....just when things seems to be coming along something (sometimes my own fault...sometimes not) have really bit me in the behind this fall. Such was the case this past weekend at BC XC.
My main focus for this fall was simple...stay uninjured, have fun and run Can XC. Except for the injury part I cannot honestly say that these three goals have been met. I find enjoying running is a byproduct of fitness and that will come, but for now it's a grind.
The shocking thing was not that I had an unexpectedly bad race at BC XC, but that I felt near death after about one lap. I ended up dropping out at just under 4km, as I had began feeling somewhat in a daze around 3km, but by the 4km mark I was literally feeling light headed. When I dropped out things even got worse and I felt like I was either going to pass out or be sick. In the end none of those two options occurred, but for the rest of the day I felt like my 'head was in the clouds'. I ended up going to sleep in the afternoon and then sleeping for over 12 hours that night. Even On Sunday I felt better, but when I went for a run I felt lousy again and decided to take the day off work. It was probably a good thing as I slept another 12 hrs and am still somewhat sleep even as I type this post.
One of the things I think I've done well is honestly assess why things have gone poorly in racing/training. In this scenario I can only think that everything over the fall came to a head on Saturday (bad timing). That being a whole lot of factors that I've been ignoring from training, work, coaching, parenting, marriage and just general life (any successful athlete has to have some semblance of selfishness and I have come to realize I have been trying to keep everyone happy, but me...in the end my first priority is only to keep three people and a dog happy). If I take any one of these out of the equation I think I am fine. The warning signs were there earlier in the last couple of weeks (I had to can my long run last Sunday when I woke up with dizzy spells and for some reason I had migraines this past week.... which I never have). I can see how those warning sign had shown themselves now, but at the time I was blind.
The only positive is that things are now much simpler for the rest of this fall (no focus races and HS XC ends this weekend). It's simply training with the odd race to keep me honest....a combination of this and recognizing how I have been spreading myself thin means some things will have to change. I've had life and training stresses impact me before, but I don't think I've ever had this much on my plate...something will have to change.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
I swear it was Reider's fault.....
It's been a week of ups and downs ...literally.
Just as i think that things seem to be slowing down something else comes into play. Such was this week. I had Monday off and did a nice easy dbl run, but I had a dep\t meeting On Tues, a XC meet on Wed (where I had to stay longer and get all the gear for the race we're hosting) and parent teacher conferences on Thurs. I swear this week will be better (fingers crossed), but it's not entirely good. Julie is taking a friend of hers down to Maple Falls, which means no Carter and no dug. It will be a quiet place....the only real positive being getting work done, training and a Pro D on Friday. I am still contemplating racing on Sunday, but I am also thinking just get through the season healthy and get ready for indoors (yes indoors).
Kamloops (3 hrs from here) is hosting the Wld Masters (that evil word) Indoors and since I want to get back into track this could be a good short term motivational goal for the next handful of mths (I think my last indoor race was 2003).
I mentioned that last week I had chatted with Albert Reimer who is the XC/distance coach at Western Wash Uni. I used to compete against WWU in the NAIA, but they are now D2. Over the last few years they have really improved and I am sure that is in large part due to Albert. He's one of those character guys that got the most out of his abilities through hard work. You alays knew that if you lined up against Albert that he was going to race as tough as he could, irrelevant of his shape. I also think that the team is beginning to take on some of his character. He said one of the things that has been his greatest bane with his team is pure simple aerobic endurance. Since Al was the consummate harrier it`s no surprise that he mentioned hitting hilly trails (ala Arthur Lydiard and running all year around. it was one of those conversations where many young athletes see the season as the end as opposed to part of the building process. It`s one of those things where some young athletes don`t realize that good optimal distance running is pretty much year round (although that doesn`t mean hammering all yr around). One just hopes that many young runners fall under the influence of Uni coaches like Albert.
My Week:
Mon: AM 68 mins at Silver lke PM 38mins easy
Tues: 3 sets of 6 x 400m off 200m jogs with a 3-3.5min set break. Normally I like grinding this sort of session out based on time with no set break (egs 15-20 x 60 sec hard-med), but the chance to train with the lads overrode `normàlcy`. But it was a nice relaxed session. I ran with Geoff, Jon and Trvor on the first 3 and then dropped it down the second half. It was consistent and solid.
