My conversation with Blake

With yesterday being a rugged amount of tempo running (40min total) lets chill until the next day you feel great.

This is a combination of weather too.

Try to find a day when you really feel you can attempt this, after the next 4-6 days (today day 1) the w/o is a large block tempo of one hour to 75 mins @ 6:45-6:55.

If you feel good after 40min you can pick the pace up, but make sure you get at least 60 min.

I completely understand if you do this on the road.
I however would use the track bc it is more accurate for pace and distance.

If you do it on the track try to do it when the team is practicing bc you wil pull strength from their accountability of you.

Garmin's tell you the distance you cover, yes. But in a race it is about covereing a tangent, and that is best practiced with lines, in my opinion. Try it the next time you are on the track, and it will be slightly longer than you ran.

Anyway, for the amount of time from here until the half it is about harnessing race specificity, and that is exactly what you are doing. After the race, heading into your fall marathon, there will be time for more diverse work.

Keep it up!

And theres no stopping us right now

So we run. On treadmills, tracks, roads or over paths and dirt we whirl our legs. Acting alone, or in groups, this deed is undertaken in different manners and at varying intensities but always with a shared experience. We run, not because it is original, but because it is natural. It is part of who we are, and for those who admit this, happiness awaits.

Like a Polaroid

So I’m going outdoors today and about to run 4x1000 @ 5:36pace/2.5min rest and a few 200’s @ 33’s/35sec rest.

I head off to the track and I’m already in a bad mood that started this morning. It’s hard to shake it off and I know I have to since I’m already putting this workout on a pedestal. I’ve been known to do this, as many runners do. Sometimes it’s the pace, sometimes the workload, sometimes the work itself.

Lately I’ve been dealing with tight hamstrings, one of which suffered a minor strain a couple weeks back that really made my mind uneasy today; especially about working out at any intense paces. Mind you the 1000’s were not at an intense pace, but my mind is racing here so all logic goes out the window.

Now, on top of my bad mood there’s the weather. It’s cold, very windy and very gray. It’s funny how mood can affect even the weather at times. Okay I suppose not literally, but it changes our perspective of it. Instead of feeling a wonderfully chilly, yet crisp and breezy day I was full of resentment and cursed Mother Earth. Then I started to feel the tightness of my hamstrings tug at me.

That’s when I realized not only do our moods affect our environment but also our physical being. I had to put a stop to this.

So I shook off that veil of angst and reminded myself out loud; “Thousands. I’ve done this before, I can do it again.”

Off I went down the back bend of the track and full force into the wind.


By Jennifer Dagan

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Ripping, roaring, running, ‘round. Rallying, racing, rushing runner; rightly reaping returns. Rift resolve revolves ringing rays, rammed ruefully.

Indore

The weather ushered us to our indoor track, Reggie Lewis. The last week’s unseasonable warmth had lured eager runners to outdoor settings. This pleasant but rare for the year climate was dashed away by extremely strong winds blowing cold air, leading individuals indoors feeling blessed and adoring this haven.

Dichotomy

I feel strong but weak. With a knot in my calf and my butt still sore, there is a damper to the steps taken. But there is also a marked springiness. A zest to work hard mired in a calf which ties up on the trails forcing a short stretch. Continuing through the rest of the run the calf feels better but still tight. Hamstring/butt area also is sore. Maybe some quality tomorrow, don’t know how much.

Heading down the road trying to loosen my load

Trance like it takes you within yourself. A blanket of clearness, blocking out the hub-bub of life’s little irritating necessities, leaves a relaxing freedom in which the run is fed. Moving on your feet the day’s callings quiet, if even for just this outing, there is release.

The Malden Rotary 5k

Spotted down the road, tie dye shirt making it easy to pick her out. Jen is taking the small climb that leads to the 60 meter down hill for the finish with acceleration. As she approaches I yell something to the effect “200 meters to go!” and she does go. Picking up pace, you can see she has another gear. The ‘workout race’ is no big deal, so Jen is doing it in a t-shirt. Funny, she still wins it and is third overall. Happy with the result she is content with the day.

