I love running

The burg hills

6.27 @ 7:36 pace

easy 7.5 @ 8:01 pace

TOF 6 @ 7:50 pace

5 with John @ 8:47 pace

Easy 7.53 @ 8:04 pace with Greg

Pick your own time 5k in Ashland

Warm up with John - 2.47 @ 9:08 pace

selected 21:00 as my 5k goal time.  which is roughly my tempo pace (6:46)

Missed a turn in the first mile and ended up adding on at least .3 miles.  Upped the pace after getting back on course.  Probably ran 6:30's to catch up and finished in 22:46.  Totally pissed at myself for missing that turn.  Could have nailed the goal time.  Win some and lose some.  oh well.  Was still a great cause.

Tour De Hills.

 10 @ 8:06 pace

6.2 @ recovery 9:02 pace

5 @ perceived 1/2 marathon pace.  37:00 (7:24)

2 cool down @ 7:49 pace

Easy 9.62 miles @ 7:55 pace

Cooldown 1.31 miles @ 8:35 pace

 This was the crazy toe pain that stopped me dead in my tracks.  Luckily it has not occurred again.  Weird.

TOF 6.48 @ 8:15 pace

TOF 10 miles @ 7:58 pace

Out with Peter, Scott & Ruthie (7:45ish)

 In with Greg, Kyra, Donnie (8:30ish)  Greg & Kyra recovering from injury.. Donnie on tail end of a 20.

TOF 11.5 miles @ 8:10

5 @ 7:13 pace

Cooldown 1.44 @ 7:39

 I don't remember the run but guess I was feeling goo that day :-)

TM mostly easy with 5x minute at 5:20ish pace

Colonial 1/2 Marathon

1:39:46 (7:36 pace)

Executed the race perfectly.  Wasn't really paying attention to time.. ran first 5k a wee too fast.. readjusted and ran good even splits the entire rest of the way.  Felt great on a tough course.  Happy with results this early in season.  Lets face it.. my training is always marginal at best in the winter months.  A good start to the spring.

6 @ Easy (8:08 pace)

5 Easy with John (8:55 pace)

10 easy with John (8:25 pace)

10 @ TOF (Garmin battery low)  guessing around 8:00 pace

TM @ Recovery

 2 warmup / 10x 400 with recovery jog up and back on straight away / 2 cooldown

2 warmup @ 9:36 pace

1x 400 - 1:32 (6:05 pace)

2x 400 - 1:23 (5:32 pace)

3x 400 - 1:24 (5:35 pace)

4x 400 - 1:25 (5:35 pace)

5x 400 - 1:22 (5:26 pace)

6x 400 - 1:22 (5:26 pace)

7x 400 - 1:24 (5:32 pace)

8x 400 - 1:21 (5:20 pace)

9x 400 - 1:20 (5:15 pace)

10x 400 - 1:14 (4:48 pace)

2 cool down @ 8:59 pace

Speed felt good but need to work on pacing.. was purposely shutting it down before turn 3 to avoid multiple 1:14's.  Poor sense of speed.. had a hard time holding it back.

really easy 5.24 @ 8:35 pace

supposed to be a recovery 9+ day but I will admit that I always have trouble posting that speed.  Legs felt great coming off yesterday's speed session.  Can not stray too fast on recovery workouts once mileage starts to climb.

 48 degrees.  slight rain.  windy coming home on final mile. 

Sometimes you just have to say screw it.  I watched Jersey Shore instead of running.  Its T shirt time baby!! 

2 miles warmup with Peter @ 8:24 pace

11 miles with All Black Team @ 7:45 pace

Scott B designed the route so of course we had to tour UofR.  First 5.5 around campus.. toured lots of the Turkey Trot course which we all know sucks.  Sagged back at the cars and then headed out for a much flatter second 1/2.  Mercy on our soles I guess... more like lots of the team is running Shamrock next weekend.

Felt great the entire time.  Good quality run.  Wished they could all come this easy.

7 @ Recovery (8:50 pace)

63 degrees, slight breeze, felt great, forced self to run slow. 

5 mile Time on Feet @ 7:38 average pace (8:29, 7:39, 7:24, 7:24, 7:12) 

 Pouring down rain for last 3 miles.  Nice and smooth 

5 easy w/ John @ 8:24 pace

60 degrees.  Spring is on the way :-) 

The run that almost wasn't.  

