In between the miles
Se me quita la perra enfermedad.
My time is running by me.
Watching me gasp and gasp and gasp and gasp and gasp.
Y nunca mas sufrire.
It's been so long since I've ran 35+ miles- I can almost taste my past again. There hasn't been a day since I've put on these running shoes that I don't feel whole. Except for today, but today flipped on me in a matter of minutes. I'll run tomorrow snow or no snow.
Anyway, my long runs are getting better. I'm betting that by this year, I'll surpass my PRs.
I stepped outside Thursday to run after about 2 months of being exiled from trails. One of the most liberating things I have done all summer. Running as liberation! This is how I am able to function progressively in times where I am close to resigning from critically thinking.
Running to me is the pipeline for a few loads of crap that exist in me: Negativity, sadness, and distraction. Seeing all of that in the form of sweat makes me relieved. Of course, I could just be a baked good from Texas because of this dang heat, but I'd like to see it differently. One of my biggest problems that I've had all summer is waking up early. I just can't seem to get up even after 8+ hours of sleep. Or to be fair it could be because I awoke on the 7th hour (groggy hour) of my sleep cycle. Or perhaps because I didn't have a full ignited motivation to get up as early as I currently do.
I am back for now. Aiming to be physically healthy capable of withstanding the amount of work I want to do with running so that in turn, I can use running as a catalyst for critical thinking. It seems like my best ideas about change in the world have come to me while I stomped and gasped for air in this heat. My most intense feelings to study social movements have come when I step into the lighthouse. I am not meant to exist in a still posture. I am meant to exist running in exhaustion, grinning my crooked tooth while I think.
Summer seems to be the point of stance in which I serve under these grey skies.
It's a bit frustrating that I am sitting here in my kitchen table, actually, everyday sitting in different spots, thinking about how much it sucks that I am not running!
About a month ago I ran the Memorial Day 5k with a fierce motivation to hit it like a comet. As much as fierceness was with my that day, my body seemed to be lagging. Specifically, my misaligned hips. I knew it, to be honest. I knew that I shouldn't have ran that race, yet I did. The passion was finally there again, and there was no way I wasn't going to put it to use.
I say it sucks, but at the same time I am finding acceptance in what as happened. This ankle injury/sprain/fuck up is probably another reminder of things other than just running that I need to be working. To be exact, I really need to get a stronger body. I am doing just that thanks to the help of Abby, who gave my a pretty great circuit to run through on this time off.
Until next time-- peace forever and ever and ever and ever.
Becoming a runner is stretching out a discipline that isn't there all of the time. These times just couldn't come down this first half of the year, but I'm determined. 21 minute 5ks haunts and spits at me! I'll be going on a 2 week hike down to my muted lab, and after that I'll strike again.
The aim of this muted hike is to learn how to think again while running. After being away from the roads, it seems I have become cultivated in fear. Yes, fear of becoming injured again. It won't leave me. When I run, it's always there, reminding me that I shouldn't go all the way. Of course, the aim is to always to train as smart as possible, but is it okay to have a monstrous attitude post-injury? I'm stuck.
Idk, this 2 week muted hike should help me pick off these fragments that dominate me. I won't let fear spread beyond what it already has.
Control. Gaining control during a race was always very difficult for me in 2013/2014, and it might still be. Yesterday at the Dash Down Greenville 5k was a good reminder of it.
I found it very difficult to push the pace even when I had a lot of fuel left in me. It is like I couldn't really think during the race, and it was all automatic. Very linear racing. Competitiveness, motivation, and determintation were sort of forgotten during the race. I'm assuming that it might be because I'm not that used to racing anymore. I finished in 21:10 which isn't as bad I thought, but I was certain I would break at least 21 min. Nonetheless, I am very proud for where I am currently at.
I bit of what happened these past weeks:
Monday 03/05/2018
AM 3 miles, PM 2 miles
Tuesday
15 min. + 12 min tempo run.
Wednesday
5 miles.
Thursday
15 min. + 6 x 200m.
Friday
4 miles
Saturday
9 miles in 1:14:xx
During the week of 03/11-03/17(Dash Down Greenville 5k was on the 17th) I ran all my runs very easy and only for 30 min. except for Wednesday, when I ran a 15 min. warm-up and then 5 x 200m in 47 seconds with recovery at my own pleasure. Nothing impressive as I am just trying to wake up from this long running sleep.
