Thursday, September 25, 2008

This changes everything? Probably not...

So, I am a few days removed from the half and still on cloud nine. I have done a lot of reflecting about how this all happened and here are few things I realized:

*Stretching was/is huge. Most of you that know me, know I don't stretch. Well, the whole week leading up to the race I stretched for at least 20 minutes each day. This must have caught my body by complete surprise and worked wonders. This has convinced me to start stretching full time.

*Cookies are great, but poisonous. With two and half weeks to go I made changes in my diet. I cut out most of the sweets I usually like to eat and increased my vegetable/fruit count. I was by no means perfect, as my girlfriend and I downed some Jelly Belly's and Snow Caps one weekend, but I really cut back. I held off on my Z-Burger trip until after the half, and let me tell you, it was awesome. But seriously, I have been eating really well the last couple of weeks. I am going to continue the trend, but it won't be easy. I love chocolate.

*The taper was perfect. On Labor Day weekend I was absolutely toast. I hadn't had a "full" good workout since August 6th. I had run two sub-par 5k's (Cigna 5k in Manchester and Alumni Run) and felt like crap. After hitting rock bottom with a 16:22 at Alumni Run I started my taper a week early, making it a three week plan. I was extremely nervous, but ready to try anything. For the next two and a half weeks I struggled. I was running six miles almost every day and all I hoped for was a spark. I had two workouts, one a complete disaster. Yet, through all of this I stuck with the taper plan. Really I had no choice, but as I neared the race I knew I couldn't feel awful forever. Then, when I needed it most, I started to come out of it. With exactly a week to go I had an "average" run, this led to an "ok" run, which led to a "good run". (If you're counting at home we are on the Wednesday before) So with a good run under my belt (the first in weeks), I had a decision to make. Would I workout one last time or not? I decided to push my luck and went for it. My game time decision of a 2 Mile in 10:15 followed by 5x400 in 70 (w/ 35 sec rest) was exactly what I needed. I felt smooth, confident, and had more in the tank. At that point anything was possible, but I kept my expectations reasonable.

*Head games were not a problem. I had an inner confidence last weekend that I haven't had in years. I think the last time I felt it was indoor track of 2004. On Sunday I had no idea what I was capable of but I knew I could run well. I had done the long runs, the workouts, and the running in the heat; I deserved to run well. All of the negativity I had felt just a week before wasn't there. I believed that I had earned it even before I started the race. The best part of it is, for the first time in a long time (maybe high school), I "still" believe I earned that race on Sunday. And you see, that is the hardest part for me. I have a hard time recognizing my good races for what they are.........accomplishments. I always find some way to rationalize every performance or attribute it to something. My 11th place finish at 2002 DIII XC Nats, that was because the race was slow. My 14:31 at the opening meet of my senior outdoor season, I was lucky. My 30:14 at Penn, I had fast people to run with. But in reality, I ran those races, I had earned them. Sorry for the philosophical rant, but it feels good to be working past all of that. I am not out of the woods yet, but I am making progress.

So, here I am, with a new PR, a big PR, a really good PR, now what do I do? Well, I am going to run the Army 10-miler next weekend (Oct 5th), take a week off/really easy, then re-evaluate my short-term goals a little. I know that the little things (stretching, diet, recovery, etc.) are important. I think I am finally ready to start paying more attention to them. There is more work to be done and I look forward to it. I am still the same person, a skinny kid with marginal leg speed...........but I just happen to have a new PR and a little more confidence too.

Here is the week leading up the 1/2:

Week: 09/14 - 09/20
Week Miles: 46
46
Saturday took the day off before the race, not a terrible idea, needed the rest 0
Friday felt ok again, had my moments, overall not too bad 6
Thursday easy 6, felt ok out there but not great 6
Wednesday 3 up, 2 mile in 10:15 (5:07, 5:07), about 2 minutes rest, 5x400 in 69 with 35 sec rest, 3 miles down, felt good today 9
Tuesday best run I have had in weeks, control was good, felt smooth
6
Monday easy 8, felt ok out there today, showing signs of life 8
Sunday easy run with it's moments, felt average out there, but not great, really warm outside.
11

Sunday, September 21, 2008

1:06:56


Saying that my half-marathon went well could be the understatement of the year. If you are wondering what I felt like at the finish line, watch this video (yes, it's safe for work, and on a completely separate note, for those of you that think that stupid Giant/Patriots Superbowl was the best ever, just remember who invented the "us against the world" attitude).

