Just a quick note to express my appreciation to some folks who have recently helped me out:
Gavin Cosgrove who has made a donation on behalf of Bergeron and Clifford, a personal injury law firm here in Kingston (www.bergeronclifford.com). Gavin has been helping me with my running for many years, starting in my Gr 10 year when he trained with me and most recently helping me approach businesses and groups in the community who might be able to help me out.
Mizuno Canada, through a fellow named Arnold Tse, who has recently sent me a box of goodies which are not only functional, but very stylish. I have come in contact with Mizuno via Dylan Wykes, a national marathoner and local Kingstonian who has also been helping me out in how to develop as an athlete. I shall be wearing this gear in my upcoming races so prepare to be dazzled!
And, as usual, thank you to my coach, friends, and family who continue to support me. Especially those friends who come to watch me race even though they know they will probably miss the event itself!
Be Easy.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Question: if i win a race on a newly laid track, does that mean that I hold the track record?
Went up to Ottawa yesterday afternoon for a little tune up race at the Terry Fox Stadium on their newly laid track....which while it is disappointingly not blue, is still a very nice track. (It was blue before, now it is the standard boring salmon-red colour) Kev had decided that I needed a tune up race to remind my legs of what they are supposed to do before I head out to BC at the end of the week. While I was completely in agreement, I had some reservations of how I would do as my legs felt tired after the week's work. We had not tapered (decreased training volume) prior to the race and essentially treated it as a workout. Added to this was the fact that we knew it would be a low key affair, giving me nothing to get pumped for and cause to worry if some young pup beat me. As it shook down, I didn't have too much to worry about. The meet schedule was non-existant and I didn't know how many athletes were there so I ended up warming up too soon, and having to wait around until it was my turn. There is nothing worse than the feeling of having completed your warmup and gone through your pre-race routine and then having to stretch it out until race time. You want to move around to stay loose and limber but not do anything more than is absolutely necessary, for fear of wasting energy and effort. It's a kind of limbo land - so I lay down and shut my eyes until it was time.
This little doze must have left me slightly dozy on the line because when the gun went off, I was almost engulfed by the pack....despite my being on the inside lane. Within 10m I woke up and slipped into 2nd. Kev had told me to hang out and chill and then wind things up for a fast last 150m but I think I took his words a little too seriously. We went through 200m in 29secs and then I was passed and dropped to 4th. It was alright because the runners who had passed me were moving quicker and so I followed and at 400m (through in 56-57) I was in second. Down the back stretch I stepped into lane two and made a bid for first, trying to do it as comfortably as possible. At 200m to go, I started to ease away from the pack....trying to run as smooth and relaxed as possible, working on the form that we had been practicing. It was a comfortable win, in 1:52.8, a full second ahead of 2nd. I essentially even-split the race (ie. I ran the first and second laps the same) which is a good thing to do, and while the race was not a cakewalk, I was never really pushed at any point. We did what we set out to do and I am satisified with the time and the win, but I know I will have to be sharper next week.
After the race I had a good chat with Jason Dunkerley, a visually-impaired athlete who has represented Canada at several major competitions, most recently winning bronze medals in the 800m and 1500m events at the 2008 Beijing Para-Olympics. I have met him several times at races as well as at a presentation he gave for a class I took at Queen's. He was in the 800m race with me, running 2:03 with the aide of guide runner. Jason uses a guide runner to help him navigate through the race. They have to run side by side with their arms touching and in sync for the whole race....turning corners and avoiding other athletes at high speeds! Think about walking with your eyes closed, never mind running! Pretty incredible and it takes a fair bit of training and cohesion to run effectively together. Yesterday's guide runner was Tyson Loney, who was one of the top performing rookie athletes on the XC and track teams at Queen's this past year. Jason is in the midst of trying to break 2:00 for the 800m and 4:05 for the 1500m, currently only a couple of seconds off each time. He is looking to make a push for London in 2012....he will surely qualify as he is one of the best in his events in Canada and the world, but he is looking to continue to hit personal best times on his way. Jason currently works for The Active Living Alliance for Canadians with a Disability which is a organization that "promotes, supports and enables Canadians with disabilities to live active, healthy lives" but is looking for a way to live as a full-time athlete. He has already competed at the top levels in the world while holding down a job but for continued improvement he needs to find a way to devote more time to running. If anyone, running companies, sponsors etc, know how or could help him do this, please get in touch with him! You can look him up online via the Active Living Alliance or Athletics Canada website, or catch him in person ripping around the track in Ottawa!
Anyway that's all for today.... I will run easy today and will taper this week in prep for the races next week. We have a couple workouts ahead of us on the track: fast relaxed and comfortable to sharpen me up for some blazing times out West!
