Today I went to work for about 2 hours, then ran 5 miles at around 12:30 just because I wanted an endorphin fix. A couple of relatives came over for the rest of the afternoon and I ended up going back out to run 7 more miles with Ash at 7 PM. It was a bit chilly, although the fierce breeze that caused me some problems earlier in the day wasn't too bad this evening. My leg felt pretty good too, but it started to ache somewhat after 45 minutes. Otherwise I would have run 8 miles. Andy had to stop once to adjust his leg brace (which looked hilariously awkward) and both of us nearly ate snow several times due to slippery ice.
An hour or two before heading out for run number 2 today I received a text message from Richard, saying that he was about to go out for a run. He said motivation was getting difficult and that training solo was proving to be a mental challenge. I told him to stick with it. I've been having motivation issues as well after just about a week and a half since the semester ended. I even have Ash to haul me out there every day, and yet I find myself looking for excuses to skip it. Sometimes the mind can be so...weak and pathetic. Once I get going though I'm usually good. It's just that first step, and even worse, getting out of bed. I often tell friends and family who ask me how I can run so much that the most difficult part is simply putting on my shoes. The actual run is usually much less difficult than I imagine it will be.
There's only one week until official track practice begins. I should be fine as long as Ash keeps running with me over the next few days, and once practice starts there'll be no difficulty in going to work out. It'll be much worse for those like Richard who won't be around until the end of January. I'll have to keep texting him with little encouraging messages to keep him training. If I can make one teammate better simply by motivating him/her to get out and run...then I've served my purpose.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Semester "Break"
Since the semester ended last week I've been running with Andy every day. Neither one of us wants to go it alone, and I'm pretty thankful to have a training partner. Yesterday we did a 4 mile tempo run on the treadmill. I ran the first two miles at 6:15 pace, then took a bathroom break and finished the last two starting at about 5:50 and working down from there. It was somewhat of a mental boost realizing that I'm in a little better shape than I previously thought. I was also worried about my peroneal tendon, which has been slightly sore the past few days. It's the same one I pulled way back in August, during camp week. I doubt it's related to the same injury however, since it was fine the rest of the season.
Today I met at Ash's house (as usual) and we jogged about half a mile to meet up with Kyle Steiner. Haven't run with him since summer. That man is a beast. Apparently he's trying to recover from some knee problems so he can get back to training for a double decathlon. The run wasn't terrible, although my stomach has given me issues the past couple days. I did about 58 minutes total, but we weren't going real fast. It was probably between 7.5 and 8 miles. Planning to run tomorrow morning and then maybe again in the afternoon, depending how the peroneal feels. Russ has us doing double days now, and the actual season hasn't even started yet. If everything goes according to plan I'll start practice January 4th at 70 miles a week, which was my peak mileage at the height of the previous season. Here's to hoping the body can keep up.
Today I met at Ash's house (as usual) and we jogged about half a mile to meet up with Kyle Steiner. Haven't run with him since summer. That man is a beast. Apparently he's trying to recover from some knee problems so he can get back to training for a double decathlon. The run wasn't terrible, although my stomach has given me issues the past couple days. I did about 58 minutes total, but we weren't going real fast. It was probably between 7.5 and 8 miles. Planning to run tomorrow morning and then maybe again in the afternoon, depending how the peroneal feels. Russ has us doing double days now, and the actual season hasn't even started yet. If everything goes according to plan I'll start practice January 4th at 70 miles a week, which was my peak mileage at the height of the previous season. Here's to hoping the body can keep up.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Ice
Another day, another run...but this was the coldest one of the season so far. The temperature was a balmy 1 degree as I drove to school this morning, with wind chills around minus twenty. I ended up running with Ash late this afternoon. We bundled up pretty well and weren't too cold after the first mile. It got dark but that's just part of the experience. 7 miles went pretty quick.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Slush
Today I had typical Tuesday classes until 3:50, so I missed the main group of guys and planned on running by myself. I also failed to turn in a certain assignment today and have been in a crummy mood much of the day as a result.
After class I went out to the car and got my gear, making it to the field house just as Emily and Beth were getting back. They said it was messy outside and that drivers were getting frustrated because of the poor road conditions, so I decided to run on the treadmill to avoid dealing with the snow in the dark. Just before I went up to the fitness center, however, Ash called me up and asked if I wanted to run with him in Grafton. I said sure and headed over there along the safest route I could find.
Andy and I headed out the door sometime after 4 PM, when it was already getting dark. The snow had more or less stopped at that point, but enough had accumulated on the ground to make things interesting. We criss-crossed the avenues for about half an hour and then took the "extended bank" route down First Ave to Falls Road. Each of us slipped and nearly fell at least once but there were no real problems. Afterwards I stretched quickly and went home to eat dinner and shower before returning to campus for some tutoring in the writing center. I also did a bit of research (actually more like a ton of research) and drove back home at 10. By then a blizzard had rolled in and the conditions were terrible. Slush is falling from the sky as I type this and nobody is sure if we'll be having classes tomorrow. I hope we don't since I could really use a full day to study. Either way though I'm sure running is going to be a blast.
After class I went out to the car and got my gear, making it to the field house just as Emily and Beth were getting back. They said it was messy outside and that drivers were getting frustrated because of the poor road conditions, so I decided to run on the treadmill to avoid dealing with the snow in the dark. Just before I went up to the fitness center, however, Ash called me up and asked if I wanted to run with him in Grafton. I said sure and headed over there along the safest route I could find.
Andy and I headed out the door sometime after 4 PM, when it was already getting dark. The snow had more or less stopped at that point, but enough had accumulated on the ground to make things interesting. We criss-crossed the avenues for about half an hour and then took the "extended bank" route down First Ave to Falls Road. Each of us slipped and nearly fell at least once but there were no real problems. Afterwards I stretched quickly and went home to eat dinner and shower before returning to campus for some tutoring in the writing center. I also did a bit of research (actually more like a ton of research) and drove back home at 10. By then a blizzard had rolled in and the conditions were terrible. Slush is falling from the sky as I type this and nobody is sure if we'll be having classes tomorrow. I hope we don't since I could really use a full day to study. Either way though I'm sure running is going to be a blast.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Winter
Yesterday may have been the second worst run of my life. I set out from home and headed for CUW, making it the four miles without much trouble. I then proceeded to practice some steeple jumps and talked to Russ for about 5 minutes before heading for home. About one mile later I started getting sick, and when I was 2 miles from home I was forced to stop. I ended up walking the rest of the way home in the 35 degree weather and developed hypothermia. Standing under a hot shower while shivering is not right.
Later that night was our XC banquet, which helped lift my spirits a bit. I was voted for the team motivation and monster awards, which I probably did not deserve as much as a few other people.
Today's run was much better however. It was the first "snow run" of the season, as we trekked through about an inch of slush that had accumulated overnight and throughout the day. Numerous snowballs were hurled at each of us (Twiet especially) and Jon threw Ben into the ditch a couple of times. There's a snowstorm predicted for tomorrow, so I'm hoping we can fit in an epic battle or two in the near future.
Later that night was our XC banquet, which helped lift my spirits a bit. I was voted for the team motivation and monster awards, which I probably did not deserve as much as a few other people.
Today's run was much better however. It was the first "snow run" of the season, as we trekked through about an inch of slush that had accumulated overnight and throughout the day. Numerous snowballs were hurled at each of us (Twiet especially) and Jon threw Ben into the ditch a couple of times. There's a snowstorm predicted for tomorrow, so I'm hoping we can fit in an epic battle or two in the near future.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Be Thankful
Thursday was Thanksgiving. I planned on going for a run around 1 PM or so in order to work up an appetite, but a sore knee convinced me not to bother. I'd rather play it safe at this point than end up getting hurt again. I have an uncanny knack for getting injured at exactly this time of year. Last year it ruined the entire track season. That can't happen again.
While one day off always seems to me like one too many, I suppose I should still be thankful for the fact that I can run as much as I do. There are plenty of people out there in much worse shape or with disabilities that prevent them from enjoying things as simple as running. Sometimes just being able to stand up or walk is a blessing. And while I felt deprived of my usual endorphin fix Thursday night, I ended up heading out again the next morning and discovering that the pain vanished completely as soon as I took my first step. I also played football that afternoon without any problems (although no amount of physical health could rectify my total inability to catch the ball). Today I ran with Ash at 11 o'clock. It was fairly warm, about 45 degrees or so in the shade, and considerably warmer in the sun. We stopped at about 4 miles to watch part of the Grafton Christmas parade, then finished up the last 3 miles on the other side of town. Only about 3 weeks left in the semester, then it's another holiday break and track time.
While one day off always seems to me like one too many, I suppose I should still be thankful for the fact that I can run as much as I do. There are plenty of people out there in much worse shape or with disabilities that prevent them from enjoying things as simple as running. Sometimes just being able to stand up or walk is a blessing. And while I felt deprived of my usual endorphin fix Thursday night, I ended up heading out again the next morning and discovering that the pain vanished completely as soon as I took my first step. I also played football that afternoon without any problems (although no amount of physical health could rectify my total inability to catch the ball). Today I ran with Ash at 11 o'clock. It was fairly warm, about 45 degrees or so in the shade, and considerably warmer in the sun. We stopped at about 4 miles to watch part of the Grafton Christmas parade, then finished up the last 3 miles on the other side of town. Only about 3 weeks left in the semester, then it's another holiday break and track time.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Too much to do
It's the last week before Thanksgiving. Tonight I attended a dinner hosted by President Ferry in honor of all the conference champion teams from the past year. Our track team dominated in the spring, so we were all invited to this special occasion. I almost stayed behind however, due to the increasingly formidable stack of books and papers forming in my room. I have so much work to finish this week that I feel like it's an avalanche crashing down on top of me. But that's just another reminder of how every challenge makes us stronger. In the library the other night I was complaining about the numerous papers I needed to write over the following 24 hours, and asked Karl what someone should do when they didn't have enough time to get everything finished. His answer: Keep on truckin'. Decide what is the most important and get that done, then focus on the lesser assignments. Hack away at the stack and accomplish whatever you can. Don't quit, don't ever give up. Sounds to me like building a monster.
It's 11 PM on Monday night. There's two days of classes left before the holiday. I have three papers due tomorrow (one and a half are already finished) and another two due in the week after the 4 day weekend. I'm tired, have a sore throat, and am once again increasing the running mileage to prepare for track.
There's 37 days until the official start of the season.
The monster has to be ready.
But it can't come out until my homework is finished.
It's 11 PM on Monday night. There's two days of classes left before the holiday. I have three papers due tomorrow (one and a half are already finished) and another two due in the week after the 4 day weekend. I'm tired, have a sore throat, and am once again increasing the running mileage to prepare for track.
There's 37 days until the official start of the season.
The monster has to be ready.
But it can't come out until my homework is finished.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Long Day
As of right now I'm in the middle of a very long day. I got up at 7:30 this morning to run with Richard. It was a bit chilly still as the sun slowly rose and I wore all my winter training gear for the first time. Under Armour, gloves, hat...they kept me warm enough. The reason I had to get up early is that I'm working at a grad student info session from 4 until 8 PM. After that I'll probably stick around the library for another hour or two to get some schoolwork done. It seems like the work never ends, but that's life I guess. You spend the first chunk of it in school preparing yourself to work the rest of it, and if you finally manage to retire some day you're too old to do half the things you used to enjoy.
Over the past 24 hours something inside of me has decided to run the steeplechase in track this year. I've started doing hurdler stretches again in the hopes of gaining some flexibility. I figure that since so few people run that event I'll stand a good chance of scoring points at the conference meet. Plus it's just a ridiculous race. Made for monsters.
