Rolling with the punches...

…well I ran just over 31:20 for 10km at the Times Colonist 10km in Victoria. I cannot say it was a great race, but then again I don’t think things seem as bad… ( back in the day this would have been an unmitigated disaster). It’s funny how (a good word choice???) I still need some reason (based on some semblance of pressure/emotion in my case) to be able to run well. No matter how hard I try I cannot get up for many of my races and instead only pick a few to focus on during the season.

I’ve said this before how jealous I am of guys who can run the same day in day out. I can training that way, but I have never really been able to race that way. I have always needed that extra nudge to get to my potential. In today’s race such a situation occurred. Well sorta….. I don’t think I am really physically ready to race well yet, but also being a masters means I can win a division (and hence some $$$) without really pressing myself. Yeah, I know an easy way out, but in the past I never would have run such a race unless it meant something emotionally. So in this case I simply get a chance to see what I need to do, where my fitness is and how things are progressing.

Today showed that in some respects I am much closer to where I want to be, but that I also need some things to work on. I think most of us from the mainland who train with Richard Lee were fatigued and this explains some things. In my case I could feel the fatigue, but more so I could also feel the lack of any real willingness to lay it on the line. But I also think much of this has to do with not having that emotional edge (too relaxed!!!) and also in my hips/back.

The early parts to the race were difficult til about a mile and then I really relaxed. I felt great, until we hit some longer hills and then I felt as though it was a real struggle and I slightly fell back. Unfortunately, I couldn’t gain on the gap although the pack never really opened it up on me til I really packed it in around 8km. But, as always I try to take the positive out of this (and the negatives). In this case I really need to work some mechanical issues (my right hip was killing me on the warm down and throughout the day), but I also split 24:50 through 8km and running around 3:05s for the first 5km felt pretty easy. 31:20 may not seem like much, but I can tell I am much closer to breaking one than this race indicates
Training since my last post
Sat: AM 42 mins good run with Kao PM: tempo planned 20min-60s-10min-60 sec-5min, but a couple of mins into the 10min I swallowed a bug and my asthma went into over drive. I ended up shortening things up a bit felt terrible after
Sunday: 1 hr 56 mins good run
Mon: 56 mins ..it’s a down week and I have essentially had three 90+ mile weeks in a row.
Tues: 6 x 800m off 3mins ….I avg’d 2:14, but began at 2:16 and the last there were 2:13s…felt like I had some jump
Wed: 72 mins…legs banged up from tues, but still a decent run
Thurs: monofartlek at Mundy park…..decent considering how my legs felt on Wed. Maybe a bit quick (15;40 for a loop) considering racing on Sunday
Fri: 58mins..felt much better
Sat: AM 30mins at Mundy with the dog PM 20mins plus drill, strides and even some core work
Sun: 31:23 (split 15:2?? High for 5km and 24:50ish for 8km…then packed it in the last km as I was in no mans land and my main goal had been achieved…..’collect a paycheque’…

....My 'Magical Place'...

….the term I use when training finally hits a groove. I’ve always said (to anyone who would listen), be patient, put in the volume and let the workouts come to you, not the other way around. I am finally starting to see the results of said action over the last few weeks. Even with my ‘meltdown’ session a few Tuesdays ago I knew that training was coming around (especially my tempo run a couple of weekends ago where I was running longer and quicker and easier than at any time all year).

Due to an ‘experiment’ when I first moved up to 5 and 10km I knew I had to get in more volume, I decided to put any semblance of ego aside, take my lumps in training, not force things and see what happened. The end result was what I referred to as ‘magic’. Of course ‘magic’ is defined as when one gets to the point in training where training recovery days and workouts drop noticeably (and in my case the drop is very noticeable). Now if the patience isn’t there then that ‘magic’ can go backwards (read overtraining). Bit also going through that period where your workouts suck because you are simply gaining fatigue (or the ‘calm before the storm’), when finally recovery catches up fatigue and then training becomes a daily joy.

The ‘magical place’ is also when any mental issues are taken care of. There is no I am tired, there are no bad days on running (well maybe every 3-4 weeks, but those tend to be more medium days rather than the bad ones that may have occurred in the early stages). There is simply having gotten beyond the mental and physical fatigue of earlier training.