Be Easy.
This little doze must have left me slightly dozy on the line because when the gun went off, I was almost engulfed by the pack....despite my being on the inside lane. Within 10m I woke up and slipped into 2nd. Kev had told me to hang out and chill and then wind things up for a fast last 150m but I think I took his words a little too seriously. We went through 200m in 29secs and then I was passed and dropped to 4th. It was alright because the runners who had passed me were moving quicker and so I followed and at 400m (through in 56-57) I was in second. Down the back stretch I stepped into lane two and made a bid for first, trying to do it as comfortably as possible. At 200m to go, I started to ease away from the pack....trying to run as smooth and relaxed as possible, working on the form that we had been practicing. It was a comfortable win, in 1:52.8, a full second ahead of 2nd. I essentially even-split the race (ie. I ran the first and second laps the same) which is a good thing to do, and while the race was not a cakewalk, I was never really pushed at any point. We did what we set out to do and I am satisified with the time and the win, but I know I will have to be sharper next week.
After the race I had a good chat with Jason Dunkerley, a visually-impaired athlete who has represented Canada at several major competitions, most recently winning bronze medals in the 800m and 1500m events at the 2008 Beijing Para-Olympics. I have met him several times at races as well as at a presentation he gave for a class I took at Queen's. He was in the 800m race with me, running 2:03 with the aide of guide runner. Jason uses a guide runner to help him navigate through the race. They have to run side by side with their arms touching and in sync for the whole race....turning corners and avoiding other athletes at high speeds! Think about walking with your eyes closed, never mind running! Pretty incredible and it takes a fair bit of training and cohesion to run effectively together. Yesterday's guide runner was Tyson Loney, who was one of the top performing rookie athletes on the XC and track teams at Queen's this past year. Jason is in the midst of trying to break 2:00 for the 800m and 4:05 for the 1500m, currently only a couple of seconds off each time. He is looking to make a push for London in 2012....he will surely qualify as he is one of the best in his events in Canada and the world, but he is looking to continue to hit personal best times on his way. Jason currently works for The Active Living Alliance for Canadians with a Disability which is a organization that "promotes, supports and enables Canadians with disabilities to live active, healthy lives" but is looking for a way to live as a full-time athlete. He has already competed at the top levels in the world while holding down a job but for continued improvement he needs to find a way to devote more time to running. If anyone, running companies, sponsors etc, know how or could help him do this, please get in touch with him! You can look him up online via the Active Living Alliance or Athletics Canada website, or catch him in person ripping around the track in Ottawa!
Anyway that's all for today.... I will run easy today and will taper this week in prep for the races next week. We have a couple workouts ahead of us on the track: fast relaxed and comfortable to sharpen me up for some blazing times out West!
Be Easy.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
The Complete Day (or: Slovenia 0, England 1)
Yesterday was what I considered to be a complete day. 8:45am - Morning run, 10 barefoot laps of Tindall Field. Boom. 5:30pm - No nonsense workout consisting of 10 x 300m with 300m jog recovery in the pouring rain. Boom. 11:30pm - just before bed, strength work involving push-ups and sit-ups. BOOM. This day of course was complimented by 3 nutritious meals, stretching, the mental stimulation of an LSAT prep test, and finally and the enjoyment of the Italian Job during dinner. This is the type of day that I would like to have every day, although rarely seem to get....it's that morning run which does me in! In a perfect day, there are a few things that I would like to add in. First - massage: my upper back has been killing me these last few days. I have been trying to self-massage with this massage contraption that I have, but it is not the best. Any out-of-work masseuses should feel free to make themselves known to me . Second - ice bath, my legs are a wee bit tired, hamstrings especially from the work I have done in the last 4 days. I have pretty much covered the entire spectrum of possible workouts - speed endurance, long and steady, short sprints, and some classic intervals. Coupled with a slight alteration in my stride to open it up a little more, my legs are le tigre. (That's a colloquial French term for tired.) Ice baths are prefect for aiding muscle recovery - I just don't have one at home that I can stand in comfortably. While I have done it before, sitting in freezing water is not enjoyable.
Today is the complete opposite of the complete day, as I will probably not do any of the running related items that were on the agenda yesterday. No morning run, no workout, and likely no strength work. It is my day off today - it has been a while since I took one and high time that I did. But I still got some cardiovascular work in, as England's nervy ending to their 1-0 win over Slovenia was more than enough to get my heart rate up. With the stress those boys put us through, I consider myself to have worked hard enough to share in the victory today.....maybe that's 2 complete days in a row?
