Setting a Goal: Making a Plan

The first, and arguably the most important, step in achieving something is to set a goal.

I do it all the time in business and life then build plans to help me get to where I want to go.  Sometimes I succeed and sometimes I don’t, but I have learned that due to my ADD if I don’t have a goal and a plan, then I’m not going to get anything accomplished.  I’ll just look around at stuff and be busy as all get out then look around again and realize I’ve gone nowhere.  It’s like going to the grocery store without a list to get milk and cereal.  I’ll come back with four or five items but no milk.

 

The longest memory is a short pencil.  I live that.

 
Some of the goals I set are beyond what I really think I can do, but I’ve found that helps me do more than I actually thought I could.  Especially when dealing with physical things like weights or running.  When I set those stretch goals I also have secondary ones that I plan to hit “on the way.”  That way I build in successes so I feel good and keep working.  That’s worked really well the past two years as I try to run a mile in under five minutes.

Only about ten people a year in my age group, or the one above or below for that matter, do that in any given year.  The air is rare up there.  Those guys are fast, fast, fast and I’d like to be up there with them.  Of course I haven’t run a sub-5 mile since I was 18 but, pffft, I don’t care.  It’s a stretch goal! 

I’ve already hit several of my secondary goals and had some great races along the way, plus I’ve learned a great deal about training and perseverance.  I’ve also had the good luck to be able to share a lot of those learning’s with other folks and hear about their successes, too.  So today I want to do some more sharing and give y’all some basic pointers for accomplishing any racing goals you might have.

 

First: Set the goal

 

Write it down, tell someone about it, and talk about.  Those things will help make it real to you and keep you working towards it even if you hit some setbacks.

 

Second: Have a plan

 

Things that are worthwhile don’t just happen.  They take effort and you work for them.  With the limited amount of time we all have, we can’t just be wasting it if we want to do something big for ourselves, and having a plan will help us be more efficient and improve the likelihood of reaching our goals.  Think the plan through starting with the finishing point.  If you’re goal is a PR in a Half Marathon, start with the race date and work your ways backwards understanding that you’re not going to be able to run the needed distances at the needed speeds if you don’t build up to it!  Knowing where you need to be and when will help lay out what you have to do to get there.  And be smart about it.  Don’t just go throwing big numbers out there like running 6 days a week 10 miles a day if you’ve never made yourself do it before.  If you’re a three day a week runner, stick to three days.  Play to your habits and strengths if you can.  If you do have to change something do it in small steps.  It’s really easy to get discouraged so it’s important not to plan for discouragement.  Plan for success and go after it in little, manageable steps.

 

Third:  Vary the plan

 

We all know shit happens.  Sometimes it’s self-inflicted; sometimes it’s not but you know it’s going to happen, so be ready to go with the flow.  Missing a workout isn’t going to be the end if you gave yourself the leeway when putting together your plan.  The other key point here is the “variety” in the “vary.”  Regardless of what you’re training to do, just going out and running several times a week is not going to get you very far.  When I began my training I first looked at what the world class “elites” do.  No, I’m not going to be one of them, but they obviously know what they’re doing so I imitate them!  Which brings up a pet peeve of mine: training plans where you don’t ever run the distance you’re going to race.  Please.  To me that’s just a plan to help you FINISH a distance, not race it.  Now, obviously, finishing is the goal for many people.  That was my goal when I ran my one and only Marathon.  I did pretty well even though I hit the wall hard at 23 miles, but I’d never run more than 18 leading up to that so what the hell else should I have expected?  Elite marathoners do 30 mile runs in their training from time to time.  Those of us who want to really race a marathon should think about doing that, too.

 

But back to the “variety.” 

A good training plan addresses lots of different systems and muscles in your body to help you get the most you can get out of yourself.  Marathoners do speed work, and sprinters do long slow runs.  Just in varying quantities and speeds.  Here are the pieces I suggest everyone needs to do when training for any distance.  There are a gazillion variations on these workouts as well as cross-training opportunities that make a difference but these are the ones that will give you the most bang for your buck.  Read that: give you the most benefit in the shortest amount of time. 

Sprint Work:  Short, 40 to 80 meter, full-out-hard-as-you-can sprints with about 4 to 5 minutes rest between each rep.  Those build leg muscle and help you learn to move your feet faster and faster. 

Speed Work:  Distances from 200 meters up to a mile.  Intervals, where you run at a fast pace then rest and repeat, work the best here.  One of the most used workouts anywhere is a “10 x” where you run ¼ the distance you’re going to race at your goal race pace, then rest for about a minute or jog for about a minute and a half then hit the rep again for a total of 10 times. 

Stamina Work:  Distances ranging from about 1/3 to the full distance of your goal race.  The iterations that exist here are also numerous but think Tempo Run since that’s the most used workout.  These runs are done just a little slower than race pace and usually for a distance a little shorter than your goal race.  These are the workouts the Kenyans (a generality, but there’s some merit there) focus on most.  Supposedly it’s almost all of their training and that makes sense since this most closely resembles your goal race.  If you’re training for a 10K then 2 to 5 mile Tempo Runs will be what you’re doing. 

Endurance:  Distances as long, or longer, than your goal race.  These are really important just so your body is prepared to do what it needs to do for a given period of time and distance.  It’s going to be very difficult to race for an hour if you never run that long in practice. 

The balance and focus of these segments depend entirely on your goal race and secondarily on your physical capabilities.  My goal race of the mile means my time is spent on Speed, Stamina, Sprint and Endurance in that order.  If you’re training for a Marathon then it’s going to be more Endurance, Stamina, Speed and Sprint.  But all of the pieces should be there. 

Plus one more:  Easy Days. 

One of the best things you can do for your body is have a day where you run, but it is short and very easy.  This type of run gets the fluids flowing through you to speed up healing, elevates your heartbeat and breathing so there’s a little cardiovascular benefit to it, but it doesn’t stress your muscles and joints at all.  Very, very beneficial. 

That variety of training will not only improve you physically faster than doing just one type of running, it makes running a whole lot more interesting and fun!  And those two things, interesting and fun, bring me to the last word on a training plan.

 

You're the designer, so make the plan fit YOU!

 

One size does not fit all in the running world and while a plan by Higdon might be a good one, it might not be good for you individually.  The same goes for any plan out there.  I've got books and articles you could read on the subject, but I realize not everyone is as geeked about running as I am.  Just think of yourself and your goals when you lay out a plan to reach them.  Play to your strengths and deal with your weaknesses in ways that you CAN and WILL deal with them.  If you hate rigid things, then it doesn't make much sense to have a 7 day a week plan complete with the time of day you run, rest, stretch and eat does it?  No.  Just make a list of three or four runs you're going to do that week.

 

Interesting and Fun.

 

If you keep those things in your running, you will do it more and do it better.

 

 

Winter Running and Finishing Strong

It was cold this morning!

Not the first frozen morning of the year, but 22 degrees is right chilly.  Makes you realize men have nipples, too.

That first step outside was coooollllldddd,

Since it was Saturday I slept in a bit and didn't head out until 7:00 am.  Other than the temperature it was a gorgeous morning.  Very sunny, not much of a breeze and a bright blue sky.  With the right gear it wasn't bad at all really.  I had my hat and gloves, a couple of long sleeve shirts and my Nike track team running tights.  Those things are incredible.  I don't care how cold it gets I'm comfortable in them.  If it gets down below 15 degrees I'll wear two pairs of tights, but if it's any warmer I'd burn up.  I also wore my running jacket, but even with the underarm zippers undone it got kind of hot towards the end of the run.

