Tuesday:
Luke's Track meet Ran the 1500m in 4:44, and the 1600m leg of the DMR. Really forgot how to handle pressure during a race, but it was good building that competitive mind again.
It is now Spring 2014. I have no idea when my last post was as I am writing this fairly quickly, but a lot has been going on since.
With another spring season complete, it is now time for my epilogue. Several lessons were learned, although, I was aware of them before I reached the end. Record-keeping and time are the two slaps I got from life this spring. I lost track of my training around (wild guess) March-ish, I believe. I slowly stopped giving a fuck for some reason, but my excuse is good (or at least to society), check it: SCHOOL. Learning is my main concern right now, especially stats. I'm fascinated by it. I am not too sure if everyone is like this, but geez, I just couldn't motivate myself to log all my runs down. It seemed like I was always in a hurry. Time, I will master you.
I'm still unclear on what I want to run in the fall, but my first short-term goal is reach at least 70 miles per week by the end of the summer.
Let's get on with training.
Sunday: 12-15 miles @ 6:45-7:30 pace
Monday: 6 miles + 8x100m strides Tuesday: 7 miles + drills & core circuit Luke's Track Meet w/ Colon, and the Cartwrights. Did the Mile and 800. Although with no real speed work under my legs for 2 weeks it was really fun getting back on the track after 2 years. Wednesday: 10 miles + flexibility session 8 miles w/ Manuel and Shades. Really cool having a pack to run with. Finished in 57:43. Felt great. Thursday:
6 miles + 8x100m strides So sore. Finished in 45:19 Friday:
5 miles + drills & core circuit Saturday:
6 miles + 8x100m strides
After today I will have 14 weeks to reach my goal which is to run 15:45.
I was so sure that starting on Sunday I'd have a full week of training. Unfortunately, it's been the most inconsistent, which is the worst feeling. I've only been able to get 3 runs in this week. Empty days on the calendar suck. I shouldn't be so negative about this week though, there were of course some good to this week. I felt GREAT physically. Every run was a piece of cake! (12 miler Sun, 10 miler Wed, and 1hr run Friday)
I'm also sick ONCE AGAIN, which means something..
One thing is for sure: I'm never going to stop trying.
This upcoming week is the beginning of the fundamental phase. I have given myself some pretty tough workouts to complete and I am hoping this is where I start to break off from my old self. Trying to find clarity.
I'm close to figuring something out, but I don't know what it is. I feel it intuitively. Anybody ever get that feeling?
Apart from physical training, I have recently started training mentally for this sport. Two things I plan to improve every day for this training cycle: confidence, and focus.
My thoughts on my own confidence:
Let it be known now to myself: I sometimes don't know what the fuck I'm doing with this training stuff. I have been reading lots of training methodology since I first started training and figured out how to analyze my times, but I still don't know if what I am doing is the "correct" way. This is all merely a trial-and-error for me. My training is simply a projection of my own logic, and, people, do I question myself a lot. It's very difficult to have a positive attitude when you're in the dark. What I just said, thinking positively, is a big influence on my confidence. Now, sure, it's easy to start positive self-talk, for example, the common dull phase, "I can do this!". I'm not sure if I am able to say that to myself if I don't even fully believe it?
Here's something interesting that I've recently been aware of:
In 2013 Spring (my first training circle), I was ALWAYS looking right into the eyes of my goal (30:30 for a 5-miler), and never at the process itself (day-to-day training). I don't think I was wrong for being naive about my immediate goals (day-to-day training), but it's important for me not to look over them. I recall feeling quite lazy before going out to my runs, and never getting myself mentally prepared for it. Now that I look back, running seemed like a punishment, and not as a gift. That's about to change. I'm going to create a positive mindset for myself if it's the last thing I do. I'm never going to stop trying.
Think positively, take risks, experience success. Those are the 3 things I need to focus on to create confidence. I will talk about those later on, along with focus.
Training: Sunday
9 miles This was a hard run. Not the mileage, but the fact that it was hot and I made an idiotic move to keep my thick American Eagle hoodie on. To add on, I was sicker than a dog. Dry mouth, stuffed nose, negative thoughts before I even started, you name it. Monday
5 miles in 35:10
Agility Drills
8 x 100m arrancones
Tuesday
3 miles in 21:13
Wednesday
6 miles in 41:43
Thursday 5 miles Agility drills 10 x 100m arrancones
Friday 8 miles
5 miles 36:43 Saturday 3 miles 6 miles 41:30
Form drills
10 x 100m arrancones
Thoughts: This will be an easy week. Oh! Spring semester starts next week.. I'm excited
Since my last post in November, (it's January now) training has not been as consistent as I had planned. Well, now that I think of it, it was a plan that I rarely put much thought about so I shouldn't talk. The plan I had worked on for 15 minutes had no phases in it, nor race goals. All I was thinking about was how this was the year I would keep progressing as runner, if that makes sense. It'd be a dream to be a challenge to college runners.
I'm currently working on finishing up an outline of my spring season, so I plan to blog more about my runs and reflect on them. I do know this: I have 17 weeks to run a sub-27 10k and/or sub-16 5k. I can't wait.
