Hey Guys!
So Sunday is the next hard day w/ Em's 5k race and Blake's race or w/o
This past, hardest, phase was keen on emphasizing hard days on every hard day.
The current phase which begins now and ends w/ the Fairfield half has a clear emphasis; Races!
So tomorrow's w/o both in what I am telling you and in the attentive action you partake in needs to bear in mind Sundays race.
It is shorter, not as short as the ones to come in the last 3 or so weeks, but shorter than what you have been doing. Em you have been doing monster w/o at this intensity. While Blake you have done some work with this pace but have been doing huge volume in your workouts preparing for the half marathon.
This shortness does not mean run quicker!
3min Hard 2min Easy 5Min Hard 3.5min Easy
3min Hard 2min Easy 5Min Hard 3.5min Easy
3min Hard
= 30 min ALL IN (21min Hard Total) Keep your watches rolling as to keep rest consistent
Easy=Walk Jog
Hard=
Blake: 2:54 +/-3sec Per 800meter
Em: 2:43 +/- 3sec Per 800meter
You both are going to do great!
During this part of the season always end feeling like you could do at least one more. So if you call it before the last 3 or even do 3 instead of 5 and only get 16 min total hard that is fine.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Thursday, April 26, 2012
And so, my routes will grow
Feeling light footed I head out my door heavily committed to finding a new loop. I’ve been running the same twenty minute jaunt for a few weeks now and I’m growing tired of it. The exciting thing about a run like this is the exploration of a new town. I head northeast of our apartment and zigzag through some residential roads. About seven minutes deep, I realize I wasn’t sure of what turns I’ve already made. Approaching a main road I suddenly realize where I am and this offers a sigh of relief. My trail-blazing adventure of concrete paths continues. As I head down this sunny and fauna filled road I feel somewhat at home. I’ve never ran this part of town before, I’ve only driven it once or twice. Then it hits me; this part of Quincy is very reminiscent of Bangor, the last town I hoofed around in.
Home is where the heart is, yes, but it’s also a stomping ground for my running. It’s where I am accustomed to certain routes. And I think I’m starting to feel at home.
~Jen Dagan
Home is where the heart is, yes, but it’s also a stomping ground for my running. It’s where I am accustomed to certain routes. And I think I’m starting to feel at home.
~Jen Dagan
A demon on the track
In a stealthy manner the monster faces the start. Haunted and frightened meters, knowing the howling pounding to ensue but unable to see when, lay in wait for the gun. Then they are dead, the lengths lie in footsteps finished. A menace of trained terror tears truth from limbs & lungs. Mind howling for the approaching finish… then the line is leveled; trial torn asunder.
Damn it feels good to be a gangstahh
As I routinely jog clockwise around the track against the current flow of traffic consisting of walkers, runners and a baby jogger (grr), a gentleman explains to his wifey, “I think we’re going the wrong way!” As he starts to do a 180 degree turn I quickly explain with a smile, “no I just warm up backwards, you’re headed in the right direction.” With that said they both laugh and trot off in the correct direction as I move on.
My reasoning behind warming up clockwise is to offset the ever consistent flow of the counterclockwise direction most runners run…in my mind balancing out the track, if you will. If this sounds nonsensical to you, it’s because it is.
Several laps go by and I pass the couple again. I whip my head around to check out his jacket. The inscription reads “1990-something Boston Marathon.” I felt as though I was judging another runner for doubting themselves about which direction to run. How could he not know? Isn’t it a known thing among runner’s to run counterclockwise on a track?
I realize that just because he’s a marathoner doesn’t mean he’s actually worked out or raced on a track. This reminds me of what I am. In that moment I feel that pang of super strength that finely tuned competitive athletes feel. I can’t help but think to myself; damn, it feels good to be a track athlete!
~Jen Dagan
My reasoning behind warming up clockwise is to offset the ever consistent flow of the counterclockwise direction most runners run…in my mind balancing out the track, if you will. If this sounds nonsensical to you, it’s because it is.
