Track and Field Blogs - Scott Mittman

A little more than than five months from now I plan to toe the line for my last high school race. Track has led me through both good and bad times. This year I want to really go out on top with some great races. This all starts with a training plan. This is my tentative training plan: November 12th, start running again. All easy runs, getting in approximately 40 a week. December: Start to focus a little more on runs, still easy running. General strength and core 3 times a week. Work Mileage up by 10% a week. Hope… more »

A real blog tomorrow. It will most likely outline my goals for the winter and spring. I might even mention someone other than myself. more »

In distance running, a sport where races are as hard to predict as the lengths of the courses they are run on, planning what you are going to do, whether it be in racing or training, seems impractical; in reality, it is always good to have a plan. This summer i have had a training schedule for mileage. I haven't been following it exactly but have the intention of running at least the approximate number of miles called for. I used to just show up to run in the morning and go run a distance without thinking about its implications… more »

Now that I have your attention please go to the big bird team page and start a new topic and write on topics that other people start. more »

Once a week long distance runners everywhere engage in a run relatively long in duration. Constituting about 25% of a runners weekly mileage the long run is an important tool in the construction of a strong aerobic system. This run increases the hearts stroke volume, allowing the heart to move more oxygen to the muscles more easily. The muscles themselves also benefit from the run as the repetitive impact strengthens them. The long run is an extremely important part of a runners training regimen I suggest you take advantage of all of them. Runner of the Day: Ben Ryan; he… more »

Here are Tyler Rich's (3rd place at state xc two years ago) predictions for the upcoming season. 2009 Cross Country Rankings. TEAM. 1 Pleasant Valley returns all but 2 runners out of 2008 State Meet top 72 Burlington return all but 7th man from State Meet3 Marshalltown lost 2,5 and 7 man, but had good track season. Good tradition4 Cedar Falls had a very young team in 2008. 5 CR Prairie lose only #1 runner. Return rest of top 76 Ankeny return all but 1&2 runners. Had 5 under 17:157 Waukee only return 3 runners. Underclassmen ran well this spring8… more »

Weather has an enormous impact on running. Today I ran 9.1 miles in extremely warm and humid conditions. The pace at which I ran would be little more than a jog in good weather, but today it was a pace that required me to make some stops. Weather, fortunately, is relative and before too long I will be well adjusted to the heat. I plan to prepare myself for another hot one tomorrow by drinking lots of fluids today. This weather is surely payback for the nice weather at the beginning of the month. There will be nicer days ahead.… more »

Today was the 2nd fastest taft I have ever run. The remarkable thing was the 7:56 mile to start it off. After this slow first mile the miles quickened; dropping at one point to 6:12. I think that it is important to note these runs to follow my progression. Perhaps a month from now I will be running under 6 minute miles on Taft. This is where I am at right now. Future workouts will show How far I have come. Take note: A slow first mile leads to fast miles later in the run. Runner of the Day: Hans… more »

goal miles 44 actual miles 45 feel: generally good; tired. Reflection: Solid week of training left me with one more mile than I hoped to get. Legs felt pretty good this week. I plan to start icing after runs soon in order to prevent injuries that could result from high mileage. Kind of a slower paced week but that is expected with cross country camp in addition to the increase in mileage. A nice fast run on saturday after the ACT was a good finish to the week. Team is looking strong with some consistent attendance from guys thus far… more »

10 reasons to go 1. Meet people from other schools 2. Get to know people on your team a lot better. 3. Learn about running, (lifting, why running farther makes you better, etc). 4. Get away from Iowa City, Its a vacation! 5. Frisbee=awesome 6. Mini Fridges are really cool and there is one in every room. 7. Get your season going again. Wisco allows you to relax and get back to the basics of running again. 8. Get to meet, hear, see extraordinary athletes at all levels (high school, college, professional) 9. Unlimited Food. Find a new definition of… more »

It has been nine years since the city high boy's cross country team has won a state title. What is the cause of this? Less talent, less hard work, more competition? Probably a little bit of all of these things. Out of those three factors there is only one thing we can control. I have talked about it in essentially every blog but I feel that it must be stressed; hard work. Today was an easy run; I was happy with how everybody ran today. What we need to work on is doing what we like to call the little… more »

Running has been pretty tough on me the last few days. Hopefully the little kid morning sessions will make me stronger in the long run. The ice cream was particularly delicious today. I am doing some serious multi tasking right now on my favorite site. You should definitely watch the ncaa nationals right now. The mens 10k tonight should be awesome with a tight battle between chelanga and rupp. Overall I am feeling extremely excited about running right now after watching for the millionth time; the 2008 xc video. McKay's talk was another highlight. The beginning of summer running tomorrow… more »