Flux capacithinking

How can you change the past? One of the beautiful things of something coming to pass, is it is always there. Stored in memory, untouchable by hands today, cannot be stolen and always belongs to you. It is that double edged sword that cuts so sharply when there are things you would rather not have done. How can you change that past?

When you run, when you race really shitty, you know it. It sucks after the race more so than during. You remember the guilt of bad training. The fear that gripped you during the race mocks you. But if you can learn from the race you will train smarter in the future. You will race with tactics and guts. If you regret something you have done, but learn to live in a way that shows the lesson, then you can change the past. You can change how you feel about doing something wrong if you do something right when you are struck with the opportunity to do so. Part of you needs to live from the past when you live in the now.

the battle not the war

The heat took it away; brazenly stealing that smallest part of you. This blazing sun takes that part which steels away the pain the best, taking the load so well. The sun, so strong today and the temperature so seasonably high acted as thieves in broad daylight. They stepped in, no compassion or shame and said, “Mine”. Today the body acquiesced but that is not the last word. The body will acclimate and the body will learn to deal with again that which it has dealt with countless times.

Haikulometer

Wherever you move
Or whenever you’re running
Try and find yourself

1st workout outdoors in months

Outdoors today we went
Giving up Reggie like lent
But more than forty days wait
Three more seasons before repeat

Out on a track and under sunshine
Red strips of measurement are fine
Own that track, do it! Ya heard?!
Now when they say run, ‘fast’ is your adverb

memorunning

A memory of a run, something out of place and then comes realization; that memory is happening now! The run occurring this moment is becoming a memory. Storing it away safely in the past it is always there, retainable whenever the soul longs for the quiet whispers of this action. So as you step along, thundering strong or relaxingly rolling, make it count, for once it becomes the moment it has slipped from the possibility of the future to the finality of the past. So make that step a step worth taking.

A conversation with Chris

A Preview:

This athlete has been doing 75 to 100 miles for mileage per week.
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So yeah that sounds like a good plan regarding taking 5 days off.

I would also add, that since you have a minor ache and pain this 10 or so weeks of less mileage working on good form through quicker races and training will serve you. In the sense that you will heal and get more fit for the very rigorous 1/2 marathon training for your Fall race.

First and foremost this is a tentative plan.

This all hinges on the contingency of our conversations regarding feeling and accomplishment

Also, what will depend on your transition from emphasizing workouts over races to emphasizing races over w/o is dependent on your "championship" Race. We need to figure out a racing calendar, with less important and more important races identified. The Twilight races in Boston are very competitive but it is a bit of a drive. The nice thing about the twilight races is they start in the evening so you can do a day trip. Anyway, just start planning a champ race and a few other ones around that time.

Until then you can race but the races have less importance in respect to what you are doing on the days during the actual week. During this earlier phase the days are really serving the "future you" more than the person running a few days later.


Also, you seem like you crave some heads up so here goes:

That being said lets talk about this Upcoming week and lets head in with 50 miles, and two w/o. Mon is fine to be moderately long like 10-13, but it would better if your 1st WK looked like this;

WK 1
(Day Today's Mileage / Weekly Mileage)
Mon 6 / 6
Tues moderately long < 14 / 16-20 Wed 6 / 22-26 Thurs Track w/o 7-9 / 23-29 Fri off 0 / 23-29 Sat 6-8 / 29-37 Sun Treadmill W/o 10 / 39-47 WK 2 Mon Long > 17
Tues 7-9 / 24-26
Wed 6 / 30-32
Thurs Track W/O 8-10 / 38-42
Fri Off 0 / 38-42
Sat 5-7 / 43-49
Sun Treadmill W/0 10-12 / 53-61

If this schedule is to be stuck to I would recommend Fri clearly as a supplemental day the other would be probably Tues. This might involve 10-12 min of light running or skipping rope for example which doesn't count towards the time limit, neither does a stretch session after.
However recovery in between exercises and reps DO count towards the time limit. Right now your time limit is 45 min. If you want to be a great runner you have to define priorities of training based on particular periods of the year.

