Solid week of training and teams still moving towards goals!

I'll start off with the latest on the men and women's cross-country teams at Susquehanna University. The women had a great week winning the Goucher Invitational. Whether 6K or 8K, the course at Goucher College is brutal. Any runner would run probably their slowest time of the year there. It is one course that I am happy that I will never have to run. With 5 women finishing in the top 15 the women scored 42 points and beat 9 other schools. It was a strong showing by everyone on the team as they got a preview of the course that out conference championships will be held on. Even with sitting our top 5 men, the men finished 5th out of 12 schools. The men ran strong races but still making the mistake of getting out a little to slow and having to much ground to make up. We had good showings by a lot of young runners and I am sure as they get more experience the slow first mile will end. Our top runners did a workout on the course to get a feel for the course at race pace. I wish we did not have to go back.

The training for next spring/summer's rides continues to go extremely well. I have also run two times now in October. I have enjoyed a bit of this break from running. I really believe that my body in a way was telling me that I needed a break. I think I went 2 to 2.5 years without a day off from running. Now I think I have run a total of less than ten times the past month. Last week was a great week for cycling as I had a solid 6 rides. I also switched the bike from single speed to fixed-gear for this week. Today was one of my best rides to date. Totals thus far in training:

Today
32.35miles/21.33mph/01:31:00

Last week (6 rides)
195.05 miles/20.40mph/09:33:00

October (10 rides)
312.75 miles/20.40mph/15:20:00

Since start of training (38 rides)
1128.55 miles/ 20.15mph/56:01:30

I am also now prepared for raining or nasty days and the winter. I have purchased a set of rollers for the winter. They should be a ton of fun all winter.

http://www.treefortbikes.com/product/333222343505/741/Minoura-Rollers-Advance.html#navbar=pro___333222343505___741

The search for the new bike continues. A lot of research going into it. Feels like you always find something better every time you check another website. I am also searching places for getting a great fit.

Lastly, I am also going to pursue and start obtaining my coaching certification for cycling.

Training is rolling along extremely well!

Well, it is now 4 days into the 2nd month of training on the bike. The shoulder still impacts running and limits me to 2-3 days a week of 4-5 miles. I am still amazed how much the shoulder continues to be a problem given that it has been nearly a full month since the tumble.

Biking continues to go extremely well. A few rainy days have forced me inside to ride a stationary bike. It has killed me riding that thing for several reasons. Except for today, it has always felt like it was about 100 degrees in the fitness area and there is no air circulating. Today actually felt good but it is still mind and ass numbing to sit on those huge stationary bike seats. With that in mind, today I ordered some rollers for training during bad weather and the winter.

http://www.treefortbikes.com/product/333222343505/741/Minoura-Rollers-Advance.html

Last week was a very good week of training. I did get 7 rides last week with the longest ride being about 34.5 miles. For the week, I rode for 208.75 miles, 1o hours and 28 minutes or about 20mph. For the month of October thus far, in four rides I have covered 115.35 miles, 5 hours 46 minutes or 20mph. In 32 rides since I have started the bike training, I have rode 931.35 miles in 46hours 37 minutes for a 20.0 mph average. I have also been doing this on a single speed/fixed gear bike from Iro Cycles (46 x 17-18).

With some very good guidance, I have started a search for a new bike for training and racing. There are several bikes that are in the running, here are links to 2 of them:

http://www.vandesselsports.com/?page_id=25
http://www.cervelo.com/en_us/bikes/2010/S1/


I will keep you informed on the purchasing process. I am going to start it all of with a proper fit which should be a lot of fun.

