since the gun goes off in 7 hours. and i just ate a big cheeseburger. too bad. september (and august 2) can't get here quick enough.
1. if it says use a leash, there might be a reason. like come on. i love dogs. i used to have several. but come on dude there's probably a reason you're supposed to keep them on a leash. like, so it doesn't try to turn some poor guy into a chew toy. and if your dog does try to eat my face, don't get mad at me when i push it off me. i'm too pretty to be dog food.
2. vitamin water is quickly becoming one of my favorite drinks.
3. i should have started lackey on my fantasy team. that was dumb.
4. fat hutch misses being able to swipe a card and getting all the food he can eat. even if that means having to endure lo cal whipped potatoes.
5. i'm tired. i'm tired way too much now. that seems to be the one downside to doubles/higher mileage. seriously, i'm like a fucking senior citizen. i go to bed before my classes next semester will end. thats bad. i might need an intervention.
6. or a different job. i swear at work we have fucking possessed voodoo clocks. i leave the house a little before 7, get home at like 5:30 and am only on the clock for 8 hours. i think that defies the law of physics. can we get an engineer on this? you guys might be good for something after all.
7. craig hansen: one of the best pitchers in baseball...when he's losing by more than 8 runs. seriously, he just pitched a 1-2-3 inning. i think its the first time in his career he's done that. and the sox are losing by 8. if this was a close ballgame, i guarantee he gets shelled for 2 or 3 runs. wasn't this the guy we refused to trade a year or 2 ago because he had the stuff to become a top reliever? yeah, that worked out well.
8. anyone know why webby didn't run today?
9. go see batman. if you've already seen it, go see it again. its good. its that good.
10. i'm sick of hearing about farve, but i think i've gotten to the point where i can accept the existence of football. i think. unless it gets to be september and i see them walk out on the field for the first time and my head explodes. that could still happen too.
ok at the risk of sounding way too much like angry alex i'm gonna stop this list now.
one more thing though, i miss racing. a lot. theres a pretty big 5-miler here tomorrow that i really want to run. it probably won't happen though. since the gun goes off in 7 hours. and i just ate a big cheeseburger. too bad. september (and august 2) can't get here quick enough.
Friday, July 18, 2008
My Thoughts
First off, for those who won't know (i.e. all of you), I have been having a bit of shin trouble. I can run again Monday, but I'll be back to 10 miles a week or so. Hopefully I can build up quickly, but we'll have to see.
XC this year is going to be very similar to what it was my senior year of high school. For those who don't know (i.e. all of you), I got injured during indoor and outdoor junior year (my shin) and messed it up real bad by continuing to run on it (sound familiar?) I started running again towards the end of the summer, and spent most of cross dragging ass. I did get better throughout, however, and had my best race at the end of the season, running #1 for our team.
Which is all well and good, except for the fact that my best race at the end of senior year was as fast as I was racing at the beginning of my junior year. I was optimistic about this year before my shin began bothering me, but it's beginning to look more and more like a repeat of two years ago.
I think it'll be different for a number of reasons, though.
1. This isn't high school. People are good. I raced the very first race senior year, on September 9. I got a cramp and ran 18:01. I never ran that slow again (thank god), but I'm hoping this year will be a little different in that I won't race right away. I should not have started racing so soon in the season my senior year. I don't know if I'll do Alumni Run, simply by virtue of my injuries, but I don't want to start racing the following week. Whether or not I race will not affect the outcome of the team either, since I won't be scoring this year, at least at the beginning of the season (nice mileage by the way, guys, I can't wait to watch what happens).
2. I have a a history of tanking hard at the end of the season. For indoor and outdoor states my senior year, I ate it BIG TIME. It also happened last year at nationals. While various things may have contributed to the bad races, they were bound to happen. So it may be a good thing that I'm getting a late start on my training. Peak at the right time, you know? If you take into account the shape I was in at each point during the season, I never really had a bad race during senior cross. But I never ran fast, either.