Over the past 24 hours something inside of me has decided to run the steeplechase in track this year. I've started doing hurdler stretches again in the hopes of gaining some flexibility. I figure that since so few people run that event I'll stand a good chance of scoring points at the conference meet. Plus it's just a ridiculous race. Made for monsters.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
The Beginning
This weekend was the Regional meet in Oshkosh. I didn't run since I was only 9th on our team at conference. Instead, I went along to cheer on my teammates. We got to the course Friday afternoon and ran the entire 5 miles. I honestly didn't like the course at all, thinking it was way too flat and smooth. I absolutely abhor running in circles on a golf course. But everybody else seems to love those kinds of races just because they give you fast times. Oh well, I guess I shouldn't complain since I was only a spectator this time.
Speaking of spectating...I don't think I've ever gotten such a workout at a meet before without actually running the race. I did about 6 miles in the morning before we left for the meet, then spent the entire time we were at the course sprinting back and forth while screaming my lungs out. Twiet was busy taking mile splits, so I accompanied him and tried to point out a few of our teammates while I cheered. Meanwhile, Jon wore our mascot, Freddy the Falcon, which provided a great deal of difficulty as he desperately tried to keep up with the rest of us. Twiet, Daniel, Fife and I put on blue war paint and hair spray that we'd collected with Dave and Mike the night before (while wandering around the streets outside at 8 PM). That, combined with a few other props such as blue beads and a certain santa hats, as well as a lack of shirts, resulted in quite a fan crew.
The races went pretty great overall. Most (if not all) of the women managed to PR, and a lot of the guys did as well. Some people dropped as much as a minute. Ash and Braun were pretty disappointed by their performances even though they're both way faster than guys like me. Nobody made it to nationals, which means the season is over. I don't think those guys will ever be fully satisfied with how fast they are, but that's good in a way. It means they'll never stop trying to get better. And that's exactly how it should be for all of us. I saw some of those guys absolutely dying out there today, releasing all the monster they could muster and still coming up shorter than they'd hoped. The monter's not so much about winning or running a fast time though. It's about trying as hard as you possibly can. If you did your best, you can't be disappointed in yourself because there's nothing more you could have accomplished. And there's always another race. Because this isn't the end. It's only the beginning.
It's November 14, 2009. Track season starts tomorrow.
Speaking of spectating...I don't think I've ever gotten such a workout at a meet before without actually running the race. I did about 6 miles in the morning before we left for the meet, then spent the entire time we were at the course sprinting back and forth while screaming my lungs out. Twiet was busy taking mile splits, so I accompanied him and tried to point out a few of our teammates while I cheered. Meanwhile, Jon wore our mascot, Freddy the Falcon, which provided a great deal of difficulty as he desperately tried to keep up with the rest of us. Twiet, Daniel, Fife and I put on blue war paint and hair spray that we'd collected with Dave and Mike the night before (while wandering around the streets outside at 8 PM). That, combined with a few other props such as blue beads and a certain santa hats, as well as a lack of shirts, resulted in quite a fan crew.
The races went pretty great overall. Most (if not all) of the women managed to PR, and a lot of the guys did as well. Some people dropped as much as a minute. Ash and Braun were pretty disappointed by their performances even though they're both way faster than guys like me. Nobody made it to nationals, which means the season is over. I don't think those guys will ever be fully satisfied with how fast they are, but that's good in a way. It means they'll never stop trying to get better. And that's exactly how it should be for all of us. I saw some of those guys absolutely dying out there today, releasing all the monster they could muster and still coming up shorter than they'd hoped. The monter's not so much about winning or running a fast time though. It's about trying as hard as you possibly can. If you did your best, you can't be disappointed in yourself because there's nothing more you could have accomplished. And there's always another race. Because this isn't the end. It's only the beginning.
It's November 14, 2009. Track season starts tomorrow.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
I'm not done yet, Mr. President
Yesterday was my final "race" of the season. It was the 2009 President's Run in honor of CUW's President Ferry. Our top 7 were not allowed to run fast, so the men's competition essentially came down to myself, Fife, Jon, and whatever other individuals entered from the community. I thought I had a legitimate chance of winning in the days before the race, but the event itself was a bit different.
My two teammates and I took it out with the lead pack right away and tried to keep ourselves in contention for the victory, but some of the other competitors apparently had decided to start too fast and we all got pretty tired in the first few minutes of the race. Jon even went so far and to talk about how tired he was before we made it out of the opening Runway field (which was still fairly muddy a week after our water-logged conference meet). We ended up hitting the first mile in about 5:30, which was right on the pace I'd hoped to run, but once we entered the Meadow everybody seemed to run low on energy. The wind heading west was a little strong and I found myself joining a line of several other runners drafting off Jon, the self-described "Mother Duck."
It was at this point that Fife started dropping back while we watched the two leaders pull away in front. A minute later Jon started to pull away from me as well, but I refused to let him go and managed to keep up until he started fading himself. Later he said he needed to go to the bathroom. I'm glad I didn't have that problem myself this time (bad past experiences).
I found myself battling one other guy in the last mile, but he got away from me as we approached the road and the home stretch. I should have beaten him but I think I just didn't care enough in that last mile. I finished with a time of just under 18 minutes, which I consider to be a terrible performance. I was 4th place overall however, which is actually my best placing ever in any individual competition (tied with the 1000 meter run at a track meet my junior year of high school). I was also 2nd in the 20-24 age group, so I got a silver medal. Not terrible I guess, considering the small size of the race and the fact that we didn't quite follow our normal warmup and pre-race preparations.
I spent the rest of the day hanging out with Richard, Twiet, and Dave (LAN party!) and later joined them and a few others at Romano's in Cedarburg for a "surprise" pizza dinner for Jade's birthday. Getting there was a bit of an experience for two of our three vehicles, involving one hit deer and a group of pathetically lost friends.
This morning I got up at 7 to do my long run, driving to CUW in the hopes that Richard and a few others would be there to join me. Only Katie K, Jade, and Guppy showed up at first, but Richard finally arrived after they'd left. None of the other guys had woken up, so we went out to do our 10 miles by ourselves. We ran a certain "10-mile-loop" that I had never used before, which turned out to be sort of an extension of the similar 8 mile loop. I felt horrible but that's most likely because it was morning and we were going a little quick. Sometimes that feeling is good though, especially after you're finished.
This may be the final week of the season. I'm not competing at Regionals, so really all I need to do now is show up to practice and go along to Oshkosh this weekend to cheer. Hopefully everybody will do great; I have faith in every member of the team. A couple might have a shot at nationals, so if everything works out well there could be another week after this one. Either way, we're down to the wire, and now my role is to inspire my teammates to release their monsters rather than letting loose my own.
But I think monsters can also come out of the fans on special occasions. Let's just say I plan on leaving everything on the course Saturday, even though I won't be in the race.
My two teammates and I took it out with the lead pack right away and tried to keep ourselves in contention for the victory, but some of the other competitors apparently had decided to start too fast and we all got pretty tired in the first few minutes of the race. Jon even went so far and to talk about how tired he was before we made it out of the opening Runway field (which was still fairly muddy a week after our water-logged conference meet). We ended up hitting the first mile in about 5:30, which was right on the pace I'd hoped to run, but once we entered the Meadow everybody seemed to run low on energy. The wind heading west was a little strong and I found myself joining a line of several other runners drafting off Jon, the self-described "Mother Duck."
It was at this point that Fife started dropping back while we watched the two leaders pull away in front. A minute later Jon started to pull away from me as well, but I refused to let him go and managed to keep up until he started fading himself. Later he said he needed to go to the bathroom. I'm glad I didn't have that problem myself this time (bad past experiences).
I found myself battling one other guy in the last mile, but he got away from me as we approached the road and the home stretch. I should have beaten him but I think I just didn't care enough in that last mile. I finished with a time of just under 18 minutes, which I consider to be a terrible performance. I was 4th place overall however, which is actually my best placing ever in any individual competition (tied with the 1000 meter run at a track meet my junior year of high school). I was also 2nd in the 20-24 age group, so I got a silver medal. Not terrible I guess, considering the small size of the race and the fact that we didn't quite follow our normal warmup and pre-race preparations.
I spent the rest of the day hanging out with Richard, Twiet, and Dave (LAN party!) and later joined them and a few others at Romano's in Cedarburg for a "surprise" pizza dinner for Jade's birthday. Getting there was a bit of an experience for two of our three vehicles, involving one hit deer and a group of pathetically lost friends.
This morning I got up at 7 to do my long run, driving to CUW in the hopes that Richard and a few others would be there to join me. Only Katie K, Jade, and Guppy showed up at first, but Richard finally arrived after they'd left. None of the other guys had woken up, so we went out to do our 10 miles by ourselves. We ran a certain "10-mile-loop" that I had never used before, which turned out to be sort of an extension of the similar 8 mile loop. I felt horrible but that's most likely because it was morning and we were going a little quick. Sometimes that feeling is good though, especially after you're finished.
This may be the final week of the season. I'm not competing at Regionals, so really all I need to do now is show up to practice and go along to Oshkosh this weekend to cheer. Hopefully everybody will do great; I have faith in every member of the team. A couple might have a shot at nationals, so if everything works out well there could be another week after this one. Either way, we're down to the wire, and now my role is to inspire my teammates to release their monsters rather than letting loose my own.
But I think monsters can also come out of the fans on special occasions. Let's just say I plan on leaving everything on the course Saturday, even though I won't be in the race.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Monster Mudfest
I feel like I haven't been updating this blog as much as I used to. I guess I'm just busy with school and whatnot. Hopefully it'll keep going.
Anyway, yesterday was the conference championship meet at home. Our course was extremely wet and muddy due to a week of rains, but that only made it about 10 times more fun. I was covered in dirt before we even got out of the first field. There were mud puddles several inches deep in some parts of the "runway" and the meadow was one long line of slush. Everybody got pretty dirty before it was over.
I was determined to stick with Jon and Fife this time, and I succesfully managed to do it. We ran as a pack of 3 for the first 2.5 miles or so, but then Jon had to drop back as we were following the west side of the meadow, along the road. He was right beside me when I suddenly heard him say "Ow" and he started slowing down. I tried to say something to encourage him to keep it up but he just couldn't fight it enough to stay with us. Fife and I ended up running together around the pond and through the woods (which had a second "pond" in the middle of one path and a couple inches of mud on the other) before he pulled away from me around the 4 mile mark. I managed to catch up again in the last 800 meters as I summoned the monster, but he barely stayed in front of me on the final stretch. I let out another war cry just before I crossed the finish, which caused several of the spectators to laugh. I'm glad they enjoyed my monster.
This is me near the finish. I was pretty angry.
It was pretty cold, so we all went into the field house for the awards presentation. There were a couple of glitches in the results, so we had to wait anxiously for our final scores. Guppy ended up winning on the women's side and Ash also took the men's crown, so we had two individual champions. The women's team also were conference champs, but the men were second to Edgewood. They beat us by only 3 points. Some of the guys have blamed themselves, but I don't think there's much of anything we could have done to improve our chances. We went out there, released our monsters and fought the best fight we could. We were half victorious, and the season isn't over yet. Regionals is in two weeks. I'm on the cheering squad this year, having placed 9th on the team at conference. I plan on losing my voice.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Sunshine
Today was probably one of the last nice days we're going to have weather-wise. It was sunny and about 50 degrees. I ended up running my entire 8 miles solo but felt pretty good. I managed to cruise at around 6:30 for a couple of those miles and hovered just under 7 minute pace for most of the rest. Overall it was a good run.
