Where Your Dreams Become Reality

 

Believe it or not, I've actually received quite few emails over the last few months from visitor's inquiring about my running status. People saying they haven't heard much. Well maybe there's a reason for that.... nothing much to hear.

Since coming up agonizingly short (2:23:10 when I needed 2:22) in my attempt to qualify for the US Olympic Trials at the Las Vegas Marathon in February of 2000, I really haven't done much - at least in the running sense.

I proceeded to overtrain/get anemic and have a terrible spring (read more about that here). I then moved back to DC, took a job teaching and struggled throughout the Fall. I'm not sure whether it was because of the stress of school/continued low iron/nothing really to shoot for, but I never really got it going. I managed to do 5 miles in 25:00 (or was it 25:03?) at the Army 10 Miler in October but didn't even end up running the Thanksgiving Day 8 Miler in Dallas, Texas that I was shooting for all Fall after I ran a disastrous 71 plus half marathon a few weeks before that.

I got myself in decent shape over the Holidays and opened my 2001 campaign with a somewhat encouraging 69:30 half-marathon in early February.

The time wasn't all that great but it was a p.r. nonetheless and I felt strong and thought I'd go much faster when I really started to do workouts geared to running fast. However, I never should have run the race in the first place as my hamstring (which had been bothering for over a year had started to hurt in the two weeks before the race once I got on the track) was hurting so much the day before the race that I barely could get my 4 miles in. It felt pretty good on race day and I gave it a shot but was hurting pretty badly the days after the race.

Only problem was that instead of taking some time off and trying to let it heal, I had already spent over $400 on airfare and thus decided to cram in a few workouts before X-C Nationals, which turned out to be the worse race of my life. Two weeks after running 13.1 miles at 5:18 pace, I ran just over 7 in 5:28 pace.

The hamstring was useless, I sucked and would be taking a long time off. The first medical opinion came from my trusted physical therapist who had been helping me with it for over a year - he said running through it wasn't working and I needed to take 3 months off completely. Not wanting to hear this, I called Kyle Heffner, US Olympian in the 1980 marathon (didn't get to go) and he told me to take 3-6 months off.

I would have quit the sport if I was out that long. I ended up taking about a month off for the most part and getting some regular active release therapy (look it up - Weldon and I swear by it). It's doing pretty good now and I've incorporated hamstring curls to strengthen it and thus I'm doing all right.

Cross country nationals were on February 18th. I jogged about 40 miles the week after and perhaps 35 the week after that. I got depressed after that and didn't really write anything down. I think I continued to run at about 10 minute pace for another week before stopping completely for at least a week or so before feeling guilty and doing some pool workouts. On March 20th, I got back to running (30 minutes). By March 27th, I was up to an hour of easy running.

On April 13th, I headed out to Flagstaff for Spring Break - vowing to rededicate myself to the sport, get focused, set some quantifiable goals and put my training log on line to keep me focused and also to keep me from overdoing it (my #1 sin). From April 13-18, I was running about 14 or 15 a day and considered myself to be back and healthy (a 100 mile week is my definition of healthy - isn't that sick).

At this time, I realized I"d gone no where during the last year and determined that I wouldn't be returning as a teacher next year. The kids were great/the job was very exciting but my running was going no where. Too hard to cram in the morning runs before school.

Since then I've kept them mileage up and tried to incorporate either strides (to maintain speed my basic off-season speedwork is 2 sets of 6 x 200 strides with 200 jog between each one and mile jog between each set. Normally I do them. First set 2 slow, 2 medium 2 fast. 2nd set faster than first set. 1 slow. 2 medium. 3 faster) or a high end run every other day or sometimes on successive days. I kept that up until early July when I was told to start worrying about how fast I was actually going on some of my "hard days" in anticipation of my first race in 5 months - the Rockville Rotary 8k on July 21st.

July 21st, 2001

Time to Get Serious or Quit:

On the eve of my first race in nearly 5 months (8k tonight on July 21st), I've decided to put down my training log up on the site. I'm doing so for a number of reasons.

1) To help me stay motivated
2) To make me think more about what direction I want to take my training as I often now just run without thinking about how things went. By failing to record the details of past workouts in my log, I end up not having good things to compare my training to
3) To keep me from doing something totally stupid as I know others are watching
4) To spread John Kellogg's training philosophy

In that light, I'm viewing this as the beginning of a one year make or break period. The last year plus has been one of no progress and it's time for me to put up or shut up. I've got way too many other things that I want to accomplish in life rather than spend 3-4 hours a day training if I'm not going to keep improving.