Wed: 64 mins plus 6 mins transition drills
Thurs: Student teach conferences and I didn`t get hm til late (these days really destroy you mentally). I ended up not running til almost 9 and did a mini monfartlek (took out the 90s) just to keep things honest (but i felt terrible)
Fri: 66 mins with dug (it`s the first run she`s been with me since being on seizure meds) plus 4mins transition
Sat: At Stanley Park...The plan was alternating 1000s (flat) with 2 x 500 (hilly). But on the first set of 500s Geoff Reid almost went down and I was in behind. I tried to not run him over and went down. I didn`t think it was that hard but the rest of the workout was a real struggle. Later in the day I could really feel my lower back and assumed that I had jammed by back or that it had tightened up when i fell. Even this morning it was really stiff.
Sunday: 2 hr 12 mins....I read an email from Dick at 9:10 (I fell asleep early on Sat...I should have know better) that some people were running at 9....oops....I headed down to Bby Lake around 9:40 and eventually hooked up with Trevor, Steve and Jon. About 5mins into the run Steve took off and I ran with T and J for the rest of the lap, did a half lap and hit the SFU trails. I accidentally messed up my watch and ended up running about 10min longer than planned, but alas not an entirely bad thing...
...all i want now is a nice standard week of training with no ìssues`.....
Just as i think that things seem to be slowing down something else comes into play. Such was this week. I had Monday off and did a nice easy dbl run, but I had a dep\t meeting On Tues, a XC meet on Wed (where I had to stay longer and get all the gear for the race we're hosting) and parent teacher conferences on Thurs. I swear this week will be better (fingers crossed), but it's not entirely good. Julie is taking a friend of hers down to Maple Falls, which means no Carter and no dug. It will be a quiet place....the only real positive being getting work done, training and a Pro D on Friday. I am still contemplating racing on Sunday, but I am also thinking just get through the season healthy and get ready for indoors (yes indoors).
Kamloops (3 hrs from here) is hosting the Wld Masters (that evil word) Indoors and since I want to get back into track this could be a good short term motivational goal for the next handful of mths (I think my last indoor race was 2003).
I mentioned that last week I had chatted with Albert Reimer who is the XC/distance coach at Western Wash Uni. I used to compete against WWU in the NAIA, but they are now D2. Over the last few years they have really improved and I am sure that is in large part due to Albert. He's one of those character guys that got the most out of his abilities through hard work. You alays knew that if you lined up against Albert that he was going to race as tough as he could, irrelevant of his shape. I also think that the team is beginning to take on some of his character. He said one of the things that has been his greatest bane with his team is pure simple aerobic endurance. Since Al was the consummate harrier it`s no surprise that he mentioned hitting hilly trails (ala Arthur Lydiard and running all year around. it was one of those conversations where many young athletes see the season as the end as opposed to part of the building process. It`s one of those things where some young athletes don`t realize that good optimal distance running is pretty much year round (although that doesn`t mean hammering all yr around). One just hopes that many young runners fall under the influence of Uni coaches like Albert.
My Week:
Mon: AM 68 mins at Silver lke PM 38mins easy
Tues: 3 sets of 6 x 400m off 200m jogs with a 3-3.5min set break. Normally I like grinding this sort of session out based on time with no set break (egs 15-20 x 60 sec hard-med), but the chance to train with the lads overrode `normàlcy`. But it was a nice relaxed session. I ran with Geoff, Jon and Trvor on the first 3 and then dropped it down the second half. It was consistent and solid.
Wed: 64 mins plus 6 mins transition drills
Thurs: Student teach conferences and I didn`t get hm til late (these days really destroy you mentally). I ended up not running til almost 9 and did a mini monfartlek (took out the 90s) just to keep things honest (but i felt terrible)
Fri: 66 mins with dug (it`s the first run she`s been with me since being on seizure meds) plus 4mins transition
Sat: At Stanley Park...The plan was alternating 1000s (flat) with 2 x 500 (hilly). But on the first set of 500s Geoff Reid almost went down and I was in behind. I tried to not run him over and went down. I didn`t think it was that hard but the rest of the workout was a real struggle. Later in the day I could really feel my lower back and assumed that I had jammed by back or that it had tightened up when i fell. Even this morning it was really stiff.