Several laps go by and I pass the couple again. I whip my head around to check out his jacket. The inscription reads “1990-something Boston Marathon.” I felt as though I was judging another runner for doubting themselves about which direction to run. How could he not know? Isn’t it a known thing among runner’s to run counterclockwise on a track?
I realize that just because he’s a marathoner doesn’t mean he’s actually worked out or raced on a track. This reminds me of what I am. In that moment I feel that pang of super strength that finely tuned competitive athletes feel. I can’t help but think to myself; damn, it feels good to be a track athlete!
~Jen Dagan
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Chatting w/ Chris
Im assuming you are inside again. For tomorrow it is a lighter day; 5k @ 5:53-5:58 pace @ 1-2% grade. Then 5-10min rest followed by 4-6 40-60sec uphill strides. 8% grade and 6-8mph.(2mph window) Take 2-3 min rest after each stride and play with the pace window.
So this means breathing in for two steps and then breathing out for two steps.
As far as breathing goes the pattern refers to breathing in and out according to your steps taken. So a 1-1 is in a step and then breathing out a step. For anything at a hard pace a 2-2 is best. 3-3 for slower paces is fine, but you might want to just do 2-2 for consistency. 4-4 is not recommended as it is does not adequately circulate air. During the last 1/3 of a race or w/o you might do a 2-1 or 1-2. Like mile 2-3 in 5k or the last few 1000's in very hard 3k-5k pace w/o.
The only time 1-1 is used is the last minute-40sec in a race. It aids the kick, but otherwise is too shallow, like panting, to be effective in any other case.
Have fun and relax tomorrow.
So this means breathing in for two steps and then breathing out for two steps.
As far as breathing goes the pattern refers to breathing in and out according to your steps taken. So a 1-1 is in a step and then breathing out a step. For anything at a hard pace a 2-2 is best. 3-3 for slower paces is fine, but you might want to just do 2-2 for consistency. 4-4 is not recommended as it is does not adequately circulate air. During the last 1/3 of a race or w/o you might do a 2-1 or 1-2. Like mile 2-3 in 5k or the last few 1000's in very hard 3k-5k pace w/o.
The only time 1-1 is used is the last minute-40sec in a race. It aids the kick, but otherwise is too shallow, like panting, to be effective in any other case.
Have fun and relax tomorrow.
Don’t make a mountain out of a mole hill
When someone laments about the toughness of a hill it reminds me of how much I take for granted growing up where I did. The Mount Washington Valley is home to streams and hills that crisscross the beautiful rural landscape. Never did we go out and run a "hill run", as my college teammates would talk about later as we attended Hofstra University on Long Island. No, as a youth and during my summers in post-secondary school running, hills were part of every run, every outing and as much an aspect of the activity as a breathing pattern. Not to say hills can't be hard, but so can any aspect of the run. I guess inundating yourself in them allows you to gain an insight otherwise not there. The key is just to run the hill, don’t put it on a pedestal.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
In Search of Lost Time
Stuck in the quicksand of injury there is something lost. A frantic search turns up nothing. Nothing you can do. Nothing can make an injury go away, well except for time. Time can be the most hideous thing to search for, as it is nearly impossible to find in the moment. Time will demand patience no matter how eager legs are to run.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Warm up
A warm ray loosens muscles under pale skin. The bright white legs of winter's darkness rejoice in the spring's warm embrace. The sun greets those who venture outdoors with a bright umbrella of daylight. Some shade dapples under trees but it seems so off putting. The sun calls those runners tired of the short winter day saying, "play in my abundance!"
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
My Conversation With Steph
What are your goals going into this?
Mine are first and foremost for you to have a positive experiance. While some aspects (like a hard w/o) are only really positive in a retrospective way and you have to suck it up in the moment. Others can be hugely enjoyable the whole time after just a brief period of acclimation to the training.
