10/26/2011

Well, I’m fulfilling my commitment to blog until the end of my season and, unfortunately, I’ll be doing one less blog than I hoped for.  Semi-state did not go as planned…and I don’t really know what happened.  I just felt dead at the 2 mile mark and had nothing left for the end of the race.  I guess I just picked a bad day to have a bad race.  It was a huge disappointment for me after working so hard all year.  But I guess that’s part of cross country…and I know there are many other guys who felt just like I did after their race Saturday.

How do you deal with the disappointments that come your way?  I’m going to try my best to live out the words of 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 that says, “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  Things don’t always work out the way we want them to.  All I can do is give my best effort every day and trust that God is in control.

A couple of notes from Saturday…Jon Harper of Carroll:  Thanks so much for your kind words and encouragement.  It meant a lot to me.  You are just a great example of the community that exists among cross country runners.  I hope you have a great race at State!  Evan Liechty of South Adams:  Wow!  Way to step up, man!  What a great race you ran on Saturday and I’m very happy for you.  You sure deserve your trip to State.  I hope you have a great day down there.

Congratulations to all the teams and individuals who are headed to Terre Haute this weekend.  I was looking forward to meeting a lot of you guys down there…maybe next year.

Thanks for reading my blog all year.  It’s been fun for me to do (but I’m kind of glad I get to stop now).  Be thankful for your good races; try not to dwell on the bad ones!
I’m headed to the gym to play basketball for a few months.  Hopefully, when we come back in the Spring I won’t find myself too far behind all of you indoor track guys.  Thanks for a great season everyone!

10/19/2011

This week was focused on only one thing…advancing further in the tournament! We did not exactly taper off this week, but we did not do any killer workouts that would tire our legs. It was solely a week of expectations. Everyone on our team was very excited to get to sectionals! It is so interesting to think about our first summer workouts and how long ago it was, but how it seems like it was yesterday. This season has gone by so fast! It is just about done, but my team and I have some unfinished business to accomplish this week!
 
Monday: very easy today. A two mile warm up, with a two mile cool down. 4 miles.
 
Tuesday: SECTIONALS!!! It finally came! It was very interesting to run in warmer weather!  It might seem like I talk a lot about temperature…and the truth is that I do!  I enjoy seeing the results of a dramatic change in weather!  It seemed like the heat might have been a big factor in all the sectional races! We did a 2 mile warm up, a 3 mile race, and then a 2 mile cool down for a total of 7 miles. Our team finished 3rd and was able to advance to regionals on Saturday!
 
Wednesday: Started with a two mile warm up, then a 30 min run at 6:30-6:45 pace. With a mile cool down, we got in about 7 miles. This was a good little pick up for our legs after a race. We have not started tapering yet, and this was a quick run that was done for days past regionals.
 
Thursday: We did a mile warm up, with a 35 minute run. Mile cool down. The 35 minutes was very slow. It was a recovery for the legs and we only got in about 3.5 miles. With a mile cool down we ran 5.5 miles.
 
Friday: Long talk in the locker room before practice. Coach told us where we needed to be for tomorrow, and gave us a little racing strategy. We did a mile warm up, stretched then ran a mile and stretched again. For a grand total of 2 miles.
 
Saturday: Broke out the brand new unis that we picked up on Friday!  I think that everyone who ran at the Marion Regional would agree that it was a miserable day!  That wind was a killer!  Our team did a two mile warm up, then a 3 mile race and a 2 mile cool down for 7 miles. We finally met one of our season goals by qualifying for Semi-State. We showed signs of improvement as we placed 4th this year instead of 5th place like last year! We were very excited to get 4th even with our not so impressive times. We know that we must run faster to crack that top 10 on Saturday, which is our team’s goal.
 
Sunday: Ran around Upland with some Taylor XC guys. Had a lot of fun with that! We got in about 8 miles today. My feet started hurting and I thought that might be due to the fact that I have worn the same pair of trainers since the start of summer...these boys have some serious mileage in ‘em…not to mention quite an odor!
 
Weekly mileage total: 45 miles.
 
We are ready to post good times at semi-state! We did not lose any seniors from last year’s team and we are the only guys team to make it to semi-state in our school history! Our seniors are very excited to end their season with a bang! They know what they have to do to leave a great mark on the history of Eastbrook cross-country! Good luck to everybody at semi-state this week! All you have to do is give everything that you have to offer!

10/12/2011

Well this was the final week of training before sectionals! It was a pretty tough week actually. We had one race in the middle of the week so that added another hard day to our schedule. It was really odd having to re-adjust to the heat again! I was really enjoying the cold! My workouts looked like this.
 
Monday:  2 mile warm up then did 6x800, then a mile cool down. It was a good workout for this point in time. Got used to running with the rubbery legs on the last two. We got in 6 miles today.
 
Tuesday: Mile warm up, 4 mile run, mile cool down. 6 miles today
 
Wednesday: Conference race at Blackford. Got in a 2 mile warm up, 3 mile race, and a 2 mile cool down. Totaled 7 miles. Team got second today, hoping to get 1st but Frankton ran very well. Look for them to do well in the post season.
 
