Duke City Marathon Training & Fatherhood

Marathon Training & Fatherhood

Preface: 

My life compared to the life that my wonderful and amazing wife Arlene has gone through are two, 1 million times different situations and zero comparison should be made. I need that to be infinitely clear, that zero comparison should be made between the differences of our roles as parents. I’m solely writing this as a father, and the experience I’ve encountered with running and having the light of my life - Santiago, around as a new experience. So, runners out there, please note that being a father is completely different from the path a mother has to follow. It’s like we are still training and racing on a track, and the mother is racing and training on a technical trail with weighted shoes that force you to run underwater every now and then…

The Joy of Training:

With Santiago being only 5 months old, it sure feels like a much longer time when thinking back. This year has seemed to have been on a slower setting than most - which I am grateful for. The moment he was born to my first run was a mere 2 days off. That first run as a dad felt like a survival run. A run where I had to make sure I got home safely and ran it almost in fear, clicking off some rather quicker splits than I would normally run. Sub 7 minutes for an “easy” run were logged on the good old garmin. Arlene told me, this was due to the fact that I wanted to get home quicker, which made perfect sense.

After about a month of infrequent running, I got the opportunity to run a trail race - Cedro Peak 25k in April. I could test my grit and attempt to grind out 15 miles in the forests. That race was a success, even with limited sleep and the guilt of leaving home early to attend a running event. I ran it hard, pushed myself on the trails and wound up 3rd overall with some friendly company.

Finishing Cedro Peak

With a steady climb of mileage after this race, I thought I was on a good track to hit some mileage numbers in the 60s to 70s. But, it took much longer to climb. My mileage chart started to look impressive with a steady stock market increase, but the true numbers were still in the 50s. I was ok with that. As long as I was making progress, then all would be fine.

Realizing that sleep wasn’t a huge priority, just as long as I got some, then I could zombie myself out of bed to run before the summer heat would get to me. Sprinkle in a few workouts or the occasional 5k race over the summer, and I was maintaining fitness. However, marathon fitness wasn’t there. I needed to get a long run in, and some tempo runs in, in order to feel somewhat ready for 26.2 miles.

The Gang: Adam, Ben, myself & Sean

By this time, it’s August, and I’ve had a few weeks off juggling life, back to school stuff, youth coaching, and a 10k trail race that I am an RD for. But, all in all, the training has been decent for a vintage man of my stature.

The plan has been to race the Duke City Marathon in October. This plan has been on my mind since the moment we found out that Santiago would be in our life. I’ve never raced this marathon, and thought it would be a logistical breeze compared to traveling and leaving home to run another race. Why not run a marathon in our own backyard? And the more I thought about it, the better I felt about the situation.

Training has been good and the following has occurred:

• Since June, I’ve had 9 weeks over 50 miles per week (this is weak, but I’ll take it for now).

• Only 5 tempo workouts, averaging 5:40-5:50 pace.

• Longest long run has been 18.5 miles.

• 10k race in 34:54

Based on this gibberish, I am still hoping to run a marathon faster than 2 hours plus my age - so a marathon faster than 2:42 in October. I’ll be celebrating my 42nd birthday and what better way than to do that by running 42 kilometers! More importantly is having my family there and for me to see Santi immediately afterwards. I am beyond thrilled to continue this journey with him and Arlene there. Otherwise, it's not even worth doing this selfish endeavor. Waking up early to leave my family would only be a way to stay healthy, but the competitiveness in me to do see what I can create with this life seems to be more fun and a test of what this body can really do. But, I yearn to be that proud dad who gets to hold his child after a long and tolling race.

Last Week of Training (week of 9/2/24):

Monday: 8 miles

Tuesday: easy 7 miles

Wednesday: 3x1 mile tempo (5:48, 5:38, 5:34) w/3 min recovery

Thursday: easy 8 miles

Friday: easy 7.4 miles

Saturday: easy 8 miles with the stroller 

Sunday: Chips and Salsa 10k race - 34:54. 12.5 miles total.