 IBS combined with Japanese Hibachi = serious trouble.  Took a gamble and went for my run anyways... was supposed interval night on the track but the girls field hockey game foiled that one.  Oh well.. sometimes you just have to take what you can get.

5 @ 7:12 pace (7:39, 7:26, 6:21, 7:26, 7:04)

Giving the situation.. I managed to get a decent workout in.  Till next time

 6.16 @ 7:29 pace - Super hilly Raintree route.  Ran with Matt's Rolfe Advanced 10k team.  Good to see some of my ex students.  The young protege's still have a lot to learn :-)  Let the pack decide the pace until mile 4.. told them coming up Falconbridge that I thought they were running too fast.. there were all laboring but failed to drop it back.  Dropped the hammer down on them to 7:00 flats for the final 2 and left the team.  Its good to not be coaching for a change :-)  Good strong bunch but they need to learn to pace better.

5.41 more miles easy @ 7:51 pace.

Great day for running.  

My old buddy Betty would have won a prize if she was in attendance...  1 1/2 hour private session with a personal training.  oops maybe next time.  Hopefully her knee is doing better.

8.57 Time on Feet @ 8:30 pace

Great day for a stroll.  Felt strong.. resisted the urge to take off. 

5 @ 7:36 pace (8:17, 7:43, 7:34, 7:14, 7:11)

.87 cooldown @ 9:11 pace

55 degrees.  Great night for a run.  Coming off being sick all day yesterday so I was going to take it easy tonight but the more I ran.. the easier the run became.  Averaged below 7:15's for final 2 miles and was pretty comfortable.  A good sign going into my 10k.

5 miles with John @ 10:00 pace.  MM2045 wasn't feeling well so we took it super easy.  Good to run easy.

Coming off a very rare weekend where I ran zero miles (out of town, forgot my running shorts, Brody in the ER, a cold rain, watching the VCU game and driving 3 hours home)... of course my legs felt super fresh tonight.  For the first time in possibly 2 years.. I had a bounce to my step right off the bat in the first few steps.  Maybe downtime is good for us Master runners.  Felt pretty comfy at low 7's for final two miles.  Fitness is gaining.

5 @ 7:16 pace (7:25, 7:20, 7:20, 7:08, 7:06)

1.62 Cooldown @ 8:00 pace

Beginning of Blue Mizuno shoes

5 @ Easy (8:24, 7:49, 7:31, 7:29, 7:30)  average 7:45

Felt great.  Smooth pacing.  Need to be more careful though.. stepped on something (slight ankle twist) with 1/4 of mile to go.  

Treadmill

4.7 miles mostly super easy with (3x 1/2 mile @ 6:22 pace) thrown in. 

Monument Ave 10k

2 mile warmup on Floyd (9:27 pace)

6.2 in 41:33 (6:24, 6:35, 6:45, 6:45, 6:52, 6:45)

Mile 1 was too fast.. adjusted accordingly from there and ran pretty decent splits until the finish.  Had a strong kick on the final .2  Was reeling in Monolo quickly but ran out of real estate before I could catch him.  He got me by about 3 steps.  

Fairly pleased with my race.. didn't commit to running enough speed sessions in the month's going in.  Have to run speed workouts well in order to post a quick 10k.  Heading in the right direction.  Next up.. time to ramp up mileage big time going into June marathon training season.

6.2 more miles running with my friend Betty on her first 10k ever.  She nailed it!!  Shows us that hard work pays off.. Think we have a future Marathoner on our hands.  Nothing is more special than seeing someone finish their first real big race.  SO proud of her!!! 

8 Miles Time on Feet @ 8:25 pace

Warm outside (75 degrees & super windy 20-25 mph)  Felt great, took it easy and enjoy the warm weather. 

7 @ negative split (8:10, 7:53, 7:52, 7:45, 7:25, 7:11, 7:07)  Average 7:38 pace

Run came too easy :-)

5 with SB @ 8:56 pace

Good to have SB back in the game.  Felt like a "crowning sphincter" during the first 1/2 mile.. legs a little heavy the entire run.  Doing this at 8:56 pace means I need to reel back big time.  Tomorrows run will be at recovery pace.  Maybe not fully recovered from the weekends 10k and last nights 7.