The ‘magic place’ doesn’t yet mean I am race ready, but it does mean I am close. It’s simply the one quick, yet huge step, to racing at one’s best. I love the ‘magical place’…..
Last week:
Mon: AM 43mins PM 55 mins
Tues: 5 x 1600m off 3mins (around 4:50 +/-)
Wed: 80mins
Thurs: 30mins of 45-50 sec hills
Fri: 65mins
Sat: AM 30mins, and then spent all day at a track meet in the US PM 25mins tempo. (Actually quite good considering the long day)
Sunday: 1 hr 45min (shockingly easy and quick)
Mon: 70mins
Tues: 2 x 1600-1200-800 (off 3mins) 1600s – 4:41/2; 1200s – 3:30/1 and 800s – 2:17/18 (I think…as I recall, but in every one I dropped it down on the last lap and to say this was a controlled session is an understatement. I just hope this is the trend and not the exception)
Wed: 85 mins...too easy of a run considering Tues session
Thurs: monofartlek plus 5mins hills…once again it felt too controlled considering the paces I was hitting)
Fri: 70mins cruisy, very relaxed, yet quick

Deja Vu....

..so last week i talk about how emotion I am in my running (or at least need it) and then I go out and have an absolutely mess of a planned workout due to emotions (or better described as the wrong emotions or running on empty) of having a very long day and week mixed in with some bad sleep and probably lousy eating as well.

Tuesday was supposed to be 8 x 1000m off 2mins and after the way training has gone I was expecting a bit of a jump in workouts. Instead i went about 10 steps backwards. I did 2 at below goal pace and walked off the track less than half way through #3. I was spent from a long Monday at work, another even longer day with some long parent meeting, not eating and going directly from work to practice and even getting there late. Never mind my back felt terrible and I ran as tense as I possibly could. All in all a running mess. So off I went for an easy 40-50min run and about 20-30mins in I began to see 'black' spots, but I was on the other side of the river from the track and couldn't even cut it short.

Fortunately, by the end of the week I felt much better (had both Fri and Mon off, relaxed and running became substantially better. Even a tempo session I did two weeks ago (of 2 x 20mins off 90 sec, which i thought was pretty good) was surpassed by an even longer tempo style session of 20-15-10-5 off 1min in which i ran quite a bit faster (and the last 5mins i let it loose the last 2min and felt great).

So where to from here.....well back on the track for Rues with hopefully much better results...for now it's the final final four......

Mon: 66mins
Tues: arrrhhhh......
Wed: 82 mins...felt much better
Thurs: monfartlek
Fri: AM 38 mins PM 72 mins
Sat: AM 37 mins PM 20--15-10-5 at tempo effort off 1mins
Sun: 2hr 1 min in Bellingham

Chicken and egg......

Those who know of my running history know of someone who is both inconsistent, yet also consistent as well. The inconsistent would be in consistent early season race results, while the consistent would be in usually meeting/exceeding expectations in important races (a topic for another day).

I've come to realize a few things about my mental makeup. One is that I am a serious 'type B', and the other is that it takes some sort of emotional situation to get me to run fast. It's like i become so focused on the process to achieve the goal that I ignore everything else along the way. In that regards what I've often done over the years is 'create a chip on my shoulder'. Back in the day i used to have a few guys i raced against who would become the 'enemy'. Ad I've gotten older creating that 'enemy' has gotten tougher.

This past weekend was such an example. Training has been coming along (probably too well as I think I bit off a bit more than I could chew in training the last two week where i ran around 210 miles with three pretty good runs and 2+ hr long runs when I had mostly been doing give or take - mostly take - 85 miles), But I was feeling the buildup of training (mostly from Tues session) and expected little beforehand. My legs felt beaten up early on (like 400m) In the end I had my typical bad spot, which happens to the extreme when I have little emotional buildup, and when I also typically come back later in the race. In this case I caught a younger guy (Tristan Simpson) who i felt had run a really gutty race. He had impressed me so much in his attitude towards the race, in sticking his neck out there, that I tried to help him get through the last km. In the end, he survived with a decent time and I knew I had a lot left (so a good sign with some more training, a little rest and focus things will be going well in about a month).

The week:
Mon: 66mins
Tues 16 x 400m off 1 mins ..banged out 66-67s on a fairly consistent basis and it felt very controlled.
Wed: I hr easy ...legs dead from everything I've been doing
Thurs: 3 loop acceleration run at Mundy with Dylan and Steve....legs felt okay, but once the pace picked up I was a dead man walking
Fri: 30min easy...uh oh....not quick considering I felt as though I was moving and instead i was slow...
sat: 5km 15:39......I felt as though I could run another one that fast almost immediately PM gym
Sun: 1 hr 40mins at Bby Lake....felt great which I kind expected...the rest over the last few days is finally starting to kick in.