I got back into running on Sept. 1, 1997 with a similar commitment. After not having seriously competed for six years and never really trained in my life for more than a 3-5 months at a time , I decided I'd give myself a full year to try to stay injury free by allowing myself a lot of time to gradually get the mileage up and see if I could be any good (I thought I could since I was an identical twin and used to run with Weldon). If I thought I had any potential at the end of the year, I'd stick with it, if not, I'd move on. At the time, I had p.r.'s of 4:49.2 for 1600 meters and 16:42.5 for 5k. At the end of the mostly injury free year, I was down to 15:30 for 5k and just months away from my 2:29 marathon debut. I knew the Olympic Trials were a real possibility with increased mileage and training intensity.

I came up a little short in my efforts to qualify for the 2000 Trials and have stagnated greatly since missing out on qualifying. As a result, it's time for a new one year commitment. I'm not sure what the cutoff level should be but lets' just say that if I don't progress significantly once again in the next year, I'll stop centering my life around running.

As a result, my training log appears below. Currently, only July 2001 is up. I plan on going back until at least March 20th (when I started running again after an injury) but if you want to read more about my training this year, read the column on the left which provides a nice overview.

Please note that I purposely am not adding up the weekly totals. You can go ahead and do it if you'd like but too many people (like me) obsess about it. Also it's totally misleading as often times I don't think of a week as being from Sunday to Saturday (especially this summer when I haven't been working). Regardless, I resent each week (Sunday - Saturday) and will provide weekly comments as well in the future.

Also don't be an idiot and try to copy my training log or jump up to high mileage. It takes years to reach your potential and thus while the last year has been a struggle, I think it's been good in that at least I have another year of base under me.

July 30th, 2001
Well I claimed that I'd be also chiming in with weekly updates in addition to my daily log but I've already combined the last like 2 or 3 weeks here. You can read a lot more about my thoughts on the individual days. There's a lot to read from last Saturday (July 21) when I really stunk it up in my race.

A couple of encouraging things did happen this week. On Tuesday, my wonderful eccentric coach mumbled some encouraging words about my potential in this sport. He never talks about it and I was greatly pleased to hear that he thinks I could actually become national class in a few years if all goes well, especially since he's sch a pessimist. Conversation: "3 years of uninterrupted training and you can run 28:30." Me, "That's not too bad. If that's possible, then I want to qualify for USATF this spring (sub 29:00). Is that possible?" Response, "I guess that's possible."

Conversations about long term goals rarely occur between us and they need to. I used to have big dreams but of late had lost them and was wondering "Is it worth it?" I knew if I stopped dreaming, I was doomed. thus my decision to stop teaching and refocus myself and start dreaming once again.

Secondly, Keith Dowling who just moved to the area and I talked and it looks like I may have found a workout partner. He saw my training log and said the 1000s were about what he'd do (see July 15th) which was encouraging as I wasn't all that pleased with that workout and some jackass had posted on the message boards that I should retire because my workouts could be done by someone just out of high school. Keith said he needs someone to help him with the longer stuff (which is more my forte - long intervals/tempos) and that he can handle the shorter stuff himself. I sure hope so because he sent me his planned training schedule for the next month and there's no way I could touch his speed workouts - hell Weldon would have a tough time doing it.

I'm encouraged as I've realized in recent months that I really need someone to train with as I'm having trouble pushing it all alone. I've always loved training alone but feel like i need something new now. My workouts this summer that have been great have all been done with Scott Anderson. Hopefully, Keith will fill the void when Scott leaves.

Plus I'm excited as I think of Keith as being way better than myself (make that a lot better as he's run like 28 low for 10k and 2:14 I believe). Now I don't know why I think it will be neat to run with Keith when I run workouts often with my brother who just ran 28:10 for 10k but it just doesn't seem the same. Weldon is well Weldon - my bro. Keith is viewed as being a good runner.

Click here to go to August Training Log

 Day   Run  Total Mileage
 Tuesday
July 31st

 AM - 5 miles easy.

 PM - Here's what i emailed to my coach. 2 mi wu 4.5 miles in 22:25.34 3.5 cd

458.25 *first lap 76 with group of 10 people for mile*
5.00.35
5.00.65
5:01.94
73.81
70.34 (38.04.32.30)

felt good first mile. then just 3 of us (Weldon me and scott_, i led for like 3 laps. then scott for a couple. near the end i led for like 3 more and was glad weldon took over.

at some point around 2 you think about being a wimp although i felt pretty good and was wondering if i'd go 4 or 4.5. Then you realize all you have at like 2.5 is one more mile to 3.5 and pick it up for 1/2 and your at 4. once you get to 3 you think the same thing.

scott left us at 3.5 and stopped at 4. i should have pushed more at the end bu pretty much saved it until 200 to go.

