Soooo.....right. Well, I feel like quite the dead beat blog-daddy now, don't I? What's it been 8, 10 weeks? I'm certainly not going to try and blame it on some lame thing like a lack of internet connection (it's 2011, damnit!)--but I will say that I ceased my blog-tastic run due to the fact that I have real concern for anyone passingly reading this. What does that mean? That didn't do anything all summer. I mean, I chilled--a lot--and a definitely watched some serious television and got caught up on all the BBC only shows I'd missed and over the spring semester at school. I ran too, but that's really pretty lame to talk about. How fun would it be to write, much less read, this over and over again: "Yeah...so...ran today. It was hot. I didn't go very fast, but it wasn't, like, slow, or nothin'. Miss having people to run with. Did I mention it was really hot??" How much fun? Nawt very!
This being said I'll just surmise the summer quickly beyond that parody. After finishing the NCAA season I still had a few weeks of summer school left so I enjoyed the chance to live the muggle life for a bit. It actually wasn't that bad (well, I guess because I was merely impersonating a muggle, not actually one. Their lives must really be lame and unfulfilled)! Hell, I even studied for a French III test once! (That's not a lazy athlete remark, that's a Seth L. Proctor had a hatred of study-like efforts instilled in him during his time in private school remark. Plus, despite actually being kicked out of University during my illustrious career as an eff-up, I've actually become enamored with the 4.0 GPA)
Overall, really, I just enjoyed time with my family and ate like a king. I've got a really close knit family and it really does feel good to get back and see everyone and finally be present at those giant Sunday dinners I've been missing for so long! (Especially when you're allowed to dictate what's made since you've been gone so long!)
Buuut we're all back in Tally now and, despite it being no fun to not have Mommy cooking again, It's great to see all the guys I've missed running with so much over the last couple months. It's a different team to be certain, but we're still a damn good squad. What's scary, however, is that I'm now the grizzled old veteran! Seriously, it's a strange, strange feeling to look around the room and see that you're the only senior and that the guys you still remember as little kids in Fout and Brooksy are now elders on the team themselves.
What's different for me, too, is that I've now got the kid I remember as an 80lb HS freshman on the same team as me! Little Will grew up a block over from me, went to the same school, and had the same coach--and now we're on the same college team. It's weird. I can't put my finger on it, but it is.
Right now we're all just starting to wind into things and get into the swing of training as a unit again--all whilst enjoying copious amounts of post-run Jim & Milt's (something I may have missed more than anything). We've just finished our first workout together again, and though we didn't have the massive crew as quite a few guys are still in the process of getting medically cleared, I can really feel things starting to come together again. Plus the art formerly known as Banter has been of the highest of quality, and it seems as though everyone has been working on their Kuba impersonations! Plus, with the addition of a tougher standard and a good number of kids looking to make it, the annual Time Trial on Friday is something to look forward to and enjoy seeing what happens.
However nice it is to be back, though, I've gotta say that I'm sad to see the best training partner I've ever had (wellll...at least in very high contention with Old Man Hughes and Chris) say farewell to his collegiate career. Mayday was a damn good athlete, a great friend, and a dependable constant roommate on trips. Not someone to be replaced easily! I'll miss him, but I'm sure he'll be vastly successful at whatever he gets up to now. The guy's sharp and has a hell of a work ethic--one doesn't go for a 16:3X, 9:48 HS athlete to a 14:13 guy without it (and some talent!)!
So, that's it. Now that I'm back I will dedicate myself to cranking out more consistent postings and, more importantly, more entertaining ones that this long, dry, re-introduction/summary. The year and the season are young, but I swear I felt a bit of Fall in the breeze the other day (even if it was still 93* with a 75* dew-point)!
Showing posts with label Track and Field. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Track and Field. Show all posts
Monday, August 22, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
On Starting Back, The Summer, and The System.
