I'm just glad I survived the week

So with the end of this week...I can finally look forward to this coming week. It's going to be just as tough, but I need the challenge. I have to start running better. I have goals and with the new year approaching, I will take nothing less than my best effort.

Sunday -- 5 miles a.m. in 32:53...nice easy run w/ little effort in excellent conditions this morning. 15k at white rock lake tonight in 58:46...nice and easy jaunt enjoying the huge homes w/ nice christmas lighting. Calling it 15 for the day because of the 1M total I got in the a.m. without timing.

Monday -- 10 miles total p.m. w/ 4 x 1600m in 4:35 w/ 3' rest, jog 1M, 8 x 100m...splits are 4:37, 4:43, 4:45, 4:42...just felt horrible and the wind was non relenting and just couldn't hold 69 pace...which worries me. Felt great on the strides though.

Tuesday -- 9 miles this morning at flag pole hill...6 miles p.m. on the treadmill...lame i know but i'm tired of the wind...also did 3 x 10 push ups and 3 x 25 proper sit ups.

Wednesday -- 6 miles a.m. nice and easy on the treadmill. Trying to avoid the weather as much as possible by running my shorter runs on the treadmill in the morning. I need to stay away from being sick. + 9 miles p.m. nice and relaxed on merrifield road and on the grass track. Ran a few minutes w/ Lacey as I was finishing up and she was starting. Nice run. Definitely not as cold as I thought it would be. sleeping late tomorrow.

Thursday -- 13 miles total, 4 miles at 5:05 pace, jog 1M, 8 x 100m...so didn't hit 5:05 pace...more like 5:10 pace...i just have to stop being a poonanny (in the words of my brother)...i let the wind and the cold affect me and i ran in pants and two long sleeves...finishing time was 20:43 and that was with a 10:08 first 2-miles...you do the math. but i got it all in and now i'm going to retire to my bed.

Friday -- 14 miles easy...ran this very easy w/ Matt on the treadmill. Stomach has been giving me problems, but I'll get through it. 5 miles easy tonight as well. Got in the 5 w/ Matt for our longest ever mileage day. Not bad. It was just under 7 minute pace which is fine considering fatigue and wind!!!

Saturday -- 10 miles total a.m. w/ 12 x 100m uphill sprints. Not bad at all around the lake. Was shirtless. 5 miles tonight to make 100 for the week. 5 miles in 31:20ish...nice and fun...shirtless.

Total Miles -- 100

a new week...uh-oh

So I'm frustrated because I had a great week of training last week and had a great day of running yesterday and now my IT Band is hurt. I'm taking off today for sure to make sure that it doesn't get worse. I need to be healthy and smart right now. It's the best decision for me...

Sunday -- 10 miles a.m. w/ Gabe and Rudy at Seabrook, 5 miles p.m. in hull.

Monday -- nada...it band hurts.

Tuesday -- it band hurt so taking precaution, not running.

Wednesday -- 6 miles a.m. in 40:21. nice and easy. followed w/ core work. 9-10 miles easy planned for tonight. 56:25 for 15k tonight around White Rock Lake. Felt good. Nice and breezy...

Thursday -- 5 miles a.m. on the treadmill in 35:20...5k warm up + 2M in 9:55, 5' rest, 1M in 4:56...not sure what's going on with me. couldn't finish the workout.

Friday -- 9 miles in 59:38 in the p.m. Had a long talk with myself last night and decided to get through the week and not think about it. Sunday is a new week and every run is a new run...

Saturday -- 14 miles this morning with Matt Hansen in 1:30.05 w/ 2 x 2 miles in 10:15 w/ 1M recovery and 8 x 100m strides after the 1M recovery. Good effort to end a horrible week on.

vacationing in hull texas for the holidays

So I'm in Hull for the duration of the holidays. The first few days I was home, I was too sick to actually run. I set the goal to be start back training on Sunday which is the first day of my weeks. I'm going to push back my workout on Monday to Tuesday, just to give me a day or two of recovery.

Sunday -- 9 miles a.m. in 59:06...felt good aside from stomach and wind. So windy on the way back. 6 miles p.m. in 38:11 felt great tonight. Really rolling. Drills afterwards.

Monday -- 9 miles a.m. in 59:20ish felt really good compared to yesterday. Still feeling better in the afternoons though. 6 miles p.m. in 38:22...nice run. Started a little later so was dark by the time I finished.

Tuesday -- Took off the a.m. because of Christmas play. Track workout in the p.m. 2 miles warm up, strides, 8 x 600m w/ 1:20 rest. 1:39.26, 1:39.34, 1:39.40, 1:39.68, 1:39.01, 1:42.01, 1:41.77, 1:41.08...1 mile easy (9:15 might have actually run 5 laps)...8 x 100m strides...w/ 100m walk back.

