I've put together a short video of some of the landscapes I see while running here. The first place you see is near Pine Creek and Mt. Tom. The second location is Round Valley where a lot of cyclists and runners gather to escape Mammoth when it is stormy/snow covered. The last location is at a nice vista overlooking Mammoth Lakes at sunset.
I just finished my first week working under a new coach. His name is Andrew and I'm pretty excited to see what kind of results we can get working together. He's joined me for a few workouts and we're at a similar level, but he never leaves any doubt on our last rep that he could put me in the dust if we were actually racing. He's focusing on my speed and taking my mileage down a little. I've already been scolded for putting too much distance on after Saturday's 5X1.
Speaking of the 5X1, I felt really good during this workout. My times weren't amazing. But I stayed consistently right at 5:30 for all reps at 4,500 ft. My buddy James joined me and we ran back and forth near Round Valley. The road is part of a 15k loop that is often used by Running USA. The portion we ran on is marked with blue paint every 100 meters which is helpful during repeats.
On our 2nd mile we noticed a new crowd of cars had arrived (the white van in the video is a Running USA van) and a batch of runners was warming up. It made me a bit nervous to know that the pro's were there while I was doing mile repeats. On the third mile Sarah H. rode alongside us on a mountain bike briefly offering us encouragement. We must have appeared to be crawling at 5:30 considering her husband runs 10 mile tempo runs sub 5 pace. And for that matter, she has run a 4:35 mile.
During the 3rd repeat we crossed paths with Ryan following Sarah on the bike and shortly after that a group of about 12 pros all looking smooth. I have to admit it felt good to have some of them encourage me by name. On my cooldown after my 5th rep I crossed paths with many of them again and was caught off-guard when Deena offered verbal encouragement about my morning's workout.
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Finally, I discovered tonight that my friend and running buddy Jason has started a little one of these bad boys himself. Check out what he has at Unyielding Crossroads.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Mark Dolgin Sub 3 and more
Recently I've spent some time reading about different coaching methods used throughout the years. I first stumbled across Australian coach Percy Cerutty in the great book The Perfect Mile by Neal Bascomb last winter. Cerutty advised athletes to follow a philosophy he called Stotanism. This was a combination Stoic and Spartan principles. I came across a few more things about him today and was tickled to read the sample log of olympic champion Herb Elliot, one his athletes. I would like to share it with you:
That certainly sounds like an excellent day if one was surrounded with the right people.
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The Sage to Summit running store recently updated their website to reflect the recent 10k. I'm certainly glad to have won, but after reading the recap I had to laugh at what a small race it was to win. It gave me a laugh so, here's their recap:
The race was a success! We had record temperatures in the mid 60s, no wind, and blue skies! 27 runners and 2 dogs competed. Dan McDowell and Ceal Kliner were the first place male and female winners.
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The Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in Phoenix was a success for friend and training partner Mark Dolgin (pictured at dinner with me in Boston last April so that you can make fun of my goofy look). He ran a 2:58:40 to get his first sub-3 hour performance in the books. We got the chance to speak on the phone shortly after the race and his "post-succesful-marathon-glow" was shining through the phone.
- 7am - A five mile run before breakfast in any direction our whim took us, followed by a dip in the ocean.
- 8am - Breakfast of uncooked rolled oats (without milk) sprinkled with wheat germ, walnuts, sultanas, raisins and sliced banana. Perhaps a few potato chips would follow.
- 9am - Swimming and surfing or outdoor chores like chopping wood, painting and carpentry.
- Noon - Training and lectures at Portsea Oval, followed by another swim.
- 2pm - Lunch - Fish and fresh fruit.
- 3pm - Siesta.
- 4pm - Weight Lifting
- 5pm - Ten-mile run along dirt roads ending once more at the beach.
- 7pm - Tea and a general discussion led by Percy on a wide variety of subjects.
- 11pm Lights Out
That certainly sounds like an excellent day if one was surrounded with the right people.
---
The Sage to Summit running store recently updated their website to reflect the recent 10k. I'm certainly glad to have won, but after reading the recap I had to laugh at what a small race it was to win. It gave me a laugh so, here's their recap:
The race was a success! We had record temperatures in the mid 60s, no wind, and blue skies! 27 runners and 2 dogs competed. Dan McDowell and Ceal Kliner were the first place male and female winners.
---
The Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in Phoenix was a success for friend and training partner Mark Dolgin (pictured at dinner with me in Boston last April so that you can make fun of my goofy look). He ran a 2:58:40 to get his first sub-3 hour performance in the books. We got the chance to speak on the phone shortly after the race and his "post-succesful-marathon-glow" was shining through the phone.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Weekend Update
Its another beautiful weekend here in Mammoth. The weather is abnormally mild and dry. Bad for the local economy and for LA's water supply come spring, but great for the running community here.
Today is a huge day in distance running. The US Half Marathon Championships took place this morning in Houston. Results are still coming in and are a bit sketchy, but what is clear is that Meb (representing Mammoth Lakes) has won the race, after leading from Mile 1 edging out Ritz. Elsewhere, Josh Cox is currently trying to break the US and World record for the 50k in AC, and my friend and sometimes training partner, Mark Dolgin is running the RnR in AZ. I can't wait to see how it all turns out.
I'm about to head out on a 20+ long run. But before I go, I wanted to share this video. Lots of great shots that show just how beautiful the scenery is here when running. You can take a look at part of the route they are running here.
Today is a huge day in distance running. The US Half Marathon Championships took place this morning in Houston. Results are still coming in and are a bit sketchy, but what is clear is that Meb (representing Mammoth Lakes) has won the race, after leading from Mile 1 edging out Ritz. Elsewhere, Josh Cox is currently trying to break the US and World record for the 50k in AC, and my friend and sometimes training partner, Mark Dolgin is running the RnR in AZ. I can't wait to see how it all turns out.
I'm about to head out on a 20+ long run. But before I go, I wanted to share this video. Lots of great shots that show just how beautiful the scenery is here when running. You can take a look at part of the route they are running here.
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