Wednesday was a good day. Actually, it was a damn near amazing day if I've got to be truthful! Let me give 'ya the shakedown of all of its goodness:
Wake up in the morning, peruse French book an feign studying whilst coffee brews
Come said caffeinated deliciousness, creep Facebook, and get some laughs on Letsrun ('cause I'm lammeee)
Erika arrives after class; Throw clothes on an roll to Jim & Milt's for some quality Sarah time
Roll to class to take LAST French final of all time; Leave 20min later after bending the test over the desk and making it my bitch
Home for some lunch and an epic nap-time
Wake, drink tea, and watch Slumdog Millionaire with Leedshow
Roll to Chris Hughes' house to run with him, Leeds, and HS Throwback Champ Drew "The Hobbit" Horner
Home for dinner with Erika before a solid TV and tea sesh
Pass out on couch and crawl back to bed
How great is that?!? Pretty damn great. Unless you're a dusty bastard--and in that case you can go straight to hell.
The best part? Easily the run. When I managed to drag myself from bed around 4:30 I heard the rain starting to pound the skylight...disaster. Honestly, I thought for sure I'd be rolling into Chris' to jog with him at 5:30 to a bright sun and an absolutely inhumane humidity/dewpoint level. However, it was just one of those amazing days where the storm hung aboot long enough to kick the heat and humidity out and simply provides one with amazing, and rare, cloudy 75 degree weather to run in! Add in the fact that Drew and Leeder came long and it's a damn fine run filled with a few memories and plenty of shit-talking (the art form formerly known as "banter").
It was strange to go for a run with Drew for the first time since my sophomore year of high school, actually. When Drew left he was a freak to me--Bekele level unbelievable to be fully honest. The guy was All-State in Cross-Country and Track, had school records, and was leaving to go to college on scholarship. Champion. Now, years later, I'm running along in a rainstorm, just like we'd done so many times back in the day, with two of my high school teammates. Rather surreal when one considers the paths we've taken to get there--but awesome nonetheless!
This leads me to why I hate the System. No, not the government (though I do listen to old Against Me! albums, stare at my black bandana and lighter and think "What if?"), but the athletics system we have to work within. The NCAA system is great--actually, it's goddamn amazing and one would be hard pressed to truly discredit that notion so I'll not waste good time defending its many merits. However, there most certainly is in issue in some of its modus operandi.
Now, Drew is an incredibly successful guy and that's a fact. He gets to live where he wants (Atlanta) and just flies into Tallahassee to do what he calls "a stress free job," and makes solid bank doing so. I wouldn't mind that life! Buuuuttt Drew also never got the chance to fully express his athletic abilities due to the fact that he ended up at an inferior university due to the fact that he needed the scholarship money and it was easier to get things covered at a less recognizable institution. And therein lies the problem: athletes who should be going into institutions where they can have the coaching and support they need to reach higher levels end up lower down the ladder than they deserve simply because the money isn't there to be handed out to non-high school All-Americans. This leads people to not only miss out on athletic opportunities, but (more importantly) to miss out on opportunities offered academically at larger, more funded, more bastions of academia schools.
This frustrates me to no end; as an Athletic-Student (word order changed for emphasis) who is taking a financial hit to attend a university that will allow for both of those I'm especially frustrated. But what, oh, what can I direct my anger at? I choose not to blame the football team (though I defiantly think that teams who have won an ACC or NCAA championship in the last year should be able to eat in the athletic meal hall for dinner, too!!), but to blame the feminist movement and whomever decided it was a good idea to splice Tile IX together way back when. Seriously, it's had the opposite effect of what it intended: it did not end gender discrimination--it passed it on! Now, as a male athlete of decent ability in an Olympic sport, one can look around which ever school one is attending and see female athletes of equal to lesser ability being allowed greater opportunities (financially speaking). Hell, there are even women's Equestrian and Rodeo teams at some schools to offset the football scholarship allowance. Ugh...the system blows sometimes! I love it...but it sucks, too. It's like Starbucks: It has some delicious [pansy] stuff, but it is still a massive, evil corporation that puts good, local businesses out and makes little anarcho-punks want to throw bricks through their symbolically oppressive windows.