Weekly Total: 60.4

Top 3: In reverse order from left to right

Getting ahead of myself - Injuries

We all tend to do this a lot - start planning for races before you are even ready to run.  Circling those far off race dates in the calendar, in hopes that you will be on the starting line, or just day dreaming about the possibility of crossing off one of your bucket list races.  Well, at least I do.  I tend to do this all too often, especially when I am not running.  The unknown of when I "will be training" seems to make the possibility of any race just a registration click away.  My wife can tell you that, when I am hurt, my race options seems to double throughout the season - "Honey, I want to do this race, oh, and then we can do this race.".  I guess the mind moves way faster than the body, but this seems to help with the mental aspect that I am not running.  The hope that I will be back training again is the light at the end of the dark and torturous tunnel.  And with the thought of races, comes the reality of training and getting stronger; running with your friends, and pushing each other to achieve a goal.  Those are definitely not occurring when you are cross-training by yourself, or sitting around waiting for your injury to heal.  Or thinking, "I'm not a competitive cross-training, why am I do this?".  But the fact of the matter is, that you, or I, will be able to run again, and enjoy all the aspects that it entails.  And know that these auxiliary workouts are going to get you healthy and running again.

As for me, I am still cross training with my trainer - Lawrence, twice a week.  My massage therapist - Laura, is continuously making my muscles and tendons feel like rubber, and I have seen a Dry Needling guy/Doctor, named Nick Speegle who will stab me a few more times this week while sending electrodes through those wonderful metal needles.  The goal of all of this is to heal my left achilles and test it out on Friday.  My achilles has been bugging me since forever ago, and it has really flared up recently after the marathon last month.  So I thought, it would be best to fully heal it and start off fresh this year.  I still have plenty of time left (the rest of my life, I guess) to figure out what races I really want to do, and until then, I will focus on the important aspect of recovering and healing.  Once that is accomplished, then I can break out the red marker and start circling all those races dates... or more importantly, all those sunday long run days with the Dukes Track Club.

Base Building

Okay, base building is a simple concept, yet I don't think I've done this correctly in the past 1-2 years.  So, this summer feels like a great opportunity to build my base mileage and gear up for whatever I feel I need to race in the fall.  And, unlike my training leading up to Boston, I didn't really have a base which can sure explain a lot from that outcome...

So far, things are going well.  My mileage is not where I'd like it to be, but I guess that's what happens when you start off slowly.  And, I'm not too worried about that.  My ultimate goal is to build slowly towards 90 miles a week in singles, and then see how the body feels.  Once that magic number is being plotted down in my running journal, then I can start to incorporate some workouts.  It's no secret formula, it's just a matter of being patient and diligent about the mileage.  My body seems to be holding up with minor aches and pains here and there, but that's expected as well.

On the near horizon, I have La Luz mountain run and hopefully test out the legs with a road 5k in August.  And I'd love to see some 80-90 mile weeks mixed in there as well, but it's tempting not to try a workout.  I really do miss those tempo runs, or speed sessions, but ultimately I don't have a major race planned this fall, so I'd better just stick to my gut and build those miles!  I sound like I'm trying to sell myself on this plan, but I haven't just run miles without workouts in a while.  I think my body needs that.  And to mentally change it up, I've been plotting out new runs and routes from my house.  Right now, I've got a sweet 10-12 mile loop.  And of course, I've been hitting the foothills a little more.  Onward and upward!

La Luz Start... 2009... I think

Stress Fractures SUCK!!!

Yes, it's been forever since my last post, and I have a tendency to not write when I am hurt.  My thoughts are, who cares about someone whose hurt and on the sidelines...?  I'd much rather be writing about awesome workouts and races that have a lasting memory.  But, injuries happen to all of us, and they leave lasting memories on us as well.

My latest injury was another stress fracture in my right tibia.  This time, I felt like a caught it early and took sufficient time off (8 weeks).  My question is, why the heck do I keep getting an injury on the same leg in the same region?  There must be an imbalance or something causing extra stress to that area, but the docs don't really know.  I'm doing physical therapy at Quadra Health Institute once a week, so that seems to be helping my imbalances a bit.  I have also taken the very slow approach of running again.  Or, at least I believe this is a slow approach...

This past summer I felt like training was going really well.  I never got up to 100 miles a week, but I had some quality workouts.  Things seemed on track for a solid half marathon in September and a full marathon in Chicago.  The timeline of events went something like this: end of August I felt a little pain in my right tibia, took 2 weeks off, ran for 2 weeks into early September thinking the pain was an acute injury and had subsided, realized it was getting worse the more I ran, stopped running, went to a podiatrist and continued to not run for 8 weeks, the end.

