FDA regulations require that drug manufacturers perform a year end review of each of their commercial products, detailing all kinds of process attributes. This is mainly to ensure that their manufacturing processes are in a state of control. What the hell does this have to do with running? Nothing, but I figured I could apply this on the job experience to my running life. So here it is, a short synopsis of my 2011 with all its ups and downs.
January
Miles run: 318.75
Races Completed: 3
-Resolution Run 5K: 16:47
-Frozen Fingers (not so 5) 5 Miler: 31:44
-BRRC GPS 8 Miler: 47:21
-Notes: After only breaking 17 in one 5K in 2010 and feeling "stuck," I finally broke through on a slow, hilly course. An easy December seemed to be just what I needed. Over 300 miles that early in the year would turn out to be a mistake.
February
Miles Run: 330.05
Races Completed: 3
-Superbowl 5K: 16:52
-Annapolis Striders Valentines Day 5K: 16:45
-RRCA 10 Mile Challenge: 56:54
-Notes: I was on fire in February. This marked three consecutive 5Ks under 17 minutes. I also finished second in every single one of them (the first two I lost to the same runner). The Valentines Day race was a race to remember as it came down to three of us. I took the lead with less than half a mile to go, only to get out gunned in the last 0.1 mile. Exciting stuff. The RRCA race was like a dream come true as I got some payback on runners who had beat me in the past, shattered my old 10 mile mark on the course, and finished 14th in one of the more competitive races around. Trouble was brewing though as pain in my lower left leg was getting progressively worse throughout the month.
March
Miles Run: 114.8
Races Completed: 2
-B&A Trail Half Marathon: 1:16:12
-Shamrock 5K: 16:27
-Notes: What had most likely started as a stress reaction of my lower left tibia had become a full blown stress fracture basically 2 days before the B&A Half. I still ran 22 miles the day before that race, and ran the half marathon of my life. I forced myself to not limp while running and was beginning to realize something was horribly, horribly wrong. I finally had the mind to stop running after the half, but still opted to run in the Shamrock 5K regardless of the risk. After the third consecutive race of my life, I had to stop. It took 3 days before I could walk after that race without pain and finally saw a doctor, who after administering an MRI revealed that I had a rather significant stress fracture. He said I was probably pretty close to a full blown fracture.
AprilMiles Run: 4
Races Completed: 0
-Notes: And so it was that I missed my chance to run the Boston Marathon. I spent time at the gym and decided I would rather blow my brains out than use an elliptical, stationary bike, or do aqua jogging so I started cycling instead. I picked up a cheap, heavy ass hybrid and basically froze to death on numerous occasions as I had no idea what I was doing or what to wear. Eventually things started to work out better. A friend introduced me to clipless pedals and eventually road bikes. Once I was finally cleared to run again, I wiped out on my bike a week later and busted the hell out of my hip and knee, requiring another 2 weeks of recovery. By May though, things were looking up.
May
Miles Run: 104.1
Races Completed: 1
-Fiesta 5K: 16:52
-Not bad for taking off as much time as I did. To still be able to break 17 after all that time off was a huge boost. It took a while to get used to running again believe it or not. Though I was cleared to run, the doctor did tell me to be careful and there were a few times here and there that I backed off when I felt pain. I made sure to be extra careful and skipped some races and training opportunities.
June
Miles Run: 144.5
Miles Biked: 318
Races Completed: 4
-North Face Endurance Challenge Marathon Relay: (short 10K): 34:00?
-BRRC Summer Track Series: 2 Miles: 10:20
-Baltimore 10 Miler: 1:04:23
-Westchester Medical Center Duathlon: 2 mile run, 15 mile bike, 2 mile run: 1st in age group, 10th overall
-Notes: All I remember from that marathon relay is that we switched up our order, sent the fastest guy out first (me), and I buried the field. Our plan didn't quite work as we still ended up third, by I apparently put fear into other teams, and for the first time in a while, felt strong. The 2 miler was awesome. The 10 miler was a disaster, mostly because I was a goddamn idiot. If I ran smarter I could have broke 60:00. I instead went for broke and tried to run the pace I could hold in February preinjury. Not smart! I bought my road bike in early June and took it for its first race (and my first duathlon) at the end of the month and did rather well. I was way too conservative on the first run, but that certainly never happened again.
July
Miles Run: 262.25
Miles Biked: 373
Races Completed: 4
-Independence Day Duathlon: 2nd Overall, 1.6 mile run, 12 mile bike, 1.6 mile run
-20in24 Gold Relay (3x8.4 miles over a 24 hour period):
-BRRC Meet of Miles: 4:49
-EC5K (or 3.5 miler or something): 17:45
-Notes: I crushed my previous mile PR of 4:56 and finally got back to where I thought I should be at 20 in 24. I was part of a team of 5 runners who had to each do an 8.4 mile loop relay style 3 times each. I ran in the middle of the afternoon, a bit before midnight, and than early morning. Our team had no shot of winning anything, but I set out to see if I could match the faster runners out there. I ended up murdering that course, going sub 50 in the hot as hell afternoon, which was one of the faster times on the day. It would have been good enough for 2nd and 1st in their two cash races (each only 1 loop). I then repeated with another loop in the mid 50s at about 10:30 at night. I was so fired up at how well I ran. By the time the third loop rolled around, a few of my teammates had struggled, causing my time to wait around that much longer. I mailed in the last loop in 56 and change, which was about as well as I had ran at this race last year. I knew I was back. I also joined Adventures for the Cure, a cycling team in the area to start riding with them to try and get my cycling skills on par with my running.
