Sub-5 Minute Miling

I moved from the D.C. area to the Triangle area of North Carolina yesterday. It wasn't my job that prompted me , but a desire to inspire ( hey , it could happen ) college students to make a difference in the upcoming election.

It's been awhile since I
ve logged in. I hope your training is going well. I got a bit sedentary and let my nutritional choices slide a bit. As a result I thickened up and am slowly running it off. I've yet to step onto a track this year , but have been feeling like a "sound" clydesdale.
It's coming along. I've been focusing on progression runs and turf running. My weight is just under 185 , and I've promisied myself not to call on much speed until I get below 175.
All the best , my fellow travellers , keep striding out !
Happy trails !

I got some much needed bounce back in my stride by simply buying a new pair of shoes. I even changed brands (to Saucony from Asics) because the store manager was extolling the virtues of the new "paramount." I've never paid this much money for a pair of shoes and fear that my running may not be worthy of such a magnificent pair of shoes.

This morning I had a memorable run that almost didn't happen. My work often doesn't bring me home until close to , or after , midnight. That made my choice as to whether to join some friends for a 6 a.m. run , a matter of internal debate. The group often includes a sub 3 hour marathoner , a black belt in one of the martial arts , and a guy who has a running commentary during the runs ( I'm more of a silent type ) with a great sense of humor. I hadn't attended in quite awhile , so when I arrived at the rendezvous point , I was the only one there.

It's been a time of change in my life recently. My father's passing has led to a period of introspection and, I hope, positive new direction. I will write off my recently acquired tendency to eat like a bear preparing to hibernate as a comfort food grief reaction, rather than a total loss of discipline. I didn't want to test the shelf life of ice cream, so one day became a common time period for it to remain in my freezer. I was buying foods I rarely used to buy, and devouring them in short order.

...is a concept that rings true to me right now. The stress that creeps into you as you stare at monitors in an ICU ward, is beautifully dissipated with a good run. My dad died yesterday morning after a long bout with a progressive, degenerative, disease. He was 82, and had amyloidosis.

What a huge day this will prove to be for racing. There is so much that will come out of this race. Obviously the first concern is for the many who fell victim to the heat. I'll reserve any opinion I might have to focus on the amazing lessons in belief and perseverance displayed in both the men's and women's elite races. Go to www.letsrun.com to watch the stunning conclusions to these races.

Happy trails !

Chase

Don't you think ?

Just the sheer joy in being in motion. I think we sometimes forget what a gift that is.

I've been having fun again with my running. I raced one time this Summer - a 5:20.49 mile. This is my first full week back after having to rest my strained left calf ( gastroc ). I did a progressive 5k in 26:02. That isn't impressive until you consider that it's over seven minutes faster than I ran three weeks ago. I'm letting speed go for awhile , but think I'll be able to call upon it next Spring as big goals are met.

I did a 5K progressive run today. It was the slowest I can ever remember running - 33:29 . . . and it was wonderful ! I've been biking and walking , but have been resting a strained left calf muscle for quite a few days. There was no excessive tightness and I relaxed while gradually increasing the tempo , ending at 9:15 pace.
My thought is to go very easy , and only every other day. The strain was slight , but real , and I don't want to risk re-injuring it , but it felt good to be back in motion.
Delays are not denials.
Happy trails.
Chase

...but my weekly " running " mileage this week will be 2 miles ( in 24+ minutes - very carefully on a treadmill ) and 200 meters ( at a crawl ). Next week will be zero. I am injured , and need a brief season away from running. I'll be back.
Happy trails !
Chase

p.s. The reason for my calf strain was insufficient rest between hard runs. I also didn't take the time to build a solid base. The lesson is being learned , and I should come back a wiser ( << could certainly use a dose of that ) and healthier man.

Here's a chance to see some great competition. Don't worry , if you miss anything ,it will all be archived and available for future viewing.
Go to www.usatf.org -- click on "National Championships" ( a red bar ) then scroll down to "Aug 2 - 5 Master's T & F Championship" ( << click on ) then "live broadcast". All track events will be broadcast. Enjoy !

http://www.slide.com/r/ontWrT0m5j97wZaFsduO12L30GPo5q-V?previous_view=ms... Cruise memorial 5k:Good race today-glad I decided to stick with the 5k this time around. It was very warm out, and I know this course well. Next year, 10 k course :) My time was pretty good, considering I slow down at the hilly end- esp. the one leading to the finish. I was very tempted to walk it, but Gil, Sue and another great chick was there encouraging me! Gil even ran a little of it with me, lol!

