Random Olympian

On our return trip from the Big 12 Indoor meet in College Station, Texas we stopped in Breckenridge to grab some quick lunch. Accompanied by a group of about ten of the OSU athletes we simply walked to the nearest place we could grab something quick. While eating, we were approached by a man wearing a lot of orange and a vest reading something about a stuntman's association. The man introduced himself as Dean Smith, who used to run a bit of track when he was younger. We caught his interest because he had roomed with J.W. Mashburn at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. Naturally all of our levels interest increased drastically upon hearing, "Olympics." Mashburn was a 400 meter runner at Oklahoma State who won a gold medal at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games running on the 4x400 relay. Mr. Smith spoke of how he had run for the University of Texas as a 100 meter sprinter and had often raced against the Aggies of Oklahoma A&M. He had even run 9.7 wind-aided at a meet held at OSU's Kyle Field. He described his time at the 52' games with Mashburn and how he had also roomed with Wes Santee the great miler from Kansas. Smith placed 4th in the 100 meter dash in what he described as the closest finish in Olympic history. The judges spent 2 hours determining the placings and unfortunately for him he landed just off the medal stand. He did however lead off for the United States' gold medal winning 4x100 relay. Smith chatted with us casually describing how what bothers him most about today's sport is the lack of press. When he was racing, everything was front page news. He described today's position as, "a small article on the second or third page." We found out later he worked as a very successful stuntman in the film industry and even played some pro-football after graduating from Texas and leaving the track world behind. It was a wonderful encounter and completely unexpected. It was great to see the younger guys interacting with this man who competed in an era that none of us really know and being able to connect and share a mutual love for the sport. It was a chance encounter with an Olympian, a World Champion and at the very least now the boys of OSU know a little bit more about the history of our sport. It is important to hold on to the heroes of the past and to lift up our heroes of today. A big thank you to Dean Smith, even 60 years later he is still a positive ambassador for track and field, even at a local fast-food stop.

Sunday; Long Run Day

The Long Run, arguable the most important run of the week for the distance runner. A week's long run is usually gauged as 18-22% of the weekly total mileage and offers huge benefits to runners at all levels. Increasing strength, aerobic capacity, running economy, and how to gauge your effort again prove useful to every type of runner training for a multitude of events. The real beauty of this run though, is that it allows a runner to simply relax and enjoy their time out running. The pace really does not matter (see earlier post) and these runs usually progressively get faster assuming you budget your energy properly. If you bonk, you either went too hard too early or progressed too much. This turns into an especially valuable lesson to runners racing longer road races as it teaches you to be patient. Yes, often the early miles of a run can feel overly easy but when you have 15 to go it becomes a good idea to simply enjoy that rather than ratchet up your effort.

For me, the long run is my favorite run of the week not because of the running based benefits but due to the mental and social aspects that I derive. I usually run between an hour forty-five and two hours for my long efforts and that is time that I am either alone with my thoughts or with a group of close friends. Even though the run can be taxing physically I feel refreshed from good company, time with my thoughts, or simply the idea that I have just accomplished something that many people will never attempt or understand.

Post run recovery is especially important after the long run as your body will be craving fluids, carbohydrates, and muscle repairing proteins. Offer your body the food and water it needs to start repairing itself within an hour of finishing your run and I can guarantee you will feel much better than if you wait any longer. I usually supplement with a small, protein recovery shake. Ice baths or icing directly will speed recovery as well and are an integral part of my personal post long run recovery. As uncomfortable as an ice bath can be, ten minutes with my hips and legs in fifty degree water is well worth the reduction in soreness and the increased rate at which muscles seem to recover. The biggest benefit of the long run day though may be post recovery when you get home or decide to grab some food on the way home. I take this day to eat whatever I have been craving. You burn more calories on this day so it makes sense to give yourself a bit more freedom and appease those damn craving which you've been suppressing all week. I'm not saying go nuts like after a marathon, but rewarding yourself now and then will make long term training more manageable.

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy your long run as much as I do whether it be Sunday or any day of the week!

Normal Run Pace

Many runners beginner or other struggle with the idea that every run should be a certain pace and that anything slower than the preconceived pace is really just junk mileage and not worth much if anything at all. I am not one of those runners. I believe that your body should dictate the pace on every normal or easy run you do with a few minor exceptions. The best thing a distance runner can do to improve their fitness is get out the door and run. The more time you spend on your feet the better off you will be (listening to your body of course.) I'm not saying to start out running 100 miles per week but to be smart about it and consistently build volume over time allowing your body to adapt and adjust. The pace is less important.