On November 16th, I ran for the first time for 15 minutes to test it out.  I was out of breath, tired but thrilled to not have any pain in my leg.  For the remainder of the week I ran every other day for 15 minutes for a total of 6 miles in the week.  The following week I doubled my mileage to 12 miles, kinda crazy, I know!  Then last week I kept going with a whopping 18 miles and a 30 minute continuous run.  Everything seems to be going well, I'm not feeling pain in my leg when I run, but I have noticed that afterwards I have a weird feeling.  It's very similar to my last stress fractures, as it's been commonly called "Phantom Pain".  This pain or feeling is typically caused by a build up of calcium in the area of the stress fracture pressing outward on nerves or tissue.  After doing quite a bit of research, it's been reassuring to know I am not getting hurt again, and that this sensation is very common.  However, I am not going to be stupid and go crazy with my training.  Going into my 4th week of running give me confidence to keep training, but only with a conservative approach.  I don't really have a rush to get back into things, so I'll slowly increase my base and race when I feel ready enough to.

To conclude this past marathon cycle, I have failed miserably in an attempt to qualify for the 2016 USA Olympic Marathon Trials.  However, I still feel that my best marathon time is ahead of me, and that I have many more amazing races to come.  I know I can't do the same thing I have in the past.  I've gotten older, so therefore I should be wiser - I know I'm not that wise yet, but am aiming for that wisdom.  So something has to change, which will be my training and training philosophy.

"If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always got."
-Mark Twain

Week 4 of Marathon Training

Another solid week in the log. After all that traveling last week, this week felt great. It's always a good feeling to be back in a routine and sleeping in your own bed. 

As for training, I felt that things are starting to pick up, and that my fitness is slowly coming around. I had two workouts this week; one tempo run on Wednesday, and a long run workout on Sunday. That Sunday run was a little intimidating at first, and I was really nervous beforehand. It was another Jack Daniels workout, but it was a pretty big one, with longer bouts of recovery, which to me can be difficult since we'll be on our feet for so long. Nevertheless, it went well. And it was great to have so many guys at this past Sundays long run. 

So if you're wondering what torturous workouts I did, here they are: Wednesday was a 3 mile, 2 mile & 1 mile tempo repeat. Sunday's long run was a 4 mile warm-up followed by 2 mile tempo, 3 mile tempo, 2 mile tempo & 1 mile tempo with 1 mile recovery in between. Interesting and tough! Well, it went well and the week was great! Onward to the next week. 

Week 4

Monday - 11 miles

Tuesday - 12 miles

Wednesday - am.w/u 2.5 miles (5:21, 5:28, 5:25) (5:28, 5:21) (5:15) c/d 3.5 miles. Pm. 6 miles. Total: 18 miles

Thursday - off

Friday - am. 11 miles pm. 6 miles

Saturday - am. 11.5 miles

Sunday - 4 easy, (5:28, 5:24) 1 mile easy, (5:25, 5:25, 5:27) 1 mile easy (5:21, 5:28) 1 mile easy (5:18) 5 cool down. Total: 20 miles

Total: 89.5 miles

Week 2 & 3 of Training

After writing my first version of this post, and finding it erased/not saved, I'll make these last 2 weeks short and quick. 

Week 2 was just shy of my 100 mile goal by 2 miles. I was happy to get some quality workouts in, but my paces are no where near where I would like them to be. I know it's a "long process" and consistancy is key. But after not really having any solid training under my belt in the last year, it's going to be a hard reality. I feel that my body needs to get toned down again, and much stronger. I don't really have much time, so I'm not going to squander any of it fooling around until after Chicago. Which probably means, a huge limit on my delicious beer consumption. That makes my taste buds sad. 

Week 3 was ok. I spent a lot of time driving. 1725 miles from Wednesday to Sunday. My first priority was to get Arlene to Las Vegas, NV. After that I got to spend some time in Flagstaff, AZ with my buddy Nick (Mr. 2:11 Marathoner) and his wife. I loved my time in Flagstaff. The thin air, trails, and people make that town a haven for running. Nick also convinced me to race a 7 mile road race - granted it was all up hill. The Snowbowl Hill Climb was a great race to get your ass kicked in. I believe you start at 6800' and climb to 9300'. It sucked, but was awesome at the same time. After that race on Sunday, Arlene and I drove back to rainy Albuquerque. 