8 @ Recovery (9:20, 9:07, 9:12, 9:09, 9:14, 9:06, 8:51, 8:35)  Average 9:03

Legs felt better today.. exercised great restraint at keeping it in the recovery zone.  70 degree'ish & breezy.  Bad idea to run on Pump road at night... no shoulder, bumpy with construction going on.  I survived.  

 Attempted to run with clip on hat light.. felt awkward on the visor and opted to carry it in my hand the whole way.

Thank the lord that spring time is here :-)  Time to get my training groove on. 

My buddy John graciously offered to come over and stay with the kids (wife out of country) while I got my 6 miler in.  Thanks John!!  Your a great friend!!

Somewhere near 70 degrees.  totally not used to warmer weather running.  Totally love it!!

Felt great the entire time.  6 in 43:34 (7:15 pace) 

Recovery day on TM.  Some DB wanted to race.. I totally felt like kicking his @ss but common sense prevailed.

 5.1 miles in 40 minutes.

TM - 4 miles in 30 minutes

6 @ Easy (8:14, 8:08, 8:05, 8:06, 8:00, 7:45)  8:03 average

Good to be back on the roads after 2 runs on the TM.  Fresh legs, felt awesome, came easy.

10 easy with John (final two at his 10k pace).  Garmin flaked again.. like the fifth time that has happened.  Going to have to get another.

70 degrees sunny with a little breeze.

10k Time on feet 47:27 (7:53, 7:34, 7:43, 7:35, 7:44, 7:26)  7:39 average

No issues.  Felt great.

5 @ Recovery (9:01, 9:00, 9:24, 9:18, 9:28) average 9:14

During non-marathon training season.. Monday's are an off day for me.  Tonights weather was too perfect for me to pass up a run.  Wasn't real sure what pace to target.. traditionally Monday's are always @ Recovery pace.  Coming off an easy weekend could have probably gotten away with running faster.  Opted to give recovery pace a shot.  Pretty much as slow as I ever want to run.  Felt good to just trot along for a change.

3.1 progressing down (7:21, 7:10, 7:09, .1 @ 6:48) 22:24 - Average 7:13

2.77 Cooldown easy @ 7:40 pace

80+ degrees, sunny.

Felt great 

7 Time on Feet @ 7:41 pace

80 and humid. 

6 progressing down (8:33, 8:11, 7:58, 7:31, 7:24, 6:39)  Average 7:43

.38 cooldown

60 degrees.  I prefer roughly 10 degrees warmer.  First 6 day streak in quite a long time.  I always get my mojo back when the weather warms up.  Call me Reinaker.  

5:30 a.m. start time with the All Blacks who didn't run Boston (Greg, Donnie & Me) in the back.. (John D, Robert P, & Jim T) in the front.  10 miles easy @ 8:01 pace.

We looped back to the start and picked up the All Blacks recovering from Boston.  4 recovery miles with them at 8:02 pace.

Coffee with entire team at Starbucks.  Great bunch of friends who happen to be awesome athletes.  A true pleasure to sit down and hear about their Boston experiences.  I had the honor of holding a Boston medal.  Makes me want to work even harder and get there myself.  Game on!!!!!

7 Recovery @ 8:42 pace

82 degrees at 8:00 p.m. in April is crazy.  Good run. 

Felt great and still kept it in the recovery zone.  Tonights run makes me think of something that Casey taught me when I first started working with her.  The story goes something like this.  Casey comes back from a routine training run pretty much wiped out.  Coach sits her down and says something like this "you know Casey.. your pretty good at this but you have so much more potential.  You simply lack the confidence to run slow".  Casey then buys into the EASY is EASY and HARD is HARD method and goes on to earn Division III All American status.. later onwards qualifying for the Olympic Trials and then finishing in 24th place toeing with the likes of Deena Kastor.

 5 miles @ 9:00 pace 

Double 5k's

3.14 progressing down (7:26, 6:56, 6:56, .14 @6:31 pace) average 7:04  (did same workout last Tuesday night at 9 seconds per mile slower with similar conditions.  Next week in reverse with slower sections first.

3.1 Easy @ 7:49 pace

.95 Cooldown

80 and humid.  Legs felt springy from the get go.  Wore fuel belt and that damn thing just didn't feel comfortable at all.  Times were prob a little off due to being stopped for traffic an unusual number of times.  Solid workout.