Every week we in the "magical Milers" sub-5-minute group get a schedule from our esteemed leader, Bobby McGee. Having written thousands of these things, Bobby has developed a system of abbreviations for specific workouts. He also has a policy of "continual improvements" -- yes, which means he keeps generating new ones. This is sometimes hard for us to follow. It makes it impossible for anyone else to know what the heck we are doing.

On the occasion of his anniversary of 25 years of coaching, I realised that in years to come, Bobby will be one of those coaches whose methods are analysed to death. You’ll find all sorts of runners and triathletes coming out of the woodwork claiming to have trained with him. There’ll be talk of 100-mile weeks and sessions of 40 x 400m in 60secs. So, for the record, I thought I ought to record an actual schedule Bobby gave me -- in this case the one I used when I first started with him. Don’t let anyone tell you different – this is what we really do.

"You have a choice", crooned a gentle voice in my right ear.

"You can choose to grind it out, or you can focus on your cadence".

This is a trick question, I thought to myself, fighting not to giggle. I settled on cadence and picked it back up to 100 or so. The Voice came right on cue; I had just hit the first mile of a 4k repeat in 6:40. Way too fast; I was supposed to be at 7:15 pace, and I had just registered what I was about to do to myself.

What made be giggle was Bobby's quiet way of getting his point across. It's just like having a suggestion slipped into your mind while you are in a trance. See...you thought I was hearing voices, didn't you? No. Not this time. Our Saturday track session got switched to a lakeside trail, enabling Bobby McGee to zip round the circuit on his bike while Marci, stationed at the "finish" line, made sure we got timed. It is fantastic to have someone alongside giving you form adjustments and encouragement as you train.

Age-group records may tumble tomorrow at the Fountain of Youth Mile at the Canby high school track in Oregon. And how I wish I was going to be on that track!

Maestro jazz trumpeter Nolan Shaheed is the one I'm going to be watching. Flying in from concerts in DC, he could push back the men's 55-59 world record (4:40.4, set by Australia's Jack Ryan in 1977). However, Kenyan superstar Henry Rono -- who has declared his intention of breaking that record -- is not going to challenge him. Henry will be running, but is nursing an injured hamstring and quad sustained running the 5,000m track race at the end of the Hillsdale College "Gina" Relays meet in Hillsdale, Michigan, a couple of weeks back. The meet ran late and the 5k kicked off at 1.15 on a cold morning. Henry covered the first 1600m in 5:44 and finished in 18:55.

I've never stepped off the track in the middle of a workout before, unless I've been injured.

Today it just seemed pointless to continue. I hadn't run in earnest for a week and was looking forward to letting rip on the track, with Bobby putting me and Kyle through an extensive warm-up, then a 1200m tt, 45 seconds rest then 400m. To finish us off, he had lined up 5 x 200m. Well, that was the plan...

First I was late. Despite 4 emails telling us it was 10am, I got it in my head it was 11am. So.. something going on there for starters. I warmed up OK. Strides were fine. First lap of the 1200 was good -- comfortable at 76 seconds -- then...I got slower and slower and my breathing more and more laboured. I fought through the second lap, then got even slower. With 150m to go I had to stop. It just wasn't happening. I couldn't breathe.

Had a good session on Saturday -- 200m x 10 after the obligatory warm-up run, drills and strides. I toodled over to the all-weather track at Fairview High as Boulder was being hit by thunderstorms. I timed it perfectly between rain storms. The Flatirons looked spectacularly mysterious, shrouded in mist. As ever, I count myself lucky to be able to do a track workout in such surroundings.

Got a bit carried away with the times -- at an average of 35 second each 200, with a couple of 34s, they were a little bit faster than the target times set from last week's Kosmin data (36.5). My excuse is that there was a very pretty high school girl doing 400s at the same time which motivated me to a) try to catch her and b) not be seen running like a doddering old fool.

Henry Rono, the former triple world record-holder who's making a comeback aged 55, will run the Carlsbad 5000 on April 1.

The world-class 5k road race staged in San Diego is dubbed "World's Fastest 5k" and has the distinction of being a place where world bests are set -- and for featuring separate races for masters. But although Henry will run with world masters mile record-holder Nolan Shaheed at Carlsbad, he is not predicting a super-fast time.

Henry has been getting some stick on the letsrun forum where he logs his progress reports, with some readers disbelieving that he is serious about racing at a high level again, and others obsessing over his weight and why he hasn't lost more despite running about two hours a day for nearly 8 months. He has only had one low-key race this year -- running 19:20 in Cincinnati in December.

I must be getting fit (at last).

Set out to The Fence, a 7-7.5-mile out and back mainly on an undulating trail. My aim was to repeat a stonking run I had last we