Tomorrow, I will be back at it the grind. I'll decide whether I am going to do a morning run between 30 seconds and 5 mins after I wake up so I won't make any promises now. It will be an easy day anyway, with probably 8 miles steady in the afternoon.
Until then: Be Easy.
Today is the complete opposite of the complete day, as I will probably not do any of the running related items that were on the agenda yesterday. No morning run, no workout, and likely no strength work. It is my day off today - it has been a while since I took one and high time that I did. But I still got some cardiovascular work in, as England's nervy ending to their 1-0 win over Slovenia was more than enough to get my heart rate up. With the stress those boys put us through, I consider myself to have worked hard enough to share in the victory today.....maybe that's 2 complete days in a row?
Tomorrow, I will be back at it the grind. I'll decide whether I am going to do a morning run between 30 seconds and 5 mins after I wake up so I won't make any promises now. It will be an easy day anyway, with probably 8 miles steady in the afternoon.
Until then: Be Easy.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Superslug to Superman
Well, hello again! How are we all today?
I, personally, am in a much improved mood than I was following my last blog. On Sunday I went out to the XC course at Fort Henry and did my 70 min run. Probably the longest run I have done in the last 6 months and far from being a slow death-march, it was actually quite enjoyable! I cycled over, ripped off my shirt to let the ole washboard get some rays, plugged some Pink Floyd into my ears and off I went for 7 laps. The trick to this was that I started off slow and gradually let myself speed up. I started out at about 10mins per lap (2.5k) and worked down to just under 9mins. I found myself at 1:06:00 after 7 laps so I tacked on an extra 4mins. I considered doing a full extra lap, but alas, I still find myself a little squemish in approaching the 20k mark.....just seems a little much. Maybe next year I'll try it. And what does a person do/think about for 70mins, you might ask? Not much really. I sometimes chastise myself for not using such time to devote to deep and meaningful thoughts and sorting out issues in my life, but somehow when it comes to it I end up just looking around, thinking about running, checking the watch, singing etc etc. I have decided that this time is good to wipe the slate clean and allow my mind to relax before returning to the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
Monday...today, I woke up feeling refreshed and with no apparent residue of the last few days' efforts in my legs. Today's workout was a typical sprint practice. We middle to long distance fellows always make it a point to emphasize to the sprint folk how much more and harder we work each practice than they do. Good naturedly of course, because most of the time we are a little jealous. So it was a nice change when Kev outlined the workout as just a few laps with a couple 50m and 100m sprints thrown in. Some I did in racing flats (very minimal training shoes) while others were done in my spikes - which I must point out are already beginning to split on the outside edge of the right shoe....flippin waste of money! Anyway, the point was to work on my form at my very top gear. This is important so that when I hit the homestretch at the end of a race, my legs know exactly what to do. Crossing the line today at top speed, I felt like Clark Kent in Superman Returns when he discovers he is Superman and can take a running leap from the silo in the middle of the cornfield back to the barn....I just wanted to leap in the air like that and see how far my momentum would carry me. It was absolutely exhilarating and reminds me of why I run. I didn't actually take that leap in case you were wondering, for fear of pulling something or bashing my nose into the ground, but I did think about it.
And that's about it really.....from the valley low to a mountain high in the span of two days....such drama! What more can you ask for?
I, personally, am in a much improved mood than I was following my last blog. On Sunday I went out to the XC course at Fort Henry and did my 70 min run. Probably the longest run I have done in the last 6 months and far from being a slow death-march, it was actually quite enjoyable! I cycled over, ripped off my shirt to let the ole washboard get some rays, plugged some Pink Floyd into my ears and off I went for 7 laps. The trick to this was that I started off slow and gradually let myself speed up. I started out at about 10mins per lap (2.5k) and worked down to just under 9mins. I found myself at 1:06:00 after 7 laps so I tacked on an extra 4mins. I considered doing a full extra lap, but alas, I still find myself a little squemish in approaching the 20k mark.....just seems a little much. Maybe next year I'll try it. And what does a person do/think about for 70mins, you might ask? Not much really. I sometimes chastise myself for not using such time to devote to deep and meaningful thoughts and sorting out issues in my life, but somehow when it comes to it I end up just looking around, thinking about running, checking the watch, singing etc etc. I have decided that this time is good to wipe the slate clean and allow my mind to relax before returning to the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
Monday...today, I woke up feeling refreshed and with no apparent residue of the last few days' efforts in my legs. Today's workout was a typical sprint practice. We middle to long distance fellows always make it a point to emphasize to the sprint folk how much more and harder we work each practice than they do. Good naturedly of course, because most of the time we are a little jealous. So it was a nice change when Kev outlined the workout as just a few laps with a couple 50m and 100m sprints thrown in. Some I did in racing flats (very minimal training shoes) while others were done in my spikes - which I must point out are already beginning to split on the outside edge of the right shoe....flippin waste of money! Anyway, the point was to work on my form at my very top gear. This is important so that when I hit the homestretch at the end of a race, my legs know exactly what to do. Crossing the line today at top speed, I felt like Clark Kent in Superman Returns when he discovers he is Superman and can take a running leap from the silo in the middle of the cornfield back to the barn....I just wanted to leap in the air like that and see how far my momentum would carry me. It was absolutely exhilarating and reminds me of why I run. I didn't actually take that leap in case you were wondering, for fear of pulling something or bashing my nose into the ground, but I did think about it.