I'm hoping to stretch out the mileage these next few weeks as well as the pace.
Sunday
9 miles in 1:13:10.
*Felt so motivated today. Mental imagery was positive as well., and to top it off, weather was actually great today after almost 5 days of rain. It can't rain all the time. So sore though. Monday:
5 miles Tuesday Wednesday
Double: AM - 3 miles, PM - 3 miles.
*Wow, my legs felt like they were on clouds on the PM run! Beautiful. Thursday
15 min. warm-up + Uphill short sprints (Mile worth) + cool down.
*Went out to Norbuck, but couldn't complete the workout due to mud. Interesting encounter after my run though: As I was heading back to the parking lot towards my car, I saw another car parking right next to me. What the heck? I thought. The parking was enormous and vacant... why next to me?! Out come two dudes, and one of them stands in between their car and mine, and stands there. At this point, I'm still on park grounds, but I pretend, out of painful awkwardness, to jog around to see what he's doing. Turns out they were taking turns taking a wizz in open grounds, where literally, there was a porta-potty a few meters away. What the fuck? I choose to jog a bit more, and wait for them to leave so I can avoid awkward contact. I'm jogging around the baseball field, occasionally looking through my peripheral vision to see if they leave, but out come two more guys. They start sitting on the trunk of their car, and start smoking a few blunts, and take out a few beers. Dang it! How uncomfortable! I jog for a few more minutes, and finally decide to walk to my car because it's getting late. As I'm walking, I see that they have their car door wide open, blocking my door. Fuck! I think to myself. I have my headphones, and look up to the guy, and hear, under my music, Wassup foo? I forget how to talk, "Oh, uh" and point at his door. What? Close that h*e, dawg, the stoned out dude says. Cool, I mumbled. I close it and drive off.
Friday
3 mile easy jog. (8:50 pace)
Saturday
Rest with Deftones
I ran 26 miles this week! The most I have ran in years!
Training over the last few weeks has been decent. Not as great, but it's better than nothing.
Look at that...
Training has been "decent". What do I mean by this and why is it decent? Why not great? Why did I automatically think it was just decent? To begin, it's simple that I am observing two "selfs". I am comparing my actual current self with my ideal self, perhaps even my past self (when I was hardcore).
A big aim in my training this year is to be more self-compassionate. However, I must be able to differentiate and be aware of the different levels of my "being" in training. (Stuff I'm thinking: being lazy, being disciplined, being motivated, when I am setting high standards, when I am setting too high standards, etc). Never realized this until a few years after I stopped training, but I became really obsessed with creating the perfect training plan. I AIMED to make my times decrease linearly; to have a perfect negative slope. My training was centered on one equation that I found to work every time I punched in my goal times, but failed to account for "contamination" from external environmental things. Man, did I get distressed about the smallest things (not full-blown distress, but just like a deep worry) BUT...
...luckily, I have figured out how to manage this maladaptive perfectionism, and just be more lax about it.
Training:
Going for about 18-20 miles this week. Really off on my schedule, but I do hope to reach it within the next few days as this weather has been bleh, bleh. Also, aiming for the loop at white rock this weekend with a few surges, so that should take care of about half the mileage.
(Week Feb 18-24) Sunday *No run. Was in Portland, Oregon. COLD! RAIN! SNOW! Monday
1 mile. *Came back from my trip from Portland, and had to put my 17-year-old dog, Boogie, to sleep. Very, very painful to me. This is my first time getting a punch to my chest by death. I love you Boogie forever and ever and ever and ever. Tuesday
Biceps and Back
*10 reps x 4 sets each.
After so many injuries, and instabilities, I am here today sore as heck after officially registering for a race after 3 years.
The goal was simple: Just finish.
I did it!
Finished in 21:48. SO satisfied, but I'm in diapers again. Diapers and learning my running tongue again. No "serious" workouts have happened this year. I'm hoping to shave off 2 minutes by April/May, and it feels possible.
Training for week 6 of 2018 (2/5-2/11):
Monday
4 miles @ 8:15/mi
5 x 100m strides *Accidentally ran more than what I should have. Around 43 minutes. Can't wait till there's more sun available in the day.