Garmin Connect refuses to see my Garmin.  POS!

5 @ Recovery 

3 miles @ 7:29 (7:35, 7:35, 7:17)

4 miles @ 7:06 (7:14, 6:59, 7:08, 7:03)

80 humid, sunny & not flat.  Solid! 

5:20 a.m. 48 degrees and totally overdressed.  Figured I would wear ALL the clothes I had with me :-)  Reinaker style math goes like this.. Long sleeve technical shirt + Monument 10k jacket + a reflective vest equals sweating your nads off.  Not sure why im such a wussy when it comes to cold weather.

Blunts Bridge Road - The nastiest of the nastiest hills that the entire Richmond area has to offer.

10 @ 7:53 average (9:05, 8:03, 7:48, 7:49, 7:58, 7:52, 8:00, 7:25, 7:44, 7:08)  Final mile 1/2 MT pace because I was feeling awesome.  Solid run.

Wildlife sighting report = 5 deer, 2 skunks and a squashed possum.  Redneck sighting report = 4 mostly guys in tall pickup trucks who you could tell are totally not used to seeing runners in the country at the time of the morning.

7 @ Easy 8:08 Average (8:27, 8:03, 8:07, 8:04, 8:15, 8:03, 7:59)

Same old same old.  Felt like I could have run forever. 

5 (Cohen route with SB) 8:14 average pace.  Was a little quicker than we normally run our pre Rudino's run in.  Felt good to back after two days with no physical fitness what so ever.  Enjoyed the run as always.

Was going to skip this run but my friend Kyra posted this on FB this morning "Somewhere in the world someone is training when you are not. When you race him, he will win."

9:30 p,m. start time due to Kari taking Anne out for her Bday dinner.

5 miles (2 warmup / 1 @ 6:43 / 2 cooldown)  Basically shaking down the legs and reminding they love to run fast.  Half Marathon on Saturday.  Not a goal race but a good test of fitness and who doesn't love a road trip :-)

MAC NCR Trail 1/2 Marathon

1.83 warmup with Snuggs. 

This was a not a target race for me.  I kind of entered this race on whim roughly 2 weeks beforehand and it totally showed in my performance.  Snuggs sends out a message asking who wants to go on a road trip.  Of course.. nothing is better than a guys road trip.  I say sure.  Game on.  John is gearing up for a 10k so he simply went along for the fun and to help be a crew member.  It was a fun trip.

I truly didn't train for the race.. I simply ran the race on my springtime maintenance miles. We get to packet pickup at the site and I give them my name.  They ask me if Im running the full or the half?  I say.. huh?? isn't this a 1/2 a marathon??  Upon further review.. they were referring to the 1/2 marathon as the FULL and the 1/2 marathon relay as the HALF.  My response back to the lady was "im running the 13.1 miles solo".

(7:07, 7:09, 7:09, 7:07, 7:10, 7:00, 7:06, 7:09, 7:31, 7:42, 7:58, 8:06, 8:07)

So as you can see... my wheels TOTALLY fell off at mile 9.  Now this totally has me scratching my head because the first 8 came VERY easy and I was plucking them off like clockwork.  I totally felt like I was in utter control and was very confident that I could even drop the pace down into high 6's for the final stretch. How the H E double hockey sticks can I go from feeling so great to feeling like my legs were full of lead in less than 1 mile.  Who knows?  Im chalking this one up to oh well I BONKED category.  It happens.  It was one heck of a training run and I still PR'ed by roughly a minute (awaiting results)  Maybe I took the distance for granted.. maybe it just wasn't my day.. maybe my failure to gu cost me dearly, maybe I didn't have the leg strength to deal with the uphill second half.. Who knows.. who cares.  One good positive is that Ive PR'ed already this year at the 10k and 1/2 Marathon distances and I truly haven't even started training yet.  Totally right where I want to be.  Anyways.. to sum it up.. I had fun and it was a great road trip!!  Totally glad that I did it.  Snuggs bring on the road trips anytime.  Once we get this Boston monkey off our backs we can go back to taking epic "you did what?" kind of Maniac trips.

Peace out signed 2635 

6 Recovery @ 8:32 pace

Too fast for a recovery run but felt really fresh after Sunday's complete day after rest.  For some odd reason I was very excited to go on this run.