Saturdays are my long runs and last week's was done as a Progression Run with a Fast Finish, so it was a hard workout.  This is supposed to be an easier week, so today was to be 10 miles at a relaxed pace.  The purpose of these runs is to keep the aerobic capacity up, maintain good endurance, but also let the muscles have a little break from the hard stuff so they can heal and get stronger from the work in prior weeks.  Most coaches advise having one "easy" week out of every four.  I put that in quotes, because your mileage will still be fairly close to normal and there might even be a hard workout in there, too.  But not as hard a week as others.  Think of it as the flat part of a stair step.  The hard work is moving you up and you use the flat part to position yourself to move up again.

That being the case I brought my phone for tunes and to take pictures.  I didn't look at my watch a whole lot and decided to do a video for the blog!  Once again I found out that I have no discipline when it comes to pace.  I kind of just run until I realize I'm getting too tired and then either back off or more often than not, push a little harder.

Yeah, I'm a dufus.

I realized after cutting off the camera that I was also running up one of the long hills while I was recording.  It's one of the few times I'm on a sidewalk and in this case next to a pretty busy road.  Because it was late I only saw one other runner and we high fived as we crossed paths.  That's so cool.  I've never seen this guy before that I know of but we both pointed at each other than high fived like we'd done it dozens of times.  It's a club.  A very cool club.

I exercised a little bit of discipline after this and brought the pace down somewhat, but not by a whole lot.  I just felt fine so I kept trotting along.  I still pushed the last mile a little because that's just a good habit to have in training.  And today's tip!

So there you have it!  Finish strong each and every time to train that kick into your races.

One last thing.  I can tell my shoes are getting "old" which means they have over 400 miles on them and the cushioning isn't quite there.   My calves were getting tight and actually hurt a little bit towards the end of the run.  Looking at the soles there's some good wear there, too.  So it's time for another pair!  Now where should I go to look for a good deal on shoes?   I wonder....

Track Time!

Ed -

I'm excited.

This week I'm wrapping up my "rest phase" which began back on August 4th right after my silver medal 800 at the State Games of America.  Since then I dropped my runs to three times a week keeping them at a moderate pace to keep my endurance at a good level, but not doing anything intense running-wise.  I also hit the gym three times a week to add some muscle doing a chest day, back day and leg day.  I had dropped to only 135 pounds or so by the end of track season so I really needed to do something about that.

I now weigh 147 so I'm not all that impressed with how much I've gained.  Mental note has been made and I'll make some serious diet alterations next year to go along with the weights.  I'd like to have about 10 more pounds on me at this stage.

The last couple of weeks I've actually gone to the track to do some 1 mile intervals and long ladders, but kept them at a comfortably hard pace.  Those were interspersed with Tempo Runs of 3 miles inside 7 mile runs.  Once a week I also did a sprint workout after an easy 5 mile run.  Those sprints augmented the squats and deadlifts I was doing to build raw strength in my legs.  Doing them on semi-fatigued legs increased the benefit of that work.  All that combined to form a six week cycle designed to improve my VO2 Max (stamina) and prep me for the more serious speed work.

From here I should be able to handle extra reps of fast 200's through 800's right out of the gate.

My first speed workout of last year wasn't until the 2nd week of December and it was a 4 x 800.  I was really happy with that workout and they went 3:07, 3:03, 3:00 and 2:55.  I didn't write it down but I'm pretty sure I was doing those with two minutes passive rest between each rep.  This year I should get 5 out at close to 3 minutes flat.  After that I'll be moving around through interval and ladder workouts to build speed and stamina.  I will also be keeping one long run each weekend that will include fartlek and be done as either a progression run or fast finish.  That will keep my overall endurance at a high level.

There are two other pieces to the weeks ahead.

First, I'll keep a Tempo Run of three miles in there during my midweek 7 mile run.  I was lacking that last year and I think it cost me time in the Mile and 1500.  After that run I will do my 100 meter strides/sprints.  I did those last year and saw some serious gains in my ability to kick at the end of a race.  That last 200 meters in the 800 of the State Games will stick in my mind for a loooooonnng time.  I want that feeling again and again.

The second piece is an addition to last year.  I'm keeping one day a week in the gym doing a combination of chest, back and squats.  I finish that time in the gym with three sets of skips in the gym.  Starting tomorrow I'll be wearing my 10 pound weight vest to do those.  I believe this once a week workout will help my race times by simply keeping my full body strength at a much higher level than it was at last year.

Having a plan gets me worked up anyways, but the fact that I feel as good as I do right now and running faster on my "moderate" runs than last year by a pretty good clip is a real bonus.  Last year at this time my runs were pretty consistently done at 7:50 pace or higher and now I'm running below 7:40.  Just yesterday I wrapped up a 10 mile fartlek run at 7:29 pace.  So far so good.  Now it's time to see if my 400's will be faster than last years'.

That's the other part of coming out of the rest phase that has me pumped.  I'm hungry for running fast again.  The rest phase is designed to rest the runner mentally and emotionally as well as physically.  And right now I feel like I've been holding back the last month or so.  I want to run HARD.  I want to leave myself gasping for breath, dropping to my hands and knees and puking at the corner of the Midlothian Middle School track.

I am chomping at the bit, baby.

State Games of America Recap

What a weekend!

The State Games of America were held up in Hershey, PA this past week and I had qualified for them in the Commonwealth Games of Virginia in both the 1500 and the 800.  It’s a national competition and I was going to get to run against some really fast folks again.  The last time I did that was in March in Landover, MD and I actually didn’t finish last which was a pleasant surprise.  These races turned out to be more like pleasant shocks!

To start things off since the events were pretty close to my blogging and running cohort, Bobbo, I got to see him and a bunch of friends during the weekend.  Bob and his much lovelier half put on a cookout on Saturday afternoon that was just wonderful.  Hanging out with some of the great folks in the Breakfast Club Runners is just terrific because they’re all just so cool.  Borderline psychotic, definitely neurotic and somewhat demented, you know . . . they’re Runners.  Listening to them talk about running Ultras, competing in CrossFit games, and fantastic training stories.  Great food and fun.  Plus I got to meet more of them this time around and make new friends.

Bobbo saving a village while running a race on his way to pick up food for the cookout.

 

My events were going off Sunday, so I checked out a little early and drove back to the hotel to get some sleep, but instead kept waking up every hour or so thinking about splits.  I had gone online and looked through the competitors and saw that there were only 6 guys showing up in my age group.  Even though every one of them was faster than me I was happy that I could lock up the Top 10 finish I was hoping for coming into the meet.  There must’ve been 15 guys in the 800 but since that wasn’t a real focus for me I didn’t bother looking to see if I was faster than any of those guys.  A quick glance told me there were some that looked to be slower, but you never know what times somebody uses when they register for a meet.

The reduced crowd of racers was due mainly because there had been two other Masters National meets in the last several weeks in different parts of the country.  Some people had obviously gone to Kansas and not here to Pennsylvania.  Still, they were sub-5 guys and I had just run that frustrating 5:16 two weeks ago.  I just wanted to run a smart race and do as well as I could.