Sunday: 2 hr 12 mins....I read an email from Dick at 9:10 (I fell asleep early on Sat...I should have know better) that some people were running at 9....oops....I headed down to Bby Lake around 9:40 and eventually hooked up with Trevor, Steve and Jon. About 5mins into the run Steve took off and I ran with T and J for the rest of the lap, did a half lap and hit the SFU trails. I accidentally messed up my watch and ended up running about 10min longer than planned, but alas not an entirely bad thing...
...all i want now is a nice standard week of training with no ìssues`.....
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Racing...we talkin bout racing.....
Yep I actually raced on the weekend. I cannot say it was pretty, but it was fun...kinda. I felt after 2 weeks of doing some semblance of intervals that I'd jump in a race. Originally, I had planned on the Royal Victoria 8km, but we had plans to go down to Maple Falls for Thanksgiving.
I ended up running the western Washington Uni XC race. I've done the race before, but not for a while. It often interfered with some other races, but it was great to get down to Bellingham and see some people who I haven't seen for a while (WWU coaches Al Reimer, Bill Roe and Pee Wee). I had an interesting chat with Albert I'll post next time. I even bumped into (old guys will remember this name) the infamous Mike Lynes. Even UBC was there, so I knew I had to at least try and put in a honest effort against the young bucks. The final clincher was masters star Tony Young was there so I had to counter both old and Young (no pun intended).
I went out mellow and worked my way to the front after about a km. I felt great, but as soon as that happened I felt terrible. Although i had a planned down week I hadn't rested for the race (I did some hills on Thurs and out in a 7-8 miler on Friday night...I really hated that Friday run from 10-25mins of the race). In the end I hung on a couple of UBC guys (I still have some semblance of pride and ego in racing) and had a decent last mile with a good solid stride (although I had a 1:52 800m guys clipping at my heels). I ended up in 17th (I think) just over 33:20. The winner was 31:40ish (I think).
The race at least gave me an indication of where I am progressing. Two - three weeks ago i wouldn't have been lucky to go under 35mins on the course, so if I can get that sort of progression for BC XCs I'll be okay.
Mon: off...why...i just felt like not running..
Tues: 8 x 800m off 2 1/2 mins. Felt pretty good
Wed: legs felt a little beat up and simply put in a 70min run...easy
Thurs: Hills (20mins) of 4 x 20 sec -4 x 35 sec- 4 x 20 sec, etc....)
Fri: 53 mins easy
Sat: AM race 10km XC PM 38mins
Sun: AM 66 mins PM 35 mins
I ended up running the western Washington Uni XC race. I've done the race before, but not for a while. It often interfered with some other races, but it was great to get down to Bellingham and see some people who I haven't seen for a while (WWU coaches Al Reimer, Bill Roe and Pee Wee). I had an interesting chat with Albert I'll post next time. I even bumped into (old guys will remember this name) the infamous Mike Lynes. Even UBC was there, so I knew I had to at least try and put in a honest effort against the young bucks. The final clincher was masters star Tony Young was there so I had to counter both old and Young (no pun intended).
I went out mellow and worked my way to the front after about a km. I felt great, but as soon as that happened I felt terrible. Although i had a planned down week I hadn't rested for the race (I did some hills on Thurs and out in a 7-8 miler on Friday night...I really hated that Friday run from 10-25mins of the race). In the end I hung on a couple of UBC guys (I still have some semblance of pride and ego in racing) and had a decent last mile with a good solid stride (although I had a 1:52 800m guys clipping at my heels). I ended up in 17th (I think) just over 33:20. The winner was 31:40ish (I think).
The race at least gave me an indication of where I am progressing. Two - three weeks ago i wouldn't have been lucky to go under 35mins on the course, so if I can get that sort of progression for BC XCs I'll be okay.
Mon: off...why...i just felt like not running..
Tues: 8 x 800m off 2 1/2 mins. Felt pretty good
Wed: legs felt a little beat up and simply put in a 70min run...easy
Thurs: Hills (20mins) of 4 x 20 sec -4 x 35 sec- 4 x 20 sec, etc....)
