Hiatus

Before we begin, I am really glad the Rockies swept the Yankees. In case you didn't know, I really despise the Yankees.


Great week of work from the kids that I saw this past few days. A great Red Rocks session, only one puker I believe. (must be all that Columbian food he ate for breakfast.) And, on Thursday, I thought we had a great long run with some hills in my neighborhood. I liked that work-out a lot, with a combination of some long slow distance with some tough hills thrown in there.

This weekend, it is very important that you get a over-distance run in. By over-distance, I mean something that is longer than you have ever run this summer. If you longest run is 90 minutes, got for 1 3/4 hours. If it is two hours on the Cherry Creek trail, then go for 2 hr 15 min. Really try and stress your muscles by going ultra long!!!

Hiking is a great way to get over-distance, as you are stressing the system and keeping your heart-rate up by hiking (not running) quickly uphill, you are at altitude, and you will probably be hiking for more than two hours. If you can get up to the mountains this weekend, go for it, you won't be disappointed!

OK, here are the next two weeks worth of work-outs.

The week of June 18th -June 24 was our really hard week. So, the week of June 25-July 1 will be a recovery week. We have to get some rest in so our muscles grow back stronger!

6/25--Day off. Get some general strength work in, and stretch and hydrate!
6/26--Day 0ff. Yes, another day off. Rest, stretch and hydrate!
6/27--Red Rocks. I won't be there, so I assume the older kids can run the work-out. Remember to bring a sock or a T-shirt to use as a marker, and make sure you have plenty of water!
6/28--Another easy day of running. Go for about 45 minutes or so. Focus on having good form!
6/29--This is a little bit of a speed day. Head to the track, warm-up and stretch, then do 4-5 400 m intervals at your mile race pace. Have fun with them, get plenty of rest in between, and then cool-down and stretch some more. Got to keep in touch with the speed muscles!
6/30--Cross train. Ride the bike, go swimming, play volleyball. Try to be active and not use a lot of your running muscles.
7/1--Sunday, this should be the long distance day. Go for a hike, run the Bluffs, run the Orchard/Cherry Creek trail, but try to get a long slow distance day in. You should run for at least 90 minutes.

Well, if that week was the recovery week, then this week we will start a new cycle of building up again.
7/2--As usual, Monday is a rest day. Get yourself prepared for the rest of the week.
7/3--60 minute run, off-road. Make sure to keep hydrated!
7/4--Red Rocks. I will still be back East, so it will be the same as the previous week, on June 27th. Don't forget your marker! Older kids are in charge!
7/5--I like the back-to-back hill days. Today, go to the Bluffs, and do at least 2 laps. Go early in the morning, as it gets really hot! Don't sprint the uphills, just use good form and technique.
7/6--Recovery day. 30 min run, nice and easy. Keep those legs loose.
7/7--Long slow flat distance day. Try to get an hour in, on terrain that is not very hilly.
7/8--Sunday, you know what that means! Over-distance!!!

These schedules are just outlines, you can modify them however you wish. But, remember, we are on cycles of stress and rest. The stress part is important, but the rest part is just as important!!!

See you in a few weeks!
Sep

Work-outs for the week of June 18th

Now, I know all of you athletes reading this blog love to race. That is what makes you great competitors and great racers, you simply love to race. However, I believe that the summer is the season for doing just the opposite, that is the summer is for not racing. Now, whatever you have done the past two weeks, you can't change, but I think now is the time to re-focus your efforts, if need be. I am not knocking anyone for racing, I think it is great, but everyone needs to focus on getting miles in right now, that is the goal of your summer sessions.

If you race on a particular day, that is one day where you get a the the most, 45 minutes of running in, if you do a long warm-up, race, then do a long cool-down. Now is the time to build up your base, to build up your foundation. Even though it is hot, and even though there are races, you need to focus on long runs; building running strength and not speed; and correcting mistakes in your form.

Having said this, these work-outs are voluntary, but I strongly suggest your heed my advice. The work-outs will be very similar to last week, the only difference being the need to go longer on the long runs. This should be a tough week, in terms of length and duration of work-outs.

