Pool Running is Fun

AM: 7 easy + standard core routine, back machine

PM: 5 easy

Man I feel heavy.  I've eaten lik $hit and drank a boat load of alcohol over the past few days. It's no wonder I felt like ass yesterday.  I have a little less than two weeks until clubs. I need to eat well and train well again until then.  Last week was racing and peaking/recovering and I barely ran-only 44 miles or so. it worked to peak for my race, but I feel sluggish and fat now.

AM:  2 WU (800,800,1600,800,800) 2 CD  (2:35, 2:27, 4:59, 2:23, 2:21)

PM: rest

Short workout this morning.  After going over it I decided not to run another 5K this weekend since I've been racing a lot and am pretty much raced out. I'm happy with my 32:23/15:42 this fall.  I don't want to get greedy and hurt myself trying to over race.  The short workout felt pretty easy today so I am in great shape. Now I just need to train decently and hold my peak through clubs.

Speaking of Clubs, it's supposed to be a really big race. I'm hoping it's not a clusterfu%k of people falling and getting spiked when the course bottlenecks. The cool part is guys like Matt Tegenkamp, Chris Solinksy, and Tyler Pennel are running the race. Check out the entries here

AM: 7 easy + standard core routine, some light lifting, ab work, stretching, calf raises

PM: 5 easy

AM: 7 easy plus standard core routine and stretch trainer.

PM: 5 easy plus 5x100m fast strides + a full drill set + barefoot run

2 WU 2x3200 cruise intervals (10:59, 10:30) with 800 jog in between. 2 CD

12 easy to moderate in the rain

AM: 10 easy + 5x100m fast strides and drills

PM: 1hr. 7 min. pool run

5 easy at lunch with some ab bench

quick one today since I'm very busy.

3 WU 6x1100m hill circuits 3 CD  + ab bench, back machine, stretch trainer, hip machines, etc.

circuit consists of 500m uphill hard, a 200m jog section, then about 200m fast downhill, 200m jog again to go into the next one. The trick is to work on very fast turnover and good form on the downhill, and power with good form and arm action on the uphill.  It's great because it's hard and makes me tired.

5 easy at lunch + some core work and stretch trainer. extremely windy with 30+ mph gusts

keeping it short the rest of the week to peak for clubs. Thinking about what I'm going to do with myself on my break from running next week.

4 easy with 5 minute at 10K race pace + half standard core routine and drills and strides.

3 easy on the cross country course at Lehigh and a few strides.  Good weather for this time of year.

I'm not sure how to describe my experience at the 2014 USATF Club cross country race other than ridiculous....crazy at the race and one hell of an after party. I've never experienced a race like this before.

We drove up Friday night and got dinner with my teammates.  We are a bunch of fun runners who are all in different spots in our training.  We havn't even practiced on cross country terrain and a few of us were coming back after fall marathons and none of us (besides me) had any substantial anaerobic racing and training under our belts this season.  We knew we had three of us who could do well and were looking to beat the local Pacers and GRC C and B teams. It didn't turn out that way exactly. Cross country truly is a different sport in running.

The course was nice and wide with rolling hills and really muddy on the sharp turns.  The mens open 10K was stacked with professionals like Matt Tegenkamp, German Fernandez, Tyler Pennel, Ryan Hill, Nick Arciniaga, and the best regional club runners in the Nation. It was extremely stacked, and even more competitive than the NCAA DI race was when looking at straight times and depth. Insanely crazy, I was racing with a lot of runners much more talented and quicker than I.  It was so much fun!

Prerace was a circus with a bazillion skinny and fast guys who made even me feel tall and muscular.  We went off and I was in a sea of people to the point it was almost hypnotizing. I couldn't really fathom how fast the lead men were out...these guys are on a whole new level. Truly gods among mortals.  By 3k I was still in a massive group but I had plenty of room to pass people by then so being boxed in was never really an issue for me. I relaxed and let some guys pass me.  I ran through the 5Kin 16:45 really relaxed with a slight side stitch.  I picked it up then and started passing people, including a few GRC and Pacers bros. I fought them back and forth and I was really gunning it by 22 minutes in. My legs were feeling the anaerobic burn on the hills and I dug deep and my competitive side came out. Some really painful stuff.