Fri: 53 mins easy
Sat: AM race 10km XC PM 38mins
Sun: AM 66 mins PM 35 mins
Sunday, October 4, 2009
'Grind.....'
..that's the sound of my training.....pure and simple it's a grind. But I can feel things happening (if slowly) so i hope that's a good sign.
It's been another busy week, but that's been more due to school cross country. We normally have races on Mondays, but the schedule has been all over the place. We had a Surrey race on Thurs, a pseudo club meet on Saturday and another race on Monday, but then we don't go again for two Wednesdays. We are even hosting our own race this year (apparently I get to create the course so beware....).
We have a nice grp of kids who come consistently and then of course the one who don't. Unfortunately, most of the really talented kids haven't been coming out. That drives me nuts when you can see a kid who would be a better runner than soccer, hockey, basketball player, but then again I would have rather been a hockey player (but 130lb hockey players don't exactly go far in this world).
But alas we seem to have possibly gained a star 8th grader. Kid won our Terry Fox run and we got him to come out for this weeks race. He placed 2nd, but it was to a club kid who trains consistently. Best part is he's a little guy who plays hockey (I don't know anyone like that), but obviously has some talent. We'll see.....
My week has been another simple week (how I like it) of long reps, hills, tempo and long run.
Mon: 68mins easy
Tues: 1600-1200-800-1600-1200-800 off 200m jogs (not pretty but i knew that was going to happen when I woke up that morning
Wed: 62min plus 8mins of 'transition/circuit'.
Thurs: Hills - We had a race that day so I ended up running in the dark on a road near my house Hills...the idea was to get in alternating circuits of 4 x 20 sec and 5 x 50+ sec hills and if felt good then add on a few mins for 30 sec hills)- 4 x 20 sec hill - 5 x 50+ sec hill - 4 x 20 sec hill - 5 x 50+sec hill - 3 x 30 sec hill - 4 x 20 sec hill
Fri: 60mins plus 5 min transition
sat: AM (whooohoo a double....)33min and then took some students down the Pre BC HS Xc race....
PM by the time I got home I was tired and ended up running down to a lit gravel trail near my house. The idea was to run out 15mins take 1min rest and then run back in a 10mins - 1min rest, take off from the exact spot and then 5mins. If i did it properly then I would be a exactly the same spot I started in....and I think I was 1meter short (seriously). The workout felt good, but the warm down felt like hell....
Sunday: me and Carta hung out all morning and I didn't get my run in til mid afternoon. A nice 2 hr and 8min around the SFU trails. Surprisingly the legs felt decent and the run was at an easy effort, but good clip.
In total around 90miles on 8 sessions...but in reality 85 off 7 sessions.
It's been another busy week, but that's been more due to school cross country. We normally have races on Mondays, but the schedule has been all over the place. We had a Surrey race on Thurs, a pseudo club meet on Saturday and another race on Monday, but then we don't go again for two Wednesdays. We are even hosting our own race this year (apparently I get to create the course so beware....).
We have a nice grp of kids who come consistently and then of course the one who don't. Unfortunately, most of the really talented kids haven't been coming out. That drives me nuts when you can see a kid who would be a better runner than soccer, hockey, basketball player, but then again I would have rather been a hockey player (but 130lb hockey players don't exactly go far in this world).
But alas we seem to have possibly gained a star 8th grader. Kid won our Terry Fox run and we got him to come out for this weeks race. He placed 2nd, but it was to a club kid who trains consistently. Best part is he's a little guy who plays hockey (I don't know anyone like that), but obviously has some talent. We'll see.....
My week has been another simple week (how I like it) of long reps, hills, tempo and long run.
Mon: 68mins easy
Tues: 1600-1200-800-1600-1200-800 off 200m jogs (not pretty but i knew that was going to happen when I woke up that morning
Wed: 62min plus 8mins of 'transition/circuit'.