Monday--Day off, but get some general strength work in.

Tuesday--At least a 75 minute run. Nice and slow and easy. Go early in the morning.

Wednesday--Red Rocks, meet at seven at CHS. Red & I will try not to be late.

Thursday--Meet at my house (text me for directions if you are unsure) at 8:00 a.m. There is a great park nearby, I want to do a long run with a hill work-out. I want to try and do back-to-back hill sessions. We leave my house at 8:00 sharp!!

Friday--60 minute run with a few pick-ups thrown in for good measure.

Saturday--An easy day, so go for an easy 30 minute run to keep your legs loose.

Sunday--If you can, go for a long hike in the mountains. Otherwise, you need to go for at least a 90 minute run. Long, slow and easy! That is what you are focusing on this week! Good luck!

June Swoon

20-5. That's how much the Sox were outscored by in the three game series with the Rockies.

20-5. The root of this problem is simple, bad pitching and bad hitting.

20-5. If you can't outscore the Rockies, how do we expect to outscore the Yanks?

20-5. Ugh. That sucks.

Gyros & Kabobs

Hey guys,

Fantastic dinner last night, it was a blast heading up to D.U. and hanging out with you guys, thanks for coming along. I really hope I can go out for another celebratory dinner next year!

But I think we got hosed on the drink refills, getting charged extra multiple times! :) :)
It reminds me of that Red Stripe ad.

Boo expensive drink refills,
Hooooo-ray concrete lip statues!!

C.S.I.

I love the show C.S.I. I think it is great that they show scientists doing their jobs with a driving rock beat behind them. Of course having an inspirational song playing while you are centrifuging blood samples would make things more interesting, so why can't it be like that in real life??!! :)

Well, I was thinking of this phenomenon when I was watching Darren Lake's State Meet 2007 DVD. He filmed all of the races, and then put them to cool songs. Some U2, some Foo Fighters, not real hard-core stuff, but music that, combined with the images, really got your goosebumps going. Or in my case, the shakes and the tears! The race in person was exciting enough, seeing it on film with that "driving rock beat" was something else altogether!

During the boys 4 x 800, even though I knew what was going to happen, I simply couldn't stop crying, shaking and quivering. I don't know what got over me!! It was like Rudy finally getting on to the field crossed with Hickory High running the picket fence play. Unbelievable! I was a wreck! I couldn't move for ten minutes! I had to just sit on the couch and try and compose myself.

Sunday night I met with Coach Hawk. I was considering giving up coaching the 800 and 400 meter runners. I was feeling that I was not giving everyone my best coaching, either I was shortchanging the long distance kids or I was always shortchanging the sprint distance kids. Well, I have decided that is a stupid idea. I want to coach all of those kids, in all of those distances. It was the movie that convinced me. Winning State titles is great, but the kids I coach make me cry, make me laugh, make me pull my hair out, make me the proudest person in the world. And I am not ready just yet to give that up.

P.S. All of those who missed Red Rocks this morning missed three (3) pukers! Is that a record?

Wednesday Preperation

If you are going to be participating in the unofficial voluntary work-out that is spearheaded by yours truly, may I offer some advice.

In order to prevent severe discomfort and potential embarrassment, I would strongly suggest you eat a good healthy meal Tuesday night. No fast food, pretend that you are eating before a big race.

Also, make sure you start super hydrating yourself Tuesday day, and continue Tuesday night. The more water the better.

Finally, make sure you get a good night's sleep, as you will be waking up very early to get to C.H.S. (We leave so early to try and beat the heat!)

Wednesday's workout will be very difficult, very hot and exposed and very tiring. I have had my top athletes seize up, puke, and collapse at this venue. Bring two water bottles, filled with ice; one to drink during the work-out and one to drink on the way home.

Hey, if this workout is good enough for Carmelo, it's good enough for us!

Sep

New workouts for June 10th

Monday--No running, but get some strength work in. Rec. center, yoga, calisthenics, etc.

