1- 10 Running Loops

After talking to Steven Busch, I realized the importance of faster distance runs.

We are going to do our Thursday "Endurance Pace" runs on these loops below, as they will force you to run a certain distance in a certain time. These are not slower runs, but a tempo pace, a quicker pace. This week, it will be easier than you think, but as the weeks go by, the distance will increase, or the mile pace will decrease. I am throwing you in the shallow end of the pool and expecting you to swim to the deep end, I am not throwing you in the deep end right off!! :) And eventually your muscles will adapt and grow and you will be handling the early season intervals with no problems at all.

Try and learn some of the routes. The green arrow is the starting point, the red square is the finish line. You can go right into the website and access mileage markers, elevation changes, as well as look at the route from Google Earth. It's pretty cool actually.

Enjoy...


EDIT: There is a new five miler course.... I might never live that one down! :)
One Miler



Two Miler



Three Miler



Four Miler


Five Miler


Six Miler


Seven Miler


Eight Miler (Out & Back)


Nine Miler


Ten Miler

Dedication

Today is the first official day of CHS Winter Track!  The previous few weeks were experimental weeks, designed to ease athletes back into their training, while still giving them time to fully heal up from the fall season.  These first few weeks also allowed the coaches to figure out what works, how to make it efficient, and what should be changed or modified.


But, today, Nov. 26th, is the day when the “rubber meets the road” and everything we do is designed to accomplish one goal.  That goal is to be as fast and as strong as possible the first two weeks of May.  Every long run, every weight lifting session, every technique lecture, is pointing towards that goal.  I know I have said this every year, but all of the work-outs are equally important, they are all designed to fit together and allow you to reach your true potential.


Dedication is going to be the key to the success this year.  This team has a unique opportunity, and it would be a waste to not take advantage of this opportunity.   All practices must be attended, 100% effort must be given at practice, and you must prepare for these practices wholeheartedly.  Nothing less than your absolute best, if you remember that, then you will have taken advantage of this opportunity.


We have a great team this year, we ned to believe in each other, support each other, and build each other up.  Even though track is an individual sport, having a strong team around you only makes you better.  Under no circumstances will any member of this team not be given the respect they deserve.  Building your teammates up will help you more than you think.


This team is like a bunch of twigs, individually we can easily be snapped, but as a whole, we are strong and resilient.  The team is stronger than the individual, and the individual can contribute to that team by giving 100% every day.  That’s the secret to success.  We start today!

Cartman Introduces the Buffs

I will just let these speak for themselves, hilarious.






From: www.awfulannouncing.com

Excellent Work

Great job running today.  I am glad we all got about 80 minutes of work in today, plus some technique work and some hill work.  That is awesome.  I don't know about you guys, but I actually feel myself getting a little stronger!  

Great turnout today as well, hope to see even more people next Saturday at the Bluffs.

SEP

Did You Run Today!?!

This is what I ran this morning. About 5 miles, took me 50 minutes, in sub-20 temperature. I needed my iPod to keep me motivated, and I rolled my ankle at about one mile. But, I got a few hills in, worked on some technique, and earned myself a nap this afternoon.

So, my question is, what do you run today? Let me know in the comments section. The prescribed workout was 50-60 minutes, hopefully the cold did not deter you from that. Anyone can run in 60 degrees and sunny in April, but only true champions get their training in in November when it's below freezing and your couch is so comfortable and warm. The people standing on the podium at JeffCo stadium in May will be the ones who were slogging it out in November. Your dedication needs to start now!!

Hope to see all of you tomorrow at 8:30, Englewood Dam Run!

Turkey Trot Results

Whew,

I am still catching my breath from the race this morning. A quick re-cap:

Very cold to start, about 20 degrees.

A two lap race, minimal hills, with a few tight turns sprinkled in for fun.

The first lap, I was feeling great. Good pace, good stride, good feeling.

Second lap, I DIED! Dropped the anchor, people were passing me left and right. Huge cramp due to lack of proper hydration. Dumb.

Overall, 135th place. Yuk.

Shout out to Will N., the Chap champ, as well as Zach H., Brenden B., Trey C., Derek E., Patrick A., and Taylor E. Good turn-out for the Wolverines, as well as Mr. Coit, who tried valiantly to stay with Ducky, but to no avail.

