Flo - Rida (Marathon Training - week 1)

Well, the Gate River run didn't quite go as planned. As most disappointing races turn out, I will walk away with a lesson learned as suppose to a blissful performance...

The few things I've learned have not changed since my high school days. I went out too fast for my own fitness. You would think, that with this much experience I would know how to race, but once you start and are caught up in such enthusiasm, you can't help but go with the flow. Which is exactly what I did for the first mile and paid for it. I felt; at the time, that I didn't go out at a blistering pace, but apparently it was a little too fast for me. 4:39 isn't really that fast... but I guess for a 15k race I was in over my head. Mile after mile I faded off the lead pack and was getting passed by everyone.

Once the race was over and I got a few beers in my system to num the embarrassment, I soon found myself in conversation with many other "elite" runners who had bad races. The egotistical consensus from my other elite compatriots is that; those of us who ran in the trials hadn't quite recovered and that this race was a bit of a shock to us.... comparatively of course. So now that I've added some fuel to the fire, I can refocus on the main goal of running a PR at the Grandma's Marathon. But this weekend wasn't over yet...

After the race I had a wonderful wedding to attend to in Jacksonville Beach. The beverages and dances seemed to have taken my worries of the race away and refocus on more important things, at the current moment. So, after a fun filled weekend in Flo-rida, I was happy enough to actually race my first Gate River Run and attend an awesome wedding! My mileage for the past week was very unimpressive, but I did get in one track workout. Hopefully things will start to pick up in the next couple of weeks as I hit the roads more and get ready for the 26.2 mile tour of Duluth, MN.

Week 1:

This wasn't a great way to start off my marathon training, but it's a starting point.... I guess. I have introduced some core, if that means anything.

Mon - am. 4 miles easy

Tue - am. 5x(200, 200, 400) in [31, 31, 68], [31, 31, 67], [31, 31, 65], [31, 30, 64], [31, 31, 64] total: 9 / pm. 10 miles

Wed - am. 8 miles

Thur - am. 10 miles / pm. 10 miles

Fri - am. Travled to Jax - no running

Sat - am. 15k Gate River Run [4:39, 4:49, 4:54, 5:09, 5:11, 10:33(2 miles), 5:43, 5:36] 48:14. total: 14 miles

Sun - am. 8 miles

Total: 73

Gate River on the Horizon - Base training is OVER!

Well, another week in the trenches has gone by and I still haven't poked my head out to test the speed I've been hibernating away since the Olympic Trials. I think I hit a pretty decent amount of mileage this past week, and expect to feel the sluggishness in my legs when I venture to the track this coming week (tomorrow to be exact). I keep telling myself that I've been doing "base" these past few weeks and that this phase will end and the track portion of my training will begin. But, in all reality, my mileage will remain the same and I will just introduce some quicker stuff into my mundane training weeks. I'm typically overtly amped about running more miles than I drive in a week, but adding in some quicker stuff may bring some weight to my eye lids throughout the day. Either way, I'm excited to touch the track, as its been an obscurity to me since October.

As for interesting news; I've just been in a mileage daze to be aware of anything out of the ordinary. Most days seem to blend together, and are only broken up by the appearance of the different schools I substitute at. Although even the students at these indistinguishable schools blend together, as I attempt to fill the void of their teacher. I can't image how they feel. Aside from all these other interactions I make throughout my day, I have seemed to have met a wonderful person named Arlene, she oddly enough shares the same obsession of running as I do along with a balancing act routine in life. Her presents in my life has made everything more interesting and pleasant, as I attempt to achieve some kind of greatness in the sport of running.

So the next stop on this running circus is the 2012 USA 15k Road National Championships, or better known in Jacksonville by the locals as, the Gate River Run! This is going to be another stacked USA Championship race where it has been posted that 21 guys have run under 29:00 in the 10,000m or better:

Fasil Bizuneh - 27:50
Bobby Mack - 28:11
Mo Trafeh - 28:17
Charlie Serrano - 28:24
Mike Sayenko - 28:25
Sergio Reyes - 28:29
Nick Arciniaga - 28:29
Christo Landry - 28:30
Sean Houseworth - 28:33
Scott Smith - 28:35
Jimmy Grabow - 28:35
Tim Ritchie - 28:37
Dustin Emerick - 28:41

Jeff Schirmer - 28:42
Matt Llano - 28:43
Antonio Vega - 28:47
Danny Mercado - 28:53
Chris Chavez - 28:54
Ben Bruce - 28:55
Jake Schmitt - 28:56
Jesse Armijo - 28:59

Yes, that is my name at the bottom of the list... But, irregardless I don't consider myself a huge contender in this field, which only plays to my advantage as I will be pressing hard to stay with some fast guys that are more prepared for this race than I am. Coming off of pure mileage is going to be bit of a a shock when that gun goes off and the leaders blitz a 4:30 first mile and blow the doors open, leaving me and a good amount of guys behind. I can only hope to hold on and attempt to run a hard race that's redlining insanity! But, once this carnage is over, I will have a pleasant evening at my friend's: Pat and Laura's wedding in Jacksonville. This coming week should be interesting, with a fun-filled story to go along with it! Until then, happy trials!

Weekly Mileage:

Mon - am. 10 miles / pm. 10 miles

Tue - am. 8 miles / pm. 12 miles

Wed - am. 10 miles / pm. 10 miles

Thur - am. 6 miles / pm. 10 miles

Fri - am. 6 miles / pm. 14 miles

Sat - am. 12 miles / pm. 10 miles

Sun - am 20 miles

Total: 138 miles

It's Coming...

Spring is almost in the air in Albuquerque... Yet it didn't feel like it this morning for a local 5k race, as the mercury floated around 30 degrees. It was time for me to shed the rust out of my legs and run a road race, and get the feeling of pounding the pavement again. So after a few weeks of just running mileage I was able to cruise a solo 5k at altitude in 15:12. This, by no means is impressive, but since I don't run many 5k's at altitude on the roads, this was actually the fastest I've ever covered the distance at altitude, and I felt pretty good about it.

I have many more weeks ahead, and much, much more work to do, but I feel that this is a decent starting point. The first real test will come on March, 10th in Jacksonville as I toe the line at the USA 15k Championships. There will be no hiding behind altitude times, weather, or the mystery of fitness. It will be a Championships race, where no one cares what your excuses are, and I will have only myself to race against. Sure, they'll be other guys around, but I see it as a chance to push myself even harder and use the competition to gain another pr.

So, with Spring almost here, and track races upon the horizon, there will still be more miles to cover in an attempt to run more PR's. Cheers to everyone getting ready for their own important races!

Mon - pm. 10 easy

Tue - am. 10 easy / pm. 10 easy

Wed - am. 12 easy / pm. 10 easy

Thur - am. 10 easy / pm. 12 easy

Fri - am. 8 easy / pm. 12 med

Sat - am. 11 med / 10 easy

Sun - 5k total: 5 miles

Total: 120 miles