Thurs: Hills - We had a race that day so I ended up running in the dark on a road near my house Hills...the idea was to get in alternating circuits of 4 x 20 sec and 5 x 50+ sec hills and if felt good then add on a few mins for 30 sec hills)- 4 x 20 sec hill - 5 x 50+ sec hill - 4 x 20 sec hill - 5 x 50+sec hill - 3 x 30 sec hill - 4 x 20 sec hill
Fri: 60mins plus 5 min transition
sat: AM (whooohoo a double....)33min and then took some students down the Pre BC HS Xc race....
PM by the time I got home I was tired and ended up running down to a lit gravel trail near my house. The idea was to run out 15mins take 1min rest and then run back in a 10mins - 1min rest, take off from the exact spot and then 5mins. If i did it properly then I would be a exactly the same spot I started in....and I think I was 1meter short (seriously). The workout felt good, but the warm down felt like hell....
Sunday: me and Carta hung out all morning and I didn't get my run in til mid afternoon. A nice 2 hr and 8min around the SFU trails. Surprisingly the legs felt decent and the run was at an easy effort, but good clip.
In total around 90miles on 8 sessions...but in reality 85 off 7 sessions.
Friday, October 2, 2009
falling asleep on the couch....
..is not conducive to getting things done at night. The last few weeks have been really busy and when they are not I am trying to spend every second with Carter before he goes to sleep. As a result I've been falling asleep on the couch, waking up in the middle of the night and then having a lousy sleep til I get up for work.....I am my own worst enemy.....
Things are settling into place, but then again when that seems to be happening something else seems to take it's place.
Training has been solid, although not spectacular. I do not get back into racing shape easily, but then again it's also some of the training choices I make. Some people gradually build up volume. I have found the opposite, at least in regards to hitting my 'sweet spot'. I tend to keep the volume at a decent level, and let the workouts fall where they may. It means some really ugly days at first, but some much much better days later on. The only issue is in having enough time to actually have the training adaptation to occur.
That's kinda where I am right now. I am supposed to be racing at a decent level in the next 2-4 weeks, but with my recent session things look well downright ugly....but as always there is hope that I am simply tired.
Last week was my first real week of intervals, but the greater stress was a hill session i did last Tues. Normally the hills would have been on Thurs or Sat, but the long intervals came down on a Thurs and I did my hills on a Tues. They felt great, but the next day I knew I had bit off a bit more than I could chew as my run was brutal and by Thurs I could feel my legs were pretty beaten up.
Then on Sat I did a nice tempo but we were at our new place and I couldn't find any dirt trails. Therefore I ended up doing it on the roads. Normally that would be a huge deal, except that I hadn't done any real run on the roads longer than 20 mins (as part of some longer run). My legs went from kinda beaten up to totally beaten up and by the next round of long reps I knew it was going to be messy. But at least things were consistent from beginning to end.
That's one thing I have come to accept...the process isn't always pretty, but ti's better to have crappy session and keep up the volume than have great workouts, but having backed off. Now it's simply hoping the legs come around in time.
Things are settling into place, but then again when that seems to be happening something else seems to take it's place.
Training has been solid, although not spectacular. I do not get back into racing shape easily, but then again it's also some of the training choices I make. Some people gradually build up volume. I have found the opposite, at least in regards to hitting my 'sweet spot'. I tend to keep the volume at a decent level, and let the workouts fall where they may. It means some really ugly days at first, but some much much better days later on. The only issue is in having enough time to actually have the training adaptation to occur.
That's kinda where I am right now. I am supposed to be racing at a decent level in the next 2-4 weeks, but with my recent session things look well downright ugly....but as always there is hope that I am simply tired.
Last week was my first real week of intervals, but the greater stress was a hill session i did last Tues. Normally the hills would have been on Thurs or Sat, but the long intervals came down on a Thurs and I did my hills on a Tues. They felt great, but the next day I knew I had bit off a bit more than I could chew as my run was brutal and by Thurs I could feel my legs were pretty beaten up.
Then on Sat I did a nice tempo but we were at our new place and I couldn't find any dirt trails. Therefore I ended up doing it on the roads. Normally that would be a huge deal, except that I hadn't done any real run on the roads longer than 20 mins (as part of some longer run). My legs went from kinda beaten up to totally beaten up and by the next round of long reps I knew it was going to be messy. But at least things were consistent from beginning to end.