Thursday: Mile and a half warm up, 5 mile run, mile and a half cool down. 8 miles today.
 
Friday: 1.5 mile warm up, then 4x1200. 1.5 mile cool down. The 1200’s were very tough, my legs felt tired after a hard week of work. The heat was also a factor! It was a good run though. 6 miles today.
 
Saturday: Loaded up in a team van and headed to Terre Haute. We ran the course once then watched a couple college races. It was fun to see the course for the first time! It’s  very different from the courses I’m used to running!  But I enjoyed it! 3 miles today.
 
Sunday: Did a little out and back run on my own. Went out for 3 miles in 20 mins, and wanted to get back faster then I went out. I got back in about 18:50. It was a good pace adjustment run. Not too challenging, but wasn’t a total walk in the park. 6 miles today
 
This week’s total mileage was 42 miles. I felt good throughout the week, like I said very tired legs. Sectionals on the 11th went well. Our team got out in 3rd place behind Whitko and Huntington North. We are looking forward to Regionals on Saturday!
Keep running hard! Give everything you have these last 3 weeks!

10/5/2011

Another good week of training for us as we prepare for conference this week.  We had only one scheduled meet which was on Saturday so we had plenty of time to get some speed workouts in.  Our team began to decrease the length of our intervals from miles and thousands, to 400’s and fartlek runs. I am enjoying the cooler weather quite a bit! Emphasis on cooler...not the freezing cold weather and wind that came on Saturday.   The middle school state meet was this weekend.  Saw some great 8th grade times.  The small school race was won in 9:57 while the big school race was won in 9:38!  That’s a very impressive time for that race and I am interested to see how those guys progress in high school.  I want to give a shout out to the Eastbrook Jr. High boys for their 4th place finish and particularly to my little brother who was able to pick up some all-state honors at that race this weekend!  He’s worked hard and definitely deserves it! I’m looking forward to having him run on our team next year if he chooses to do so.
I might bring up this a lot, but I am just so thankful that God has blessed me with good health for this season.  Every year there are so many runners out there who work their butts off, only to have an injury pop up that seems to cost them their whole season, or at least some big meets that they were looking forward to.  I admire those who are quietly able to suffer the disappointment of injury while maintaining the ability to be upbeat and encouraging to their teammates.  I never want to take my health for granted and try to be grateful for every healthy run I have.  I hope everyone can stay healthy as we enter conference and tournament time. 

Workouts for the week:

Monday: we did a one mile warm up, then 10x400(67,66,65,66,67,65,64,66,65,61) this was a great tough workout. It was nice to get some true speed in for the first time this season. Mile cool down put us at 4.5 miles

Tuesday: mile warm up, 6 mile run, mile cool down. 8 miles.

Wednesday: Mile warm up, 30 min fartlek run (totaled 5 miles) mile cool down. 7 miles today.

Thursday: Mile warm up, 40 min run, mile cool down. Got in 8 miles.

Friday: mile and a half warm up, mile and a half cool down. 3 miles

Saturday: 3 mile warm up, 3 mile race at jay county. 2 mile cool down. 8 total miles today. This was the coldest race of my life! It was a blast though!

Sunday: 4 and a half mile run in the evening. Nice and easy, enjoyable run!

I totaled 41 miles this week. I am happy with this number, As the length of the intervals decrease, so will the mileage. I am getting very excited for the post season! Cannot wait for conference and sectionals! Good luck to everyone competing! Run fast, and stay healthy.

9/28/2011

This week was an interesting week for our team.  It’s amazing how different a 2nd place finish can feel from meet to meet.  We experienced the really bad side of finishing 2nd place, and also the really good side of finishing 2nd place! We had our county meet this week on Tuesday. A little background on this meet for you… It is between Eastbrook, Madison Grant, Mississinewa, and Oak Hill. Eastbrook has been in quite a large drought in this meet, since we haven’t seen a title for years. The title has been in the hands of Oak Hill for 12 straight years. Team goal number one this year was to win this meet.  We felt this year we finally had a team that was strong enough to put an end to the Oak Hill win streak. We have been able to beat them every time we have faced them this season…4 times already.

   Unfortunately, they seem to have a knack for running great at this meet. They somehow found a way to beat us again this year 29-31.  It was a huge disappointment for us to come up short once again.  As disappointing as it was to finish 2nd in that meet, we had another huge meet to get ready for only a few days later…the New Haven Invitational.  We ran well and finished a solid 2nd place out of about 20 teams at New Haven.  Second place couldn’t have felt more different from our runner up finish only four days earlier. We were very excited about this result against some good competition.  I am not saying that you should always be satisfied with second place, but it was a great response and momentum builder for our team.  One more meet and then it’s conference and sectional time…been working all summer for this!
 
Workouts for this week:
 
Monday: mile warm up, 3 mile run, mile cool down. We totaled 5 miles today.
 
Tuesday: Grant-4 meet. 2 mile warm up, 3.1 mile race, 2 mile cool down. totaled 7 miles today.
 