Iowa performing well with both varner and hairston qualifying from their respective prelims. Predictions: men 10k: Chelanga will win. Rupp a close second in a slow championship race. men 5k: I look for Rupp on tired legs to have a tough day, Derrick will have the race of his life and win the 5k. 1500: one word: german. followed by centrowitz I don't have any idea what i am talking about but hopefully this works out. more »

Today at cross country camp I couldn't help but feel inspired by the younger kids and by the new found excitement that some more experienced runners seemed to have for the upcoming season. I try to avoid getting too excited for cross country because of the long path in front of us. We've all had bad days of running and good days of running. What separates good runners from inconsistent runners is that good runners stick with running even through the hard times and understand that, on a great day, not all days will be like this. If you are… more »

What are your goals for the season? Chances are that when you set your goals for the season you choose them based on what your perception is of your ability. This is not a bad thing or a good thing, it is simply what is natural for people to do. Let's take a step backward. How do you know how good you are? Prior race experience, what other people's goals are etc. This would be a good way to base your goals if you knew had trained at precisely the perfect level for you in the past and everyone else… more »

I hoped that this week would be as good as the one before it. It ended up better than I even hoped for. I ran the number of miles I wanted (40+). I ran at a decent aerobic pace, and my legs felt suprisingly good even with the increased mileage. WEEK 2: 40 miles Average pace: 6:51 Notes: Felt good, easy runs with some faster miles at the ends, never out of control or even threshold. Next Week Goals: Miles: 44-45 Pace: No goal really just easy running with a slightly uncomfortable pace. Want to feel good going into a… more »

There are many different running surfaces. When deciding which surface reigns supreme one must take into account both how fast the surface is and how soft the surface is. Some common surfaces: Gravel, Cement, Blacktop, dirt, grass, sand, track. Pro's and Con's of surfaces: ConcreteConcrete is primarily made up of cement (crushed rock), and it’s what most pavements and five per cent of roads are constructed from. It delivers the most shock of any surface to a runner’s legs.Pros: Concrete surfaces tend to be easily accessible and very flat, and if you stick to pavements, you can avoid traffic. Cons:… more »

from time to time i hope to turn my blog into a forum for discussion. Todays Topic: What is the greatest freeze pop flavor of them all? Support your response with reasoning. Connect your freeze pop choice with how you run and what you like about running. Runner of the Day: Sam Broderson Rodriguez; showing up to run more »

At least once a week from now I plan on taking a day just to enjoy running. Today I ran for 35 minutes in Hickory Hill. It was relaxed, it was nice it was fun. My legs felt better at the end of the run than the beginning. It isnt so much running slow as it is running without worry of the pace. I will do these runs after the mentally challenging run of the week. It is a good way to keep fresh both physically and mentally. On these runs do not limit yourself on mileage but run at… more »

In the course of running career, I have raced probably 100 times. I am taking the time today to look back at my best races in order to see why they went well. I encourage you to look back at what has worked for you in the past. Hopefully this will lead to more races like these listed below in the future. 5) Drake 3200- fastest time I have ever run for 3200m. Ran competitively in the beginning and finished strong. slowed down for the middle of the 2nd mile. Warm weather. 4)Freshmen year JV little Hawk Invite 3200: poor… more »

Downtown: Fountains to run through, people to see. The downtown route is also where you get a lot of odd remarks about runners. Lower West Branch: The fields are really nice to look over, helps you understand why computer backgrounds have Iowa rolling hills. Clouds, come in many shapes and sizes. Very interesting to watch. Sun rise, really nice but you have to wake up early to see it this time of year. airplanes= awesome don't take running too seriously, excessive seriousness can lead to a lack of fun. -7amish more »

"'Bruce. Sixty quarters, Bruce. You can't be serious. Nobody recommends that kind of stuff anymore. Arthur Lydiard . . .' 'Screw Arthur Lydiard. Quenton, this is where you find out. This is the time and the place.' Despite what we may say about running smart and training carefully there is always a time where we must learn to push ourselves. Running is not easy, no matter how many times I repeat this I must say it again. Build mileage slowly don't run too hard too frequently but some days you might have to make it hurt a little. Go farther… more »

Goal Miles: 35 Actual Miles: 35.15 Feel: Legs fine, especially with the rest day today. Next Week: Taking it a step higher in mileage (40). Going to keep the intensity the same though. I plan on starting to bike on friday too. I hope this week goes as well as the last one -7amish more »

Running is a fickle sport. Sometimes an easy pace feels difficult, sometimes race pace doesn't feel fast enough. Today was a great run. I felt great all the way through and still maintained a good pace. These sorts of runs are the easy ones to get through. It is more important to really bear down on days you don't have it. Whether it be in a race, or a relaxed run do your best to execute your plan. My second point of this blog is about running our team isn't involved in. I strongly recommend that whoever reads this blog… more »