The weather was perfect Sunday morning.  Sunny but cool.  And the track was fantastic: a big stadium with 8 lanes of high quality racing surface.  Bob even came out to watch along with Mel and Kim.  So very cool of them to make the long drive down, and I really didn’t want to disappoint them for making the effort.  We sat up in the bleachers and I talked about my goals for my splits and we enjoyed the other events and competitors.

While we sat, and then as I began my warm up, the wind began to pick up.  At first it wasn’t too bad and just seemed to be gusty, but as I ran back and forth on the back stretch with a couple of the other 1500 runners it became a pretty steady, and very stiff, breeze.  Came in sort of diagonally and down the home stretch.  The closer it got to race time for us the worse it got.  Everybody started saying things like, “kiss any PR hopes goodbye” and “going to be a tactical race now.”  I went up and got my spikes and went back down to the track to try a couple of 50m strides into the wind.  Whoa.  I was going to need to find someone to draft behind.  Which is what everyone else was thinking, too.

They ran three heats of the 1500 and I was in the second one where they were able to get all of the 50 to 54’s and 55 to 59’s in the same heat.  I recognized a couple of the guys from March, but not all of them.  “Doesn’t matter,” I told myself “just don’t go out faster than 60 seconds the first 300.”  I had my splits down to run a 5 flat, but knew the wind was going to make things rough, so I just wanted to make sure I didn’t go out too fast or burn myself up running into the wind each lap.

The gun sounded and we took off at a very comfortable pace for me.  Several guys pulled ahead, but not all of them.  I was running fourth and falling back, but I didn’t want to rush up to catch third and draft behind him.  I knew that would pull me through the first lap too quickly, so I kept my pace steady hoping that someone would come around me.  They didn’t.  If anything they were drafting on me, but I couldn’t really tell how close they were and I wasn’t going to look.  Screw it.  Show me what you got wind.

It was blowing hard.  I looked at my watch at the 200m mark and was right on 40 seconds which was exactly where I wanted to be.  I pushed a little up the straight and crossed the finish line in 60 seconds.  Dead on my goal pace and I didn’t feel too beat up from that headwind.  However, I did have three laps to go and I wasn’t near any of the front three anymore.  I shook that off and just tried to hold my pace for another lap before trying to push it a little in the Go Zone.  That’s the third quarter of any race.  The time where lots of time is usually lost, so I push it a little then to keep on track.

That's my legs back in fourth place with 1 and half to go.

 

I came around with two to go and had fallen off pace a little seeing 2:24 on my watch.  I hadn’t pushed into the wind this time but thought I maintained the same speed.  Nope.  That wind was brutal.  I still felt pretty fresh so I surged some after I got out of the headwind in the first turn and relaxed some down the back stretch using the tailwind to carry me without expending too much energy.  I was still all alone in fourth as I hit the stretch again and took the wind full in the face.  This time I knew I was slowed up but was surprised to see how slow when I crossed with one to go and saw 3:53.  The goal was to be at 3:40 and I had just accelerated some but was still backing up!

My pacing had paid off , though, and I felt pretty good so I pushed down the back straight and my friend C.L. who was running in the next heat yelled at me that the guy in front of me was fading.  “Get your head up!” He yelled.  “You can get that guy! Go! Go!”  I looked up and saw that his form was crumbling and knew C.L. was right.  I rolled up steadily so I was pushing hard with 200 to go.  I caught him in the turn and passed him easily. 

Coming out of the last turn with only 125 to go and way back in third place.

 

I kept my head up and saw the second place guy struggling with the wind in the beginning of the straight and I knew I was about to get hit with it, too.  My heart and lungs were screaming at me, but my legs weren’t rubbery yet.  I leaned through the turn then forward into the wind drifting slightly wide as I closed on the guy in front of me.  I wanted to just give in, but saw him struggling and then realized I could beat him to the line.

I pumped my arms and pushed off the ground with each stride, and slowly, very slowly, got to him and moved into second! 

Got him!

 

Those last 20 meters seemed to take forever, because now my legs were rubber and I was beginning to do the Skeleton Dance, but I was past him and across the line in 5:12. 

Held him off to the end.

 

I could not believe I had just gotten 2^nd in this meet!  I was just shaking my head and smiling as I made my way across the track and over to the bleachers to everybody and they were all smiles, too.  Here I had thought I was going to get 6th, maybe 5^th and I had locked up a Silver medal in a national competition.

Bob, Mel and Kim went to get something to eat and I threw on my warmups and laid down on the bleachers to rest for about 15 minutes.  After that I would need to start warming up for the 800.  I drank some Gatorade and downed some Gu to help minimize the leg cramps that always seemed to come up during the first lap of any 800 I run after racing a 1500.  Plenty of fluids, keep my legs up, stretch and use the Stick to roll out the knots in my calves; that routine has helped out a lot from the first couple of times I did these doubles.

As I began my warmup I started talking with the guy who beat me in the 1500.  His name is Steve and he’s a very accomplished runner.  He just came off another sub-3 hour Marathon in the winter and has been working to get his speed back for races like the 1500 and 800.  He was a little disappointed in his 1500 but the wind was just terrible.  He ran a 5:05.  Normally he’s well below 5 minutes.  He didn’t seem to know many of the guys in the 800 either, but we knew that a bunch of them didn’t run in the 1500.   “I’m going to tuck in behind somebody this time,”  He said.  “Ditto,” I replied.

We both figured that we would settle in and let some folks get up ahead of us and then draft around for the first lap.  I didn’t really let on that I pretty much knew I would be at the back of the pack anyways.  He just assumed that since I finished second in the 1500 I would be up there with him in this race, too.

He and I ended up next to each other on the starting line on the two inside lanes and I said I’d give anyone outside the room to slide in front of me; him included.  He politely declined to have me draft off of him and we laughed a bit as the starter called us to the line.  When the gun sounded I took a couple of quick strides and then settled into about the same pace I run for the 1500, and in this crowd I figured that had to be way too slow for any of them to put up with.  However, Steve sat on my shoulder and when we came out of the first turn no one was moving by us.

“What?” Steve said looking over his shoulder.

“Come on guys,” I mumbled because I really did not want to lead this group through that headwind and I was doing everything I thought I could to make them want to pass me.   “They’re not coming,” Steve said as we entered the turn and into that rotten wind.  I was stuck being the leader even though I was going so slow.  Steve stepped out to my side and said, “it wouldn’t be right for me to draft you.”

“No, you’re fine,” I replied.

You know it’s a slow pace in an 800 if anyone does anything more than grunt, and here we were talking to each other.

We got to the bell lap right on 1:21 and then Steve sort of bolted out in front.  I felt really good and accelerated as well, but by the end of that turn he had 20 meters on me easy.  He looked strong down the back stretch and was moving away from me even though I was accelerating, too.  Once again, C.L. was there on the infield encouraging me on.

“Keep your eyes on his back!  At 200 to go, GO!!”