I know I have to be patient with my training and just stay the course as Chicago is on the horizon. Besides, it sure feels good to be training hard, but now I just gotta train harder. 

Week 2

2 workouts

Tue - 8x1000m 3:11 avg. 

Sat - 4 easy, 2x2 miles (5:28, 5:40) (5:28, 5:25), 7 easy 2 mile tempo (5:32, 5:42), 1 mile easy. Total: 18 miles

Week Total: 98 miles

Week 3

1 workout, 1 "race"

Tue - 4x2 miles w/2 min rec. (5:33, 5:28) (5:28, 5:25) (5:28, 5:42) (5:32, 5:23)

Sun - 7 mile hill climb

Week Total: 73 miles

A long awaited post of the past and the present

Like many of my old posts, I usually start off with my favorite choice of phrases; "well, it's been a long time since my last post..."  And since it has been a long time, I guess I could sum up what has happened since that glorious day at Mt. Taylor.

After that ultra marathon, I attempted to get into shape and hit the roads.  I set my sights on the Rock and Roll San Antonio half marathon, which didn't go too well, but well enough for the shape I was actually in.  I would use that lousy time as a benchmark as to where I was at and what I needed to do leading up to another important race - USA Cross Country Championships.  From December till February, that seemed like plenty of time to get ready and get in good shape for my favorite event.  Cross Country is something that I pride myself at being good at, and a place where I love to grind.  And since it was coming up very quickly, I should've been training very hard for.  Unfortunately, I was struggling to get the workouts needed, and made a last minute decision to not race.  That decision made a lot of my teammates concerned and worried.  Hell, it made me worried why I didn't prepare myself for the 2 months leading to that race... Needless to say, I wasn't in shape and didn't want to run in a race that I always look forward to.  A race where I can usually grind it out with the best of them.  Instead, I chickened out and kept my scalp attached for another day.

That other day is coming around the corner.  And regardless of sickness or however "outta shape" I may think I am; I will be racing a 15k at the Mountain to Fountain 15k in Arizona.  This will be another "test" or "benchmark" of my already well known fact of where my fitness is.  And when this race is over, I can finally set my sights to everyday training.

I think I lost a bit of that get-up-and-go mentality over the last few months and after the idea I being healed from my stress fractures.  Someone told me that it would take almost a year to fully get over my injury, and after spring break, it will be a year since I got diagnosed with 3 stress fractures.  Since that year, I either lost something or became overly worried about something.  And if I don't put in the correct training and attempt making the Olympic Trials in the Marathon, I will just be, "a has been."  That is something I do not want to be labeled as, so something has to change.

First off, I have to be 100% healthy and ready to put in the work.  I need to know that I am capable of logging in the volume and intensity without any major setbacks.  At this point, my fractures are more than healed, so all that's left are minor ailments or any sickness that old man winter has in store for me.  After that, it's train, train, train.  Day in and day out!

I'm very excited to run another road race next month.  I am also excited that I am motivated to race a track race this spring and take a shot at a fast half marathon before our wedding!  And after the honeymoon... (cue the sexy music) all my focus will be lasered in on the Chicago Marathon and a sub 2:18 Olympic Trials Standard.  

End of the Line

Less than a week till marathon day in Sacramento, and what have I done? Well, considering last week was Thanksgiving week, meaning loads of turkey and stuffing being shoveled into my month at my own will, I haven't been doing much. Although, I did start my: taper, peaking, mileage decrease, laziness or whatever phase it's called when you gear down towards a marathon preparation. Also, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, and heading back to my parents house in Laguna Niguel, I decided to run my favorite Turkey Trot race in Dana Point. The 10k at the Dana Point Turkey Trot is always stacked with fast guys that can carry you to a sweet road PR, which is what I was intending 10 days out from my marathon. Instead of another marathon workout, I was going to get 10,000m worth of speed to get me ready for C.I.M..

Well, after a couple days of easy running, and a quick flight home, I would be ready to go on Thursday morning. It had rained the night before and was clearing up in the beach city of Dana Point. I decided not to wear a watch and just go with the flow. After getting out pretty comfortable, I stayed with the top pack until I got dropped at around 4 miles. I stayed in 4th relatively comfortable, but couldn't make up any ground on 3rd place. And to my amazement I came through the finish in 29:19 for 4th place! I usually get 5th at this race, and usually run in the 30:00's on this course, but things turned out pretty good on this day. I also credit the notation that this course was slightly different than the previous years, and could have been 100m short... Nevertheless, I am sure I would've still been well under 30 minutes on the roads.