Wednesday -- 9 miles a.m. w/ Rachel in Houston. nice and easy. 6 miles p.m. in hull.

Thursday -- 3 miles warm up + 4 miles tempo on track in 20:22 (splits were 5:02, 5:04, 5:03, 5:07) + 2 miles cool down. Personal best for tempoing.

Friday -- 14 miles around hull in 1:31.27. Felt horrible.

Saturday -- 9 miles a.m. w/ 12 x 100m hill sprints (62:14) + 6 miles p.m. in 37:56.

91 miles total...decent week of workouts.

Could you meet me by the water...

I won't lie and say that I'm happy with my 2007 Fall Season. Things just didn't work out the way that they should have. It's my own fault. I have several things that I need to improve upon; diet, rest, strength (mental and physical), and of course, my own running. I just have to continue learning. There are some positives I can take away from this fall: I ran several PR's, had relatively no injuries, got my volume up, and didn't burn out like I did in spring/summer 2007...

The training starts right back up. I'll try and focus a little more on the small things, but without taking away from the big things. You have to run to be a faster runner; but you also have to improve upon the diet, rest, and strength aspect as well. I'm by no means a professional runner, I proved today that I'm not even on the club level. At best, I'm a local runner, and not even a very good one. But from here on out, I do things in as professional a manner as I can. Why not? I've devoted my life to this goal...I either need to cash in on this, or I've wasted the better part of my last two years.

The week:
Sunday -- Travel and naps.

Monday -- 10 miles easy a.m. + pedastal and back routine. So...woke this morning to a light mist and 36' temps...decided to run a 1/2 mile on the treadmill as a warm up, then went through what I hope to be my "Monday" core routine.
1/2 mile jog + 2 x {10 push ups, 10 x opposite arm/leg raises, 10 x sit ups, 40 x inverted bike kicks} + 2 x {10 decline push ups, 60 x scissor kicks, 20 sit ups}. 10 miles easy tonight. 67:08 for 10 miles. Pretty rough run. My stomach hurt and I had to pee. Otherwise, got her in.

Tuesday -- 6 miles a.m. in 43:34...started really slowly and really picked it up on the way back. Horrible conditions. 38' yesterday, 70's today??? Ran in a mist the entire way. Still feeling a little sick. Needed a nice easy effort with the workout tomorrow. 9 miles in 59:34 w/ Dan Kingsley on merrifield road. Trying to talk this guy into getting back in shape. Fastest guy I know.

Wednesday -- Get on the track!!! 5 miles a.m. very easy + 2 miles warm up + 5 x 100m strides, 2 x (300,300,600,1k) at 2/3 effort w/ 1:40/4' rest + 2 miles cool down. 5 miles very easy this morning. 36 minutes.
19 minutes warm up as it was cold and i needed a little extra...strides...then the workout which actually felt really easy...not sure what 2/3 effort is...but i ran 52.25, 51.60, 1:51.88, 3:08.60, 50.29, 49.98, 1:47, 52, 3:02.53, then 13 minutes cool down.
Horrible conditions...wind, rain, 38 degrees....

Thursday -- Sick with a horrible cold. Haven't felt like this since the flu of 2005. We'll see about tomorrow.

Friday -- Sick.

Saturday -- 3 miles very easy. Still sick.

Total Mileage --not enough to count. piss poor week.

leave me out with the waste...

Traveling to West Chester, Ohio this weekend to take part in the USATF Club XC Championships. This is my National race. I've been running hard and training smart since July for this race. I've had a good string of PR's and races leading into this one weekend. I'm sure the weather is going to be horrible. We'll take what we can get.

Sunday -- 9 miles a.m. around WRL in 55:59 + 6 miles p.m. in 38:00. Windy. Cold front just blew through.

Monday -- 9 miles a.m. w/ Matt Hansen on Merrifield Road. 60:21 nice run. Cold. + 6 miles p.m. in 39:30...w/ dan on merrifield road.

Tuesday -- 10 miles total w/ 6 x 600m in 1:50 w/ 1:40 rest. Only got in 9 miles. Achieved the workout, but deleted my splits before a chance to record. Felt really good though. Dan got in 5 of the 6.

Wednesday -- 5 miles a.m. w/ Hannah on Merrifield Road in 34:51...6 miles easy w/ Matt Hansen on Merrifield Road. 40:56 to stay relaxed.

Thursday -- 10 miles easy. Ran 4.5 miles w/ Dan and then finished w/ Felix and Kurt. 65:31 total.

Friday -- 6 miles easy + strides. Nice and cold here in West Chester Ohio. Ran 6 miles around the course and some adjoining roads. Just a tad over 40 minutes and then hit up 4 short strides. The footing is not good at all. Not using that as an excuse, just an observation. Probably 6 inches of snow covering the course.

Saturday -- USATF Club XC Nat's -- 10k . 6+ miles in 36:09. Cold, wet, muddy.