I'm fortunate enough to run with guys who have run sub-13:30 for 5k and guys who struggle to run under 16:00 most days of the week which gives me a pretty good perspective. When guys feel good, they run a bit faster. When guys feel bad or worn down, they take it easy. The individuals or the group never sets out to hit a certain pace or average for the run and the way everyone feels dictates the pace we go. Groups often form and the guys who want to get after it make slowly pull away and those poor fatigued fellas hang back a ways. The guys you see go hard everyday on easy runs are the ones who don't make it through the season and usually end up blowing up. The natural ebb and flow of a run may also change the pace you run. I often see those noted 13:30 guys starting out well over 7 min pace and finishing a bit under 6 min pace. Then again, I've spent entire runs with those guys where we haven't cracked 6:30 or 7 at all. These guys also don't go hard every time they feel good. It is important to hold back and allow your body to recover. The miles are still adding strength and its important to understand that you can keep high volume or running the miles while doing solid workouts and RECOVERING.

The point is, don't get fixated on time. Don't decide how fast your run is going to be before you start. Feel it out and allow your body to progress or not based on the recovery you need. Every few weeks I set aside a day to run alone and force myself to cruise at an almost uncomfortably slow pace. It is an active recovery method that feels a bit like a day off. So run as you feel, and if your worried about getting in a solid effort remember that taking it a bit easier may allow for much more running in the long term. A week of miles at too quick a pace can cause injury and cost you many miles over the next few weeks.

USA Cross Country Recap

The US National Cross Country Championships in St. Louis, Missouri were overall an excellent event and the only real damper was the low temperatures and the windchill that seemed to cut through most any clothing. Big River Running Company did a wonderful job with the event management and Miles Krieger was really solid with the announcing. I did here from a few locals that the event was not promoted that well, which is an area that could be improved upon for next as the event will again be hosted in St. Louis.

The races went about as expected but I'll admit I did not pick a single winner correctly. The Senior Women's 8K was easily the most exciting race of the day. The Molly Huddle and Sara Hall battle could not have gone any better. Huddle the American Record holder at 5K led Hall through most of the race as the two distanced themselves from the field. Over the final kilometer Hall began to surge and opened a small lead over Huddle with less than 200 meters to go. Hall, who specializes in shorter distances would be expected to have a bigger kick especially since she raced an excellent 3K recently closing very well. Seemingly out of nowhere Huddle found another gear and closed the small gap and passed Hall with less than 100 meters to go. She even opened a margin of a meter or two and it seemed the race was won. Again, seemingly out of nowhere, this time Sarah Hall responded with a late surge and dipped Molly Huddle at the line as she had began to celebrate lifting her arms in victory. No one was sure who won, after nearly 20 minutes of debate the photo finish revealed Sara had won by the slightest of margins. Neither woman appeared to have any idea who the winner was at the finish but both seemed pleased with the race and their efforts. The best part was that the crowd absolutely loved it. It didn't matter who won, just that the race was entertaining and it was definitely that. This race delivered what the sport needs to deliver every time to build interest with the casual fan. It had drama, lead changes, and two high profile athletes duking it out for the win. Yes, Huddle may not be in top shape and Hall may have raced a hard indoor effort two weeks ago but both still ran brilliantly and put on a great show. I picked Huddle, so I was 0-1 at this point.

The men's 12K race lacked a large number of high profile athletes just like the women, but the men I expected to be up front for the most part were. Aaron Braun, my pick to win led most of the race to be outkicked by Bobby Mack over the final 600 meters. My watch out for this guy pick Jeff Schirmer finished a respectable 5th to make the US team. This race lacked the closing excitement of the women's but it was interesting to see how the field responded to Braun's strength mid race as he pushed and slowly dropped the numbers of the lead pack. The one guy he didn't lose had a massive kick. Another exciting showdown.

The Junior races were dominated by collegiates and ran as most college races do; progressing over the second half of the race then seeing who still has their legs at 1K to go. The master's races were awesome. Those men and women were getting after it and I can only hope to still harbor the dedication and the desire to train at that level when I'm that age. Everyone had fun, it was great.

You should be there next year if you can, either running or watching. You could even go up in the Arch.