Tuesday 4 progressive miles.
Chest 4 x 10 reps. Biceps 4 x 10 reps
Wednesday 5 miles in 41:30 on grass
5 x 100m strides
Thursday
1 mile easy + 3 mile fartlek (1 min on/1 min off) + 1 mile easy. Good run around the lake. Didn't feel too bad! Friday
4 miles
Tuesday:
Luke's Track meet Ran the 1500m in 4:44, and the 1600m leg of the DMR. Really forgot how to handle pressure during a race, but it was good building that competitive mind again.
It is now Spring 2014. I have no idea when my last post was as I am writing this fairly quickly, but a lot has been going on since.
With another spring season complete, it is now time for my epilogue. Several lessons were learned, although, I was aware of them before I reached the end. Record-keeping and time are the two slaps I got from life this spring. I lost track of my training around (wild guess) March-ish, I believe. I slowly stopped giving a fuck for some reason, but my excuse is good (or at least to society), check it: SCHOOL. Learning is my main concern right now, especially stats. I'm fascinated by it. I am not too sure if everyone is like this, but geez, I just couldn't motivate myself to log all my runs down. It seemed like I was always in a hurry. Time, I will master you.
I'm still unclear on what I want to run in the fall, but my first short-term goal is reach at least 70 miles per week by the end of the summer.
Let's get on with training.
Sunday: 12-15 miles @ 6:45-7:30 pace
Monday: 6 miles + 8x100m strides Tuesday: 7 miles + drills & core circuit Luke's Track Meet w/ Colon, and the Cartwrights. Did the Mile and 800. Although with no real speed work under my legs for 2 weeks it was really fun getting back on the track after 2 years. Wednesday: 10 miles + flexibility session 8 miles w/ Manuel and Shades. Really cool having a pack to run with. Finished in 57:43. Felt great. Thursday:
6 miles + 8x100m strides So sore. Finished in 45:19 Friday:
5 miles + drills & core circuit Saturday:
6 miles + 8x100m strides
After today I will have 14 weeks to reach my goal which is to run 15:45.
I was so sure that starting on Sunday I'd have a full week of training. Unfortunately, it's been the most inconsistent, which is the worst feeling. I've only been able to get 3 runs in this week. Empty days on the calendar suck. I shouldn't be so negative about this week though, there were of course some good to this week. I felt GREAT physically. Every run was a piece of cake! (12 miler Sun, 10 miler Wed, and 1hr run Friday)
I'm also sick ONCE AGAIN, which means something..
One thing is for sure: I'm never going to stop trying.
This upcoming week is the beginning of the fundamental phase. I have given myself some pretty tough workouts to complete and I am hoping this is where I start to break off from my old self. Trying to find clarity.
I'm close to figuring something out, but I don't know what it is. I feel it intuitively. Anybody ever get that feeling?
Apart from physical training, I have recently started training mentally for this sport. Two things I plan to improve every day for this training cycle: confidence, and focus.
My thoughts on my own confidence:
Let it be known now to myself: I sometimes don't know what the fuck I'm doing with this training stuff. I have been reading lots of training methodology since I first started training and figured out how to analyze my times, but I still don't know if what I am doing is the "correct" way. This is all merely a trial-and-error for me. My training is simply a projection of my own logic, and, people, do I question myself a lot. It's very difficult to have a positive attitude when you're in the dark. What I just said, thinking positively, is a big influence on my confidence. Now, sure, it's easy to start positive self-talk, for example, the common dull phase, "I can do this!". I'm not sure if I am able to say that to myself if I don't even fully believe it?
Here's something interesting that I've recently been aware of:
In 2013 Spring (my first training circle), I was ALWAYS looking right into the eyes of my goal (30:30 for a 5-miler), and never at the process itself (day-to-day training). I don't think I was wrong for being naive about my immediate goals (day-to-day training), but it's important for me not to look over them. I recall feeling quite lazy before going out to my runs, and never getting myself mentally prepared for it. Now that I look back, running seemed like a punishment, and not as a gift. That's about to change. I'm going to create a positive mindset for myself if it's the last thing I do. I'm never going to stop trying.