This weekend is conference. The course is pretty wet and muddy so it looks like it'll be a fun race. We've been preparing for this all season. It's time to see if that monster is ready.
This weekend is conference. The course is pretty wet and muddy so it looks like it'll be a fun race. We've been preparing for this all season. It's time to see if that monster is ready.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Divisions
Today's practice was a set of strength exercises followed by a simple 8 mile run. As we were setting out, Richard (the only captain present for the men's team) started heading south, but most of the other guys broke off and headed north instead. There was a brief mid-stride argument before it became apparent that the rest of the team simply didn't want to run that direction. I chose to be the loyal follower, however, and went south with Richard. We only went out 3 miles instead of 4 in case his knee bothered him, but it didn't so we finished the last 2 miles on the course back at CUW. The run was pretty slow; I had little energy and was unable to push the pace at all. The weather was absolutely beautiful, however: 65 degrees, sunny, no wind, trees with bright yellow and orange leaves...perfect fall afternoon. Tomorrow is fartleks on the road. No meet this weekend. Using the week off to train that monster.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Still Alive
Another Tuesday. Another late start because of Literary Criticism class. "Monster Workout" #4. 2 mile warmup, 20x400 with a 1 minute jog between each, 2 mile cooldown. 5 miles at faster than 5 mile race pace, seven laps on the meadow, lots of guts. And a few tears.
I got out there while most of the other guys had about 5 intervals left to go. I managed to hit my times on the first 5 with no problems, but after that things got difficult. My times were supposed to drop every 5 400's, but fatigue made doing that almost impossible. By the time I had gotten to the last set of 5 everyone else had finished and gone in for the day. It was just me, the geese, and the rapidly darkening sky. My times were way off but I just ran as fast as I could, launching an all-out assault against the forces of evil, aka the Meadow. By the time I was finished with the entire workout I was so exhausted I could barely make it through the cool down. As I sit here, about an hour and a half later, my legs feel like hamburger and my stomach feels like acid. I haven't felt this sick after a workout in a long time. But I guess if this didn't kill me nothing will.
I got out there while most of the other guys had about 5 intervals left to go. I managed to hit my times on the first 5 with no problems, but after that things got difficult. My times were supposed to drop every 5 400's, but fatigue made doing that almost impossible. By the time I had gotten to the last set of 5 everyone else had finished and gone in for the day. It was just me, the geese, and the rapidly darkening sky. My times were way off but I just ran as fast as I could, launching an all-out assault against the forces of evil, aka the Meadow. By the time I was finished with the entire workout I was so exhausted I could barely make it through the cool down. As I sit here, about an hour and a half later, my legs feel like hamburger and my stomach feels like acid. I haven't felt this sick after a workout in a long time. But I guess if this didn't kill me nothing will.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
More great races on another nasty course
Today was the Wisconsin State Private Schools championship. Both men's and women's squads did great, except for the fact that a lot of people are out with injuries. For those who ran there were PR's almost all around. A few people even managed to drop as much as 2 minutes. I struggled to keep up with Jon and Pfeuffer but was ultimately unable to do so, instead watching them tear away across the top of the "mountain" at Ripon College while I played leapfrog with the MSOE guys for 5 miles. I caught up to Danny mid way through the race and he gave some encouragement, but I ended up dying later on and he left me behind. I'm not yet sure what my official time was but I may have PR'd by a few seconds. Jon shaved a minute and a half from last week, running somewhere around 28:11, and Pfeuffer made the last spot on the all-time list with his 28:03. Tyler, Mike, Ben, and Andrew all finished one after the other and Ash won the thing in 25:35. As a team the guys managed 3rd place, getting beat out by Ripon and St. Norbert. The good news is that we beat all the schools in our conference, so two weeks from now it looks like we could take the championship. The ladies took 4th, and Guppy was second overall. The monster award for this week definitely goes to Jungers, however, as he was able to knock off about 2 minutes from his previous best.
The weather was a little bit chilly (40 degrees?) but not too bad. The black team sleeves kept my arms cozy as we ran laps at the top of the hill (bit of a breeze up there). The course, however, was somewhat of a nightmare in my opinion. The start consisted of a hard right almost immediately after the gun, and some moron put a blue flag directly to the left of the actual right-turn flag. This caused a bunch of the leaders to nearly miss the turn because they aimed for the blue flag instead of the yellow one. After that we climbed to the top of the hill, ran a couple of loops up there, and then branched off into the forest for a steep, winding downhill towards the finish. This descent caught me completely off guard and almost sent me hurtling over one of the edges into the woods. I also came very close to going down right in front of Richard, who was taking pictures at the bottom. My knee started to give out and he snapped a photo of me flailing my arms in a near-panic. As much as the downhill sucked, though, it helped people run fast. This, combined with the fact that the last mile was short (balanced by 4 other miles that were slightly long) led to many of us running around 4:40 for the last "mile." The finish was also terrible. The chute was essentially in the middle of a parking lot.
It was a good day though. Next week is off (fall break), then conference, followed by the President's Run and Regionals. It's time to make things happen.
The weather was a little bit chilly (40 degrees?) but not too bad. The black team sleeves kept my arms cozy as we ran laps at the top of the hill (bit of a breeze up there). The course, however, was somewhat of a nightmare in my opinion. The start consisted of a hard right almost immediately after the gun, and some moron put a blue flag directly to the left of the actual right-turn flag. This caused a bunch of the leaders to nearly miss the turn because they aimed for the blue flag instead of the yellow one. After that we climbed to the top of the hill, ran a couple of loops up there, and then branched off into the forest for a steep, winding downhill towards the finish. This descent caught me completely off guard and almost sent me hurtling over one of the edges into the woods. I also came very close to going down right in front of Richard, who was taking pictures at the bottom. My knee started to give out and he snapped a photo of me flailing my arms in a near-panic. As much as the downhill sucked, though, it helped people run fast. This, combined with the fact that the last mile was short (balanced by 4 other miles that were slightly long) led to many of us running around 4:40 for the last "mile." The finish was also terrible. The chute was essentially in the middle of a parking lot.
It was a good day though. Next week is off (fall break), then conference, followed by the President's Run and Regionals. It's time to make things happen.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Drizzle
Today I did 400's in the meadow with Danny and Ben. It was a bit windy and raining lightly, but that didn't stop us. The workout itself seemed like it should be very easy on paper, but once we got out there Russ told us we had to run a few seconds faster than was previously thought. He also said that every interval needed to be on pace or faster; for every 400 that was over (even one second) we would have to do another one. The three of us still managed to keep pace however, running about 2 or 3 seconds faster than our goal times on most of the intervals and going about 5 seconds under for the last couple. Danny's knee seems to be pretty much back to normal now, but Richard has been out a couple days with minor knee problems of his own. The rest of the guys are looking decent though. This weekend should be a good meet.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Forgotten Monsters
Today was, supposedly, the most difficult practice of the season. I showed up late again because of class. All I knew at first was that I needed to do a triple bluff warmup. As I jogged up the final hill I noticed a few of the guys running around the north path by the edge of the bluff. By the time I'd gotten over there only a couple of them were left. I wasn't sure where the rest had gone off to. Ash told me to do 10 600's with a 1 minute jog in between each, but I had to find Russ in order to get my target splits. He wasn't by the north path so I ran out to the meadow. I had to shoot around to the starting line to finally locate him and get my splits. I was supposed to do 10 600's at 2:06 a pop. That's faster than the last time we did them, and with 30% less rest. I decided to give it a shot.
The 600's went terrible. I had such a hard time getting my legs to move up the dinky little hill just past the mud puddle that I was huffing and puffing by the time I made it to the lake. My best lap was 2:08, two seconds slower than goal pace. It also didn't help having nobody to run with, since the rest of the team was out at the meadow by this time, but Danny stopped by during his run to cheer me on for a couple of laps. After 9 of them I decided to go to the port-a-potty and make a pit stop. Coming out of the john I ran into Beth, who was waiting to get into the other one. She asked how it was going. I said I had one 600 left, then the "surprise" second half of the workout. She asked if I wanted to know what it was. I declined. One step at a time. I didn't want to worry about whatever was coming up until I'd finished those 600's.
The last 600 was faster due to the extra rest from my bathroom break, and I entered the meadow on a bit higher note. Once I got out to the starting line, however, I looked around and was unable to see anyone. For a brief moment I thought they'd all called it a day and headed in without remembering that I was still out there and needed to know what the rest of the workout was. Then I decided to go around the trees and check the south side of the field. Sure enough, a group of the guys were standing in a circle in the corner, talking to Russ. I ran over.
When I reached the group, Tyler said hi and Russ turned around with some kind of confused look on his face. "Am I about to die?" I asked. They responded by saying that it was a real possibility. Russ then said, "Oh, I forgot about you."
Great. I was in the middle of the hardest workout all year, and my coach had forgotten that I existed. Am I that hard to notice?
Anyway, Russ told me to go to the starting line and do 1 mile as fast as I could. He emphasized that it needed to be "all-out." This would not be fun. I could do it though. "Ok," I said. I would bust this out and be done. "Is that all then?"
"No, you've got 1 mile all out and then 5 minutes, then there's one more thing."
I started laughing and headed for the start. At this point I had lost enough of my sanity to stop caring about little things like shin splints, aching knees, and intestinal distress. It was time to let that monster out and make my body do things it really didn't want to.
I started the mile at a quick pace, reaching the 400 mark in about 1:16. Not actually fast at all, but considering that I was running in the meadow (as opposed to the track) and had already done what was essentially an entire workout by itself, I was content. By the time I got to the 800 I had slowed down, however, rolling through at 2:44. Just as I checked my watch, I suddenly heard the voice of Russ shouting motivational comments that I can no longer recall. He was all the way on the other side of the meadow with a megaphone. I turned the corner and went east along the edge by the woods, passing the other guys as they did part of their cooldown. They all shouted encouragement and told me to let out the monster. I went through the 1200 in 4:07 (why can't I do that every day in practice?) and passed the starting line where Russ was standing, still hurling motivation at me. A few more of the guys were now at the northeast corner, blasting yet more words of motivation as I sprinted the last 200 meters. I finally reached the end and looked at my watch: 5:29. What?! Five minutes and twenty-nine seconds?! That's so...slow! So much effort for such a crummy time?
I went back to the start and reported my time to Russ. He then told me to go jog around for five minutes. I did. When I got back, he instructed me to do one more 800. The catch was that I had to be under 2:40. Or else. Or else what, I'm not sure. I just had to do it. And I knew I could.
I went to the starting line one last time. With a burst of speed I took off and tore around the first corner with no desire for anything except pain. After cruising down the hill I passed the 400 in 1:12. Perfect. I was about 8 seconds ahead of pace. All I had to do was hold it. For 400 meters. Not that hard. Piece of cake.
As I went up the next little hill I felt my legs start to die. No! I couldn't let this happen! Not now, legs! I thought to myself. Just hang in there for another minute! I started praying that my body would hold together.
Turning the next corner, I caught sight of my teammates. They were standing at intervals all along the remaining 200 meters. Each one yelled as I passed, encouraging me to blast it to the finish. With those guys screaming at me on both sides, I smashed myself into oblivion up the final hill, sprinting to the end with every ounce of strength that remained in my body. I crossed the line (actually it's a traffic cone, but whatever) and walked for a few seconds to catch my breath. I then bent over, looking at my watch to see if I'd succeeded in destroying 2:40.
It said 2:31. I screamed a warrior's victory cry.