Wednesday: The loss on Tuesday led to a tough challenge from Coach and a hard tempo run today. We had a mile warm up, with a 4.5 mile tempo run. This was a constant run, with about a 0.4 mile build-up. Mile cool down today, for 6.5 mile day.
 
Thursday: mile warm up, 6 mile run, mile cool down. 8 miles.
 
Friday: Mile warm up, stretch, mile cool down, stretch. 2 miles
 
Saturday: New Haven Invitational! About 3 total miles of warm up, 3-mile race, 2 mile cool down. 8 miles.
 
Sunday: Took a Sunday off this week.
 
This week felt very good! The race on Saturday was very encouraging! Got to run against last year’s Ohio State runner-up…I’ve got some more work to do.  I only got in about 36.5 miles this week. They pre-race days inevitably caused a drop in mileage for us. Next week will be a training week since there is only a weekend race. Looking forward to it!

9/21/2011

This week was a total training week. We were not scheduled to run in any races so it was all about getting in the miles and the speed work necessary to prepare for upcoming county and conference meets. The workout schedule looked like this.
 
Monday: Our coach decided to have us do a long run. We ran about 10 total miles today. It was tough due to the fact that on Sunday I also ran 10 miles. My legs were very tired!
 
Tuesday: This was a very hard workout day. We did 2x800 (2:05, 2:06) with a 2 min break. Then 2x1600 (5:10, 5:12) with a 3 min break, Then another 2x800 (2:10, 2:09) with a one mile warm up and cool down we got in 6 miles. I went out after that and ran another 3 miles to get a total of 9 miles in.
 
Wednesday: Mile warm up, and then got in 6 miles with a mile cool down. totaled 8 miles today.
 
Thursday: This was another workout day, not as intense as our first one this week but it was tough. It was 4x1200 (3:27, 3:25, 3:21, 3:19) with a one mile warm up and cool down and an additional 3 miles, I totaled 8 miles.
 
Friday: one mile warm up, 6 mile run, mile cool down. Totaled 8 miles today.
 
Saturday: Had to work all morning, decided to take a day off.
 
Sunday: Ran with a couple guys from Taylor’s team in the morning before church. It was an 11 mile run.  It was a great run!  I learned that when running through a flock of geese, it’s best to wave your arms and shout so that they don’t chase you.
 
This week like I said was meant for training. I am very happy with the success of the workouts. But it seems like it has been forever since I have raced! I’m looking forward to getting back on the course! Total miles for the week: 54. I am very happy with this number seeing that I took one day off. I feel fresh and happy!  Grant County  and New Haven meets this week.  I’m ready to go.

9/13/2011

10 Random Cross Country Observations From My 2+ Years In Indiana
 
Most amazing performance I have ever seen:  Cameron Balser of Oak Hill High School runs about 100 meters in the wrong direction just prior to the 2 mile mark in the Grant County meet. He turns around, comes back and wins the race by more than 30 seconds.

Craziest reason for a re-start:  One team on the end of the starting line, messing around at the start, ends up tripping each other causing all runners to be called back to the starting line.

The grossest thing I have ever seen in a race:  Um, yeah, actually saw a guy pick a zit on his back and eat it.  Sorry, shouldn’t have shared that…but I saw it happen.

Team colors:  Is it my imagination, or do 4 out of every 5 teams in Indiana wear red and black?

Best runner I have ever raced against:  If we were talking track I’d have to say Austin Mudd.  But a XC race that I was in?  It’s got to be James Martin of Fort Wayne Carroll.

A high school girl I couldn’t beat till last year:  Waverly Neer

Worst way to start a race:  We actually started a race this year with the classic “On your mark, Get set, GO!”  Apparently this school didn’t allow guns on campus.

Most “Out-Standing” Uniforms:  Love ‘em or hate ‘em, you can’t miss the South Adams Starfires in their black & yellow checkerboard singlets!

Best bus ride to a meet:  Fish-tailing through 3 inches of gravel on a road closed for construction and taking out a telephone pole while turning. That bus can survive anything!

Latest reason for no new XC uniforms:  Another set of new helmets for the football team…(sorry, that was a little cynical…I shouldn’t have said that).
 
All right, well, now that those are done, time to get to my week of training. This week was more of a distance week; with a mid-week race it is hard to get much speed work in. Since we don’t have any races next week we decided to keep the legs fresh.
 
Monday: Mile WU, it was a pre-race practice but we ended up getting in about a 6 mile run, then a mile CD. 8 miles total.
 
Tuesday: Oak Hill Invitational- 2 mile warm up, 5k run, and a 2 mile cool down. Total of 7 miles
 
Wednesday: Mile WU, 6 mile run, mile cool down. Total of eight miles.
 
Thursday: Mile warm up with a 4 mile fartlek run. This was very light, not hard at all. Just got a bit of an up-tempo movement in my legs. 3 more miles after this then a one mile cool down for a total of 9 miles.
 
Friday: Next to nothing, Mile WU, Stretch, Mile CD. 2 miles
 
Saturday: Blackford Invitational. 2 miles of warm up, 3.1 mile race, 2 mile cool down, then about a mile of jogging around to cheer on the other guys on the team. 8 miles today.
 