I was breathing hard, but that slow first lap left me with a lot in my legs and I knew I could turn a fast 200.  I got to that line and leaned into the turn driving hard.  I kept my head up and tried to look like a sprinter, running tall and loose.  As I came into the straight and that headwind Steve was still ahead of me but he looked back and I closed on him a little. I knew right then that I had more speed in me and also that this was going to hurt when I finished.  But I wanted this finish.  I did all that I could to get up on my toes and move into full on sprint mode as he looked back again.  70 some meters to go and I was giving it everything I had and getting even closer.  It was right after that I realized he was struggling and I could get him.

I gritted my teeth and tried to push everything I had into my arms and legs, but kept my form together so I wouldn’t lose anything there.  Even with all the effort I felt very strong and knew I was fast even with the wind pushing against me.  As I passed Steve he let out a groan and I pushed onto and through the line pumping my fist in the air.

I had not won a race since my Junior year in high school and here I just won one in a national competition!

I staggered forward and bent over begging for air to get in me and for my legs not to fold up.  Even though my stomach was in a knot I was grinning and trying not to cry.

 

Yep, that's the moment right there.

“YOU!” I heard Steve rasp, “Ran a hell of a race. (pant) I couldn’t hold you off.  (pant) Nice kick. (gasp) Geez.”  We shook hands and I turned and saw Bob, Mel and Kim down by the fence all ready.  So, so very cool to have them there!

I have to admit that later I was a little disappointed when another guy in my age group in the second heat beat my time, but medaling again with a kick that no one else on the track could handle, was just miraculous to me.   Crossing that finish line first wasn’t anything I had dreamed of or imagined.  And the fact that it did actually happen still amazes me.

I came to this meeting with the hopes of doing a little better than I did at Indoor Nationals, and left with two Silver Medals.

Yeah.

I’m still smiling.

 

Adjusting

Ed -

I’ve found that being focused on a particular goal demands a paradox.  In order for the plan to work one has to be persistent and patient, while being ready to quickly adjust when the need arises.  The trick is to know which way to go when doubts surface.

I had doubts galore this past weekend during the Commonwealth Games in Roanoke.

As usual, the 1500 race was held before the 800 and its the distance I’m really focused on at this point, so I do all I can to cover those 3 ¾ laps as quickly as possible.  The goal for Sunday was to break five minutes and I was confident I could because I ran that 5:01 back on June 22^nd.  I’ve had a full month of additional training since then and my workouts showed that I was getting faster on the top end.  However, the plan I had been following really dropped off of the longer runs.  This seems to be normal in the track world; the closer you get to your peak race, the more speed and race specific training you do.  I trusted the plan even though I found in my last long run that I couldn’t do a 10 mile Progression Run with a Fast Finish the way I had been able to the month before.

Originally I chalked that up to the heat, humidity and being back on the hills of Midlothian as opposed to the flat course in Manteo.  All logical things that would slow me up, but I think the real issue is that I’ve sacrificed some endurance.

While my 1500 wasn’t terrible (I ran a 5:16) it was nowhere near where I thought I would be and I definitely did not feel the way I thought I would.  There were some events that I’m sure didn’t help my run.  First off it was incredibly hot and humid.  I warmed up as usual, running about a mile at 8:30 to 8:45 pace, then some 100m strides.  I did three of those strides and while I was keeping them very relaxed and telling myself to hold back I was hitting 18’s.  That’s two seconds faster than my goal pace of 20 seconds so that made me feel pretty good even though I felt a little drained by the heat.

The second problem actually occurred earlier in the week.  I strained my left foot in a workout and it was threatening to keep me from racing.  I had taken some ibuprofen and smeared two coats of Blue Emu on it before the race, so I was able to keep the pain down enough that it wasn’t going to ruin things for me, but it still hurt.

Then the real “flow stopper” happened as we stepped to the line to start.  Lightning.  We were all leaning forward with our fingers on our watches when they told us to stand up and issued a half hour delay.  Half an hour is my normal warm up period!  I went and sat down for about 15 minutes and had some Gatorade, then got back up and started jogging to stay loose.  Two more 100m strides and they called for 15 more minutes.

What a pain.

I’m sure that took something out of me, but I still didn’t expect what I got in the race.

The first 300 meters was a tad ahead of pace as usual, but not bad.  A friend of mine, C.L., was helping me out by pacing with me since he was going to run the 1500, 400, 800 and 200 as a workout that day.  I guess when you’re 32 and fast as all get out you can do that.  He and I crossed the line in 56 seconds and started into the second lap.  I wanted to come across the line again right at 2:20 to make sure I wasn’t  pushing too hard the first half of the race, but when I slowed just a bit and came out of the first turn I began to feel a little winded.  Keeping up with C.L. became work.  By the time I got to the start/finish line we was a good 5 meters ahead of me and my watched had me at 2:23.  I was already fading with two laps to go.

This is the point that Greg McMillan calls the “Go Zone.”  The third quarter of any race and the object is to pick up the intensity just a little bit and attack the race now.  Not blow it all out, but move up because this is the lap where time can really be gained or lost.  I pushed through the first turn and just couldn’t draw anything out.

I was done.

I came across with one lap to go at 3:51 and the goal was to hit 3:40.  Still, I surged the first turn again, relaxed in the back stretch, tried to accelerate through the final turn then did all I could do in the final straight.  In June I was at the bell lap at 3:46 and finished with a 1:15 400.  On Sunday I tacked on a miserable 1:25 to that 3:51 mark.

Something was definitely not right.

There was another short delay during all the 400 heats, the races between the 15 and the 8, so this year there was plenty of rest before my second race.  Normally, there’s less than an hour so that race was always hard and slow, but a good workout.  With the bad 1500 in my mind I didn’t have any confidence at all in the 800 but figured I’d just do what I could do.

The shorter distance made it a completely different race.

The first lap felt very comfortable just like in the 1500 and I took the first 400 in 1:17.  One guy had taken a very large lead and C.L. had just come around me before we completed that first lap.  Since I felt comfortable I decided to try and go with C.L. and strangely enough I did fairly well.  We matched strides all the way down the back stretch and by the time we got to the final turn I knew we were going to catch the leader.  He was standing straight up.  A clear sign.

I'm betting I did that just after the halfway point in my first race.

I pushed hard and gained a couple of strides on C.L. but then he looked over his shoulder at me and I knew he had much more to give.  I saw him lean a bit and then simply run away from me.   Still, I sprinted past the original leader to finish about 3 seconds back for 2^nd place in 2:30.  Not a bad race and a second lap of 1:14 told me that I definitely have the speed I want, but the endurance or stamina was missing.

Perhaps it was the warm up, cool down, warm up routine and the fact that I ran about two miles before that 1500, but I’ve hashed it around in my head a lot and I think I have to make an adjustment this week.  The plan actually has an incredible workout the Wednesday before the State Games of America in two weeks, but there wasn’t enough distance in this week’s work.  So I’m adding it.

I’m not going crazy or bailing on the plan, but I need to get some of that stamina back in my lungs in time.  Plus, I reviewed my training for the week before my June race and discovered that I had missed my Monday workout leaving me almost 5 fewer miles than the week before this past race.  I’m going to repeat that “mistake” because it obviously left me with fresher legs.

Having a plan is critical to reaching a goal, but I believe it’s just as critical to track and react to results along the way.

Of course the proof will be in the race on August 4^th, but fast or not, I’ll do my best, pay attention to what goes on so I can keep on learning and have a great time competing.

Putting Purpose in your Run

I have really come to love my training schedule.