So here were my different levels of expectations for the race, this should really put it into perspective for anyone reading:

LEVEL1 - 1:11:04 was my PR, set over a year ago at the New Bedford 1/2 in the freezing cold Massachusetts air. So my first expectation was that I was going to PR, this was not going to be a problem, unless I tanked or dropped out.

LEVEL 2 - My "I ran well" goal was to run 1:09:??. I hadn't felt well for a while, so I backed off my expectations. I thought that if I shot for 1:09 I would at least break 1:10 and maintain some respectability.

LEVEL 3 - My "Best Race" goal was anything under 1:09 all the way to 1:08:00. I didn't really know if this was possible, but I held out hope.

LEVEL 4 - My "Body was kidnapped and replaced by someone else" goal was anything just under 1:08. I mean I would have been pretty pumped with a time that was over three minutes faster than my PR.

LEVEL 5 - My "non-existent" goal was low 1:07's. I didn't really think much about this before the race, so it was kind of out of the question.

LEVEL 6 - My "I use fabric softener but I'm not soft" goal was breaking 1:07. I wouldn't have believed this if you had told me before hand.

However, something happened this week. After a month of not feeling well and finishing my workouts like crap something changed; I had a good day. To be honest, it was expected. I had been following a taper plan, but with less than a week I was still worried. Before I get into the days leading up to the race, let's go back to the race report.

So, I arrived in Philadelphia mid afternoon on Saturday and grabbed a late lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. Yes, this felt pretty touristy but I really didn't care. I was glad to be eating and we were across the street from our hotel. At 5:00 we had a technical meeting where I saw a bunch of people that I have only seen in results or photos. In other words, these were fast people. As I walked in the race people wanted my head-shot in case I placed as one of the top Americans. I was a little embarrassed, as I did not figure to be among that group on even my best day. Still, I did what they asked and sat through all of the rules.

After the meeting Robbie Wade and I went back to our room and watched the Wicker Man on HBO. At some point we got hungry because we skipped the pasta dinner at the elite athletes meeting. (Wait, did you notice what I just wrote? Yeah, we watched the Wicker Man. Yeah, it was messed up. Maybe not the best choice for a pre-race movie) So, we wandered around the streets around our hotel until we found a COSI, where I was able to get a sandwich. (FYI, Philadelphia has a lot weird smells and isn't really my kind of town.) Then after a little American Gangster on HBO, a hot shower, and some stretching it was time for bed.

5:00 am wake up! Actually, it wasn't that exciting. I got my gear on, grabbed some breakfast at the elite athlete room and got on a bus to the line. At the line the people from ING had us all set up with our own tent. There was a ton of food and our own private bathrooms. Ok, fast forward through a short two mile warm up, nipple band-aids, and some vasoline and we are at the start. I did a few striders but with all of the people flying around it was tough to get good ones in. At the line I got right up front and stood next to my teammate Steve Crane, who was standing next to Catherine Ndereba (2008 Olympic Marathon Silver Medalist). They do the anthem, life is good, and I wonder how I will feel out there.

So, bam, the gun goes off and within 200m I knew it. All of the problems with my legs were gone, and I was smooth. Today was going to be a good day, how good was next on the agenda? My first mile was done on feel, so depending on the split I was going to decide my plan of attack. Click, 4:59 for the first mile. This was a best case scenario. Our friends for Africa had taken off and were trying to run 61 minutes, but some of us Americans were content with 5 minute pace. So, I went all in. Yup, a mile into the race. I abandoned my stitched together plan of running a conservative 5:10ish per mile race and packed up with three dudes. So at two miles, I was 10:04 and it was me, two Philly guys, and Robbie. Perfect pack. At four I was still feeling it, as I went through in 20:18. The fifth mile was really messed up, but I remember one of the guys (later identified as Ross Martinson) asking if we were game for 5:00-5:05 per mile. I said "yeah...........as long as I can."