11 Days Later!!! SUXC Still Rolling

This not too bad going 11 days between post. In that time, the teams continue to roll along. They both had strong showings at the Carnegie Mellon University Pre-Regional Meet. The men finished 4th out 16 schools. The only schools to beat them are all nationally ranked. The men maintain their rank of 7th in the region. The women finished 7th out 14 schools.. They too only lost to nationally ranked teams and 1 team ranked ahead of them in the region. The women are currently ranked 10th in the region. The teams are off this weekend as we prepare for our meet on Goucher on October 9th. This will be a preview of the conference course. The next major meet for the teams is Gettysburg on Oct 16th. The women's team will be honored this Saturday at halftime of the football game for having the highest GPA among all women's sports teams at Susquehanna University. They had a combined GPA of 3.48. Last week, David Haklar and Alycia Woodruff earned Landmark Conference Runners of the Week Honors and Alycia repeated this week. It was her 3rd such honor this season.

Now for the training part of the blog. The shoulder is slowly getting better and I am able to get a couple days of running each week. It is amazing how one simple fall can screw up running like that. The biking continues to go well. The month of September was a very good 1st month of training for the TdO. Last week, I included the infamous Dam Hill in the middle of a long ride.

http://www.mapmyride.com/route/us/pa/selinsgrove/586128507071378043

Unfortunately, the rain this week has forced me onto the stationary bike for 3 days this week. Can we say mind and ass numbing!!!! Who would think those big seats are harder on my butt than that small seat on my bike. Totals for the month:

28 rides
815.80 miles
40 hours 41 minutes 30 seconds
20.0 mph

I also started the search for a new road bike with some great advice. Aside from the TdO, I have some other epic rides planned for the summer.

Here is too a great 2nd month of training of TdO!!!

End of Week # 3 in training for TdO

Well, can you believe it??? Three post in one week. How long will I be able to stay this consistent.?

First of the Susquehanna University Cross-Country teams had a great weekend. The men won the the Mountaineer Flatland Invitational beating 3 Division II schools. Then men placed 5 runners in the top 11. The women finished within 10 points of two regionally ranked Division II schools and Alycia Woodruff won the race outright. A very strong team showing with 5 runners in the top 15. In fact each of the top 3 schools had their top 5 in the top 15. This week the teams will be getting a peek at the regional course when we compete at the Carnegie Mellon Pre-Regional Meet. Link to article about team:

http://www.gosusqu.com/sports/mxc/2010-11/releases/0918_flatlandrecap

As for my training it has been going great on the bike and not so great running. I will have to admit that running really does bother the AC separation in the right shoulder. It is not too bad while running but it is after I finish that it can get pretty painful. Now biking definitely seems to effect it a lot less. I did manage to get 22.5 miles of running this in 5 easy runs.

I had a great week of cycling including my best ride to date, this morning, since returning to the bike. Today, I rode 34.5 miles in 1:40:00 averaging 20.7MPH. It was not my longest ride but it was my fastest average MPH. For the week I managed to get 211.40 miles in a total of 10 hours and 28 minutes. I averaged 20.2mph which is my highest mph average for a week. In all in the 3 weeks of training, I have totaled 498.4 miles in 24 hours and 53 minutes for an average of 20.0mph. My main focus on the bike is still building a base and spinning. I can feel myself getting stronger every time I get on the bike.

My goals for this week will be to get 200-210 miles for the week. I am still debating running mileage as shoulder discomfort is sometimes too much to deal with after running. It may take some work with the schedule for the week. Saturday will be impossible since we will be traveling all day with the meet. Wednesday will also be crunched in the morning with my eye appointment. I need to make a decision on whether it is worth continuing with treatments on the right eye if at most I am going to only get 10% more vision back at most. If you are wondering, I have CRVO (Central Retina Vein Occlusion) and the treatments are injections in the eye.

Till next blog....Keep training hard and smart

Getting better at this!!!

Can you believe....2 post within 4 days!!!!

Well, to start off the new regional rankings were released and both teams are ranked in the top 10 in the region. The men are ranked 6th and the women are ranked 7th. They we will be competing at the Mountaineer Flatland Invitational at Mansfield University this Saturday. The men race the 8K at 11:00am with the women running a 5K at 11:45am. I will keep you informed of their results.