I love reading it over to plan ahead.  I love going through the workouts in advance and calculating my splits then writing them out.  I love keying in my results into my spreadsheet and comparing them to past results then processing exactly how I felt physically during them and tweek the plan to adjust for something I feel I'm missing.  On top of all that I love reading about coaches and athletes; how they approach the same workouts I'm using, how they overcome the same challenges I face, why they do what they do, and of course I love reading about their results.  Incredible endurance, amazing kicks and blazing top end speed.

That paragraph was awful, but I'm gushing.

I just love this!

I also love that every single workout and run has a purpose.  There is some specific focus or objective, because it is one more step in the right direction on my path.  I'm sure some people wouldn't like having that sort of mind set, and I get that.  Depends on what you want out of running.  But when there is a specific goal in mind, then everything should be aimed at reaching that goal.  Otherwise, you're just wasting time.  Everything I read from great coaches and athletes, as well as great businessmen or anyone else at the top of their field, repeats this point.

There has to be Purpose.  A reason to do what you're doing.

What started out as a sort of fantasy and tangible example of some things I always say about getting the most out of life, has turned into a real passion.  And that passion is delivering all the things I had hoped it would in the beginning.  It's become my Purpose.

First of all is the fact it's made me stronger and faster.  I still flash back on a regular basis to when I was sick.  I know that can get kind of old to hear, but I'm not going to forget it.  I'm reminded of various aspects of that time of my life almost daily.  When I ache I'm reminded of how whatever I feel right now is nothing compared to the pain I felt the first days after surgery and the months around the end of my radiation treatments.  I was triple dosing on the pain meds and still not getting relief.  Whenever I lean in and drive through a turn on the track I'm reminded of how exhausted I would get just walking up a flight of stairs.  And, of course, every time I hear of someone else who's been diagnosed with cancer I'm reminded of how lucky I've been and that I need to be there in some way for them like people were for me.

Those memories are always placed against where I am now, and where I am now is someplace I had only hoped to be.  5:01 in the 1500 and sure of myself that I can break five minutes.  Ranked 30th in the country last year in my age group for the 800 was a total shock.  That part I hadn't even dreamed about.  Racing in a national championship had never crossed my mind, but I've gotten to do it.  My running has given me strength and speed that surprises and thrills me all the time.

Secondly, because I've seeing such gains from my focus and planning on training, I'm doing the same things in work and in life.  I'm looking at something that I want to accomplish, and then working backwards with a plan.  Then, each and every day, I'm working that plan.  Some things have been in place for awhile, and others I've just embarked on.  Either way I know that I have a far better chance of reaching my goals by approaching them with purpose.

Lastly, and probably most important of all of this, is what I hear from various people I've crossed paths with since I set out on this mini-quest.  People are inspired by it.  They tell me about how they've begun running, or have decided they want to see how fast they can get.  A few have asked for help and I'm having a blast working with them to set new PR's.  I get excited knowing that, if we plan right, and the work gets done, they're going to experience the same thrilling emotions I have when they finish that race and look at they're watch.  It's so incredible.

Yesterday I read something in an article in Running Times about the best advice elite athletes have gotten from coaches over the years, and one of them was by Aaron Braun.  This guy ran 10,000 meters in 27:41.  Wow, that's fast.  His college coach told him to "run for something greater than yourself."  His point being that if you're only running for yourself, you may back off in that final lap because you know you'll just race again another time.  But if there's something outside of you that is your focus, you're more likely to push on.

I've found that to be so true.  And not just for an individual race.  It's the same for every single workout.  I push hard the last rep, the last hill, or the last mile and sometimes do "just one more" because there's something greater than me at stake.

People are watching and wanting to see good results.  It inspires them, motivates them to do better as well.

I've had Purpose in my running from the beginning of all this, but it's transformed into something else.  Other people are trying harder, exercising more, living better and smiling more often.  I want to help them along even if it's just a little thing like a random post on facebook that makes them say, "wow, that's fast" and wonder if they could do something like that.

Put Purpose in your running and you will.

Watching it Work

Prepare to get your Geek on.

Over the last couple of years I've put in a ton of work and not all of it was actually running.  If I went back and added up the hours I'm betting I've spent more time reading, studying, planning and evaluating than I have running.  A lot more.  Having kept my spreadsheets, logs and copious notes I can happily say that it is paying off nicely.  Very nicely.

Since I've experienced some great gains (went from a 5:38 1500 meters to a 5:16 in just two seasons) I'm inspired to do even more.  To learn more, push more and maybe actually reach my stretch goal of breaking 5 minutes in the mile.  But the more I train, and the more I read; the more I find out stuff I didn't know.  Thankfully, each time I learn something I immediately see how it's going to help me get faster.

This past week I went out and paid for a customized training plan from McMillan Running.  You've heard me talk about Greg McMillan and his calculator (check out his site here).  I've been using the calculator for a couple of years now along with the workout suggestions, and the price of a customized plan was very reasonable, so I bought one to get me through the State Games of America in early August.

Since I've been dishing out advice and stories I thought I'd share a nuance Greg explains for the workout I did this morning.  The difference between a Speed Workout and Cruise Intervals.

Both of these workouts involve intervals, and look very similar on the surface.  However, they train you for two very different things, both of which you need to race fast.

I've done a number of Speed Workouts where I run 5 or 6 800's at a fast pace with about the same amount of rest as there is running.  1 to 1 ratio is what Bart Yasso recommends for marathoners when doing this workout.  I tended to run an 800, then walk a little bit and jog a 400.  Then I would stand still for a few seconds to get me to 3 minutes of rest or so, then go hard again.  Last week I did 5 x 800's and they were all around 2:46 with the last two faster.  My legs would just burn earlier and earlier in the reps until I was just completely rubber legging it down the last 50 meters in my last rep.  Super hard feeling workout.

In Cruise Intervals like this morning, I ran 6 x 800's only they were all over 3:00 on purpose.  Specifically, I ran 3:02, 3:06, 3:05, 3:04, 3:03, 2:59.  The object is to make them "comfortably hard" but make each one a tad faster than the one before it.  I sort of blew the first one, because I wasn't paying as much attention to my splits and went out a little fast.  So these are decidedly slower than my Speed Workouts, but not a ton different.  The next difference was the rest.  I walked maybe 25 to 50 meters after each rep, then jogged to finish out 200m.  Without stopping I rolled right into the next rep.  The effect is that my breathing and heart rate, never really came down like it does during a Speed Workout.  I was still panting as I began each rep.

Now instead of my legs burning as I was finishing each 800, it was my lungs and heart.  I was just gasping the last couple of times and right after the last rep, which I pushed to the 2:59, I had those sudden dry heaves.  That was the only time I stood still during the workout and it was only for a second or two during each heave.  I had to keep jogging to finish the workout.

To top it all off, Greg had me doing 3 x 200's and those are supposed to be at my goal race pace for my 1500.  The goal is 5 flat, so that's 40 second 200's.  Even though I was super winded, my legs felt great so I wound up doing those in 36, 35, and 33 seconds.  Once again there was no standing still and only a 200 meter jog between each.

Two similar workouts that train two different things.  The Speed Workout is designed to work my legs and develop strength and speed.  The Cruise Intervals workout is designed to increase my VO2 max which is basically how efficiently my body processes oxygen for energy.  Instead of so much muscle development, this develops the cardiovascular system.  It makes it easier to run faster longer.