Tuesday--60-75 min. long slow easy run. Try to run off-road, away from the hard pavement.

Wednesday--Meet at C.H.S. Track at 7:00 in the morning. Why?

Thursday--30-45 min easy run. Go easy, as tomorrow will be a harder day.

Friday--At least 60 min. run, then do 5-7 times around a four square. This is a total work-out, long slow distance, speed and strength.

Saturday--Easy day. No running, but be active. Help your parents with the yard, go for a bike ride, swim upstream, something active but not stressful to your running muscles.

Sunday--Long slow distance day. Go for a 75 min. or longer run. Remember, to make it harder, go further, not faster!

Two Worlds Colliding

I just stumbled upon a great article about married couples and their love of sports. It got me to thinking about the situation Beth and I have.

Check it out here, if you want to read the original article, it is quite good. It is about a family that has a mutual love of USC football, and how whenever they watch together, the Trojans never lose. (Although I think that is more due to the worst NFL head coach ever, Pete Carroll, but I digress.)

Back to my situation though. It is all about me, right? :) I am a Red Sox fan. Parents grew up outside of Boston, aunts and uncles are Red Sox fans, every Seppala on the East Coast are Sox fans, that's just the way it is.

Technically, where I grew up, I was closer to Montreal, so shouldn't I be an Expos fan? Geography plays a role in it, sure, but it is really more than that. It is who you watch on Saturday afternoons with your old man. It is the team the conversation is always about. It is the place you would go to for a special treat in the middle of the summer. It is a family thing, it is passed down from one generation to the next, it is unchangeable, and you are stuck with it. You try to root for other teams, but it simply is not possible, so you always will be a Red Sox fan.

Very similar situation with my wife. Geography plays a role, family ties play a part, but there is one major difference. Growing up on the west side of Connecticut, with New York parents, has bestowed upon her the title of... Yankees Fan!

Yep, I married a Yankees fan. Or, she married a Red Sox fan. Either way, it is a melding of two opposing viewpoints. Remember that old ESPN ad, with the guy wearing an Ohio St. shirt and the girl wearing a Michigan shirt making out on the couch, seemingly ignoring their allegiances? Well, that's not us. That's Hollywood. I am proud to say that Beth and I handle our differences a little more decently.

We openly root against each others teams all summer long. We put down each other teams, we mock each others teams. When the Yankees suck, I let her know it. When the Red Sox choke, she makes sure I can hear her. After Aaron Boone's famous home run off of Timmy W. in the '03 play-offs, I hid under my covers for 2 days straight. It was miserable. Did Beth console me? I don't know, we were just dating at the time and I didn't turn my phone on.

Yankees-Marlins WS? I refused to watch. Beth watched every game, I abstained from TV and Sports for two weeks. Painful yes, but I needed to purge, the taste was still so bitter. Didn't the Marlins win that series? I really can't remember.

In essence, I hate the Yankees, she hates the Red Sox, and we let each other hear about it. It is part of the honer of being one of those teams fans, is that you can rip on the opposing team as much as you like.

But, there is a happy ending. Beth and I got married about two years ago, we did the whole write-your-own-vows deal, because we couldn't find anything that truly described us. I won't describe everything that was said, but I will say that Beth vowed "to be more understanding of the Red Sox in October."

Wow! What a catch for me! :) :)

Finally!!!!

Some of you might have noticed that I have been reading the same book for about 5 months now. It's not that I read slow, or that I don't read at all and I just wanted to look "intellectual."

The real reason is this book is very, very dense, and I usually get through two pages a night before my brain is exhausted and I fall asleep. That fact, and my busy schedule have kept this book on my nightstand a lot longer than normal.

Good book though, lots of great insights into the scientists throughout history. It does a great job of reinforcing the idea that all scientific discoveries are based on prior discoveries, that science is not a revolution, but more of an evolution.

I liked it,you can check it out for yourself here.

The Scientists, by John Gribben.

Sox-Yanks

Ooooh, that was a tough one. Watching these games, even though they are in June, is like watching a steel cage match, to paraphrase from one of my competitors in my fantasy baseball league. (In which I am getting my ass kicked, my team is horrible!)