My training on the bike has been incredible (at least I think for a single speed). I would flip it to fixed but with bum shoulder it is difficult to do certain things. Changing shirts is still quite the project and takes a combined 4-5 minutes because of the pain at times. The shoulder is still pretty sore and limited in range in motion. Sleeping is still so much fun, since I hate sleeping on my back. I have been able to run twice this week but due to the shoulder, my maximum is about a half hour. So goal is to get 5 days this week of about 30-35 minutes and try to get between 20-25 miles this week.

The riding as been getting easier everyday. I have been trying to keep it consistent everyday as I am getting back into it. I have been setting aside anywhere from 90-105 minutes a day for a good ride. The weather has been awesome for riding so it makes it easy to get out there and ride. With some help, I have started the process of looking into a sweet road ride for next spring and summer. The plan is to participate in some killer rides in Colorado next summer after the track season ends. And also cannot forget the big event - Tour de Owens!! You have to love being on a ten month contract and spreading your pay out over the summer. I am also so looking forward to getting back on an indoor trainer for the winter and staring at a TV while riding (if you didn't notice - some sarcasm in that one and I have yet to find the sarcasm font).

I really believe, with everything that I have personally been through in the past year (medically), getting back into cycling has been a blessing. I needed that step back to reevaluate things and get a fresh start on some things.

As I get ready for a ride now, I'll update my riding numbers for the month of September (total of 14 rides)

Last week - 210 miles/ 10hours 30 minutes/ 20.0mph
This week (3 rides) - 93 miles/ 4hours 36 minutes/ 20.1mph
Total for month (14 rides) - 380 miles/ 19hours 2minutes/ 20.0mph
Running (2 runs) - 8.6 miles/ 59minutes 30 seconds/ 6:55 per mile

Goals - 210-225 miles riding/20-25 miles running (as long as shoulder handles it)

Off to ride...Hoping to keep blog more up to date

Since the last post - Summer/RunningWorks/XC/Bike/Shoulder

Wow, can't believe I have not posted since July 4th. It's not like I have a great excuse as I am pretty much off all summer. Training continued to go well for the most part given the weather on the east coast. We had the worst summer for heat and humidity since I have moved to Central PA. There was one stretch where the temperature got above 100 for 4 days in a row peaking at 104. i was able to maintain 60-65 miles for the most part all summer. I did have one stretch where I lowered the training but decided it was time to get back on the bike and do some riding. I started on a mountain bike and doing some good road rides. All I have to say is that lugging around a 30lb mountain bike on the road is not easy....it sucks!! Finally, with some help, decided to purchase a cool single/fixed gear bike from Iro Cycles. They are a cool company just minutes form our campus here.

With the return of my cross-country teams for the 2010 season, I once again started feeling really motivated for training. The other thing that helps in getting motivated is working RunningWorks Camp every summer. It is such an awesome week of being surrounded by great people who share such an enthusiasm for the sport. It is an awesome time to catch up with great friends. With all that I have been through in the past year, it was more needed than ever. Thanks to all the great people at RunningWorks!!

Now the teams are off and running. Both were picked to win the conference and are ranked in the top 10 in the region (men 6th/women 7th). The men even picked up 1 vote in the national rankings and it was not from me...LOL. Both teams are much deeper than last year's team, so this could be a fun year. I will blog them on here as well as my adventures.

Well, until monday running training was actually picking up and I was feeling so good in combining cycling with running. I also made a conscious decision to sit back (given all medical issues the past 4-5 months) and start building a base for 2011 and begin it right! Then on monday's run I managed to get tripped and fall hard on my shoulder and bang it up pretty good. In speaking with the team doctor I find out that I have a AC joint separation and will be limited now by the pain. The good thing is I can still managed to bike and have put 189 miles on the bike since monday and can feel quite a fitness boost from that. I may attempt a short 4 miler today to see if shoulder can handle some up/down motion of running.

At least all this cycling will help me get ready for the TdO (Tour de Owens 2011). My brother is a pretty good cyclist in NJ and as soon as he saw I was doing a lot more riding, like any good brother, he started trash talking. So for now, we are planning a 2-3 day cycling event next summer of him versus me. It will be epic!!!!