You will not be running everyday. However, when the run is done at the correct pace then even a hard run is ok until half way to 2/3rds through. The key is to get used to it. I can remember the first time i swam for over 10minutes. It didn't happen because of a set goal for the workout. I was just out there doing it and got caught up in having fun.
All of the aspects of the tri need to be addressed, from your strengths to your weaknesses. Be patient with yourself and realize that your potential is buried within your genetics. While in a few months we will never realize anything close to your genetic potential we can realize a large part of your training potential.
Training potential is your potential over a period of training time. Here, we are talking a handful of months. In this case working too hard can undermine your best chances of success as easily as not working hard enough.
The last thing we are going to do is give you a few months of training and take it from there. This is going to be about communication. I need to know how you are responding to the training and so i stress honesty. Dont ever tell me what you think i would like to hear, tell me the truth.
Your weeks will be planned with contingency in mind. Anyway, until our convo maybe you could fill me in on your activity level. How often you exercise, what extra curricular you do. Quantify whenever relevant, e.g. 90 minutes of hockey, 20 min warm up 50 min play 20 min cool down stretch. Also, any past times of any endurance event. A bike, a swim, a run.
Please excuse all my spelling/grammatical errors.
Brendan
Mine are first and foremost for you to have a positive experiance. While some aspects (like a hard w/o) are only really positive in a retrospective way and you have to suck it up in the moment. Others can be hugely enjoyable the whole time after just a brief period of acclimation to the training.
You will not be running everyday. However, when the run is done at the correct pace then even a hard run is ok until half way to 2/3rds through. The key is to get used to it. I can remember the first time i swam for over 10minutes. It didn't happen because of a set goal for the workout. I was just out there doing it and got caught up in having fun.
All of the aspects of the tri need to be addressed, from your strengths to your weaknesses. Be patient with yourself and realize that your potential is buried within your genetics. While in a few months we will never realize anything close to your genetic potential we can realize a large part of your training potential.
Training potential is your potential over a period of training time. Here, we are talking a handful of months. In this case working too hard can undermine your best chances of success as easily as not working hard enough.
The last thing we are going to do is give you a few months of training and take it from there. This is going to be about communication. I need to know how you are responding to the training and so i stress honesty. Dont ever tell me what you think i would like to hear, tell me the truth.
Your weeks will be planned with contingency in mind. Anyway, until our convo maybe you could fill me in on your activity level. How often you exercise, what extra curricular you do. Quantify whenever relevant, e.g. 90 minutes of hockey, 20 min warm up 50 min play 20 min cool down stretch. Also, any past times of any endurance event. A bike, a swim, a run.
Please excuse all my spelling/grammatical errors.
Brendan
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Windowpain to your soul
Pain can become small panes of glass within the kaleidoscope point of view we have on life. While these intense feelings, piercing any weakness available into crying submission, is ephemeral in the typically thought about way there is greater, longer lasting knowledge to be gleaned from these experiences. The greatest advantage of suffering pain is not making it through it in the bull driven way of the moment. It is calling on those searing moments to do something similar or for those who have the chance to be so great, something harder. That is bravery.
Taking steps back
It frees you; breaks away the chains of ‘this and that’. The little calls on you that come at times louder but are incessant in a day of work. They can turn you around removing up from down and robbing all sense of inner direction. Then they are silenced with footsteps made to quiet the brain.
Friday, April 13, 2012
unanswerable
I often question why I started yet can’t find an answer. Maybe it was the daily games of tag where I was given the nimble name, "Fox". Or perhaps it was the Presidential physical fitness awards that came each year in which I aspired to reach great heights. Possibly it is evolution, making the basic sport so accessible to a boy. I can’t recall when, I just know that I have always loved to run. Somehow I don’t care about the answer to the question, especially when it seems so irrelevant.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Finding the forest in the trees
Moving through spaces of trails and trees. Limbs off of trunks cased with bark are strong and mirrors the fleshy limbs of man. A lure of the wilderness murmurs through a head freed of clutter by the tranquility of the state reserve. The path twists, seeking a new way. Something is there but is also hard to find, difficult to even get close to. Before I know it, my watch reads a time and it is an indicator. Turning about, no longer chasing the feral enigma of the woods I return home.