At this point we started to drop Robbie a little, but I had no idea that at 6 miles he would actually drop out of the race. I went through 10k in 31:29, a lot faster than I had envisioned myself running, still I felt good. It wasn't until 8 miles that I really started thinking about my PR for 10 miles (which was a great race for me). At that point I had dropped both of the Philly guys, and felt pretty good about my chances. As I neared the 10 mile mark I couldn't quite put away Ross Martinson. I attempted a few surges, but he hung in there. Still, at 10 miles I PR'd in 50:53. This was awesome, I started adding it up in my head and I realized that I was running the race of my life. Granted, I slowed down a little, but I was still ok. I thought about running 1:07 low, and I made the commitment to finish strong.

In the last three to four miles I started coming up some dudes including Andrew Letherby (someone a lot faster than me) and a few Kenyans. At this point I had my own camera guy on a motorcycle shooting me, just me. I was in shock and convinced myself that the lead master must have been right behind me and they were getting the wide angle. Nope, I just keep rolling and passing dudes.

Wow, did I have balls out there. Too bad I didn't have the legs to match it over the last mile or so, I just sort of ran out of gas. So Martinson and Letherby both got by me again, but I was still ok. It was all gravy, because hey I was through 20k in 1:03:24 and heading for a huge PR. I kicked around the final turn, taking it way too wide, but all I saw was the clock. I had a chance at going under 1:07. In a fury of 70 second quarter speed I willed my body to the line. I looked up and I was under. 1:06:56. Fist pump.

This was the best race of my life. If you line up all of my PR's, this one is far and away my best. It was just so un-real, and I am still in a pretty big state of shock. I was so pumped I did two short cool downs and even jogged up the Rocky steps. Yes, it was just one of those days. I ended up 17th overall and was 3rd among Americans. So, I guess the head-shot came in handy after all.

I am pretty tired of writing so I'll wait a day to post about my previous week. Wish the Patriots had won today, but hey, still a good day.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

"Matt Cassel is our quarterback"

That pretty much sums up my last two weeks. It is so funny that the new Patriots season mirrors my running. I mean, I was feeling pretty good about things a few weeks ago until bam, then I wasn't. It's kind of like how I was feeling about the Patriot's season until about 7 minutes to go in the first quarter of week one, then bam, down went Brady.

So, on both fronts I have been trying to convince myself that everything is going to be all right. Unfortunately, I am not sold just yet (on either).

On the running end of things I have been taking it easy the past two weeks. I did some good training for about 3+ months and I am hoping that I can get something out of it next weekend. However, I have yet to finish a workout with some power since mid-August. This week was a complete disaster, as I attempted to do some 600's and tried to get my legs moving a little faster. In the end it was embarrassing, and didn't end well. I finally took a day off this week, with the hopes of an energy boost on Friday. Still nothing, just more tired legs and a weak body. So, what am I going to do? I'll continue to rest into next weekend, but I am not sure what to expect. I guess I'll cross my fingers and hope.

On the football end of things I have been in a state of denial for the last week. I have talked myself into the Matt Cassel era, to the point where I now believe they can win 10 games with the guy. I had observed this guy for last few years, but during this pre-season I had seen enough. Simply put, he was awful. The guy who played against the Chiefs last week was not Matt Cassel, it must have been someone else. I don't know which guy will show up for the rest of the season, but I 'll cross my fingers and hope.

Here are the last two weeks.....(try not to laugh)

8/31 - 9/6 : 71 Miles
Saturday easy run, feeling a little tired 6
Friday easy 12, morning run 12
Thursday easy 8 in the heat, tired and sluggish 8
Wednesday 3 up, 8x1000 w/ 1 minute rest, the first few were in 2:59-3:00, 3:02 for 7, and 3:05 for 8, I was falling apart at the end, did a 5 mile cool down at 8 minute pace 13
Tuesday 6 easy
6
Monday After a long morning of driving back, I made my way on the 6 loop, 6
Sunday good solid long run, 14 of it with TUXC 20

9/7 - 9/13 : 53.5 Miles
Saturday easy 6, not feeling good
6
Friday easy 6, just trying to get something going 6
Thursday day off 0
Wednesday 3 miles warm up, 2x600 (1:40, 42), 8x400 (68-69), 2 min rest on each interval, felt pretty awful throughout, 3 miles on the cool down, 11
Tuesday did my standard 8 loop, felt tired
8
Monday easy 6 recovery run 6
Sunday total time of 1:48:38, short 2-3 mile tempo @ 5:20 pace towards end
16.5

Thursday, September 4, 2008

NFL Kickoff 08

Here are a few things I think about the upcoming NFL season I think you should know:

* The Minnesota Vikings are good, but not that good.  Anyone who believes that they are going to A) Win their division, B) Win the NFC, or C) Win the Super Bowl is using an illegal substance.  The Vikes are apparently the trendy pick to win this year, but I just don't see it.  I think they are talented, well coached, and good defensively but they have a huge question mark at quarterback.  I love the people who say, "Tavaris Jackson will be fine, don't worry about him."  Well, let's consider that A) young quarterbacks struggle in the NFL, B) mobile quarterbacks don't win consistently in the NFL, and C) average receivers can only take you so far.  In the NFC North I still favor the Packers and Bears, with the Packers a slight favorite.