The 600's went terrible. I had such a hard time getting my legs to move up the dinky little hill just past the mud puddle that I was huffing and puffing by the time I made it to the lake. My best lap was 2:08, two seconds slower than goal pace. It also didn't help having nobody to run with, since the rest of the team was out at the meadow by this time, but Danny stopped by during his run to cheer me on for a couple of laps. After 9 of them I decided to go to the port-a-potty and make a pit stop. Coming out of the john I ran into Beth, who was waiting to get into the other one. She asked how it was going. I said I had one 600 left, then the "surprise" second half of the workout. She asked if I wanted to know what it was. I declined. One step at a time. I didn't want to worry about whatever was coming up until I'd finished those 600's.
The last 600 was faster due to the extra rest from my bathroom break, and I entered the meadow on a bit higher note. Once I got out to the starting line, however, I looked around and was unable to see anyone. For a brief moment I thought they'd all called it a day and headed in without remembering that I was still out there and needed to know what the rest of the workout was. Then I decided to go around the trees and check the south side of the field. Sure enough, a group of the guys were standing in a circle in the corner, talking to Russ. I ran over.
When I reached the group, Tyler said hi and Russ turned around with some kind of confused look on his face. "Am I about to die?" I asked. They responded by saying that it was a real possibility. Russ then said, "Oh, I forgot about you."
Great. I was in the middle of the hardest workout all year, and my coach had forgotten that I existed. Am I that hard to notice?
Anyway, Russ told me to go to the starting line and do 1 mile as fast as I could. He emphasized that it needed to be "all-out." This would not be fun. I could do it though. "Ok," I said. I would bust this out and be done. "Is that all then?"
"No, you've got 1 mile all out and then 5 minutes, then there's one more thing."
I started laughing and headed for the start. At this point I had lost enough of my sanity to stop caring about little things like shin splints, aching knees, and intestinal distress. It was time to let that monster out and make my body do things it really didn't want to.
I started the mile at a quick pace, reaching the 400 mark in about 1:16. Not actually fast at all, but considering that I was running in the meadow (as opposed to the track) and had already done what was essentially an entire workout by itself, I was content. By the time I got to the 800 I had slowed down, however, rolling through at 2:44. Just as I checked my watch, I suddenly heard the voice of Russ shouting motivational comments that I can no longer recall. He was all the way on the other side of the meadow with a megaphone. I turned the corner and went east along the edge by the woods, passing the other guys as they did part of their cooldown. They all shouted encouragement and told me to let out the monster. I went through the 1200 in 4:07 (why can't I do that every day in practice?) and passed the starting line where Russ was standing, still hurling motivation at me. A few more of the guys were now at the northeast corner, blasting yet more words of motivation as I sprinted the last 200 meters. I finally reached the end and looked at my watch: 5:29. What?! Five minutes and twenty-nine seconds?! That's so...slow! So much effort for such a crummy time?
I went back to the start and reported my time to Russ. He then told me to go jog around for five minutes. I did. When I got back, he instructed me to do one more 800. The catch was that I had to be under 2:40. Or else. Or else what, I'm not sure. I just had to do it. And I knew I could.
I went to the starting line one last time. With a burst of speed I took off and tore around the first corner with no desire for anything except pain. After cruising down the hill I passed the 400 in 1:12. Perfect. I was about 8 seconds ahead of pace. All I had to do was hold it. For 400 meters. Not that hard. Piece of cake.
As I went up the next little hill I felt my legs start to die. No! I couldn't let this happen! Not now, legs! I thought to myself. Just hang in there for another minute! I started praying that my body would hold together.
Turning the next corner, I caught sight of my teammates. They were standing at intervals all along the remaining 200 meters. Each one yelled as I passed, encouraging me to blast it to the finish. With those guys screaming at me on both sides, I smashed myself into oblivion up the final hill, sprinting to the end with every ounce of strength that remained in my body. I crossed the line (actually it's a traffic cone, but whatever) and walked for a few seconds to catch my breath. I then bent over, looking at my watch to see if I'd succeeded in destroying 2:40.
It said 2:31. I screamed a warrior's victory cry.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Cold
This morning I got up at 6:55 to go out and run at the 7:30 practice. It was 28 degrees outside, and when I got to campus nobody else was around at first. I almost left, thinking that 15 miles in the freezing cold by myself would be too much, but then Ash and Muffenbeck showed up at the last minute. We ended up running 10 miles on the north road, then Ash and I went back out for 5 more. It felt horrible. Just several miles into the run I already felt like I was dying, but managed to hold on for the entire journey. Later I spent the whole afternoon doing homework. Thus ends another weekend and begins another long week.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Left Behind
Today I had to miss the Parkside meet to go rock climbing. The experience was pretty fun, although I would have rather been with my team. I dominated the first couple of walls and then started to falter as my forearms and wrists got tired. Eventually I found myself stuck on a certain wall that nobody else seemed to be having problems with, and they refused to let me quit. My rock climbing "teammates" kept saying they wouldn't leave or let me come down until I made it up, but my hands just didn't have the grip left and after quite a while I had to bail.
After getting back to CUW I set out to do my 4 mile "tempo" workout, which actually turned out to be just a fast easy run (which is ironically an oxymoron). My fastest mile was 6:23. It was just a bit too cold (took me halfway just to get warmed up) and my hip flexors were too tired from the rock wall. I even had to stop halfway through the cooldown and stretch them out before I could make it the last mile back to campus.
While I was failing to conquer the repelling course and sucking at my tempo run, the rest of the team was tearing up the hills and woods at UW Parkside. From what I heard most of them seemed to do fairly well. Some big season bests and a couple of good packs out there. Pfeuffer came close to finally breaking 29 minutes (with Jon O not far behind) and supposedly said he could have done it if I'd been there. Next week, then, it'll happen for sure. I'll WILL them both under 29 minutes. I've got a special plan for that race. Hopefully it'll work.
After getting back to CUW I set out to do my 4 mile "tempo" workout, which actually turned out to be just a fast easy run (which is ironically an oxymoron). My fastest mile was 6:23. It was just a bit too cold (took me halfway just to get warmed up) and my hip flexors were too tired from the rock wall. I even had to stop halfway through the cooldown and stretch them out before I could make it the last mile back to campus.
While I was failing to conquer the repelling course and sucking at my tempo run, the rest of the team was tearing up the hills and woods at UW Parkside. From what I heard most of them seemed to do fairly well. Some big season bests and a couple of good packs out there. Pfeuffer came close to finally breaking 29 minutes (with Jon O not far behind) and supposedly said he could have done it if I'd been there. Next week, then, it'll happen for sure. I'll WILL them both under 29 minutes. I've got a special plan for that race. Hopefully it'll work.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Not Dead Yet
Yesterday was another great test of my body's durability. The team warmed up on the bluff and then headed over to the "north path" behind the soccer field for the workout. We did a total of 12 600's in 3 sets of 4, each set progressively faster than the previous one. It didn't seem terribly difficult on paper, but the competitive nature of my teammates made it a little bit insane. I was being chased all the way through by the group behind me, nearly on the verge of panic due to the fact that I was being caught by people who were supposed to be running slower than I was. As I hurdled the mud puddle and climbed the small hill east to the lake I could hear the relentless breathing and pounding of footsteps from behind, see the shadow of Jon coming to eat me. It was just the extra motivation I needed to run that little bit faster, and I know it helped them as well having some bait to chase after. On the last set of four we were supposed to run normal pace to the corner at the top of the path, then sprint full speed down the back stretch to the finish. When Jon and I reached the orange cone marking 400 meters we were greeted by Russ, who promptly screamed "Monster all the way down! How much pain can you handle?!"
It was the perfect thing to hear at that point and gave us the inspiration to turn on the jets and fly down that hill. I more or less ran out of energy on the last couple of loops but was still able to blast it at the end. Afterwards my legs were so sore that the cool down felt like finishing a marathon.
This morning I (barely) got to sleep in, since I didn't have to run in the morning. Instead I spent my time finishing an essay and rushing to class at the last minute. Actually I was five minutes late due to the parking debacle. This afternoon Russ only had my group run 4 miles, which felt like a warm up but was probably just what my body needed. I was quite sore throughout the day and am actually pretty impressed that my knees and achilles held up the last three days. I'm at 42 miles so far this week, on pace for about 70 total. Unfortunately I'll have to miss the Parkside meet on Saturday because I have a 1-credit rock climbing class, and will probably have to do a workout by myself early that morning.
It was the perfect thing to hear at that point and gave us the inspiration to turn on the jets and fly down that hill. I more or less ran out of energy on the last couple of loops but was still able to blast it at the end. Afterwards my legs were so sore that the cool down felt like finishing a marathon.
This morning I (barely) got to sleep in, since I didn't have to run in the morning. Instead I spent my time finishing an essay and rushing to class at the last minute. Actually I was five minutes late due to the parking debacle. This afternoon Russ only had my group run 4 miles, which felt like a warm up but was probably just what my body needed. I was quite sore throughout the day and am actually pretty impressed that my knees and achilles held up the last three days. I'm at 42 miles so far this week, on pace for about 70 total. Unfortunately I'll have to miss the Parkside meet on Saturday because I have a 1-credit rock climbing class, and will probably have to do a workout by myself early that morning.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Hang in There Everyone
I awoke to grey skies and soem light rain at 7:25 this morning. Half sighing, half moaning, I rolled over and turned off my alarm clock. 5 miles did not seem half as appealing as my warm bed, but laziness was not an option. Valiantly fighting what has now become a sort of permanent fatigue, I managed to crawl out of bed and lace up my running shoes. Outside the conditions were not terrible; in fact I got a bit warm under my retro Grafton Track jacket. I felt pretty crappy overall due to low energy, but before long I was back home and getting ready for class.
This afternoon I did another 6 miles. The rain had stopped by then and the sun even came out for about 10 minutes, but the clouds soon returned. Along with them came the wind, which created plenty of leaf-catching opportunities. I failed to actually grab any though.
After returning to the field house, Sarabia and I did 5 strides on the grass and parking lot. Those actually felt great, which is usually the case then the run itself goes terrible.
Have I mentioned yet that my knees are slowly dying? It's the same thing that plagued me all summer, only this time it's both knees. I've been putting them on ice to try and slow down the pain but I can only hope that I don't end up on the bike again in a few days. It seems like a lot of other people on the team are also experiencing problems lately. Kelby has apparently stubbed his toes and gotten stitches, which will take him out for most of the remainder of the season (according to facebook at least). Holly was recently witnessed limping around the library with some type of busted hip, Emily's been on the bike all week, Nicole still hasn't returned from her stress fracture in the beginning of the season, and Danny continues to have issues with his knee. We're dropping like flies.
I just hope the team can hold together physically for a few more weeks. We can't afford to lose people now.
This afternoon I did another 6 miles. The rain had stopped by then and the sun even came out for about 10 minutes, but the clouds soon returned. Along with them came the wind, which created plenty of leaf-catching opportunities. I failed to actually grab any though.
After returning to the field house, Sarabia and I did 5 strides on the grass and parking lot. Those actually felt great, which is usually the case then the run itself goes terrible.
Have I mentioned yet that my knees are slowly dying? It's the same thing that plagued me all summer, only this time it's both knees. I've been putting them on ice to try and slow down the pain but I can only hope that I don't end up on the bike again in a few days. It seems like a lot of other people on the team are also experiencing problems lately. Kelby has apparently stubbed his toes and gotten stitches, which will take him out for most of the remainder of the season (according to facebook at least). Holly was recently witnessed limping around the library with some type of busted hip, Emily's been on the bike all week, Nicole still hasn't returned from her stress fracture in the beginning of the season, and Danny continues to have issues with his knee. We're dropping like flies.
