final thoughts (xc08)

I don't really know what to think about this season. I ran faster and more consistently compared to last year, yet I came away from almost every race much unhappier. Strangely enough I also felt less in shape this year than last, although my times say otherwise. I ran 5:27 for the first mile of almost every single race this year; it seems fast but I didn't think it was out of reach for me to hold that for all 5 miles. Maybe it still isn't out of reach but I will probably have to reevaluate my goals for the rest of my time here. There are hundreds of "could haves" or "should haves" flying through my head. I should have run more over the summer. I shouldn't have dropped my training like I did. I could have gone faster in workouts. I should have gone faster in workouts. Normally XC is the "good" season -- and this worries me. I've had a few bad track seasons, but I could handle them and weren't nearly as unhappy with them. I've only improved by a very marginal 22 seconds from last year (comparing PRs); in high school I dropped from a 19:02 (first 5k) to 17:44 junior year, and then from that 17:44 to 17:06 senior year. This is off of really low mileage and nowhere near good coaching as I receive here. I don't know what I'm doing wrong.

then end of xc08

27.10.2008	6.0	upper arroyo. Went alright...
28.10.2008	6.0	9x400 at central, ran pretty fast: 73, 72, 72, 75, 76, 76, 75, 77, 72
29.10.2008	6.0	modified huntingson – ran up los robles to green and then back full arroyo way.
30.10.2008	4.0	5-4-3-2-1 lacey, went decently fast but didn't switch gears well enough. Did around 5.5 laps +/- 50m
31.10.2008	3.0	Pre race...alone since I had review session to go to at 4:00.
01.11.2008	5.0	best race this season with a PR of 28:29.03; didn't feel like it would be a PR until the very end – need to calm down the first mile; 5:27, 11:15, 17:15, ??:??, 28:29.03 (1st on team, 42nd overall / 92)
Total	30.0
03.11.2008	6.0	lower arroyo. Uneventful, but DST was throwing me off
04.11.2008	5.0	6x800 going every 4:30. did this on the track because midterms prevented me from going to practice on time. Ran pretty consistently, but it was on track so that's expected. (2:34, 2:35, 2:35, 2:36, 2:33, 2:32)
05.11.2008	5.0	mildly abnormal tree... seems shorter than last time I did it
06.11.2008	6.0	(3 on, 1 off) x 7. Did 9 laps...
07.11.2008	5.0	garfield and back short way
08.11.2008	7.0	5k tempo in the arroyo, didn't go very fast but didn't feel like i could have gone much faster...18:57. This is bad news seeing as how i ran probably 18:0x for the first 5k of my race last week...
Total	34.0
10.11.2008	6.0	upper arroyo. Went okay
11.11.2008	5.0	9x400 at central. Ran alright: 74, 75, 75, 74, 77, 76, 76, 75, 73
12.11.2008	6.0	Rosemead+ :)
13.11.2008	3.0	5-4-3-2-1 at lacey. Felt a little slow but it'll be fine...
14.11.2008	5.0	pre race...slow
15.11.2008	5.0	poor race. Went out in 5:15 and died pretty hard. A mediocre end to a mediocre season. 5:15, 11:12, 16:54, ????, 28:19.53 (3rd on team, 85th / 105)

sophomore slump...

13.10.2008	6.0	Sick :( but did lower arroyo anyways
14.10.2008	0.0	Sick :( worse than yesterday
15.10.2008	6.0	8x800 every 5 minutes (make up for yesterday) at lacey. One of the best workouts I've ever had, and I did it alone: 2:39, 2:39, 2:39, 2:39, 2:38, 2:37, 2:37, 2:32. I can't believe that 4 years ago I would have been hard pressed to do just one 800 at under 2:40
16.10.2008	4.0	5-4-3-2-1 at central, but I took it pretty easy.
17.10.2008	3.0	Prerace...nervous for tomorrow. I feel weaker but more rested than I did around the same time last year.
18.10.2008	5.0	went out too fast as usual... 5:27, 11:15, 17:10, ????, 29:27. I feel like I should be able to hold that first mile for all of it but for some reason I can't get it together.
Total	24.0
20.10.2008	6.0	lower arroyo. Longest run I've done in a while
21.10.2008	7.0	12x400. Tried to hold 75s, but seeing as I didn't have a watch and was running separated from everyone for half the workout, I have no idea if I did it or not. 76, 72, ??, ??, ??, ??, ??, ??, 75, 75, 76, 72
22.10.2008	6.0	rosemead. Awesome
23.10.2008	4.0	(2 on, 1 off) x 10. ran alone, so I have no idea how long this run was. Ran up hill and walnut...
24.10.2008	0.0	disneyland with matt... he's still fast even though he hasn't run for the past 3 or 4 weeks. He's going sub 1:57 this year unless a disaster occurs
25.10.2008	3.5	20 minutes fast at claremont... not really sure where we were but ran near doubletree hotel
Total	26.5

first few weeks of school...

