In the days before graduation I've had some spare time. I decided to upload a rare piece of running history that I have in my collection, an original edition of Track & Field News' How They Train:
How They Train (1959)
I'm hoping for no copyright issues, since it was published so long ago and I don't think the copyright was really renewed They published subsequent editions but they were all different and updated with current athletes so hopefully T&FN doesn't get mad at me!
Edit: The first link was to a poorly scanned/incomplete copy. I fixed the link, but to see it properly download it and rotate it counterclockwise.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Friday, May 18, 2012
2012 Track Season Recap
This has been quite the season for me. Longer, harder and more fulfilling than any other track season to date.
- I competed at a high level since February when I ran a 4:08 mile. I held that form very consistently until May. I think that I improved my 5k fitness throughout the season, and I'm happy with that because holding my mile fitness at a high level while improving 5k fitness is not an easy thing to do.
- I adjusted my personal goals this year to run for time instead of run for place. I did this because there really weren't any meets that I could run for place at (no conferences, IC4A's, etc) and because I wanted to show the graduate schools that I applied to that I was worth their attention. After I ran that 4:08 indoors, I set my goals for the year to run < 3:50 and 14:10. 14:10 was the goal I had set for myself about two years ago when I got really serious about running, and 3:50 was what I knew I could run based on my form in February. I am perfectly happy walking away from this year having run 3:49 and 14:09.
- My general attitude towards training and racing is much improved from past years. I relaxed a little bit this year with regard to mileage and I think I was better rested for the big races this season compared to last track season. Part of this was due to not having the pressure of a team to race for, but most of it was due to more confidence is myself and in my training plan. I raced more often to hone tactical sense and picked my spots to really run well.
- I was able to keep improving consistently, not only through this season but through my college career. This goes back to the goals I set for myself, but I doubt that many guys can say they improved 17 seconds in the 1500 (4:06 to 3:49) and 54 seconds in the 5k (15:03 to 14:09) over their four years in college. I had no major injuries and was able to get tuned into my body enough that I could catch any potential problems early so I could keep training and racing.
Any negatives? Not that I could really control. Obviously it would have been nice to still have a real team and be able to mix it up in the championship meets, but I think that I played the hand I was dealt about as well as I could have.
I'm leaving this season very satisfied; I planned my training around running goal times, I went to the meets that I needed to be in to run those times, and I executed my race plans and came out with the times I expected. No surprises this season, which was fine with me. Surprises can mean unexpected good things, but in running they usually mean bad things. No surprises also means that I have a good handle on what my body can handle and what training stimuli produce what responses.
What do I want to do next year? Well, I definitely have more room in the 1500/mile than I thought I had 6 months ago. I'm sure that if I did more specific training in season for that I would run even better than I did this year. However, I don't want to sacrifice the 5k for the 1500, since I still think I'll eventually be better in the 5k over the shorter distance. Next year will be an exciting time and I'm already looking forward to it!
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Swarthmore 1500m
Last night was my last official race of the season, and my last one in a Delaware uniform. As is the custom at UD for our last race, a bunch of us went up to the Swarthmore Last Chance meet to run a 1500 or a 5k. For years we have known about this little gem of a race. It is always perfect conditions and great competition for all races 800 and up. As luck would have it, this year some other guys you might have heard of found out about it too. Adrian Blincoe (5k Olympian from New Zealand) lives nearby in Bryn Mawr and put together quite the race for the 1500. The fast heat included names like Nick Willis, Will Leer, Lee Emanuel, and Dan Huling. Willis was to pace thru 1200 in 2:51 and let the other guys chase the Olympic A standard. This race went off while I was in line to get my number, with all my sweats and trainers on. When I realized I was in the next heat, I panicked a little bit and so I didn't get to really pay attention to the big boys in the fast heat. What I was able to watch was amazing; Willis did a great pacing job and stepped off at 1300, and unheralded Merber blew by the field in the last 200 to win in 3:35. A debatable American collegiate record for the guy who had a 3:42 PR coming in! That was definitely an inspiration to run fast for my race.
As to my race: I was confused when I was in the fast non-pro race, because I was 20th seed coming in. Apparently they just shuffled the first two heats randomly together. There were four Columbia guys in the race, undoubtedly fired up watching their teammate Merber run 3:35, who were going for NCAA times. One guy said he was rabbiting through 1200 in 2:57, which I knew was too fast for me. I got out well and the first 400 was 61, which I felt was about right. I was in a nice group while the Columbia guys rocketed ahead of the field. During the second lap I could feel the group slowing, so I went around just before the 800 (2nd lap = 63). I picked up and started reeling in a guy that had fallen off the leaders. At 1200 (3rd lap = 61) I was with two guys and I kicked with 300 to go. One guy blew by me on the backstretch but I caught him at the line and beat the other guy. My final time was 3:49.50, which was 0.17 off the school record (last 300 = 43). I wasn't too upset about missing the school record; I ran what I knew I could run and it wasn't a surprise since I ran 4:08 in February. I just went out and executed the plan.
