As summer comes to an end, I find myself wondering where the heck did my training lead me...? I had a great plan to build up my mileage and utilize the fact that I didn't have to be anywhere at 8:00am. I plotted out all the "workouts" that I thought I was going to do, and trickled a few races here and there. And those races are what got the best of me this past summer. I toed the line of a local 5k on the Forth of July and little did I know I would be hobbling back to the starting line after the first mile with a brand new DNF to add to my running resume. My calf was being very unpatriotic and decided to quite on me after the first time of a "fun" 5k. I thought, this was the most Un-American thing you could do on the 4th of July - QUIT? Seriously?! Well, it was for the better, and I rested up and have been running fine since a mere 2 weeks off in July. I really got to thinking about how in my entire college career I never once quit in a race. Then out of all the post-college races I had, I never quit either. Even after all those crapy felling marathon's, where I was completely off my mark I never decided.... "Hey, I'm just going to step off the course and rally up for another one". I still think about how I should've quit at Chicago way back when, instead of posting another disappointing time and missing the Olympic Trials Standard. But, where would that have gotten me? I always believe that if you're healthy, then finish the damn race. And I won't even talk about Boston...
So, after healing up and building my mileage to a respectable number, I've decided to get the blog back in action and start posting about the journey to the USA Marathon Championships this December. The California International Marathon will host the championships, and we have a huge crew of Dukes Track Club runners heading out west to chase some impressive times. One time that should stick out is the new 2020 USA Olympic Trials Standard. The men's "B" Standard is 2:19:00 and the "A" Standard is 2:15:00. Also, if you are top 6 at the Championships, that qualifies as an "A" Standard, so it's pretty neat. All I know is that there will be another gaggle of dudes going for that standard. The weather should be good, and the company will be championship class. As for me, I have a feeling this will be a subtle introduction back to the roads and a journey of chasing that standard
Week of training:
Mon- 2.5 miles
Tue - 7 miles
Wed - 2.5 mile warm up, 4 mile tempo (5:42, 5:37, 5:36, 5:31) 4 min rest, 8x400m w/90sec rest (75, 74, 71, 72, 72, 75, 72, 72) 2 mile cool down
Thur - 11 miles
Fri - 11 miles
Sat - 9.5 miles
Sun - 18 miles
Total: 70 miles
Showing posts with label USA marathon champs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label USA marathon champs. Show all posts
Sunday, August 27, 2017
Friday, October 18, 2013
Twin Cities Marathon/USA Marathon Championships
It's been more than a week since the USA Marathon Championships, and I think it's time to post my thoughts on this wonderful race. I've spoken to many friends about how the race turned out, and the positives and negatives I took away from the weekend, but haven't quite put it into written context. One thing I want to touch base on, is how well I felt leading up to this marathon, compared to how busy I was with "life". This marathon was my second fastest marathon (2:20:57), and as a full time teacher, I can honestly say I was happy with the out come. My fastest marathon came when I was finishing up Grad School, and student-teaching; nowhere near as stressful as having your own class(es). Nevertheless, there are many different factors that I took away from this cycle compared to my PR cycle. And that's what I'll be comparing the most.
So the weekend started off as soon as I got off work the Friday before the race. I was done with my 2nd grade class at 2:50pm, and Arlene and Loren were in the parking lot ready to go. Our flight was at 4:10pm, so we were cutting it a little close. But of course we made it into Minneapolis without incident. Liz was there at 10:30pm to pick us up, and we in bed at midnight after some chatting and late night snacks. Arlene, Liz and myself slept in till about 9am, and went on a short 30min shake out run. A pleasant jog through some Minneapolis parks and some light drills were enough for me. Once we got ready, the whole group of Turner's (Liz, her mom and dad) took me to the host hotel and let me relax on my own.
I ventured around a little bit on Saturday to the elite hospitality suite and to a local coffee shop for a decaf vanilla latte. The majority of the afternoon was set aside towards getting my bottles ready, and watching movies in the hotel room. I had a nice time catching up with John and Ariel Heitzman for lunch, but besides that, I wasn't doing a whole lot. And once it was time for dinner, Arlene and company came and picked me up for an awesome dinner at Old Spaghetti Factory - one of my favorite places on earth! John and Ariel were there, along with many other Albuquerqeños. Dinner was amazing, and then it was time for a long night of nerves and tossing & turning.