* The New York Jets are not making the playoffs.  Stop this nonsense.

* The Buffalo Bills are better, but probably won't make the playoffs.

* I still like the AFC South to have three playoff teams, Colts, Jaguars, and Titans.

* Just say no to 19-0.  No team is winning all of their games this season, not even my favorite team.

* The two best teams in the NFL are New England and Indianapolis.

* The Jaguars are good and could contend, but they have to deal with the Colts.  David Garrard is a good quarterback, Peyton Manning is great.  Let's not forget, the Patriots own the Jaguars.

* The Giants will probably (and hopefully) miss the playoffs.

* LT will get hurt, Adrian Peterson will get hurt, and so will Donovan McNabb.  Sad, but true.

* Week Five, your new Chicago Bears starting quarterback is........Rex Grossman.  Mark it down now.

* Don't sleep on the Seahawks and Redskins.

* Don't believe the Cardinals hype, they can score, but they can't defend.

* Your 2008-09 rushing leader is: Joseph Addai (IND), because why not.

* Your 2008-09 MVP is: (still) Tom Brady.  Did you watch pre-season?  Totally different team without him.

* Jerod Mayo, 51, New England Patriots, remember that name.  He is awesome.
 
* Anyone who thinks that Peyton Manning will be any less effective is an idiot.  He's Peyton Manning, he does 100 commercials at the same time, speaks all of JR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings languages, and knows all the defenses from league's 32 teams.  Granted, he'll still choke come playoff time.

* Don't bet on the Atlanta Falcons at all this season.  I have no idea what they are capable of, good or bad. 

* Carolina Panthers.  Have you ever seen a blue panther in Carolina?  Nope.

* Miami Dolphins.  Not so good this year.  It might have been a good idea to keep your best defensive player, draft a real quarterback, and not rely heavily on a burnt out stoner at running back.  I mean I am no Bill Parcells or anything, but who is making the decisions down there.  Oh yeah, that's right........

* Reggie Bush, better year this year.  Book it.

* Steven Jackson, fantasy killer.  One week he is 50 points, the next week he's out.  Don't trust him.    

* The Patriots are still the best team out there.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Nothing to lose

I'll get this out of the way, Alumni Run was fun, but not a great race for me at all.  Matthew Lacey ('06) and I decided beforehand that we would get out quick, but not too quick.  This meant leaving the field behind, but staying in control.  At Grafton, 5 minutes is a fast first mile, so it was important to remember that a good effort didn't necessarily translate to a goood split.

So, the gun goes off and immediately I get to the front.  It's Lacey and I, you would think DWAI, no problems.  However, I felt like I was working about 10 times harder going up the opening hill than he was.  Every step felt like I was running through the ball cage at McDonalds.  Meanwhile, I looked over at Matthew and he was fast.  I was dying at 400m IN!!!!!  About 200m later (600m), we worked our way down hill and I struggled to fully catch up.  600m IN!!!!!  At this point I knew I was in trouble.  However, I also knew I was in shape and just tried to get one stride where things felt right.  I followed Lacey all the way to the mile mark in about 5:07.  He was probably 2 seconds ahead at that point.  The next thing I knew, the race had completely slipped away.

For those of you who don't know, Grafton's weird and difficult first mile is followed up by a fast downhill mile.  If played well, 4:50 is really not a big deal.  Well, on Saturday, it was huge.  I had nothing.  I immediately had to change my outlook and focus on maintaining second place.  I had nothing left in the tank, so this was going to be a problem.  Slowly but surely a pack of dudes were hawking me down.  I made it to the two mile mark and could feel them breathing down my neck.  I made it another quarter of a mile before they actually caught me.  