3. Last year's summer was really the first that I ran serious mileage. It worked out well, I was in monster shape at the beginning of the season. And then I had nowhere to go. If I felt as good as I did at Alumni Run for every race, I'd break 25 no problem. UMass Darthmouth was a great race for me. It was also maybe the race with the least bit of consequence the whole season. Look at what Josh Kennedy did his freshman year. He and I are very, very different runners, but based on my first couple of races I expected a lot more out of myself towards the end of the season. So again, it may be good that I'm getting a (really) late start. I may peak for regionals. But I doubt I'll be throwing down anything spectacular during the month of November, besides a freakish neck beard.
But, like I said, I think this year will be different. College isn't high school; I don't need to race every weekend; even the healthy guys won't. Better training will get me there a lot faster, I hope, as will an extra month or so of base. But, 8ks are a lot different than 5ks, as in they require a lot more training volume. Still, I can only suck for so long, right?
I also haven' t been able to cross-train as much as I'd like, mainly because of serf labor and the fact that the pool is open a grand total of 4 hours a week. But I never feel like I do enough anyways.
Hopefully I am Jesse Faller Incarnate and come alive off of 30 miles a week.
Go TUTF!
This post makes no sense.
XC this year is going to be very similar to what it was my senior year of high school. For those who don't know (i.e. all of you), I got injured during indoor and outdoor junior year (my shin) and messed it up real bad by continuing to run on it (sound familiar?) I started running again towards the end of the summer, and spent most of cross dragging ass. I did get better throughout, however, and had my best race at the end of the season, running #1 for our team.
Which is all well and good, except for the fact that my best race at the end of senior year was as fast as I was racing at the beginning of my junior year. I was optimistic about this year before my shin began bothering me, but it's beginning to look more and more like a repeat of two years ago.
I think it'll be different for a number of reasons, though.
1. This isn't high school. People are good. I raced the very first race senior year, on September 9. I got a cramp and ran 18:01. I never ran that slow again (thank god), but I'm hoping this year will be a little different in that I won't race right away. I should not have started racing so soon in the season my senior year. I don't know if I'll do Alumni Run, simply by virtue of my injuries, but I don't want to start racing the following week. Whether or not I race will not affect the outcome of the team either, since I won't be scoring this year, at least at the beginning of the season (nice mileage by the way, guys, I can't wait to watch what happens).
2. I have a a history of tanking hard at the end of the season. For indoor and outdoor states my senior year, I ate it BIG TIME. It also happened last year at nationals. While various things may have contributed to the bad races, they were bound to happen. So it may be a good thing that I'm getting a late start on my training. Peak at the right time, you know? If you take into account the shape I was in at each point during the season, I never really had a bad race during senior cross. But I never ran fast, either.
3. Last year's summer was really the first that I ran serious mileage. It worked out well, I was in monster shape at the beginning of the season. And then I had nowhere to go. If I felt as good as I did at Alumni Run for every race, I'd break 25 no problem. UMass Darthmouth was a great race for me. It was also maybe the race with the least bit of consequence the whole season. Look at what Josh Kennedy did his freshman year. He and I are very, very different runners, but based on my first couple of races I expected a lot more out of myself towards the end of the season. So again, it may be good that I'm getting a (really) late start. I may peak for regionals. But I doubt I'll be throwing down anything spectacular during the month of November, besides a freakish neck beard.
But, like I said, I think this year will be different. College isn't high school; I don't need to race every weekend; even the healthy guys won't. Better training will get me there a lot faster, I hope, as will an extra month or so of base. But, 8ks are a lot different than 5ks, as in they require a lot more training volume. Still, I can only suck for so long, right?
I also haven' t been able to cross-train as much as I'd like, mainly because of serf labor and the fact that the pool is open a grand total of 4 hours a week. But I never feel like I do enough anyways.
Hopefully I am Jesse Faller Incarnate and come alive off of 30 miles a week.
Go TUTF!
This post makes no sense.
Response to Nick
As stated before, great initiative on the part of Jragz for starting this thing.