The following days, I took easy since I was extremely sore, and finished up the week with my last "long run" of 15 miles back in Albuquerque. I don't really know how I'm suppose to feel at this point. I remember the last few marathons vaguely, and can't recall how this taper feels. I know my mileage is extremely low, and I feel pretty rested, but very eager to race the full 26.2 miles! It's only Monday, and I want the end of the week to come. And I know I have a lot of other things on my mind besides the marathon, which I hope is a good thing. Let's go down the list: I have a rigorous class presentation on Tuesday along with a few projects that I just completed before this blog posting, one last week of teaching my full assumption (which I can't believe is already over, since these kids were a blast!), and my late flight on Friday after a full day of teaching. I guess it isn't that bad, now that I have it written down...

Well, here's to a great marathon build up which all started in March when I was just coming back from an injury. I had planned to run the New York City Marathon, and changed my plans countless times which concluded in me to still run a marathon before the Trials. God only knows if this was a good choice. I feel that it is! Good luck to everyone else out there gearing up for a winter marathon!

Training (week unknown...)

With one week before the Indy race I have quickly regained some speed and some solid workouts... all done before the sun rises of course. This was a relative "light" week, as I wanted to be fresh for the half marathon, as suppose to running 130 miles the week before San Jose. I want to have no excuses for this attempt at the "A" Standard! The only workouts this week were a track session of 1000m repeats, followed by a Saturday Tempo run at Anderson Fields, a favorite of mine, especially during the cold winter months.

Mon - am. 10 miles easy

Tue - am. 8 miles easy

Wed - am. 8x1000m w/400m rec. [3:14, 3:00, 3:05, 2:57, 2:54, 2:58, 2:54, 2:51] total: 10 miles / pm. 6 miles easy

Thur - pm. 14 miles easy

Fri - am. 8 miles easy / pm. 6 miles easy w/3x strides

Sat - am. 6 mile tempo [5:30, 5:23, 5:17, 5:19, 5:20, 5:11] total: 11 miles / pm. 6 miles easy

Sun - am. 14 miles medium effort

Total: 93 miles

Week 12

It's been a long time since I've updated this thing, but training is still going very strong and I've decided to compile the past few weeks into separate postings. This week is as follows with only 1 workout, on Thursday and a long run on Sunday.

Thursday's workout was done at 5:30am as usual, and on the bosque paved river path. It was a simple 4x2 mile with 2 minute rest jog. The splits were (5:26, 5:19), (5:17, 5:23), (5:15, 5:11), (5:19, 5:19). I felt really good and didn't want to push the last set too much. It's nice running at this time because when we head south on the river, we run past the Hispanic Culture Center and a Chile Roasting facility, which the aroma makes the air smell like chile heaven!

Sunday's run was just a 24 1/2 mile run from Nature Center to Corrales and back. I also got the time to Ice after the run once I got home. This week was designed to be a recovery week from the race, but it turned out to be a big mileage week for me, totally 131 miles. After looking back on it, I may have over did it, since the following week was a very important 1/2 marathon in San Jose, Ca.. Nevertheless, it was a good week and will only help me in the long run.

Mon - am. 8 miles easy / pm. 8 miles easy

Tue - am. 10 miles easy

Wed - am. 10 miles easy / pm. 10 miles easy w/2x hill strides, 2x strides

Thur - am. 4x2 miles total:12.5 miles / pm. 8 miles easy

Fri - am. 10 miles easy / pm. 10 miles easy w/5x strides

Sat - am. 12 miles easy / pm. 8 miles easy

Sun - am. 24.5 mile Long Run

Total: 131

A few weeks down

After a few weeks of running, I am feeling more confident with myself and what goals I have for this upcoming spring. Each day isn't as hard as before, and the fitness is coming around. I have sat down a few times with my coach (Henry Rono), who has been forced to move in with us after coming back from Yemen. He has a new direction with his coaching philosophy; actually he has just implemented more things into his program. It is very exciting to discuss with him what the future brings to both of us.

