My goal of sub 4:00 1500-I will not stop until I reach my goal.

That's exactly how I feel some of the time - like my devotion to my daily run is utter selfishness and self absorption.

But having been injured this year I've remembered how important the training is to me both physically and mentally. As someone who's had some insomnia, tension and depression problems in the past (not serious, just enough to make me a pain in the ass to be around) (thank god for internet anonymity!), I've found the time I spend running is more than worth it due to how it keeps me relaxed, happy and productive. And I do still have competitive ambitions, so I'm hoping if I keep training away, I can show up in 6 months, race a season, and surprise people who have forgotten about me.

But enough about me! Are you still planning on the marathon this winter? I'm dying to see how you get on if so - sub 2:40?

you get that injury healed and you'll be fast in the spring. the bike will keep the aerobic good. I'm shooting for sub-2:40. obviously a sub-6 pace would be ideal, but will probably not go out too ambitiously for the first half of the marathon, probably sub-1:20, but maybe not 1:18:30 goal pace.

Hi Sair, yes... keep up the motivation with the running. Also, keep practicing your guitar. Both endeavors are good for the soul.

Did my first comeback 4x1600m interval tonight. 800m active recoveries. 5:37, 5:34, 5:38, 5:42. That fourth one was murder.

Registered to race a 5k Sun morning. I'll file my report post race when I get back. Looking forward to it.

Any of you fellas ever race the Cowboy Jamboree at Oklahoma State? Looks like a huge meet and its coming up Oct 4. Thinking about running it as it's open.

that's an excellent workout, ron. really dramatic progress and you toughed it out. good luck this weekend. you'll have some good company next week at cowboy jamboree if you do it!

Sair, I've been wondering... In all seriousness, how did you get injured? What events precipitated your current predicament? I look forward to your reply. Also, what is your age if you don't mind me asking. Thanks, Ron

Had a nice race this morning. Ran 5k in 17:35 - 5:31,5:42,5:45,0:34 - Course was flat. Led wire to wire. No threats so I had to really push myself. Had fun. Looking forward to another great week of training.

Well, since you asked...

I screwed up my ankle back in february. A week and a half before my peak XC races, I put my foot in a hole, and went over my ankle. I didn't run at all up until the morning of the race, when I was along to support my team, and decided 'what the hell I'll run anyway'. I was really fit at the time so despite the layoff and the dodgy ankle I ran what was probably my best XC race to date. I limped through a week, then ran another important race (team-wise), and ran well enough to qualify my for a third race - which was a pretty big deal so I didn't want to pull out. So cue another 2 weeks of limping (and antibiotics for a heavy cold), and in the last race I really did myself some damage (and ran really badly). I had to take over a month off after that, and build up gradually with a lot of cross-training - most of my problems were with the peroneal tendon - which runs along the outside of your ankle and is a pain in the ass if you manage to hurt it.

Since then, the tendon's improved nearly fully, but I've been having a few recurring ankle and achilles tendon issues - I guess my ankle was weakened and I didn't strengthen it like I should have. My latest problem occured when I strained the achilles tendon during a workout. The achilles was better after a week, but it seemed to set off this plantar thing, which is what's plagued me for the last 8weeks.

I've been doing a lot of ankle strengthening since though, as well as plantar exercises, so I think once I get this clear, I'll be free of problems. The ankle's definitely a lot stronger.

I know I must seem very foolish when you read this, but when you've got a team relying on you for a big race, it can hard to choose not to take the risks. Also, I guess it's in my nature to be impulsive and foolhardy. I'm quite physically strong and not injury prone, so in the past I've become used to being able to take a few risks with my body and get away with it. I'm thinking it's time I changed my mentality a bit.

Oh, and I'm a young 'un, I'm 24.

it shows character that you put it all on the line for your team and for the glory. long-term thinking is how you get quantum improvements. look at grant hill, playing on an injured ankle for detroit and ruining his career. don't mean to pile on when you already know that you shouldn't have run on that kind of injury. I hope you have a long healthy cycle in front of you. I wish I could have run in my twenties, but I kept going in xc camp before junior year of college when my knee cap was hurting but I was running with the better guys on the team for the first time after a big mileage summer, and it took me 12 years to find the right set of exercises to cure them.

M 14.3 1:43:20

Mallets Bay w/a good recent DIII steepler--11.25-1:15:11 (6:41/M) (~38:30 out/36:41 back), 11.7-1:18:18, plus w/u, c/d. nice hilly but paved roads. Montreal hills helped.