And that's about it really.....from the valley low to a mountain high in the span of two days....such drama! What more can you ask for?
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Mouthwatering Mango
So, apparently the combo of short and fast with plenty of rest was not such a winning combo...or pleasant combo anyway. For some reason, could be lack of sleep (maybe), stress from a hard day at work (unlikely!), or the shock from the switch to fast stuff from the last few weeks of higher and slower mileage (quite plausible), the workout last night did not go so hot. I felt heavy and as if I was muscling through the intervals. Not the light and relaxed that I wanted to feel. I did practice some slightly different styles of striding; trying to open up my stride and get more out of my arms on the accelerations and I did still put in a good effort, but it didn't just feel great.
It's times like these that I (and others) have to remind myself to believe in the stuff I was talking about last blog: that progress will come through seemingly ordinary training efforts. Such a workout - when you look at your splits (times) for the intervals and think how hard they felt, yet know that you somehow will have to string a couple of those types of efforts together in a race - can sometimes be dispairing! I know that training is not racing; there are many factors that change, both mentally and physically, when you get into a race - but one is always trying to translate training times into race times and extrapolate into the future. As in yesterday's case it can be a fruitless and depressing exercise.
Fear not though, its not all that bad: I had a delicious mango after the workout. Perfectly ripe, juicy, and cold from a day in the fridge..I would probably have done that workout over again just for a single slice of that succulent fruit! Small blessings!
It's times like these that I (and others) have to remind myself to believe in the stuff I was talking about last blog: that progress will come through seemingly ordinary training efforts. Such a workout - when you look at your splits (times) for the intervals and think how hard they felt, yet know that you somehow will have to string a couple of those types of efforts together in a race - can sometimes be dispairing! I know that training is not racing; there are many factors that change, both mentally and physically, when you get into a race - but one is always trying to translate training times into race times and extrapolate into the future. As in yesterday's case it can be a fruitless and depressing exercise.
Fear not though, its not all that bad: I had a delicious mango after the workout. Perfectly ripe, juicy, and cold from a day in the fridge..I would probably have done that workout over again just for a single slice of that succulent fruit! Small blessings!
The morning after: it continues to amaze me how the body forgives and forgets and the turmoil you have put it through... my legs feel surprisingly good today and I am planning to have a big day: 70mins easy. It will be my longest day all season, a new challenge for this EMIP!
Be Easy.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Practice as you play
To my legions of followers out there, waiting for the next installment of this riviting blog: here it is! However, I must confess that these last 2 days of running have not been very eventful....however, they have been very necessary. On Thursday I did an easy 8.5ish miles from home to the Fort Henry XC course and back again with Trev. It was nice to have company, especially as he was leaving the next day for home before heading to Ireland to start his Master's. Having not only run with him for Queen's as well as being in the same program as him at (Physical Health Education/Kinesiology) I have logged quite a few hours with him over the past 4 years and got to know him fairly well. I have learned alot from him and shared some great experiences so I am sad to see him go.
Anyway, back to that run....it was nice and steady and just perfect for a post-Michigan recovery. 8-9 miles is now my standard off-day run: nothing spectacular in terms of distance or speed, but comfortable enough that I can do it 3-4 times a week (on top of workouts) without undue stress. I am realizing slowly that success in running comes from the repetition of seemingly ordinary efforts which culminate over time. Kev is a big proponent of me not hitting the wall in workouts and if it looks like a workout might heading that way, he will alter it so as to avoid calamity. It's a classic "practice as you play" situation: you never want to drastically lose form and fall off the rails during a race, so why do it in practice? What we want to do is run fast and relaxed during an entire session and gradually doing this at faster and faster speeds - exactly what we want in races. Plus derailing is just the worst.