Sunday: a nice 10-mile run in the afternoon. Felt great for the day after a race!
 
This week was a good one! I felt very fresh, and was happy with the 52 miles for the week.  It was a good week for our team with a couple invitational wins. With a week off of racing next week, we are looking forward to a tough week of training.

9/7/2011

 I was struck this week by the sense of community within the sport of cross country.  More than any other sport I’ve participated in, I think there is more genuine respect and camaraderie among competitors in this sport.  I suppose it’s because we all know how hard you have to work just to prepare to race.  It’s cool to be able to compete so much with other guys, but then at the end of a race be able to carry on a good conversation, pat them on the back and say great race!
 
I know I’ve always appreciated the kind words and encouragement from other runners and I hope that I have been an encouragement to others in the same way.  I’ve appreciated the friendships I have formed with rival teams who we seem to race regularly and have been greatly impacted by the example of coaches from other teams who take the time to congratulate and encourage even though they’re pulling like crazy for their team to beat ours.
 
I’ve found this year that a fun aspect of the running community is the social networks!  I love getting new friend requests on Facebook from runners all around the state!  Most of them I haven’t ever said a word to and we probably wouldn’t recognize each other if we passed on the street.  There is a connection between us, however, just because our shared goal of competing and improving from week to week in races around the state.
 
This week was the best week of the season for me. I began to bump up the mileage again and, at the midway point of the regular season, the big races are coming soon!
 
Monday: We did a one-mile warm up, then 6 miles easy because we had a meet the next day. Ended with a one-mile cool down. Total 8 miles.
 
Tuesday: We ran at the Blackford Mini Invitational, it’s like a warm up meet for the big invite at Blackford on the 10th of September. We did about a 3 mile warm up…not all at once, but accumulated.  Raced 3 miles, then got in about 1.5 miles of cool down. Total of 7.5 miles.
 
Wednesday: We used today as our training day of the week so that we could have fresh legs for the Marion Invite. We had a one-mile warm up, then did 4 mile repeats. (4:55, 5:01, 5:09, 5:05) cooled down for a mile after this was done. I got home and did an easy 4-mile shake out run for a total of 10 miles.
 
Thursday: One mile warm up, 7-mile run, one mile cool down. Totaled 9 miles.
 
Friday: Next to nothing. Stretched, Mile warm up, Stretched, Mile cool down, Stretched. 2 miles total.
 
Saturday: Marion Invitational! Got in a 2 mile warm up, 3 mile race, and then somewhere around 4 miles on a cool down. 9 miles today.
 
Sunday: Got up and went to church, then ran a 10 mile long run. This was my first long run in quite a while and it felt very good!
 
Totaled 55.5 miles this week.
 
I got my mileage back up to where I’d like it to be this week. I felt fresh, injury free, and it was nice to get into the swing of things again! Our team had a very successful week! We are hoping to continue to improve throughout the next few weeks and hit our peak for conference and tournament time!

8/31/2011

So it’s not very often your running skills come in handy during a normal school day, but the most interesting thing that happened to me this week involved chasing down a runaway student on State Road 5 at school.  It sounds kind of funny, but it was pretty intense.  This student is in the special ed department, and if he is not held on to, he runs…and will keep running until he is caught.  I was happy to be able help everything end safely, it is very sad though…it really makes me thank the Lord for the healthy family that I am blessed to be in.   Anyhow we had some help from a police officer once we chased the student into a back yard, which was nice because we were unsure of how he would respond if we tried to grab him ourselves.  The officer got him back to school safely and we may have found ourselves a new recruit for next year’s XC team.  Seriously though, like I mentioned earlier, you have to be thankful for the life that you have! There are always others out there who cannot experience the same things you can!
 
Here’s how my week went.
 
Monday: tempo run in the afternoon. We did this for about 40 mins, it was a lot like a long fartlek run. Did about a mile hard, then a quarter mile easy. With a 1 mile warm up and cool down, I got in 8 miles.
 
Tuesday: One mile warm up, 40 min easy run. Total of 6 miles today.
 
Wednesday: one mile warm up, then 5x1200 (3:29, 3:30, 3:30, 3:40, 3:42) this was one of the hardest workouts of my life. The heat was a huge factor! Our team all felt awful after but we were very happy with the results of the workout. Just over a mile cool down for a total of 6 miles.
 
Thursday: a 40-minute run. This was with our team. We play a little game when we run to make the time go by! It’s a keep away game XC style! With a mile warm up we got in about 7 miles.
 
Friday: Our team’s favorite day at practice is Friday before a big race! We do a mile warm up, stretch, then a mile cool down! That’s is! We stay very low mileage before a big race!
 
Saturday: We ran at the Western Invitational. The course was changed slightly from previous years and was in great shape. It’s such a fun course to race on.  Our team ran great! It is always fun to run against the big Indy schools…we don’t get to very often.  I felt almost claustrophobic surrounded by Zionsville runners!  The eagles ran great! It is so cool to run against them! They’re a whole team of great runners!!!  I got 2 miles of warm up in, then a race, then about a 3 miles cool down. Totaled 8 miles.
 