I fought tooth and nail to get some GRC guys and this Pacers guy but couldn't do it.  I finished in 33:03 and for that course, it was a good effort on my part. I went through the chute to take off my chip and sitting right next to me was Matt Tegenkamp...cool as hell!  Awesome race but our team did not do as well as I thought and we were lacking in depth, but a great experience all the same.

At the after party I met some awesome people. we ended up taping 12 kegs and I even drank some beer with Tegenkamp and got a photo. It's amazing how these olympians are just normal-ass people.  We busted a move on the dance floor and had a great time.  Such an awesome event! 269th place. lol, so so deep.

Results

Complete rest. I did drink wine most of the day on 4.5 hrs of sleep. The after party last night was nuts and I was blaa this morning.

complete rest.  I slept 10 hours last night! Coach doesn't want me to take a huge amount of time off so I am figuring on two days off, two days pool run and light lifting unless I feel like running earlier.  Once I start running later this week, I will be ramping up pretty quick but no workouts or anything.

1 hr. pool run.

I'm feeling off since having such a low week last week and zero exercise for two days.  I'm glad I was able to get in a hard pool run.

10 min WU on bike, light lifting circuit (pretty much all the machines I don't use when running a lot like deadlift, hamstring, quad, upper body, etc) and some stretching and foam rolling.

5 easy at lunch.  A slow and inauspicious start to my epic spring marathon.  Felt a little rusty, as to be expected.

today 5 easy at lunch

I started running again semi-seriously in the summer of 2012 when night life, alcohol, and fast food began to lose the allure that it once held in my college and graduate school days. This year I noticed even more that it’s just not worth it to party and carry on like I used to.  I’d rather feel better and work on continually improving myself through running in my free time and thus improving my career and life as a whole. I feel I’ve been successful in this pursuit in 2014.

 This year has been one of recovery and breakthrough. I partially tore my Achilles tendon in July 2013 and was out of running for 5 months, two of which my right leg was in a boot. Last December I could only run 30sec-1 min at a time since my Achilles was in the process of healing. I put in a lot of time strengthening and really getting myself to the pool with the help of my teammate, roommate, and friend, Jill.  

My calf slowly gained strength and I lost the phantom pains and limp in my stride through the 20-40 mile weeks in February-March.  By April I was getting close to 60 easy a week and supplementing with pool running and core work. I then started (slow) tempo runs and by late April I was back with the team for workouts.  In May I was running every day and hitting 70 for a good stretch.  I could tell I was getting stronger as the days of consistency wore on.  Having not run a race in 10 months at that point I ran the Capital Hill Classic in an abysmal 35:38. Apparently I had forgotten how to race but I knew I was back.

In June I decided to race again and had a good 33:41 with a negative split at Lawyers Have Heart 10K. This was the first race of 2014 where I really felt I was getting somewhere.  I focused on some faster work (having run 16:06 on July 4) in an attempt to hit a sub 16:00 5K which I felt I could do. I backed it down and did a little peak in July, running Rockville 8k (terrible cramping issues), then the mile (4:39) and 3K (9:30) on Wednesday before hitting it hard that Saturday at the Crystal City Twilighter, where I finally broke 16:00 in 15:58.  I was very happy about this and set my sights on the Navy Air force half marathon in September.

My build-up for the half had me excited. I was running consistently and was very strong at the longer tempos. Thinking I could hit 1:12, I was sidelined with a severe calf strain from too much speed work on my still weak right calf. I took off 10 days with no running and some minor pool efforts. I couldn’t sell my bib, so after two 50 mile weeks back I ran the half for fun and started very slow and still managed a 1:15. After September I focused on workouts and 5/10 K training. 

October’s St. Rita’s 5K (16:05) had me pretty frustrated since I had upped my mileage and was dedicating more of my life to running.  I decided then to add faster strides, a barefoot jog, race specific workouts, and my hill sprints. I had some really great workouts in late October/November before resting up a bit and truly hitting it big at Veteran’s Day 10K, dropping 38 seconds from my PR and passing some fast local runners. After that, I was no longer afraid of guys in blue shirts. I turned my sights to the 5K and PRed (15:56) at the Run for Shelter, and after a taper for a few days, cranked out a 15:42.  I was happy with this and kept training to run well at USATF club cross country nationals, which was a blast.