Yesterday, as mentioned was also uneventful, although slightly guilt-tinged. I woke up intending to go for a run, but just couldn't get out of bed. Running twice a day is something that elite runners do often and something I need to do more often; it helps to add mileage in small and manageable increments, as well as waking the legs up for a workout later that day. I have been a low mileage fellow my whole life, never really believing that I could handle big stuff and prefering to do quality over quantity. I think those days have to come to an end and that quality and quantity must go hand in hand. Anyway, I had planned to run at 2pm with Braden, but then realized I would be watching the England game with my family at that time. Given their abysmal performance, I should have gone for that run. I ended up only able to squeeze in 5 miles that evening - not enough for an EMIP. It is not a huge deal in the big scheme of things but I need to really get into the lifestyle of an elite miler if I want to make magic happen on the oval!
Today I have a 800m workout planned. I am not sure exactly what, as Kev likes to keep me in the dark for as long as possible, but what it should mean is short, fast and lots of rest. That's a winning combo in my books!
Be Easy.
Anyway, back to that run....it was nice and steady and just perfect for a post-Michigan recovery. 8-9 miles is now my standard off-day run: nothing spectacular in terms of distance or speed, but comfortable enough that I can do it 3-4 times a week (on top of workouts) without undue stress. I am realizing slowly that success in running comes from the repetition of seemingly ordinary efforts which culminate over time. Kev is a big proponent of me not hitting the wall in workouts and if it looks like a workout might heading that way, he will alter it so as to avoid calamity. It's a classic "practice as you play" situation: you never want to drastically lose form and fall off the rails during a race, so why do it in practice? What we want to do is run fast and relaxed during an entire session and gradually doing this at faster and faster speeds - exactly what we want in races. Plus derailing is just the worst.
Yesterday, as mentioned was also uneventful, although slightly guilt-tinged. I woke up intending to go for a run, but just couldn't get out of bed. Running twice a day is something that elite runners do often and something I need to do more often; it helps to add mileage in small and manageable increments, as well as waking the legs up for a workout later that day. I have been a low mileage fellow my whole life, never really believing that I could handle big stuff and prefering to do quality over quantity. I think those days have to come to an end and that quality and quantity must go hand in hand. Anyway, I had planned to run at 2pm with Braden, but then realized I would be watching the England game with my family at that time. Given their abysmal performance, I should have gone for that run. I ended up only able to squeeze in 5 miles that evening - not enough for an EMIP. It is not a huge deal in the big scheme of things but I need to really get into the lifestyle of an elite miler if I want to make magic happen on the oval!
Today I have a 800m workout planned. I am not sure exactly what, as Kev likes to keep me in the dark for as long as possible, but what it should mean is short, fast and lots of rest. That's a winning combo in my books!
Be Easy.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
The Michigan (also entitled: Life and Death in the Kitchen Corner)
Yesterday evening, I ran over to the track to meet Kevin for a workout, having agreed to do a tempo run. (A tempo run is a type of run that involves running for a greater distance than one would race, although only at 75-85% of one's top speed.) However, when I arrived, Kev informed me that he has recalled a workout called "The Michigan" - a workout pioneered by a Ron Warhurst, a coach at The University of Michigan. Now, I had never heard of the Michigan (being one of the most unenlightened of runner's you may ever meet) and it was fuzzy in Kev's memory so we did our own version, which turned out to be pretty close to the original....abet probably a slight bit slower! The workout is essentially a mix between intervals on the track and tempo running (a 1300m loop on a hilly ringroad around the stadium) and our version went like this:
1600m - 4:33, 400m jog, 1300m tempo - 4:00, 2:00 rest, 1200m - 3:23, 400m jog, tempo - 4:02, 2:00 rest, 800m - 2:10, 400m jog, tempo - 4:02, 400m - 58.44.
It was a gruelling workout, especially on the quicker intervals on track as there was a mighty headwind on the home stretch. On the last 200m of the 800m I almost told Kev to get on the track to break the wind for me, but couldn't spare the air to speak. (He did help me out in that way on the first 200m of the 400m) The tempos were surprisingly quick and felt good....the slower pace allowed my legs to recover and spin nicely.
Now the real Michigan apparently (it seems to differ from website to website) involves 1600m hard/mile steady/1200m hard/mile steady/800m hard/mile steady/400m hard/mile steady. Not sure how fast they go or what rest they take but by the way I was feeling afterwards, I don't think I could have done much more. However, I don't think that the Michigan boys (or many Elite Milers in Progress) have to roll under fences to get onto and off the track during their rests, so I may have one up on them there!