During the run today (4 miles progressively faster) I was faced with this very question. Stephen and Lukas took off on me a little after the 2nd mile. I knew that I myself was running faster. The choice I had was to go with them and show that I could hang right there, or stay back with the pace I had. I chose the 2nd option. It is May 29th. It is my first week back running. I am accumulating mileage and am building a base. I decided that I could deal with getting dropped while running 6:25 pace and… more »

Distance running is not a popular sport, particularly in America. As runners we are different from other athletes in that training is what makes runners. Good runners are religous in their training schedule. Doing a sport that requires such devotion, such pain, such fear makes us very different indeed. Human beings are meant to run long distances well. We are not strong, we are not quick, but we can run far. When training remember that you are doing a very different sport, one which values pain as much as joy. "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back… more »

I want to say first of all that I believe we have a cross country team that can win the state championship this fall. That said other teams looking around the state will see these teams as contenders in order: 1. Pleasant Valley- return top runner Austin O'Brien along with 3 other varsity returnees who ran below 4:35 for the 1600 or 9:50 for the 3200 in track. 3 time defending champions. 2. Burlington - return top 6 runners from last years 3rd place squad including winner and runner up. 3. Cedar Rapids Prarie- return 6 from last years state… more »

Running well is about finding a balance point. Training hard without going too hard to early. Building mileage without getting injured. Going out aggressively in a race without going too hard. Training for cross country or anything else is a very difficult task. For this reason I will attempt to outline the summer months of the season in terms of intensity of training. June: Easy mileage; get going in the middle but do not crank out anything that will make you very uncomfortable. Increase volume at about 10% per week. July: Pick up the pace on aerobic runs every other… more »

Got out there for an 5 miler this morning. Started over 8 minute pace got it down to 6:29 for my 4th mile then started to cool down. After 8 days without running I relearned the pain of runnning today. It is important to understand that, amidst all the excitement you might feel for the upcoming season, running is difficult when you are not in good shape. These first few weeks do not freak out when you don't hit the times you want on runs, don't expect too much of yourself. Make sure that you get in a good effort… more »

Try and match your easy run pace with the vdot equivalent of your goal 5k race pace by the end of the summer. http://www.attackpoint.org/trainingpaces.jsp Work up to this pace over the summer, by the time that time trials rolls around your easy pace be where you want it to be. Start dreaming, 7amish more »

Having confidence is the 2nd most important part of racing well the first being fitness level. All successful runners have confidence in their abilities. I have in the past, while setting goals for times and achievements, not had enough confidence in my ability to run. This resulted in me reaching my goals but not pushing myself to my limits in racing. In track I tried to set a time goal this year that was ambitious and seemingly improbable at the time. I wanted to run 9:40 for the 3200. I achieved this goal at drake (9:37) while placing 7th. Unfortunately… more »

Having goals about running and getting yourself up in the morning make up about half of summer running. The other half is the running itself. Starting a run: Start very relaxed; on all aerobic runs your first mile should be the slowest mile. Work up to a pace and keep building on it. By the end of the run you should be going at a decent rate. Mid run: Avoid stopping as much as humanly possible. Keep telling yourself to make it past the stop light without stopping. At the same time run fast enough that you feel like you… more »

SUMMER RUNNING 8am monday through saturday go EVERY DAY, if you have to miss make up the run later in the day PROGRESSIVE MILEAGE; if fieldhouse is hard at the beginning of the summer to complete, then do it (that distance) until it gets easier and move up in mileage. KEEP TRACK OF YOUR MILES!!!!!!!!!!1 You should know how many miles you ran last week and how many you plan to run this week. Your mileage should increase steadily but gradually. A good rule is a 10% mileage increase per week with occasional down weeks. example: 30, 33, 36ish,36, 40,44,40-44,… more »

Early season running is not about killing yourself with gruesome workouts. Early season runs should focus primarily on gradually building mileage and developing a good aerobic base. While runs may not be difficult it is important to run regularly and to focus on running with good form at a pace that is slightly uncomfortable. The body will adapt to the pace and allow for a great deal of improvement. This is the baseline for all training we will do during the year. Get out there and run yourself towards a great cross season. 7amish p.s. despite my screen name runs… more »

Training is an ambiguous term. When I first think of training I think of hill repeats and ladder workouts. This difficult running is indeed vital to successful training but not without an aerobic base centered on high volume, low intensity workouts. This summer as we prepare for a dominating cross country season remember what you are achieving with each run that you do whether it be speed, strength or recovery. Training does not mean running hard, running slow, or running long. Training is running with a purpose that is tightly attached to an individual goal in order to help achieve… more »