*As i'm putting this in my log days later, i still can't get over how weldon and scott are still claiming that this was a killer workout. Scott stopped at 5 in 19:50 and weldon said he was hoping I'd stop there as he was hurting. I guess it was kind of hot but....

  15 miles
 Monday
July 30st

AM - 5 miles easy. Forgot I practically broke my ankle yesterday on my run. It was sore today. Slept 11+ hours but still tired as only 4 hours on Sat night.

PM - 13 miles. Well not even. I ran down to the monument and threw in 6 buildups of about 25 seconds each. I felt horrible at the beginning of this run. I was passed by an overweight guy in the first 10 minutes and then when I started running with WEldon we couldn't even overtake a "non-runner" running woman in like 2 miles and she was only about 30 seconds in front.

Felt good though after about 30 minutes. Stopped at 90 minutes and walked home as I wanted to rest my legs and only do about 12. Probable did more than 12.

 17.5?
 Sunday
July 29th
 69:38. run with Weldon, Scott Anderson and Chris Farley. Barely moving. Right quad still sore. Supposed to do 8-10 miles (13 if i felt real good) since i told Kellogg (my coach) that I was tired yesterday. I could've done more but what's the point. Don't obsess about the weekly mileage, obsess about 4-5 days in a row. I kept it real real slow. 8 minute plus pace. probably closer to 8:30.  8.5 miles
 Saturday
July 28th

Long run of 2:23.55 plus I added on four strides at end. Picked it up final 5 miles.
Painful run. Normally, i feel good on my long runs. Not today. I always try to keep moving in a nice rhythm on them and make sure I don't waste any energy - keep the legs running so it's a bit faster than my normal run. Normally i feel great and go well under 7 minute miles. Not today. My legs were hurting - especially early on and i only clocked a 7:13 mile. however, it was weird as i felt better and better as the run went on. Was going about 7:05 pace later in the run and that was uphill. Picked it up at end and felt the best I did all run. Often changing the pace of the run is key, you get sort of locked into a pace and think you are tired when really you're just a bit spaced out/unfocused and bored. 55:54 (7:13)25:17,16:42, 1/2 miles 332.5,335.8,322.1,321.4.. 313.2,21:43 home total

I assume I'm tired from all the mileage. Of course, I'm sure that my hectic social schedule this week didn't help although I still managed to sleep a decent amount. Hey, you only have a birthday (the 24th) once a year and Weldon hardly ever goes out in Flagstaff, so you might as well take advantage of it and do something social ever day since Monday (but it'd better stop soon)

I can handle 5 in the AM and 12 at night 7 days a week but 7 and 13 even for 5 days in a row really wipes me out.

 20
 Friday
July 27th

 96 minutes. Real slow run with Weldon. Hoping to get ready to run decently tomorrow when i go long. Mall run. 12.5 - 13 miles. Not sure how far it was. Painfully slow in fact. He started out real slow (slower than i would have liked) but once we got going i didn't feel like going any faster. My legs were a bit sore from the long steady state yesterday. Right quad hurting.

Hamstring curls.

 12.5
 Thursday
July 26th

 AM - 7 no watch.. sun not out but humid.

PM - 20 minute warmup then steady state downhill for 4 miles and then uphill for 4 miles on bikepath. First 1/2 mile is pretty flat. Last mile before turnaround isn't too steep but rest is.

- 3:01.5 , 248.26,818.37,247.04,534.59, turn,5:36.36,2:47.50,8:18.62,2:45.75,2:27.61 -

cooldown. 27:46. Got lost on cooldown. So annoying as we were tired. Closer to 14 miles total. I'll say 13.5 thought.

Started off slow. Same run as the other day (July 6th) with Scott Anderson except i only did 8 miles versus 9 then and i didn't go as fast. Running with Weldon is annoying at times. He's just tagging along and he's about 2 weeks removed from a 28:10 10k and he acts like what I'm doing is real hard. After our first half mile, he looked at his watch and says, "My god, some people run this fast during all of their runs, i thought we were moving."

Slowly got myself into the run. I knew 5:30s was o.k. as Kellogg said something about that. Didn't look at my watch at all on the way back and I felt good. I really thought I was moving at the end and consciously picked it up last half mile. Last time, i didn't but this one wasn't all that much faster.