Sorry for long blog. So much to catch up on. For those that do read, Good Luck with your training and racing!!!!

Keep training hard and smart!!

ACCOMPLISHED ONE GOAL - SOME SERENITY NOW!!!!!!

Well, the 4th of July 5K in Mifflinburg was a bit of a success. I went in with just the one goal of improving on last year's performance. The course is not a fast course with a steep half mile long hill starting just before the 1.5 mile mark. To be honest, I have never liked this course or had a good race there, so even more reason to go out and focus on a good race there. The course map is included below and I hope it works correctly and shows the elevation changes of race. While it is a decent hill, it still kicked my ass as I have not done enough hill work leading up to this.

http://www.mapmyrun.com/view_route?r=e5a63fe59c6a8bba164269f2fec8e280&show_elevation_panel=1&rs=undefined

The day prior to the race, I did a good job of keeping myself distracted as to not think to much about the race. Working on a crossword, shopping for new running shoes and DVD's and texting are always good distractions for me. With some help, I have been focusing on taking this comeback one race and at time and focusing more on where I am at now as a runner not where I was before all my injuries and issues. My goal for saturday was to beat last year's time (granted I raced awful last year) and break 18:00 on the slow course. I also wanted to work on keeping mentally focused throughout the entire race, something that I have been lacking. That morning I warmed up on my own and listened to a playlist on my ipod to keep me relaxed. I was not trying to be anti-social but I really needed to focus on what I needed to do. To be honest I am not sure of any splits throughout the race. I felt strong through the first 1.5 miles leading to the bottom of the hill. As bad as I thought the hill kicked my ass, nobody passed me up the hill and nobody caught me on the way down. I had one mental lapse from about 2.5-2.75 as I got into my head and some doubts creeped in there. At that point, I remembered "Relax and Enjoy" and I felt a bit of surge over the last section of the course. I finished with 17:54 and an 8th place finish out 441 runners. I was also the top master runner. The time was 21 seconds faster than last year.

While not a spectacular 5k time, it was definitely a step in the right direction for me in so many ways, maybe more so mentally. My next race is the Bucknell Summer Fun Run on July 17th. That should be an interesting race as I may get to race against some of the runners from my current team I coach. I have a goal in mind for that course but I will hold off publishing that until I see how workouts go and definitely need to add more HILLS!!!!

"Celebrate we will
Because life is short but sweet for certain"

SERENITY NOW?????

It has now been several weeks since the last post. I know I mentioned the 5k that I was hoping to run (I did), but as of now I am working on forgetting that one. I just put it this...after all the has happened the past several months I was not mentally in a place to race. I went in with a goal of a time and when I got stuck in "no man's" land about a mile in I shut it down to a comfortable pace and basically tempo'd the race. I felt miserable afterward and it was the first ever that I did not stay for awards even though I finished with a result that would get me a prize. I felt as though I had to redeem myself the following week so I jumped in a 5K down in Harrisburg with just the idea of running a mentally strong race. I did a better job that weekend. While the time was not spectacular (17:50) it was 75 degrees and extremely humid at the start and everyone ran conservative with the winning time being 16:50. It was also a slow course with three 180 degree turns in it. Mentally I stayed in this race and did not shut down at all. Now this week, I am planning on a 5k in Mifflinburg which has a pretty big hill about 1.5 miles into the race. Goal = run faster than last year and focus on that.

Training continues to go very well. I have been keeping the mileage at 55-60 miles per week and plan to slowly increase that over the next few weeks. I also have got back to see my chiropractor several times at it has made a difference in stride mechanics. I feel much smoother and the back is not tight when I wake up in the morning. Workouts the last few weeks:

Week 1
6 x 800 @ 5k pace with 200 jog
averaged 2:46 for the 800's

5k - 17:50

Week 2
8 x 600 @ 5k pace with 200 jog
2:05 average per 600 (hot and humid)

12 x 200 @ 36.5 average with 200 jog
felt difference in stride since

week 3
3 x Mile on road at 5k pace with 2:30 jog
hit 5:35 on all and felt relaxed and strong

will do 200's again on Thursday - not peaking for this 5K

So as you can tell, physically I look good for Saturday. I have been working on the mental side with some very good and sound advice. It has been helpful in getting me to be patient in this "comeback" if you want to call it that. even as a coach, it is always good to hear those words from another person. It really helps put things into perspective.