I just hope the team can hold together physically for a few more weeks. We can't afford to lose people now.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Need Energy
Last night I felt horrible, so I called it a day early and went to bed around 9:30. Despite sleeping close to 10 hours I was still exhausted when I woke up this morning at 7:30. Running 5 miles made me feel a lot better though. I overdressed a bit, expected some chilly morning air but instead being surprised by a pleasant 50 degrees. The tiredness returned throughout the day as I struggled to remain awake during Latin class. I took a 40 minute nap at 1 o'clock but was still sleepy by practice time.
Practice itself was fine. I woke up enough to stay near my times and didn't encounter any problems. We did a triple bluff warmup followed by 2x1 mile and 4x800. I ran near (0r faster than) my target times for every rep but was still barely able to keep up with Pfeuffer, who was supposed to be running 10 seconds slower than me. He keeps complaining about being tired and unable to run well but I'm convinced that he just hasn't had a good race yet. The guy kicks my butt in practice every day but I've beaten him in every race. Next time I bet he'll come out on top with a 28:30 or something around there.
It was about 13 miles for the day total. If my knees and shins survive (as I always speculate) I will be going places I've never been before.
Forecast calls for rain tomorrow. Wednesday is another monster. Let's do this.
Practice itself was fine. I woke up enough to stay near my times and didn't encounter any problems. We did a triple bluff warmup followed by 2x1 mile and 4x800. I ran near (0r faster than) my target times for every rep but was still barely able to keep up with Pfeuffer, who was supposed to be running 10 seconds slower than me. He keeps complaining about being tired and unable to run well but I'm convinced that he just hasn't had a good race yet. The guy kicks my butt in practice every day but I've beaten him in every race. Next time I bet he'll come out on top with a 28:30 or something around there.
It was about 13 miles for the day total. If my knees and shins survive (as I always speculate) I will be going places I've never been before.
Forecast calls for rain tomorrow. Wednesday is another monster. Let's do this.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Lakefront
This morning several of us volunteered at the CUW water station for the Lakefront Marathon. We handed out hundreds of paper cups filled with water and gatorade, cheered on the seemingly endless horde of runners, and then cleaned up. It's something I've done four or five times in the past (my high school runs a water stop a few miles earlier in the race) and still enjoy. I also got to see Dr. Paavola and a former teammate run by on their way to personal glory.
Around 1:30 Ben, Ash, Danny and I set out to do our long run. Danny made it about 100 meters before having to quit due to knee problems. He first noticed the pain yesterday while we were helping out at a high school meet at Lake Country Lutheran. Russ has him biking until it stops hurting, which hopefully should be very soon.
For the other three of us the run went fairly well. Ben complained about feeling sick for the first half and Andy seemed to have an urge to use the facilities, but I felt great and we all managed to survive the thing without any major problems. We averaged under 7-minute pace overall, partly due to a certain runner in a red shirt that we felt obligated to chase down around miles 8-10. The guy was first visible from far out when we were approaching 2 miles from campus (we ran 5 miles out and back to the south and then finished on the grass), but it wasn't until a little later that we kicked it in. We had been commenting for several minutes about how this fellow fitness junkie apparently wasn't willing to be caught when Andy pointed at him and said something about "getting" him. The man turned around to look at us just at that moment. I could almost feel a sense of fear pulsating through his veins as he saw us tearing down from behind. We decided to charge up the last hill in an attempt to finally close the gap, but ultimately ran out of room and were unable to catch him. We arrived back at CUW and had to turn off the road just short of victory.
One quick bathroom break and a couple of miles later, we were jogging out north to the half mile mark and ran into the same guy on his way back. Both parties waved.
I hit a wall the last mile and a half or so but was easily able to finish my 14 miles, putting myself around a bit over 70 for the week. That breaks my previous record of 60 by a solid margin. Next week...80? 85? The more the merrier, as long as my knees and shins hold out.
Around 1:30 Ben, Ash, Danny and I set out to do our long run. Danny made it about 100 meters before having to quit due to knee problems. He first noticed the pain yesterday while we were helping out at a high school meet at Lake Country Lutheran. Russ has him biking until it stops hurting, which hopefully should be very soon.
For the other three of us the run went fairly well. Ben complained about feeling sick for the first half and Andy seemed to have an urge to use the facilities, but I felt great and we all managed to survive the thing without any major problems. We averaged under 7-minute pace overall, partly due to a certain runner in a red shirt that we felt obligated to chase down around miles 8-10. The guy was first visible from far out when we were approaching 2 miles from campus (we ran 5 miles out and back to the south and then finished on the grass), but it wasn't until a little later that we kicked it in. We had been commenting for several minutes about how this fellow fitness junkie apparently wasn't willing to be caught when Andy pointed at him and said something about "getting" him. The man turned around to look at us just at that moment. I could almost feel a sense of fear pulsating through his veins as he saw us tearing down from behind. We decided to charge up the last hill in an attempt to finally close the gap, but ultimately ran out of room and were unable to catch him. We arrived back at CUW and had to turn off the road just short of victory.
One quick bathroom break and a couple of miles later, we were jogging out north to the half mile mark and ran into the same guy on his way back. Both parties waved.
I hit a wall the last mile and a half or so but was easily able to finish my 14 miles, putting myself around a bit over 70 for the week. That breaks my previous record of 60 by a solid margin. Next week...80? 85? The more the merrier, as long as my knees and shins hold out.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Forces of Nature
The team met for practice at 6 am this morning, and surprisingly almost everyone showed up. It was still dark out for about the first half of the workout and rain was blowing down in sheets from the black skies. As we warmed up on the bluff I could barely see Jon directly in front of me. The wind was coming into our faces off the lake as we jogged down the steps. As we were climbing back up the stairs for the second or third time I noticed a dark shape dash past in the opposite direction, and then heard the voice of Russ shouting "Yeah Baby!" This morning may have confirmed our suspicions that the man is actually insane. Luckily nobody tripped and got hurt on the slippery steps.
Following the bluff we went out south on the road for fartleks. This was the first time I've run that direction since the construction started 3 weeks ago. Flying through puddles and mud on the side of the road, dodging dump trucks and caution signs, we managed to grind out several miles and returned to campus just as the skies were lighting up. After finishing the fartleks on campus I took a bathroom break with Danny flying wingman, then headed over to do two more bluff hills. These were fairly brutal but it always feels good to punish the legs over there. A short cool down wrapped up the day for a total of about 8 or 9 miles. It was definitely a practice to go down in the record books.
Following the bluff we went out south on the road for fartleks. This was the first time I've run that direction since the construction started 3 weeks ago. Flying through puddles and mud on the side of the road, dodging dump trucks and caution signs, we managed to grind out several miles and returned to campus just as the skies were lighting up. After finishing the fartleks on campus I took a bathroom break with Danny flying wingman, then headed over to do two more bluff hills. These were fairly brutal but it always feels good to punish the legs over there. A short cool down wrapped up the day for a total of about 8 or 9 miles. It was definitely a practice to go down in the record books.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Moving Up
I showed up to practice after class today and found Danny and Ben waiting for me. We weren't sure how far to run since we'd missed the rest of the group, and a quick search for Russ proved futile because he'd already gone out to run. We ended up just heading north and ran into Russ around 1/2 mile anyway. He told us that group A was supposed to run 8 miles, while group B was 4 and group C was 7. Danny and I talked him into letting us do 8 miles with Ben, however, and also moving us both up to group A next week (woot woot!). The run actually turned out to be 6 miles plus the 2 mile "triple bluff warmup," which in this case was more of a cooldown. The wind was really blowing off the lake and Danny got a little chilled in his cut-off sleeves. We did an extra bluff hill too just for good measure (actually we were supposed to do it, but it still felt like over achieving). So far I'm at 40 miles this week. By the end of the weekend I should be at 69. Never run that much before.
I managed to catch one leaf today, bringing my season tally up to 4 points. I'm pretty sure Danny is somewhere around 15, and Pfeuffer must have at least 12. I really need to step up my game.
I managed to catch one leaf today, bringing my season tally up to 4 points. I'm pretty sure Danny is somewhere around 15, and Pfeuffer must have at least 12. I really need to step up my game.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Sleep...
Monday I ran 5 miles in the morning and 6 in the afternoon. It was rather cool and windy, and I actually wore long sleeves for the first time since last year. Tuesday was a bit rough. We did the triple bluff warmup followed by 5x100, 2x800, and 1x400 on the meadow. I was not even close to hitting my times. It was a nightmare. The workout was wrapped up by 3 bluff hills at "race pace effort." For me this effort was a jog. Essentially I was just trying to get to the top of the thing as I felt different muscle groups shutting down one at a time. The cool down was kind of a daze.
This morning I had to run 5 miles again, putting me at 26 so far this week. After practice this afternoon I should be around 30 or so, depending how far we go. For some reason I slept like crap last night despite being dead tired, so today I'm...well, still dead tired. A nap would be nice but there isn't enough time before class. I really want to go to bed.
This morning I had to run 5 miles again, putting me at 26 so far this week. After practice this afternoon I should be around 30 or so, depending how far we go. For some reason I slept like crap last night despite being dead tired, so today I'm...well, still dead tired. A nap would be nice but there isn't enough time before class. I really want to go to bed.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Monster Fail
I just got home from Minnesota. Griak was good fun. The race was a disaster.
Despite rain on Friday, by Saturday morning the weather had turned much more friendly and we ended up getting a very nice day. The course was only slightly muddy. I still ran horrible. Pfeuffer and I tried to push each other through the entire race, but it wasn't enough and the two of us seemed to fade away as we went along. The first mile was fine. The adrenaline rush of hundreds of screaming and chanting fans carried everyone along and I managed to get to the mile 1 marker in 5:50, right where Russ wanted me to be. About half a mile later I started getting tired. Halfway through the race I tanked. Pfeuffer and I continued to struggle through the remainder of the course but it was an entirely futile battle. We passed Moman (who was also having a terrible race) but he caught us both again before the end. Pfeuffer finally started to pull away in the last mile but I beat him (and two unsuspecting MSOE guys) at the finish. I let the monser out about 3 times just to keep myself from quitting. My final time was about 30:34, more than a minute and a half slower than last week. Some others had trouble as well. Besides myself and Pfeuffer (and Moman), pretty much everybody ran a little slow just because of the course. Lindsay fainted on the last straightaway, which really sucks because she was having a great race. I kind of admire her though. Sometimes I wish I could say that I've passed out trying to beat my body into going faster.
I don't know what happened out there this morning. The course is not hard. I don't care what anyone says about it. There's not a single real hill on that entire 5 mile path. Russ told us the night before that it's a "Kindergarten Course" compared to some real climbs out there. He's right, too. Last year I ran fine at this meet, despite getting only 3 hours of sleep the night before and being dehydrated. This year I crashed and burned.
Oh well, I guess I just have to forget about it and move on. Like the backs of our yellow t-shirts say, "Ain't nothing gonna break my stride, nobody's gonna slow me down. I've got to keep on movin!" The bright side is that, as a team, we defeated MSOE and St. Norbert, and came very close to catching Ripon. The women did just as well. Considering that several people ran poorly and one of our top 5 wasn't even here, we might be able to compete for the State Private School championship in a few weeks.