But now that's turned into a semi-sexist rant that will probably result in someone reaming me for my expression of opinion in such a public way. C'es la vie!
Right, all that is fine and dandy--but what really, really matters is that I'm back running and have a plan for the summer! Here, let me give you a general overview of the most general summer training plan ever:
Start at 40 miles for the week last week; Work up 10% each week with every 4th week being a 'down' week at 20-25% less volume; Throw in the typical FSU 5-6 mile Steady States and Light Speeds after 5 or so weeks; Arrive in Tally at the end of August fit to train. That's the key right there, actually. last summer I spent a lot of time relaxing and trying to get my body back under me after all the medical issues I'd been having (which are a story for another day!), and, once back, running between 55 and 75 miles per week to avoid any complications. However, feeling stronger physically--and being rid of the leg issues--after last year I've made it my goal to get to 85 miles a week by the end of the last cycle where we show up at school for pre-season. While I recognize that isn't much, I feel it's a rather good [maybe ambitious] goal as when I went over my logs I only averaged 76.1 miles per week from the start of August last year 'till the end of Cross-Country, and averaged even less at 73.2 from Jan. 1 to the end of track (less if one counts the winter up until that point!). Truthfully, I must say that I'm rather surprised that those are the numbers! I never thought I had the ability to run as decently as I did off of such relatively 'low' miles.
So, that's how it's going to break down for the summer--and I'm STOKED! With moderately ambitious plan set forth for volume and complete faith in Braman's periodization with the intensity, workouts, and volume I can't wait to be knee deep into the whole thing. As for now, however, I'm just excited to go win some watermellon deliciousness this 4th of July and see the #1 Girlfriend after a few weeks of separation--and in the even shorter term take a nap before I have to meet Little Will to run this evening!
So with that I bid the blogosphere adieu...
Wake up in the morning, peruse French book an feign studying whilst coffee brews
Come said caffeinated deliciousness, creep Facebook, and get some laughs on Letsrun ('cause I'm lammeee)
Erika arrives after class; Throw clothes on an roll to Jim & Milt's for some quality Sarah time
Roll to class to take LAST French final of all time; Leave 20min later after bending the test over the desk and making it my bitch
Home for some lunch and an epic nap-time
Wake, drink tea, and watch Slumdog Millionaire with Leedshow
Roll to Chris Hughes' house to run with him, Leeds, and HS Throwback Champ Drew "The Hobbit" Horner
Home for dinner with Erika before a solid TV and tea sesh
Pass out on couch and crawl back to bed
How great is that?!? Pretty damn great. Unless you're a dusty bastard--and in that case you can go straight to hell.
The best part? Easily the run. When I managed to drag myself from bed around 4:30 I heard the rain starting to pound the skylight...disaster. Honestly, I thought for sure I'd be rolling into Chris' to jog with him at 5:30 to a bright sun and an absolutely inhumane humidity/dewpoint level. However, it was just one of those amazing days where the storm hung aboot long enough to kick the heat and humidity out and simply provides one with amazing, and rare, cloudy 75 degree weather to run in! Add in the fact that Drew and Leeder came long and it's a damn fine run filled with a few memories and plenty of shit-talking (the art form formerly known as "banter").
It was strange to go for a run with Drew for the first time since my sophomore year of high school, actually. When Drew left he was a freak to me--Bekele level unbelievable to be fully honest. The guy was All-State in Cross-Country and Track, had school records, and was leaving to go to college on scholarship. Champion. Now, years later, I'm running along in a rainstorm, just like we'd done so many times back in the day, with two of my high school teammates. Rather surreal when one considers the paths we've taken to get there--but awesome nonetheless!
This leads me to why I hate the System. No, not the government (though I do listen to old Against Me! albums, stare at my black bandana and lighter and think "What if?"), but the athletics system we have to work within. The NCAA system is great--actually, it's goddamn amazing and one would be hard pressed to truly discredit that notion so I'll not waste good time defending its many merits. However, there most certainly is in issue in some of its modus operandi.