Think positively, take risks, experience success. Those are the 3 things I need to focus on to create confidence. I will talk about those later on, along with focus.
Training: Sunday
9 miles This was a hard run. Not the mileage, but the fact that it was hot and I made an idiotic move to keep my thick American Eagle hoodie on. To add on, I was sicker than a dog. Dry mouth, stuffed nose, negative thoughts before I even started, you name it. Monday
5 miles in 35:10
Agility Drills
8 x 100m arrancones
Tuesday
3 miles in 21:13
Wednesday
6 miles in 41:43
Thursday 5 miles Agility drills 10 x 100m arrancones
Friday 8 miles
5 miles 36:43 Saturday 3 miles 6 miles 41:30
Form drills
10 x 100m arrancones
Thoughts: This will be an easy week. Oh! Spring semester starts next week.. I'm excited
Since my last post in November, (it's January now) training has not been as consistent as I had planned. Well, now that I think of it, it was a plan that I rarely put much thought about so I shouldn't talk. The plan I had worked on for 15 minutes had no phases in it, nor race goals. All I was thinking about was how this was the year I would keep progressing as runner, if that makes sense. It'd be a dream to be a challenge to college runners.
I'm currently working on finishing up an outline of my spring season, so I plan to blog more about my runs and reflect on them. I do know this: I have 17 weeks to run a sub-27 10k and/or sub-16 5k. I can't wait.
Crowded, cold, and nervousness was all around me at the start line. Settling into a get-set position, I held the start button on my watch. "Runners, on your marks..."
Let's rewind to the night before, eh?
I ended up getting off work the night before the race around 10, constantly thinking about the race, The Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot (8 miles). I ended up eating a cliff bar that was offered to me after work from one of my co-workers because I ended up forgetting my money at home, and ended up not eating dinner Wednesday (bad I know). This was the first F-up to my concentration because I was constantly thinking, "I'm going to feel the effects of this tomorrow".
When I got home, I started feeling an intense pain in my right leg. A pain I had been feeling since I had to do my long run on the track a few days ago. This was the second F-up to my concentration.
I was scheduling myself to wake up at 5:30 a.m. to gather up some of my friends, and head out downtown to find a parking spot near the start line. I made it to bed around 11 trying to focus on my breathing in order to relax, and hopefully disconnect from the pressure that was going on in my mind.
Back to the start line ..*loud airhorn*
The race was on, and I quickly fastened myself next to my friend Carlos Colon. Carlos and I had came up with a plan a few nights before the race: follow the leader. Each of us would swap the leading role every mile, and maintain a 5:47-5:57 pace.
This plan sounds like it would have worked, but sadly, it was completely erased from my memory once we started running haha.
Side by side we passed mile 1 in about 5:40... shocked by that split we realized we had to lower the speed a bit. Carlos, and I were already starting to breathe hard, and I thought to myself, "it's only going to get tougher from here. What are you doing?Slow down!" Once I came to my senses I tried to figure out how I would turn the situation around. I have to love suicide pace. Only then will I have a true racing experience. A new challenge emerged as I passed that mile. I focused on leaving that part of me saying, "Erik, you have not trained for this, what are you doing?" deepdown in the conscious, and follow a simple word: Fight! A word I kept repeating to Carlos in our previous weeks of training.
Miles 2-6 felt really easy. I ended up passing mile 4 around 23:40 (I'm writing this a week later so I could be off), mile 5 around 29:35. mile 6 around 36 minutes. I ended up getting a PR for miles 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. This part of the race was rather easy since there was still a good pack of runners surrounding us, so all I had to do was copy their speed.
Mile 7-Finish
After we passed the 6th mile we ended up in a very abandoned part of the city with a VERY long stretch of road (Probably wasn't, but that's how it seemed like at that time). I was finally beginning to feel a side stitch, and I quickly started thinking negatively. I fell back from a little trio group that consisted of me, Carlos, and a runner who runs for a university up in Missouri (2nd female overall). Slowly, the two were starting to leave me when I suddenly heard Carlos scream "Come on! FIGHT!" "Oh f**k!" A new burst of energy flowed within me. I surged up to them, and latched myself to our trio again. Sadly, once we were about 800 meters from the finish line my legs completely gave up on me. Did I mention it was all uphill? I felt like I was walking! Carlos sped up the hill, and I quickly screamed internally "GO, GO, GO, GO!" I curved onto the final 100 meters, and sprinted (or so I felt like it) with a cheering crowd on the sides.