August
Miles Run: 276.9
Miles Biked: 507
Races Completed: 4
-Du the 2 Duathlon: 2 mile run, 26 mile bike, 4 mile run...freaking hilly. 1st in age group, 12th overall
-BRRC Summer Track Series 5K: 16:24
-Lums Pond Duathlon turned 10K mud run: 34:19 (a bit short)
-BRRC Too Hot to Trot 10K: 33:56 (also short)
-Notes: Du the 2 was a great experience despite horrendous humidity and a near crash on the bike. I'm really looking forward to competing in that race again this year. They are going to have an elite wave, and it looks like my time from last year will qualify me. I can't wait to be in better shape on the bike. That track 5K was me firing on all cylinders. I just went on that track, ran the most even race I've ever run, and crossed the line feeling way too good for having just done a 5K; especially one outside my comfort zone at nearly 7pm. It is rather unfortunate I did not run another 5K when I was in that shape. I did a lot of speed work over the summer, and it really showed in that race. August was also the month I finally joined the much fabled "Tuesday Night Track" workouts at Gilman High School put on by "Team That's What She Said." I was glad that I finally decided to show my face (I already knew all about this group for a while). If you are a fast runner in the Baltimore area, you run with this group. They pretty much have a monopoly on the fast people, and it made everything easier for me because I FINALLY had people to run with who were at my pace and faster. I ended up outrunning all my other running buddies and needed new ones...
September
Miles Run: 289.8
Miles Biked: 456
Races Completed: 4
-Charm City Run 20 Miler: 2:02:01
-R U Able Duathlon: 5K run, 14 mile bike, 5K run...1st Overall, won it on the last run
-Philly Distance Run (Half Marathon): 1:14:44
-Naylors Beach Duathlon: 2 mile run, 26 mile bike, 6.2 mile run...2nd Overall
-Notes: September was my month. In hindsight, I peaked way too early, but such is the way of things. The highlight of my entire year was that Half Marathon. By age grade, 79.8% it is my best race of all time. I crushed my previous half marathon PR in February which I ran injured, which had crushed my PR from the time before that. In the 20 Miler, I went out too fast, held on anyway, and won my first cash prize for coming in 2nd on a 100% humidity day. I destroyed the 5K runs on the RU Able Du, completing both in sub-18 fashion. On the entire day, between relays and the actual 5K race, only 1 person ran faster than me (a relay runner). No one else was even close. At Naylor's beach, I kicked ass on the bike (at least for me) and had my best performance by USAT rankings of the year. That race is a big reason why my rank is so high right now. This was all while I was banging out 20 and 22 mile runs to get ready for a marathon. Unfortunately, I overreached a bit both physically and mentally.
October:
Miles Run: 263.9
Miles Biked: 181
Races Completed: 3
-New Hampshire Half Marathon: 1:18:43, 2nd overall
-Half Full Triathlon Relay: 1:20:35 (half marathon on cruise control), 1st overall relay team
-Cape Henlopen Duathlon, 2 mile run, 11.5 mile bike, 3.1 mile run, 2nd overall
-Notes: Something happened to me in this month. I believe a combination of too many bike miles, too many running miles, too many races, and my new found laziness for stretching conspired against me. I ended up with what was at times debilitating stiffness and pain in my left quad and groin. There was the occasional day when I could barely walk. I eventually figured out heat was the trick and kept heat on my leg at all times. By late October, I had it under control. On the racing front, I was still doing well but started to feel stretched thin. On a whim I decided to do a race in NH 2 days before it was to start. This was thanks to a friend who called me out by name on Facebook saying there was cash on the line and a weak field last year. She was actually surprised when I decided to do it (that's what you get for calling me out on Facebook). A bunch of other guys had the same idea. It was also raining and hilly as crap. If I was actually prepared, I could have won, but instead cruised into 2nd, pocketed $100 (minus the $45 race entry, free lodging, and air fare credit), and was pretty happy. The very next day I cruised through a half marathon as part of a triathlon relay. We were 5th going into the run, but thanks to my leg that was 20 minutes faster than any other team, I passed all 4 teams in the last 3 miles and gave us victory. Cape Henlopen ended up being my last duathlon of the year, and also showed I am better built for longer races. I just don't have the makeup for short bike legs. It was a bit exciting as I had to outrace someone that caught ME in the 2nd running leg.
November:
Miles Run: 218.4
Miles Biked: 13.5
Races Completed: 2
-Rockville 10K: 34:27
-NCR Trail Marathon: 3:01:57
-Notes: In an effort to get myself fresh and ready to go marathoning, I hung up the bike for November. My slight misfire in mileage (I should have gone over 300) and my mental and physical fatigue was really started to add up and take its toll, though I tried to ignore it. The rockville 10k was ok, I PR'ed big. I certainly went out a little too fast, but my legs just felt dead the whole way. I also seemed to dread runs more often than not. I started the Philadelphia Marathon, my alleged goal race, but dropped out at mile 13 after feeling like a train wreak as soon as the gun went off. I had not felt right in the days leading up to the race, but I had run through worse. I was pretty pissed with myself, especially considering I was essentially running a PR pace. I signed up for the NCR Trail marathon which was to be 2 weeks later in an attempt to salvage my marathon season. The weekend between still didn't really feel that great and my long run that weekend was not as successful as I had hoped. Once the race rolled around, I felt substantially better and at least ran well for the first half of the race. Some combination of going out too fast, and just complete mental fatigue did me in and I fell apart quickly in the second half.
December:
Miles: ongoing
Races Completed: 2
-Jingle Bell 5K: 16:45
-Celtic Solstice 5 Miler: 27:01
-Notes: December is ongoing of course. I took a few days off after NCR, just biking to and from work a few times. The 5K felt a bit better than my November races, but I was still kind of flat. I took another very easy week, and finally one more in the days leading up to the 5 Miler. With a renewed sense of physical and mental strength, I went out and raced my ass off, tying for 8th overall (I was 7th, but one of our guys got added to the results, which is fine with me since he is one of our's!), and blowing away my previous best on an easier course by over a minute. I felt strong again.