T 14.6

noon-3.6M-26:03-hilly circuit, very fast second half.

eve.-11M-BHS track solo-3x200 (100j)-38,35,37; 4x1200 @5K pace (400j)-3:50,3:49,3:48,3:42 (74,2:30,72). legs tight in cold, last one felt good.

W 14

3 p.m.-2.6M w/stroller. very tired, dehydration headache all day;

eve.-11.4M-1:27:15-12:31-1.3, 7:54, 7:29, 7:19, 6:47, 7:19, 6:47,6:56,7:08,7:09,9:55-1.1.

Th 15.1

aft.-3.6M-34:10-hilly circuit-terrible 1st half.

eve.-11.5M-1:26:49-5k w/u, 3x2M (1/2 M rest)-11:07 (5:58/5:09),10:39 (5:19/5:20),10:44 (5:22/5:22). 1.1M c/d. tough start, then good. darkness slowed 3rd 2M.

F 14.6

a.m./p.m. 4.2M w/stroller. eve.-10.4M-1:22:08. return in low 7,s. rainy, 59 degrees.

Sa 13.1

11.2M-1:15:21-(1.1-9:29,7:13,6:44,6:30,6:06,6:08,5:57,5:54,5:48,5:39,9:53-1.1). middle 9 at 6:13/M. last 4-23:18. humid midday run. six rich crepes no obstacle. later-1.9M w/str.

Su 20.4 2:37:20

Colchester Cut (3.5M)-w/strides near end. tough after hard week. (1:22:33 (46:51) out/1:14:47 (39:42) back). closing: 6:53,6:23?,8:20-1.1.

Totals 106.1

great week, a solid hilly 11 miler, 3:50 down to 3:42 on 1200s, 11:07,10:39,10:44 on 2 mile repeats, very solid Saturday unplanned progression. haven't had a good long run yet--that 3:30 marathoner on the other thread was complaining about a slightly better 20 miler! and I'm hoping to run 6-6:10 pace for marathon, but I was really tired from Saturday's run, which was very useful as an impromptu fast progression. 1/2 marathon Saturday, tough course but still trying to drop under 5:46 pr pace.

Hey Sair, thanks for the info. Man, that stinks. It looks like you're on the road to recovery. Take your time in getting yourself straightened out. You have a lot of good years in front of you.

Another awesome week Jonesy. It'll be awesome if you can hold sub 5:46 during the HM coming up.

I got confirmed registration for the University 8K Cowboy Jamboree this coming Sat. Looking forward to it as it looks like it'll be an awesome meet. Definitely planning on not going out like a bullet this time to win the race in the first mile. LOL!!

Approx: 63 mile week.

good luck at cowboy. unbelievable that you've already broken 29 just a few months after you were running 1:40s 1/2 marathon, I think, and maybe 19's for 5k. I hope you can get down near 28! btw, I was looking at some of the xc results last weekend, and it was surprising how many D1 guys you can beat if you run 27-28 8k xc. Some guys near my converted 5m-8k time, high 26s at Griak (in the 150s in place, out of 200 or so) had quite stellar track credentials, 4:16 hs mile, mid to high 8 3k, and so forth. Maybe it was a tough course.

Thanks for the support guys. I know I've been stupid, but from now on I'm being selfish. I'm not planning on being injured again, I enjoy running too much! Jonesy, the training's impressive as hell (you beat my high school 2mile by 5 seconds during your workout!), and ron, you're racing great. There's no harm in being a little agressive, at the rate you're improving you'll soon be able to last at that pace.

Last week's training:

Mon: 55min easy run, 12.5min bike, 12.5min run.

PM: 5min run, 11minbike, 24min run.

Tue: 50min easy, 18min bike, 12min easy.

Wed: 50min run, 20min bike, 10min run.

PM: 25min run (last 20min uphill treadmill - bad idea, sore on plantar), 15min bike, 5min run.

Thur: 25min run, 45min bike (reps), 6min run.

Fri: 20min jog, 14min hard, 2:10walk/ jogbreak, 11:30hard. 15min jog, 17min bike.

First tempo-type thing back. Foot ok!

PM: 43min run+bike+run.

Sat: 39min run, 35min bike, 6min run. Quads in bits.

Sun: 28min run, 14:30 bike, 17:30 run. Quads still in bits.

55-60miles I think, haven't worked it out.

Oh and we had some damn fine results this spring, so it wasn't all for naught!

Latest wild-man report:

Ran 8k in University mens at OSU cowboy Jamboree this past weekend. What an awesome meet. I had a great time being there. Loads of great teams and tons of talent. The course was awesome and challenging! Lots of hills and straights. Some short and some long. The course traversed in and out a creek ditch where it was totally covered with mulch and wood chips.