Overall, I felt a lot stronger and wanted more whereas last time i was really struggling at the end. Kellogg said this run was actually better even though it wasn't as fast as I felt strong and wanted to do more.

 20.5
 Wednesday
July 25th

 AM - 7 no watch. it's hot as hell thank god i can run in the shade. too humid.

PM 13 miles. 58:21 (6:56.9)27:54.35. felt pretty good actually. Weldon's annoying to run with acting like I'm going fast at 7 minute pace.
Hamstring curls.

 20
 Tuesday
July 24th

 AM - 7 no watch
PM - 93 minutes with 2 sets of 6 x 150 meters with 150 jog in between strides and mile jog between sets. Really hot out. Again, Weldon on our mile jog acts like he's going to pass out and goes like 9 minute pace.

Stopped to socialize at the track after we finished and as a result had to cut it a bit short. 5+ warmup (40 minutes). about cd. Not quite 13 miles.

 12.5
 Monday
July 23rd

AM - 7 no watch.
 PM 99 minutes. 13 miles. Can't remember where I ran this one. Probably rock creek. very slow.

Hamstring curls.

 20
 Sunday
July 22nd

 13 miles at like 720ish. Rock creek run. Tough to hold off and not do a double today.

Of course, you can't try to make up for missed training/bad races but doing more. That just gets you either a) injured or b) overtrained. It's tough though to have the discipline to do it.

I figured I wouldn't be tired at all form yesterday but i was good I only did 1 run today.

Kept thinking about the freaking crappy race yesterday. I'm probably the most motivated the day after a bad performance. Although i don't feel as bad as I know the splits were off.

 13
 Saturday
July 21st

 Is there a LetsRun.com jinx like the Sports Illustrated jinx. I put my training log up online and if Day 1 of my ultimatum to get good or quit in a year means anything, I'm one day closer to retirement.

Perhaps the worse race of my life that I actually finished. Game plan. Hit 4 miles in 19:40 and see what I have left. The 6400 meters that I did in practice the other day in 19:33 is equal to about 19:40 for 4 miles and thus I should 've been able to do that and the last mile is downhill.

As usual, I got my warmup going a little late (Johnson family trait- limited warmup - people who warmup for like 50 minutes ought to be shot). Gun goes off. Felt pretty good thought i was running pretty hard. This race notoriously goes out pretty quick. A few years ago i ran it when i wasn't in very good shape and hit just over 5 minutes and was like in 25th place.

Today, I was about 10 yards off the lead, feeling like i ran pretty hard and was shocked to see 5:06. My first reaction was to panic, "Is that right?" I yelled to Weldon. "Yep" he says as he glances at his watch.

My second instinct was decent: "We gotta get up in the lead." I proceeded to get up to the lead pack of 5 and go though 2 miles in 9:59. Felt horrible at this point. Legs real tired and just couldn't believe it. By 2.5 miles, I'd basically quit. People were coming by me but I didn't care. I even contemplated dropping out as I couldn't believe things were going so poorly.

Very disappointed at the finish. 25:27. 504.67,454.71,510.05,527.07,450.50, 25:27.00

Should have been at least a minute faster.As I looked at the results and stewed things over during the days after the race, I begin to gradually feel a little better. I learn that the race markers were way off. Andre Williams claims (race winner) tells me he ran the first mile in at 4:40 or 4:35. I was like 2-3 seconds back.

So I probably wasn't anywhere close to 9:59 at 2. But still it's disconcerting to ever be throwing in the towel on a race but my feeling at the time was more like, "10 minutes for 2 miles and I feel horrible, there must be something wrong as that's basically not possible."

I could have just done three 5 minute miles and hit 19:40 from there. Also guys who passed me in the third mile ended up well under 24:30 which was my goal and thus the course must have been mismarked.

How can races not have accurate mile markers? And how can I not learn from past experiences? I should know by now that on the roads and in X-C needs to just run hard and not freak out about a time especially on the roads. The 18th miles in the Las Vegas marathon was about 20 seconds too long as well right when i was about 20 seconds ahead of qualifying pace last year and it really freaked me out.

Today, the last mile was way short. Admittedly since it's 8k, it's not a whole mile (about 10 seconds short) but there is no way that I ran it in 4:50 which would be about 5:00 as I wasn't moving at all. 4th and 5th miles were just get me to the finish line.

Too add insult to injury, my abysmal performance is noted in articles on the race in both Race Results Weekly and the Washington Post due to my celebrity status as Weldon Johnson's brother.