Next year, Tyler N. is going to run, right? :)

SEP

Thanksgiving Work-Out Schedule

Wednesday--Easy Run, 20 or 30 minutes. Make sure to stretch well!

Thursday--Race at Boulder or 20 min easy followed by 20 min hard. Do some push-ups and sit-ups for good measure

Friday--Long easy run, shoot for 60 minutes or so.

Saturday--My place, 8:30 am, for an Englewood Dam Run. We will work on some more pole technique on the hills there!!

SEP

Thanksgiving Turkey Trot

With over twenty votes cast, the Boulder Turkey Trot is the clear winner with over 50% of the vote. The official Active.com webpage has some good information, but here it is in abridged form, for those of you who do not like to click on links.

Where: CU Outdoor Track
When: 10:00 am
How Much: 15 bucks plus a canned food item
Transportation: We will meet up at the race in Boulder. If you need a ride, you can contact me directly and we can try to work something out.

This should be fun, but I want to stress this is a VOLUNTARY race. You are under no obligation to show up. Thanksgiving is an important family holiday, and if you can choose to spend it however you want to. Just like everything we do in winter track, you set your schedule. It is in your hands.

SEP

P.S. Weird story from Saturday. My brother and I went back to retrieve the cooler from the trail. When we got there, it was gone. I was pissed, but what are you going to do? If someone wants the bad karma of stealing a five gallon cooler, then I can't stop them. So, we looked around for a while down by the trail, and then gave up when we couldn't locate it. Getting back into the truck, I noticed something in the bushes at the top of the stairs. It was the water cooler!! Someone had thrown it in the bushes at the top of the stairs right where I parked to pick it up. Odd. If you are going to take it, why not take, why move it and hide it in the bushes? To come back for it under the cover of darkness? How odd. Anyways, we got the cooler back, ready for next week!

Sunday Afternoon Tid-Bits

Before I watch my beloved Patriots tonight, a few things are rattling around in my brain.

When you do long runs, remember, it is not the mileage that counts, it is the time spent running! Your heart and your lungs and your muscles cannot tell how many miles or kilometers or fathoms you have traveled. However, your body reacts to the length of the stresses inflicted upon it. Your body is a great clock, it is a horrible odometer. So, if you were hoping for ten miles, and you only got eight, it does not matter. What matters is the fact that you ran for 75-80 minutes. Time spent running is the important factor on LSD runs.

Monday is a no running day, a recovery day, for the distance kids. Our schedule is to lift weights with Coach Laster at 4:15. I will be in Coach Hawks room grading papers, but distance kids are not needed until 4:15, at the weight room.

Monday evening, i will post the winer of the Turkey Trot poll, as well as information pertaining to it.

Tuesday evening, I will post the Thanksgiving Break work-outs.

SEP

Nov. 17th Recovery Run Map

This is the run that we went on this Saturday morning! Nice and flat, a good easy recovery run. Depending on the group, we ran between 8 and 8.48 miles.

Mucho thanks to Thomas and Coit for coming along, that made the groups work out a lot better. Next weekend it is at my house, but we will be running at Englewood Dam, which is a little more hilly, and we will be using the ski poles for some technique work. Even though we had a great turnout today, I would like to see even more athletes next week. Alums, coaches, athletes, you are all welcome to join in!!!

Sep

Turkey Trot Anyone?

The esteemed Mr. Coit and I have been looking at some Turkey Trots. We found one at Washington Park, Castle Rock, and Highlands Ranch and Boulder.

I put up a poll on the left side of the page. Vote early, vote often! And Coit and I are going to need one minute per kilometer handicap. Coit might even need 90 seconds.

Hardest. Workout. Ever.

Let's begin the week with some hyperbole!

Today is the annual Kancamagus Roller Ski for the UNH Ski Team. Every Veteran's Day Monday, rain or shine, the UNH Nordic team wakes up very early, gets in the ski vans, and heads a couple hours north to what is affectionately known as "The Kanc". It is a brutal workout, involving skiing from sun-up to sun-down, and to finish it is a huge badge of honor.

The Kancamagus Scenic Byway is what out here in Colorado we would call a pass. The first phase of the workout is a classic roller ski up one side of the pass. If I recall, this is about a two hour trip. I could always do well on this section. If you were the first one to the top of this side, you won the "Robel" award. Robel Telemarkian was a skier on the team from Ethiopia and he always kicked ass on this work-out. So, we ended up naming a fake award after him. I wonder if the team still gives out this fake award. Hmmmm.