This is typical of the type of running I do with Kevin, which while logical and well thoughtout (by Kev) is often spontaneous with parts borrowed from other elite runners. For the Michigan, Kev's rationale was that the two top placing NCAA guys in the Olympic 1500m in the last 10 years, Kevin Sullivan(Cdn) and Nick Willis (NZ), both came out of U of Michigan, so they must be doing something right down there! We have also done workouts by Gary Reed (Cdn - 800m), Steve Scott (USA - miler), Mike Woods (Cdn - miler and high school nemesis of my buddy Braden), and Bernard Lagat (USA nee Kenya - 1500/5000m). Kev choses these workouts based on where these runners were in their season/career and where he thinks I am in mine.
Today I am off for an easy run with Trev, a recent Queen's grad and Queen's Gael for the past 4 years. It will be an easy day....something that I often struggle with as I have a tendancy to push the envelope and run too hard when I am supposed to be chilling out and recovering. From my degree in PHE involving much education in exercise physiology, I know that training adaptations only occur during periods of recovery (the night and days following a hard workout)...yet despite this I often find my self hammering off-day runs. CHILL OUT MAN!
That's all for now....although I feel I should mention that while eating lunch today, in attempting to brush and ant off the wall and into my hand, it fell to the floor but got stuck in a spider's web. The spider, about half its size pounced on it and wrapped it up as it thrashed about. I felt it unwise to meddle further with nature so I did my best David Attenborough and ran a commentary about life and death in the kitchen corner. I shall search for a deep life lesson to this event during my run and report back later.
Be Easy.
1600m - 4:33, 400m jog, 1300m tempo - 4:00, 2:00 rest, 1200m - 3:23, 400m jog, tempo - 4:02, 2:00 rest, 800m - 2:10, 400m jog, tempo - 4:02, 400m - 58.44.
It was a gruelling workout, especially on the quicker intervals on track as there was a mighty headwind on the home stretch. On the last 200m of the 800m I almost told Kev to get on the track to break the wind for me, but couldn't spare the air to speak. (He did help me out in that way on the first 200m of the 400m) The tempos were surprisingly quick and felt good....the slower pace allowed my legs to recover and spin nicely.
Now the real Michigan apparently (it seems to differ from website to website) involves 1600m hard/mile steady/1200m hard/mile steady/800m hard/mile steady/400m hard/mile steady. Not sure how fast they go or what rest they take but by the way I was feeling afterwards, I don't think I could have done much more. However, I don't think that the Michigan boys (or many Elite Milers in Progress) have to roll under fences to get onto and off the track during their rests, so I may have one up on them there!
This is typical of the type of running I do with Kevin, which while logical and well thoughtout (by Kev) is often spontaneous with parts borrowed from other elite runners. For the Michigan, Kev's rationale was that the two top placing NCAA guys in the Olympic 1500m in the last 10 years, Kevin Sullivan(Cdn) and Nick Willis (NZ), both came out of U of Michigan, so they must be doing something right down there! We have also done workouts by Gary Reed (Cdn - 800m), Steve Scott (USA - miler), Mike Woods (Cdn - miler and high school nemesis of my buddy Braden), and Bernard Lagat (USA nee Kenya - 1500/5000m). Kev choses these workouts based on where these runners were in their season/career and where he thinks I am in mine.
Today I am off for an easy run with Trev, a recent Queen's grad and Queen's Gael for the past 4 years. It will be an easy day....something that I often struggle with as I have a tendancy to push the envelope and run too hard when I am supposed to be chilling out and recovering. From my degree in PHE involving much education in exercise physiology, I know that training adaptations only occur during periods of recovery (the night and days following a hard workout)...yet despite this I often find my self hammering off-day runs. CHILL OUT MAN!
That's all for now....although I feel I should mention that while eating lunch today, in attempting to brush and ant off the wall and into my hand, it fell to the floor but got stuck in a spider's web. The spider, about half its size pounced on it and wrapped it up as it thrashed about. I felt it unwise to meddle further with nature so I did my best David Attenborough and ran a commentary about life and death in the kitchen corner. I shall search for a deep life lesson to this event during my run and report back later.
Be Easy.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Catch Up
Ok folks, you may realize that this is the middle of the summer outdoor season and you may be wondering - "what has this guy done in the past few months/years to make him think he ahs any chance of making it big in the coming months/years?" Well here goes a brief recap of this year. I'll summerize the major events starting with the indoor season with Queen's.