To my surprise it was new Alumni Dave Sorensen ('08) and Tufts Captain Nick Welch ('10).  This was awesome.  After spending five seconds feeling sorry for myself I remembered that Sorensen was my teammate.  I looked at him and said, "Work with me Sorensen."  Welch, who had pulled alongside us, was not going to beat us.  As crappy as I was feeling I was able to set a great pick for Sorensen, who would go on to finish second.  At this point I thought third was between myself and Nick Welch.  I like Welch, but I loved my chances.

However, as I approached the three mile mark I heard people cheering a different name than Nick's.  I heard, "lets go Jesse."  Simply put, this was a nightmare.  Jesse Faller ('10), Tufts returning All-American, may not have my gas tank over long distances, but he does have a better kick.  In addition to having said kick, he has complete command over it, unlike this guy.  So at about 150 he pulls alongide me, and eventually by me.  What's funny, is that he thought it was over.  I had been dying a slow death the entire last two miles, and he thought there was no way I could respond.  Well, for about 2 seconds that made two of us.  Then, I started thinking sneak attack.  For a split second I held my breath, got on my toes, and attempted to pull alongside.  I wasn't crafty enough, as Jesse looked back and did his best Usain Bolt impression.  All I needed was one good stride and I could have made it interesting.  Instead, it was over, I would finish fourth in a disappointing 16:22. 

But, the Alumni romped, and pretty close to my projections too.  Matt Fortin ('06) and Brian McNamara ('05) came up huge and we had five inside the top eight.  It was truly a dominating performance.  There would be no question this year, we deserved the title.  Mad props to Matt Lacey who also romped at 15:40, setting a Tufts record (Undergrad & Alumni).  Also credit should go out to Dave Sorensen as well, he made up for my bad day out there.  In case you were wondering, yeah, we had more dudes too.  Chad Uy ('07) was 10th and Aaron Kaye ('05) was 12th.  Depth was a huge strength.

Peter Bromka was beaten by Cat Beck.

Overall, I have felt like crap for a few weeks now.  There is no mystery, just a little surprise.  I really believed that I was strong enough to train through August and still run solid at Alumni Run.  I ran solid, but not nearly solid enough.  For the last few days I have been reflecting, "maybe I'm just not that good."  I mean I never thought I was "that good" but I thought with an elevated summer, maybe I could start getting there.  I'm not sure anymore, and that kind of sucks.  

The worst part is that this cycle was supposed to be a bridge to my next cycle.  I have only been running in the low to mid 80's (in singles) to help bridge the gap to the mid 90's (with a few doubles).  But, right now, I haven't been able to do it all.  I can't run the miles without doubles, the 20 mile long runs, the harder workouts, and good races all at the same time.  Unrealisitic, maybe? Unfortunately, those are my expectations, and now my outlook is filled with more doubt and a look to change it all up completely.  I have even had thoughts of focusing on track for the winter.  How the **** does that prepare me to qualify for the marathon trials in three years?  

In the end I just want feel good and make some progress.  With all of the work I have put in since the marathon (yeah I said it), I don't feel progressed.  However, I have one card left to play before I completely give up.  The one thing I did better than my long runs in prep for the marathon was my taper plan.  My father and I put together a researched plan and it worked.  So, this weekend he went back to the drawing board and I went back to my logs.  As I get ready for this half marathon in Philly, I am starting my rest a week early.  The plan also calls for some fast intervals, with less volume in my workouts.  It might work great, it might be crap, but we're going to give it a try.  At this point, I have nothing to lose.

Recently I discovered that I can copy and paste my log into the blog, so that is what I am going to do.  I have cut down the comments, because hey, you don't need to read everything.  Unlike my previous posts it works in reverse.

Week: 17, 08/24 - 08/30
Week Miles: 83, August miles: 376 Top
83
SaturdayAlumni run 5k in 16:2211.5
Fridayeasy 10 today, felt good, rainy morning run 10
Thursdayeasy run today12.5
Wednesdaymorning workout, felt ok, still a little sluggish, wish I had more bounce, 16x400 in 69-70 w/ 35 seconds rest,11
Tuesdayanother easy 10 today10
Mondayeasy 10 in 10
Sundaylong run, funny set of circumstances, got to the run late, knew they were heading to Rock Creek, so I hammered all the way till I got to them, took me about 36 minutes, so about 5-6 miles, I was running extremely hard the entire way, then the pace stayed solid throughout the rest of the run18