Despite rain on Friday, by Saturday morning the weather had turned much more friendly and we ended up getting a very nice day. The course was only slightly muddy. I still ran horrible. Pfeuffer and I tried to push each other through the entire race, but it wasn't enough and the two of us seemed to fade away as we went along. The first mile was fine. The adrenaline rush of hundreds of screaming and chanting fans carried everyone along and I managed to get to the mile 1 marker in 5:50, right where Russ wanted me to be. About half a mile later I started getting tired. Halfway through the race I tanked. Pfeuffer and I continued to struggle through the remainder of the course but it was an entirely futile battle. We passed Moman (who was also having a terrible race) but he caught us both again before the end. Pfeuffer finally started to pull away in the last mile but I beat him (and two unsuspecting MSOE guys) at the finish. I let the monser out about 3 times just to keep myself from quitting. My final time was about 30:34, more than a minute and a half slower than last week. Some others had trouble as well. Besides myself and Pfeuffer (and Moman), pretty much everybody ran a little slow just because of the course. Lindsay fainted on the last straightaway, which really sucks because she was having a great race. I kind of admire her though. Sometimes I wish I could say that I've passed out trying to beat my body into going faster.
I don't know what happened out there this morning. The course is not hard. I don't care what anyone says about it. There's not a single real hill on that entire 5 mile path. Russ told us the night before that it's a "Kindergarten Course" compared to some real climbs out there. He's right, too. Last year I ran fine at this meet, despite getting only 3 hours of sleep the night before and being dehydrated. This year I crashed and burned.
Oh well, I guess I just have to forget about it and move on. Like the backs of our yellow t-shirts say, "Ain't nothing gonna break my stride, nobody's gonna slow me down. I've got to keep on movin!" The bright side is that, as a team, we defeated MSOE and St. Norbert, and came very close to catching Ripon. The women did just as well. Considering that several people ran poorly and one of our top 5 wasn't even here, we might be able to compete for the State Private School championship in a few weeks.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
9/24/09
2 mile warm up, 4x800 around the north path, 4x100 strides, 2 mile cool down
about 7 miles total
30 miles this week
I got out of class a few minutes early today and managed to get outside just as the rest of the team was doing their warmup. By the time I got to the actual workout they were only about 1 or 2 intervals ahead of me. It went by pretty fast too since we only did half the normal load. The path wasn't too wet despite recent rain, except for a single mud puddle at the start of the small hill that leads to the lake. Afterwards we crammed 4 guys into the ice bath (we are all quite secure in our sexual orientation) and then I went home. Leaving for Griak at 7:30 tomorrow morning. It's monster time again.
about 7 miles total
30 miles this week
I got out of class a few minutes early today and managed to get outside just as the rest of the team was doing their warmup. By the time I got to the actual workout they were only about 1 or 2 intervals ahead of me. It went by pretty fast too since we only did half the normal load. The path wasn't too wet despite recent rain, except for a single mud puddle at the start of the small hill that leads to the lake. Afterwards we crammed 4 guys into the ice bath (we are all quite secure in our sexual orientation) and then I went home. Leaving for Griak at 7:30 tomorrow morning. It's monster time again.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Swimming?
9 miles today (mile repeats on the road)
19 miles this week
It was extremely humid today. So humid, in fact, that I sweat a fairly significant amount just walking to school this morning (yes, I walked) despite the fact that it was only 65 degrees. We were supposed to do 1000 meter intervals on the north path by the woods. I got real excited around 11 o'clock or so when it started pouring. I figured we'd get all muddy out on that path, especially since the east corner at the top of the hill is nothing but dirt. Having to run most of the workout solo would have been so much more fun in the mud.
My hopes were dashed when Russ instructed the team to do mile repeats on the road instead. Apparently the path was too wet. I almost went over there anyway, but Kevin bumped into me as he was getting back from the bike (should've asked what's wrong with him-hopefully nothing serious) and informed me of the change in plans. It worked out ok in the end though. I decided to just run home. Since I'd walked to class that morning I didn't have a car on campus, and with the late start I figured I might not get a chance to hitch a ride home with somebody else. The workout itself was...eh, ok I suppose. It stopped raining around 2 or 3 in the afternoon, and I was out running by 4. I felt fine but just couldn't seem to go any faster than 6 minutes per mile. Makes me feel pathetic considering that I used to do those in about 5:35 back in high school. Granted, we usually had more rest between sets back then, but I should be in so much better shape now than I was 4 years ago. It seems like my body just can't go as fast in practice, but when we line up for a race I magically gain a few levels of athletic ability. I'll call it adrenaline.
I was also soaked when I finally got home (remember, it wasn't raining when I was actually out there). So humid it felt like aqua jogging. Really fast aqua jogging.
And while stretching in the driveway I discovered that my cat looks both ways before crossing the street. He was soaked when he got home too.
Just thought I'd throw that out there.
But seriously, it was really humid.
19 miles this week
It was extremely humid today. So humid, in fact, that I sweat a fairly significant amount just walking to school this morning (yes, I walked) despite the fact that it was only 65 degrees. We were supposed to do 1000 meter intervals on the north path by the woods. I got real excited around 11 o'clock or so when it started pouring. I figured we'd get all muddy out on that path, especially since the east corner at the top of the hill is nothing but dirt. Having to run most of the workout solo would have been so much more fun in the mud.
My hopes were dashed when Russ instructed the team to do mile repeats on the road instead. Apparently the path was too wet. I almost went over there anyway, but Kevin bumped into me as he was getting back from the bike (should've asked what's wrong with him-hopefully nothing serious) and informed me of the change in plans. It worked out ok in the end though. I decided to just run home. Since I'd walked to class that morning I didn't have a car on campus, and with the late start I figured I might not get a chance to hitch a ride home with somebody else. The workout itself was...eh, ok I suppose. It stopped raining around 2 or 3 in the afternoon, and I was out running by 4. I felt fine but just couldn't seem to go any faster than 6 minutes per mile. Makes me feel pathetic considering that I used to do those in about 5:35 back in high school. Granted, we usually had more rest between sets back then, but I should be in so much better shape now than I was 4 years ago. It seems like my body just can't go as fast in practice, but when we line up for a race I magically gain a few levels of athletic ability. I'll call it adrenaline.
I was also soaked when I finally got home (remember, it wasn't raining when I was actually out there). So humid it felt like aqua jogging. Really fast aqua jogging.
And while stretching in the driveway I discovered that my cat looks both ways before crossing the street. He was soaked when he got home too.
Just thought I'd throw that out there.
But seriously, it was really humid.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Monster Dash
5 miles this morning
5 miles this afternoon
10 miles so far this week
Twietmeyer, Braun, Sam, Jon, and myself had a discussion about sprinting today. We were doing strides and someone mentioned something about the 100 meter dash being a crazy race. Of course, nobody really knew for sure because I don't think any of us had run one before. I said that the 200 was the really intense event (I actually used to run that one all the time in high school) because it was a full sprint but was just long enough that you'd die before you reached the finish. We then went on to the topic of which track and field event was the most difficult. Most of the guys were saying 400 meter dash. Jon said "It's all guts." I said "It's all monster." Then somebody said something about the 800 and Sam made a painful face. He didn't like the idea of running that fast for two laps on the track.
Of course, we're all wrong anyway. The 400 hurdles is the hardest track and field event. At least that's what I've heard. Steeplechase is probably second.
5 miles this afternoon
10 miles so far this week
Twietmeyer, Braun, Sam, Jon, and myself had a discussion about sprinting today. We were doing strides and someone mentioned something about the 100 meter dash being a crazy race. Of course, nobody really knew for sure because I don't think any of us had run one before. I said that the 200 was the really intense event (I actually used to run that one all the time in high school) because it was a full sprint but was just long enough that you'd die before you reached the finish. We then went on to the topic of which track and field event was the most difficult. Most of the guys were saying 400 meter dash. Jon said "It's all guts." I said "It's all monster." Then somebody said something about the 800 and Sam made a painful face. He didn't like the idea of running that fast for two laps on the track.
Of course, we're all wrong anyway. The 400 hurdles is the hardest track and field event. At least that's what I've heard. Steeplechase is probably second.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
The Falcon Invite this morning was...ok I suppose. Many of the guys felt horrible. Some ran as much as a minute slower than last week. The only two I know of who did well were Danny and Ash. The girls all looked pretty happy after their race, however, so apparently they did pretty well. Guppy was second place I believe. I didn't like the course all that much but I guess it's not terrible (it's a lot better than Aurora's aweful course). The first open field wasn't as bad as I expected since most of the fans were over there. Russ had us run about 10-15 seconds faster per mile than we did last week, and I personally was unable to do it. I managed to hold the pace for about 1 mile, then started shutting down. I tried to let out the monster but it wasn't there until the last 100 meters. After the race some of the other teams ran down to the beach while me, Ash, Braun, and Dave rolled up the turf by the service hill. Nearby a hawk was floating in the wind, just hovering in place over the bluff. Every once in a while it would dive down to the ground to catch a mouse or something. Or maybe it was just having fun. Who knows.
I wish I could fly.
I wish I could fly.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
No Killer Dogs This Time
Another solo run today, but it didn't feel all that bad. Actually I did the first 2 miles with Tyler and Richard, then went out on the road for 5 more. I was cruising along pretty well; I don't think a single mile was over 7 minutes. On my way out on the road I passed Ben and Danny as they were returning. Danny held up a leaf he'd caught, signifying his 2-to-1 lead in the leaf-catching scoreboard. I'm going to have to step up my game if I want to compete this season.
Also, did I mention that yesterday we were nearly eaten by a couple of fluffy white dogs while trying to dash 2 miles back to campus? Man-eating animals are good motivation to run faster in the middle of a workout.
Tomorrow will be another easy practice, and Saturday morning is the Falcon Invite. Our first home meet of the season brings in many of the conference schools for a mid-September showdown on the new course. This is the perfect opportunity for us to flex our running muscles and show what we can do. I have complete confidence in our team's ability to win conference this year, and this weekend could be the first indication of whether I'm correct.
Also, did I mention that yesterday we were nearly eaten by a couple of fluffy white dogs while trying to dash 2 miles back to campus? Man-eating animals are good motivation to run faster in the middle of a workout.
Tomorrow will be another easy practice, and Saturday morning is the Falcon Invite. Our first home meet of the season brings in many of the conference schools for a mid-September showdown on the new course. This is the perfect opportunity for us to flex our running muscles and show what we can do. I have complete confidence in our team's ability to win conference this year, and this weekend could be the first indication of whether I'm correct.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
I'm Tired
Another Tuesday, another...easy practice? For once I didn't have to do a workout by myself due to Tuesday/Thursday classes. Nonetheless it still sucked. 8 miles seemed like such a chore today for some reason. I had to head out and catch the other guys as they were returning, shouting to ask how far I was supposed to run. The rest of the trip (6.5 miles) felt so much harder than it should've been because my legs are super tired. That's ok though.
After my solo practice I had to stretch, dash home, shower, scarf down leftover lasagna, and rush back for another meeting. This one was for track. Russ is the head women's coach this year (we miss you Amanda!) and we are getting a couple of new assistants. From the way things went last year we should have an incredible team. I won't say the unthinkable, but...
We'll see what happens.
Don't stop believing.
After my solo practice I had to stretch, dash home, shower, scarf down leftover lasagna, and rush back for another meeting. This one was for track. Russ is the head women's coach this year (we miss you Amanda!) and we are getting a couple of new assistants. From the way things went last year we should have an incredible team. I won't say the unthinkable, but...
We'll see what happens.
Don't stop believing.
Monday, September 14, 2009
What to do when you're supposed to be writing an essay but can't come up with any ideas for a topic? Blog, of course.
Practice today consisted of 1x1200 and 3x800 on the Meadow, then 3 bluff hills. I added a bathroom break in between the Meadow and the hills. Most of my fellow warriors appeared to dominate the workout in grand fashion. I had some trouble keeping up with my wingmen Danny and Pfeuffer and had to do most of the hills solo.