This race just proved what I already knew: I need to race more. I never race as I'm always either injured or trying to train for a fast approaching marathon. Not having run in college makes me much more inexperienced than I should be.

I was very bummed out afterwards and am only writing my feelings about the race a week later. I did get quite a few encouraging emails:


If you sent me one (you know who you are), thanks a lot. I really appreciate it and it's hard for me to sometimes remember the good things I do associated with running as I (and most runners) tend to focus too much time on the bad:

from one nice guy:I know I've posted it all ready but I really wanted to encourage you to keep posting your log and stick with it for at least a year. I don't want to be too warm and fuzzy in public.

Pursuing a dream is an admirable thing. Regardless of what you or any of the rest of us think of your chances, there isn't a better way to spend your time. You mentioned that you had other goals in your life besides running but clearly this is the number one aspiration right now. You should definitely take the chance now. While many people have years of consistent training at this point, you have fewer miles of wear and tear on your legs. (how's that for the optimistic view?)There is plenty of time for other things when you're older. Very few endeavors require youth the way running does. You can change careers, skydive, become a chess master, climb Everest, raise a family, whatever for many years to come.

I took some time off from my education to chase a dream. It was the most incredible year of my life. I have never regretted a moment of it. It has had a such a profound impact on me. Ultimately, other things became more important but I had found out what I needed to know about my ability and myself. Good luck with your year.

From another nice guy:
It's me again. Just finished reading over your newly posted July training diary. Also, saw that you were very upset about your Rockville 8k. Although you have not sought it, I will provide some thoughts and advice. That's the coach in me coming out.

First, don't be too hard on yourself. One of the many things that I have learned about serious distance runners is that we tend to dwell on our failures much longer and more intensely than our successes. Most of us focus too much on what has not worked and too little on what has. So you did not hit your goal time for the 8k. No big deal. Have you so quickly forgotten that 6400 m track workout that you told me about? That was no fluke. You could not have pulled that off without being in adequate shape to pull it off. Relax. You are training better and more consistently than ever. Let things fall into place. Don't pressure yourself excessively and prematurely. You are a young guy who has only just begun to tap his potential. We all know that it takes years (not months) of consistent, concerted hard work without significant time off with injuries or illness to reach the highest levels. You are far from being at that point with your training. For God's sake, exercise a little patience. Rome was not built in a day.

You are not going to like these next few lines. You are too presumptuous. You think that you can almost instantly (just a few months' worth of serious training) become all that you dream. Forget it. No one is that talented. Give it time. I would suggest that you give it more than the one year self-imposed limit that you have adopted. It takes more than a single year.

In the last edition of ****, I wrote an article about your pursuit of your running dreams. I talked about how courageous a thing it is to walk away from a steady job and all the security of being an average Joe like the rest of us. I wrote about your courage and faith in yourself and how much I admire your venturing into the unknown. So you have faced a bit of a setback. MLK said that the measure of a man is not where he stands in time of ease but where he stands in times of adversity.

Now, I will attempt to inspire you with words from others wiser and more articulate than I.

One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.
Andrew Gide

Never look down to test the ground before taking your next step; only he who keeps his eye fixed on the far horizon will find his right road.
Dag Hammarskjold

Let me tell you the secret that has led to my goal. My strength lies solely in my tenacity.
Louis Pasteur

Courage is fear holding on a minute longer.
George S. Patton

The biggest dog has been a pup.
Joaquin Miller

In short, save the drama for your mama. You are well on your way. Keep the faith. Keep your eye on the prize. Enjoy the process, it's is what life is all about. The end goal will take care of itself.

 9.5
 Friday
July 20th
 5 Mile loop in trails. Real easy. Did 4 light strides at end. Didn't feel great but I never feel good day before races. I'm always thinking too much about how my legs feel.  5
 Thursday
July 19th
 34 minutes in the pool with my housemate Victoria followed by 63 minutes of real easy running in trails. I was only supposed to run for 7-8 miles but felt like that was a little ridiculous to taper that much for a race in the summer. Also I know how much it sucks to be injured and she's been injured more than me.  8 + 4 pool
Wednesday
July 18th

AM - 5 miles easy in Trails

PM - 8.75 miles total
Workout. 5 x 800 with equal rest. Starting at 2:20 and hopefully going on feel from there. Hopefully hitting somewhere between 2:16 and 2:18. Followed by 3 x 300s. One at 800 pace. One medium. One hard. Walking 100 rest.

