The New Style

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RCP Beach Drive

Time: 80:00
Distance: 12 mi.
Map

Easy run in pretty terrible weather (just over 40 and raining). I stayed off the soggy trails and dodged cars on Beach Drive, which runs the length of Rock Creek Park. My left IT band is a little bit tight.

I can't keep myself from posting this spectacular interview with Gabe Jennings that my friend Ben Peisch sent me. Here is Jennings' daily routine:

My daily life when I train seriously is fairly boring from the philistine's point of view. I wake up at 8:30 am, I drink some sugar/fructose water and do 36 push-ups, 225 sit-ups, some yoga lunges, groin stretches, SS wheelbarrows, and SS L pivots; then I go for an hour run, finish with a sharp sprint of a 300 meter hill; directly after my run I drink some more sugar/fructose water with a raw egg on top, then I do another 36 push-ups, 440 sit-ups, variations of the yopa "pidgeon," one-legged quad pelican. While I am doing my exercises I heat up some oatmeal gruel, throw in some broiled cow liver, so that when I am done with my exercises I can immediately sit down to some hot breakfast while thumbing through Eugene's "Register Guard" periodical. After breakfast I do an assortment of chores, musical practice studying and nap. At about an hour before sunset I go for another hour run and repeat the same morning program except this time I eat white rice with my broiled cow liver, and finish my dinner with a raw beet salad with balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. I love liver! It is high in iron, fat and protein. I love its faint urine smell. mmmhhh! I love liver after a hard run! I usually get to bed a little after 10 pm. I wake up at 3:30am every morning to read Aristotle's Ethics in the original Greek, and then I take a nap at 5am until I wake up at 8:30m. If I have a girlfriend I like to make wild passionate love at 9:45pm and 8:15am respectively.

2009 Austin Marathon Training Plan

2008 Austin Marathon Start

After my terrible coach Tom McArdle screwed everything up for both Jordan and me in our preparation for the Marine Corps Marathon in October, I had to set my sights on a new goal. Because I can't find another coach, however, I'm going to stick with the same general training plan. It is based on five two-week cycles. Week one will have two mid-week workouts and a long easy run and week two will have one workout and a long hard effort. The fartlek, hill, and track workouts during the week will contribute to both aerobic and anaerobic strength, muscle strength and form but should never take me to the well.

Long Runs
Long Easy:	build to 2:20 (140 min.) at recovery pace
Long Hard:	build from 10 to 15 miles at MP+ (~5:40 pace) with a warmup and cooldown

Workouts
Fartlek:	4-10 intervals of 2-5 min. with 20-30 min. total volume and short running rest
Track:	400-800m intervals w/4-5 mi. volume and short running rest
Hills:	200-300m (45-70 sec.) hills

Milage

Consistent target of 80-90 miles per week (9-12 miles per day, plus long run)

Marathon Pace Reference (4:22 for every 10 sec. per mile)
5:30	2:24:06
5:40	2:28:28
5:50	2:32:50

Week	Long Run	Workouts
1 (12/8-12/14)	Long Easy: 110 min.	0
2 (12/15-12/21)	Long Hard: 5-10-3	1
3 (12/22-12/28)	Long Easy: 120 min.	2
4 (12/29-1/4)	Long Hard: 3-12-3	1
5 (1/5-1/11)	Long Easy: 130 min.	2
6 (1/12-1/18)	Long Hard: 2.5-15-2.5	1
7 (1/19-1/25)	Long Easy: 140 min.	2
8 (1/26-2/1)	Long Hard: 2.5-15-2.5	1
9 (2/2-2/8)	Long Easy: 90 min.	1-2
10 (2/9-2/15)	Austin Marathon	0

2009 Austin Marathon Course Map

Week In Review

Time: 349:30
Distance: 50.5 mi.

Race week, travel week, adjusting to the U.S. and life in Amherst week.

Reflecting on Monday's Ekiden race has left me with two major thoughts: first, that I really enjoy running and racing, and that I would like to continue doing both with some degree of seriousness; second, that the next time I set out for a serious race, I'd like to be in good shape. With these two things in mind, as well as the continuing nagging state of my right hamstring, I think that I am going to take a few weeks of whatever I need to get my hamstring right and take a break from the last block of training. That means no Marine Corps Marathon, which would've been fun, but Team OJ was screwed anyway and the odds of hurting myself badly were high. When I get focused again, I'll have a training plan to be in racing shape by late winter or early spring.


"Go read my training log you muppet!" - Tom

Also of note, my friend (and training advisor) Tom McArdle has apparently both decided to live the dream once again and join the world of washed-up runners blogging his "training." What is wrong with Tom McArdle? (No, seriously. Not just the name of the blog. Does anyone know what is wrong with him?) Keith Kelly is also onto the run-blogging with his aptly-named Fitter, Happier, More Productive log.