Before I talk about my training so far this summer, I want to talk a bit more about Nick's take on doubles. I just started doubling this summer, largely due to this www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=2372073&page=8 thread on Letsrun.com (it's a great read). What the main poster on the thread (Malmo, a former pro runner) said, is that if you haven't started doubling now, start immediately. You will feel tired, but you will gradually adjust and reap great benefits. I feel that many people have the wrong take on doubling, as if it is "cheating". In reality, doubling should supplement your mileage. For example, take runner A, who either physically or mentally (or both) cannot run 70 miles a week in singles. Instead, he runs 55 miles a week in singles, which is the most he can handle in singles. He can supplement the mileage he is already doing in singles, with some morning slow runs of 3 or 4 miles. Though aerobically it may be better to do the 70 in singles, his body may not be ready for that much in singles. With doubles, he can run more mileage and stay healthy. He also is allowing himself to adjust to running 70 miles a week, which will enable him to run more in the future. Running is not all about getting more fit aerobically. A 10 mile run is not always better than a 7 mile run. The benefit of doubling is felt in many ways. First of all, your body learns to recover more quickly, because it works on a 12 hour schedule instead of a 24 hour schedule. Furthermore, the morning run gets fresh blood flowing to the legs which allows you to feel ready to go in the afternoon run. By splitting say a 10 mile run into two runs, you can run them at a much higher quality, for it is easier to run faster for 7 miles than it is for 10. It also allows you to avoid the form breakdown which inevitably occurs at the end of a longer run. By no means am I advocating doubling everyday, and there is definitely a place every week for a long run and a few medium length long runs, but doubling can supplement your recovery days and allow you to feel better on your medium days.
'
Before I talk about my training so far this summer, I want to talk a bit more about Nick's take on doubles. I just started doubling this summer, largely due to this www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=2372073&page=8 thread on Letsrun.com (it's a great read). What the main poster on the thread (Malmo, a former pro runner) said, is that if you haven't started doubling now, start immediately. You will feel tired, but you will gradually adjust and reap great benefits. I feel that many people have the wrong take on doubling, as if it is "cheating". In reality, doubling should supplement your mileage. For example, take runner A, who either physically or mentally (or both) cannot run 70 miles a week in singles. Instead, he runs 55 miles a week in singles, which is the most he can handle in singles. He can supplement the mileage he is already doing in singles, with some morning slow runs of 3 or 4 miles. Though aerobically it may be better to do the 70 in singles, his body may not be ready for that much in singles. With doubles, he can run more mileage and stay healthy. He also is allowing himself to adjust to running 70 miles a week, which will enable him to run more in the future. Running is not all about getting more fit aerobically. A 10 mile run is not always better than a 7 mile run. The benefit of doubling is felt in many ways. First of all, your body learns to recover more quickly, because it works on a 12 hour schedule instead of a 24 hour schedule. Furthermore, the morning run gets fresh blood flowing to the legs which allows you to feel ready to go in the afternoon run. By splitting say a 10 mile run into two runs, you can run them at a much higher quality, for it is easier to run faster for 7 miles than it is for 10. It also allows you to avoid the form breakdown which inevitably occurs at the end of a longer run. By no means am I advocating doubling everyday, and there is definitely a place every week for a long run and a few medium length long runs, but doubling can supplement your recovery days and allow you to feel better on your medium days.
'
a lot of thoughts from a non-thinker
wooo im a blogger. I feel so hip and modern. oh... the ninety's are over... damn.
Nice post Nicolas, and Jeffrey, thank you for creating this and adding me and such.
I guess my first post will just be a mini-mantra of my approach to running. Jeff and Nick seem to be thinkers when it comes to running. Jeff is never short on thoughts as to strategy, mechanics, and plans. and, is not shy about expressing those thoughts, as evidenced by the twelve minute video of him talking on this blog. This style seems to be very popular, or maybe its just the vocal nature of it.