Now, we have arrived at my currrent week. I opted for one last week without workouts, just more running, and more cycling. Both are building slowly. I was pretty sore for part of this week, but it is getting better. Though whatever I did to my left leg in October has subsided significantly, it has not gone away. In an attempt to fix it for good, I've been stretching, and trying to strengthen my core as that perhaps could be a cause (especially with the bike miles).
So there it is, 2011 at a glance. I'm actually happy with the year. There is really no "what if" for me. Everything happened the way it did. I learned a lot and still got faster in the process. With 2012 coming up, I now have limits in place to try and keep myself fresh. I found that I can push myself too much, but thankfully, it takes a significant amount of mileage and racing.
Showing posts with label History. Show all posts
Showing posts with label History. Show all posts
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Saturday, January 29, 2011
2002-2003 Part 4: High School, Year 3: Trying to get better
Since I never really ran that much over the summer, I would always come into the cross country season "behind." My times would usually be slower than my best from the previous year, and it would take most of the season before I started running PR performances again. However, by the end of the season, I did end up breaking 19 minutes in the 3 mile and 20 minutes in the 5K on our usual tough cross country course. I remember our team tried to make a real effort to win some meets and actually go somewhere. We managed a 0.500 record, the first time I was ever on a team that actually won a couple of meets. We also had one of our best runners go down twice during races with seizures. The cause was eventually nailed down to medication he was taking. It was rather unsettling to see a good friend go through that.
I also have one memory of us going into NYC to run a race in Van Cortland Park. We had just received new uniforms, but of course, it was raining a lot that day. The entire course ended up being a massive mud pit. The first half mile of the course ran through an open field which was almost completely covered in ankle deep water. Needless to say, we ruined those uniforms. The head football coach was actually impressed that we were still running in that weather!
I don't have all my times for that winter track season, but I did get and stay under 5:30 for the mile and 12:00 for the 3200. I also participated in more than a few 4x800 relays as well. After some thinking, I realized that I got sick in the middle of the season! I ended up coming down with the flu. It took a week before I could even get out of bed, and even longer than that before I could run again. I remember having such a hacking cough for a week or so afterward and running would just make it worse. I ended up loosing a bit of weight during that sickness and remember having hydration issues at the start of spring track.
Spring track brought about more of the same at least once my hydration issues were fixed. I dealt with some absolutely awful cramping early in the season. It took me a while to realize that my body was still out of whack from that sickness. Once more serious things were ruled out, I basically drowned myself in water until my body returned to normal and stopped cramping. Knock on wood, 2003 is the last time I was truly sick with a fever. I've had nothing more than sore throats and minor colds since.
In our dual meets against one other school, I frequently ran the mile towards the beginning of the meet and the 4x800 relay by the end. It was pretty manageable since I had time to recover between the events. My sophomore year mile PR was a 5:16 run at an invitational meet at St. Anthony's High School. In my junior year, I once again PRed on the same track, running a 5:14 during a 4xmile relay. I blamed my slowed progress on that sickness and knew I would have to work hard as I only had one more year to try and get that sub-5 minute goal.
My senior year is up next, and with it, the end of my first running life. Things start to get more interesting after that.
I also have one memory of us going into NYC to run a race in Van Cortland Park. We had just received new uniforms, but of course, it was raining a lot that day. The entire course ended up being a massive mud pit. The first half mile of the course ran through an open field which was almost completely covered in ankle deep water. Needless to say, we ruined those uniforms. The head football coach was actually impressed that we were still running in that weather!
I don't have all my times for that winter track season, but I did get and stay under 5:30 for the mile and 12:00 for the 3200. I also participated in more than a few 4x800 relays as well. After some thinking, I realized that I got sick in the middle of the season! I ended up coming down with the flu. It took a week before I could even get out of bed, and even longer than that before I could run again. I remember having such a hacking cough for a week or so afterward and running would just make it worse. I ended up loosing a bit of weight during that sickness and remember having hydration issues at the start of spring track.
Spring track brought about more of the same at least once my hydration issues were fixed. I dealt with some absolutely awful cramping early in the season. It took me a while to realize that my body was still out of whack from that sickness. Once more serious things were ruled out, I basically drowned myself in water until my body returned to normal and stopped cramping. Knock on wood, 2003 is the last time I was truly sick with a fever. I've had nothing more than sore throats and minor colds since.
In our dual meets against one other school, I frequently ran the mile towards the beginning of the meet and the 4x800 relay by the end. It was pretty manageable since I had time to recover between the events. My sophomore year mile PR was a 5:16 run at an invitational meet at St. Anthony's High School. In my junior year, I once again PRed on the same track, running a 5:14 during a 4xmile relay. I blamed my slowed progress on that sickness and knew I would have to work hard as I only had one more year to try and get that sub-5 minute goal.
My senior year is up next, and with it, the end of my first running life. Things start to get more interesting after that.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
History Part 3: High School Year 2 (2001-2002)
My sophomore year brought about some solid improvement. It all started with Cross Country as it did every fall. Many of the runners on the team attended a week long running camp in upstate New York. Runners were assigned cabins based on recent times and would run together twice a day for a week. Such things were unthinkable to me back then. Regardless, I joined and all the running certainly helped.
I suffered from two problems though at all these camps. I never ran enough during the summer to really be prepared, and I never really built up good endurance to last much longer than 7 miles. Nonetheless, I plodded through the runs at camp as best I could. Interestingly, those running camp weeks pale in comparison to my 70, 80, and 90 mile weeks that I've done this year.
After getting through running camp largely in one piece, our week long practice before the beginning of school started. I was assuming that I would be allowed to run with the Varsity runners. I had put in the work at running camp, and my coaches knew that I was there. However, on the first day of practice, the varsity runners and a handful of others were taken out for a road run, while the freshmen and JV runners were left to do perimeters around the athletic fields.
