Run Buffs Run!

I ran the CU time trial this morning. It was a cold and wet morning, perfect for running. Saying that I was stressed would be an understatement, so when the gun went off, I immediately jumped to the top with the CU runners. I was surprised, because I expected them to be going quite a bit faster. One other runner attempted to take an early lead, but it was to no avail. I stuck with the CU runners with ease for the first two miles, and then it happened. I felt as if my vision were narrowing, and my legs truned to spaghetti. This feeling progressed until I had to almost hold my head up with my hands so that I could look forward. My pace slowly dwindled from a 5:20 mile something much slower. At that point, however, I was becoming delirious and lost any real thought process. It was more of catching myself when I was about to fall rather than really running. I probably gave up a good 20 positions after the ordeal began. With about 3/4 of a mile to go I approached a steep hill. It was not particularly long, but it was intense. People on the side must have been laughing at me because it took me a solid mintue to scale it. The main problem was that my balance was very messed up, so I swayed from side to side, trying desperately not to fall. I finally came across the finish line, not knowing what time I had received (I looked at my watch but I was far too delirious to comprehend what my time really was). Luckily, my parent were there, and seeing that I was in terrible shape, drove me to the hospital. On the way, I puked three or four times and felt terrible. At the hospital they hooked me up to an IV and layed me down. They monitored my heart rate and blood oxygen level. They also took blood samples to test for a lack of electrolytes and low blood sugar. Slowly but surely, I regained "consciousness" and began to feel a bit better. After an hour and a half, they released me. The blood tests showed that I was not lacking electrlytes, but my blood sugar level was high (265), suprisingly. They told me that the stress is probably what did me in, and that this is a fairly common occurence for serious runners. I felt like I ate a lot of carbohydrates and comsumed plenty of electrolytes the day before, so it seemed weird that something like this would happen. I know that the tempo is not what got to me either because I am used to running this fast with no previous problems. What especially agitated me was that the winning time was 26:55, which I know I could have beat, had my body not "shut down". I am going to talk to the CU coach and see if I can prove myself another time, because today was obviously not the "true" me. What feels the worst is knowing that my time was a false representation of my ability. I am happy, however, to be ok and well. I feel a bit tired, but I plan on resting for the rest of the day to regain strength.

I know that I went to the hospital yesterday, but the temptation to run was too great. I began conservatively for the first 3/4 of a mile and eased my way into about a 6:20 mile. I was cautious to not overextend myself, and closely watched for any signs similar to yesterday. I felt a bit tired, but besides that, the run went great. Why is it that your body "falls apart" when you really need it to perform, and perform when you don't really need it? Just a question to ponder...

Ran 6.0 miles today in the morning. I was very sore (I don't quite know why), which prohibited me from running very fast. I ran an average of a 6:30 mile, and finished with a 400 meter sprint. In all, a good run.

Ran 1.8 miles at 6:30 pace straight into 6x800 meter repeats. Had 400 meter rest between intervals at 7:45 pace. My splits were as follows: 2:17,2:26, 2:32, 2:36, 2:36, 2:34. After I finished the repeats, I jogged the 1.8 miles back to my dorm at 7:05 pace. I did not run yesterday because I was very sore, so I decided to make today intense to compensate. In all, a very tough but productive workout.

Ran approximately ten miles this morning, but did so on a very tough trail. I began running from my dorm and ran up Flagstaff mtn. road, which begins in the foothills of Boulder, and ascends nearly 2,200 ft. in five miles. The climb was tough, but definitely worth it once the top is reached. ALthough I was running at a slow pace on the ascent, it felt as if I were running a sub six minute mile on flat ground. Coming back down the mountain was bad. I hate pounding my legs against the pavement when the road is a steep downhill. I finished with a 600 meter sprint at the end, and felt good. In all, a good workout.

Ran 10 miles today at 5:00 pm. It was cool and rainy, perfect for a good run. I started out fairly slow, about 7:00 mile, and sped up. I presumed that I was running in the neighborhood of a 6:25 mile, but suprisingly clocked off 4 miles at 5:50 pace. It was suprising that I could achieve this type of mile time without really pushing hard. It felt decently comfortable, and I cruised through the remainder of my run, finishing with a steep hill.

Ran 9.3 miles today at easy pace (6:45 mile). I felt good throught the duration of the run, but think that I might need to step up the length of my easy runs to get a good workout. I feel that today may have been too easy, which is good in a way (it allows me to recover from intense workouts), but I also feel that I can improve more if I lengthen these runs. In all, however, a good run. Oh, first 50+ mile week!

Ran 5.0 miles at easy pace today, but did so after a soccer game. I was already tired when I began the run, but made it through. I did not run very fast, but still felt like I got a decent workout.

