Training Summary: August 18-24

Monday 8/18 - off, first day off in a month or so, very needed!

Tuesday 8/19 - 10+mi, 72:00, hilly run up and over Mt. Soledad with Di. She did a workout and I tagged along to keep her company.

Wednesday 8/20 - 10+mi, did about 5mi or so on my own and then met up with the Movin Shoes run for their 5.5mi run. Right hamstring is a little off from the day before.

Thursday 8/21 - 10+mi, 65:30, solo on the bay. Unintentional progression run. Probably clicked a few miles off around 6min. Right hamstring is a bit off still.

Friday 8/22 - AM 8mi, 59:30, easy with Di. Hamstring a little better not great.
PM 4mi, 28:00, easy solo on the bay. Threw on the XC flats for 6X100 strides on the grass which felt good. I wanted to test out the hamstring and it faired well enough to run the race on Saturday.

Saturday 8/23 - 2.5mi warmup, Wild Duck 5k race, 3.5mi cooldown. See race recap.

Sunday 8/24 - 10+mi, 69:00. Easy solo on the bay in the evening. Felt good post-race. Decided to hold off until Monday for the Long run.

Summary - ~61mi, 6 days, no long run. With a day off and no long run I'd say it was still a solid week. I hadn't taken a day off in about a month so I needed it. Hamstring is just feeling odd and I may get it looked at if it keeps up bothering me this week, although it felt better after the race. The race went fairly well which was good and I know that I will be in some pretty good shape com the end of the year. I was running on tired legs from the 12mi the day before so I'm happy. This coming week is all about catching up on sleep (no more Olympics...), catching up on work, running in the high 70's and racing well again on Saturday at the very challenging Balboa 4mi.

Race Report: Wild Duck 5k

Results- 6th place, 16:19.

So the race this weekend was the first in the Dirt Dog XC Series. Dirt Dog, for those that don't know, is a pretty competitive XC "Grand Prix" type series here in San Diego. There are 8 races and a Championship race. Each race is scored for individuals 100-90-81-73-66...3-2-1 and the championship race is worth double points. Team scoring is 20-14-10-7-5...2-1. You need to run a minimum of 2 regular races and the championship, but they count your best three scores plus the championship to decide the final standings. It is a good series and pretty much all the best runners in San Diego take part.

So the first race is up in Oceanside which is in North County and it is the furthest race away from where we live. This is true for most people living outside of North County, so it was a good chance to steal some points with some guys not showing up. The course wasn't hard but not flat either. The toughest part was very uneven footing and lots of patches of sand on the trails that really hurt your momentum. I was in the pack through the pedestrian first mile (5:20ish) and then it strung out. I should have made the move to stay in contact with 4-5 but I didn't and settled in like and idiot. We probably ran a 5:00 somewhere in the middle of the second two miles, so we were cruising ok enough. I ended up finishing just 3sec behind 5th, which was disappointing. Overall I felt strong but never had another gear to switch to over the last mile. That is something that needs serious work in the coming weeks.

We were able to piece together 5 guys to score but we didn't have our true top 5 out there. adidas/Movin Shoes didn't bring a full team so we were able to grab some decent team points, but with more guys coming on board we should really be a threat come mid-season.

Overall it was a good start to the series. It was my first 5k since the 2007 Carlsbad 5000 so the pace was brisk to say the least. Good rust buster and I think I should really round in to shape come the end of the season, as should "The Lost Boys" of San Diego (yes that is our team name!).

On a side note Dianna won the women's race which was a great first race for her! Things are looking up for us!

Breaking/Re-Discovering the Mold

Olympic Bronze Medalist Nick Willis (NZ) and his coach Ron Warhurst
(Note fellow Reebok employees Todd Klein and Jennifer Thomas to the Left of Warhurst)

The most amazing moments of the Olympics for me have come during moments in which you look at what happened and it gives you a feeling as though maybe things aren't as clear cut as they seem. By this I mean you look at Larry Bird and see a quiet, white guy from Indiana can be one of the greatest players in NBA history or Liu Xiang can prove that it is not just Westerners that can dominate the high hurdles. These guys broke a mold that was being set. Bird came in the the NBA during a time when African American players were showing they were clearly more dominant than their Caucasian counterparts.