I did not show it, but I was furious and decided to prove to everyone where I belonged. Though I was never a high level high school runner and probably could have run a lot more, especially in the offseason, I still took the sport seriously and always gave 100%. I really did not want to do the same run as the people who did not really care and were just there to stay in shape for something else.
I ran that workout as hard as I could; it was probably something around 3 or 4 perimeters, maybe a little over 3 miles total. I was so far ahead of everyone after the first lap that the coach took note. After I continued to pour it on he actually told me "Wow Dan, you want to run with the Varsity runners don't you?" He told me something similar each time I passed. I think by the time we finished, I had lapped everyone.
The next day, and for the remainder of my high school career, I never ran with the JV runners again. That was probably the first time I realized what motivation can do. These days, I am substantially more motivated than I ever was in High School, but I still take every little bit that I can thanks to this experience. Just ask the very few trash-talking local Baltimore runners how the view of my back shoulder looks; firing me up is a mistake.
During the season, I was able to crack 20 minutes for the 3 mile, attaining a new PR of 19:06. My 5K PR got down to 20:54. I never ran road races back then, so these cross country times are difficult to compare. Our team was never all that solid, the best we ever did was 500 (same number of wins and losses) and I was not some kind of all star. However, I did work hard to try and move up both on our team and in the division. I eventually broke into the "top-7." In our particular league, your first 5 runners scored while the 6th and 7th could displace other top 5 runners. Becoming a 6/7 was an awesome accomplishment for me, even if I was never fast enough to actually displace anyone.
Running for the team in divisions and counties was rather awesome too. I seem to vaguely remember extremely cold days, running in nothing more than short-shorts and a racing singlet. Old habits never die since I still wear next to nothing in races, even if it is bitterly cold. After cross country, winter track with all of its new experiences came along.
This time around, I actually participated in winter track fully. Though we did some running and training inside the school hallways, we were eventually forced outside for safety reasons. I always did take pride that we were the only sport that braved the cold and trained outside.
I thought I hated the 3200m race on an outdoor track. That was before I ran it indoors on a 200m track. It took 16 laps to finish the race. Though officials helped keep track of laps, if you were not a leader, it was ultimately up to you. I am still terrible at counting laps. Regardless, I knocked my 3200m time down to 11:43. My mile time stood at 5:32.
Almost all meets were held at Suffolk County Community College at their indoor track. The air quality was always suspect in there and we all seemed to developed the "S-west cough" as we liked to call it. The new experiences and different running environment all helped to toughen me up in different ways. With the shorter track, dealing with excessive monotony became a necessity. Training outside in the freezing cold also helps to build character. Both of those experiences certainly help with the year round marathon runner I have become today.
The spring track season brought about one of my top 3 most memorable races. Though some details elude me now, I ran my fastest mile to date in early May 2002, a 5:16. The track I did it on (St. Anthony's High School) would hold my mile PR each year until I graduated, and technically, until 2009. I never did get under 12 minutes for the 3200m outdoors that year. However, this is because I always had to run the 3200 about 20 minutes after the 1600 just my first year in High School. Long distance runners were the work horses of our track teams.
My junior year is next up.
Reflecting back on all this, I do wonder what I could have done with more mileage. Of course, I ran just as much for PRs as I did to run with my teammates. Almost all my friends were other runners on the team so it was not all just about times. However, I always wondered why some runners were just so good and others like me were so average (relatively speaking of course). I always thought it was just talent that separated the fast and slow. The real reason though, had to do with how many miles people put in. Though talent certainly plays its role, lots of mileage is what defines a runner.
In some ways I knew this because our coaches eluded to it, and it was talked about a lot at those running camps. People all over were saying that to get better at running, all you have to do is run more. Truthfully, I really did not have the drive I needed to put the high mileage in to become a successful high school runner. As these recollections near present day, it will become obvious that this whole time, I have had at least some talent (I was always convinced I had none), and eventually, I came to the realization that high mileage is what I've needed all along.
Of course this realization is what kicked off my current running era. We just haven't quite arrived at that important moment yet.
I suffered from two problems though at all these camps. I never ran enough during the summer to really be prepared, and I never really built up good endurance to last much longer than 7 miles. Nonetheless, I plodded through the runs at camp as best I could. Interestingly, those running camp weeks pale in comparison to my 70, 80, and 90 mile weeks that I've done this year.
After getting through running camp largely in one piece, our week long practice before the beginning of school started. I was assuming that I would be allowed to run with the Varsity runners. I had put in the work at running camp, and my coaches knew that I was there. However, on the first day of practice, the varsity runners and a handful of others were taken out for a road run, while the freshmen and JV runners were left to do perimeters around the athletic fields.
I did not show it, but I was furious and decided to prove to everyone where I belonged. Though I was never a high level high school runner and probably could have run a lot more, especially in the offseason, I still took the sport seriously and always gave 100%. I really did not want to do the same run as the people who did not really care and were just there to stay in shape for something else.
I ran that workout as hard as I could; it was probably something around 3 or 4 perimeters, maybe a little over 3 miles total. I was so far ahead of everyone after the first lap that the coach took note. After I continued to pour it on he actually told me "Wow Dan, you want to run with the Varsity runners don't you?" He told me something similar each time I passed. I think by the time we finished, I had lapped everyone.
The next day, and for the remainder of my high school career, I never ran with the JV runners again. That was probably the first time I realized what motivation can do. These days, I am substantially more motivated than I ever was in High School, but I still take every little bit that I can thanks to this experience. Just ask the very few trash-talking local Baltimore runners how the view of my back shoulder looks; firing me up is a mistake.
During the season, I was able to crack 20 minutes for the 3 mile, attaining a new PR of 19:06. My 5K PR got down to 20:54. I never ran road races back then, so these cross country times are difficult to compare. Our team was never all that solid, the best we ever did was 500 (same number of wins and losses) and I was not some kind of all star. However, I did work hard to try and move up both on our team and in the division. I eventually broke into the "top-7." In our particular league, your first 5 runners scored while the 6th and 7th could displace other top 5 runners. Becoming a 6/7 was an awesome accomplishment for me, even if I was never fast enough to actually displace anyone.
