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.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Tuesday: Rest
I'm about done with all this lounging around. This is actually less time than I took off back at the end of June with one week of no running and one 34 mile week before going back north of 50, but that does not make it any easier. At the end of the day, I'd rather have this easy time by choice rather than being forced by injury.
The marathon racer must master the virtue of patience or he will suffer.
The marathon racer must master the virtue of patience or he will suffer.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Monday: 4 Miles easy
Well, it's certainly cold as crap out. I'm starting to get used to it though. 4 miles at easy pace. Feeling decent, though somewhat sluggish. I'm getting really antsy with all this extra time and energy I have. I know that my body needs this week, but it certainly doesn't make it easier. Redlining, living life on the edge, and barely recovering in time for the next workout almost seems easier than this!
45 miles scheduled for this week with one double on Friday. Final week with no hard running, though some of my easy/moderate efforts are probably being run a bit faster than usual thanks to my extra energy.
45 miles scheduled for this week with one double on Friday. Final week with no hard running, though some of my easy/moderate efforts are probably being run a bit faster than usual thanks to my extra energy.
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
Saturday: 6 miles Sunday: 12 Miles, back to the NCR Trail
Saturday:
After a long day at work, woke up at 3am, worked from 4-4 (12 hours) I managed to get out the door for a 6 miler at about 6pm. I felt kind of sluggish for the first 4 miles but finished strong. I also narrowly avoided stepping on a mouse that darted in front of me while on Madison Ave. I think the mouse was about as surprised as I was.
My hamstrings were a bit tight, but I blame that on the cold temperatures. My right foot is a little tender, but I'm not concerned about it.
Sunday:
12 miles. This was my first run back on the NCR Trail after my race; it was cool to relive portions. I'll never see the Glencoe Road crossing the same way ever again. It was windier than last week and about the same temperature. I wore my gloves for 11 miles this time before taking them off. No cold hands! I have no idea what pace I ran, since I'm not timing anything right now. Though, based on how I felt, it was probably a little fast.
My right heel was hurting today as oppose to just the foot, but I'm still not ready to be concerned about it. My hamstrings were fine today, though my left quad was barking a bit on the last few miles.
I think I have to get used to this cold weather for all this random pain to stop.
After a long day at work, woke up at 3am, worked from 4-4 (12 hours) I managed to get out the door for a 6 miler at about 6pm. I felt kind of sluggish for the first 4 miles but finished strong. I also narrowly avoided stepping on a mouse that darted in front of me while on Madison Ave. I think the mouse was about as surprised as I was.
My hamstrings were a bit tight, but I blame that on the cold temperatures. My right foot is a little tender, but I'm not concerned about it.
Sunday:
12 miles. This was my first run back on the NCR Trail after my race; it was cool to relive portions. I'll never see the Glencoe Road crossing the same way ever again. It was windier than last week and about the same temperature. I wore my gloves for 11 miles this time before taking them off. No cold hands! I have no idea what pace I ran, since I'm not timing anything right now. Though, based on how I felt, it was probably a little fast.
My right heel was hurting today as oppose to just the foot, but I'm still not ready to be concerned about it. My hamstrings were fine today, though my left quad was barking a bit on the last few miles.
I think I have to get used to this cold weather for all this random pain to stop.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Thursday: 8 miles Friday: 4 miles
Thursday:
8 miles, moderate pace at night with weather in the high 30s. The relatively mild October and November is certainly over. It feels more like it should for this time of year. I felt great on this run. My pace was strong, and the course was actually quite hilly. A good combination for sure.
Friday:
4 miles, easy in another cold one. Legs still feel good. It's nice to run without battling almost daily soreness.
I'll probably end up with about 34 miles for the week, not too bad. Next week will probably be about 45 miles. Physically and mentally, I feel strong.
8 miles, moderate pace at night with weather in the high 30s. The relatively mild October and November is certainly over. It feels more like it should for this time of year. I felt great on this run. My pace was strong, and the course was actually quite hilly. A good combination for sure.
Friday:
4 miles, easy in another cold one. Legs still feel good. It's nice to run without battling almost daily soreness.
I'll probably end up with about 34 miles for the week, not too bad. Next week will probably be about 45 miles. Physically and mentally, I feel strong.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Tuesday? Rest Wednesday..Finally running again
Tuesday
I had the option of going 6 or taking the day off. Though I was feeling good, I chose not to run. There will be quite a few times between now and the Boston Marathon where I won't feel like running but will force myself to do it anyway. I might as well take it easy while I still can!
Wednesday
First day back. I picked a hell of a day, driving rain and wind mixed with 60 degree weather. Went for an easy 3. I felt sluggish early but half way through, my stride came back. I feel no soreness at all and am almost ready to declare myself 100% and good to go. I should know more Thursday with an 8 mile moderate run.
I had the option of going 6 or taking the day off. Though I was feeling good, I chose not to run. There will be quite a few times between now and the Boston Marathon where I won't feel like running but will force myself to do it anyway. I might as well take it easy while I still can!
Wednesday
First day back. I picked a hell of a day, driving rain and wind mixed with 60 degree weather. Went for an easy 3. I felt sluggish early but half way through, my stride came back. I feel no soreness at all and am almost ready to declare myself 100% and good to go. I should know more Thursday with an 8 mile moderate run.
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