SO supplemental can be a lot of things, plyometrics, explosive full body lifts, medicine ball work, isolated body build lifts, you know more than me with your background. The great thing about supplemental is it has its own crescendo of training through a season and year; emphasize this now and build into this later.

But we don't need to get all nuanced right now. This is our first season so we will work on communication and more major training.

So basically you get two supplemental days of 45 min (running time including the rest in between reps, sets etc) of hard work.

Also after wed and sat do 3-5 30 sec lights strides (3k pace fastest) with about 90 sec in between. Focus on good form, step over the knee with the trail leg, have the foot accelerate towards the ground and have your toes dorsiflexed.


As far as easy days go-The primary goals are as follows:
1)Physiological; Increase blood flow to the working muscle, increasing capillary use, number/size of mitochondria and increase strength in the tendons and ligaments plus more

2)Psychological; being able to look at a distance and know, not think, know it is nothing in terms of what you can devour.

However, there is a fine line where easy days become something they shouldn't be. This will eat away at any quality work done that week. There is something to be regularly felt; that an easy run felt easy immediately when you finish. Save something today to do something very well tomorrow.

So there is a range of time that can fit this 6:45 on a treadmill or very comfortable road/trail. But the slower end that will still accomplish this is 7:45 and use the window depending on how you feel. Easy runs serve the hard days, the should feel easy or at least tolerable after a very hard w/o. These paces also slow down when on a hill or muddy/sandy terrain. In such cases let intensity guide you.

Also don't worry about occasionally running, like once a week with people that are much slower than that. It will keep you good at heart to regularly run with people. If this means it is in the 9 min miles don't sweat it. Follow this rule though, don't do anything longer then 7 miles at a pace slower then 8min miles. Because you don't ever really do that pace it will leave you sore if you go to long.

We have a bit more to go over but that is it for now, let me know what you think.

St. Patrick’s Day

Jen is running her tempo at a casual pace of high 6:20’s. The morning sun is lost in a shroud of cloudiness. The dankness to the air, a cool humidity, is a ruse as we know now the afternoon unfolds into sunshine. However, in this moment of the work-out Jen has no clue how the day will unfold and so embraces the training for what it can deliver. She patiently tempers away a 5k, finishing in 20:12, with trainers stepping across the line marking the relaxed intensity. In respect to what she accomplished, there was nothing spectacular. The pace was relatively comfortable and the time was expected. However, in the spirit of the day she was lucky, to be out there running, to be out there training when it comes right down to it just to be out there.

Track Talkers

running is hard. I've found I don't like it. -Molly Eggleston

Tom Derderian says, The world is a conspiracy to keep you from training and racing....this club is an organization to fight that conspiracy.

Run like hell and get the agony over with.
--Clarence DeMar

‎"Get the horses together and let 'em run." Bil Squires

"I always loved running...it was something you could do by yourself, and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast or slow as you wanted, fighting the wind if you felt like it, seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs."
-Jesse Owens

"If you cant run, then walk. And if you cant walk, then crawl. Do what you have to do. Just keep moving forward and never, ever give up."
-Dean Karnazes

If you want to achieve a high goal, you're going to have to take some chances.
-Alberto Salazar

Racing teaches us to challenge ourselves. It teaches us to push beyond where we thought we could go. It helps us to find out what we are made of. This is what we do. This is what it's all about. ~ Patti Sue Plummer

Kevin Kilroy says, ‎"Running isn't important. What's important is how one applies it to his or her life. If you can't do that, you might as well stop, since you'll never reach the finish line otherwise."