Running for the team in divisions and counties was rather awesome too. I seem to vaguely remember extremely cold days, running in nothing more than short-shorts and a racing singlet. Old habits never die since I still wear next to nothing in races, even if it is bitterly cold. After cross country, winter track with all of its new experiences came along.
This time around, I actually participated in winter track fully. Though we did some running and training inside the school hallways, we were eventually forced outside for safety reasons. I always did take pride that we were the only sport that braved the cold and trained outside.
I thought I hated the 3200m race on an outdoor track. That was before I ran it indoors on a 200m track. It took 16 laps to finish the race. Though officials helped keep track of laps, if you were not a leader, it was ultimately up to you. I am still terrible at counting laps. Regardless, I knocked my 3200m time down to 11:43. My mile time stood at 5:32.
Almost all meets were held at Suffolk County Community College at their indoor track. The air quality was always suspect in there and we all seemed to developed the "S-west cough" as we liked to call it. The new experiences and different running environment all helped to toughen me up in different ways. With the shorter track, dealing with excessive monotony became a necessity. Training outside in the freezing cold also helps to build character. Both of those experiences certainly help with the year round marathon runner I have become today.
The spring track season brought about one of my top 3 most memorable races. Though some details elude me now, I ran my fastest mile to date in early May 2002, a 5:16. The track I did it on (St. Anthony's High School) would hold my mile PR each year until I graduated, and technically, until 2009. I never did get under 12 minutes for the 3200m outdoors that year. However, this is because I always had to run the 3200 about 20 minutes after the 1600 just my first year in High School. Long distance runners were the work horses of our track teams.
My junior year is next up.
Reflecting back on all this, I do wonder what I could have done with more mileage. Of course, I ran just as much for PRs as I did to run with my teammates. Almost all my friends were other runners on the team so it was not all just about times. However, I always wondered why some runners were just so good and others like me were so average (relatively speaking of course). I always thought it was just talent that separated the fast and slow. The real reason though, had to do with how many miles people put in. Though talent certainly plays its role, lots of mileage is what defines a runner.
In some ways I knew this because our coaches eluded to it, and it was talked about a lot at those running camps. People all over were saying that to get better at running, all you have to do is run more. Truthfully, I really did not have the drive I needed to put the high mileage in to become a successful high school runner. As these recollections near present day, it will become obvious that this whole time, I have had at least some talent (I was always convinced I had none), and eventually, I came to the realization that high mileage is what I've needed all along.
Of course this realization is what kicked off my current running era. We just haven't quite arrived at that important moment yet.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
History Part 2: High School, Year 1 (2000-2001)
Moving up to the High School level introduced a variety of important changes. For cross country, freshmen started with the 1.5 mile race, though eventually everyone moved up to 3 mile and 5K races. Nearly all races were held at Sunken Meadow, a state park with one of the toughest courses around. Training distances were longer, workouts were harder. Additionally, running became a year round activity with cross country in the fall, winter track during the cold days, and spring track at the end of the year. The 3200m (~2 miles) became the longest track event, and in general, we ran in more meets throughout the year.
Practice for the cross country season actually started a week before school. I remember practice being early in the morning, though not as early as I run these days. I still remember our first practice. It was raining and we ran two perimeters around the HS athletic fields for a warm-up. It ended up being close to 1.5 miles total, a far cry for the 0.5 mile warm up we did in Middle School. That first day we stayed on the school grounds but in the future, we ventured out onto the roads for runs, also a relatively new experience.
I never could have guessed that many years later, the roads would become my domain. Back then, the whole concept of running on roads was still quite new. Time has faded much of my memory of the past. I do know that I ran in quite a few 1.5 mile races, and roughly average in most of the races. The 1.5 mile course at Sunken Meadow included one hill, known as Snake Hill. It turned sharply to the right as it ascended at a rather unforgiving sharp angle. The surface was mainly dirt with some wood chips. Immediately after the crest, one hits a very, very sharp downhill. I remember flying down that hill many times, dodging rocks and other runners. Somehow, I never did fall in 4 years of running down that thing.
Times elude me, so I can't say how well I did in that regard. However, there is one rather vivid experience I do have. Invitational races were run on Saturdays, and that was when the 5K course was run. In one of the last races of the year, somehow I, a lowly freshman got thrown into the Varsity 5K race. I don't remember exactly why, but it happened. We not only ran up Snake Hill, but also Cardiac Hill, a ~300m uphill with bad footing and 3 sections of varying incline right smack in the middle of the race after a less impressive but nonetheless long shallow, taxing hill.
To this day, it was probably my worst race in history. The field was small and way too fast for me. I stayed up with the other runners as best I could but completely blew up after about a mile and really, really struggled the rest of the way. If I didn't finish last, it was probably pretty damn close. My time was probably in the mid to high 20's...24, 25 or 26 minutes. I remember having horrible cramps all through my midsection and questioning why I even ran the race. Though a very humbling moment, I never really let it discourage me.
I did not run winter track my freshman year. I had a back issue and didn't think I could handle running year round. Yet another time when I wish "fast Dan" could tell "High School Dan" to suck it up and run harder, but you can't change the past. I was at least a team manager and got to see how winter track works, with the smaller 200m indoor track.
After consulting some old records, I've discovered that my freshman year in Spring Track was the first time I broke 6:00 for the mile. By the end of my Freshman year, I was running 5:42 in the mile. I was also introduced to the 3200m race, an 8 lap race on the outdoor 400m track. I hated that race, and still don't like it. The Baltimore Road Runners Club actually hold track races in the summer and the 3200m was an option at one; I have yet to do it.
