October 2nd to October 8th

Sunday:
Long Run at 7am with MSU XC team starting from Fieldhouse. We ran the Triple Tree Loop and then Dan Jackson and I added on a bit for a total run of 2 hours. Felt ok on the run, but felt sluggish to start. (17.5/17.5)

Monday:
Easy run in the afternoon. The run totaled about 11 miles. I did a combination of hurdle mobility and some hurdle skill on the grass fields mostly for flexibility and functional strength work. I plan on doing a lot of dynamic and core exercises to help me feel a little more comfortable while I run and improve my running posture. I have been feeling pretty tired from lack of sleep. Hopefully I will get a lot of sleep tonight. (11/28.5)

Tuesday:
I slept a lot last night. There were still lots of interruptions, but I slept in until 9:30 or something. I haven't slept in that much for a long time. I ran a workout with the MSU XC team in the afternoon. The workout was 3 times tempo miles, 2 times 1200, and 4 times 200 meters. The tempo miles were on a flat course, but the 1200s and 200s were up steep hills. This workout was much more difficult than I thought it would be. The 1200s were pretty tough. The first 400 meters was on a slight downhill and the last 800 was a serious climb. The 200s were up Peet's Hill and I actually struggled a little on them. I have worked more on max speed this late summer and it has felt good. However, it seems like I am struggling a little with the speed endurance. It will come around pretty quickly though. (9/37.5)

Wednesday:
Ran a little over 5 miles easy in the morning. I actually felt pretty good compared to how I thought I would feel after yesterday's hill workout. In the afternoon, I ran 7 miles with the MSU XC team. We did hurdle mobility, 8 times 100 yard strides, and then 10 times 40 yard flyins on the grass. (12/49.5)

Thursday:
Four times tempo miles with 60 seconds rest (4:57, 5:07, 5:01, 5:15). 6:15am practice. I did not fall asleep until maybe 1am or something for some reason. The I woke up turned off my alarm and got all ready to head to practice. The only problem was I must have had a dream my alarm because right before I took off for practice, I realized it was 2:30am. It was the widest thing ever. I was able to get back to sleep after a while. Then I woke up right before 6am and headed to practice. The tempo miles felt ok. It was a pretty light workout this morning. Coach Kennedy and I went to the 7 on 7 meet in Helena. The races were really great. It was worth the trip. Some great things happening this year in Montana High School Cross Country. (8/57.5)

Friday:
Easy run with the MSU team - about 9 miles. I did two times butt blaster #1 and two times stability core after running. (9/66.5)

Saturday:
Race simulation workout with MSU XC with 9am start. The workout was 1200 on the track, 1.1 mile tempo on trail loop, 1200 on the track, 1.1 mile tempo on trail loop, 1200 on the track. I ran 22:08 for the whole thing. My 1200s were something like 3:35, 3:40, 3:32. Looking back on the workout, I should have pushed for a longer simulation for the whole team. I was thinking of running another tempo loop and 1200 during the workout. I should have gone ahead and done that. Don't feel like this was a great workout for me. Oh well I will move on and look toward the next workout! The guys team did ok, except there was quite a gap between our runners. The women really seemed to do pretty well. The top 3 girls really did well.

Saturday continued:
So after the simulation something ate at me about the workout. I spent some time with the family and we even went for a drive and had a big cup of coffee. When we got back, I decided I had to go do the workout over again. I headed out at about 6pm. I ran from the house over to the track, did 4 * 100 meter strides and then went right into it. Same exact workout as in the morning. I ran 3:37, 5:39, 3:40, 5:50, 3:36 for a total time of 22:24. The time was a bit slower than this morning, but it just seemed like a solid effort to run by myself. I felt like my posture was much better than it has been. I haven't ever done anything like this before. Not sure if it was a break through or a breakdown, but I think it may have been a break through. It has seemed like I am not really attacking the workout, because I haven't been able to accept the discomfort. This evening, it felt like I was attacking the workout. Hopefully this lead to bigger and better things. (20/86.5)

Weekly Summary/Thoughts on Training:
This week I ran 86.5 miles in 9 runs. This was really a pretty good week with challenging workouts on Tuesday and Saturday. I am thinking of running a fast half marathon in December. We will see how it goes and if it works out.


I have been thinking about my training and racing. I am really pretty happy with where I am at right now. Midway through the summer, I may have been in the worst shape of my life, but as of now I am actually relatively fit. Right now, I am no where near as fit as I have ever been, but I am still able to train at a pretty high level and may get back there with more months of consistent training. It is very fortunate I am able to still run well so many years after college. It is a fun outlet and I continue to enjoy it.