My approach, or at least what i aim for in my approach, is not thinking. I've always found that thinking about running can only complicate it and make it worse. I'm sure everyone has had the experience of dreading a run either in the few minutes before it or all day leading up to it, but immediately after you start you feel so much better. You get the "this isn't so bad" felling for at least a few seconds. Then of course there's the misery that is miles 2 and 3 of any run where you just feel miserable before you get into a rhythm. My best times have come during races that I didn't overthink. I went to the line of the 10k at DivIIIs with no expectations of myself and with a plan of running as fast as i felt like i could sustain for 25 laps. It was the same case in my fastest 5k. I had no intention of breaking 16 that day, I just ran as well as I could. On the other side, some of the worst races I've run have been those that i overthought. I attempted the first tempo this summer one morning after planning for it and worrying about it for a good amount of time the night before and during the time it took for me to do a long warmup. I made it one mile before i had to stop. I was mentally shot before i even started. That night, I mapped out a new 5 mile route, did a three minute warmup, and hammered out a 28:40 relatively easily. I stopped worrying about being exactly on pace and just ran. I guess I'm just a runner, not a thinker.
Anyway, thumbs up for the fartlek long run. Anything that can distract me from the thought that i'm doing a long run is definitely a good idea. I'll probably try it next long run.
I'm not injured. I'm sick. I'll run again next week.
Chris
Nice post Nicolas, and Jeffrey, thank you for creating this and adding me and such.
I guess my first post will just be a mini-mantra of my approach to running. Jeff and Nick seem to be thinkers when it comes to running. Jeff is never short on thoughts as to strategy, mechanics, and plans. and, is not shy about expressing those thoughts, as evidenced by the twelve minute video of him talking on this blog. This style seems to be very popular, or maybe its just the vocal nature of it.
My approach, or at least what i aim for in my approach, is not thinking. I've always found that thinking about running can only complicate it and make it worse. I'm sure everyone has had the experience of dreading a run either in the few minutes before it or all day leading up to it, but immediately after you start you feel so much better. You get the "this isn't so bad" felling for at least a few seconds. Then of course there's the misery that is miles 2 and 3 of any run where you just feel miserable before you get into a rhythm. My best times have come during races that I didn't overthink. I went to the line of the 10k at DivIIIs with no expectations of myself and with a plan of running as fast as i felt like i could sustain for 25 laps. It was the same case in my fastest 5k. I had no intention of breaking 16 that day, I just ran as well as I could. On the other side, some of the worst races I've run have been those that i overthought. I attempted the first tempo this summer one morning after planning for it and worrying about it for a good amount of time the night before and during the time it took for me to do a long warmup. I made it one mile before i had to stop. I was mentally shot before i even started. That night, I mapped out a new 5 mile route, did a three minute warmup, and hammered out a 28:40 relatively easily. I stopped worrying about being exactly on pace and just ran. I guess I'm just a runner, not a thinker.
Anyway, thumbs up for the fartlek long run. Anything that can distract me from the thought that i'm doing a long run is definitely a good idea. I'll probably try it next long run.
I'm not injured. I'm sick. I'll run again next week.
Chris
First off, mad props to JRags for getting this going. It's something we'd been talking about for a while but hadn't acted on, and I think he's got it off to a great start.
Secondly, welcome to the class of 2012 (if any of them read this) and to all members of TUXC, great job getting the miles and workouts in thus far through the summer. The log is looking really good, and I'm excited to see it progress and being to come to fruition in September.
I think JRags' comments into his training have been super helpful, it's always interesting to hear how things are going and what effects/results/etc. it's having on the lungs and legs. For me, I'm about three weeks into getting back on track. I was traveling for a month, running relatively consistently while I was there but taking a relaxed attitude about it (which I think can be very healthy both physically and mentally). Now that I'm home, training is going well. I'm getting the mileage up around where I was last summer (don't think I'll go much beyond that), doubling most days with an easy 4 or so in the evening usually. I think for guys that are gearing up for 5-10k distances, doubling is a great tool, so long as it doesn't take away from time you'd be eating or, more likely, sleeping. If you have the time, energy, and patience for it, it can help get the mileage up without too much strain on the body. That said, it will take some getting used if you've never doubled before; be patient and gradual with it, maybe doubling twice a week to start until that feels normal, and then adding days. But it shouldn't take away from the quality of your workouts or leave you super dead, and if it does it's probably not worth it. On the double days, one of the runs (if not both) should be super easy. I like to double my workout days or the days after workouts to shake out the soreness from what I did.