Izumo Ekiden Preview

Taisha Shrine, an important Shinto site in Izumo

The Japanese take road relay races, locally called Ekiden (駅伝, or "station" and "transmit"), very seriously. A number of Ekiden relays attract international-caliber teams from across the world, most notably the Chiba Ekiden. For the last ten years, a foundation has selected and sponsored a team of Ivy League alumni in the Izumo Ekiden, which is run by the Inter-University Athletic Union of Japan. A team selected by Japan's University Athletic Union comes to the United States every year, as well, usually to race in the CVS Downtown 5k in Providence.


The race map, broken down into each leg

The Izumo Ekiden is 44k, divided into six legs: 8k, 5.8k, 8.5k, 6.5k, 5k, 10.2k. The race tends to be very competitive, particularly up front--the record for the 8k leg is 22:30 and for the 10.2k leg is 28:33. The overall course record for this course, used for the last 7 years, is 2:07:14 set last year (that's a 2:53 per kilometer average across all legs). The Ivy League team has finished in the back half of the field, ranging from 12th to 20th out of 21 or 22 teams.


Max King hands off near the lead after the first leg of the 2007 Izumo Ekiden

This year's Ivy League team will have a total of nine members, though three will be managers/assistant coaches/alternates. There were seven runners selected from the CVS Downtown 5k: Emory Mort (Cornell '05), Ari Zamir (Brown '08), Mark Olivier (Columbia '07), Jon-Paul Mandelburg (Columbia '07), Andrew Pitts (Yale '07), and Jimmy Wyner (Cornell '08) and me (Brown '06). In addition, Sage Canaday (Cornell '08, who ran very well at the New Haven 20k on September 1) and Jeff Gaudette (Brown '05) were chosen for the team.

This year's race will be October 13th, and our trip to Japan will be from October 8th through the 15th. For more about the race and the trip, see Jordan's log from the trip last year, Max King's videos from last year, and try to decipher the official race site.

2008 Marine Corps Marathon Training Plan

My training plan for the Marine Corps Marathon this fall, constructed in consultation with Tom McArdle, is based on five two-week cycles. Week one of each cycle will have one mid-week workout and a long hard weekend effort (the marathon preparation run) and week two will have two mid-week workouts and a slightly longer easy run. The fartlek, hill, and track workouts during the week will contribute to both aerobic and anaerobic strength, muscle strength and form but should never take a lot out of me. The workouts I've listed in the calendar are just a very general guide of what I am planning for. The long and hard marathon preparation runs just over marathon pace will hopefully reflect the development of long distance fitness throughout the course of my training and prepare me for long runs at the hard effort. Finally, the long easy runs will give me volume runs close to total marathon time.

This whole schedule is flexible, and I will definitely adjust it as time goes on.

Long Runs
Long Easy:	build to 2:20 (140 min.) at recovery pace
Long Hard:	build from 10 to 15 miles at MP+ (~5:40 pace) with a warmup and cooldown

Workouts
Fartlek:	4-10 intervals of 2-5 min. with 20-30 min. total volume and short running rest
Track:	400-800m intervals w/4-5 mi. volume and short running rest
Hills:	200-300m (45-70 sec.) hills

Milage

Consistent target of 80-90 miles per week, which with ~20 mile long runs means 9-12 mi. (60-80 min.) daily

Marathon Pace Reference (4:22 for every 10 sec. per mile)
5:30	2:24:06
5:40	2:28:28
5:50	2:32:50

AUGUST
Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
				1	2	3
4	5	6	7	8	9	10 Long Easy (120 min.)
11	12	13 Fartlek	14	15	16	17 Long Hard (5-10-3)
18	19 Track	20	21	22 Hills	23	24 Long Easy (130 min.)
25	26	27 Fartlek	28	29	30	31 Long Hard (3-12-3)

SEPTEMBER
Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
1	2 Track	3	4	5 Hills	6	7 Long Easy (140 min.)
8	9	10 Fartlek	11	12	13	14 Long Hard (2.5-15-2.5)
15	16 Track	17	18	19 Hills	20	21 Long Easy (140 min.) CVS Downtown 5k
22	23	24 Fartlek	25	26	27	28 Long Hard (2.5-15-2.5)
29	30 Track

OCTOBER
Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
		1	2	3 Hills	4	5 Long Easy (140 min.)
6	7	8 Fartlek	9	10	11	12 Long Hard (2.5-15-2.5)
13	14 Track	15	16	17 Hills?	18	19 Long Easy (90 min.)
20	21	22	23	24	25	26 Marine Corps Marathon
27	28	29	30	31

Marine Corps Marathon

Runners crossing the Potomac in the 2007 Marine Corps Marathon

I entered the Marine Corps Marathon today, which takes place October 26, 2008. That is 89 days from now. By this weekend I hope to have a training plan. Maybe I can recruit a coach? Maybe Jordan can stay healthy? Maybe Jilane and Meagan won't find a way to sabotage us? Only time will tell...