Man o man.....

I haven't updated in while. Sort of a thought about why would be one of two future topics I have in my head 1) perspective while the other topic in my head has been 2) running with a 'chip on your shoulder'.

It's been a busy month. I have actually kinda raced (poorly and the lesson of how when you aren't in great shape a long run can really mess you up), spent a weekend seeing the mortality of my parents (disheartening, but also got to see them at probably the happiest they've been when they spend time with their grandson), got a flat tire, saw one of my best friends (guy in my wedding party), spent a weekend in children's hospital with Carter( nice way to see the Oly opening ceremonies and stressful watching him suffer), started track practices at school (we have a distance runner ringer.....this could be great..I mean really great), been down to take in at least one day of the Oly gong show (another topic of living vicariously through others??...or better yet how people from the suburbs don't know how to act in the big city???), wrote report cards, met up with a good friend from New Zealand (Jono Wyatt) and now sit here all alone as Jules, Carter and my running pal Kao have meandered down to the US for a few days.

It's when i don't think I've done anything that I actually realize a lot has occurred.

In general training has been okay. Nothing major, some good days, some mediocre, but nothing too terrible. And if it's been mediocre that's been a product of training or choice (egs on Tues I did 5 x 1000m off around 2 and a bit mins..not fast, but then again I had an amazing long run on Sunday, my legs were still very tired, it was the first time on the track in eons).

The idea with training right now is to simply get into my old 5-10km routine. It's what I call the Storey/Bideau cycle (nicknamed after British coach Alan Story who is an advisor to Aussie Nic Bideau). It's quite simple get in a day of controlled longer reps, hills, shorter tempo and long run. Simple stuff really as you don't really alter much from week to week except the intensity and volume, but other than that every day is somewhat similar.

The old routine/consistency ethos coming into play. I've probably been averaging around 80miles per week, but that's also been with a day off so in some respects my overall training load is probably more like 85-90 mile week rather than 80

The best online articles....

The emergence of the internet over the last 10-15 years has meant a plethora of material in regards to training. In no particular order are some of my favourites......have fun reading, but each of these is worth the time....I am sure there are many others I have left out, but these are always ones I found the ones that stuck with me over time! Most of these aren't scientific (you can find that easily) and to me represent the true blue components of my running philosophies.


Joe Rubio:
Rubio is the Aggies coach, and has produced many high calibre athletes, but I have always enjoyed his take in multi faceted training.

http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=4336

Jeff Johnson:
His internet famous speech at a high school border clash has gone down in the annals. Johnson was Nike's first employee and was a great coach with the Farm Team

http://www.dyestatnw.com//?pg=reg72008
CrossCountrySummeroftheRisingTidestoryJeffJohnsonspeechtext

Vin Lananna:
An absolutely fantastic article/presentation by Vin Lananna at the NCAC XC meet one year. IMHO the best firsthand stuff I've seen on the net by one of the most respected coaches.

http://www.nacactfca.org/articles/Lananna.pdf

Malmo's series of posts.....they are truly legendary and speak of an athlete who has been around the block enough times

http://2008olympictrialsakatommyleonard.shutterfly.com/filecabinet

Cruel Shoes:

http://2008olympictrialsakatommyleonard.shutterfly.com/236

Summer of malmo:

http://pih.bc.ca/summerofmalmo.html

Malmo's manifesto:
http://pih.bc.ca/malmosmanifesto.html


Joe Vigil:
The man, the myth the legend. This is his marathon training, but the guy is still motivational over the internet

http://peakrunningperformance.com/docs/THE_ANATOMY_OF_A_MEDAL.htm


Ovett:
I've always enjoyed Harry Wilson's training and since Ovett was his greatest athlete this is a really interesting read from Ovett's main training partner. I've always found it funny how some people have to write everything down in a log, while Ovett never wrote anything down.

http://www.britishmilersclub.com/bmcnews/1999spring.pdf


Bideau:
IMHO Bideau is absolutely spot on with training. He used to be Mottram's coach, but they had a falling out.

http://geoffmoore.blogspot.com/2007/07/article-by-nic-bideau.html

http://forums.glenhuntly-athletics.com/index.php?s=88b33ab2d299b1d2d6f5cb3a76657d3e&showtopic=253


Wardlaw:
Wardlaw's magic words on mileage, aerobic conditioning and not leaving your races in training are rules any coach and athlete need to follow. He used to coach Bideau and interesting enough now works wit Mottram.


http://forums.glenhuntly-athletics.com/index.php?s=88b33ab2d299b1d2d6f5cb3a76657d3e&showtopic=259

http://forums.glenhuntly-athletics.com/index.php?s=88b33ab2d299b1d2d6f5cb3a76657d3e&showtopic=259

The Greatest Workout of All Time????....!!!!