Anyway, this course got the best of me. I bombed. Ran a 30:29. My first mile was in 5:28 which is where I wanted to be. Second mile at 11:12. From there I don't know. I had no energy. I thought going out slower would help but it didn't. I started slogging after 2.5 miles. I need to figure out a pre-race diet that helps better channel energy to the engine, because I didn't have it. In addition, I think more training in hill repeats would have helped. At this point, I've done none. Needless to say, lots of work to do and will stay the course. I couldn't believe how many guys ran this course in sub 25. This was just incredible. The running talent on display was top notch. Best Regards.

M 14.9

5.5M w/stroller, total from 3 outings;

eve.-9.4M-1:09:39-easy cruise.

11:56-1.3,8:01,6:47,6:35,6:41,6:46,6:48,6:56,9:09-1.1.

T 15

p.m. 5.5M w/stroller;

eve.: t/f BHS track cw-3x200 (100j)-39,39,40; 8x400 @5k pace (200j)-73,73,74,72,72,73,72,66. bonked on way to track; felt better on 4's.

W 15.1

a.m.-5.5M w/stroller-55:28. p.m.-9.6M (9.2 in 1:10:21). 9:29-1.1,7:29,6:09,7:05, then low to mid 7`s. fast mile to catch someone who passed me. the vanity still there! some rain, 59 degrees.

Th 15.3

aft.-5.5M w/stroller-47:47;

eve.-9.8M-~1:28?-very easy in darkness ahead of race.

Fr 0.5

1/2M w/stroller to get gel. otherwise, off for race. of course, I fumbled the gel when I took it out at mile 9. drove 8 hours for race.

Sa 22

1/2 Marathon-1:14:17-21st-88 sec. pr-5:45,5:50,17:08,22:48,28:33,34:08,39:56?,45:?,51:?,56:59,62:45?,68:31?,73:46,:31. happy w/progress. with 200m to go, guy solidly in front on uphill, maybe 10-20 yards, thought I couldn't catch him, then course flattened out for a few meters about halfway through the last .1M, and I had a tremendous kick to get him by two seconds.

Su 14.8

a.m. 3.2M est.-29:30 forest loops;

p.m. Burlington, VT: 11.6M (11.4 in 1:31:53)-12:10-1.3,8:44,8:10,7:50, then ~7:20s,10+-1.1. felt ok today.

Totals 97.6

restrained myself and didn't go after the 100 mile week on Sunday. very happy about the 1:14:17 1/2 marathon pr on a tough course with numerous big hills (two steep 400m hills, two steep 1k hills, etc.). felt good and maybe could have pushed the race harder.

ron, good race on a tough course. the start wasn't the problem (I favor going out a bit slower than you plan to average--here you went out in 5:28 and averaged 6:06). but keep after it; the next time will be improved.

in light of the other thread, I'm going to claim a 10M pr enroute, 56:59 from start to 10M (ran 58:05 for first 10 mile of May 1/2 Marathon and 57:22 pace for last 10.1M). But that would obviously be vulnerable if I get in a 10 miler next year.

Awesome HM Jonesy! Looks like you held a solid even pace (5:45ish) the whole way and it looks like you ran a very smart race to obtain a PR. Awesome! Also good workouts!

I'm still trying to figure out why I had no energy last Sat. I had no leg lift and couldn't seem to recover on the straights. I rested quit a bit the week prior. In fact I didn't do my normal quality day on Thur but rather did an easy 10. I'm wondering if my body is fighting something as I did a lot of sneezing and had throat irritation a couple of days before race. I thought it was allergies as I normally get them around this time of year. Interestingly, my oldest son came down with something last night and he's all clogged up today. Or it could be that I'm simply not in that good of shape yet and that I'm expecting too much too soon. I don't know. Another thing I've wondered about is pre-race warm up routines. I did get a good burn going, but I don't think I was sweating enough when I hit the line. Thoughts?

Anyway, I'm giving it another go this coming weekend and hope to run Border Wars 8K. That should wrap up my xc season as the rest of the races around here will be exclusive to conference matchups and regional meets.

Just wanted to let everyone know I finally raced!! a 5K

Positives: flat as a pancake, great weather, felt like I gave a max effort which surprised me having not raced in some time.

Negatives: sinus infection, no mile markers, no good runners, no course map.