That's one thing I have come to accept...the process isn't always pretty, but ti's better to have crappy session and keep up the volume than have great workouts, but having backed off. Now it's simply hoping the legs come around in time.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
I hate school....
..well the first 2 weeks....well okay that a combination of life situations.
After a nice week of training (just under 90 miles) the 2nd week of school came about and with it came unexpected situations. On Monday we had our first real Xc school practice and I came home exhausted. I fell asleep for an hour and when I awoke I figured after hitting over 2 hrs the day before and not having taken a day off over the last few weeks I would take one off. This wouldn't have been a big issue except that i found out late Mon night that we had to do our paperwork for our new summer place onj Tuesday night or wait another week. I had planned on getting in some decent longer intervals with the lads, but that went out the window (I ended up doing my more traditional hills circuit buildup session).
In 20/20 that wasn't an entirely bad thing, but I forgot that Julie had bought us Keith Urban tickets for Wed night so that made a 3rd night of just getting some basic training. Once again not a big deal as I got in a 10 miler, but on Thurs we had our first school XC meet and I didn't get home til after 6 and fell asleep at 7 and woke at midnight....yeah so much for the planned short fartlek.
Another day off meant my already planned won week was simply going downhill. I rebounded today with a nice 18km run on Fri an 8km morning run and a nice 'tweener' fartlek session On Sat night. if the legs feel decent then I will try for another 2 hr easy run......if not then a shorter run and another session later Sunday (hopefully the gym)....
Here's to some more routine next week...no reason for it not to be back to normal.....at least this week was supposed to be easier......
After a nice week of training (just under 90 miles) the 2nd week of school came about and with it came unexpected situations. On Monday we had our first real Xc school practice and I came home exhausted. I fell asleep for an hour and when I awoke I figured after hitting over 2 hrs the day before and not having taken a day off over the last few weeks I would take one off. This wouldn't have been a big issue except that i found out late Mon night that we had to do our paperwork for our new summer place onj Tuesday night or wait another week. I had planned on getting in some decent longer intervals with the lads, but that went out the window (I ended up doing my more traditional hills circuit buildup session).
In 20/20 that wasn't an entirely bad thing, but I forgot that Julie had bought us Keith Urban tickets for Wed night so that made a 3rd night of just getting some basic training. Once again not a big deal as I got in a 10 miler, but on Thurs we had our first school XC meet and I didn't get home til after 6 and fell asleep at 7 and woke at midnight....yeah so much for the planned short fartlek.
Another day off meant my already planned won week was simply going downhill. I rebounded today with a nice 18km run on Fri an 8km morning run and a nice 'tweener' fartlek session On Sat night. if the legs feel decent then I will try for another 2 hr easy run......if not then a shorter run and another session later Sunday (hopefully the gym)....
Here's to some more routine next week...no reason for it not to be back to normal.....at least this week was supposed to be easier......
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Good news.....Sad news
....funny news......
I was recently reading an online article from Greg McMillan (http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=17252) where he wrote about some of the differences between runners (FT vs ST) and how workouts need to both look at strengths and weaknesses. Although I don't really disagree with him from a physiological perspective I found my self looking at his arguments from a different view (me...no way...)
The one area I felt he failed to consider was how sometimes workouts need to be tailored to the mental strengths and weaknesses of the athlete. I know for me I need both mental and physical workouts rather tha simply one. Probably the best example for me was with threshold workouts. I do a variety of different styles of tempos from your most basic egs 20mins-30mins, etc.....to an old Harry Wilson/Steve Ovett classic of 6-10 x 3mins off 30 sec to change of pace tempos egs 2-3 x 15mins of accelerating every 5mins.
That's the one thing I have always disagreed with from the 'bible' (Once a Runner) and that was the idea of always running the same routes. It's not that I don't often do the same daily routes, but that's more for convenience, rather than want. I actually like variation (which probably explains my delight in fartlek style running of all sorts). Much like wanting different places to run I also find that doing different tempos keep me much more motivated (although when it comes to track intervals that is a completely different story).