The greatest race of my life was now over in 48 minutes, and 20 seconds.
Cougars Running Wild 5k (Novemeber) - 16:48 (new PR)
Fuck, I have seriously amazed myself. This is my first year as a "serious" runner, and I have to say, I have never been more proud of myself as I look back at these results.
Stuff like this makes me excited for Spring 2014. I want to run sub-16 on the 5k in April since my mileage is not meant for longer distance races yet.
What I need:
More mileage
More form drills
A stronger mentality
More strength circuits
Better diet
Would? is a song by an awesome band called Alice in Chains. Such a cruel band name, but the singer has one of the most powerful voices I have ever heard.
Back to running...
Today was a success. 9 x 600 meters all around 1:54-1:56 which is about the pace needed for a 16ish for the 5k. I'll see how my body reacts to this tomorrow. Although, I know more than likely a regeneration run on the grass will take place after some psychology studying.
Highlight of today: My Ipod ran out of batteries, and when I charged it back up all my songs were deleted. 400+ essential running songs, GONE.
I finally got out of bed around 6:30 a.m. after snoozing 4 alarms. It's so hard waking up early when it's cold as heck outside! Lucky for me, the track is only like 1 minute away from my house (should give you an idea of how hard it is to wake up).
For some time now, I have been trying to measure my focus during running by doing loops around the track. My logic is that if I can focus on the track for 3-4 miles, then I think it would generalize during competitions.
This morning I ran around 3 miles in 21:35. After psychology, I ran 4 miles in 27:35 (6:53 pace). Great run, the 3 miles really woke me up. I might start doing that every speed day.
Tuesday's Workout (10/22): The plan is to do 10 x 600 at 102%-104% with 1:30-2:00 recovery. I have to make it count. No more quitting halfway through the workout. Train smart, win easy, Erik. Train smart, win easy...
I also really want to do a fartlek workout Thursday, I'll see how I feel.
Side note:
My legs are tired. I really hope nothing bad happens before November 9th. I'm almost there.
The plan I had in mind was to run somewhere between 17:10-16:55 breaking my current 17:22 5k record.
I repeated positive affirmations so much this week it's ridiculous, but I do have to say, it actually made me feel more confident.
On to the race report.
COLD. We toed the start line with a temperature reading of 49 degrees. Here in Dallas, the arrival of cold temperature is always a blessing for runners after months of training in the summer heat. It's like coming off of altitude training in a way. Needless to say, having our noses frozen is a blessing.
I didn't recognize many runners at the start line except for the elite athletes. I wasn't sure who I was going to try to keep up with, and I believe this is where a lot of negative thoughts came in to my head. Something about uncertainty makes me feel... blah, blah. I'll be honest, anyone who wears shorter shorts and has longer legs than me intimidates me. I started thinking things like "These guys train harder than me", "I have to go slower than them if I don't want to burn out". That has to be one of my biggest problems- I completely forget about positive self-talk during a race.
As the gun went off, I quickly tucked in to a pack that looked like they ran fast (prejudice much?). As I made the first turn, I saw my good friend Andres Hernandez, a local master runner who is one of the top master runners in Dallas (In my opinion). He works at my school, and we talked about our goal times earlier that week. Andres was planning to run a 16:30 so I saw it as a perfect opportunity to just be about a couple of seconds behind him and keep him in my sight.
1st mile- 5:40 Too easy
I was feeling relaxed, and was in a small pack with 4 other guys. Andres and another pack were only a couple of meters ahead of me so I thought everybody was going to pick up the pace soon.
2nd mile - 11:20 Uhhhh... 17 seconds off from 17:10 pace.