Below you will see what I wrote my coach after the workout:

well i did good today!!!! at least i think i did good (Unless you were lying to me about how fast to do them to boost my confidence). however, i've got to admit i was like a baby with no confidence. it took me hours to actually get started.

i need to learn no fear.

5 X 800 2 min rest. average time of 2:15.658.

2:18.61 (2:03.5),2:15.36, (2:00.39 )2:16.5(2:00.00)
2:14.04 (2:01.21) - 2:13.78 - 66.69, 67.09 (200S OF 34.75,32.34) (2:33) 300s - 51.24 (tough,67.72)45.65 (surprised i went this fast 86.25) 45.32 - surprised it was this slow. seemed faster than last one. oh well.

I looked at the watch every 200 and felt pretty good after the first one and realized i'd be able to do it. Actually, it was after the 2nd one that i had confidence as i really picked it up the final 200 (into the wind) as i went throuh 600 right at 1:42 low.

Generally, i'd go out a little quick the first 200 (33ish), slow significantly next 200 so when i got to the lap i was right on pace or just ahead of 2:16 pace (67 high), and then run pretty much 34 low for the third 200 until i'd pick it up the final 200. On the 3rd one, i was a bit pissed as i evidently didn't pick up the final 200 as i went through 600 at same time as 2nd one.

on the 4th one, i didn't look at my watch until 400 and then tried to not slow down at all on the next 200.

the only disappointment if any was the last interval. i was hoping to go out in 66 and come back in 64. I went out (don't think i looked at it at 200) but at 250 meters realized that i was slowing way down. i must have gone out too hard. I sort of lost the will to bust ass and got to the lap and wasn't motivated. I should have looked at 200 so i'd have been motivated to pick it back up when i realized the next 200 was slow (i knew it was slow just not exactly how slow. it might have been 34 like the 3rd 200.
N


Now before I went to do the workout. I called to get accurate my coach (John Kellogg) for instructions and he asked me about the workout on Sunday, saying, did you do the fast 300 afterwards. I was supposed to sprint a 300 afterwards but I forgot to do it. To boost my confidence, he said something to the effect of "That was the most important part of the workout" which to me means "you might as well not have even don it."

All is forgotten now though. He's a bit of an exaggerator. Weldon went to a wedding earlier this year instead of running in a track race in Stanford like he did last year and Kellogg said he'd never be good after that (he seems to have forgotten that now). However, he still claims my highschool buddy and 9:12 3200 meter runner Erick Hawkins' career was stalled because he went to his girlfriends senior prom instead of running in an open meet and trying to break 9:00.

I guess his health problems in college were forgotten???

 13.75
 Tuesday
July 17th
 Just one run on Kellogg's orders to get ready for tomorrow. Long Rock Creek in 13 miles. I didn't wear a watch as mine broke.  13
 Monday
July 16th

AM Ran up at Good Counsel High School with the boys team. Definitely sub 7 pace. 70 minutes. 10 +

PM 5 Miles In Trails
I was originally planning on doing like 20 up until Wednesday but Kellogg says it's better to drop down, do real workouts and get ready to race.

 15
 Sunday
July 15th

 AM??? Don't remember as I wasn't writing stuff down. Was it 5 miles or 7?

PM. 8- 10 by 1000 with 30 seconds to 1 minute rest. starting off at 3:10.

I didn't look at my watch except on the first two which were fine. I figured I should be under 3:05 at 3:07 is 5 minute pace and I ran 4 miles continuously at like 4:53 pace.

I guess I should have looked at my watch on the others as I'm a wimp evidently if I don't work out with someone else. I can't believe I slowed down so much. I did look at it on the last one which was o.k.

304.8(37.67) 304.83(35.63,305.07(35.64),306.16(33.48),307.37 (39.51),307.14 (42.33),310.17(34.82), 312.87(38.66),310.23 (41.77) last one 2:59.22 (1:48.65 - 70.57).

Do i suck or should i just concentrate more? I mean the last one was kind of tough but way faster than the rest. Looking at watch perhaps or a workout partner is what I need hopefully. Not good for my fragile confidence.

Cut cooldown run a bit short as I was running late. Not sure of total mileage.11.25 I think.

 18.25?? (might have been 16.25) so let's call it 17.

 

 

 Saturday
July 14th

AM. Can't remember really. That's why I'm doing this log on-line so I'll write it down immediately. I think I did 7 miles. No wait. I was going to do 7 miles but agreed to do pool running for 50 minutes with my roommate Victoria who's injured as it's so boring to run in the pool.