Week In Review

Time: 477:00
Distance: 70.5 mi.

A bit of an up-and-down running week. I was okay with taking a day off, and 70 miles in 6 days with no "real" long run isn't too bad.


White Rabbits at Club De Ville

The highlight of the week South by Southwest. Here's a recap of the best stuff Brian, Ian, and I saw:

• Deer Tick


• Simian Mobile Disco (not normally my type of thing, but they put on quite a show)


• Spoon (would've been better in a smaller venue)


• The Whigs


• Handsome Furs


• White Rabbits


• Constantines

USA XC Preview

Tomorrow morning I'm taking off for the USA Cross Country Championships in San Diego. I think my goals for this race are pretty simple: run hard and really compete in the last 1/3 of the race. Looking at the entrants there are a bunch of guys that it would be nice to beat... but who knows how it will go.

I don't have a great idea what to expect time or place-wise, but my traning has gone fairly well and my fitness (based largely on milage) is good. My long run two weeks ago was 100 steady minutes really dropping down the pace in the last 5 miles to mid-5:30s and I felt comfortable doing it. I also felt very strong and comfortable on a tempo run with the boys a few days before that where we averaged mid-4:50s. Even Tuesday's 1k repeats felt easier than I expected after some off days dealing with the tendonitis in my right knee.


The course map laid over satellite view

The course consists of a simple 2k loop that appears to be just in an open field. Of all the many cross country races I've run I've never been on a looped course, which will add to the experience...

RunTex Team

Sign above RunTex Riverside near Town Lake

I'm happy to finally be able to say that the RunTex's (the running store that I've been working at part time since I've been in Austin) post-collegiate team is (slowly) picking up steam. The details are undecided and up in the air, but the ultimate goal is to support and produce regional and national caliber athletes in Austin. For the moment, the team consists of 2007 UT graduate Joe Thorne and me, but I would forecast a lot of change as the program hopefully develops in the next 6 months. At the moment the arrangement is informal as we work to develop a workable long-term plan for a program.

What I am now sure of is that we will be making our "team" debut at the USA Cross Country Championships in San Diego, CA on February 16th, which I am getting very excited about. The only other detail I have for the moment is that I think we'll be in some slick all black uniforms that will look something like this:

Austin Runs

Now that I'm running a lot on my own from the house, I've gotten a bit sick of doing random loops, adding on all over the place, etc. To try to make the solo morning runs a bit easier, I am going to try to get some set runs down from the house that I know the time/distance of. This is the first time I've never really had any good set loops, and I find it mentally distracting. Hopefully I can keep adding to this list as I get more down.



Scenic, Town Lake Loop | 90 min. | Map
Avenue B south; east on 38th; south on Speedway; San Jacinto through campus to Trinity; Trinity south to Town Lake; west on Town Lake to MoPac; west on Lake Austin Blvd; north on Scenic Drive; left on Pecos St; east on 35th / 38th; north on Guadeloupe or Avenue B to 46th.

Long Possum Trot | 80 min. | Map
We made this run up from the track last fall, so this is the longer variant... down to Town Lake through campus and on Trinity; west on Town Lake to MoPac; through Eilers Park and up to cross Lake Austin Blvd.; up Hearn St. and then left to Possum Trot and up to Enfield; right on Enfield, left on Elton, right on Bridle Path which turns into Sharon Ln.; follow the streets next to MoPac up to Westover; east on Westover under MoPac into Northwood Rd.; left on Jefferson, right on 35th, left on West St., right on 38th, left back up Avenue B. The end of this run wasn't set originally, so I have done it a few different ways, but this seems like the best.

Exposition Loop | 70 min. | Map
Avenue B south; west on 38th / 35th; south on Exposition; east on Enfield just past MoPac; through the neighborhoods to Peace Park and up through upper Shoal Creek to 40th; north on Burnet Rd. to 45th; north on Guadeloupe and east on 46th to Avenue B.

15th Street Loop | 60 min. | Map
Avenue B south; east on 38th; south on Speedway; through campus on San Jacinto; west on 15th across Lamar to Peace Park; up through upper Shoal Creek to 40th; north on Burnet Rd. to 45th; north on Guadeloupe and east on 46th to Avenue B.

Play Ball | 50 min. | Map
West on 45th; north on Shoal Creek Boulevard to Northwest District Park; loop around on N Park Dr. and back to Shoal Creek Blvd; back on 45th.

Bull Run | 40 min. | Map
Avenue B south; cut through on Home Ln. to Hemphill; 29th to Jefferson; Bull Creek Rd. and then through the Bull Creek field; east on 45th.