Race morning provided us with some perfect weather! I had my usual breakfast, and boarded the elite bus. I sat with an old friend of mine; Nick Arciniaga, and we chatted a bit about race nerves and goals. I knew he was going to race well when he pointed out how nervous he was. I also had a feeling that I was going to run well too, but things slightly changed. Once, we got to the staging area, I got in a short warm up and was ready to go. I knew there would be a solid pack of runners in the front going out in 66:00 for the half, so I didn't want anything to do with that. I was looking for a 68 minute group. Well, after about a half a mile, the race looked like a tear drop, with a ton of guys in the front group, and a dwindle of guys stringing out to where I was. I would guess I was in about 30th place at the mile, which was hit in 5:14. I wasn't wearing a watch, so after that I had no real idea of where I was at. Mbarak came up on me just after the mile and I was with him for a bit, but wanted to catch anyone in front of me. I saw another familiar head up front - Solomon Kandie, so I raced up to his little group of 4 runners. Once I caught them, I decided to keep the momentum and continue on. I felt pretty comfortable running by myself and catching a guy or two every mile, but that ended when I reached the halfway point.
When I came up on the clock at 13.1 miles, I had no idea that the clocks were off. The clock read 66:47 when I passed it, and I was a little freaked out at how fast that could've been. In reality I came through the half in 68:24, a time I wanted to be at, but I didn't know it at the time. So, I was thinking that I was going to blow up hard. Another thought I had was that I might blow up a little and still run a pr or the Olympic Trials Standard. Either way, the wheels came off at around 20 miles. I remember two guys coming up on me at 18 miles, one Hansons guy and a BRC guy. A tried to run with the Hansons guy for about a mile, then faded off of him and attempted to run with the BRC guy. We ran a few strides together, and I asked him his name. "Sean", is what he said, and then he wanted us to work together. I've heard that phrase so many times in the later stages of a marathon, and always believe I can stick with them to the finish. Well, in this case, I ran another mile with Sean and faded.
I came to the hill at mile 20, and slugged myself up it, and kept on moving until Mbarak and Solomon caught me at mile 22. Again, I rallied myself to go with them, and faded at mile 24. The last 2 miles were a struggle, and once I could see the clock, I made out a 2:20 something ticking away. I wasn't too surprised, and still didn't want that number to tick any higher, so I kicked it in to finish 20th in 2:20:57.
After all the mayhem at the finish, and getting ready to come home to Albuquerque, I started to assess my training. I figured I had a solid 19 weeks of high mileage, but once I plugged the numbers in, it turned out to average 87 miles a week. This was a little surprising to me! I now know that working really takes a ton of time, but if I can squeeze a few more miles in, I know my performance in the marathon will improve. 2:20 is a good start to another training cycle, and a great spring marathon attempt at the standard. Cheers to many more miles!
From Instagram user bethholine
So the weekend started off as soon as I got off work the Friday before the race. I was done with my 2nd grade class at 2:50pm, and Arlene and Loren were in the parking lot ready to go. Our flight was at 4:10pm, so we were cutting it a little close. But of course we made it into Minneapolis without incident. Liz was there at 10:30pm to pick us up, and we in bed at midnight after some chatting and late night snacks. Arlene, Liz and myself slept in till about 9am, and went on a short 30min shake out run. A pleasant jog through some Minneapolis parks and some light drills were enough for me. Once we got ready, the whole group of Turner's (Liz, her mom and dad) took me to the host hotel and let me relax on my own.
I ventured around a little bit on Saturday to the elite hospitality suite and to a local coffee shop for a decaf vanilla latte. The majority of the afternoon was set aside towards getting my bottles ready, and watching movies in the hotel room. I had a nice time catching up with John and Ariel Heitzman for lunch, but besides that, I wasn't doing a whole lot. And once it was time for dinner, Arlene and company came and picked me up for an awesome dinner at Old Spaghetti Factory - one of my favorite places on earth! John and Ariel were there, along with many other Albuquerqeños. Dinner was amazing, and then it was time for a long night of nerves and tossing & turning.