So far the tempos have gone well, getting the legs back used to sustaining near-race pace, and doing strides and our flying 60s for that top-end stuff. JRags' experience with long-run fartlek has got me thinking, and I think I'm going to have to give it a try on Sunday. My long runs often gradually turn into long tempos towards the end, but I've never toyed around with set intervals of fartleks, and I like the idea. I think strides and stretching are two keys that have helped me maintain quickness, footspeed, economy, and ROM (for you JR) especially during the base phase when those things might otherwise be neglected.
Above all, I think summer is a time when one needs to strike a balance--and it can be tough. On the one hand, we're pushing the miles, hammering through some tempos when we'd rather be jogging (or on the beach, or bowling), trying out doubles--any number of things, all pretty intense. Yet it's also a time for recovery (the three months of the year we don't race every weekend), for taking it easy, for preparing for the real work, which comes in September and October. You should be pushing--pushing the mileage, pushing your stamina in tempos, pushing your top-end speed in flying 60s, pushing the lifting--but also listening, to your body, your legs. Summer isn't the competition in and of itself; it's where we gear up for it. It can be a tough balance to find. I've certainly found myself at both extremes in the past, pushing a bit too much, but also taking it too easy (and paying the price come September when workouts started).
Now that I think about it, maybe that's the best way to think of it: we have to avoid the two extremes. Not pushing enough, not testing the waters in terms of mileage, not getting the body used to hard tempos and fast running will leave you unprepared and shocked by the fall's first workouts--and the season is too short to make it all up in a few weeks. But doing too much, or figuratively blowing your wad in July and August, and you'll find yourself spent, burned out, and dead when the real time to throw down is upon us. Now is certainly the time to try things out in terms of training when a race isn't always 6 days away, but be smart about listening to the legs and making sure they're ready to start the real shit in 6 weeks. No matter how you look at it, though, what we do at Mt. Greylock on November 15 has already begun.
Secondly, welcome to the class of 2012 (if any of them read this) and to all members of TUXC, great job getting the miles and workouts in thus far through the summer. The log is looking really good, and I'm excited to see it progress and being to come to fruition in September.
I think JRags' comments into his training have been super helpful, it's always interesting to hear how things are going and what effects/results/etc. it's having on the lungs and legs. For me, I'm about three weeks into getting back on track. I was traveling for a month, running relatively consistently while I was there but taking a relaxed attitude about it (which I think can be very healthy both physically and mentally). Now that I'm home, training is going well. I'm getting the mileage up around where I was last summer (don't think I'll go much beyond that), doubling most days with an easy 4 or so in the evening usually. I think for guys that are gearing up for 5-10k distances, doubling is a great tool, so long as it doesn't take away from time you'd be eating or, more likely, sleeping. If you have the time, energy, and patience for it, it can help get the mileage up without too much strain on the body. That said, it will take some getting used if you've never doubled before; be patient and gradual with it, maybe doubling twice a week to start until that feels normal, and then adding days. But it shouldn't take away from the quality of your workouts or leave you super dead, and if it does it's probably not worth it. On the double days, one of the runs (if not both) should be super easy. I like to double my workout days or the days after workouts to shake out the soreness from what I did.
So far the tempos have gone well, getting the legs back used to sustaining near-race pace, and doing strides and our flying 60s for that top-end stuff. JRags' experience with long-run fartlek has got me thinking, and I think I'm going to have to give it a try on Sunday. My long runs often gradually turn into long tempos towards the end, but I've never toyed around with set intervals of fartleks, and I like the idea. I think strides and stretching are two keys that have helped me maintain quickness, footspeed, economy, and ROM (for you JR) especially during the base phase when those things might otherwise be neglected.
Above all, I think summer is a time when one needs to strike a balance--and it can be tough. On the one hand, we're pushing the miles, hammering through some tempos when we'd rather be jogging (or on the beach, or bowling), trying out doubles--any number of things, all pretty intense. Yet it's also a time for recovery (the three months of the year we don't race every weekend), for taking it easy, for preparing for the real work, which comes in September and October. You should be pushing--pushing the mileage, pushing your stamina in tempos, pushing your top-end speed in flying 60s, pushing the lifting--but also listening, to your body, your legs. Summer isn't the competition in and of itself; it's where we gear up for it. It can be a tough balance to find. I've certainly found myself at both extremes in the past, pushing a bit too much, but also taking it too easy (and paying the price come September when workouts started).