Ran 11 miles total today. I ran a half mile warm up, a 10.2 mile run, and a half mile cool down. For the first half of the run, I tried to restrict myself from pushing too hard and running out of energy. On the second half, I let myself "free" and cruised at good pace. For the first half, my time was 31:15. I ran 30:11 for the second half, finishing with a total time of 1:01.26. The run felt pretty good. I did not need to force my body to move on, and I felt like I definitely had the ability to sprint at the end.

Ran a total of 8.2 miles today. I felt kind of tired for some of the run because of a long schoolday. None the less, I was kind of agitated from a mathcad lab, so I decided to go out hard. I ran the first half mile at 6:30 pace, then sped it up to a 5:20 mile for the next two miles. I felt generally tired, so I slowed to a 6:15 mile and cruised through the end of the run. Felt tired and "blah", but some runs are just like that.

Ran a total of 7 miles today. I ran a 1 mile speed workout (1X800 in 2:21 and 2X400 in 69,72), but felt sluggish. I felt as if I were a robot with constricted movements and my legs were machine-gunned. I think that this has something to do with some fast paced running yesterday. When I was finishing up my easy miles, I saw a runner behind me and slowed to talk to him. When I said "hey" he didn't respond and picked up the pace, trying to drop me. That was it, he needed to see who was in charge. Although I felt a bit tired, I put the pedal to the metal. He kept up with me for a good 500/600 meters, until he slowly faded and eased back into slower pace. I kept the pace going for about 3/4 of a mile and, knowing that he was done, eased back into slower pace to finish out the run. I will begin to lighten the worouts to taper for a 10k on Sunday of this week.

Ran five miles today (day two of my taper for Sunday). I plan to run 3-4 miles tommorrow with a few 100 meter strides to keep sharp. I figure that this way I will keep my running rythmn going, but also rest fully before the race.

Ran a total of five easy miles today to prepare for the 10k tommorrow. I ran slow pace 6:45/7:00 mile and completed five 100 meter strides. It was hard to stop running because it felt like I just got the engine started up, and then it was time to turn it off. My body wanted to do some faster stuff, but I mentally prohibited myself from increasing the pace. I think that the taper I used worked well because I feel sharp and rested. Not too many miles this week because I wanted to feel good for this 10k.

I ran a 10k this morning at the Boulder Reservoir. I finished with a time of 34:23 (fourth place), which I am decently pleased with for two reasons. First, this course was completely flat (rolling hills), unlike the course that I set my PR on (it dropped approx. 400 ft). This course was also almost all dirt and gravel, which for me, seems much harder to run on than asphalt. So, considering these factors, I think that my performance today was better than that a month ago (my last 10k). At the 5k mark my time was 16:20. I know that I could have set a new 5k PR if I were running that distance, but because I had to pace myself I let it go. At the end of the race, a finisher in front of me, which works at Boulder Running Co., told me that my stride was not matching my shoes at all, causing me to be inefficient and lose energy. He thinks that if I get some shoes that cause my step to line up the right way, that I can greaty improve efficiency and reduce time. I won a $50.00 gift card to the store from this race, so I may go talk to him and test out some different shoes. I had to bike to the reservoir which is 8 miles away because I did not have any other mode of transportation. After biking the eight miles back, I played a soccer game, which was pretty hard. In all, I am satisfied with my effort today. My time might not be stellar, but I can see that I am definitely improving as time goes on.

Ran a total of 12 miles today at fairly easy pace. I ran the first eight at 6:45 pace, followed by four miles at 6:25 pace. I am surprised because I am not sore from yesterday, so I decided to go ahead a get a decent run in. In all, I felt like I held up well considerig I ran a 10k yesterday.

Ran a total of 8.75 miles today, but ran 5 of which at 5:30 mile pace. I ran 1x3 miles, an easy mile at 7:15 pace, followed by two more miles at 5:30 pace and finished with 2.75 miles at easy pace. I think I may have isolated my problem. This workout seemed to just kill me. I had no trouble for the first two miles at 5:30 pace, but the third began to get tough. The last set of 2 miles at 5:30 pace was increasingly difficult, leaving me to believe that this may be the factor that is holding me back. Once I get this under control, I think that I could definitely decrease my 10k time. In all, a good workout. Oh, the next CU race is a week from Saturday. I am not feeling particularly nervous this time, but I definitely want to show the coach that my previous effort was a fluke. I feel more determined than scared this time around. I have quietly waited and put my money in the bank, now it is time to show the coach that I have what it takes to be part of the team. I am going to shoot, once again, for 26:30, or top twenty out of the 100 people that run it. If I can pull that off, I will most likely beat five or six of the existing cross country team members.