Sunday: legs hurt, very sore! Day off!
 
Weekly miles: 37.
 
I felt pain free this week so I think I will begin to run twice a day next week after Tuesday. Hopefully the extra miles won’t have the same effect that they did last time!

8/24/2011 

This was a pretty good week for me.  The pain in my shin seemed to ease a bit.  I still feel it at times, but I noticed in our first race that it didn’t bother me at all! I did not bump up my mileage at all this week just to make sure I didn’t further aggravate it.  It was fun to get back into the swing of things and actually race last week! We had our first meet last Tuesday. This was a four way meet against 3 other conference schools who, coincidentally, didn’t even have full teams for the meet. It’s kind of strange to know at the beginning of the race, that even if your top 7 runners take the last seven slots, you will win! So there wasn’t any pressure at all. The course we ran was in great shape but it was definitely one of the more interesting courses I’ve raced on.  They didn’t have a lot of land to work with so there was a lot of repeating…especially a little section in the middle that looked a lot like this…

All of these turns took place in a piece of land about 30 yards wide! As you can see, it is not ideal for fast times! Plus there was not one spot of shade on the whole course, which on a 90-degree day, is not too fun! But all in all it was nice to get back to racing!

My workouts for this week were lower mileage than I would have liked, but I’m starting to feel good again.

Monday: easy run in preparation for the meet. Since it was not a big meet we got in about 6 miles.

Tuesday: about two miles of warm up, 5k run, mile cool down. Total of 6 miles.

Wednesday: 40 min. run with a mile warm up. Got in 7 miles.

Thursday: did the first 2x2mile workout of my life… I would be lying if I said I loved it. But it really worked me hard! Had a mile warm up and cool down for 6 miles.

Friday: another 40 min. run with a mile warm up. Totaled 7 miles.

Saturday: the highlight of my week was today! My dad and I went to watch the Huntington North Invite.  I ran the course before the races started. After that, we were up in Ft. Wayne to watch some soccer games at The Plex. So I decided that it would be fun to go reminisce past races on the New Haven semi-state course! So I got in a total of 6 miles on Saturday. 

I only totaled 38 miles this week and I am not sure yet whether I will bump up the mileage for next week.  So far I feel like I am stronger and fresher if I stay in the 40-mile range.  Hopefully if I keep taking my workouts as hard as I can, and getting in these 6-7 mile days, my health will continue to improve and I’ll be pain free nearing the middle of the season. Based on the results from last weekend it looks like everyone is faster already this year.  Guys have obviously been working hard. Keep it up…this is gonna be fun!

Thanks!

8/17/2011

 
This week was, as you all know the last week to get in the practices before school starts! It was really cool to see our team work this week and get into the competitive mode for our first race! As they started to increase their miles, I found myself decreasing my miles. The knee problem has come and gone, but I had a very sharp pain in what I think is a muscle in my shin. It is something that caused me to stop running two times a day because it hurt it to run on roads. In the grass however, I put up with it. This week was also our first week where we ran in the afternoon, and I enjoyed practices much, much more! Our team has been really pushing to try and get a nice pack of runners near the front. This has made practices enjoyable because there is constant encouragement from one guy to another, as everyone knows the expectations we have created for ourselves. We have found out that we are “One team, one family, with one mission.” That is the most important thing that we have going for us! As long as we can push and encourage each other we will succeed!
I had a little spare time this week and watched all the videos of the Footlocker National Championships for the past 10 or so years! It is crazy to see how many guys out there who are just blazing fast! My inspiration for this week was from the 1999 race when Dathan Ritzenhein went out behind the leaders the whole race, then out of no where found a smoking fast last 800 to take the title with ease! Man, it made me wish I could have his finishing kick!
 
Weekly runs.
 
Monday: Team 4x1600 in the afternoon total of 6 miles, then 4 mile run in the evening.
 
Tuesday: Easy 6 miles in the afternoon with a 4 mile run in the evening. (this is when my shin began to act up)
 
Wednesday: tempo run in the afternoon total of 6 miles
 
Thursday: Longer run in the afternoon, 7 miles with some strides at the end.
 
Friday: Ran our course at 80%, then went and did 3 more miles around school. 6.1 miles
 
Saturday: Family get together.  No run
 
Sunday: 5 miles around Upland in any grass that I could find.
 
This week’s miles dropped significantly.  I found myself icing most of the time that I wasn’t running. There was one day where I sat out for the strides because my shin was feeling a bit better and I did not want the fast pace stop and go to possibly make the pain flare up again. The meet season starts next week! I’m very excited to get to the starting line! I am very interested to see if this extra summer work paid off!  Although I haven’t had the mileage totals of some guys, it has been more miles than I’ve done in the past.  I have to admit I don’t feel as fresh starting the season as I have in the past and I’ve never been concerned with injuries in the summer before.  Hopefully that’s just normal running stuff.  I wish the best of luck and health to all the runners this season!  Start off strong!!!!