29.09.2008	0.0	biking for 75 minutes...
30.09.2008	7.0	mile repeats at lacey (6:07, 6:08, 6:01, 6:09, 6:20). major blowup on the last one, but i should be fine...
01.10.2008	0.0	biking for 60 minutes...I miss running
02.10.2008	5.0	15 min tempo at lacey, 5 lap mark in 14:08
03.10.2008	0.0	biking for 60 minutes...
04.10.2008	8.0	ran to arroyo did tempo loop x 2.5 (9:20, 18:34, 24:10), felt okay but went out a little too fast. Need to do long runs to work on endurance...
Total	20.0
06.10.2008	0.0	final day on the bike! 75 minutes, 26.34 miles
07.10.2008	8.0	8x800 at garfield. Thought i would be tired from 15 mile bike ride earlier today but it wasn't too bad. Ran 2:57, 2:44, 2:52, 2:50, 2:47, 2:48, 2:44, 2:39
08.10.2008	6.0	huntington easy. First day of long easy running in a while. Felt good
09.10.2008	7.0	(3 on, 1 off) x 6 at lacey, did 7.7ish laps. Felt sleepy but decent
10.10.2008	3.0	lacey and back plus a few loops...felt fine
11.10.2008	0.0	Sick :(
Total	24.0

Preseason 2008 +

27.08.2008	5.5	huntington easy. First day back and went pretty okay.
28.08.2008	9.5	full arroyo, not booking it. Took like 75-80 minutes? Not too sure because I didn't start my watch...
28.08.2008	0.0	bought shoes...no running
29.08.2008	3.0	Canons (6x800), ran 3:03, 3:00, 2:57, 3:03, 3:05, 3:06. Could have gone a little faster at the end but this is a lot better than last year.
29.08.2008	3.0	easy for 25 min on south field
30.08.2008	9.5	Patrician. Wasn't as bad as I initially anticipated, but I think I was smart about going uphill not booking it.
Total	30.5
31.08.2008	4.5	Easy for 40 min, NFTC on south field
01.09.2008	10.0	JPL, just ran for time, but it should be around 10 miles (80 minutes of running + another 0.5 miles to get to cars and back). Matt ran with us and pushed the pace a little on the way up, but I felt okay when he wasn't going fast.
02.09.2008	4.0	oak grove, 5x1200 + Shenandoah bonus 1200. (4:17, 4:30, 4:30, 4:30, 4:15(?), 4:28(?)). I didn't have a watch and I wasn't close enough to others to really know the last two times. But it's pretty clear I sandbagged that workout. Should have gone faster. More importantly could have gone faster.
02.09.2008	3.0	Lacey and back + 1.5 laps around the park, pretty easy + abs
03.09.2008	7.0	ran Huntingson with scott. Somehow our 8 minute miles dropped everyone...but we were talking the entire way so I don't think I was going too hard.
03.09.2008	2.5	20 minute easy run on the south field + strides + weight room
04.09.2008	8.0	basically ran lacey long way and did 30 minutes on the North Field instead of San Marino hills because my tendon was hurting. Hopefully this goes away soon.
04.09.2008	2.0	Easy for 16 minutes + abs. Leg felt fine...
05.09.2008	5.0	Garfield long way easy. The tendon didn't hurt this morning, so that's good.
05.09.2008	0.0	just lifted
06.09.2008	5.0	bad first race...30:27 5:50, 11:53, 18:00, 24:34, 30:27... 3rd on team
06.09.2008	3.0	Ran for a bit on North Field with Kangway
Total	54.0
07.09.2008	3.0	Easy for 25-30 min, NFTC on south field
08.09.2008	9.5	Full arroyo, no watch (again), but I picked it up a lot on the last two miles like Matt suggested (but I felt good). Hopefully this doesn't mess up Shenandoahs tomorrow.
08.09.2008	3.0	Plios, wow this is going to be sore tomorrow. Surprisingly difficult.
09.09.2008	5.0	4 Shenandoahs, we were supposed to do 5 but my tendon was getting agitated so I decided to cool it. (4:47, 4:27, 4:19, 4:19). Much better than last year.
09.09.2008	2.0	14:16 on south field. Shortest workout ever...
10.09.2008	6.0	rosemead (one of my favorites). I don't understand how nobody likes this run...
10.09.2008	3.0	striders at lacey. Garrett thinks i look like a monkey. A freakishly fast monkey
11.09.2008	7.5	Lacey, 5 on 2 off by 5. Felt pretty good except for last one (tendon started acting up on the hill part). Overall did them pretty fast, 10.5 laps
11.09.2008	0.0	40 minutes on exercise bike, it told me i went 14.52 miles but i'm pretty sure it was actually 0.