Tower Loop | 40 min. | Map
Avenue B south; cut through to Hemphill Park; south on Guadeloupe to the UT Mall; east past the Tower and stadium; north on Robert Deadman and Red River; west at the end of Hancock and back through Hyde Park.

Ridgetop | 30 min. | Map
Avenue B south; west on 38th to Hancock; trail along the south and east sides of Hancock; north on Red River to 51st; west on 51st through the "Ridgetop" area; under the fence onto IF; south across IF back to Avenue B.

Tajikistan

In my procrastination from studying for my final exam of the semester I have been investigating the possibility of getting off the grid for about a month on a trip. For the moment, I have my mind set on a bike trip on the Pamir Highway in Tajikistan. I don't know when or how this might end up happening... but if I get a month free in the next year, I think this would be amazing. I'd have to take the time off from running, but biking hours per day at 4,000m couldn't hurt.

Oregon Coast

I was going through some running pictures and came across some that we took in Oregon a few years ago. A bunch of us who were in Eugene for the summer went out to the dunes and the coast for a run. Afterwards we did some strides on the beach and jumped in the freezing cold water. From my log at the time: "the greatest experience in a while finishing a run: ran across the sand of the beach and into the ocean. amazing."

Video killed the radio star

TexasSports finally posted some video of Jake and me (with a few workout clips) that they took earlier in the year. The formatting on the TexasSports site is pretty lame (requires Windows and Internet Explorer?!), so I pulled it over to Google Video.

I got the Timbos on the toes and this is how it goes

Old School ARHS XC (circa-1998?)

I've been listening to a lot of old Beastie Boys lately which really takes me back to high school cross country... group singing Paul Revere (YouTube) on the bus to and from meets (made Gould-friendly by drowning out the "whiffle ball bat" business), rocking Hello Nasty (Wikipedia) (which had just come out) during the push-up circle, using the "Ali Baba" section of Rhymin' and Stealin' (Wikipeda... look in the "other media" section) for the pre-race chant, and hearing Alex Keene rapping Get It Together (song and samples).

There's a reason why you wear this uniform...

This isn't exactly running related, but I can't help but be pumped up by it. I had heard that the "turning point" of the postseason for the Red Sox was before game 4 of the ALCS when David Ortiz held a team meeting to get the team focused.



Sports Illustrated has published some details from the players-only meeting, including this:

"Listen," designated hitter David Ortiz began, "we're not just a good team. We're a great team. And don't you fucking forget that. And let's go play one at a time and go prove that. Because let me tell you something...."

Ortiz pulled on the sides of his gray road jersey. "There's a reason why you wear this Red Sox uniform...."

Ortiz paused for a beat, letting the suspenseful silence fill the rapt room.

"Because you're a bad motherfucker."

Update: More on it (and more) in Papelbon's interview with Letterman.

Boone Bound

We're headed to Boone, NC this afternoon for the Blue Ridge Open and to get some training in at Zap Fitness. I was able to make it there once about a year and a half ago when Craigger and I were driving down to Austin to visit Brendan.

We got in a good run at Moses Cone Park, and explored the local scene (sometimes frightfully at the hands of Brendan's driving)

Also, Flotrack has a few videos from Zap this fall.

CVS Downtown 5k

My alternate running plan from this 6th year business was the CVS Downtown 5k and hopefully the Ivy League Ekiden trip to Japan for the top Ivy League grads at the race. The race was today, and I was happy to see ex-teammates Pat Tarpy and Jordan Kinley run quite well. Brian Hanley was hurting, but I'm still pretty jealous of his trip back to Providence. Hopefully somehow next year I'll make it there and on the trip.

Jordan

Brian

See results and more photos.

2007 Texas XC Schedule

2006 Texas Invitational

I already had a pretty good idea, but TexasSports has posted our schedule for the fall:

08.31	Bear Invitational	Waco, TX
09.08	Texas State Invitational	San Marcos, TX
10.12	Appalachian State Invitational	Boone, NC
10.26	Big 12 Championship	Lubbock, TX
11.10	NCAA Regional Championship	Fayetteville, AR
11.19	NCAA Championship	Terre Haute, IN

Cross Country Team History

Every summer for almost the last decade I have prepared for a cross country season... here are the teams from the last 7 seasons:


2006 Texas Longhorns at NCAAs - Terre Haute, IN


2005 Brown Bears at Heps - New York, NY


2004 Brown Bears at Murray Keatingue - Orono, ME


2003 Brown Bears at Heps - New York, NY


2002 Brown Bears at Iona - New York, NY


2001 Amherst Hurricanes at States - Grafton, MA

2000 Amherst Hurricanes at Western Mass. - Northfield, MA