8/10/2011

This week I noticed that the pain in my knee was pretty much gone.  This was very encouraging because I no longer had that fear of being injured during my runs. The first official week of practice looked very promising for our team. We had a very nice pack of four up front, and are currently working on closing the gap for our 5th runner. We did some longer team runs this week as the end of the summer is approaching and we got as many miles in as we could in the time slot that we had.  We had one speed workout this week, not including a tempo run.  I was attempting to get in around 6 miles in the morning at team practice, and then do anywhere from 4-5 miles in the evening on my own (these miles mostly barefoot).  One day this week I got home from practice and spent about 7 1/2 hours looking for a lost dog.  So I was back and forth through the woods and across fields and around the country roads.  The dog was found the next day, but it was not a happy ending.
            The highlight of my week was going up to my hometown for the weekend.  I noticed instantly the change in the running there, from the flat roads of Upland to the hills of West Michigan.  I only ran 4 miles there because I take my Sundays off.  I wanted to run the ski hills, but after a long drive, I decided I did not want to get back in the car and chose to just head out on the country roads. They are nice and wide with rolling grade throughout the run. There was almost never a flat stretch of road during the run.
By this time next week, we’ll have had our first xc meet of the season, so I’m trying to treat these last two weeks of summer like we’re in season.  I ran a 5K road race on Saturday before leaving for Michigan. I was curious to see where I was compared to this time last year.  I hope to do the same thing this week to start preparing my body for the training and weekend race schedule that comes with xc season.  I’ve enjoyed sharing my summer with you.  It’s definitely the hardest I’ve ever worked over the summer.  Having to report to you guys every week was definitely motivation for me and I’m excited to see if all the work pays off during the season.
 
Workouts for this week…57 miles…the most I’ve ever run in a week…
 
Monday: Team 1200 repeats in the morning total of 6 miles, 5 miles in the evening.
 
Tuesday: recovery day, 6 easy miles in the morning, 5 miles in the evening.
 
Wednesday: tempo run in the morning, total of 5.5 miles, 4.5 miles in the evening.
 
Thursday: recovery run in the morning, total of 5.5 miles, 4.5 miles in the evening.
 
Friday: 6 mile run in the morning, no run in the evening.
 
Saturday: one mile warm up, 5k race, one mile cool down, 4 mile run through Michigan in the evening.
 
Sunday: rest.
 
Like I said, the knee pain seems to be gone, and I am looking forward to stepping up to the starting line for our first meet on Tuesday! Best of luck to all of you in your last week of summer! Get those miles in!
 

Josh Neideck

8/3/2011

Even though this is the first time I’ve ever hit the 50-mile mark, this week was a bit behind where I would have liked to be.  I experienced some I.T. band pain during the middle of a long run on Wednesday morning so my mileage was affected a bit. I’m hoping the pain was just caused by spending so much time running on the left side of the road…maybe the crown in the road was starting to get to me.  I’m going to try to do most of my running on grass from here on.
The highlight of this week was the appearance of the first runners to come and do the Devil’s Backbone hill workout with me. The prize (if there was one) goes to the sister duo of Brittany and Bethany Neeley.  It was amazing how much better it made the workout having them there! It’s always more fun to have someone to train with instead of going out on your own.  Running with them this weekend made me even more excited to start the practices with the team this week!
Though our team has been running all summer together, there is a definite sense of excitement to start the official team practices.  It’s great to see the old faces of last year’s team out and trying to improve, and also the new faces of the incoming freshman working their tails off and getting used to the increase in mileage. Our team is ready to improve on last year’s performances, and we’re eager to get the race season started.            
            This season is full of potential for us and we feel like a county title and a conference title are both reachable goals this year, but it’s going to take even more effort than we’ve given in the past. Our top 7 is all returning from last year and it looks like we may have some freshman that will be able to contribute as well.  As the season approaches the workout intensity increases! The team is close, attitudes are great and it looks like work ethic will not be a problem for these guys this year! I’m ready for this to get underway and I know that the Eastbrook Panthers are ready to have a successful season!
 
Workout schedule for last week…
 
Monday: 7 mile morning run at Taylor, we switched from running on the roads to getting miles in on the grass. 3.5 mile individual run in the evening.
 
Tuesday: 5.5 miles out at the high school and was planning on running 4 evening miles, but as I approached a bridge, there was a very sketchy group of people sitting up on it, so I ran a mile out of the way and ended up with 5.
 
Wednesday: Today was supposed be a long run of 10 miles. Around 5 miles in is when my I.T. Band started acting up to the point where I had to walk. No running in the evening.
 
Thursday: Today was our 800 repeat day. We got in 6 instead of 8 due to the humidity and heat. We ended up getting in 6 miles in the morning. In the evening I attempted my first bare-foot run. Got in 4 miles with 2 of those being barefoot.
 
Friday: A total of 6 miles in the morning.  I.T. band was still a little tender, but for the most part it did not bug me. I didn’t get a run in the evening today.
 
Saturday: Got up early and did a killer hill workout with the Neeley girls. The run was fun and felt great! They hung in there the whole workout constantly pushing each other! Great to see their teamwork! Ended up with 7.5 miles. I went out and got in a nice half mile jog on Sunday to round my mileage out to an even 50! First time for me to every be in that range! I’m feeling great and am praying that this pain in my knee will not last! Enjoy your first week back with your team…and remember, you can always run a little faster than you think you can.