As I have noted many times I have become an amateur historian of the sport of running/track and field over the years. As a result a combination of always trying to reach a synthesis of information, (isn’t that what most amateur historians do???) I’ve come across many variations of what one would term harder sessions. I’ve always viewed these as starting points on where training begins, but what how you analyze that training is where it ends.

All interpretations of training require critical analyzing a handful of information from 1) science 2) methodology and 3) personal experience. Having acted in a coaching manner at various times(with a variety of abilities and levels) in combination with observing personalities, physiology, strengths, weaknesses, etc…. I’ve come to various conclusions.

In this instance my conclusion would be if I could only do one workout and advise one workout what would it be…. The answer to the questions I often ask myself take time. I am always considering events specifics, mentality, reality, compatibility, etc…. But in this question the answer sticks out at me like the proverbial sore thumb, and that is the session I have determined one can 1) do all year round, 2) has variations and 3) is doable in any circumstance. I figured since my last post was on the Clohessy Creed that this post should pay homage to a component of the ‘complex system’ of training that Clohessy began. The workout should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me and that is the monafartlek.
Named after famed Australian Steve Moneghetti it originated when Mona’s coach Chris Wardlaw told him to do a 20min fartlek session. Mona apparently wanted to know more than a 20min session and Wardlaw told him 2 x 90, 4 x 60, 4 x 30 off equal med paced running. Mona worked that out to 18mins so Wardlaw added 4 x 15 sec and voila there was the 20mins.

The Monafartlek(sometimes spelled monofartlek) is one of those sessions Mona did/does all year around on each Tuesday. He did the fartlek around a 6km lake loop near his house. Of course success breeds imitation and many others who watched Mona’s success copied said workout. What Mona and everyone else who did the workout was that a 20min fartlek sounds easy but doing it properly is another different story. The information I’ve heard said that the hard parts were 4:30 mile pace or quicker pace, while the med parts were 5min/mile pace or quicker.

In my years of doing the monafartlek I’ve found it to be the single greatest workout, for the reasons that 1) anyone from a miler to a marathon runner can do it, 2) you can suit if to the time of the season (egs early in the season you can make the med paced the priority, while later in the season you can pay more attention to the harder sections and be more anaerobic) and 3) it can be suited to individual strengths and weaknesses while doing it ( egs a fast twitch athlete might pull away on the quicker paced, while the slow twitch athlete works the jogs, or even the opposite where the FT athlete makes the easier parts quicker and work on their weaknesses) .

The key to the monafartlek is simple and it’s what I call ‘focused variability’. If I am having a bad day I only need to get through 20mins…. If I am getting ready to race I might take it easy the for the first 10min and hammer the second half…if I am getting ready for a later season race I make the easier parts slower, but on the other side if I am training through I work the jogs…if I want more tempo I make the med paced sections hurt….I am sure you get the idea.

Even variations can be done like doing a ‘back half monafartlek’ if you are in taper mode (do 2 x 60, 40 x 30, 4 x 15). I’ve adder some sections to it when needing more speed (egs monafarltek-2min rest 6 x 30 sec hard-60 sec easy) or longer (egs 2 x 3mins off 2min and then a monafartlek for 30mins of running). Even my taper for 5-10km is based upon the monafartlek (a 9min fartlek of 3mins of 30sec hard-med, 3min of 20 sec hard med and 3min of 10 sec hard med). In the end you can get what you need out of it. Besides it may also be the most enjoyable hard workout out there….

Training:
Mon: 66mins
Tues: 5 x mile tempo (pick up a little over tempo the last 60 secs) plus 2 x 3 min 30 sec off 30 sec
Wed: 70mins
Thurs: 66mins
Fri: 68mins
Sat: AM 3 x 10mins tempo-5mins a little slower plus 4 x 60sec hard-60 sec easy-30 sec hard-30 sec easy PM 32mins
Sunday: 2hr 10 mins