7 time on feet @ 7:35 pace (8:05, 7:37, 7:41, 7:35, 7:33, 7:36, 6:59)

Solid run executed rather evenly.  Legs felt great.. no ill effects remaining from weekend.. going to keep it that way..  rest of the week is at easy or recovery. 

I was running along and was passed by two bikers. The lady in the back clips the guys wheel in front of her and she goes a flying. Was horrible!! She was knocked out cold for at least a couple of minutes. Im pretty sure the helmet saved her life. Jack @ss husband on the front bike was more worried about whether or not his wheel was bent. After about 10 minutes she walks away with a hurt arm and severe road rash.

 6 @ Recovery (8:44 pace)

6.2 Time on feet @ 7:34 (7:44, 7:31, 7:38, 7:33, 7:40, 7:23)

Solid.  Run felt easy and Holy Crap!!  My Garmin Connect worked tonight!!  Woo Hoo!! 

All Black Team @ Easy (8:12, 7:46, 7:45, 7:48, 7:51, 7:53, 8:08, 7:45, 7:31, 7:42) 

1 hour @ time on feet (8:29, 8:17, 8:22, 8:28, 8:43, 8:31, 8:24)

Humid, warm and sunny.  Same old same old.  solid and under control.   

5 @ Recovery (8:36 pace)

cool but humid.  Legs felt awesome.  Great restraint not dropping the hammer. 

Fiver (7:33, 7:11, 7:14, 7:14, 7:13)

1.5 cooldown @ 8:08

Felt great.  Pouring down rain but I didn't mind.  pre-MTT mojo in full effect. 

Normal Wednesday pre-pizza run with Snuggs.  We traversed the Doverton barrier and then managed to get our shoes muddy... was my backup pair anyways because my shoes were still wet from the previous nights bath.. I mean run.  I somehow forgot my hat.. note to self "never forget my hat again".  FYI.. Rudino's now carries tots!!  Makes me think of this clip from the movie Napoleon Dynamite.

5 easy @ 8:32 pace (9:07, 8:32, 8:24, 8:22, 8:19)

5 x 2 w/ 2 minute sag

Fiver in 37:19 (7:39, 7:11, 7:30, 7:28, 7:31)  average 7:28  Mile 2 was too fast.  My bad.

Fiver in 36:15 (7:17, 7:07, 7:16, 7:25, 7:12) average 7:15

Warm, humid, sunny.  Negative split the second 5 vs the first rather easily.  A monster workout on 6 day streak legs.  Friday rest day with beers on the way :-)

Opening Day for HMT Year # 6 -  about 40 runners total with the Advanced Team having only one runner.

6 miles coaching the Advanced Team of 1 runner (Jason L).  Talk about awesome coach to student ratio.. it was Peter & Myself both coaching only Jason.  (8:38, 8:18, 8:16, 8:16, 8:15, 8:15) Damn near perfect pacing for Jason coming off a foot injury.

4 miles time on feet solo (7:13, 7:37, 7:26, 7:32) 

Rest day

Triple H run (hazy, hot & humid)  Felt like a dead of summer run.

6 @ easy (8:08, 7:51, 7:58, 7:52, 7:56, 7:48)

Felt good.. sweated just a wee bit :-)

5 time on feet (7:54, 7:27, 7:25, 7:29, 7:31)

.87 cooldown

hot but felt great.  nothing special to talk about. 

This was an interesting run.

Mile 1 - 7:41 (somewhere nearing the marker.. I realized we might have a problem.. no need to further elaborate.. lets just say mile 2 was a little bit quicker.

Mile 2 - 7:19 (actually made it back to Rudino's without incident.. had a small break and resumed run)

Mile 3 - 5 (8:01, 7:42, 7:30)

Ran into Nicole & Matt on Copperas.  Good to see them.

90+ degrees, humid & hazy.  Is it July yet??  I love Richmond.

5.9 @ Easy (8:10) pace.  hot hot hot.

HMT Coach Week 2 - Merger between Advanced and Intermediate teams.

(9:03, 8:52, 8:42, 8:27, 8:05, 7:24)  Negative mile split pacing by team.  well done boys.

This week is an easy week because I want to be fresh going into All Black training which begins on Saturday.

4 at time on feet (7:44, 7:20, 7:26, 7:27) and 2 at easy (7:59, 8:06)

93 degrees, hot, humid.. pretty much horrible conditions.  Where did spring go?