Now that I think about it, maybe that's the best way to think of it: we have to avoid the two extremes. Not pushing enough, not testing the waters in terms of mileage, not getting the body used to hard tempos and fast running will leave you unprepared and shocked by the fall's first workouts--and the season is too short to make it all up in a few weeks. But doing too much, or figuratively blowing your wad in July and August, and you'll find yourself spent, burned out, and dead when the real time to throw down is upon us. Now is certainly the time to try things out in terms of training when a race isn't always 6 days away, but be smart about listening to the legs and making sure they're ready to start the real shit in 6 weeks. No matter how you look at it, though, what we do at Mt. Greylock on November 15 has already begun.
Random thoughts from work - Part 1 - The Fartlek
So begins my true productivity in the LEGOLab.
Part 1 - Fartleks
Monday's long run was one of the best runs I've ever done. 3 miles farther than my previous longest run and it felt 3 miles shorter, both probably because i fartleked the shit out of it (I had to say that eventually).
So... the workout: 25 minutes really easy out to the Harvard footbridge to meet Dirtbag Dirty Jerz (now that Nate's gone, someones gotta come up with demeaning nicknames), 10X 45 seconds around 5000 pace with 5 minutes run-rest around 6:45-7:00 pace, and a cool down of the rest of the run.
Awesome workout for 2 reasons. First, that made long run way easier. Granted I wasn't hung over (though I did hit a 4 day midweek stretch of taking shots every day), but I had no business surviving a 2+hour run averaging 6:40 pace. Second, I got in 7 and a half minutes of hard running without any real taxation on my body.
I think the reason this felt so good stems from range of motion (forever referred to as ROM from now on). When we slog off 20 clicks at 7 flat (I had to say that eventually too), ROM is horrendously repetitive. With the exception of terrain, we're doing the exact same thing for an hour and a half and more whether we push down to 6:45 or slow to 7:20. They're almost identical technically. By breaking up the physical monotony, I think you can shift stress to and from different areas of the legs by shifting gears frequently. Whatever pace it takes to really open up your stride is probably fast enough for pickups.
I've only done a fartlek long run once, so I could be totally wrong about all of this. Regardless, there is definitely a whole slew of benefits to throwing in surges to regular runs.
1) ROM again. Even if you don't end up feeling any better during the run, striding out mid-run will definitely leave you with more range of motion post-run. Just wait until my flexibility/ROM post...
2) Turn over/Economy. There's nothing like going from zero to 60 over the course of a week in XC. Tempo workouts are good, as are flying 60's, but neither are very close to our goal pace for November, unless you plan on coming through the first 400 at NESCACs in either 54.xx or 90. Now's not the time to be doing workouts at goal pace, but touching that speed every now and then will make it feel way more natural when things gets wet and wild starting 6 weeks from tomorrow at Grafton.
3) Mentally shifting gears. Effective gear shifting in the last mile is DEADLY to anyone near you who isn't confident in their ability to respond late in the game. Exhibit A: Bekele's last 475 meters in the Athens 10k. WHAM shit gets real 3:00 into the video from 600 out (Nick sent this out a few months ago). This is DIII though, you don't have to close in 53.0 but it would make for an ill video. Still, learning how to shift is integral to both making a race-ending move as well as responding to one.
Give it a try on your next medium to long run if you want to see for yourself. They don't have to be long or blazing fast, maybe just 20-30 seconds of aggressive running.
What's the worst that could happen, you intimidate the shit out of people you run by. Plus it gives you an excuse to say "fartlek" more often.
JRags
Part 1 - Fartleks
Monday's long run was one of the best runs I've ever done. 3 miles farther than my previous longest run and it felt 3 miles shorter, both probably because i fartleked the shit out of it (I had to say that eventually).
