2/16/2007

The week as it is.
Hello again. Well another week has come and gone and I am a week closer to spring break! I can’t wait for the break so that I can have a rest from my very busy schedule. It will be just enough time to rejuvenate and get ready for the remainder of the semester. Although I will continue to work and train during the break, it will just be nice not having to go to class. I am still plugging away with my running, work and of course my classes, right now. Each day feels like a whirlwind of events, but it keeps me on my toes. This weekend I am traveling with the men’s and women’s track team to Akron, Ohio for the Big East Indoor track and field championships. Go Cards! This will be a great trip for me and it will also be nice to get out of the city for a few days. Anyways, it’s always nice to experience the coaching side of the sport after spending 5 years as the athlete in the NCAA.

A fun workout.
It seems as if a foot or more of snow is falling in every state around of us, but for some reason we are just getting the rain and some ice. Today I did a workout with a couple of other runners called a blind fartlerk. The idea behind this workout is to build strength while keeping the mind active. A normal farterk is done by running hard for a period of time and when the interval is over you continue running at a slower pace. This workout keeps your heart elevated for longer period of time than just plain interval training. The difference between a normal fartlerk and a blind fartlerk is the way in which it is setup. In a normal fartlek you will have a period of time that you are ON and OFF and this is usually predetermined. The ON part will add up to 30-40 minutes and your OFF pace will be 15-20 minutes. In a blind fartlek you need two or more people and you take turns to lead the ON parts. The person who is leading doesn’t let anybody know how long they are going to keep the interval going, so you could end up running anywhere from 3 minutes to 6 minutes hard. This workout is fun because you never know when the interval will end and as long as you keep the ratio of quality to recovery correct you will end up having a successful and fun workout. Since it was grot on this day we needed something to take our mind off of the elements and that’s why we did this workout instead of a normal planned out session.

2/9/2007

This is a picture from a workout I did in preparation for this upcoming season.

A Great Winter
Right now I am so grateful for the weather that is here in Louisville. I am used to winters that freeze your lungs and go on for 4 to 5 months non-stop. Although it is cold, I am excited that this will only last a few more weeks. There have been a few runs that I have finished and ice has formed on my clothing due to sweat and the frigid conditions, but I always remember how much more tolerant I was from training in these adverse conditions. I don’t think anything can prepare you for the first few truly cold days of each winter period, but after a while you get used to it and each day begins to feel more and more bearable. One thing I can say for sure…it is easier to run on a day with blue skies then a day with grey ones no matter what the temperature!

Science
Currently I am working on my capillary development by hitting higher mileage on my runs and workouts. More mileage also helps to increase mitochondria numbers and size and Red Blood Cell production. All of this supports more effective oxygen uptake and utilization. In Lehman’s terms: your endurance/fitness will improve!

Maintenance
During this high mileage period my body takes quite the beating. I have chronic neck, back and hip problems, which are more prominent at this time due to the extra pounding. As a result, I see my chiropractor on a more regular basis. I highly recommend to all the runners out there to see a chiropractor or get a spinal x-ray, as many of the problems that I deal with most of you experience too and they can be corrected. I have been lucky to find a great chiropractor in Louisville. The Coaches at U of L referred me to Dr. Doug Sharp of Proformance Chiropractic. He was the Olympic Bronze medalist for the US in the bobsled at the 2002 games and pole vaulted in the NCAA and knows the strain and stress we voluntarily put our bodies through. I have being seeing Dr Sharp for over a year and he has played a major role in my running revival.

All in a Weeks Work
My usual week of training consists of three workouts, three recovery days and a long run. My first work out of the week is on Monday and I usually do a 20 to 25 minute tempo run which has a two-mile warm up and two mile cool down. I usually keep the distance I go on my warm ups and cools downs consistent no matter what the work out is, so when I talk about warm ups and cool downs keep this in mind. The next day I go for a 60-minute recovery run around central park in Old Louisville, running around this area during dusk makes feel like I am in a Charles Dickens novel. On Wednesday I do my second workout of the week and for example may consist of mile repeats with the rest in between being no more then 2 minutes. Taking into account the warm up and cool down I end up with an overall volume of about 9 miles. Now with half the week over I look forward to the recovery run on Thursday, as it is usually the slowest run of the week. This is usually the day where fatigue sets in from a hard week of school, work and training. This run is usually 60 minutes in length, but very slow and comfortable. Friday is also a recovery run and if often much quicker then the day before (about 50-70mins in length). Saturday is my favourite workout as it is the quickest paced workout of the week. I either do 400 repeats or 600 repeats which all depends on where my training cycle is at that particular time. The volume on this day is the least of all the workouts and is about 7 miles with everything included. On Sunday I do my long run, which is between 80 and 90 minutes in length. That basically sums up my average week of training. I find it difficult, especially now, to fit in everything with my current schedule so it takes a lot of time management. Last semester I became ill many times because I tried to accomplish too much within a day. Now I do most of my running on a “how I feel” basis. This sometimes means cutting down on my weekly mileage in order to keep from getting sick…but this seems to be doing me a lot more justice!