In dual meets, where two schools race against each other, events happen quickly, one right after the other. So anytime I ran the 3200m, it was always a mere 20-30 minutes after having run an all out mile. I always focused all my effort on the mile and just gave whatever I had left for the 3200. Lets just say it made an already painful race even more painful. Of course these experiences served me well to toughen me up and help shape the runner that I am today. I was still under the working assumption that I was supposed to feel absolutely terrible during both races and that there was no holding back in either of them. My first 3200m time was my best at 12:30. That's a 6:15/mile pace. The fact that I just ran an entire marathon at 6:18 pace completely blows my mind. If someone told me immediately after that race that I would run almost that pace for 26.2 miles someday, I probably would have punched that person in the face and called them a moron.
After the end of freshman year, I became more used to the High School way of doing things. I remember we focused a lot on speedwork. Since my times continued to improve so well, I quickly learned just how important speedwork is to improving. Of course, in hindsight, I think we needed a higher base of mileage also. Regardless, those gut busting workouts stuck with me and still play a very important part in my training today. I can also say that I still hate them just as much as I did back then!
Stay tuned for the next parts of the series. I do finally have an order hashed out:
2001-2002 Part 3: High School, Year 2: Making a name for myself
2002-2003 Part 4: High School, Year 3: Trying to get better
2003-2004 Part 5: High School, Year 4: The final year, and goals left unfinished
2004-7/4/1007: Part 6: College, Years 1-3: The Dark Ages
7/5/2007-11/13/2009: Part 7: The Come Back
11/14/2009-Present: Part 8: The "Fast Dan" era
Practice for the cross country season actually started a week before school. I remember practice being early in the morning, though not as early as I run these days. I still remember our first practice. It was raining and we ran two perimeters around the HS athletic fields for a warm-up. It ended up being close to 1.5 miles total, a far cry for the 0.5 mile warm up we did in Middle School. That first day we stayed on the school grounds but in the future, we ventured out onto the roads for runs, also a relatively new experience.
I never could have guessed that many years later, the roads would become my domain. Back then, the whole concept of running on roads was still quite new. Time has faded much of my memory of the past. I do know that I ran in quite a few 1.5 mile races, and roughly average in most of the races. The 1.5 mile course at Sunken Meadow included one hill, known as Snake Hill. It turned sharply to the right as it ascended at a rather unforgiving sharp angle. The surface was mainly dirt with some wood chips. Immediately after the crest, one hits a very, very sharp downhill. I remember flying down that hill many times, dodging rocks and other runners. Somehow, I never did fall in 4 years of running down that thing.
Times elude me, so I can't say how well I did in that regard. However, there is one rather vivid experience I do have. Invitational races were run on Saturdays, and that was when the 5K course was run. In one of the last races of the year, somehow I, a lowly freshman got thrown into the Varsity 5K race. I don't remember exactly why, but it happened. We not only ran up Snake Hill, but also Cardiac Hill, a ~300m uphill with bad footing and 3 sections of varying incline right smack in the middle of the race after a less impressive but nonetheless long shallow, taxing hill.
To this day, it was probably my worst race in history. The field was small and way too fast for me. I stayed up with the other runners as best I could but completely blew up after about a mile and really, really struggled the rest of the way. If I didn't finish last, it was probably pretty damn close. My time was probably in the mid to high 20's...24, 25 or 26 minutes. I remember having horrible cramps all through my midsection and questioning why I even ran the race. Though a very humbling moment, I never really let it discourage me.
I did not run winter track my freshman year. I had a back issue and didn't think I could handle running year round. Yet another time when I wish "fast Dan" could tell "High School Dan" to suck it up and run harder, but you can't change the past. I was at least a team manager and got to see how winter track works, with the smaller 200m indoor track.
After consulting some old records, I've discovered that my freshman year in Spring Track was the first time I broke 6:00 for the mile. By the end of my Freshman year, I was running 5:42 in the mile. I was also introduced to the 3200m race, an 8 lap race on the outdoor 400m track. I hated that race, and still don't like it. The Baltimore Road Runners Club actually hold track races in the summer and the 3200m was an option at one; I have yet to do it.
In dual meets, where two schools race against each other, events happen quickly, one right after the other. So anytime I ran the 3200m, it was always a mere 20-30 minutes after having run an all out mile. I always focused all my effort on the mile and just gave whatever I had left for the 3200. Lets just say it made an already painful race even more painful. Of course these experiences served me well to toughen me up and help shape the runner that I am today. I was still under the working assumption that I was supposed to feel absolutely terrible during both races and that there was no holding back in either of them. My first 3200m time was my best at 12:30. That's a 6:15/mile pace. The fact that I just ran an entire marathon at 6:18 pace completely blows my mind. If someone told me immediately after that race that I would run almost that pace for 26.2 miles someday, I probably would have punched that person in the face and called them a moron.
After the end of freshman year, I became more used to the High School way of doing things. I remember we focused a lot on speedwork. Since my times continued to improve so well, I quickly learned just how important speedwork is to improving. Of course, in hindsight, I think we needed a higher base of mileage also. Regardless, those gut busting workouts stuck with me and still play a very important part in my training today. I can also say that I still hate them just as much as I did back then!
Stay tuned for the next parts of the series. I do finally have an order hashed out:
2001-2002 Part 3: High School, Year 2: Making a name for myself
2002-2003 Part 4: High School, Year 3: Trying to get better
2003-2004 Part 5: High School, Year 4: The final year, and goals left unfinished
2004-7/4/1007: Part 6: College, Years 1-3: The Dark Ages
7/5/2007-11/13/2009: Part 7: The Come Back
11/14/2009-Present: Part 8: The "Fast Dan" era
Friday, October 15, 2010
History Part 1: My First Running Life, the Early Days
To this day I cannot remember how I decided to join my middle school cross country team back in September of 1998. I do remember, very vividly, how I felt after our very first practice. I don't even remember the day's workout. I do know that we ran 1/2 mile around the track. It was only after we finished that I found out it was only the warm-up. I thought that was completely crazy. Who warms up by running before they actually run? I probably don't remember the actual workout (it was probably perimeters around the athletic fields) because it was so tramuatizing!