PM. 10 miles at 11 o'clock at night in parking lot of Widespread Panic Concert. My friends were going and said it would be fun. I agreed to be the "driver" and was promised that we'd be back by 8 p.m. so I could run. Well we had car trouble, didn't get there until 6 p.m. and didn't leave until midnight. Thankfully, I thought ahead and brought my running shoes with me. I had to be practically the only person not drunk or stoned or both and I certainly was the only one running. The area outside the concert was actually quite conducive to running but I only got in 10 instead of 13 as the cops were kicking people out of the parking lot.

Normally I would have run long here as I haven't gone long in a while and then done workouts on Monday and Wednesday but I'm very fearful as to how my hamstring will respond to my first so called track workouts (that's what got me injured in February) and thus I want an extra day between them and will workout Sunday and Wednesday.

 10 + aquatic 7.
 Friday
July 13th

AM 7

PM 13
Don't remember details. I just know I was doing 20 a day here. I wrote down details on a scrap of paper which I can't find.

 20
 Thursday
July 12th

AM 7 Miles - felt fine. lost steam.

PM 13 Miles Know I did 2 sets of 6 x 200 strides with 200 jog between each one and mile jog between each set. This is my basic off-season speedwork. Normally I do them. First set 2 slow, 2 medium 2 fast. 2nd set faster than first set. 1 slow. 2 medium. 3 faster. I wrote down details on a scrap of paper which I can't find.

However, normally, 29 high seems all out. Obviously that's not the case. On like my 3rd one, I said I'd do a 33 as Scott Anderson was at the track trying to run a 62 quarter (and was going to start 2 seconds behind me). Afraid of going to slow, I rolled a 29. I did the same thing on the next one. Seeing this, I decided I'd better go faster on my very last one which was 28.3 or 28.4 which I never do. It just shows if you stay relaxed you do well as I didn't think I was going fast when pacing Scott. Felt easy.

20
Wednesday
July 11th

AM 14 in Montreal. Felt pretty good actually. Started raining. Ran for 1:40 no idea how fast I was going. A bit dehydrated as I went out the night before (driving not drinking for the most part) to celebrate Weldon's 28:10 10k and didn't get to drink or eat anything before my run as we had to check out hotel.

PM 6 5 mile Tanya loop + extra. 1/2 mile on track in 3:33.

Other- hamstring curls

 20
 Tuesday
July 10th

 I'm a wimp!!! 2.75 warmup. 4 cooldown.

2.5 miles hard on track solo by myself. Sort of windy but give me a break!!! 12:23 was total time. I ran 4 miles faster than this the other day. Hard to workout by myself. Need a workout partner or to look at watch more often.

71.28, 72.34 (2:23.62), 2:27.65 (4:51.27) 2:33.42, 76.59, 76.86 (2:33.45 and 5:06.87) 74.70. 70.93 (2:25.63)

  9.25
 Monday
July 9th
 Only one run. On road in Montreal with Weldon. Not really time to do two runs plus it's good to do one as last week was a decent amount of mileage and this way I'll be ready to workout tomorrow.  12
 Sunday
July 8th

 AM 12 total.
2 sets of 6 x 150 meter strides with 150 jog rest. No watch. A bit worried about my hamstring. My whole body felt out of line, but I felt pretty good going fast which was weird. Went at a decent speed on my cooldown for once instead of plodding.

Forgot to do weights before I got on plane to Burlington, VT.

PM 5 miles in Burlington at midnight. Waiting for Weldon's flight to get in. Got sick and had to go the bathroom twice in middle of run. Not pleasant at all.

 17

Weekly Comments: I actually ran a lot starting in the middle of this week although I considered it to be a low week becasuse instead of was running 13 and 6 most days, I was running "only" 12 and 5. It's all psychological (well not all but a lot is). Also note that I wasn't thinking of a week from being from Sunday to Saturday but just 7 consecutive days.

 Saturday
July 7th

AM. 12.5. maybe a little less. Rock Creek loop - no woods.
slow 7:30ish. 90:50 total time. I actually did this run at 3 p.m. as I got back from camping last night late. My thighs were sore from the long hard run yesterday on pavement.

Then I got a Massage. The guy didn't push hard enough.

PM - 4 hrs after my "morning run".
Ran 4 miles with Victoria. Would've normally done 5 but she was hurting and thus I stopped as well. Overdoing it is my #1 problem.

 16.5
 Friday
July 6th

No AM run.

16.5 in PM. 2 mile wu. 9 mile Steady State with Scott Anderson. First 4.5 miles downhill (first mile flat), next 2 downhill, then relatively flat but slightly downhill. Turning back is opposite (slightly uphill for 2) way uphill for 2, flat .5

Kellogg said something about 5:30-5:40 pace. I didn't look at watch. Scott looked at first mile and said we were doing fine.