12.09.2008	6.0	huntington easy. Then driving for a while... :(
13.09.2008	8.0	trail run (not fast), but felt like i was getting injured...
Total	53.0
15.09.2008	9.5	Full arroyo, 75 minutes easy with the freshmen.
16.09.2008	5.0	San Rafael hills, only did one (at 4:52) before my leg started hurting. Then did remainder of casting pond.
16.09.2008	0.0	biked for 40 min (14.52 miles)
17.09.2008	8.0	32 laps around north field in an hour. Almost got run over by mower a few times
17.09.2008	0.0	biked for 45 min (12.83 miles), saw kangway
18.09.2008	2.0	ran for 20 min warmup, 6 on 2 off, but stopped at the first one because my left ankle was hurting way too much. Biked 20 min after that. I feel like this season is slowly slipping away from me...
18.09.2008	0.0	biked for 25 min (6.53 miles). Really really easy...
19.09.2008	0.0	biked for 35 min, then kept adding on time in 5 min increments until i was at 55 min. don't know how far i went, but it was pretty easy.
19.09.2008	2.0	warmup around westmont course. I miss running...
20.09.2008	0.0	didn't race, my running consisted of booking it to mile markers to get splits. The team did pretty well.
Total	26.5
22.09.2008	0.0	biked for 60 min (21.25 miles), then lifted. Went faster on 2nd half than first...
23.09.2008	2.5	tempo at lacey. I haven't run fast in a while, but this was about how i expected (5:50ish miles, maybe a little faster)
24.09.2008	0.0	biked for 60 min (21.56 miles), then abs. Got heartrate up to 212 bpm @ 177 rpm for the last minute or so...
25.09.2008	3.0	5x1200 around lacey...ran with scott mostly (4:25, 4:20, 4:05, 4:08, 3:59). actually felt pretty good. Maybe I'm not as slow as I feared...
26.09.2008	0.0	biked for 45 min (11.77 miles) pretty easy. Tried to keep RPM under 100.
27.09.2008	5.0	Riverside, okay race considering lack of running, PR: 5:22, 11:04, 16:59, 22:51, 28:33.7 (3rd on team, 202nd overall)
Total	10.5

notice of suspension of log for indefinite length

So, I think some of you have noticed the distinct lack of updatez. I'm sorry but some things have happened that have really not put me in a good mood and I really just don't feel like doing anything. This is upetting because normally it just makes me run more, but I slept 16 hours yesterday, worked for 7 hours, fell asleep right away for another 14, worked for 8 hours, and now I'm writing this. This has happened many, many days now. I've been running on and off lately, but only sometimes, and not nearly as consistently or quickly or long-ly as I should be at this point. And to top it off I haven't been keeping a log on it. So basically I'm really bummed out and need a little time to just get things together. I know this is horrendous timing and I wish I could say "it won't happen again" but I really don't know. I'll try to get it together soon though. Hopefully in time to not suck during preseason.

So the 29th of July...

It was pretty ridiculous, and what's even more ridiculous is that I didn't plan on doing it when I first started. Initially I had only planned on doing 16-17 miles like I normally would have done on Monday (but I didn't due to me being sort of depressed and not really wanting to do anything, much less running for 2.5 hours). So anyways I head off to what has become my standard "long run" route, which basically consists of me running to Alyssa's house and running back.

I started kinda early (10-15 minutes before 4:00pm) so it was pretty hot outside, but I planned on meeting Madeleine for guitar hero or something later on in the evening, so I didn't want to be all gross when I met her and I still wanted to do my long run. So yea, it's 4:00pm, and I'm thinking "hey this isn't that bad" -- and it's not that bad (its maybe like 95 degrees outside), for AZ. But sure enough, 40 minutes later I'm drenched and feeling pretty horrible. I figure I'll just suffer through it and once I make it to Alyssa's house maybe I'll chill at the Safeway nearby or something until I feel better.