The next day, I remember feeling completely sore. My entire body felt like it was laminated. I could barely walk, stand up, sit down, or even turn my head. To this day, I have never been as sore as I felt then, not even after my first marathon. In hindsight, I was probably just jumping into things too fast. I went from basically running nothing to doing around 2-3 miles (without walking) in practice. But, I didn't know anything at all about running back then. I just did what my coach told me to do and assumed how I felt was normal. Ignorance certainly is bliss! That mindset also helped define my approach to running which has lasted until this day.
I truly believe that if I started running on my own, I would never, ever be able to reach the times I'm running now. Conventional wisdom and training theory for amateurs and people just starting out are so ridiculously conservative these days. It's great for keeping people injury free and keeping them going without discouragement, especially if they are just looking to "stay in shape." But, it's horrible for showing people what it takes to run as fast as your potential will allow. I quickly thought it was normal to run hard, and feel tired more often than not. I thought soreness, searing pain and extremely heavy breathing were all part of running. If there was no pain, I wasn't running hard enough. In a race, if I didn't cross the line completely exhausted and didn't feel like a train wreak most of the way, I hadn't run fast enough. Frankly, without just diving into it like I did, I would have ended up being too soft. I certainly would have been much further away for the "true runner" that my Once a Runner quote describes.
I'm sure a lot of people would have thrown in the towel after feeling that terrible. However, I actually felt proud of being so sore. I remember bragging to people telling them how bad I felt, and that I was going back to run again. So I showed up for the 2nd day, and the 3rd, and just kept coming back. The soreness eventually subsided, and I started getting accustomed to running.
I really can't remember weekly mileage totals, or our training cycles and what not. It never even crossed my mind to track such things. Looking back now, I certainly had no idea what I was doing!
When I was running middle school XC, races started out at 1 mile, and about halfway through the season, they would bump to 1.5 miles. My first race ever, was against Commack, and they were one of the only schools that had a real dirt trail cross country course away from their actual school grounds. It was raining so ridiculously hard. To that point in my very short running life, I had never run in rain like that before. I was both nervous and excited.
As per standard procedures, we walked the course beforehand, then lined up and got ready to start. I remember very little from the race. All I know is it was hilly, the footing was bad, and it hurt a lot. About 0.2 miles from the finish I actually fell down. I got forced up a little lip on the side of the trail by another runner and took a rather cushioned tumble. I literally bounced right back up and passed back all the people that passed me when I fell.
I think that incident is why until this day that I hate getting passed, and cannot run right behind or right next to someone. My time was something over 7 minutes,; times didn't really mean much to me back then.
Beyond that race, I have very little memory as to what transpired. I do know I started learning my first lessons about cramping. As the season wore on, especially in races I start experiencing terrible side cramps and stitches. I actually thought the cause was drinking too much water beforehand. Of course the problem was the exact opposite. Even before I cut back on water, I was not even drinking close to enough. It took a while, but at some point I figured it out and got into the habit of drinking water throughout the day. It's a habit that continues to this day to keep cramping at bay. Though, now I'm also better at just sucking it up if I do get a cramp.
When Spring Track rolled around, I immediately picked the Mile (actually 1600m, 9m short of a mile) as my event. It was the longest race you could do in Middle School, so I decided I would become a Miler. I dabbled in the long jump for a little, but I knew really early on that I would be a distance runner. To that point, my mile time was probably somewhere in the 7s. I don't remember exactly when I went sub-7, but it was sometime during Middle School.
As 8th grade wore on, my times continued to slowly creep down. Obviously, only being in Middle School, we weren't exactly running high mileage. However, with the training load we had, I was seeing results. I quickly became determined to get faster, and keep knocking down my PRs. Nothing would beat the sense of accomplishment of achieving a new PR. Racing quickly became my favorite part about running.
By the time I moved onto High School, my mile time was down somewhere in the 6's. I can't remember if it was high or low 6's. I do remember that around that time, I came up with the goal of breaking 5:00 in the mile before I graduated High School. That become my first long term goal.
My High School running began in late August, 2000, but that is a story for another day...stay tuned for Part II
The next day, I remember feeling completely sore. My entire body felt like it was laminated. I could barely walk, stand up, sit down, or even turn my head. To this day, I have never been as sore as I felt then, not even after my first marathon. In hindsight, I was probably just jumping into things too fast. I went from basically running nothing to doing around 2-3 miles (without walking) in practice. But, I didn't know anything at all about running back then. I just did what my coach told me to do and assumed how I felt was normal. Ignorance certainly is bliss! That mindset also helped define my approach to running which has lasted until this day.
I truly believe that if I started running on my own, I would never, ever be able to reach the times I'm running now. Conventional wisdom and training theory for amateurs and people just starting out are so ridiculously conservative these days. It's great for keeping people injury free and keeping them going without discouragement, especially if they are just looking to "stay in shape." But, it's horrible for showing people what it takes to run as fast as your potential will allow. I quickly thought it was normal to run hard, and feel tired more often than not. I thought soreness, searing pain and extremely heavy breathing were all part of running. If there was no pain, I wasn't running hard enough. In a race, if I didn't cross the line completely exhausted and didn't feel like a train wreak most of the way, I hadn't run fast enough. Frankly, without just diving into it like I did, I would have ended up being too soft. I certainly would have been much further away for the "true runner" that my Once a Runner quote describes.
I'm sure a lot of people would have thrown in the towel after feeling that terrible. However, I actually felt proud of being so sore. I remember bragging to people telling them how bad I felt, and that I was going back to run again. So I showed up for the 2nd day, and the 3rd, and just kept coming back. The soreness eventually subsided, and I started getting accustomed to running.