Indoor season - This started in January with a race down in Windsor. Unfortunately, I had been practicing my "Usain" stride (ie. changing my form on the home stretch trying to run like a sprinter, when I actually am not) in practice in the days leading up to the race and had stressed my hamstring. Consequently I pulled it on my first stride before my race. What a great way to start the season; I was none too pleased. However, it healed rather well and in 3 days I was back running. Fast forward over a few weeks of training and racing, nothing of which had been incredibly spectacular but just solid work, to the end of Febuary and the Ontario University championships (OUA's) at York University. I placed 2nd in the 1000m to Delmonte of UofT (making him run a meet record to do it), 2nd as part of the 4x800m team - 0.2 seconds behind Windsor, and won the 1500m, beating Boorsma of Guelph with a kick. On to the Canadian University national championships (CIS) a few weeks later where I won the 1000m (beating Delmonte with a kick) and placing 2nd in the 1500m (behind Boorsma). Both of these races can be found on Youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBtj5AUPPIg and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19dx-C_qEEM I would like to be able to post these directly to my blog wall, but am unsure of how.
And now onto the real deal! Taking a meager 4 days off after CIS, I started again training to get ready for the outdoor season. I put in a few weeks of training (including a personal record setting week of 62.5 miles!) before the Jesse Owens Classic at Ohio State University at the end of April. I went down there expecting to be thrashed but ended up running a 4 second pb of 3:45.75 for 2nd place. Check it out at http://www.runnerspace.com/video.php?do=view&video_id=25404, watch the fellow in yellow chilling out at the back of the pack for most of the race then suddenly remembers to start racing at 200m to go.
A few weeks later, in early June, I hit up the 401 Track Series...a series of 3 races over the span of a week. It included a 1500m in Windsor, an 800m in London and a Mile in Guelph. I placed 2nd in the 1500 with 3:44.76 behind Taylor Milne (2008 Olympian and Canada's current middle distance man to beat). I was then 3rd in the 800m with 1:50.86, behind Milne and Kyle Smith (and only 0.01 off my coach's 800m pb!). Finally, I placed 2nd in the Mile, running 4:03.45, again behind Milne. I was going for the sub-4....but it wasn't to be - this time anyway!
You can find videoes to those races at:
800m: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kk5bZTjAXo
Mile: http://www.guelphrunning.ca/news.php?id=329
So, there you have it! That's a short and sweet breakdown of the past few months. I have been racing nicely and have been improving steadily. Lots of my improvement was due to a solid XC season in the fall, but that's a story for another day. A lot of work and many miles have gone into this....big thanks especially to Kevin Dunbar, my coach, and summer training partners: James, Anders and Trevor. Also thanks to the boys in Windsor who let me crash at their place and learn their secrets for a few days during the 401 Series. And let's not forget my family too for their constant support. BUT, we ain't done yet folks...we're just halfway!
Halfway you say? Whatever is next? Well, I'm off to BC in a few weeks for the PacifiCanada Series, which is another series of races (this time 4) in a span of a week. I will hit up a 1500m at the Harry Jerome Classic in Burnaby, a 1500m at the Victoria International Track Classic in Victoria (obvy!), and an 800m at the Kajaks International in Richmond. Info can be found at http://www.pacificanada.ca/?p=110.
After that will be the Canadian National Track and Field Champs in Toronto from July 28-31st where I intend peak and rip of a top notch performance. Following that will be the Athletics Ontario Provincial Champs in Sudbury on August 14-15.
And there you have it! That is where I have come from and where I am going this summer. NOW YOU KNOW!!
Stay Classy. Be Easy.
Matt
Indoor season - This started in January with a race down in Windsor. Unfortunately, I had been practicing my "Usain" stride (ie. changing my form on the home stretch trying to run like a sprinter, when I actually am not) in practice in the days leading up to the race and had stressed my hamstring. Consequently I pulled it on my first stride before my race. What a great way to start the season; I was none too pleased. However, it healed rather well and in 3 days I was back running. Fast forward over a few weeks of training and racing, nothing of which had been incredibly spectacular but just solid work, to the end of Febuary and the Ontario University championships (OUA's) at York University. I placed 2nd in the 1000m to Delmonte of UofT (making him run a meet record to do it), 2nd as part of the 4x800m team - 0.2 seconds behind Windsor, and won the 1500m, beating Boorsma of Guelph with a kick. On to the Canadian University national championships (CIS) a few weeks later where I won the 1000m (beating Delmonte with a kick) and placing 2nd in the 1500m (behind Boorsma). Both of these races can be found on Youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBtj5AUPPIg and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19dx-C_qEEM I would like to be able to post these directly to my blog wall, but am unsure of how.
And now onto the real deal! Taking a meager 4 days off after CIS, I started again training to get ready for the outdoor season. I put in a few weeks of training (including a personal record setting week of 62.5 miles!) before the Jesse Owens Classic at Ohio State University at the end of April. I went down there expecting to be thrashed but ended up running a 4 second pb of 3:45.75 for 2nd place. Check it out at http://www.runnerspace.com/video.php?do=view&video_id=25404, watch the fellow in yellow chilling out at the back of the pack for most of the race then suddenly remembers to start racing at 200m to go.