Alternating leads. I felt better leading actually. Scott, me , Scott, me.
2:54.36, 2:45.49,2:43.12, 2:46.5,2:42.76, 2:44.36, 2:40.63, 2:43.77, 2:41.87 turn around. 2:42.2, 2:39.84, 2:40.75, 2:40.75, 2:40.95, 2:40.95, 2:40.55, 2:41.18, 2:42.59, 2:31.73.

Another great run. A few weeks ago, my coach told me I need to stop running tons of miles and start worrying about getting speed down. Second straight time I've done it when I was supposed to. Good feeling.

It was somewhat shocking to hear Scott breathing so loudly. He'd probably dust me in a race but I felt like I could've possible dropped him if we went much farther. Of course, this type of run is my cup of tea not his. Felt great early on, coming up hill was a bit tough. Didn't really consciously pick it up too much at end. Ground just flattened out.

I'm psyched on one hand as I felt good but then again, I need to run 26 at this pace. It's amazing what one can do in a race.


Real slow cooldown of about 6 miles.

 16.5
 Thursday
July 5th

 AM 5 Miles

PM 12.5 Standard Rock Creek run 56:21 (7:30 mile) 30:46. 94;20 total.

in rain, thought I was even going slower than this. walked some of it (No I'm not on the Galloway plan but sometimes I inexplicably walk for 15 seconds) as I was bored/huge hills.

17.5
Wednesday
July 4th

12+ with 2 sets of 6 x 200 strides with mile jog in between. Felt slow but I time the 2nd set and they actually were o.k. (I don't look at the watch as I do them). 34.3, 31.8,32.1,31.3, 29.91, 29.98

Only one run do the 4th Holiday!! celebration big time last night.

 12+
 Tuesday
July 3rd

AM - 5 Miles. No Watch.

 

PM. Reverse Standard Rock Creek Loop.
12.5 miles 28:48 (7:54 mile - yes that's right) 62:57. Very slow.

17.5
 Monday
July 2nd

AM - 5 Miles. Felt poor. was going to do my hard run on Tuesday as a result but Scott Anderson said he'd do it with me if I did it today.

PM. Best workout ever. Shocking to say the least.

6400 meters in 19:33.94

71.69,77.12 (2:28.82), 2:25.40 (4:54.22), 2:28.02 (7:22.24),2:26.07 (9:48.31), 2:28.76 (12:17.07), 2:27.99 (14:45.06), 2:28.63 (17:13.69) 2:20 .25 - 71.71 (35.91, 35.80) 68.46 (35.20, 33.26)

Supposed to start at 5:15s and do pick it up to 5:10s and see what I had left. I was very nervous as this was the first time where I was supposed to worry about my time all summer. Drop the mileage if need be but it's time to worry about pace if I'm going to run Parkersburg in August.

I was shocked as I tried to go somewhat hard on a 5 mile downhill steady state last week and only did 26:40. It was like 95 plus degrees then and great weather today but still.

Scott took it out way quick. 34 for 200. The dumbass miler said, "Sorry, I haven't done a steady state in a while. At 400, I realized we were roughly on 5:00 pace for the last 200 and thus thought that was o.k. I then took over the lead at 800 (didn't look at watch) and at 1200 Scott said "that was a little quick." I responded, "feeling good, lets keep it up." I then proceeded to look at my own 800 split (not his) and just be towed around by him on his splits. I knew they were all under 2:30 so I just kept going. At some point early on, I figured I might not go the whole way (Scott admitted he thought the same) but later on around 3.5 or 4, he yelled out. "we got a good one going on, keep it up."

This workout is just a confirmation of Mr. Kellogg's training. Lots of mileage with high end/tempo runs/ and strides will get you fast without even stepping on the track. Gotta keep the faith!!! I knew I was fit but didn't think I was fit. No doubting of him anymore.

He pointed out that I actually set a 5k. pr during the last 5k. Nothing to write home about since my 5k p.r. is about a minute behind what it should be based on my marathon time but nonetheless it was a p.r.

Just shows I need to race a little more (but that entails staying healthy).

 14.5
 Sunday
July 1st
 57 minutes with Scott Anderson and Victoria Lynch. Real slow. Total recovery run from yesterday's 20 and the high week. Trying to get me ready to roll tomorrow or Tuesday on workout.  7.5

Click here to go to August Training Log
Still haven't gotten to putting in June.

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