I look forward to a nice blog entry after this 5K. Next race after this will be the Summer Fun Run (3 miles) at Bucknell University. That will be July 17th.

Almost 24 hours to go....

It is almost here and I am even somewhat nervous about a low key local 5K. But before I get too much into that, my guitar lesson went very well yesterday. I actually learned some scales and some chords and have plenty to practice till my next lesson. I also need to start coming up with a list of songs I would like to learn and put a CD together. Who knows, maybe I can be playing some songs sooner than I expect. How cool would that be? I am definitely looking forward to be able to play some Dave Matthews, OAR, Oasis, Coldplay and so much more.

The World Cup begins today and should be a fun month of watching soccer. And right after that, we have the start of the Tour de France. This could be a great tour to watch as Lance will be riding as leader of his new team. I am not sure if he has enough to beat Contador but it should be epic (as Versus TV) likes to put it.

Now for tomorrow and my nerves. I am not sure why I should be so nervous but I am. This is where my advice that always seems to work for my athletes would work for me but not working yet. I guess it is easier said than done. In light of recent sleep patterns, I am also nervous about not waking up in time but that is another post. But I will lay this out here now, some simple goals:

Last year I ran 17:44 and won the race. I am not concerned about winning as you never know who will be there. My goal is to run at minimum 20 seconds faster than last year. Last year was a really bad race with a side stitch that felt like I was being stabbed for the last mile. I want to run consistent splits throughout the race so I do not crash in the last mile. I definitely feel in much better shape than when I ran 17:30 on March 27th. I feel confident after my track workout the other day. It truly is my first race in what I call a comeback so I guess some reason to be nervous but I have never been more focused in recent years. I am feeling like sub 17:00 could be done by the end of summer and be a great start toward my ultimate goal of sub 16:30 and racing what I consider good times (maybe a reason why I am so hard on myself ). Just trying to be positive going into this last 24 hours......Serenity now, serenity now; oh wait Blue Moon now, Blue Moon now!!!!

It has been a long time- I'm back

Wow, I just realized how long it has been since I have posted on here. A lot has happened since the last post. Training has continued with some success and I am getting ready for a fum summer season of 5K's. The new picture is from a 5K I was able to run at the Jim Taylor Invitational. It is a meet that we host. I ran 17:30m which is my fast time in 2 years. But since that race, life got crazy with hosting meets and dealing with some health issues. Shortly after that meet, I was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma in my lip. On April 13th, I had close to half of my bottom lip removed to get the cancer and then reconstructed to give me some resemblance of a lip. I was able to maintain some good training but had to cut back on some of the mileage as my eating habits were affected and my sleep habits. I will say regardless of type of cancer, it does get in your head and causes issues. I am lucky enough to have great friends and a great team here that have kept me sane. Now most people would think that the word sane in a description of me is an oxy-moron but if not for the support here not sure how I would have survived mentally.

Well now that the season is over and I am not on the road as much I am determined to get my racing career off the ground again. I have set a goal of running 16:30 or faster in the 5K by next spring. It may not sound like a major time but it is a start for me. Training has been great as I prepare for my first 5K since the surgery. In case you are wondering, I was cancer free in my first check-up 2 weeks ago. This saturday I will be running in the Sunbury YMCA 5K. It is a race which I won last year with a pretty bad time of 17:44. It is a very low key local race. My main goal is to beat last year's time but I definitely feel I am in 17:05-15 shape. I just have to stay mentally strong. I am working my way towards some bigger 5K's later in the summer. Today's tune up workout gave me an idea that I am ready for a good race.