I honestly thought we had picked up the pace. At this point, 3 guys got left behind from the pack I was in, and I was left with David Adjei, a tall figure from Team Luke's. We were still behind Andres's pack which consisted of a couple of male Team Luke's runners, and one Nike female runner. "Dude, you gotta stop slacking in races", I thought to myself. At this point, I figured I could throw a surge to hopefully catch up to the pack ahead of me, and break off Adjei. It was now or never. As I picked it up, it seemed like Andres and the rest were getting further from me. "Oh no". They were picking up as well. Of course, it was the last mile. Suddenly, I felt my legs lock up. "Sh*t!". With only 500-700 meters to go, everyone scattered, trying to sprint to the finish line. As I was running staring at the ground, I looked up and saw Andres struggling only a couple of meters ahead of me. I was still with Adjei, who is like twice my size. He started sprinting even faster. I started getting really scatterbrained, "I can't out sprint him - too fast", "I can do it! Just move your legs faster", "Don't even try". I don't know how fast hundreds of thoughts process, but it was seconds before I was able to focus again. I gave it a shot, I tried sprinting. Nothing. Could barely turn my legs. David and another runner who was behind us past me, and on their way to the finish line. I heard foots stomping behind me. I pushed, and pushed. Felt the same, but luckily didn't pass me.
Dallas Komen 5k - 17:40 How?
I was pretty disappointed with that time. I know I'm faster than that.
I will try to break 17:22 again on November 9th at the Cougars Running Wild 5k. This will be my last race for the Fall, and will take 2 weeks off to start up on my Spring cycle.
Whatever the results will be, I'm not going to quit. I'll reflect on my training, and figure out what I need more of. (I'm thinking speed already, 400-600m repeats)
My goal still remains the same:
Run at the collegiate level
Do enjoy this proof of me running. Funds are low at the moment so acquiring the HD photo is out of the question.
Anyway, October 19th is the Komen 5k which was supposed to be the race I would run sub-18.
Well, that happened early. On Saturday, October 5th, I ran a 17:22 5k on a marked course from a local race. So proud of myself as I was expecting to get around an 18:20 due to my training interruptions & not reaching my training standards.
If I can beat my PR at the Komen 5k, that will be a win!
This is how my week before the race will look like:
Sunday 10/13
1hr 28min of running w/ 1 minute surges every 7 minutes
Monday 10/14
7 miles (48:11-51:34) + 8 x 200m
Tuesday 10/15 15 x 400m in 1:16
5 x 400m (1:16) 2 x 300m (58) 5 x 200m (32-36) Wednesday 60 minutes easy at Norbuck
45 minutes easy
Thursday 40 minutes easy
4 easy miles
Friday
3 miles easy Saturday
Race for The Cure 5k
Goal time: 17:10-16:55
On Tuesday, August 27th, I had scheduled 3 x 2000m repeats as part of my specific race period. I was blazing through them. Like a caballo loco on cocaine. Confident, positive, light in the legs, and wild.
Unfortunately for me, this workout had consequences.
I made the stupid decision to run at my college's running trail. A trail that will surely bust the ankles of any individual running at top speed. Seriously? I guess convenience does have a price.
So because of that, I didn't get to run until Saturday, September 14th. This time away has affected me mentally and physically.
One thing I did realize while being injured was this: Make it fucking count! The ability to run can be taken from you at anytime.
I have a 10k race this Saturday, September 21st that I am absolutely not ready for. It will truly be a pure guts race. I'm hoping to change my mentality at least these next few days.
I will also keep my long-term goals in mind: run cross country for a university.
The date is August 24th, 2013. 3 minutes past 9 p.m. My second fall semester of college will commence next week, and if there is anything I learned these past couple of years doing school, work, and being a self-coached runner is that penning running plans almost two weeks ahead of time can directly lessen the daily stresses of life.
I find this act of juggling life fun.
The week of 8/18 through 8/24 started off horrible. The hill workout I did Friday had me feeling fatigue all the way up to Monday. On Tuesday I had a great speed workout. 5 x 1600m all in around 5:36-5:46. But other than that, it's been a bad week overall.
Onwards to the next 2 weeks folks:
Week 8/25-8/31
Sunday
14 miles (1:39:52-1:53:52)
*1 hour and 33 minutes of running Sunday morning. This is my first long run that I had to run in the morning due to work. Got in about 12 miles. Actually felt pretty good, considering I hate running in the mornings.
Monday
7 miles (49:56-53:19) + 6 x 200m in 38 sec.