Combining these two types of workouts means I will get faster, and it will feel easier.  They feed each other.

The 200's at the end help me develop the ability to kick even when fatigued as well as make me mentally tougher under those stressful moments of finishing a race like the 1500.

Having done both types of these workouts I can tell you they feel completely different, so I know they're doing what they're supposed to do.

If you're looking to improve your pace, even for a Marathon, combining these types of workouts will make a huge difference in your race times.

Happy Running!

 

It's Always Something

This morning was my speed work day, so I was back on the track behind the Middle School.

This time of year is becoming my favorite because the temperature is just fantastic, about 46 degrees today, and the sun isn't up when I step outside around 5:40am, but rises quickly during my workout.  The awakening of the sky and world around me is a pretty special thing and another wonderful gift given to me by running.  Another is just the little things that happen during those peaceful, quiet times in the day that most people miss because they're simply still in bed.

Just about every week on the track I see this guy who comes there to walk his two dogs.  Normally, he moves off when I show up or encourages them to stay to the outside, but he only has to talk to one to keep him from running along with me.  That one's a big, yellow lab that just loves to run near me without chasing me.  He'll pull right up along side and a lane away and just run along looking up at me and panting like it's a great game.  The other dog always stays near the man and when I got the chance one day I asked him why the black, older dog stuck so close to him all the time.

"She's blind," he said.

"But she walks around away from you sometimes," I said, "and goes off in the infield some."

He told me that she likes the track because she can feel the edges really well and has learned that it's smooth and there's nothing in the way.  She always stays where she can hear him walk and he pointed out that she always stood still whenever I approached because my footsteps threw her off some.  She did come up and let me pet her while we talked, which was cool.  Such a sweet thing.

They were there again this morning arriving as I was finishing my first 800.  The big, yellow one barked hello, but sat when his dad told him to stay.  They strolled around the outside of the track as I continued my workout and was joined by a young guy I had never met before.

I lined up on the opposite corner of where I was starting and finishing, and watching him warm up I could see he was serious about his running.  Plus, he was blazing fast in his warm up striders.

On my third 800 I started my watch and lunged forward then midway through that first turn I noticed a baby bird hop right into the center of lane one.  I stepped inside to avoid it and looked across the track to see the new guy trucking along beginning whatever workout he was going to do.  I tried to telepathically tell him to watch for the bird, but figured it would be tough to miss it.  I looked over my shoulder when I thought he might be near the bird and he seemed to move on by without noticing it and I just kept pushing to try and hold my pace which I had done pretty well the first two reps.  2:53 both times.

I rounded the turn for lap two and the bird was still there, being harassed by a parent bird.  I guess it was trying to get it to move back out of the open, but because I showed up the thing went into camouflage mode: It scrunched down a little bit and held very still.  I moved inside again and ran by.  Huffing pretty good now and my thighs were beginning to feel hot.  I finished up at 2:54 and walked around the first turn to begin my rest lap.  And the baby bird looked up at me then abruptly looked away and scrunched down again.  But no movement.  By now both parent birds were flying back and forth out of the trees to squawk at the baby and swoop at me to keep me moving away.

Sort of motivational actually.

The new guy was apparently doing a pyramid because after his 400 he turned an 800 keeping pretty much on the same pace as me, but gaining a little ground.

I lined up again for rep number four of five and looked out at the turn to see the baby bird still parked there.  This time I moved around the outside because one of the parents was taking up the rest of lane 1.  I knew I only had two reps to go so it was time to pick it up some, and I finished that one in 2:51.  A couple of starts and stops trying to catch my breath and not heave and there was the bird again.  Just sitting there ignoring it's parents.

Typical.

I watched as new guy finished up a 1200 and he didn't look like he was trying at all.

One to go.  Fast, boy.  Fast.

I paced the first 400 right where I had hit the other first laps, about 1:25, then did my best to hold on until the final turn and 200 to go.  Usually in it's in here that I start to talk to myself about how this is what the end of the 1500 is going to feel like, and that I'll be pushing towards a PR so I better not quit on it.  I began to fall apart that last 100, but I just pushed hard and did everything I could to accelerate.  Pumping my hands, striding long and fast.  I finished up and looked at my watch.  2:47.  Nice!!

And then I just doubled over and gagged a couple of times.  Very nice.

I had to look at my spreadsheet before I realized that was my best 800 workout ever.  Such a cool thing to figure out after sitting around eating breakfast and wondering why I couldn't do it the pace the McMillan Calculator had set.  Ummmm...that turned out to be the pace I printed off after assuming I could run a 4:55 mile.  Apparently I'm not quite there yet.

Anyways, after recovering from the dry heaves I walked over to the baby bird, picked it up and moved quickly to the woods dodging one of its parents that was doing it's best to dive bomb me and get me to leave its baby alone.  I got to the spot where the bigger birds kept flying and figured it was near the nest.  I put the bird down and moved back over across the track.

Good deed for the day.

New guy flew by just then and gave me the runner head nod.

I started my cool down run home, but stopped to introduce myself and meet the new guy, who is now Scott.

We talked the workouts for a moment and then he said, "can I offer some advice?"

"Sure!"  I always want to learn.

"When you were finishing that last rep your speed was good, but you started to heel strike bad.  Over striding."

I nodded.  I knew I did that when I was tired and going slow, but didn't know I did that when running fast at the end.  Makes sense though.

He asked me, "Have you ever tried running barefoot?"

"Yes, and dude, I just gave that advice to a friend.  I guess I need to get back to it."

"It really helps straighten out over striding in your sprints."

I told him thanks and trotted off up the hill and back to my house planning to run barefoot for a mile, and some striders on Sunday.

It's always something...

Resting To Run

I haven't posted in like two weeks.  Between working on projects on the house in Manteo and work being crazy busy, I just haven't had enough time to think much about writing.  So instead of thinking about it, I'm just going to write.

If you've followed our facebook page, I've been coming to the conclusion that I have been over training a bit.  That's actually tough to figure out because some days are great then others really suck, but it takes awhile for the fatigue to build to a point that every day just sucks and you realize you're getting slower.  My experience over the past couple of years is that I get faster, then even MORE enthusiastic about training and then overtrain to the point of slowing down or getting hurt in some way.  Well this time I didn't really get hurt, other than a mild inflammation in my left achilles, but I was having trouble getting my workouts in.  When I was supposed to do a 5 x 1000 day I knew after the first one I was done all ready.  That turned into a stairstep down workout just to get something in for the day.  But that failure was enough to decide to quit trying to train like I'm 25 and go ahead and do real rest days in between workouts.

Four days a week of training should be enough and it's all ready feeling like that's right.

I finished last week with an easy 10 mile run with friends to keep the long run in, but "rest" it and not go sub-8 like I have been.  Monday was a typical sprint workout day only I added some work with the weights.  I threw in a 3 x 10 set of military presses with 30# dumbbells, added a set of two more deadlifts going up in weight to 235, and finished off the workout with 3 x 10 box jumps on the tallest box we had.  I guess it's about 3'.  That really was work the last couple of reps in each set.  I had to push hard to get up there.