So anyways I make it down to her house, and I was surprised to notice a different car there. It's a 2000 Chevy Prizm, brown. I rememeber Alyssa telling me a little while ago that she got a Chevy Prizm, but she didn't tell me that she was back in town. So now I'm kinda upset (maybe I'm not thinking rationally because I have no water, and I'm dying because of the heat). I know she doesn't owe me anything but still that kinda hurts.

So I'm angry now, and I decide 16-17 miles just isn't going to cut it. No, this is going to need an epic number of miles to make me feel better. I don't know if its because I'm vindictive, or insecure, or both, or something else entirely, but somehow I feel better when I run a lot because I feel as if I am "beating" people. For me it's like a huge "fuck you for rejecting me." I don't really know how I made that association in the first place but the net result is that I run a lot more when I'm upset. I think I wouldn't run much at all if I was happy.

So I text madeleine and ask her if she wants to go running, and somehow I accidentally guilt her into running 5 or 6 miles with me. The only problem is that the earliest she could start was around 6:45-7:00. It's like 5:10 or 5:15, I can't really remember at the time, but I'm only like 7-8 miles from her house if I just went there directly. So I would be waiting around for a good long time if I just went there directly. So now I decide I'll head over to Reid park, which is about 7-8 miles from where I'm at, but about 4 miles from her house. I get over to Reid surprisingly quick, even with stopping at Burger King on Columbus and 22nd to check if Janeth was working (she wasn't, but I grab some free water anyways), and decide that the 4 mile trip from there directly to Madeleine's just isn't going to cut it, unless I suddenly bust out the 11-12 minute miles.

Unfortunately this is about where my knowledge of the streets ends, but i figure I can just make it west to cambell and head north to speedway and then head east again and cut back down to broadway. It seemed like a good idea until I pretty much hit Aviation Highway and was basically forced to head north on Plummer (it wasn't a big deal though, because now I knew where I was). Oh well, but I just continued with the plan. Now mentally I had been keeping track of approximately how many miles I went (easy since they're mostly straight roads), and I figured (correctly) that 24 should be right around Columbus and Broadway. I got stopped by the light there, but now I realize that it was fortunate, since I looked at my watch and saw the 3:04:02 time indicated in my log.

This is important because up until now, even though I wanted to, I could never do '24 in the rain'; so basically I feel like I accomplished something, even though there's no rain.

Anyways, I run the last mile or so to Madeleine's and end up at her door at ~6:59pm, or 3:12:07 from when I started.

And that's pretty much where all the good news ends. I had to wait a bit for her to get ready and stuff so I loitered around a bit. BIG MISTAKE. I may have spent like 5 minutes max, but it was 5 minutes of not running, and I think my legs were like "oh so he's done now. initiate shutdown procedure." When I started running again, everything was hurting. I had her stretch me but it didn't help too much. I just decided to suck it up and keep going, because I still had like 6 miles left. Interestingly enough if I sprinted I felt a lot better (how does that happen?) but that is obviously not sustainable. I know I was going pretty slow because I felt like I was slowing Madeleine down the entire way. She said she understood because I had already done a ridiculous amount of mileage that day but I still felt bad. Somehow I made it up to the AM/PM about a mile away from my house, and thats when it all went to hell. Madeleine rolled her ankle on something right around there so I said we should just stop and take a look at it since I didn't want her to get hurt. Obviously I didn't learn my lesson about stopping after a long run if you still have running left. But personally I think it was worth it, since I would have felt way worse if she got injured from it. But anyways this time was even worse, and I couldn't even walk. I tried sprinting (since that still felt okay), but I was only able to get like 300-400m in before I couldn't sustain it anymore.

At that point, I decided to take a nap.

No joke.

I asked madeleine if she wanted to go back to my house (I had my keys) and get my car or something but she said she would just wait with me.

I have no idea how long the nap took but it was literally the best nap ever even though it was on hard concrete.
I felt good enough to walk and we walked back the last 1000 or so meters until we got to my house. I took a shower and then launched some fireworks with Madeleine before I drove her back. I apologized profusely to her parents (they were like "You really ran 24 miles before you got here? You didn't look like it!" -- I can't tell if that's a compliment) since I dropped her off at like 10:00pm as opposed to the agreed upon 8:30pm, but they seemed alright with it once I explained what happened. The run itself probably took an epic 4 hours or so (I didn't continue timing it after I got to Madeleine's).

I'm never doing that again. Time for some tempo runs.