Race morning provided us with some perfect weather! I had my usual breakfast, and boarded the elite bus. I sat with an old friend of mine; Nick Arciniaga, and we chatted a bit about race nerves and goals. I knew he was going to race well when he pointed out how nervous he was. I also had a feeling that I was going to run well too, but things slightly changed. Once, we got to the staging area, I got in a short warm up and was ready to go. I knew there would be a solid pack of runners in the front going out in 66:00 for the half, so I didn't want anything to do with that. I was looking for a 68 minute group. Well, after about a half a mile, the race looked like a tear drop, with a ton of guys in the front group, and a dwindle of guys stringing out to where I was. I would guess I was in about 30th place at the mile, which was hit in 5:14. I wasn't wearing a watch, so after that I had no real idea of where I was at. Mbarak came up on me just after the mile and I was with him for a bit, but wanted to catch anyone in front of me. I saw another familiar head up front - Solomon Kandie, so I raced up to his little group of 4 runners. Once I caught them, I decided to keep the momentum and continue on. I felt pretty comfortable running by myself and catching a guy or two every mile, but that ended when I reached the halfway point.
When I came up on the clock at 13.1 miles, I had no idea that the clocks were off. The clock read 66:47 when I passed it, and I was a little freaked out at how fast that could've been. In reality I came through the half in 68:24, a time I wanted to be at, but I didn't know it at the time. So, I was thinking that I was going to blow up hard. Another thought I had was that I might blow up a little and still run a pr or the Olympic Trials Standard. Either way, the wheels came off at around 20 miles. I remember two guys coming up on me at 18 miles, one Hansons guy and a BRC guy. A tried to run with the Hansons guy for about a mile, then faded off of him and attempted to run with the BRC guy. We ran a few strides together, and I asked him his name. "Sean", is what he said, and then he wanted us to work together. I've heard that phrase so many times in the later stages of a marathon, and always believe I can stick with them to the finish. Well, in this case, I ran another mile with Sean and faded.
I came to the hill at mile 20, and slugged myself up it, and kept on moving until Mbarak and Solomon caught me at mile 22. Again, I rallied myself to go with them, and faded at mile 24. The last 2 miles were a struggle, and once I could see the clock, I made out a 2:20 something ticking away. I wasn't too surprised, and still didn't want that number to tick any higher, so I kicked it in to finish 20th in 2:20:57.
After all the mayhem at the finish, and getting ready to come home to Albuquerque, I started to assess my training. I figured I had a solid 19 weeks of high mileage, but once I plugged the numbers in, it turned out to average 87 miles a week. This was a little surprising to me! I now know that working really takes a ton of time, but if I can squeeze a few more miles in, I know my performance in the marathon will improve. 2:20 is a good start to another training cycle, and a great spring marathon attempt at the standard. Cheers to many more miles!
Friday, September 27, 2013
8 Days till The USA Marathon Championships
With only 8 days left until the biggest race of 2013 for me, I sit patiently in a city that has given me so many great memories - Houston. The reason for my trip to Houston starts in the summer, a time when I thought my life would revolve only around running and not teaching. Boy was I wrong. I'm here in Houston for training, but not the running kind; the kind needed for a new teacher who has entered the Independent School system. You can call it Professional Development, and I'll call it a life changing experience. You see, I got hired as a Physical Education teacher at Manzano Day School (private school) and have fully embraced this new lifestyle. Let's rewind...
From Houston Hobby airport after my last day of Professional Development.
It's spring time, and I'm actually finishing my first year as a classroom teacher, a day I never thought would happen. 180 days in what you would call a school or learning environment, a safe haven, a place for growth. Well, it was the excact opposite and I was ready to leave and never look back. I was going to "run" away from that place and not have to think about that school again. Well, I did, and I searched for something else. And as luck would have it, a dream position opened at a very impressive school that I applied for a year earlier. MDS was hiring a P.E. teacher and I got it. I was a bit afraid of the expectations and how "perfect" everything seemed, but as time pasted everything is falling into place.
So back to Houston. I'm here because I needed to see how our school is connected to other successful schools in the Southwest and what learning is suppose to look like. And it looks joyous!
The school, the kids, the parents, the other teachers and staff all make this job a great environment. And more importantly make me a better person. You can even ask Arlene (my girlfriend); since signing that contact with my school, I have found NO excuse not to wake up before the sun rises and hit the pavement. I have no reason to sleep in and dream of a better school to be at. I can leap out of bed with a clear focus on making the 2016 trials, while other athletes sleep in and rest all day. I can gain inspiration from amazing kids that I'm around everyday, and return that favor by accomplishing a goal that I want more than anything - to make the Olympic Trials Standard as a full-time teacher! The only barrier I had was myself, and now I have everyone in my corner helping me along this path.
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