Today's workout
5 x 400 @ 5K pace/200 Jog + 1 x 1000 @ 5K pace/400 Jog + 5 x 400 @ 5K pace/200 Jog
79.5-82.9-82.1-81.1-80-3:18.75-79.1-80.1-80.3-79-78.9
5000 meters in 16:41 - 5:23 per mile

I also have one other main goal for the summer and that is to learn how to play the guitar. I have my first lesson on thursday at 3:30PM.

Very strong week

Very good week

Well today I finished the week with a good 12 miler of 91 minutes. While it was a bit slow at 7:35 per mile or 137 heart beats per minute, mentally it was the first time I felt motivated to run in the area of 90 minutes. I ran with my friend Joe Stoltz who is also working on a major comeback in 2010. It was a very relaxed and conversational pace run for both of us. Being a bit ahead of Joe in training, Joe set the early pace and I never felt taxed at any point. I finished the week with just over 69 miles for the week. I am hoping to keep it right around there this week also. I think if I can do that for 2 more weeks, I will be ready to bump it up to 70-75 miles per week in February.

Workout on friday:
7 x 1000 @ 3:36 with 1:00-1:10 recovery (used lane 4 of the indoor track)

This workout felt very relaxed and even went without checking splits in the final two reps and just ran on feel. Even more motivation this week, as the teams report back to campus today and practice starts back up tomorrow. Home meet on saturday.

Could be a record???

Can you believe it?? A post and only 6 days from the last one. It has been a quiet few days but some good workouts. Last week I finished with 65 miles and an 11 mile run. It was my longest run in a while (1:20). Actually felt motivated to be out there for that long. I know it need to keep extending that but sometimes these cold winters make it tough. Yesterday I did my first double in months. I put in an easy 6.75 miles in the morning and followed up with a steady 3.50 miles late in the afternoon. I am hoping to bump up closer to 70 miles this week and hold that steady for a few months. Today was back on the track for a good workout.

8 x 800 @ 5k pace 2:47 with 84-85 second recovery (about 400 pace)
Jogged for 3-4:00 minutes while waiting for Aimee"s (running Houston half this weekend) next 1200 tempo and finished the last 2 with her.
2 x 1200 @ 4:28 & 4:28 with 2:00 recovery
All told a 9.65 mile day with warm-up and cool-down.

Felt very strong throughout the entire workout. I will be back on the track on friday for another workout. Now I need to start finding some races but with the winters around here, that can be tough to do till March.

Now time for dinner and I even cooking for myself. I have been doing better about watching my nutrition during this stretch including cooking almost every night.

Getting a little better at this

OK - this blog is only 14 days since the last post. A little better than 17 days. I will do my best to try and update at least once a week. I can't even use the holidays as an excuse as I was only home for 5 days and had computer with me. But I can say the holidays have not effected training. Now the weather has not been the best. It has pretty much been cold and windy almost every day for the past two weeks. I believe we had one day where it hit 50 degrees but the rest have been around freezing or less.

Training has been consistently averaging 60-65 miles per week with the two workouts per week. This year has also got of to a good start with 57 miles of running in the first 6 days. My plan is ti be 65-70 miles per week with two workouts per week and a long run every two weeks. My plan is to keep long runs in the 12-14 mile range for now. At this time, I think I am going to focus more on the 5-10K distance this year and try to have my first healthy racing year in almost 5 years. If this year goes well then I will consider moving up in distance. My other goals are too utilize my mountain bike more and get back in the pool and work on swim technique again. I still have a desire to venture back into some sprint distance triathlons.

The last 3 track workouts:
1. 4 x 1600 @ Tempo (5:44) with 2:00 recovery + 4 x 200 @ 37 with 200 jog
2. 2 x (8 x 400) @ 3K pace (78-79 per 400) with 70-75 second recover
3. 7 x 1000 @ Tempo (3:37-38) with 60-70 second recovery

This has been the first time in several years that I have been this consistent with workouts. Next workout is friday, then plan to get a 12 miler over the week. So far this week, 28 miles in 3 days so well on way to goal of 65-70.

Here is to a big 2010 of racing!

Now just have to set schedule.