Running Shorts

Here in Cincinnati it's the doldrums of winter. There's 9 inches of snow on the ground and it's been so cold that none of it is melting. And yet...spring marathon season is right around the corner. People here are in the thick of training for the Flying Pig, which is barely two months away. And on top of that, track season starts up in a couple weeks! High schoolers (and college athletes) all around the city -- around the country, really -- are about to dust off the cobwebs and start training some get-down speed. As a lifelong track nerd, nothing says spring quite like freshly melted snow on a March track. That's right around the corner. So with all that in mind, I wanted to pass along some motivation: You're not as good as your last race. You're as good as your best day, and that day has yet to come. Right off the bat, that may not sound motivating. You're telling me that I'm not as fast as I just ran? What the hell, man? But stop for a second. Th...

I did it. I solved the world's problems on a recent run. Runners have a tendency to do that sort of thing. So the central problem is this: how do you make running a more popular sport? Wait, what? I thought running was already hugely popular? Isn't that what this whole "running boom" thing has been for the past 15 years? Aren't there millions of people who finish races every year? For the nerds (like me), check out some of the stats here . But that's precisely the issue. Running is a wildly popular activity, but it's a fairly unpopular sport . Meaning, people all over the country participate in running -- they go for a run, join a training group, sign up for a road race, etc. -- but very few people follow the professional side. And what's really interesting is that as more and more people have taken up running, fewer and fewer people have been following the pros. Media coverage of the sport, while once a mainstay in Sports Illustrated and on ESPN...

Last week, I didn't run one step. It was fantastic. Actually, since the Houston race 11 days ago, I've only run three times, all this week. Like I said, it's been amazing. Usually runners are pretty obsessive-compulsive, Type-A personalities. We'll do anything to get in the prescribed mileage for the day, including getting up crazy early or running late at night. Sometimes we even plan our day around the run...or two, if it's a double. And then, when we're injured, days off make us neurotic and paranoid. I can't run which means... I must be losing fitness. I'm getting out shape. I've gotta find something to do. Yoga. Swimming. Walking. Something. Anything... Being forced not to run is worse than the actual grind of daily training. But every once in a while we need to take a step away from running. More importantly, we need to take a step away from training . Going into Houston, I was starting to feel worn-down during my runs. Worse, I was...

So I've been waiting a few days to post this so I can sort of digest the result and deconstruct the race a bit. I wanted to take a step back and look at it analytically, not emotionally. Anyway, here's the result: 56th place, 1:05:45. No Olympic Trials B Standard. See official results here. The immediate (and lingering) gut emotional response is one of disappointment. That's why I wanted to wait to write up this race recap. In my mind, this whole fall training cycle was geared towards peaking for this specific race. When I surprised myself and ran 1:05:28 in Indy a few months ago, I figured I set myself up perfectly to improve at this race -- 10 more weeks of training and there's no reason my fitness shouldn't improve. I even hit a killer workout just over two weeks before the race: 4 x 2 mile in 10:00, 9:56, 9:52, 9:50; the fastest I'd ever done that workout and 4:57 per mile (sub-1:05 pace) on lockdown. And my race splits started right where I wanted the...

Just wanted to get in one last post before heading to Houston this weekend. Tapering's been going well, and I had my last workout of this season on Tuesday: 4 x 1k at tempo pace (I averaged right around 3:05, which is near 5:00 pace, which is near goal half marathon pace). Nothing too crazy for that workout, just something to get the legs turning over and feeling race pace. Like any diligent racer, I've also been religiously checking the weather in Houston. It looks like, compared to the past couple weeks here (highs in the single digits, below-zero wind chills), it should be just about perfect down there. A nightly low around 45 warming up to 65 by mid-day (so it should hover right around 50 degrees for the race), with no precipitation in the forecast and winds below 10 mph? Can't ask for anything better than that. And of course, what pre-race post would be complete without the shameless self-promotion? The race starts at 6:55 am Central Time, so for everyone in the ea...

With 10 days to go until the US Half Marathon champs in Houston , I'm in full-on taper mode. Well, it's mostly because of the race coming up, but also partly due to the sub-zero temperature outside. That's not so fun to run in. Out of all the aspects of training -- base fitness, intervals, tempo runs, nutrition, injury prevention, etc. -- the taper is the toughest to really hit successfully. Which is ironic, since (in theory, at least) it's the easiest part of the training calendar. Why is it so tough? Because it's a balancing act between running with just enough intensity to stay racing fit, but resting just enough to feel fresh for race day. Too much intensity in your running will leave you tired for the race. Too much rest and you'll feel flat. And that balance completely varies from person to person -- some people respond best to more rest, some people to more running. Oh, and to make matters even better, you've got all the psychological games going ...

Welp, time for end of the year lists, time for reflection, time for taking stock on the recent past. LOOKING BACK AT 2014 2014 was, from my perspective, very much a return to form. I finally got back the consistency that had been lacking in my training since college. In 2012 and 2013, I was constantly shifting between race plans and training methods. I wasn't running consistent mileage, I wasn't doing appropriate development workouts, I wasn't training with any real plan in mind. I was just following my whims of the week. But a little over a year ago I stopped writing my own workouts and got a coach to do that for me. I picked a new focus on long-term development for the 2016 Olympic Marathon Trials, which gave direction to my training. I had stability in the workplace, so I could get into a regular routine of running. I focused on solid, fundamental training. And the results speak for themselves. I definitely had a few hiccups (summer hamstring woes) and a few disa...