7/27/2011

I know that I bring up my old home in West Michigan quite a bit, and I apologize for that! I just miss it a lot! I used to live in the Rockford school district and nearly every year they were a contender for a state championship in cross country and track.   It is very sad to not be a part of their team, but the Lord had different plans for my life!
 
When I was in elementary school, the face of Rockford Cross Country was current Olympian, Dathan Ritzenhein.  Ritz would win pretty much every race and usually with no one anywhere near him at the finish line.  He has been an inspiration in my running career. Something that motivates me is when I think back to a quote of his in a newspaper article.  He was asked what he thinks about as he is racing toward the finish line with the fans lined up cheering and yelling his name.  His response was something like, “Pretty much I’m only thinking about how much this hurts.”
 
This quote is encouraging to me in that it shows that even an elite runner like him feels the pain of finishing a race.  It also helps me to remember to not worry about what people are saying, and to focus on finishing the race…not only in running, but also the race that God has laid out for my life.  Galatians 1:10 says, “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” This verse is with me throughout my whole running season.  It has helped me with encouraging teammates, responding to compliments, doing interviews, and hopefully even handling defeats, and it is the reason I go to the starting line every race. Running is hard.  Life is hard.  It is my desire to honor God with the effort I put into both.
 
Here is how last week went for me…
 
Monday- The team went to a trail in Bluffton this morning. Went about 9 miles.
 
Tuesday- Had a great hill workout today, unfortunately all the hills were on roller coasters at Cedar Point.  A lot of walking today, but no running.
 
Wednesday- The heat was brutal today… Got 6 miles in including hills and jumped in a lake on the way home.
 
Thursday- Again, heat hurt the run. Ran inside on a treadmill and an indoor track at Taylor University…not much cooler in the field house. 7 total miles.
 
Friday- Ran 8 miles in the morning. Humidity was oppressive and caused my asthma to act up.  Hard to find air to breathe!
 
Saturday- Was out of town so I only got in 30 minutes on a treadmill, and then did a 30- minute pool workout at the hotel.
 
Sunday- Didn’t run today, we had company over and I thought I would give my tired legs a break. 
 
This week was very low mileage for me…. I feel it gave my legs a needed break. With the weather being over 100, it was very dangerous to be running outside and for me it’s very hard to run on a treadmill… I don’t like the feeling of running in the same place over and over,  I like a change scenery during my runs!  I plan on bumping the mileage back up again this week, and hopefully the break helped!

7/20/2011

   Devil’s Backbone

   If you read my bio you know that two years ago I moved from West Michigan to Indiana.  We had a ski resort a few miles from our school in Michigan and an important part of our training was hill workouts.  I remember watching our high school team just blow people away on hills during races.  You guys in Southern Indiana are probably able to get some good hill workouts in, but it’s pretty tough to find a good hill to run in Grant County.  It’s not very often that we run on a course here that has challenging hills, but I sure noticed our lack of hill training last year even on rolling courses like Western and New Haven. Therefore, I wanted to make hill training more of a priority this summer…easier said than done in Central Indiana. 

   I am fortunate, however, to live about a mile and a half from a little country road that goes by the name of “Devil’s Backbone”.  This road has a great series of hills near the end that I am running every Wednesday this summer. One section of the road has 3 really steep hills that going out and back add up to about 0.3 miles. Not only is this hill very challenging to run, but you’re living on the edge with every trip up and down the hills. The Backbone is basically a one lane road and cars are completely blind to your presence until the second they come over the crest of the hill.  To make it even more exciting, kids tend to drive it at high speed in order to try to catch some air as they begin their descent of the hill.  I honestly haven’t had any close calls, but I’m always ready to dive into the ditch at any second.  The Backbone gives your legs a great workout! Once I have run multiple sets on that road, I jog around the corner to a hill that looks almost like a wall when you first see it.  It’s about a half mile up and down this hill and it really appears to go straight up. My hill workout is anywhere from 5 to 7 miles depending on how many sets I do and I am hoping it will make me more competitive this year on the courses I mentioned earlier.  Not only is hill training good for hilly courses, but it also gives you an advantage on flat courses too! Strong legs will succeed no matter what they run on! And I don’t know of a better way to get strong legs than by running hills!

   Hey, if there are any Grant County runners who read this and you know of any other good hills in the area, let me know and I’d love to come and run them with you.  They are hard to find, but it’s nice to get away from home once in a while and run somewhere else. Also if anyone wants to come out and run Devil’s Backbone with me, let me know…it would be great to have someone to run it with!

  Here is what my workouts looked like last week.

Monday: 8 miles in the morning at Taylor University.

Tuesday: 4.5 at the high school in the morning, 4 mile tempo in the evening.

Wednesday: 7 miles hill workout on The Backbone.

Thursday: half mile warm up, our team ran out at the high school and did 4 miles of 800’s. half mile cool down after. Then a 3 mile loose jog in the evening.

Friday:  8 miles again in the morning around Upland.

Saturday: 8.5 miles in the morning. I found a new route that I really enjoyed!