Monday, April 9, 2012
My Conversation with Andrew
Let me dispel the biggest myth you could ever believe in your athletic venture; college is going to be your best years. You, as a man, wont peak in testosterone until your mid 30's and it stays that way for a few years. The biggest barriers to post-collegiate athletics is training facilities, training direction and competitions. A lot of athletes simply stop bc they do not know how to continue.
That being said, remember college is about the degree. You go to a legit school, get the most of its pricey education.
On the topic of your running, once again, those are some good times. There are two way to get better, as i can advise, not being your coach and not in charge of your general training.
You need to understand that talent is speed. So when someone is talented in running, besides a disposition to enduring pain, they have raw speed.
1) Going longer will bring your talent out into mid distance gold. A 50.6 is like, in terms of talent 1:51.6 or so for the 800 or a 4:06 mile. However, you have to do the work of a mid distance runner. Which is more about longer more rugged w/o than actually running a lot of easy miles.
2) Work on your talent by recruiting your genetic potential. This is a combination of your physical anatomy and actually learning the act of running. Im taking about working on form, through drilling and core/weight room/medicine ball ect work. This is best emphasized during the summer in large bulk (many weeks) and beginning of seasons (a few weeks) so you can take this new raw power and convert it to running mechanics.
Keep training, positive, focus on what you want, visualize best case scenarios and you will see more college success in running.
p.s. just bc you havent seen an outdoor pr yet doesnt mean you wont. You still have time this season, trust your coaches training plan
That being said, remember college is about the degree. You go to a legit school, get the most of its pricey education.
On the topic of your running, once again, those are some good times. There are two way to get better, as i can advise, not being your coach and not in charge of your general training.
You need to understand that talent is speed. So when someone is talented in running, besides a disposition to enduring pain, they have raw speed.
1) Going longer will bring your talent out into mid distance gold. A 50.6 is like, in terms of talent 1:51.6 or so for the 800 or a 4:06 mile. However, you have to do the work of a mid distance runner. Which is more about longer more rugged w/o than actually running a lot of easy miles.
2) Work on your talent by recruiting your genetic potential. This is a combination of your physical anatomy and actually learning the act of running. Im taking about working on form, through drilling and core/weight room/medicine ball ect work. This is best emphasized during the summer in large bulk (many weeks) and beginning of seasons (a few weeks) so you can take this new raw power and convert it to running mechanics.
Keep training, positive, focus on what you want, visualize best case scenarios and you will see more college success in running.
p.s. just bc you havent seen an outdoor pr yet doesnt mean you wont. You still have time this season, trust your coaches training plan
My conversation with a Scot
Taking one of my many 100 meter bouts I come across the line cruising in a planned deceleration over the next few steps. As I stop and shake out the legs, a well dressed man playing soccer with his son peps up,” What are you guys training for?”
“What?” I reply quizzically.
“Are you guys part of a club or something?” He continues with earnest interest.
“Oh, yeah GBTC, are you from around here?” I reply as an accent is apparent.
“Nah, Scotland, I would see runners’ running like this back there but this is the first time here, it’s impressive.” This is said in an honest and almost patient way.
“Oh thank you.” Flattered a little I say with the slight upturn to the left side of my mouth.
“No, you both keep it up, it is impressive.” He says with that slow clear way.
“Oh, oh, thank you, thank you, take care.” I say with a smile and a wave.
“Take care.” He says again kicking the ball back to his boy.
Bashfully, and content in a way, I jog away.
“What?” I reply quizzically.
“Are you guys part of a club or something?” He continues with earnest interest.
“Oh, yeah GBTC, are you from around here?” I reply as an accent is apparent.
“Nah, Scotland, I would see runners’ running like this back there but this is the first time here, it’s impressive.” This is said in an honest and almost patient way.