Ryan Irwin says, My high school coach assured us "You won't die, you'll pass out first"

First Call

The officials gathered at Reggie Lewis en masse tonight. It was some sort of officiating training for the regulators of this upcoming T&F season. So they were sitting in a group on the bleachers discussing things of an officiating nature as Jen and I warmed up.
After the warm up they had broken into groups going over different arenas of the sport led by instructors. During Jen’s first bout she had to yell “Track!” a few times to get a clear way through as one group of 15-20 milled onto the track. They were switching stations to learn about another facet of the sport, not paying heed to basic track and road etiquette; look both ways.
Anyway, after that run in the groups had finished switching and the track was clear for a while. Then Jen had finished her fourth or fifth 1000 and a group of ten or so teammates took off together. I was doing a stride and then hear Jen yelling loudly, “Track!”
I turn my head to see this group of runners deep into their sets, out of breath, 30 or so Meters from a crowd of people that are oblivious to their consuming exertion. “Track!”, I boom adding my call to Jen’s repeating one. The officials jumped like water dropped on an oily hot skillet. The hammer head of runners parted the crowd of officials. For at least some of those learners today, as far as paying attention to runners working out, it will probably be their last call

A day off

I don’t feel like blogging

Only time will tell

Look, I have held true, and still do. It is just kind of bleak, pulling my muscle tonight in practice, not sure if it is minor or major. In times past I stepped up and said it would be ok. And in the long term, it will be fine, there are a lot of seasons left.

This is just the third time… in a row. Rearing its head, threatening the season, another injury comes along making me question everything. The last two I met with optimism, confident that I could resolve it and both times I was wrong and the season slipped away.

On the other hand these experiences have made me question the outcome of this pull. I am unsure if I can gauge it, or how serious it really is. The answers will make themselves known. It will just take time.

Anything you can do… or at least match

“How long do you stay in for?” a quick question piped while I sit shivering in a bath of the coldest water the faucet has to offer.

“I try for twenty, but seven is the bare minimum, however I think the shortest I have stayed in is twelve.” Jen states with matter of fact delivery.

“Oh,” I begrudgingly let out. My watch reads six minutes. It is the second ice bath in the last few months and acclimation to the cold waters has not been made. Gritting my mental teeth I progress through the time extremely uncomfortably. I realize at some point, waiting for twenty minutes to roll around, that it is Jen’s doing twenty which has set the bar for me. As if the fact that she does something makes me say I will do the same.

One small step for a man

There is a lot to a step. A flow of nerves, a whirl of ligaments responding to skeletal muscles with a dash of the inexplicable goes into taking foot from ground and bringing it some yards away. Control is mastered here as well as surrendered within a limbo of effort and release; trying your hardest with a slight emphasis to relax. In the best moments you are both partaking and a conduit.

A paved paradise seen from a wooded one

The hill climbed, weaving this way and that, consistently for about a mile. Elevation gain wasn’t too steep but certainly enough to bring us above where we started the run by a few hundred feet. Through single and double track, we followed the lead of this opening through nature. Then there it was, sneaking out through a clearing in the beginning of the descent to where we came from; Boston twinkling in the afternoon. At first we didn’t notice, as the trail led downwards, but when it grabbed us it was all we could do to not stop running. The beauty of seeing something so large, grandiose and modernly technological as a backdrop so clearly prominent during a run through heavy woods is sublime.

Gut impulse?

Dashing out the door as if I didn’t go now I wouldn’t go at all, I am into a night of artificial light. So quiet is my mind finding peace on this busy early Friday evening, running through the bustling streets of Quincy. A handful of minutes earlier the run was shrugged off for plans that are to come later this night. Then, a knee jerk impulse, and I change my mind for the run. We weren’t late, later when we arrived at a gathering, so if I hadn’t run we would have been early. Something tells me, subconscious’s soft reminder, if you hadn’t taken the time to run earlier, tonight wouldn’t be as fun.