I really can't remember weekly mileage totals, or our training cycles and what not. It never even crossed my mind to track such things. Looking back now, I certainly had no idea what I was doing!
When I was running middle school XC, races started out at 1 mile, and about halfway through the season, they would bump to 1.5 miles. My first race ever, was against Commack, and they were one of the only schools that had a real dirt trail cross country course away from their actual school grounds. It was raining so ridiculously hard. To that point in my very short running life, I had never run in rain like that before. I was both nervous and excited.
As per standard procedures, we walked the course beforehand, then lined up and got ready to start. I remember very little from the race. All I know is it was hilly, the footing was bad, and it hurt a lot. About 0.2 miles from the finish I actually fell down. I got forced up a little lip on the side of the trail by another runner and took a rather cushioned tumble. I literally bounced right back up and passed back all the people that passed me when I fell.
I think that incident is why until this day that I hate getting passed, and cannot run right behind or right next to someone. My time was something over 7 minutes,; times didn't really mean much to me back then.
Beyond that race, I have very little memory as to what transpired. I do know I started learning my first lessons about cramping. As the season wore on, especially in races I start experiencing terrible side cramps and stitches. I actually thought the cause was drinking too much water beforehand. Of course the problem was the exact opposite. Even before I cut back on water, I was not even drinking close to enough. It took a while, but at some point I figured it out and got into the habit of drinking water throughout the day. It's a habit that continues to this day to keep cramping at bay. Though, now I'm also better at just sucking it up if I do get a cramp.
When Spring Track rolled around, I immediately picked the Mile (actually 1600m, 9m short of a mile) as my event. It was the longest race you could do in Middle School, so I decided I would become a Miler. I dabbled in the long jump for a little, but I knew really early on that I would be a distance runner. To that point, my mile time was probably somewhere in the 7s. I don't remember exactly when I went sub-7, but it was sometime during Middle School.
As 8th grade wore on, my times continued to slowly creep down. Obviously, only being in Middle School, we weren't exactly running high mileage. However, with the training load we had, I was seeing results. I quickly became determined to get faster, and keep knocking down my PRs. Nothing would beat the sense of accomplishment of achieving a new PR. Racing quickly became my favorite part about running.
By the time I moved onto High School, my mile time was down somewhere in the 6's. I can't remember if it was high or low 6's. I do remember that around that time, I came up with the goal of breaking 5:00 in the mile before I graduated High School. That become my first long term goal.
My High School running began in late August, 2000, but that is a story for another day...stay tuned for Part II
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
History Introduction
I've always wanted to record an overview of my 12 years of running. Starting this blog is helping to fulfill that goal. My running life can broken up into a few eras, and there are a few defining moments that I want to outline so I can look back later and see how far I've come.
This will be the first in a series of posts summarizing my running history. For now, I'll give the 35,000 foot overview, then dive into each "era" individually.
The first time I ever really ran in a "controlled environment" was way back in the day in 3rd grade. As part of gym class we had to run a mile. I still remember doing that mile in ~9:55, feeling completely dead at the end, and getting passed by a bunch of people. I had no idea at the time, but that day planted the seed that started everything.
Over the years, twice a year we would run the mile as part of the physical fitness test. My time eventually got into the low 8's, and I think I even went sub 8 once. I never really counted these as part of my running history, just some very early beginnings.
Once September 1998 rolled around, I was in 7th grade and eligible to join a sports team. Being a very skinny, uncoordinated, and unskilled person, I wasn't good at anything. So I decided to join the Cross Country team. I really don't remember how I came up with this, or what led me to make that decision. In hindsight it would became the single most important decision of my entire life.
The first day of practice was the beginning of my 1st running life. This era lasted from that practice to my final 1600m race in Spring Track in May of 2004 as a High School Senior.
From the day I graduated in June 2004 through July 5th, 2007, I entered the dark ages, or the lean years. On that fateful day, July 5th, my 2nd running life began.
This continued through November 14, 2009. Once I crossed the finish line of the Richmond Marathon on that day, the next and most important era began. I like to call it the "Fast Dan" era. I can't take credit for the catchy name, that goes to various people in Back on My Feet Baltimore that came up with, and spread it; I just jumped on the bandwagon!
Stay tuned for a summary (as best I can remember it) of my "1st running life."
This will be the first in a series of posts summarizing my running history. For now, I'll give the 35,000 foot overview, then dive into each "era" individually.
The first time I ever really ran in a "controlled environment" was way back in the day in 3rd grade. As part of gym class we had to run a mile. I still remember doing that mile in ~9:55, feeling completely dead at the end, and getting passed by a bunch of people. I had no idea at the time, but that day planted the seed that started everything.
Over the years, twice a year we would run the mile as part of the physical fitness test. My time eventually got into the low 8's, and I think I even went sub 8 once. I never really counted these as part of my running history, just some very early beginnings.
Once September 1998 rolled around, I was in 7th grade and eligible to join a sports team. Being a very skinny, uncoordinated, and unskilled person, I wasn't good at anything. So I decided to join the Cross Country team. I really don't remember how I came up with this, or what led me to make that decision. In hindsight it would became the single most important decision of my entire life.
The first day of practice was the beginning of my 1st running life. This era lasted from that practice to my final 1600m race in Spring Track in May of 2004 as a High School Senior.
From the day I graduated in June 2004 through July 5th, 2007, I entered the dark ages, or the lean years. On that fateful day, July 5th, my 2nd running life began.
This continued through November 14, 2009. Once I crossed the finish line of the Richmond Marathon on that day, the next and most important era began. I like to call it the "Fast Dan" era. I can't take credit for the catchy name, that goes to various people in Back on My Feet Baltimore that came up with, and spread it; I just jumped on the bandwagon!
Stay tuned for a summary (as best I can remember it) of my "1st running life."
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