Now, Drew is an incredibly successful guy and that's a fact. He gets to live where he wants (Atlanta) and just flies into Tallahassee to do what he calls "a stress free job," and makes solid bank doing so. I wouldn't mind that life! Buuuuttt Drew also never got the chance to fully express his athletic abilities due to the fact that he ended up at an inferior university due to the fact that he needed the scholarship money and it was easier to get things covered at a less recognizable institution. And therein lies the problem: athletes who should be going into institutions where they can have the coaching and support they need to reach higher levels end up lower down the ladder than they deserve simply because the money isn't there to be handed out to non-high school All-Americans. This leads people to not only miss out on athletic opportunities, but (more importantly) to miss out on opportunities offered academically at larger, more funded, more bastions of academia schools.
This frustrates me to no end; as an Athletic-Student (word order changed for emphasis) who is taking a financial hit to attend a university that will allow for both of those I'm especially frustrated. But what, oh, what can I direct my anger at? I choose not to blame the football team (though I defiantly think that teams who have won an ACC or NCAA championship in the last year should be able to eat in the athletic meal hall for dinner, too!!), but to blame the feminist movement and whomever decided it was a good idea to splice Tile IX together way back when. Seriously, it's had the opposite effect of what it intended: it did not end gender discrimination--it passed it on! Now, as a male athlete of decent ability in an Olympic sport, one can look around which ever school one is attending and see female athletes of equal to lesser ability being allowed greater opportunities (financially speaking). Hell, there are even women's Equestrian and Rodeo teams at some schools to offset the football scholarship allowance. Ugh...the system blows sometimes! I love it...but it sucks, too. It's like Starbucks: It has some delicious [pansy] stuff, but it is still a massive, evil corporation that puts good, local businesses out and makes little anarcho-punks want to throw bricks through their symbolically oppressive windows.
But now that's turned into a semi-sexist rant that will probably result in someone reaming me for my expression of opinion in such a public way. C'es la vie!
Right, all that is fine and dandy--but what really, really matters is that I'm back running and have a plan for the summer! Here, let me give you a general overview of the most general summer training plan ever:
Start at 40 miles for the week last week; Work up 10% each week with every 4th week being a 'down' week at 20-25% less volume; Throw in the typical FSU 5-6 mile Steady States and Light Speeds after 5 or so weeks; Arrive in Tally at the end of August fit to train. That's the key right there, actually. last summer I spent a lot of time relaxing and trying to get my body back under me after all the medical issues I'd been having (which are a story for another day!), and, once back, running between 55 and 75 miles per week to avoid any complications. However, feeling stronger physically--and being rid of the leg issues--after last year I've made it my goal to get to 85 miles a week by the end of the last cycle where we show up at school for pre-season. While I recognize that isn't much, I feel it's a rather good [maybe ambitious] goal as when I went over my logs I only averaged 76.1 miles per week from the start of August last year 'till the end of Cross-Country, and averaged even less at 73.2 from Jan. 1 to the end of track (less if one counts the winter up until that point!). Truthfully, I must say that I'm rather surprised that those are the numbers! I never thought I had the ability to run as decently as I did off of such relatively 'low' miles.
So, that's how it's going to break down for the summer--and I'm STOKED! With moderately ambitious plan set forth for volume and complete faith in Braman's periodization with the intensity, workouts, and volume I can't wait to be knee deep into the whole thing. As for now, however, I'm just excited to go win some watermellon deliciousness this 4th of July and see the #1 Girlfriend after a few weeks of separation--and in the even shorter term take a nap before I have to meet Little Will to run this evening!
So with that I bid the blogosphere adieu...