After stretching, abs and a quick ice bath I had to rush home to shower and then return for a pointless athletic meeting in the field house. Actually, the information given at the meeting was pretty important, but it was stuff we'd all heard at another meeting a couple of weeks ago.
"Easy" practice tomorrow. This is an unload week, which (I fear) could mean that I'll be running about 3 or 4 miles tomorrow. Lame.
Practice today consisted of 1x1200 and 3x800 on the Meadow, then 3 bluff hills. I added a bathroom break in between the Meadow and the hills. Most of my fellow warriors appeared to dominate the workout in grand fashion. I had some trouble keeping up with my wingmen Danny and Pfeuffer and had to do most of the hills solo.
After stretching, abs and a quick ice bath I had to rush home to shower and then return for a pointless athletic meeting in the field house. Actually, the information given at the meeting was pretty important, but it was stuff we'd all heard at another meeting a couple of weeks ago.
"Easy" practice tomorrow. This is an unload week, which (I fear) could mean that I'll be running about 3 or 4 miles tomorrow. Lame.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Here Be Monsters
Yesterday was the first real race of the season, and in a way it was glorious. After a boring bus ride to Aurora in Illinois, we piled out and explored a (terrible) course that consisted of repeated concrete, hard-packed dirt roads and rutty woods with no hills. The start line was possibly the worst I've ever seen. It was angled AWAY from the actual course so that anyone who ran straight would enter a large pond. There wasn't any real straightaway at the start, just an immediate left turn. Despite all the nightmarish course conditions it turned out to be a fun event. Russ led us all through a sort of meditative ritual before we unloaded the bus and also calculated pace times for everyone to shoot at. During the actual race most of us managed to stick to our mile paces and a lot of both men and women were able to bust out negative splits. My monster came out for the final 2 miles and I believe many of my teammates felt the same. Sam and Ash ended up winning medals and several of the new recruits did pretty well for their first races. A couple people did not have good days but they have nothing to worry about since this first race counts for little if anything.
This morning we ran at Pike Lake again. I didn't roll my ankle this time, but holy crap am I sore from last night. It's a great feeling. It means I'm getting stronger.
This morning we ran at Pike Lake again. I didn't roll my ankle this time, but holy crap am I sore from last night. It's a great feeling. It means I'm getting stronger.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
New Turf
5 miles this morning felt like hell. That's all I will say about that.
8 miles this afternoon went much better. We ran the new course. I'm not sure if I like it yet. It starts on the large open field across the road to the south of campus, loops around there a couple of times, then crosses the road and goes past the lake to the meadow. Everything is repeated in the opposite direction, finishing on the same field where it starts. The men's and women's courses are exactly the same except that the men run around that south field a bit more.
Speaking of that south field, we ought to come up with a name for it. Ash referred to it as the "desert" while we were running today because it's so exposed, with no shelter from the sun. I've been thinking of it as a sort of "Goose Territory" because of the two disgusting retention ponds and the fowl that inhabit them. A certain past incident involving geese also took place near this field. Overall it's definitely a more bare and brutal field. The ground is lumpy and not yet broken in, the grass is patchy, and there is little to look at except for the freeway, not that anyone would bother to check out the scenery with so much bird crap to dodge. In contrast the meadow is an almost peaceful square of (sometimes) taller grasses bordered on two sides by woods. Deer, Turkeys, hawks and sometimes even coyotes can be seen wandering through while you run its perimeter. You also get to dash through the forest upon entering and exiting.
I shouldn't fully judge this new course until I've raced on it. Then we'll see how it truly feels.
At least it's "spectator friendly."
(we all know that real spectators are more a part of the race than simple fans standing by and watching)
8 miles this afternoon went much better. We ran the new course. I'm not sure if I like it yet. It starts on the large open field across the road to the south of campus, loops around there a couple of times, then crosses the road and goes past the lake to the meadow. Everything is repeated in the opposite direction, finishing on the same field where it starts. The men's and women's courses are exactly the same except that the men run around that south field a bit more.
Speaking of that south field, we ought to come up with a name for it. Ash referred to it as the "desert" while we were running today because it's so exposed, with no shelter from the sun. I've been thinking of it as a sort of "Goose Territory" because of the two disgusting retention ponds and the fowl that inhabit them. A certain past incident involving geese also took place near this field. Overall it's definitely a more bare and brutal field. The ground is lumpy and not yet broken in, the grass is patchy, and there is little to look at except for the freeway, not that anyone would bother to check out the scenery with so much bird crap to dodge. In contrast the meadow is an almost peaceful square of (sometimes) taller grasses bordered on two sides by woods. Deer, Turkeys, hawks and sometimes even coyotes can be seen wandering through while you run its perimeter. You also get to dash through the forest upon entering and exiting.
I shouldn't fully judge this new course until I've raced on it. Then we'll see how it truly feels.
At least it's "spectator friendly."
(we all know that real spectators are more a part of the race than simple fans standing by and watching)
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Problems
Today was a typical Tuesday. The majority of the team went to Mee-Kwon park again to do hills and 1200's, while I stayed behind due to class. I ended up doing a triple bluff warmup followed by 2 loops on the meadow. Mike showed up just before I started the second loop (he'd been left behind as well) and proceeded to blow me away. I then left him to use the facilities and ran the bluff a couple more times. The entire thing ended up being around 8 miles. 16 miles for the week so far.
After the rest of the team had returned we headed for the ice baths, and while in the training room I saw Nicole walk by with a large black boot covering her foot. Turns out she has a stress fracture. That's bad news. It means one more of our teammates is out with an injury. Twiet seems to be getting around on his crutches pretty well, and he claims the ankle's not too bad.
There also seems to be some growing tension between a few of the team members, and apparently I missed a bit of the flames today. Without going into details, I'll just say that this is the kind of thing that needs to stop. I'm not sure what I can do about it but somehow it needs to end. Internal conflict is the death of any good team.
After the rest of the team had returned we headed for the ice baths, and while in the training room I saw Nicole walk by with a large black boot covering her foot. Turns out she has a stress fracture. That's bad news. It means one more of our teammates is out with an injury. Twiet seems to be getting around on his crutches pretty well, and he claims the ankle's not too bad.
There also seems to be some growing tension between a few of the team members, and apparently I missed a bit of the flames today. Without going into details, I'll just say that this is the kind of thing that needs to stop. I'm not sure what I can do about it but somehow it needs to end. Internal conflict is the death of any good team.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Twietmeyer sprained his ankle today. Most of us were running the bluff but apparently he was just out on the road or somewhere flat. It's the same ankle he busted during the summer. Poor guy will probably have to sit out from training for awhile again. Fortunately his manager duties should still be doable for the most part.
Several people have also been getting sick lately. I've got a cold as I type this, and I know Tyler and Ben have had it too recently. Ash was complaining today that he'd woken up sick during the night and seemed to be feeling crappy while we were running. Hopefully everybody gets better quickly, because things are already starting to pick up and pretty soon it'll be monster time.
Several people have also been getting sick lately. I've got a cold as I type this, and I know Tyler and Ben have had it too recently. Ash was complaining today that he'd woken up sick during the night and seemed to be feeling crappy while we were running. Hopefully everybody gets better quickly, because things are already starting to pick up and pretty soon it'll be monster time.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Yesterday's time trial was a blast. For the most part I think everybody did well, which is absolutely great. Ash was first in 16:05 I believe, or somewhere around there. Next was Ben, followed by Mike. Apparently some of the girls failed to finish, but I'm pretty sure they'll be ok. The high school meet that followed went smoothly as well, so overall the day was a success. I can't wait to see the whole team in action this friday at our first real competition.
This morning I ran 12 miles with Ash, Jon, Ben, and Pfeuffer. The others were all complaining about being tired, and I was still pretty sore from hills on Thursday, but once we got going I actually felt quite amazing. I would have run an extra 2 miles with Ben and Andy if my quads weren't falling apart in the absence of endorphins.
This morning I ran 12 miles with Ash, Jon, Ben, and Pfeuffer. The others were all complaining about being tired, and I was still pretty sore from hills on Thursday, but once we got going I actually felt quite amazing. I would have run an extra 2 miles with Ben and Andy if my quads weren't falling apart in the absence of endorphins.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Climbing
Hills today with Danny and Ben, while the rest of the team was at Mee-Kwon park. We stayed behind due to late classes. It wasn't anything too strenuous, just 5 times up the service road and then 2 zig-zags by the stairs. I had a bit more energy today and nothing hurt at all. I figure if my body can withstand the bluff then I must be good to go for anything Russ can throw at me. The daily ice bath is becoming very routine as well.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Teamwork
I ran the past two days without any problems! Well, I should say without any injury-related problems. My peroneal tendon is fine. It's the rest of me that feels horrible. Amazing how one week of cross training can make me feel "out of shape" when I try to run again. Today I could barely keep up with Ash, Ben, Richard, and Pfeuffer for 8 miles. I wouldn't have made it if it weren't for the fact that they refused to let me go. They kept slowing down and backtracking to "pick me up" and bring me back to the rest of the group. I wanted to tell them not to wait for me, to leave me and go on by themselves, but they beat me to the argument by saying that no one gets left behind.
Overall the current situation is good: I am healthy again and able to continue training, and Russ didn't even drop me down in the team standings as I'd feared. I'm still in group B, meaning I can keep running 60 miles a week. Meaning I can still get back to where I was a year ago. I even get to do hills again, despite the recent injury. My hopes of being able to contribute to the team this season are still alive.
Overall the current situation is good: I am healthy again and able to continue training, and Russ didn't even drop me down in the team standings as I'd feared. I'm still in group B, meaning I can keep running 60 miles a week. Meaning I can still get back to where I was a year ago. I even get to do hills again, despite the recent injury. My hopes of being able to contribute to the team this season are still alive.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Drowning?
Russ put me in the SwimEx pool today. I ran out of time and had to finish on the elliptical, then did 15 minutes on the bike just for good measure. Basically I ended up doing a mini, stationary triathlon. Back to running tomorrow, FOR REAL THIS TIME. Seriously.
The rest of the team looks good so far. Mostly everyone else is moving up through the training groups and getting faster. This weekend is our first real test of fitness: the alumni/high school meet. After that we should be able to more accurately tell where everyone's at.
Today was also the first day of classes. I'm already confused by Latin and World Religions seems like it may be more difficult than I originally thought. Parking was an absolute nightmare. I got to school around 9:15, only to discover that there was not a single open parking spot anywhere on campus. People were creating new parking lots in places where vehicles aren't normally supposed to be, such as the gravel area by the electrical equipment near the field house, and on the grass next to Wittenberg. I ended up just pretending that there was another space outside the yellow lines in the field house lot, and minutes later others had followed my trend and parked me in. Last year people complained about the parking because they couldn't get convenient spots close to their dorms; this year there literally aren't enough spaces for everyone during the day. If I weren't broken I would seriously consider running to class in the morning.
The rest of the team looks good so far. Mostly everyone else is moving up through the training groups and getting faster. This weekend is our first real test of fitness: the alumni/high school meet. After that we should be able to more accurately tell where everyone's at.