3 Time on Feet (7:37, 7:11, 7:05)

2 Easy (8:15, 7:54)

95 degrees, sunny & humid.  Beats the cold any day. 

Final run before All Black Team starts.

5.9 time on feet (8:01, 7:29, 7:20, 7:20, 7:15, cooldown)  average 7:30 pace

Felt great.  Solid base is built and well rested.  Training starts on Saturday.

MTT - All Black Team opening day

We were forced to sit through Don's opening day speech.  yawn!! just let us run!!  

There was some kind of wise crack regarding the black team in his speech.. I couldn't hear him since we were so far away.  Coach G had us sit by ourselves down in the bull pin.  Was weird to be separated from the group.  About 30 All Blacks total with roughly half of them being newbies.  Can't believe im a veteran now.  After Don G's speech.. Coach S took the veterans off and we started our run.  Coach G had a chat with all the new faces.

The run went well.  I felt great the entire time.  Got to talking with Rachel & Richard who were my running mates last year.  All 3 of us have improved greatly.  We were the front of the front.  Peter, Matt, Coach S and a few others were in the same area.  Those guys were seriously taking it easy otherwise I wouldn't have been up front.

7 miles (8:19, 7:32, 7:16, 7:08, 7:18, 7:09, 7:05)

Nice running conditions at first but then it got warmer as we ran.  Pretty humid outside as well.  A solid beginning towards my journey to Philadelphia. 

Well that was fast.  Day 2 of training ends in super disappointment.  For the first time since 2009 I went down and I went down hard. I was starting to worry about losing my nickname.  Guess I solidified that for another couple of years at least.

Last night was just a simple recovery run however at the 5.33 mile mark.. I stepped on a Coke can... The left ankle rolled over and I somehow manged to sprain both sides of it.. I hit the sidewalk pretty hard.. scratched up my hands and my pretty boy knees and then ended up on my back in the grass next to the sidewalk.  It all happened SO fast.

I was unable to continue the run.. took me about 15 minutes to limp home.. luckily I wasn't that far from base.  If you run long enough in the dark its going to happen.

5.33 (8:49, 8:24, 8:28, 8:08, 7:59)

Today.. im just swollen and tender and unable to run :-(

This weeks shedule calls for this :

• Mon - Recovery pace - 5 miles (slow and easy - no pushing)
• Tues - Easy pace - 7 miles (conversational)
• Wed - Recovery pace - 5 miles
• Thur - 2 easy warmup / 4 miles hard / 2 cool down (hard effort is you can talk but its no fun)
• Fri - off
• Saturday - 10 - Time on Feet
• Sunday - 5 - Recovery
• Total for the week - 40

Monday is 100 % out.  Will play it by ear from here.  I have the base already built so being down isn't a big deal at all.

Scheduled workout was :

Unable to perform the workout due to ankle injury.  Tonights workout is in jeopardy as well.  Will resort to recumbant bike if I can't function in a couple of days.  Sucks big time.

Today's workout was supposed to be :

Wednesday - recovery pace - 5 miles

Once again its a no go because of the ankle.  Starting to get pissed!!!!

Listed below is the expectations for being an All Black Team member.  It all boils down to the very last sentence that reads : "The key is not how fast you can run, but how fast you can run when tired."

All Black Expectations

You are a member of the All Black Team this means that more is expected from you not only as a runner but as example to the other runners.

The All Black Team is the product of those who have run before us and join us now.  If you lack the passion to improve, the desire to learn, cannot take responsibility for your training, or do not possess the commitment it takes to be an All Black, then you should consider running with a different team.  Others who have lacked these traits have had very short stays on the All Blacks.  If you are someone for whom the above qualities ring true then welcome to the All Blacks.