Saturday, June 11, 2011
On Motivation
I'm sitting in front of the TV alternatively attempting to splice coherent sentences together for this blog during commercials while watching the final day of the NCAA meet on CBS at the moment. While I missed the men's 10,000m yesterday due to being out combining boating, alcohol, boiled peanuts, and 7 foot ocean predators about 5 miles off the Gulf Coast, I'm determined to watch the closing stages of the meet come hell or high-water (as I managed to not lose a hand or get pulled off the boat yesterday, I think I can pull that off). More importantly, however, I'm interested in seeing how Ciaran closes out what has, truthfully, been one of the most inspiring years I've ever seen an athlete put together. No matter what happens today Ciaran (or Cir ['keer'], or, as Braman's shortened it to lately, Key) has run a season to be proud of and there's nothing that could make the day better than getting to sip on my tea, eat my fried chicken, and watch him destroy 5,000m and help the rest of the team win a 4th (that's right, I still say 4!!) NCAA title.
Wow! Just watched the 4x100m...someone call the NCAA Baseball council and have them give Hyman an honorary Golden Glove for that catch. Sicksauce.
Okay, whoops, back to working into the main point of the blog today... Ciaran is a monster this year and the guy has got some serious momentum behind his Irish ass. Seriously--I spoke last time about how my 5,000m has dropped over the past 18 months, but I just thought about how much he kicks my ass with progress, too. (Damn...even lose in that too! Getting destroyed in straight races and stat battles...EFF!)
The guy had a 14:10 PR coming in and split just off of that closing a massive PR 28:32 10,000m at Stanford. Damn. Same with The Man, The Legend, The Pudding Fart-est...Michael Fout. The guy gets a set of training without injury and crushes out huge PR's and lays down a 28:34 10,000m debut; Huge year and even bigger things on the horizon for a guy I'm happy to call my friend, teammate, and [future] neighbor.
So what was the point of all that? To hype a couple guys looking to go pro in the future on a blog that has almost zero traffic? Or to hope they read it and like me more for it? Meh... hair of both, maybe? I don't really know, actually--but what I do know is that it segues perfectly into the main point for this:
Big things can happen if you just believe in yourself and get some good work in.
I really started thinking on this idea of being able to make huge jumps and reach new levels the other night sitting around watching some South Park with the Three Roommates. (Well, actually, I only I have one roommate officially as I live in a 2 bed 2.5 bath condo...but Smyth (Smithers, Shmee, Shmitty) lives in my garage (kinda), and my girlfriend is here enough to count as a semi-housemate. So yeah, the Three Roommates and were watching South Park on Wednesday and started talking about what went down in the Pre 10,000m.
As one could surmise, I'm a big believer in the Hard Work and Belief school of thought on sports (provided one has SOME genetic ability...). I thought EVERYONE was this way, too. Well, this is why it was interesting to me: One roommate's sentiment revolved around the statement of "Why do we even try dude...no matter what we do someone is just going to dust us. We'd be getting double-lapped out there, man." While the other thought "Well, I just want to get some of the barriers out of the way so I can say I did it. I just wanna walk away as a sub-4, sub-14 athlete--I can live with that." The Girlfriend #1 (Erika), is injured and is mainly just concerned with the desire to get out the door and jog down the road again. Myself, of course, had to counter with "I just wanna see where I can get...I mean, sure, I'll get my ass kicked by quite a bit by a LOT of guys--but, man, I just can't walk away from this without knowing I gave 'er and at least came close to what I'm capable of."
I can completely understand where the others are at, though. Honestly, (prepare for cliche sentiment) we are in a country and culture where, mostly likely, athletics is not going to be our ticket. Most of us aren't in anything near a state of poverty and our best chance at achieving fiscal gains as an adult is to jump out of the University setting running (haha..) and be searching for "Real" careers to chase and set ourselves up for an "Adult Life." Well balls to that! I don't mean to sound like Arciniaga (I think), but the guy was damn near dead on about keeping at it! I can't say it enough, I just want to see where I'm at--if that 14:07 was the best 5,000m I'll ever run, then so be it. However, I'm not going to call it a day until I can say I've given everything a shot and that X time IS what I was capable of.