In recent memory we have seen people like Paula Radcliffe capture the World Record in the Marathon, Deena Kastor take a medal in Athens in the Marathon and even Kara Goucher take a medal last year in the 10k at the world championships. I really believe I am colorblind and that is especially true for sports. If the best basketball players are usually African American then that is totally fine with me and if the best Tennis players are usually Caucasian then that is fine as well. It is when the mold is broken that I really find we see the true reason why we "run the race" or "play the game." Last night watching Nick Willis take a Bronze medal made me feel as though the mold broke again.

Nick Willis did something we thought we may never see again. Nick gave a new breath to a nation that was once one of the greatest 1500 powerhouses. He came to the US to run and drank the "Kool-Aid" that Ron Warhurst gave him. Nick watched Alan Webb leave the Wolverines to become a professional. Where was Webb in that 1500 final? Willis stuck with his intentions, stuck with his coach, stuck with his goals and in the end he has truly won. Nick Willis has given hope to all those little Kiwi kids that grow up hearing about Snell and Dixon but having no hero to call their own. Nick broke the mold of the current standing of the 1500 proving a guy doesn't need to be from Norther/Eastern Africa or on drugs to be a contender. Nick did good for his fellow Wolverine Kevin Sullivan who came so close in 2000 to that podium out kicked by a group of drugged up fools.

So I just want to say Congratulations to Nick Willis. You did the University of Michigan, Reebok and most importantly New Zealand very proud! You know Lydiard is smiling from above.

NBC...I hate thee...

I would just like to post that it is just past 2:30am and I just saw the men's 1500m final. I understand there wasn't an American in the race, but to show one of the premier events of the Olympic Games at this time of day is truly terrible. I have always really enjoyed the NBC coverage in the past but this really destroys it all for me. I really hope NBC doesn't get the 2016 coverage, but until then we have to deal with the terrible coverage of NBC again in Vancouver and then in London.

NBC should truthfully be ashamed.

Olympics Continue...Just Not Live!

I know that I probably should be posting about the Olympics but I have been so consumed by them and losing so much sleep over them that I barely have enough time in the day to work, run, eat and sleep in between all the events.

Here is my one comment...

Living on the West Coast has been a great experience and the weather couldn't be nicer here. The thing that has probably made this experience the worst is the fact that there is a tape delay out here for everything BUT LIVE SPORTS. The one thing we can always count on is the live sports to actually be on TV live. As was the case with the Olympic Trials (again I refer to this post) the West Coast is getting completely screwed with the Olympics. GIVE ME A BREAK! I have had so many people from the East Coast call me or try and tell me something in some way that I am just getting sick of avoiding all outside communication at night. Now correct me if I am wrong, but the sport of Gymnastics is probably one of the most watched sports of all the Olympics. NBC says that they aired the Women's All-Around in "Primetime" so that the most people could watch, but...wait a minute...since when is something starting at 11pm and ending at 1am considered "Primetime"? How about this...if they actually showed the event live on the West Coast it would have been from 8pm-10pm which, as far as I know, IS PRIMETIME! Believe me I could keep naming other events that went on at some obscene hour for the East Coast but would have actually worked out fine on the West Coast...but no NBC is, in my opinion, simply being too lazy to re-work their programing and show the Olympics live for the entire country.

I love the Olympics...I just wish we could watch them like everyone else! I'm just going to move to another country for the next Olympics so I can actually watch everything live...

Training Summary: August 11-17

Monday 8/11 - 9mi, 63:30, easy solo on the bay.

Tuesday 8/12 - 10+mi, with Di on the bay, kept her company on her fartlek.

Wednesday 8/13 - 10+mi, 64:30, same as yesterday but alone and at my own pace. Did 5X "Long Fartlek", as we called it in college. Long fartlek was simply 4min hard / 3min rest. The workout was always a feel based workout for me and I would say I graduated from 10k-ish pace for the first few and ended around 5k-ish pace for the last few. Good workout and went much better than I thought it would.

Thursday 8/14 - 9mi, 62:30, easy, solo on the bay.

Friday 8/15 - 12mi, 1:26:20, easy, first 4 solo and last 8 with Di on the bay. Just wanted to be on my feet for a long time so this worked out very well. Added 8X100 strides with Di. Felt really good.

