17 mile weekend: 6 on Sat, 11 on Sun.

Saturday I ran back and forth to Quartz Hill High School (which is almost exactly 3 miles from my house). They were hosting the Michelle Perry Invitational. Michelle is a graduate of QHHS and a world champion in the 100m hurdles in 2007! I missed Zac Patten's events but got to soak up some track meet and then ran home. I averaged 7:00 pace over the 6 miles, which was really 3 miles, then 20 min break, then 3 more miles. I realized one thing while watching the races: It is painful to watch high school hurdlers. This event is all about technique and form and these kids have none of it. The finish line is in front of them and they are all going up and down. I'm one to talk though, I couldn't do it either.


Sunday morning I couldn't find my watch but got in what I estimate is almost exactly 11 miles. I ran up to the aqueduct then south to the turnaround behind Highland High School and back. It was a slow climb up to the aqueduct but I got into a decent rhythm once up there and cruised the rest of the way. I estimate 7:00 to 7:30 pace most of the way. It was a beautiful morning and turned out to be a beautiful day with only a few hours mid morning with stronger winds. More and more easy mileage gearing me up for some harder training and higher mileage in the coming months.


I spoke with my friend and colleague Ron Gallagher, PT this evening. I have mentioned his blog in the past. We went to physical therapy school together and became close friends there. He has always been a power athlete. He played baseball in high school and was a collegiate cheerleader at UNLV. Over the last year and a half he has taken up running and even more recently triathlon training. He has run 3 half marathons in the last year and completed his first triathlon in 2009. He is now an endurance athlete. In two weeks he will attempt his first Olympic Distance Triathlon. Ron also started a blog on his training and initially credited me with inspiring him to run and train. Today I would like to tell him how inspiring he is to me. He never does anything half way. He is in this to see how far he can go and how much he can take. Just returning from a medical conference in Virginia on the lastest triathlon training research, he is learning everything he can on how to better himself, and help his patients maximize their potential as well. Good luck on your race on April 18th (Rage Triathlon) Ron, can't wait to see you.

(picture taken September 2002 at a 9-11 memorial 5k)

Finally, I received my latest issue of Runners World Magazine in the mail on Saturday. It is the best issue they have had in a long time. There is a great article for beginners, by Amby Burfoot. He states, "take your time and focus on going farther, not faster." He later says, "If you feel out of breath or sick to your stomach, you're running too fast, a mistake made by perhaps 99 percent of beginners." The only advice I did not agree with him on was that he does not advocate the need for a good pair of running shoes right away. I see too many people that get hurt early on and cannot continue their training because of improper footwear. He writes, "you can run in your comfortable cross-trainers, sneakers, or walking shoes" and I would say you can but you are at a very high risk of developing overuse injuries quickly. I can run in my dress shoes if I have too but it doesn't feel very good.

Amby Burfoot also wrote an article about qualifying for the Boston Marathon. It truely is as Ray Wong said, "like getting your degree in marathoning."

There is also a good article on downhill running by exercise physiologist Jason Karp, PhD.

Jeff Galloway has an article on determining training paces based on a 1 mile time trial. It is also great for the beginner. He recommends repeating the time trial every two weeks or so. I would recommend every 4-6 weeks (or one mesocycle) after some training adaptations can take place.

Ed Eyestone wrote on the importance of the rest day. I have too many rest days, I'm just not getting enough rest (sleep).

There are also two great bios; one on Kara Goucher (who is on the cover), and one on Bill Rogers, both are running the Boston Marathon on April 20th, 2009.

PS Bestbuy has the Garmin 305 on sale this week for 159.99 for those of you in the market.
Have a great week!