What went wrong?

Well two cups of coffee this afternoon to make up for none this morning. Then there was the extra bite to eat too late in the afternoon also weighing in the mixture of black wake up juice swirling though digestive tract. Besides the fact that there was a bit of soreness in my legs a nagging aftershock of the 36 hour bug I caught after the last workout on Tuesday night also clung on me. To top it all off it was the first block tempo run in about half a year. But the full story isn’t there, as in so many questions it in no way encompasses the whole truth. So ask this question for a better and simpler answer; what went right? I did well.

Tar and Feet Him

Right off the bat, they seem a little friendlier; a cantering companion through the Quincy loop that stretches for about two and a half miles. “I remember you,” they tell feet that meet them through inches of sole. “You have been doing this loop for a while now,” the paved spaces continue, “and now we know the difference between you and the others.”

The feet are pleased to be recognized and so respond, “We will be here for a while.”

“Oh” says various bits of tar, with an upward raise at the end of the sound, begging an explanation.

“Yea,” the feet start, “we like this loop and are creatures of habit so expect us a few times a week.”

The roads that connect and weave through these four kilometers do not respond as the run continues but the feet know that the roads are happy for the loyalty.

Zinc Ahead

A pretty tough workout handled well. The body has been fatigued and a workout suppresses the immune system. Afterwards, I start sniffling and sneezing. Big bellows from lungs made itchy by dry indoor track air, “god bless you” replies a friendly face. On the ride home resolution is made holding true to a USATF recommendation for coaches. It is in the form of a red wrapper with a zinc lozenge inside. Sucking on zinc is an amazing hand up for the bodies ability to cope with stress; take after any hard workout or race if you feel even slightly run down. Also, take at anytime noticing a raspy throat, swollen glands or low grade fever.

Corny but true

There are two kinds of runners. The kind that hunt for the “runner’s high” and the kind that know it. Our common ground is that we all crave it. It’s almost an inexplicable kind of feeling; elation, freedom, adrenaline, energy...invincibility. Maybe it’s not so inexplicable. However, as I’ve gotten older there have been waves of needing that feeling to bring back that passion and fire. Then I remember that sometimes all I really want is balance. That unstoppable feeling is best when coupled with being grounded and secure. The strongest feelings of strength are tied in with security and being headed in the right direction of training and life. SO get high, high on life!

By the Dagans

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxy&z

Animalistic bright call destroys endurance failures; go! Hailing inner journey, knightly love musters numbers out. Paces quench runners striding tough. Under veils, wicked xeburenace yanks & zips.

Truth or Dare

It came to me nicely, early in my pursuit of distance running, that there can be a large amount of rather acute pain associated with racing and training at its hardest. An icicle through muscles and nausea through stomach can capture the spirit of some of the toughest runs I have done. I would be kidding myself if I didn’t acknowledge that sometimes this can be daunting to endure. However it is in the endurance of such pain that trueness is brought; do you dare to take it?

The silver lining

The snow dapples the roads late this year. March 2nd tells a story one day old of the first real accumulation of the season. This fluffy-white precipitation hangs on shoulders of roads as black ice also slides in spots scattered over paved sidewalks. The reminder of what the season could have been is met with some chagrin as the runner feels guilty about being happy. Happy that such mild weather, while rather offsetting in a global alignment, was conducive to great training.

Trackindness

The kindness of encouragement should be respected deeply. Letting someone know they are doing well is the simplest way. In respect to the pastime of running, a quick "good job" or a "nice work" lets people be reminded that someone else is paying attention to their endeavors. Even when struggling, not feeling their best and running a slower than desirable pace a little cheer is a reminder that people care. Even if it is just for words, there is wisdom in spreading kindness. It ripples and runs its own way hunting down frozen hearts with slow grudges. These waves of benevolence as wind to rocks in the desert strip the coldness from the world.