I ran 20:27 and came in 3rd. Winner ran 18:54, I ran pretty much the whole race by myself and had no idea how much distance I had covered. Wasn't sure if the guys I passed early on were guys I should be sitting on or 21 minute runners so I just kept hammering. No idea if I ran even splits but I felt like I started correctly. Got passed last 600 meters or so.

Two funny stories: as I'm watching this speck in the distance, he ran very close to the beach and I got worried that we had to run on the actual beach b/c I couldn't see the small side street that he eventually turned onto.

Guy who I would have to compete for third with was in very good shape (I could tell b/c he ran with a dog on a leash the whole time and seemed to be just having a good time). I secured 3rd place without a doubt when his dog stopped 200 meters short of the finish to poop.

Nice runs Ron and Jonesy.

Just wanted to let everyone know I finally raced!! a 5K

Positives: flat as a pancake, great weather, felt like I gave a max effort which surprised me having not raced in some time.

Negatives: sinus infection, no mile markers, no good runners, no course map.

I ran 20:27 and came in 3rd. Winner ran 18:54, I ran pretty much the whole race by myself and had no idea how much distance I had covered. Wasn't sure if the guys I passed early on were guys I should be sitting on or 21 minute runners so I just kept hammering. No idea if I ran even splits but I felt like I started correctly. Got passed last 600 meters or so.

Two funny stories: as I'm watching this speck in the distance, he ran very close to the beach and I got worried that we had to run on the actual beach b/c I couldn't see the small side street that he eventually turned onto.

Guy who I would have to compete for third with was in very good shape (I could tell b/c he ran with a dog on a leash the whole time and seemed to be just having a good time). I secured 3rd place without a doubt when his dog stopped 200 meters short of the finish to poop.

Nice runs Ron and Jonesy.

Epic, jonesy. Just epic. Great HM.

It'll be interesting to see how you translate this into a marathon. You're fit enough to go way under 2:40, but to my mind your training is much more optimised to the half than the full marathon (not so many marathon paced runs, long tempos etc) so I'd remain cautious if I were you. You sure are fit though. Nice one on the restraint as well. I've tired myself out too often doing long runs after races.

Ron, you just had an off day. You've been racing well every time recently, and you were due an off one. As far as the start, I think you were ok. My personal opinion is that negative splits are less ideal in cross-country than on roads, due to the importance of positioning, and the fact that the terrain tires the muscles. If you hit 'even splits' times, it reflects a 'negative split' effort, and if the terrain is heavy, you need to get going from the word 'go' - it's very hard to pick it up later on muck and hills.

Oh, and nice one Sweeney Todd! Good to hear from you again. it's hard to run 5ks without splits or an idea of the course.

Last week was hectic. Work, gigs, training. Didn't eat or sleep enough, so I've dropped a bit of weight and my foot's not the best. Hoping this is temporary.

Mon: 22min run wu, 17:17 hard, ~3min break, 13:05hard, 8min jog, 15bike, 7jog. Slightly faster than before despite blustery conditions, increased length. Foot ok. Felt smoother than Friday - coming back!

PM: 22min jog, 14min bike, 7min jog.

Tue: 1hr easy run.

PM: 33:30run, 21:30bike, 5min run.

Wed: 40min easy run.

PM: 42min run, 20min bike, 17min run.

Thur: 46min run (inc 10min of aborted tempo run - not up to it today.), 21min bike, 13min run.

PM:15min bike, 24min easy run.

Fri: 24min wu, 20:47tempo, 3min break, 13min tempo, 6min jog, 10min bike, 7min jog. Foot not great.

PM: Run+bike, 41mins worth, weights.

Sat: 35mins easy run, 10mins bike.

PM: 28min run, 13min bike, 14min run

Sun: Off, sick.

~75ish?

sair, ron, Sweeney Todd, much appreciated. sair, I think that you're right about the marathon-paced stuff and longer tempos. maybe I will try to get in some of that. I got what seems to be IT Band tightness yesterday and had to stop and stretch a couple times, then going really slowly, so I'm taking the day off probably. it looks like you're headed in the right direction but still not 100%. I hope that's not going to linger. Great advice on the xc. I am a bad xc runner and, depending on the course, it really can be problematic to go out slow, as you can get slowed down dramatically when the course narrows and you no longer have fast guys to chase. it's hard to gauge speed on narrow trails when you're used to road and track. ron, I can't help you on the warmup, as I probably don't do enough--usually running really slow and not breaking much of a sweat. Your next race (border) will be stronger if you're healthy--that's probably all that it was. Sweeney, excellent job in the race. You're ahead of where I was in my first year of the comeback in 2004, probably not far off my second year. Keep it up!