So... the workout: 25 minutes really easy out to the Harvard footbridge to meet Dirtbag Dirty Jerz (now that Nate's gone, someones gotta come up with demeaning nicknames), 10X 45 seconds around 5000 pace with 5 minutes run-rest around 6:45-7:00 pace, and a cool down of the rest of the run.
Awesome workout for 2 reasons. First, that made long run way easier. Granted I wasn't hung over (though I did hit a 4 day midweek stretch of taking shots every day), but I had no business surviving a 2+hour run averaging 6:40 pace. Second, I got in 7 and a half minutes of hard running without any real taxation on my body.
I think the reason this felt so good stems from range of motion (forever referred to as ROM from now on). When we slog off 20 clicks at 7 flat (I had to say that eventually too), ROM is horrendously repetitive. With the exception of terrain, we're doing the exact same thing for an hour and a half and more whether we push down to 6:45 or slow to 7:20. They're almost identical technically. By breaking up the physical monotony, I think you can shift stress to and from different areas of the legs by shifting gears frequently. Whatever pace it takes to really open up your stride is probably fast enough for pickups.
I've only done a fartlek long run once, so I could be totally wrong about all of this. Regardless, there is definitely a whole slew of benefits to throwing in surges to regular runs.
1) ROM again. Even if you don't end up feeling any better during the run, striding out mid-run will definitely leave you with more range of motion post-run. Just wait until my flexibility/ROM post...
2) Turn over/Economy. There's nothing like going from zero to 60 over the course of a week in XC. Tempo workouts are good, as are flying 60's, but neither are very close to our goal pace for November, unless you plan on coming through the first 400 at NESCACs in either 54.xx or 90. Now's not the time to be doing workouts at goal pace, but touching that speed every now and then will make it feel way more natural when things gets wet and wild starting 6 weeks from tomorrow at Grafton.
3) Mentally shifting gears. Effective gear shifting in the last mile is DEADLY to anyone near you who isn't confident in their ability to respond late in the game. Exhibit A: Bekele's last 475 meters in the Athens 10k. WHAM shit gets real 3:00 into the video from 600 out (Nick sent this out a few months ago). This is DIII though, you don't have to close in 53.0 but it would make for an ill video. Still, learning how to shift is integral to both making a race-ending move as well as responding to one.
Give it a try on your next medium to long run if you want to see for yourself. They don't have to be long or blazing fast, maybe just 20-30 seconds of aggressive running.
What's the worst that could happen, you intimidate the shit out of people you run by. Plus it gives you an excuse to say "fartlek" more often.
JRags
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
JRags - Living the high life at 19 Teele (this week's training)
So it's July 16th, more than half way through the summer already, and things are going really well. The LegoLab job still exists and is finally paying me, I get to see Cleveland's shining face every night, and the absurdly hot girls of Jumbo State are out tanning in full force.
Given all of these fortuitous circumstances, it should be no surprise that training is going really well. I just finished up a big week and I'm 3 days into an even bigger one. For those wondering how the fuck the indoor-cripple is putting up big numbers, I put together a little video about my training for the last 10 days.
If you guys get some time (give me a break, we all have time, nobody has a real job), throw something together about your running or lack thereof so far this summer, or whatever the fuck you've been up to.
Given all of these fortuitous circumstances, it should be no surprise that training is going really well. I just finished up a big week and I'm 3 days into an even bigger one. For those wondering how the fuck the indoor-cripple is putting up big numbers, I put together a little video about my training for the last 10 days.
If you guys get some time (give me a break, we all have time, nobody has a real job), throw something together about your running or lack thereof so far this summer, or whatever the fuck you've been up to.
JRags - July 16, 2008
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Welcome, Jumbos
To Jumbos of old, new, and future, welcome to the team-operated TUXC Blog. This blog is designed to supplement the GoJumbos features for the Tufts University Men's Cross Country team. Feel free to post about your running. Anything from your latest race, last Tuesday's tempo, next year's NESCAC's, or the supposed Spring Break trip to Mexico that Bobby is planning and paying for.
1, 2, 3, LETS GO TUFTS!
1, 2, 3, LETS GO TUFTS!
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