Saturday 8/16 - 9mi, 66:59, easy, mostly with Di on the bay.

Sunday 8/17 - 16.3mi, 1:55:09, fairly easy on the bay with Garret. Felt perfectly good the entire run, but we did go pretty easy the entire run so I should expect to feel that way.

Totals: ~75mi, 7 days, 7 runs. Felt really good the entire week with a few aches popping up here and there, but that is expected with the addition of miles and workouts. Overall a really good week and we have the first XC race this coming week. Plan on a day off this coming week to keep the body healthy, but will stay pace for a similar mileage (~65 with a day off). Hopefully I'll have a good race report from Saturday and things will be looking good for our team - The Lost Boys (of San Diego).

Training Summary: August 4th - 10th

Monday 8/4 - 9mi, 62:30 easy solo on the bay.

Tuesday 8/5- 10mi, 1:12:55, ran with Dianna on the bay while she did a fartlek, she had a good workout and it was a good way for me to open my legs up a few times in the run

Wednesday 8/6- 9+, for the second we in a row I did the Movin Shoes run, which is about 5.5mi, and preceded it with 30min on my own which I figure makes it anywhere from 9.5-10mi but an easy day anyway

Thursday 8/7- 10-11(?), 1:20:15, did a crazy hilly run in San Marcos with JLew and G$ (that being Jason Lewis and Garrett Ince) as a bit of a workout, we climbed what had to have been well over 1000ft over the run and descended the same amount, I should have worn my Garmin so we could figure out how long it was but we guessed anything from 10-11mi, my guess more than 10.5mi no more than 11.5mi

Friday 8/8- 9+mi, 68:30, easy with Dianna on the bay

Saturday 8/9- 9mi, 64:01, easy solo on the bay after an early wake up call in Chino and long drive home, very tired...

Sunday 8/10- 15mi, 1:40:23, solo on the bay and Fiesta Island, felt much better than last week but still not a great long run, the sun was KILLER and really baked me out there, it is amazing that it was only 72 degrees out but the sun was so strong I sweat like it was about 90 degrees, I was still able to hold at or just under 6:30 pace after the 4mi mark which is a small win

Summary - ~72mi, 7 days, good week overall, got a little workout in with the hill climbing on Thursday and had a better, although not great, long run on Sunday. Things are looking up heading in to the first race in a couple of weeks. I'm not expecting anything different out of this week except possibly adding a longer day in somewhere so that the mileage lands at or around 75mi for this coming week. Most likely add a mile to the long run and possibly a double but we'll see as the week goes on.

8-8-08

So the Olympics have really, officially, totally, absolutely, begun with the closing of the Opening Ceremonies this morning in the US. We won't be able to watch it until tonight on television but the Games have begun! I am not planning on taking on some crazy task, again, like doing a daily recap but I will comment when I have time. I plan on waiting on seeing things instead of cheating and finding out what happens before hand. It is WAY more exciting to see it happen then to read about it and see a still shot of the finish line or of a scoreboard. If anyone tries to contact me previous to an event airing with results I will never speak to you again. Now I know most of you will do what I am doing and wait but I know a few people who will cheat and look ahead...yea I'm talking to you Mills! I know you and your sneaky call the East Coast ways during reality show season to find out what happens before it airs on the West Coast!

Well I hope you all enjoy the Games as they truly begin for the Western World tonight and the first medals are awarded starting pretty much as the Opening Ceremonies air for us. As a little help to get you started here are my the "events to watch" this weekend (I will not write times because they may air differently on networks that have both High and Low Definition):

Saturday:
Cycling - Men's Road Race Final
Basketball - Women's USA v. Czech Republic
Shooting - Women's 10m Air Rifle (the first medal to be given out and China is the favorite...get used to that)
Swimming - Lots of prelims.

Sunday:
Basketball - Men's USA v. China (talk about pressure of the world for the first game!)
Gymnastics - Women's Qualification Stages
Swimming - Finals Galore! Men's and Women's 400 IM, Men's 400 Free, Women's 4X100 Free Relay (lots of potential USA medals and the first tests for Mr. Phelps)
Football - Men's USA v. Netherlands (huge test for USA, if they squeak out a draw it could mean a place in the Quarterfinals where anything can happen)

Don't forget to watch some of the other events as they broadcast on the 9 NBC channels (not including HD) that will be showing non stop sport for the next few weeks. How sad would it be if you couldn't tell your children you saw Lin Dan win a gold in badminton in front of his home crowd or France really take it to Angola in Women's Handball? I would say truly sad!

