Last Few Days of Training

Everything hurts. Everything. No, not in a bad way (for those worried about me getting injured etc..). But my legs are sore, tired, and have a general feeling of animosity towards me. This is supposed to be a recovery week, or so I was told. I am thankful to be healthy though, because this is the worst, yet best feeling a distance runner can have. There is an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment when you complete a tough workout or fast time trial in personal record fashion. The ice cold water taste a little better and the crisp, refreshing taste of a cold beer feels well deserved.

The last few days of training have been productive for the most part. The team was finally able to run the time trial on Wednesday night after being postponed Tuesday and shortly delayed Wednesday night due to lightning. The entire team did amazingly well and is looking excellent for the upcoming season. I ran a huge PR and was extremely pleased with my performance! I finished with a 15:34, which is a 54 second PR over 3 miles. My splits were as follows: 5:14, 10:24 (5:10), and 15:34 (5:10). Last 800 meters was 2:31 and final 400 was a 73. The team results were as follows: Patrick Krol: 15:15, Joey D'Eramo: 15:16, Blake Woolums: 15:18, Julius Michael: 15:27, Clint Anders: 15:31, Travis Kocurek: 15:34. This will be great for cross country because we are all fit and close together in the standings, which is essential for scoring as low a score as possible in a meet.

Generally speaking, everything is going great right now, with the exception of Friday's run. I was tired from the time trial and the crazy bike ride Clint, Pat, and I had on Thursday. I will just shrug it off as a bad day and move past it enthusiastically into the days of training that lie ahead. The opening meet of the season will be a 3 mile this coming Friday at U of H. I am as fit as I could hope to be at this point in time and am looking forward to the upcoming cross country season!

Wednesday 8/26: 6 miles total (3 mile TT at 15:34)
Thursday 8/27: 4.5 miles total, easy + 23 mile bike ride (just over one hour, average 21 MPH on ride)
Friday 8/28: 6 miles total (5 miles at 6:10 pace, felt awful from TT and bike ride. Supposed to run 8 miles at 5:45 pace but legs would have none of it!)
Saturday 8/29: 6 miles total (4 miles easy + 8x200 meters fast uphill)

Tuesday 8/25

Today (Tuesday) was to be the day. The team was scheduled to have the 3 mile time trial at 9:20, but the weather had other plans. It has been reschduled for Wednesday at the same time. I haven't made any promises to myself, other than to do my best while giving an honest effort. The time trial is important to see where my fitness is, but I have a lot of confidence that I will still improve a lot leading up to conference on October 31st in Corpus Christi.

Tuesday 8/25: 9.5 miles total with the last 5 at a moderate pace (6:15 ish). I felt a lot better than on Monday.

Day One of Blog: Monday 8/24/2009

I am gaining inspiration for this blog at the moment by listening to "Desperado" by The Eagles. Being a distance runner forces us to make many sacrifices in every day life that many people cannot comprehend and simply don't realize. Sacrifices that define our lifestyles such as, eating right, not staying out late, running upwards of 80 miles per week, and distancing ourselves at times from members of the opposite sex in pursuit of the daunting, tiring, elusive, and sometimes seemingly impossible "task". In essence, we are at times, desperados. Times when training is difficult and we are breaking down, we see things a little differently than any other time. This is eloquently described in John L. Parker's "Once A Runner" and can't be understood by "normal" people. We are on a team, but often alone in this endeavor, especially during the low times. The sun doesn't seem to shine as bright and we begin to question whether the training and this life are really worth all the pain. There are numerous more comfortable routes that can be taken in life, but these represent failure and the easy way out, especially to the college distance runner. Though there are certainly successes possible in other endeavors, the distance runner is driven to attain the successes that others see as impossible, no matter the sacrifices or risks that must be taken. So for the time being I will continue down the path I have laid out for myself and take pride in the fact that I am, at times a loner, but always different from ordinary people. I am a runner.

8/25: Ran 6 miles easy with Jorge and Joey over a hilly route. Felt a little tired from the 64 mile week I just posted, so I am glad this is a recovery week. Ran the course at about 6:48 pace per mile. I have a 3 mile time trial tomorrow. I have no idea what to expect, as I have only been running for 5 weeks now after coming back from injury. More to come in the following days.