A few weeks later, in early June, I hit up the 401 Track Series...a series of 3 races over the span of a week. It included a 1500m in Windsor, an 800m in London and a Mile in Guelph. I placed 2nd in the 1500 with 3:44.76 behind Taylor Milne (2008 Olympian and Canada's current middle distance man to beat). I was then 3rd in the 800m with 1:50.86, behind Milne and Kyle Smith (and only 0.01 off my coach's 800m pb!). Finally, I placed 2nd in the Mile, running 4:03.45, again behind Milne. I was going for the sub-4....but it wasn't to be - this time anyway!
You can find videoes to those races at:
800m: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kk5bZTjAXo
Mile: http://www.guelphrunning.ca/news.php?id=329
So, there you have it! That's a short and sweet breakdown of the past few months. I have been racing nicely and have been improving steadily. Lots of my improvement was due to a solid XC season in the fall, but that's a story for another day. A lot of work and many miles have gone into this....big thanks especially to Kevin Dunbar, my coach, and summer training partners: James, Anders and Trevor. Also thanks to the boys in Windsor who let me crash at their place and learn their secrets for a few days during the 401 Series. And let's not forget my family too for their constant support. BUT, we ain't done yet folks...we're just halfway!
Halfway you say? Whatever is next? Well, I'm off to BC in a few weeks for the PacifiCanada Series, which is another series of races (this time 4) in a span of a week. I will hit up a 1500m at the Harry Jerome Classic in Burnaby, a 1500m at the Victoria International Track Classic in Victoria (obvy!), and an 800m at the Kajaks International in Richmond. Info can be found at http://www.pacificanada.ca/?p=110.
After that will be the Canadian National Track and Field Champs in Toronto from July 28-31st where I intend peak and rip of a top notch performance. Following that will be the Athletics Ontario Provincial Champs in Sudbury on August 14-15.
And there you have it! That is where I have come from and where I am going this summer. NOW YOU KNOW!!
Stay Classy. Be Easy.
Matt
Welcome!
Aloha everybody! This is blog numbro uno and I am quite not sure what is going on. I am trying to make this blog as professional and classy as I can, but things are going slowly! I know that things may need tweaking (and/or major changes....ie. the picture of me under the title!) but bare with me please!
I think as my first post I will state the intent of my blog and what I hope to gain and give by using it.
As stated in the title, I am an "Elite Miler in Progress". What this means is that I am on a journey to becoming one of the best milers in the country. By miler I mean someone who predominantly focuses on races ranging from 800m to 1 Mile, although I do venture above and below this bracket. Now, will this ever happen? I am not sure, but that is the goal that I am working towards. Time will only tell, but with my current training and racing, support from my family friends and coach, and my, as of yet, undiminished enjoyment of this sport, I have no reason not to believe in myself.
This blog is meant to help me along this path. While I intend on using my racing to display my development and announce my presence on the running scene, this blog will help to relate the day-to-day experiences of an Elite Miler in Progress (EMIP) to those who cannot see it first hand. This might be especially relevant to those who are supporting me - financially, materially, or just plain hoping and praying I do well. This will be my way of letting them all know how thing are going and thanking them as they contribute to my success. If, my by words and actions, I can inspire some others to bigger and better things, then so much the better!
And now I think I have rambled enough...especially as no one knows I even have this blog (at the time of writing), I really should attend to that before I spend hours pouring my heart out!
Be Easy.
Matt
I think as my first post I will state the intent of my blog and what I hope to gain and give by using it.
As stated in the title, I am an "Elite Miler in Progress". What this means is that I am on a journey to becoming one of the best milers in the country. By miler I mean someone who predominantly focuses on races ranging from 800m to 1 Mile, although I do venture above and below this bracket. Now, will this ever happen? I am not sure, but that is the goal that I am working towards. Time will only tell, but with my current training and racing, support from my family friends and coach, and my, as of yet, undiminished enjoyment of this sport, I have no reason not to believe in myself.
This blog is meant to help me along this path. While I intend on using my racing to display my development and announce my presence on the running scene, this blog will help to relate the day-to-day experiences of an Elite Miler in Progress (EMIP) to those who cannot see it first hand. This might be especially relevant to those who are supporting me - financially, materially, or just plain hoping and praying I do well. This will be my way of letting them all know how thing are going and thanking them as they contribute to my success. If, my by words and actions, I can inspire some others to bigger and better things, then so much the better!
And now I think I have rambled enough...especially as no one knows I even have this blog (at the time of writing), I really should attend to that before I spend hours pouring my heart out!
Be Easy.
Matt
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