• Follow the Rules of the Road – Be Safe at all times. Run Safe at all times.
• No drugs on board.  If you need drugs to run, you got other issues that you need to get taken care of.  It is one thing to take Aleve/Advil for inflammation or pain after a run, it is another to take them before a run so you can get thru it.  If you need them before - go see a doctor - you're hurt.
• Train with a purpose.  If you are going to train for an event then you must give it your best, other wise you are wasting your time & ours.
• Train within your limits.  Listen to the whispers of your body. 
• Each day of training has a purpose – don’t go out for a recovery run and let yourself get sucked into a tempo run.  Each day has a plan – execute that plan.
• If you want to run fast, you have to run fast. However you should not run fast all the time.  Long Slow Distance produces Long Slow Runners - every run is not a race.  We believe in long runs done at EASY pace with a mixture of MP (marathon pace) or T (threshold pace) to mix it up.  Your body must be stressed for it to get fitter - but it cannot be stressed all the time.  Don't race the long runs.  Don't skip the water stops to have a faster time.  It proves nothing.
• Challenge yourself – the flat road is always the easy road.
• Expect the un-expected and deal with it.
• Remember to smell the roses.  See the beauty in your surroundings & the folks you train with.
• Keep your ego in check.  Be humble.
• You are responsible to read your emails & know the route you are running.
• If you have a question, then ask your coaches.  If you post on the MTT BB you are going to get 900 responses from people with less experience than you – is that what you want?
• Your training is not limited to your legs and lungs.  It is not one dimensional.  Your core must be strong. Your head must be in the game. Your body must be properly nourished and hydrated.  Your support team must buy-in to your goal.  Other wise you will fail.
• If you are hurting – see your doctor or the trainer immediately.  If you wait, it will be too late.

You achieve what you achieve by the work, the commitment, and focus you put into this training.

The All Blacks train with one fundamental principal:

Fundamental principal of training is to develop enough stamina to enable you to maintain the necessary speed over the full distance at which you plan to compete

General thoughts -take them as you will....the coaches come at this from a very different place & what we train by is how we were taught & how our coaches trained us. Sorry if it sounds preachy but you've got to understand it.

1 - Speed comes from base mileage - the bigger the base the longer you can maintain a set pace.  It's all about base. Base is built over time and by consistency.

2 - If you want to be a marathoner, you need to train like a marathoner.  If you want to be a 5k, 10k competitor then you train for that.  They are two very different ways of training.  Both are used in marathon training - but you have to decide what is important & train for the GOAL race.

3 - Speed workouts on the road will do you more good as a marathoner than speed on a track.  Tracks are flat and measured - roads roll with the terrain and undulate. Speed on the road builds muscle memory and psychological memory. You race marathons on the roads. This is not to say there won’t be track specific work there will be specific work we need to accomplish on a track, but you will not be doing 800, 1000, 1600 or 3200 meter repeats on a track as a steady diet.

4 - Hard - Easy Principals apply.   At most you should do 2-3 hard workouts per week and the long run is considered a hard workout.

5 - Know your paces & be honest.  You must be disciplined in these paces to get the benefit of training - if you run hard everyday you will not improve because you will leave your legs on the training routes.  If you think this is BS then read up on the Elites and you will find that they race in the 4 or 5 minute range, they run easy in the 7's minute range and they recover in the 8-9 minute range. See the following link for pace zone: http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/mcmillanrunningcalculator.htm

6- Core is important - core provides the strength that keeps your form - once you form breaks down - YOU BREAK DOWN. Core also is INJURY PREVENTION.  If you're not doing core you're wasting your time.  A famous quote from Bernard Lagat 'running for an hour and a half  every day is easy, it's the other things you have to do that make you successful.'  Core training can improve your performance by up to 4%.

7 - Neuro Muscular Training (NMT) is important - just like golf - this provides muscle memory, develops speed, & form.  NMT is the ability of an athlete to perform their sport in a smooth, balanced, and fluid motion.  This is running efficiency or running economy.  A good runner moves in a coordinated pattern without having to think about it.  The way we achieve this coordinated movement is thru repetitious practice where the movement moves from conscious control to conditioned reflex.  The more skilled we become at this movement pattern the less energy we expend and the more efficient we are.

The key is not how fast you can run, but how fast you can run when tired.

Decided to skip beer at Hector's birthday party because I wanted to test out the ankle later that night.  Ran 1 lap at Godwin at it wasn't pretty.  Still hurt to run.  Had a hurt looking wobbly stride.. still not ready :-(  IM GOING NUTS!!!!!!!!!!!

Pace zones start this week.  The weekly workouts look like this :

First mile in the books since the injury.  Ankle was stiff and didn't want to respond.  Slight discomfort but totally going in the right direction.  Still not ready to perform but was happy to get in one mile.  Funny how you take running for granted until you can't do it anymore.

1 mile @ 8:39