Enjoy!

Olympics Begin!

Lopez Lamong, USA Olympian and 2008 USA Olympic Flag Bearer receiving USA Citizenship in July 2007

So the Olympics have technically begun although the traditional/ceremonial beginning will be tomorrow at the Opening Ceremonies. Men's and Women's Football (Soccer to all you maladjusted Westerners!) started yesterday and it has been fairly exciting so far. I won't go on about results or anything but something I think is just amazing is that yesterday my cable service added 4 additional HD channels that will broadcast only Olympic coverage! There is an additional USA-HD and CNBC-HD along with two other that will carry Football and Basketball exclusively! I am so excited that all channels will be in HD this year, it will truly make it a different experience in watching the Olympics.

In other Olympic/T&F news Lopez Lamong, the Lost Boy of Sudan turned USA citizen, turned USA Olympian has been named the flag bearer for the USA contingent for the Opening Ceremonies. I think that it was a great choice on the part of the USOC and I think truly embodies the spirit of the Olympics. Congrats to Lopez and I am really excited to see the Opening Ceremonies tomorrow!

Have I mentioned I love the Olympics?

Training Summary: July 28th - August 3rd

Ok, so here is my attempt at returning to a weekly training update. I know I said I would do one for last week but it never happened. Last week I did take a day off so I'd rather start again on a week of 7 days!

As far as new runs from the new apartment, we have begun doing a nice hilly run through La Jolla. I would say there is less than a mile total that is flat, making it a fairly tough run, which is hard to come by when you live on a bay. The run in actually 8.25mi (according to my Garmin) and I add an full mile in at the end up to Kate Sessions and back making my normal distance for the new La Jolla route about 9.25mi.

Monday 7/28 - 9+mi, 63:40, solo effort on the hills of La Jolla.

Tuesday 7/29 - 5.5mi, 40min, ran with James when he arrived from Vegas. I made this my shorter easy day of the week.

Wednesday 7/30 - 9+mi, did the first 30min (4+mi) alone and met up with the PB Movin Shoes for a relaxed last 5.5mi. I plan on doing the Movin Shoes run every Wednesday, which will make it a good day to double or get in a workout in the morning. The run is usually very easy and Dianna is in charge of making it "great again". It has been going on for over 22 years now without missing a Wednesday, I'd say that is pretty good.

Thursday 7/31 - 9+mi, 63:15, strong solo effort on a hilly run in La Jolla.

Friday 8/1 - 9+mi, 68:30, easy with Dianna on the La Jolla run.

Saturday 8/2 - 11mi. Decided about 9:30pm the night before to go and run the Balboa 8mi race. I didn't warm up and ended up running 46:43 on a difficult course that was about 50% road and 50% dirt/grass. Ended up running a really hard last mile battle with an 18 year old who out kicked me, but I did end up running 5:12 for that last up and down mile. It was a really hilly course and I'd say one of the tougher courses I have run in recent memory (although still easier than this beast). Wished I could have run with the guys up front but hopefully I'll be up with them come the end of XC season.

Sunday 8/3 - 15mi, 1:41:43. Made it a pretty strong effort even though I ran hard yesterday. It was pretty hot in the sun and I waited until mid-day which was a bad idea. Kinda wished I was done around mile 10 but gutted out for the full 15. Run around 6:30 pace for most of the middle of the run which felt fairly good considering the effort yesterday.

Summary - 68mi, 7 days. I would say it was a good week and had a long run and hard effort back-to-back. The "race" really gave me a good backhand into reality and reminded me I need to do some more "fast" running. The 5:12 felt good at the end of the race but the pace felt like 4:30 pace. I need to add in strides a few times a week and make sure that my mid-week effort is not always a tempo but rather a quicker fartlek or actual structured workout including some faster efforts. I think I will be a bit behind going in to the first few races of Dirt Dogs but looking at all the time I have before the end of the season I think I could really make it in to a good little racing season. Thinking back I am not far off my pace of the summer before Junior year in college as far as mileage and working out so that shows I should be good come October/November and championship season.