I wonder what the papers and media in Boston will say, whether the crazies will be calling for Jonathon's head, or whether they will actually support the team and stay positive.

My personal take, the Yanks kind of scare me, you can't be a true Boston fan and say that they don't. I will feel a lot better if the Sox can get out to Oakland and put a whipping on a very good team. I am not saying I see cracks in the armor, I am just saying that I am not 100% confident about this team like I have been with the Patriots in years past.

I did say I would post some workouts through this forum, but first, I have created a poll. (I am slowly turning into an insomniac web geek, it kind of hurts.) I am wondering about our summer Red Rocks workouts. Are they worthwhile? Can they be replaced with something else? I always wonder how beneficial they are, as I do not see the direct results of them, that shows up in the fall XC season. Please vote in the poll down at the bottom of this post, or leave comments traditionally, and I can use that feedback to plan next weeks workouts.

During the summer, we want to follow a few guidelines. I created a a list of "rules" for summer training, some of you might remember them from last year. I think they are very valuable, even though there a a lot of them.

Sep's “rules” about summer training:

• Always have fun.
• Practice your visualization and positive internal messages.
• Always run at a comfortable, slow, easy pace on LSD days.
• Get some good speed work in every two weeks.
• Never run on Mondays.
• Don’t worry about miles, worry about total time. The mileage section of your log is only an estimation, concentrate on getting in time, not miles. Sunday is always an overdistance day. If you feel strong on Sundays, try and run longer. Sundays should be hard not because of the intensity, but because of the duration. Hikes are great for Sundays. So are long bike rides.
• Don’t try and make up for missed days by extending a particular workout. Take it one day at a time.
• Run off-road as much as you can.
• Run with a buddy as much as you can.
• Wear sunscreen!
• Stretch more than you think you need to.
• Get into good habits of eating and drinking over the summer.
• And finally, sometimes you feel tired sitting around the house, but as soon as you get out there running, you feel great! That’s the magic of summer training!
  

Some other facets of summer training are hill work, stretching, core strength, weights, and a little bit of speed work. All of that will be incorporated into your summer program, and they all depend on each other. Skipping weights over the summer will only hurt you, as much as skipping stretching.

Without any further delays, here are some suggestions for your training for this week, June 4th-June 10th

Monday--Monday is usually our off day from running, but it will be designated a strength day. Here are some suggestions:

• Go to the rec. center and do your favorite weight workout.
• Go to a yoga class.
• Do a push-up pyramid, starting at ten, going all the way down and all they way back up.
• Be creative, but no running. Work on building your overall general strength!
  

Tuesday- Now we run. :) Head to the Bluffs today and get 45 minutes of running in.

Wednesday--LSD Day (Long Slow Distance) I have read some articles recently saying LSD is an antiquated concept. Bullsh*t. Trust me, LSD is the only way to build a base to survive interval workouts later. Today, try and run for 60 minutes. Wear your iPod, go easy, and make sure to drink a lot of water!

Thursday--Take today off.

Friday--Another long running day, go for a little less than you ran on Wednesday, to keep your muscles fresh.

Saturday--Do one one my favorite workouts, the four square game. Go around 6-7 times.

• Set up four cones in a park in a square
• Each cone should be about 100 m apart
• One cone is 5 diamond push-ups
• One cone is 10 crunches
• One cone is 15 regular push-ups
• One cone is 20 bicycle sit-ups

Sunday--Go for a run, the same distance and time you ran on Wednesday. If you are feeling really good, try and go longer. Don't go fast though! (Refer to above rules.)

And let's see if this poll works or not, it is a new thing, I am excited and apprehensive about it. To be honest, I am not 100% sure how to check the results, but I can figure that out as we g o along. And please only vote once!

Is going to Red Rocks worthwhile, or a waste of time? Yes, it is a great workout, one I can't replicate here in town Sure, it is fun, but not irreplaceable Nah, I can do much better things with my time. View Results Make your own poll