Today was also the first day of classes. I'm already confused by Latin and World Religions seems like it may be more difficult than I originally thought. Parking was an absolute nightmare. I got to school around 9:15, only to discover that there was not a single open parking spot anywhere on campus. People were creating new parking lots in places where vehicles aren't normally supposed to be, such as the gravel area by the electrical equipment near the field house, and on the grass next to Wittenberg. I ended up just pretending that there was another space outside the yellow lines in the field house lot, and minutes later others had followed my trend and parked me in. Last year people complained about the parking because they couldn't get convenient spots close to their dorms; this year there literally aren't enough spaces for everyone during the day. If I weren't broken I would seriously consider running to class in the morning.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Anticipation
Today was the opening service at CUW. Students and faculty both new and old packed the chapel to officially start the new academic year. As we walked out afterwards I turned to Richard and stated "So it begins."
Many of my friends complained last year that I never spent any time with them. Between practice and studying I had gradually lost all hope of having a social life. I'm hoping to change that this year through some better time management, but no matter what I do this semester is going to be hectic. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed just thinking about the coming gauntlet of exams and papers, and class hasen't even started yet. Running is the same way. This summer has been such a mess of exhaustion and injury; I want the offseason to start so I can rest. The only problem is that summer WAS the offseason, and the hard part is about to begin. I don't know how my body will survive this, but everyone else keeps telling me that I'm doing great, talking about how "fast" I am. I guess I'll just have to do what I've been doing all summer: take their word for it and keep believing that things will work out. My personal belief is that this is either the beginning...or the beginning of the end. We'll see.
One more day on the bike. I hope.
I'll be back.
Many of my friends complained last year that I never spent any time with them. Between practice and studying I had gradually lost all hope of having a social life. I'm hoping to change that this year through some better time management, but no matter what I do this semester is going to be hectic. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed just thinking about the coming gauntlet of exams and papers, and class hasen't even started yet. Running is the same way. This summer has been such a mess of exhaustion and injury; I want the offseason to start so I can rest. The only problem is that summer WAS the offseason, and the hard part is about to begin. I don't know how my body will survive this, but everyone else keeps telling me that I'm doing great, talking about how "fast" I am. I guess I'll just have to do what I've been doing all summer: take their word for it and keep believing that things will work out. My personal belief is that this is either the beginning...or the beginning of the end. We'll see.
One more day on the bike. I hope.
I'll be back.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Setbacks
Ran about 4 miles today. Started to do a tempo run with Tyler at Tendick Park (while mostly everyone else did hills) but my leg started hurting after 30 minutes. Will dominate the bike tomorrow and Sunday.
I promise to be back running on Monday.
I promise to be back running on Monday.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Believe
Hopefully today is the last day that I have to bike instead of running. Another hour on the sweat machine has proven that I'm out of shape (bikewise at least). This kind of soreness doesn't come around that often. I feel like I've been squatting for the past 3 days rather than cycling. The good news is that my leg is feeling much better. It even survived laser tag last night (which was epic, by the way).
As much as the stationary bike can suck, there's something about it that's almost addicting to me. The ability to just sit there and smash your quads into submission for an hour or two, without having to worry about traffic, turns, or the weather, really lets you focus. Sometimes I think I get a better workout on the bike than I do outside running. The low-impact nature of the activity also lets you go a lot longer than you could on foot, so when it's over I'm usually drained to the max from relentlessly pushing the pace. It's like running on a treadmill; the urge to increase the speed and effort level is nearly irresistible when all you need to do it press a button. Good monster training. It reminds me that I can always do more, try harder. If I can willingly go faster on one of these machines simply because I want to end the boredom sooner, than I should be able to do it in a race.
Being injured is no fun, but it doesn't need to be a setback. A lot of us feel like we're moving backwards when we need to rest or cross train for just a few days, even though we're not actually losing anything. But the key is to remind yourself that eventually, when you go back to normal training, everything will probably return to the way it's supposed to be. You'll continue to improve. You might even be better than you were before you started having problems. No matter what happens, no matter what obstacles are encountered along the way to success, you just have to believe. You have to believe that the monster is there inside of you, waiting. Believe that it's ready, and when the moment arrives, that it will come out and make things happen. Even when you're down on the ground, feeling defeated, with no will left to keep trying...believe in the monster. You might be surprised by what you can do with its help.
As much as the stationary bike can suck, there's something about it that's almost addicting to me. The ability to just sit there and smash your quads into submission for an hour or two, without having to worry about traffic, turns, or the weather, really lets you focus. Sometimes I think I get a better workout on the bike than I do outside running. The low-impact nature of the activity also lets you go a lot longer than you could on foot, so when it's over I'm usually drained to the max from relentlessly pushing the pace. It's like running on a treadmill; the urge to increase the speed and effort level is nearly irresistible when all you need to do it press a button. Good monster training. It reminds me that I can always do more, try harder. If I can willingly go faster on one of these machines simply because I want to end the boredom sooner, than I should be able to do it in a race.
Being injured is no fun, but it doesn't need to be a setback. A lot of us feel like we're moving backwards when we need to rest or cross train for just a few days, even though we're not actually losing anything. But the key is to remind yourself that eventually, when you go back to normal training, everything will probably return to the way it's supposed to be. You'll continue to improve. You might even be better than you were before you started having problems. No matter what happens, no matter what obstacles are encountered along the way to success, you just have to believe. You have to believe that the monster is there inside of you, waiting. Believe that it's ready, and when the moment arrives, that it will come out and make things happen. Even when you're down on the ground, feeling defeated, with no will left to keep trying...believe in the monster. You might be surprised by what you can do with its help.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Spinning
Today we had practice at 9 am. I ended up on the stationary bike for an hour because my peronial whatchamacallit is quite sore and stiff. I served as some practice for the athletic training students as well, who did a fairly decent job of diagnosing my ailment (although Russ had to remind them of a few things). By the time I was finished on the bike I was so drenched in sweat I looked and felt as if I'd been using the SwimEx instead. Hobbling around campus this afternoon delivering files (I work in Graduate Admissions) wasn't the most dignifying experience but at least now the rest of me gets a chance to rest. Three months of knee pain has finally come to an end and my achilles managed to survive the hills yesterday. Unfortunately there's no way I'm going to be allowed to run at Lapham Peak tomorrow. Someone else will have to find the halflings this time.
Monday, August 24, 2009
The Beginning
I woke up at 6:55 this morning, five minutes before my alarm. Looking up at the red digital numbers, I moaned silently and turned the thing off before it could scream like a banshee and force me to get out of bed. I laid back down and seriously considered returning to my dreams-my head was throbbing from the day before, the result of a year's worth of sleep debt accumulated over the summer. I rested it on the pillow. Just a couple more minutes I thought. Then I remembered. Pike Lake today. We were leaving at 7:30. I pushed aside my drowsiness and clambered out of bed. 15 minutes later I was at the CUW field house, sitting with my teammates and awaiting the bus that would drive us to the hilly, wooded park for cross country practice.
There's something about the woods that's always intrigued me. Maybe it's the lack of vision in the trees, the sense of adventure that lurks amidst the seemingly endless trails and fallen branches. As a kid I dreamed of playing capture the flag under the shelter of the canopy, building treehouses and hiking through the wilderness for hours. Normally I wouldn't be all that excited to go to practice at 7:30 in the morning, but if it means running around in the forest for an hour I literally jump at the opportunity.
The morning's practice itself wasn't anything particularly extraordinary. Once we'd arrived at the lake Coach Russ gave his usual hill running speech, reminding us to watch our step and maintain proper form. Something about cadence and effort percentages. After that we set out. Most of us did 2 loops on the 4 mile trail, a total of 8 miles. The first lap was quite enjoyable. About 1 minute into the woods I felt the urge to scream "Find the halflings!" as Andy Pfeuffer, Andy Ashenden, Ben Paper, Richard Thompson, and myself tore up the first hill. It's my favorite quote from Lord of the Rings. In fact, I can hardly help from shouting this phrase at some point whenever I run in the woods. As the trees whoosh by on either side I often find myself wishing that I was an Uruk-hai relentlessly chasing hobbits.
Towards the end of the first loop I managed to roll my ankle twice within about 10 seconds. This tweaked one of the tendons on the side of my calf badly enough that I needed ice later. I "rubbed some dirt on it" and kept going. The second loop was a bit more tiring. Ben, Richard, and Ashenden were too fast so I found myself left behind with Pfeuffer, who's quickly becoming somewhat of a wingman. We passed Russ at one point in the middle of the hills (he shouted out some technical instructions about the pace and all that) and later caught up to Sam Huff. The rest of the run was uneventful except for Pfeuffer taking a wrong turn. Afterwards we stretched, iced our wounds and boarded the bus for home.
Later that afternoon we had a team meeting about sport psychology. The mental aspect. This culminated in Russ's infamous "monster discussion," the speech in which he speaks about training your inner monster and letting it out to battle for you. Images of Pokemon flashed through my mind as Russ imparted his wisdom. You see, running is hard. It's painful. And sometimes the only way to inspire yourself to go faster-thereby experiencing more pain-is to get angry. During a race you need to feel the hunger that can only be satisfied by passing your opponents. And every opponent passed intensifies the desire for more. Thus, in order to become better competitors we must all learn to feed, train, release, and ultimately control that monster. Whether you're an Uruk-hai chasing halflings or Godzilla terrorizing Tokyo, at some point you just need to get ugly, mean, and terrifying.
This is a story about finding monsters.
There's something about the woods that's always intrigued me. Maybe it's the lack of vision in the trees, the sense of adventure that lurks amidst the seemingly endless trails and fallen branches. As a kid I dreamed of playing capture the flag under the shelter of the canopy, building treehouses and hiking through the wilderness for hours. Normally I wouldn't be all that excited to go to practice at 7:30 in the morning, but if it means running around in the forest for an hour I literally jump at the opportunity.
The morning's practice itself wasn't anything particularly extraordinary. Once we'd arrived at the lake Coach Russ gave his usual hill running speech, reminding us to watch our step and maintain proper form. Something about cadence and effort percentages. After that we set out. Most of us did 2 loops on the 4 mile trail, a total of 8 miles. The first lap was quite enjoyable. About 1 minute into the woods I felt the urge to scream "Find the halflings!" as Andy Pfeuffer, Andy Ashenden, Ben Paper, Richard Thompson, and myself tore up the first hill. It's my favorite quote from Lord of the Rings. In fact, I can hardly help from shouting this phrase at some point whenever I run in the woods. As the trees whoosh by on either side I often find myself wishing that I was an Uruk-hai relentlessly chasing hobbits.
Towards the end of the first loop I managed to roll my ankle twice within about 10 seconds. This tweaked one of the tendons on the side of my calf badly enough that I needed ice later. I "rubbed some dirt on it" and kept going. The second loop was a bit more tiring. Ben, Richard, and Ashenden were too fast so I found myself left behind with Pfeuffer, who's quickly becoming somewhat of a wingman. We passed Russ at one point in the middle of the hills (he shouted out some technical instructions about the pace and all that) and later caught up to Sam Huff. The rest of the run was uneventful except for Pfeuffer taking a wrong turn. Afterwards we stretched, iced our wounds and boarded the bus for home.
Later that afternoon we had a team meeting about sport psychology. The mental aspect. This culminated in Russ's infamous "monster discussion," the speech in which he speaks about training your inner monster and letting it out to battle for you. Images of Pokemon flashed through my mind as Russ imparted his wisdom. You see, running is hard. It's painful. And sometimes the only way to inspire yourself to go faster-thereby experiencing more pain-is to get angry. During a race you need to feel the hunger that can only be satisfied by passing your opponents. And every opponent passed intensifies the desire for more. Thus, in order to become better competitors we must all learn to feed, train, release, and ultimately control that monster. Whether you're an Uruk-hai chasing halflings or Godzilla terrorizing Tokyo, at some point you just need to get ugly, mean, and terrifying.
This is a story about finding monsters.
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