Ran nine and a half miles total today. I ran two intervals of three miles at 5:30 pace to get some good tempo running in. For the first three I ran 16:32 (slight uphill the whole way), then ran two easy miles in between, and ran the last three in 16:00 flat (slightly downhill).This is definitely my weakness as of now. I can do the workout, but find myself very short of breath at the end. I think the only way to correct this is to do more of it, so that is exactly what I am going to do. I got new shoes, too. I won $50 gift certificate to Boulder Runnign Co. for winning my age division in my last race, so I went and checked it out. When they watched me run on a treadmill, it was obvious that I over-pronate (meaning that my foot rools in too far), which can cause knee problems if not corrected. They set me up with the Saucony Omni 5, which corrects this problem. I ran with them for the first time this morning, and I have to say that I can feel a substancial difference. They seem to force my ankle to align perpendicularly to the ground, which feels better when running. In all, however, a good run this morning.

Ran approximately 10 miles today. I ran with a friend who likes to trail run, so we headed up to red rock canyon. Man, was the climb intense. We gained nearly 1,100 ft in two miles. It was really more of rock climbing than running. when we reached the summit, we decided to attempt to reach a road we saw far out in the distance, which turned out to be a bad idea. We "bushwacked" (meaning that we did not take any trail) all the out to the road, nearly falling with every step taken. After the ordeal, it was smooth sailing back to the dorm with the exception of my stomach. Some days it seems to just never comply with running, and hassles you with every step you take. Slowly but surely throughout the run a storm brewed up, causing me to really hurt the last couple miles. In all, a very eventful, but interesting run.

Ran 12.1 miles today at decently easy pace today. I felt good and got into a groove about 1/2 of the way through, allowing me to just coast through the finish. I ran two miles at a little faster than comfortable pace to from getting too relaxed. T-minus one week for the next CU race. I also ran my first 60 mile week, and I feel great!

Ran 6.5 miles total today with 6X800 meter speed workouts. My times were as follows: 2:25, 2:28, 2:29, 2:33, 2:33, 2:32. I am happy that I managed to keep my times relatively close together, but I was "unhappy" with the pace that I ran them. Usually I manage to get one of the 800 meter sprints in under 2:20. There was some slight wind, however, which felt like it may have slowed me down a bit. This would account for me not breaking the 2:20 mark. I ran 400 meter recoveries between each interval at 8:00 min pace. I was not looking forward to this workout, mainly because speed stuff is so boring and painful, but at least now I am done for a while!

Ran nine easy miles today, much of which on trails and steep mountain terrain. The hills that I ran were very tough, but I took them a fairly leisurely pace, taking my time to enjoy the mountian surroundings. As far as I am concerned, there is no better place to run than Boulder, CO. No matter where you go, no matter what kind of running you want to do, you have access to all types of terrain and unlimited places to run. Although I was only four to five miles outside downtown, I was nearly 900 ft. higher, and in a prestine mountain setting, alone. For me (especially on my easy runs), this gives me an opportunity to think, relieve stress, and contemplate life. Running, what a sport!

Easy 8.5 miles today, but definitely an interesting run. I started out attempting to do a tempo run, but felt very tired and slow, and knowing that my race is a couple of days away, I knew that now is not my time to really deplete myself. I met up with one of the CU team runners, and we talked while we jogged. He told me about the program, the coaching and the type of miles they put in. The more I hear, the more I want in!!! Well, I have put a good amount of work and training in, so I feel confident that I can be part of the team.

Ran seven easy miles today at easy pace. I am tapering for the race on Saturday, so I don't want to overextend myself right now. I felt a bit sluggish today, but this typically happens to me after taking a day off, so tommorrow/Saturday should be better. I am planning on running 4 miles tommorrow, with a couple 100 meter strides.

Ran 4.2 miles today at easy pace with 4X100 meter strides. I feel good and ready to roll tommorrow.

Ran the Rocky Mountain Shootout 8k today. Fortunately, this time I didn't find myself in the ER like last time. I was, however, still dissapointed with my performance. I ran 28:40 for the full race, which is not bad, but I know that I could have run much better. I was shooting for 26:30, which shows how much I fell behind my target pace. I don't know what my problem is, but I seem to never get any rythmn going on this course. The whole time the race felt like pulling teeth. Every step I took felt painful, and about two miles through I lost most of my steam. I didn't feel like I did last time, but I definitely did not feel like I performed well. I guess my time was not horrible (I would have finished mid-pack in the collegiate pace), but I am dissapointed that I did not demonstrate my full potential. Had I would have run "well", I guarantee that I could have hit 26:30 for the course. Feeling frusturated, I ran 12 miles to burn off some steam, making 18 miles for the full day. I am going to talk to the coaches tommorrow, and probably begin training with the team. I guess that I can't be too annoyed, though, because I have only been running for 3 to 4 months, while most of the CU team has been running since 6th/7th grade. I just hope that the coaches can see this too.