Then Tuesday I did absolute rest.  No nothing on these legs.  Wednesday was my next Tempo run and the last couple of those had been crappy.  If my 10K hadn't been good I would really be wondering, but I think I did that well because I rested the days before it.  So my goal was to go out and do a 4 mile tempo run at about my 10K pace.

Now the course I run for training is a whole lot hillier (is that a word?) than the Monument Avenue 10K course which is about as flat as it gets, so I knew the pace would feel harder.  However, I ran it as planned and felt great the whole time.  My first mile was in about 7:05 and then I  just lowered them from there finishing the fast part of the run in about 6:58 pace.  Felt like work, but not overly painful.

The next day I rested again.

Then this morning I was back on the track for another speed workout.  This time it was 9 x 300's at about 55 seconds each.

I ran up to the track in short sleeves and running shorts since it was supposed to be about 45 degrees this morning.  Closer to 40 I think, since by the end of the workout my fingers were numb and my thumbs didn't work so good.  But I digress. And whine.  I do not like having cold hands.  Whaaa.

On my first 300 I missed the button on my watch and stopped it a little late at 59 seconds, but was just feeling my way anyways.  I jogged a 400 then lined up for the next one.  I could tell this was going to be a good workout and decided not to check my watch during each run and just try to stay below 55.

That worked pretty well, even though I was sort of all over the place.  My splits through the first 7 reps were: 59, 54, 51, 53, 51, 54, and 53.  On 6 and 7 I was telling myself to go easy since I wanted to finish strong and I was all ready getting that thigh burning sensation with a 100 to go in each rep.

This was going to be hard, but good.

The last two reps were a little rough, but I was able to hold form for the most part.  Whenever I get really tired like that during speedwork I try to focus on form while maintaining speed.  It's better than just trying to gut out a pace and flail all the way through it.  That being said, the 8th rep was in 52 seconds and it was very difficult to make myself look like a runner.  However, I just jogged another 400 and lined up for the last time and breathing hard.

When I step into the set position and put my finger on my watch I like that moment.  I'm holding my breath, knees bent, leaning slightly forward but coiled and ready to lunge.  It's sort of a slow blink, but I like how my mind empties while at the same time trying to open and pay attention to the starter or any physical inputs that will affect those first couple of strides.

Then, BAM, I'm off and surging.

I just love that.

The last rep felt strong for the first 150 meters.  And then it didn't feel strong.  I told myself these were the reps that make me fast and tried to stay up straight and run tall and fast.  Thinking about form and speeding up my turnover.  This is the last rep, no reason to save anything.  Run hard. Use your hands.  Does my hair look cool?  I know my shoes look cool.  They're Saucony Kinvaras that are royal blue with the neon green laces.  Totally cool.  And I'm turning them over fast and that's good. I tell myself all that stuff when I'm falling apart and doing the skeleton dance.

Wow, that last 50 was rough.  Exhausting.  Wonderful.

I hit the line and finished that one in 50 seconds.  After a couple of dry heaves, I reset my watch and started to run home knowing that I had gotten all I could out of that workout.

Which means next week I'll be even faster.

: )

Good luck to Bob and everyone else running the Half this weekend!

Training for Fun Running

Since the Indoor Masters meet a couple of weeks ago I'm now back in my groove and training again for the meets coming up in the summer.  I'm using the pattern I laid out in my last post: one long run, one tempo run, one speed workout and one sprint workout combined with weight training.  That leaves me two days of rest, or a day or two of easy running, each week.  It's very apparent that I haven't done my long run in three weeks now and it shows most in my tempo runs.

I can't hold what should be only 85% pace for more than two miles.  That's a little disappointing, but I've got time and it'll come to me if I keep at it all.

The sprint workout this week was better than last week and I wasn't nearly as sore.  I felt completely recovered just two days after that even though my tempo run was a little weak.  We'll see how the 400's go tomorrow and my 10 mile run on Sunday morning.

I'm really psyched about the schedule and the variety of workouts I've found over the past year and now I get to put them into action.  That 800 race has really bolstered my confidence in my plan and I can't wait to see where it takes me this summer.

I always feel better when I'm running.  I feel strong, free and a long way away from where I was just four and half years ago.  Makes me smile.

Being in shape, being able to push through some discomfort and getting faster is just a fun, fun feeling.

As awesome as that is, it's not quite as fun as hearing my oldest step-daughter telling stories about how she's screwed up the Tooth Fairy a bunch of times.

For some reason that little transaction keeps slipping her mind in the middle of the night.  One time she woke up and realized she didn't swap the tooth out so she runs into Ava's bedroom yelling, "Ava!  Get up!  I need your help!  I can't wake your father up and he's going to be late for work!"  Ava sort of stumbled out of bed looking at Amy like she was nuts, walked into her parents' bedroom only to find her dad was up and in the shower.  Meanwhile, Amy was grabbing the tooth and shoving a dollar back in it's place.

Another time she walked into Ava's room as she was waking up with an armful of folded laundry and pretended to trip and threw it all over Ava.  As she tried to dig herself out of the pile of clothes, Amy made the exchange again.

The best one, though, was when both parents realized they had blown it again when Ava came walking into the kitchen fighting back tears.  You see Ava tends to take things very seriously and she holds onto information forever.

A couple of years ago to get Ava to brush her teeth better, and answer the question "what does the Tooth Fairy do with the teeth?" they told her that the Tooth Fairy used the teeth to pave the roads in it's home town.  And to build beautiful, white buildings.  The Tooth Fairy only gave money for the best, cleanest, well cared for teeth, so brush well!

Fast forward to that moment in the kitchen.  Amy's having coffee and trying to wake up as she hears Ava.  ..sniff....sniff....."I.....didn't......" she opens her hand slowly showing her tooth "...brush...well enough!"...SOB!!!

Amy hugs Ava and starts to yell, so Sean can hear upstairs. "Oh no honey!  You brushed fine!"  (getting louder)  "The Tooth Fairy didn't ignore your tooth!  We just had the house painted and the windows must be stuck!  I'll be the Tooth Fairy TAPED YOUR DOLLAR TO THE FRONT DOOR!!  Meanwhile Sean is tearing down the stairs with tape and a dollar yelling, "I'll check the door you guys stay in the kitchen!"

He barely got outside the door before Ava came running out of the kitchen hoping for all she's worth the Tooth Fairy really did get locked out.

I don't think Sean actually put the dollar on the door he just held it up for her to see.

Tragedy averted.

I can't wait till the next tooth comes out!

Racing Over Your Head

I knew when I signed up for the Masters Indoor Nationals that I would be facing some really good competition.  Last year I ran in a Regional meet up in Delaware and got third in my age group in the mile, but there were only four people in it that day.  I ran a 5:52 in the mile and the first two guys ran just about 5 flat!  That opened my eyes some so this year I decided to just enter the 800 since I really wasn't ready for that distance back then.

Yesterday as I walked into the Prince George's Sports and Learning Complex up in Landover, MD I realized my eyes hadn't been opened at all.

After parking my car I met a guy getting out of his car and he was quite obviously a distance runner.  Just had that look along with the shoes and warm ups.  He said, "Hi," and commented about how far the walk was going to be to the complex.  He'd been here the day before to check it out since one of his races was today, the 4x800 relay.

"You run the 800?" I asked, "that's what I'm running."

"What age group?" he asked me.

