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.

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.

I don't really like this one, but I came to far to delete it.

I have decided that it is hard to stay motivated and driven over long periods of time.  To combine eating healthy with strength training with marathon training with daily pushup/pullup goals while trying to lose weight and gain muscle is a bit of a challenge.  At times, something has to give.  This weekend, what gave was that I ate a bunch more than I have for awhile.  Not terrible, but more.  The realization hit me that I have to remain dedicated to my fitness for the rest of my life.  I have been up and down in weight.  I have had periods of intense dedication to running and lifting followed by periods of letting everything go.  When I let stuff go, I always get mad at myself for doing so, because it is so hard to get it back.  The one concession I will give to age is that it gets harder every year to get back in shape.  To lose weight.  To re-motivate.  It is so easy to put on weight and so hard to take it off.  I was chatting with a friend the other day and we both agreed that until people reach our age they will never understand what we are saying or dealing with.  At the level of activity I am at now, I would have lost weight and gained muscle and speed so much more quickly if I were 40.  Or even 45.  It can be frustrating.  Yet, I hate the standard cliches of people telling me that I look okay for my age or they would like to be in shape like me when they are my age.  I do not want any age allowances.  I want to be in good shape for someone of most any age.  That doesn't mean that I think I am the same as I was when I was 20, or 30.  Whatever.  The frustration I have with myself is the knowledge that if I worked this hard and with this kind of dedication when I was younger, my performance in everything would have been so much different.  But, I can't go back in time...yet.  I'm still working on that.

I have been reading and studying a lot lately.  About the body and performance.  The key to everything is maintaining strength, balance and form over the long haul.  When things go off kilter, that is when we get hurt.  Even though I love doing lots of things that could end up in injury, I have learned one thing.  It can be very dangerous when I have no injuries, when I feel like I am twenty.  When I feel invincible.  While that is wonderful, it also leads to potentially doing something that I probably should not do.  I know that I have to be careful with speed work.  I can never be lax with my form.  I worked hard on my running form, my stride and my foot strike a few years ago.  I make sure that I don't stray back to my old ways of landing on my heel.  Of being a plodder.  I do exaggerated strides on the football field.  I make sure I hit every hashmark.  I high kick and land on my forefoot. I feel this helps my kick and my stride and strengthens my feet and calves.  It is one of my favorite exercises.

Today, I decided to get some supplements.  I have lost close to 25 pounds now.  I feel I have done it in a wise manner.  Not too fast.  Eating good food.  No fad diets or things that could hurt me.  Just smaller portions and better quality foods.  I do not count calories, but I am careful  what I eat.  I have so many goals, that it is hard to workout and eat to reach them all.  I want to lose weight, gain muscle, get stronger, get faster, run a marathon well and get pr's in a 5k and a half marathon.  Not too easy to achieve.  But, I want it all.  That means I have to eat enough, but not too much.  Lift and run for power, speed and endurance.  Plus, I need enough energy to do my job.  I told the muscular kid at GNC all this and I think he wanted to punch me.  I remember being in my 20's and wondering why someone in their 50's would even want to workout.  Who are they trying to impress?  Shouldn't they be playing with their grandkids.  But, he seemed to know his stuff and gave me a nice supply of protein and old man vitamins.  Apparently, if I take all this stuff, I will be able to lift a tree out of the ground.  I'm afraid that I may end up wanting to hump the tree as well, because apparently it helps with your testosterone levels too.  Everyone who knows me, knows that I like trees but not in that way.  Anyhow, that is what I walked away with.

I will end with this.  There is nothing like the feeling of being strong.  Of regaining your strength.  of being in control of your body.  I love the feeling of knowing that I can do a tough run, or pick up a heavy weight or walk away from a delicious donut.   I hope this is my year of seeing the hard work pay off.