Once you made it to the top of the pass, you hop in the vans and get a ride down the first half of the backside of the pass. It is way too steep to actually ski down it, although I guess some old timers back in the early 80's tried it to less that perfect results. Halfway down, there is a campground, and that is when you unload and change your skis. Where as before we went up the steep front side on classic rollerskis, now we are skiing the flatter backside on skate rollerskis. We would be on the skate skis for much longer than we always thought, about 3-4 hours at least, depending on how fast you could go and not bonk out. We would ski down the pass into town, then turnaround and head back up to the campground. It was always the heading up that seemed to get me. Stupid gravity.

One year we had rain of Biblical proportions, so we had to cancel the Kanc ski during this phase. That was the year Chris Wolski brought his dog and the dog was running alongside us for hours. Poor dog, but she seemed to enjoy it. Probably more than I was enjoying it at least.

Once you got back up to the campground at the halfway point, you changed your skis again and got back on your classic equipment, for the final push to the summit. This is where you separate the varsity skiers from the development skiers, even in November. It is getting dark, it is all uphill, you are totally spent, usually by yourself, and you are sick of rollerskiing. It is as much of a mental test as a physical one.

My first year doing the ski, this is where I bonked out totally. It was miserable. I don't remember much of it, but I was skiing up by myself. It was getting dark. I pulled over to the side of the road and stood there for a while. Next thing I know, my coach pulls over and I get in the van. No fighting, no arguing, I just knew I was 100% out of fuel, and I probably hallucinated the whole way home. Not good.

The next year was the rain-out, and the third year I participated, we changed the course somewhat. The new course was pretty difficult, as we took a detour due to bad road conditions and went up a different pass. I finished that one near the front of the pack, even heading up past the finish line to ski to the Mt. Washington Hotel and back. I was with Jeff Erenstone and the aforementioned Chris Wolski. I remember hearing a gunshot in the woods, (it was hunting season) and being so exhausted and rubber-legged I was thinking we were getting shot at. I remember the Upham's making sandwiches at the end of the day and me wolfing down about 8 of them. I remember the giant jugs of cranberry juice we would drink the whole time. And I remember the Cheeseburger Challenge, but that is for another blog post.

As you read this, the UNH skiers are probably double poling up some lonely road, and the coaches are having breakfast in a warm little roadside diner. The leaves have all fallen off the trees, and I really hope the sun is out. Having the sun out always makes this brutal workout a lot easier. Trust me. So, I wish good luck to the UNH team this year, I know they will do well on dryland and on snow, and one of these years, I will make it back for The Kanc. Just to ride in the vans. :)

Three Random Thoughts

Mostly sunny. Warmer. Highs 59 to 65. That is the weather forecast for Tuesday afternoon. I was kind of hoping for colder temperatures with more precipitation. Just to make Spenst Hill even more enjoyable. It is called Winter Track, isn't it? Those new ski poles will be coming out of storage too.

Turkey Day is fast approaching, and I was hoping the groundswell to do an alumni Turkey Trot Road Race hasn't died off. Believe it or not, I am actually attempting to get into shape and a fun little 5k before I stuff myself silly sounds fun. Any other takers?

No game for the Pats this week, so no Sunday afternoon stress attack for me. Which is nice. But have you been paying attention to the Celtics lately? Best team in the Association, by far. I really gotta get over to my brothers house and watch. He got the NBA Season Pass TV package, good move on his part, as the Nuggets are really painful to watch.

Folk-Punk

Last night my brother dragged me out to the Bluebird last night to see some show. It was a band who used to be members of Dispatch, a jam band from Boston that every East Coast College kid listened at the beginning of the century. (I did like Dispatch, but I will be honest, I wasn't as much of a mega-fan as some people are. Huge cult following for that band.)

So, I went, and let me tell you, it was a fabulous show! On a random Tuesday night, no less. State Radio plays some weird kind of folk-punk, where before you know it, you are jumping up and down, dancing around, when you don't even know any of the songs. (I heard a certain member of the Seppala clan even got down in the pit for a few songs.) Great show, great band, certainly not what I expected, so you really should check out their link. Get some of their music, it is really fantastic stuff.

P.S. And they play tonight up in Boulder, if you want to make a last minute trip to check them out before they head back East.