"45 to 49."

"Hey, I've got the world record for that age group!"

Sal Allah meets Ed!

I had just met "Salli" Allah.  This guy ran a 1:54 back when he was 46.  He's now over 65 and his team was going for the world record in the 4 x 800 later in the day.  He turned in a 2:21.  Holycow.

And the world record holders, American record holders, national champions, world champions and even several medalists from the Olympics, just kept coming.  Turns out this is one of the biggest meets in the country and its open to international competitors to make it even tougher!  Sheesh.

Earlier in the week I had gotten to see my seeding and the times of the other entrants in my race and age group.  You know what happens when you sign up for a National Championship meet, you've only barely broken into the top 50 in your event and 16 guys sign up for the same race?

You're getting 17th.

And I knew that was where I was winding up.  I did not belong at this meet.

That feeling was confirmed when Sal and I walked in the door.  He showed me where the packet pick-up was and I said I wanted to poke my head into the field house and see the place.

Wow.  I'm running here...

 

 

The facility is huge and crowded with people moving around all over the place.  Very exciting and a rush to be in, but overwhelming when I thought about the fact I had to get down there and run in front of everyone and get last.  I got the shivers...

 

I got my packet, bought my shirt and then hunted around to find my teammates and coaches.  I found Keith Witherspoon just about to start his 60 meter race.  Keith went to UVA and is always ranked in the top 10 in the country in his age groups in the long jump, triple jump and the 60 indoors.  He's over 60 and still a serious beast.

 

I mean look at the back on that guy!

 

He got second in the 60 and in the triple jump this year, and coached me as well.  He told me that "some guys will have the race of their lives," while poking me in the chest, "and other guys will fall apart," as he spread his arms out like that's what will happen to everyone else.

 

I watched  a couple of other members of our team compete then headed up to Annapolis to watch my niece in a softball game and then spend the night at my mom and step-dad's place.

 

The whole night I was running my workouts through my head thinking that best I could hope for was a 2:30.  And I didn't know how I could do that with my fastest 400 in a workout being a 1:13.  I had done all the stuff that I had read about and added the sprint work that Spoon and Kaestner got me into to move up my top end speed, but I wasn't feeling confident.  I knew I could beat a 2:38, no problem, but I was beginning to tell myself that I'd be happy with a 2:34.

 

When I got to the meet and was warming up I saw several people I had met at other races over the last couple of years, shook hands and said "good luck" as I kept picturing myself staying with the back of the pack as long as I could.  And while I was talking to myself Remus Medley gave me a head nod so I went over to say, "hey."  I met him once just a couple of years ago at a meet in Richmond so I reminded him of that and we shook hands.  He is in the M40 group and is a sub-5 miler and runs the 800 close to 2 flat.

 

He asked what I thought I could do and I told him my guess and a little about my workouts, but he said, "you ran a 1:13 as your last rep in a 10 x 400? How much rest?"

 

"About 90 seconds."

 

"And your last hard workout?"

 

"A 5 x 400 with three to four minutes rest and the last two being 1:15's."

 

"You'll do a 2:30.  Got to.  Your workouts say so."

 

He was so matter of fact and confident about it, that I thought that McMillan workout plan must be dead on because it said the same thing.  I felt better.

 

Turns out only 13 guys showed up for the event, and in looking at the field it was the 12 fastest and me.

 

When they called us to the track I got to line up next to a guy named Khalid Mulazim.  They introduced him listing off his national championships and age group records in the 400 and whatnot.  All I knew was that he was this 6'2" 190 pound superhero looking guy.  This is him from the web.

 

 

Yeah.  There are pictures of him on the web.

 

So I look up at this monster, stick out my hand and say, "good luck and have fun!"

 

"This is just for fun," he said seriously then smiled, "I've never run this event before."

 

I didn't feel any better since he could run the 400 in 50 seconds flat.

 

They gave us our instructions and called us to the line.  I felt remarkably calm.  I told myself to just relax the first 100 and fall in with the back of the pack.  Don't burn it up in the first lap.  Just stay close.

 

The gun sounded and away we went.  And, DAMN did the front guys go.  I got left back immediately and then had to accelerate just to stay up, but I caught myself and slowed my chase so I would just stay with the last two or three guys in front of me.  We came to the end of the first lap and the big clock (they have a big clock like the meets on TV because this a big meet like the ones on TV) and it just clicked to 35 as I passed it.  I felt good and kept my breathing slow and deep as I stayed with only two guys ahead of me now, thinking that my first 200 in my fastest 400 workouts were 36's and that 10 x 200 workout I was only doing 34's and those felt hard!

 

But that one didn't feel hard.  I cruised around and watched the clock as I finished the first 400 and it was on 1:09 as I got to it, clicking to 1:10 just out of the corner of my eye.

 

Now I was scared.

 

I felt okay.  A little winded, but that was 5 seconds faster than it should have been.  I was scared I wasn't going to be able to put two 1:15's back to back and here I just did the first one in 1:10.  Stupid.

 

Except that I was breathing well and my legs weren't burning yet.  I was okay.  Slowing some, but okay.  My fear had me slow down in the third 200 but so did the guys ahead of me.  They weren't getting any further ahead and then all of a sudden I saw the guy right in front of me pogo stick off the track as he pulled his hamstring.  I felt bad for the guy, but had to make up some room between me and the next one ahead of me, so I started to push some as we got to the bell lap.

 

That's a very cool moment hearing that bell and knowing there's only one to go.

 

I pushed a little and felt my legs respond.  My lungs were good, but I was breathing hard now.  Still, I kept trying to accelerate and I began closing on the guy.

 

We got to the beginning of the last turn and he had four or five strides on me.

 

I dropped my hands and thought, "take off!"  and my legs said, "Okay!"

 

I closed on the guy so fast I had to move out to the second lane to go by.  Even with the extra distance I knew I had come on so fast he was not going to be able to get me back.  As I passed him I drifted halfway into the first lane again so he'd have to go wide if wanted by, but he wasn't coming and I was closing on the guy ahead of me.

 

I kept expecting to feel that tightness in my stomach when I'm gonna hork from exertion, but it wasn't there.  My training was right and I was ready for this race.

 

I looked to the left as I drove hard across the finish line and saw that 2:24.

 

I couldn't believe it!

 

Friends got pictures near the finish, though they were blurry, and then my daughter took a picture of the board.

 



 

The Kick

 

The Finish  (left him!)

 

The Time

 

 





When I got to the bleachers Spoon and Kaestner were saying, "we told you! we told you!"  And they had.

 

I still got absolutely crushed by the leaders of this race, it was won in 2:02, but my confidence in how the sprint work had helped me out was soaring.  I had just cut 16 seconds off of my fastest 800 from last year, and it turned out that time just placed me in the Top 25 in Masters Rankings for the 2013 Indoor Season!  There are still a couple of meets in different parts of the country going on so I might get pushed out, but for today I'm ranked 23rd.  Big Smile!!

 

I feel like I can still improve on that and get in there with "the big boys" if I can figure out how to balance the rest and work stuff.  But it's getting clearer.  Sprint and weights once a week, one long run per week, one tempo run per week.  Now to see if I can do an additional speed workout and still get enough rest in there to recover and keep making gains.

 

Regardless.  I can't wait to keep working at it!