*Awesome run this afternoon. I felt so so so light today! Completed the run in 49:57. Also, I had my first day of school today, and it turns out my psychology professor was a marathon runner. I'm looking forward to my MWF classes now.
Tuesday
4 x 2000m (7:49) w/ 3 minute recovery between rep
*Another great workout today. Might have underestimated my fitness level because those runs were easy. All reps were in 7:16-7:19.
Wednesday
12 miles (Not sure if I'm going to split the mileage up yet) Thursday
7 miles (49:56-53:19) + 6 x 200m in 38 sec Friday
45 min. of hills Saturday
6 miles (42:48-45:48) + 10 x 100m strides
The 2nd week will pretty much be the same except Tuesday.
Tuesday will be 5 miles in 30:40-31:30 followed by 4 x 400m w/ 1 min. 30 sec. recovery
A pondering on summer training has me feeling a little disappointed.
I've fallen short of my goals which makes me believe I won't be ready for fall races.
Is it the heat? Unrealistic goals? I don't know.
Motivation is scarce right now.
I'm lost.
Anyway, here's how the week is going.
Sunday 8/11
1 hr and 40 minutes. *Got in about 13 miles. Monday 8/12
AM- 14 minutes of running
PM- 5 miles + 6 x 100s
*This morning sucked. I was only able to do about 14 minutes of running. Horrible run, but I am happy that I had a chance to run in the afternoon and put in more mileage and not have a day wasted. 5 miles in 34:50.
Tuesday 8/13
Warm-up + 2 x 4 x 800m in 2:48-2:50 *6 x 800m in 2:35, 2:36, 2:45, 2:46, 2:50, 2:50. As you can see... awful pattern. Wasn't expecting that one.
Wednesday 8/14
AM - 5 miles
PM - 5 miles *3 miles in the morning, and 7 miles in the afternoon in 52:04. Good run!!
Thursday 8/15 8 miles + 4 x 200 meter repeats @ mile pace *7 miles in 43:03 and did 6 x 200m in 37-39 seconds.
Friday 8/16
Warm-up + 45 min. of hill repeats *Delicious day. I was really pumped for this workout. The reps uphill felt fast. Radioactive by Imagine Dragons is my new workout song.
Saturday 8/17
7 miles + strides Felt a little drained from Friday. but got in the mileage! Had trouble with the 200m strides. Legs felt really heavy.
My consistency has yet to be dried out from this Texas summer heat. I expect to start competing in September and it can't come any sooner. Grunge continues to be my pre-run ammunition, but in the words of Fat B, i-i-i-i-its' going down.
Still, I have to admit, there is a bit of anger with myself. I am an exaggerated perfectionist when it comes to my training. Summer hasn't been close to what I had planned out in the spring with regards to mileage. Despite being consistent this far, I fell a few weeks behind from my base building, but you know what, that's okay. Letting things go when they don't go according to plan has been a mental practice I've began to apply.
Anyway, here's what this week looks like:
Sunday 7/28
9 miles in 1:09
*Had a good run around White Rock with my friend, Carlos Colon, who will be a junior at Adamson High School with some really respectable times. Running longer distances truly is better with friends.
Monday 7/29
8 miles in 57:51 + 4 x 100m
* Ran this at my campus. Struggled around the 5th mile. I was seriously close to just calling it a day, but I found some motivation and pulled through. Good day. My legs feel really great.
Tuesday 7/30
5 mile fartlek. (3M)45 sec fast/90 second recovery + (2M) 30 sec. fast/ 40 second recovery
So, I will be trying this form of expression again.
It's my first summer as a "serious" runner and I currently have one semi-good training cycle to build off of. From December 2012 to May 2013, I trained for the DRC 5-miler with the intent of coming through at a reasonably goal of 30:30. While my prediction was close, I ended up crossing the finish line in 31:02. Seconds are critical in running, and when it comes to breaking sub-whatever, the weight of importance is even greater to me. It's a bit frustrating seeing that time, but I actually learned quite a lot of about training methodology and self-experimentation (statistics, no bullshit), so I can't bellyache much.
I've just finished writing up a new training program targeted for the Komen 5k here in Dallas. My goal time is still kind of blurry, however, I'm predicting that a 17:10 is in my reach.