Sunday: Rested. No running.

This week I was really starting to notice my legs feeing tired nearing the ends of my morning runs…probably due to the increase in my mileage. I got in 48 miles this week, which is the most that I ever have run in a week. Last year I was getting in no more then 35 miles a week. I’m anxious to see how increasing my summer mileage will impact my racing. I guess I will find out next month!  Even though my legs seem to feel tired during my longer morning runs, they usually feel pretty good in the evening! That’s encouraging.  This is most likely a result of having the day to loosen up, instead of rolling out of bed and running first thing when my legs are still half asleep. Really though, I have to get the longer runs in early because of the heat wave we’re experiencing!

Have a great week!

7/13/2011

   Running in the heat of the day is something that I just do not enjoy! As much as I dislike getting up in the morning to run, days like Monday, July 11 make me appreciate having an alarm clock. Running at 7am is a gift more than anything! I get up in the morning and walk outside with that crusty gunk still in my eyes. Yawning, I start my slow jog to Taylor University. Every morning I pass by a red-winged black bird that gives me a few mean bird words then chases me for a hundred yards or so, causing me to pick up my pace slightly. After I escape its territory, I usually start to notice how nice it is outside at that time of day. 
  

The streets in the small town of Upland are pretty empty and I enjoy the mile of relaxation that I get.  It’s probably 65-70 degrees for every morning run that I have. By the time I get my workout finished, it’s obvious that the temperature is approaching 80 and we’re on our way to another hot, humid Indiana day.  I walked out of basketball practice about 11 this morning and felt like I was walking right into an oven.  I let out a sigh of relief knowing that I had already gotten my miles in for the day. Days like Monday when the heat index is about 105 are the days that I don’t mind hearing the beep of my alarm early in the morning.  Is there anyone who actually enjoys going out on days like this?  I’m thinking, no. 

   The summer heat of Indiana is something that I have not enjoyed getting used to. (I don’t remember having days like this when I lived in West Michigan.)  But sometimes there is no option and I have to run in the heat! Those are the days I enjoy the freedom that guys have to rip their shirts off and run! You know, the days where leaving your shirt on would add an extra 5 sweaty pounds to your body weight.  I then wonder how dorky a tall, skinny guy like me looks running down the road with limited shorts length and no shirt… but I appreciate running with the lack of clothing!  Of course there is always the teenage boy who thinks it’s funny to give a nice whistle or comment as you run by.  I don’t appreciate the whistle but I guess that I would not be running with that appearance if I weren’t comfortable in it!  Runners…. they are a different breed!
 
   Last week was my second week of summer training and was also the “no contact” week.  My workouts last week went a little like this.
 
Monday: wake up at 6:45 and run to the Taylor tennis courts. Meet and stretch with some guys from the team. Ran a 6-mile loop around campus. Stretch again with the team. Cool down a mile home.  Total of 8 miles.

Tuesday: evening run on my own around Upland. Did a half-mile warm up then a six-mile run and a half-mile cool down. I stopped halfway through the 6 miles to watch a baseball game. Total of 7 miles. 

Wednesday: wake up early again and ran a tough hill workout. (I’ll talk more about trying to find hills in Central Indiana another time.) Total of 7 miles.

Thursday: recovery day. met some teammates out at the high school and ran 5 miles of perimeters around the school property.

Friday: Ran 8 miles around Taylor.

Saturday: Went out of town today, so made this my day off.

Sunday: Ran 4 miles before church to get out of the heat then ran a four-mile tempo at 9pm. Did this at a 5:30 pace. Total of 8 miles for the day.
 
   I have noticed that my legs feel so much better during the evening runs. I think that is due to the fact that I have had a whole day to loosen up my legs. I am at a stage where I am trying to get in miles without wearing myself out. I totaled 43 miles last week. I plan on finding ways to add 5 miles every week until I’m in the upper 50’s to the lower 60’s.

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7/1/2011

Personal Bests:

5k XC:  15:52
800 - 1:59
1600 - 4:21
3200 - 9:45

2010 Cross Country Accomplishments:

 
-Grant County and Central Indiana Conference Champion
-Blackford Invitational Champion
-Oak Hill Invitational Champion
-3rd place in Marion Sectional
-3rd place in Marion Regional
-16th place in Fort Wayne Semi-State.      
-Third team All state In class 3A-4A

2011 Track Accomplishments:

About Me:

I should tell you that I'm probably a little unusual in my training compared to other runners during the summer. Right now, I’m working all day in a summer camp at my church, I have 4 baseball games this week, I’m trying to find a time to get in weights and open gym for basketball, and I just finished training for track after the Freshman Mile at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals in North Carolina. So training wise in the Summer, I am rather packed!
 I moved from Rockford, MI prior to my 8th grade year. I have been playing baseball for 12 years. It is definitely my favorite sport! I also play basketball at Eastbrook. I attend church on a regular basis, and lead worship and am very active in our youth group. I’m currently teaching myself to play guitar, and I love jelly fishing! Coach Vore is our team’s hero. I’m looking forward to learning a lot from the other bloggers on how i should be training!