Now, does this mean that I forever will define my life by a set of arbitrary numbers? No, but what I will, and DO, define myself by is a deep-burning desire to never quit without knowing I gave it a true go. No matter what "it" is in my life. So here's to not quitting on oneself--ever. And here's to the teammates who've shown that desire this year and the possibilities such an outlook provides: Mike Fout and Ciaran O'Lionard. It may sound lame, but thanks guys.
Wow! Just watched the 4x100m...someone call the NCAA Baseball council and have them give Hyman an honorary Golden Glove for that catch. Sicksauce.
Okay, whoops, back to working into the main point of the blog today... Ciaran is a monster this year and the guy has got some serious momentum behind his Irish ass. Seriously--I spoke last time about how my 5,000m has dropped over the past 18 months, but I just thought about how much he kicks my ass with progress, too. (Damn...even lose in that too! Getting destroyed in straight races and stat battles...EFF!)
The guy had a 14:10 PR coming in and split just off of that closing a massive PR 28:32 10,000m at Stanford. Damn. Same with The Man, The Legend, The Pudding Fart-est...Michael Fout. The guy gets a set of training without injury and crushes out huge PR's and lays down a 28:34 10,000m debut; Huge year and even bigger things on the horizon for a guy I'm happy to call my friend, teammate, and [future] neighbor.
So what was the point of all that? To hype a couple guys looking to go pro in the future on a blog that has almost zero traffic? Or to hope they read it and like me more for it? Meh... hair of both, maybe? I don't really know, actually--but what I do know is that it segues perfectly into the main point for this:
Big things can happen if you just believe in yourself and get some good work in.
I really started thinking on this idea of being able to make huge jumps and reach new levels the other night sitting around watching some South Park with the Three Roommates. (Well, actually, I only I have one roommate officially as I live in a 2 bed 2.5 bath condo...but Smyth (Smithers, Shmee, Shmitty) lives in my garage (kinda), and my girlfriend is here enough to count as a semi-housemate. So yeah, the Three Roommates and were watching South Park on Wednesday and started talking about what went down in the Pre 10,000m.
As one could surmise, I'm a big believer in the Hard Work and Belief school of thought on sports (provided one has SOME genetic ability...). I thought EVERYONE was this way, too. Well, this is why it was interesting to me: One roommate's sentiment revolved around the statement of "Why do we even try dude...no matter what we do someone is just going to dust us. We'd be getting double-lapped out there, man." While the other thought "Well, I just want to get some of the barriers out of the way so I can say I did it. I just wanna walk away as a sub-4, sub-14 athlete--I can live with that." The Girlfriend #1 (Erika), is injured and is mainly just concerned with the desire to get out the door and jog down the road again. Myself, of course, had to counter with "I just wanna see where I can get...I mean, sure, I'll get my ass kicked by quite a bit by a LOT of guys--but, man, I just can't walk away from this without knowing I gave 'er and at least came close to what I'm capable of."
I can completely understand where the others are at, though. Honestly, (prepare for cliche sentiment) we are in a country and culture where, mostly likely, athletics is not going to be our ticket. Most of us aren't in anything near a state of poverty and our best chance at achieving fiscal gains as an adult is to jump out of the University setting running (haha..) and be searching for "Real" careers to chase and set ourselves up for an "Adult Life." Well balls to that! I don't mean to sound like Arciniaga (I think), but the guy was damn near dead on about keeping at it! I can't say it enough, I just want to see where I'm at--if that 14:07 was the best 5,000m I'll ever run, then so be it. However, I'm not going to call it a day until I can say I've given everything a shot and that X time IS what I was capable of.
Now, does this mean that I forever will define my life by a set of arbitrary numbers? No, but what I will, and DO, define myself by is a deep-burning desire to never quit without knowing I gave it a true go. No matter what "it" is in my life. So here's to not quitting on oneself--ever. And here's to the teammates who've shown that desire this year and the possibilities such an outlook provides: Mike Fout and Ciaran O'Lionard. It may sound lame, but thanks guys.
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