So what in my training led me to set significant PRs in the fall? There are many factors but the top 5 in my view are

1. Consistency- doubling, running every day, etc.

2. Supplemental work- pool running, drills and strides, hill sprints, longer core sessions

3. Taking care of myself- eating my greens, getting enough sleep, drinking a lot less, and stretching more

4. Time- running to and from work on my easy days and thus had more time to get recovery in.

5. Actually listening to my coach- slowing down my easy days, backing off in practice when he said to, taking days off/skipping workouts when needed, and actually starting my races controlled (patience).

6. periodization- waiting until 4-6 weeks before November races to do very specific 5K/10K work

There you have it.  No secrets, no magic pill, just consistent aerobic development with an eye toward staying healthy, running fast when necessary, and taking it really slow to recover.

Coming out of the fall with 32:23 and 15:42 PRs changed my mind set on my distance running hobby.  I now feel I can really go for some (relatively) fast times and see what I can do before I get too old, have a kid, a mortgage, and a super busy management position. My plans for 2015 include some big mileage and huge half (Shamrock), 10 mile (Cherry Blossom), and full marathon (Glass City) PRs. I have a great group of guys to train with during the long days of winter. Now more than ever I am motivated to maintain my discipline, grow as a person, and have some great times with my running friends.

Run fast, worry less

Matt

2014 races

AM: 10 easy

PM 1 hr. pool run

14 easy. legs are heavy and they feel like shit

The ball of my foot is really sore and it hurts.  I have no idea why.  During and after yesterday's run it was pretty painful.  Getting up this morning and walking hurt.  I've been icing it all day...I bet it's metatarsalgia or something. Took today off to see if it gets better.

11 miles easy + standard core routine. Ran through Ottawa and Glandorf on a very warm day--just shorts and t shirt, 56 degrees.  My foot hurt again this morning and I was really worried.  I iced and stretched everything and used my heavy Triumphs and there was no pain when I was running! I felt good and kept going.  I have a hunch that the sore foot was due to the shoes I was wearing.  Not going to wear them again and I'm going to stick with the triumphs.  Going to ice and massage throughout the day.

14 easy to moderate.  Ran to leipsic and back. warm--50 degrees and rainy.

10 easy + 3x100m strides and light drills + standard core routine

Merry Christmas.  The wind in NW Ohio is something else.

9 easy to moderate.  Really tired today but the good news is that my foot is feeling better since I've switched shoes.  I believe I bruise my metatarsal head on my left foot last Saturday and made it worse Sunday. Running in my heavy shoes has made the soreness better. 616 miles on my Triumphs. uppers are starting to rip. New heavy run commute shoes coming soon.

feel like crap today so I didn't run in the morning.  I went to family Christmas and proceeded to drink a boatload of beer and never got a run in.  I can't be doing this for much longer.  I've got to start getting serious about marathon training when that 14 week window gets here, which is only like a week or two away.

7 easy quiet miles in the AM through Glandorf--past the cemetary where my ancestors are burried, past the Bomber, the Feed and Grain, my Grandparents' house, the fields and the cows. Long drive back to VA today. Frickin sleepy andout of sorts due to all of the garbage I've been eating. I was going to run 10 but had to cut it short when my GI system was going to explode.

AM: 7 easy + standard core routine

PM: 5 easy

Feeling heavy and out of shape today. My holiday shenanigans involving massive amounts of food and beer doesn't bode well for training.  Getting back into the swing of things this week.

AM: 3 WU 7x1100m hill circuit with 500m uphill hard, 200m fast turnover downhills 3 CD + standard core routine and jackknives

PM: 1 hr. pool run.

first workout back. didn't feel too bad, just a little sluggish

AM: 8 easy

PM: 5 easy

Last day of the year. ran alone this morning and with some teammates this evening. My new shoes can't get here soon enough. My Triumphs are starting to tear on the upper, they have 628 miles on them afterall.