I felt good after the race and on the cooldown, and I think I could have squeezed another second out of the race if the second lap had been better, but it as good a race as I could have realistically hoped for. I PR'd on this track two years ago in the 5k and almost everyone runs fast here, so much so that it's become a running joke on our team to call it a 390m long track. One more "race" in the season, an 800 against some teammates just to see what I can do, and then I'll shut it down. I think that if there were more fast 1500s in the coming weekends I could keep peaking and run a little bit faster for about two weeks and then the wheels would start coming off. Right now I'm content with the season; I did what I set out to do and my PR's are right where I wanted.
As to my race: I was confused when I was in the fast non-pro race, because I was 20th seed coming in. Apparently they just shuffled the first two heats randomly together. There were four Columbia guys in the race, undoubtedly fired up watching their teammate Merber run 3:35, who were going for NCAA times. One guy said he was rabbiting through 1200 in 2:57, which I knew was too fast for me. I got out well and the first 400 was 61, which I felt was about right. I was in a nice group while the Columbia guys rocketed ahead of the field. During the second lap I could feel the group slowing, so I went around just before the 800 (2nd lap = 63). I picked up and started reeling in a guy that had fallen off the leaders. At 1200 (3rd lap = 61) I was with two guys and I kicked with 300 to go. One guy blew by me on the backstretch but I caught him at the line and beat the other guy. My final time was 3:49.50, which was 0.17 off the school record (last 300 = 43). I wasn't too upset about missing the school record; I ran what I knew I could run and it wasn't a surprise since I ran 4:08 in February. I just went out and executed the plan.
I felt good after the race and on the cooldown, and I think I could have squeezed another second out of the race if the second lap had been better, but it as good a race as I could have realistically hoped for. I PR'd on this track two years ago in the 5k and almost everyone runs fast here, so much so that it's become a running joke on our team to call it a 390m long track. One more "race" in the season, an 800 against some teammates just to see what I can do, and then I'll shut it down. I think that if there were more fast 1500s in the coming weekends I could keep peaking and run a little bit faster for about two weeks and then the wheels would start coming off. Right now I'm content with the season; I did what I set out to do and my PR's are right where I wanted.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Kehoe Twilight Meet (UM)
It's actually been a week since this race, but I forgot about it since it was not exactly a highlight. Four guys on the team, including myself, drove down on May 3rd to race at Maryland's twilight meet, since we had a big gap in our racing schedules and wanted to get something in. We entered a little bit late, but the meet director seemed fine with it and let us in. I seeded myself at 3:50 in the 1500 in the hopes that it would be a fast race and I could get pulled along.
The fun began when we went to check in and I noticed that I was in the second (and slower) heat. This confused me, since it was a smaller meet and I didn't think that a 3:50 seed would put me 15th. I thought about asking the people in charge about this, but then a Navy guy started talking to us and said he would be rabbiting a teammate through 1200 in 3:00. Once I heard this, I figured that the first heat actually was that fast and that if everyone was seeded around 3:45 then maybe I should be in the second heat. Well, once the first heat went off I could immediately tell that that's where I should have been. The Navy guy ended up coming through 1200 in 3:06 (right where I wanted to be) with no one near him. The race was won in 3:56.
My race could not have been less eventful. I led wire to wire in the slow time of 3:57.5. Even during the race I was discouraged about the situation and after the first lap I mentally threw in the towel for a fast time. In hindsight I'm not too upset about it; racing is just one of those things where it's not going to be perfect every time out, but try it enough times and you'll eventually hit the perfect day.
The fun began when we went to check in and I noticed that I was in the second (and slower) heat. This confused me, since it was a smaller meet and I didn't think that a 3:50 seed would put me 15th. I thought about asking the people in charge about this, but then a Navy guy started talking to us and said he would be rabbiting a teammate through 1200 in 3:00. Once I heard this, I figured that the first heat actually was that fast and that if everyone was seeded around 3:45 then maybe I should be in the second heat. Well, once the first heat went off I could immediately tell that that's where I should have been. The Navy guy ended up coming through 1200 in 3:06 (right where I wanted to be) with no one near him. The race was won in 3:56.
My race could not have been less eventful. I led wire to wire in the slow time of 3:57.5. Even during the race I was discouraged about the situation and after the first lap I mentally threw in the towel for a fast time. In hindsight I'm not too upset about it; racing is just one of those things where it's not going to be perfect every time out, but try it enough times and you'll eventually hit the perfect day.
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