“Oh thank you.” Flattered a little I say with the slight upturn to the left side of my mouth.
“No, you both keep it up, it is impressive.” He says with that slow clear way.
“Oh, oh, thank you, thank you, take care.” I say with a smile and a wave.
“Take care.” He says again kicking the ball back to his boy.
Bashfully, and content in a way, I jog away.
Thank You
Back together, she was gone for a while. The afternoon is sweeter; to have her home, to hold her again and to be running together through Blue Hills’ trails. The steps we take are so pleasant, it is just so proper to be a cantering couple once more. For over seven years we have on regular occasions run as one.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
My Conversation with Chris
Hey Chris,i emailed you the w/o and assume you got it, it was a large block tempo at 6:02-6:12 pace.
We still need to address the race situation, have you had a chance to think about a champ race?
Anyway, the next two weeks.
Over the next two weeks we will progress to 65-70miles
Mon Long < 17
Tues 8-10 / 25-27
Wed 8-10 / 33-37 Track/Treadmill ***This will need to progress to track soon,unless weather drives you in
Thurs 9-11 / 42-48
Fri Off 0 / 42-45
Sat Treadmill W/0 10-12 / 52-60
Sun 5-8 / 57-68
Mon Long < 18
Tues 8-10 / 26-28
Wed 8-10 / 34-38 Track/Treadmill ***This will need to progress to track soon, unless weather drives you in
Thurs 9-11 / 43-49
Fri Off 0 / 43-49
Sat Treadmill W/0 10-12 / 53-61
Sun 5-9 / 58-70
I know your a mileage beast, but i put the lower end to remind you that you could do that and still be fit to run a pr 5k-5miler and a great 10k (as you havent run one before) by the end of this mini season which finishes no later then beginning of july, but better in the middle to end of May
Veer on the side of caution on the easy days, i know you have heard it and said it yourself but i stress it because you practice by yourself. It can be easy to turn an easy easy day into,not a full blown hard day, but worse a junk training day that takes away from the next hard day.
Sounds like your training is going well. Right now, start thinking about the 5k, what you want to run, what you think you could? Dwell on perfect conditions and racing factors.
The 10k however is going to be a great race for you. It is long enough to get into mileage strength,but quick enough where you have to run fast regularly. You will enjoy the racing tactics after a few races.
Anyway, keep up the great training Chris!
We still need to address the race situation, have you had a chance to think about a champ race?
Anyway, the next two weeks.
Over the next two weeks we will progress to 65-70miles
Mon Long < 17
Tues 8-10 / 25-27
Wed 8-10 / 33-37 Track/Treadmill ***This will need to progress to track soon,unless weather drives you in
Thurs 9-11 / 42-48
Fri Off 0 / 42-45
Sat Treadmill W/0 10-12 / 52-60
Sun 5-8 / 57-68
Mon Long < 18
Tues 8-10 / 26-28
Wed 8-10 / 34-38 Track/Treadmill ***This will need to progress to track soon, unless weather drives you in
Thurs 9-11 / 43-49
Fri Off 0 / 43-49
Sat Treadmill W/0 10-12 / 53-61
Sun 5-9 / 58-70
I know your a mileage beast, but i put the lower end to remind you that you could do that and still be fit to run a pr 5k-5miler and a great 10k (as you havent run one before) by the end of this mini season which finishes no later then beginning of july, but better in the middle to end of May
Veer on the side of caution on the easy days, i know you have heard it and said it yourself but i stress it because you practice by yourself. It can be easy to turn an easy easy day into,not a full blown hard day, but worse a junk training day that takes away from the next hard day.
Sounds like your training is going well. Right now, start thinking about the 5k, what you want to run, what you think you could? Dwell on perfect conditions and racing factors.
The 10k however is going to be a great race for you. It is long enough to get into mileage strength,but quick enough where you have to run fast regularly. You will enjoy the racing tactics after a few races.
Anyway, keep up the great training Chris!
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