My injury is gone, and as I begin my base phase of training, Henry and I are going to focus on the USA Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field in the 10,000m. I want to get back in great shape and improve on my disappointing 21st place finish last year. I know I can crack into the top 10, or even top 6. But, its going to take a great deal of work and consistent training every morning. There are many more things that I can improve on, and Henry is going to help out with that along with my lovely girlfriend Laura. She is big on drills and dynamic stretching, which is going to help with mobility and injury prevention. I see how Henry wants to develop American runners, and how to integrate Kenyan ways into our minds and bodies... Its just going to take some time, and I'm looking forward to it!

Getting Back Into It

After about 7 weeks with an injured knee, I am feeling better and ready to start training hard. Well, not hard right away, but a slow and smart approach into getting in shape and racing well this spring. Last week was my first "real" week of running after those dreadful 7 weeks, and it was a miniscule 37 miles. But it was 37 miles of no pain.

I shall be in ready for the 10,000m at Outdoor Nationals in June.

The Mayhem

So after USA outdoor's and the 10k Road Championships, I've had a hiatus from gathering my thoughts on this thing. Basically, I've been running and training for Chicago Marathon, which was decided in July, and will be executed on October 10th. I've always loved the marathon since last years debut at Twin Cities, and even after the struggle at Nashville. It is one heck of a race that needs precise planning, and if one thing goes wrong, the whole shebang goes south.

So with training being very inconsistent but also purposeful, I feel like its going to be a great marathon. A few thoughts I've are: 1) My training has not been as high of mileage as I'd like. 2) I've done more marathon pace work and longer marathon specific workouts than any other cycle, which is a huge importance when trying to run 5:18 pace if you've never practiced it (especially at altitude). 3) My weeks have been all over the place with mileage (i.e. 27 one week, 110 another week...). This may not be as bad as I'm thinking it could be, especially if I'm getting in the big miles now, as well as long runs in. 4) We're getting some advise from a Korean 2:10 marathoner who has run 39 marathons all in the 2:10 - 2:20 range. His training is helping and is simple. 5) Chicago Marathon is Flat and Fast!!!

With these few hiccups in training; its still going to be another great learning experience.

This past week was 126 miles with two long runs:

M- 10 easy

T- am 9 miles easy

pm 4 miles easy

W- am 18 miles (9 easy, 4 miles in: 5:20, 5:18, 5:10, 5:18, 5 miles easy)

pm 4 miles easy

R- am 12 easy

pm 8 easy

F- am 11 miles easy

pm 12x 400m on the grass

S- am 12.5 easy/hilly

pm 6 miles easy

S- am 22.5 miles with fartlek 1200m-1600m-1200m

Total: 126

Focused

So the past couple of weeks have been pretty good as far as training goes.  Not too many distractions, and surprisingly I've hit some high mileage weeks without even noticing it.  A few of us did our traditional Epic run over the Sandia's, which we completed in a much faster time than the previous times, and I felt a lot better this time.  Maybe it was due to the fluids I was taking... Either way, it was Epic and exciting.  We will be doing two more "Epic" runs leading up to Twin Cities Marathon in October.  Besides that run and tempo runs, we will be adding some fartleks into the training regimen starting tomorrow!  This I am excited for!  Some speed should help us out just as it did last fall.  

Our team also has another member; Dustin Hicks, who drove out here from North Carolina with his girlfriend to train with us for the marathon trials standard.  The group/team looks promising and all the guys are getting along.  As I titled this blog "Focused", it does seem as if many of the runners are very focused and determined to reach our goals.  There are so many personal and team goals that I have for us, which I know we can accomplish.  Some are broad, like wanting Albuquerque to be an American Distance mecca.  This will take time, support and collaboration, but its worth it.  And some are more personal, of course like hitting the US olympic trials standard.  Whereas others would be to have our team (Dukes Track Club) become a known training group where aspiring runners can train and develop.  Its all in good fun, and I'm excited to see everyone enjoying themselves.  

Once our damn website comes up, I'll have to post it on here.  Also, a congratulations to our temporary roommate, UNM athlete Matt Ashton, who finished 16th at NCAA 10k this past week.  This Brit is a great guy and brings a different aspect of life to us.  His teammate Chris Barnicle also placed well in the 10k, with a 13th place finish.  And of course Lee Emanuel was 3rd in the 1500m final, which was won wire to wire by German Fernandez.  Either way, these UNM guys are putting New Mexico on the map, and I only hope a tiny post-colligate group can add to the allure that Albuquerque offers.