The other area I had some concerns with in McMillan's article was how sometimes meeting the physical needs of the athlete can also be a recipe for problems if 1) the athlete isn't capable of doing the session properly or (and often overlooked) how the athlete can actually hurt themselves because they have the mental abilities to hammer themselves into the ground. For egs I am a terrible time trialer and need the excitement of races to run properly, but others have the ability to go hard by themselves and continually override the signs their body may be sending them. For a race that's great...for a workout...sometimes yes...sometimes no. It's just another consideration in the grand 'training soup'......
Here's my good news....bad news....
Good:
Some semblance of a running routine. Once I get into a full routine then things always seem to fall into place. i even did some decent structured workouts
Carter is a 'tank' . Not my words......
We bought a place down in the ol USA (may be a great training place with trails straight nearby and we have an outdoor pool for any pool running) near Mt Baker
Cross Country has started (both my own and the school season). We had 20-30 kids show up for our Xc meetings. Some talented kids too, but we'll see if they stay (even may have an Ethiopian ringer)
Got in a 2 hr run...not fast...but no problems doing it either
Carter generally sleeps through the night
Bad:
The school year has started....well that's kinda good, but we had a lousy (boring) summer....here's to a good fall (the new place should help that). I takes me at least 2-3 weeks to get back into a teaching rhythm, but my classes seem good right now.....(fingers crossed)
Kao possibly has seizures/epilepsy. Long story, but she showed some dizzy spells and we had a few tests. Not 100% sure it's seizures, but the Doc thinks it is. She's on meds now and may be up to full running again in a couple of weeks
Carter sometimes wakes up in the middle of the night (more impact on Julie rather than me)
I was recently reading an online article from Greg McMillan (http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=17252) where he wrote about some of the differences between runners (FT vs ST) and how workouts need to both look at strengths and weaknesses. Although I don't really disagree with him from a physiological perspective I found my self looking at his arguments from a different view (me...no way...)
The one area I felt he failed to consider was how sometimes workouts need to be tailored to the mental strengths and weaknesses of the athlete. I know for me I need both mental and physical workouts rather tha simply one. Probably the best example for me was with threshold workouts. I do a variety of different styles of tempos from your most basic egs 20mins-30mins, etc.....to an old Harry Wilson/Steve Ovett classic of 6-10 x 3mins off 30 sec to change of pace tempos egs 2-3 x 15mins of accelerating every 5mins.
That's the one thing I have always disagreed with from the 'bible' (Once a Runner) and that was the idea of always running the same routes. It's not that I don't often do the same daily routes, but that's more for convenience, rather than want. I actually like variation (which probably explains my delight in fartlek style running of all sorts). Much like wanting different places to run I also find that doing different tempos keep me much more motivated (although when it comes to track intervals that is a completely different story).
The other area I had some concerns with in McMillan's article was how sometimes meeting the physical needs of the athlete can also be a recipe for problems if 1) the athlete isn't capable of doing the session properly or (and often overlooked) how the athlete can actually hurt themselves because they have the mental abilities to hammer themselves into the ground. For egs I am a terrible time trialer and need the excitement of races to run properly, but others have the ability to go hard by themselves and continually override the signs their body may be sending them. For a race that's great...for a workout...sometimes yes...sometimes no. It's just another consideration in the grand 'training soup'......
Here's my good news....bad news....
Good:
Some semblance of a running routine. Once I get into a full routine then things always seem to fall into place. i even did some decent structured workouts
Carter is a 'tank' . Not my words......
We bought a place down in the ol USA (may be a great training place with trails straight nearby and we have an outdoor pool for any pool running) near Mt Baker
Cross Country has started (both my own and the school season). We had 20-30 kids show up for our Xc meetings. Some talented kids too, but we'll see if they stay (even may have an Ethiopian ringer)
Got in a 2 hr run...not fast...but no problems doing it either
Carter generally sleeps through the night
Bad:
The school year has started....well that's kinda good, but we had a lousy (boring) summer....here's to a good fall (the new place should help that). I takes me at least 2-3 weeks to get back into a teaching rhythm, but my classes seem good right now.....(fingers crossed)
Kao possibly has seizures/epilepsy. Long story, but she showed some dizzy spells and we had a few tests. Not 100% sure it's seizures, but the Doc thinks it is. She's on meds now and may be up to full running again in a couple of weeks
Carter sometimes wakes up in the middle of the night (more impact on Julie rather than me)
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