USA Cross Country Picks

After looking over the entries for both races I see Aaron Braun of Adidas as the favorite in the men's 12K race. I've seen him race in the past and he is very savvy and moves well when he needs to. He also runs with guts and will often put it out there. Gotta love that. For the women, it is hard not to pick Molly Huddle of Saucony. Sarah Hall has been running well but Huddle is strong and is better suited for the grass.

I look for Jeff Schirmer formerly of Southern Illinois University to run well. Guy is tough and finished 9th at last year's NCAA outdoor 10,000 meter run. He is often overlooked but was a 2-time cross All-American. Look for him to be top ten and surprising a lot of people.

Link to the entries lists:
http://www.usatf.org/events/2012/USAXCChampionships/entry/status_Open.asp

Follow me on Twitter for race updates.

Ritz A No Go for US Cross

It seems that a trend for emerging for athletes coached by Alberto Salazar is to announce their entrance or intention to run in a large event only to withdraw the week prior to event. The two major events like this at the forefront of my mind are obviously Dathan Ritzenhein announces to many peoples surprise that he is fully recovered from a PR at the Olympic Trials Marathon and will race the US Cross Country Championships in St. Louis only to announce earlier this week that he will not run. A similar event occurred with Galen Rupp entering the Olympic Trials Marathon only to pull out the week of as well. Now, I understand that distance running can really be a week to week or day to day sport and that sometimes it makes sense to skip a race or you need to rearrange your schedule at the last minute. What I don't understand, is why these athletes would make the announcement of their intention to run these races such a big event. It is a huge letdown for the fans and it makes it seem as if they simply want to stay in the headlines. Salazar was even quoted after Rupp's withdrawal that it didn't make much sense for him to run the race. Then why the hell would you enter him at all? It builds excitement when these top athletes are billed to race and it kills fan enthusiasm when they back out. No offense to the other athletes still racing, but without Ritz the men's race this weekend really lacks big star power. The sport is constantly looking for ways to build up its fan following and when the biggest names withdraw from events it leaves the spectator with a deflated feeling. If you must withdraw, we understand. But don't enter with the intention of pulling out the week of and give us some bullshit reason. A little consistency will go a long way in building the sports reputation and increasing the dedicated spectator's interest. Nothing against the athletes themselves, but maybe catering to the fan's interests would make us all better in the long run.

Road Race Entry Fees?

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to win an 8k road race in Oklahoma City. The competition was great, the course was great, the weather was miserable, but overall I had a really good time minus one aspect; the cost!

Race day entry was $30, pre-race was $25. The argument is think of everything you get for your money right? A t-shirt, possibly a trophy, possibly a medal, a post-race bottle of water/Gatorade, some random snacks, good conversation, and a well-organized event. I know some of the previous are intangible and difficult to quantify in terms of dollars but is that really worth $25-30? What happened to road races for $20 or less?

Here are my suggestions. If you are going to charge me $30 to run a race then there should be some form of prize money or gift card. Offer something simply like $50 bucks to the winner and maybe $25 to second or something along those lines. Maybe a prize like a decent running watch? That would make me feel much better about my investment. Also, offer the option to deny the t-shirt. $30 with a shirt and $20 without. You could always print the shirts post-race to save on costs as well so you wouldn't have a bunch of extras. For me personally, at small races I do not want the damn shirt as I have accumulated way too many over the past years of racing. I would also like to be clear I am all for races that donate to charity, but often in terms of our entry fee it is not clearly communicated how much is allocated towards a cause. Clearly defining what or how much is benefiting something rather than leaving us in the dark would make some of that intangible cost come to life.

A savings of only $5 to $10 may not seem like a lot but if you think about someone who runs a race a month, they could save $60-$120 which is a fresh pair of running shoes. Reducing these costs may also increase the involvement of runners aged 20-30 which looks good for any race as these are the young men and women we often see at the front. My worry is that small road race prices increase simply because we see how expensive marathons can be and that this pricing model is just accepted. Maybe it's just me, but I don't want to see this trend continue and it has become quite noticeable as of late.

US Cross Country Champs

It's official, today I've confirmed that I will be attending the US Cross Champs in St. Louis during the second weekend of February. I'm pretty excited for the races and based on how some of our junior athletes have been training we should have some great results. Big River Running Company is hosting this year's and next year's meet, so big thumbs up to them for taking it to St. Louis. I've attended races they've put on in the past and they do a wonderful job. Check em out at www.bigriverrunning.com. Will anyone else be attending?