Track and Field Blogs - RunDMC

Usually I can last 12-15 minutes. Sometimes I go as long as 20. Yesterday, I could only manage only 6 minutes. I do a schedule of 2 weeks hard, 1 week easy. The easy week usually is about 10-20% less miles and slightly lowered intensity of workouts. The 2 hard weeks are more mileage + intensity and intended to make me tired by the end. My last hard cycle I had done a 20 miler the Sunday before, and a 15mi run on Thursday with 6mi of tempo on the tail (all at altitude) and ended with me running a… more »

I have now lived in Mammoth Lakes for two summers of 4 months each. I am not a full time resident, but I am also not really a visitor. I have run or hiked almost every trail accessible from town many times. I used to come up here and try to cram in as many things as I could into a long weekend, now I realize just how much I had missed even though I had enjoyed it immensely. I have come to love running certain trails that I would have never known existed as a visitor and I have… more »

There is no real magic to distance training. I picked up training guide from the 70s at a used book sale. In about 100 pages, it sums up the following: Run more and run faster, but also recover. It is actually a pretty good book except I am having a difficult time understanding the attached picture. I don’t know what sort of science that is, but I am not signing up for that field study… Normally I use races as motivation to train. I set a long term goal like a Marathon time then set up some intermediate races to… more »

If I saw a Hollywood Icon walking down the street, I probably wouldn’t even notice or know who they were. But when it comes to US Distance runners, I know the stats. I get all giddy like a little kid when I see Olympians out and about. Saturday I did a mountain bike race at Mammoth Mountain and was looking at the “Tinker” tire at the Kenda trailer after the race. I turned around and Tinker Juarez was standing there. He is a 2 time mountain biking Olympian and he won the pro race by a wide margin. Sunday I… more »

I ran a 10K here in Mammoth over the weekend and suggested to a friend that the altitude was probably worth about 2 minutes. He had the genius idea of looking it up in the NCAA Altitude Adjustment Table. The closest approximation is Gunnison, CO (7703 ft). Mammoth races are ~7900. For the 10K, the adjustment is 6.38%. 10K D1 Men gets 114 seconds, however the closest to my time of 38:14 is DIII Women at 38:10 for altitude which is a 142.4 second adjustment. So I think my 2min estimate is reasonable, maybe even conservative especially considering hills. The… more »

Rizzing definition: Running while whizzing. If you’ve never done it, it can be a valuable tool in your racing arsenal. I ran a damn solid 10 miler on Sunday where I Rizzed in the 8th mile and managed to hold off a competitor and not make a complete wet mess. Don’t worry, it was a trail race and no one was in sight, including the other runners. Unfortunately, the race was a Half Marathon… The last 3.25 miles – it was a trail race, remember? – were an exercise in masochism. It was uphill for 3 of the 3.25 and… more »

Last weekend I was in Houston for my youngest bro’s wedding. Of course I checked the local running schedule and went out to the Lunar Rendezvous 5k at the NASA Space Center. At 6:45am, it was already over 90degF and about 150% humidity. I ran very conservatively and steadily at 5:40/mi. I finished in 23rd place in a pretty tough field with 17:43. My wife said I looked like I took a shower with my running clothes on. I am awed by the winner who ran 15:01 in what I consider tough conditions. We toured the Space Center and it… more »

Mammoth Cox is back by popular demand and without the help of Enzyte or any other performance enhancers. Well, at least it was popular with me and the little woman. We are back in Mammoth for a summer of running, biking and hiking. Now a week in, I am feeling pretty good with the altitude. Tuesday I went to the High Sierra Striders workout for some 400s to get ready for the Mammoth Freedom Mile. I was reasonably quick, but definitely feeling the lack of O2. People actually remembered me from last year and didn’t seem annoyed that I had… more »

The job review is in: Exceeds Expectations. I ran my first race in 7 months. I was out for 3 months completely, then 1mo of easing back into running. Docs were not much help, but deep tissue massage helped immensely. 2mo of base, 1mo of hill work so far and I wanted to test my fitness. I did the San Diego 8k Race for Literacy which is a downhill course – good for the ego, hard on the thighs. My goals going into the race were to at least break 30min, and an outstanding day would be sub 29. The… more »

2008 was a pretty good running year with the exception of getting injured in October. I lost out on my last few planned races and failed to take advantage of the gains I had made in training. However I know that I was in very good shape and ready to run well. A friend and training partner ran 2:50 at the Sacramento Marathon (CIM) and I think I would certainly have been close. Woulda, coulda , shoulda. Did: Ran 15 races spread from Jan through Sept. Four top 3 finishes overall, two 4th place finishes, all but 2 races in… more »

Dang, I love sleeping. In college my Indian name was “Sleeps a lot”. I am an 8+ hour a night kind of guy. I sleep late on the weekends. Often I stay up late and go to bed tired. As my head hits the sheets I always ask myself “Why do I avoid going to bed? All the best things happen here.” When running, lots of sleep is an absolute necessity. The body does all its repairs during the sleep portion of life. A coach I had was a world class race walker and claimed he would sleep close to… more »

The knee continues its constant pain and comes back every time I run even after 2 weeks off. Yesterday I got a ‘Roid injection in the knee. It is supposed to reduce inflammation, therefore reducing interference and pain in the joint. Who knows? Maybe there is something to this steroid stuff. I am allowed to ride my bike trainer and swim, then I can try running again in 10 days. Fingers crossed, voodoo doll knee is swinging with ease, the stars may align… more »

Our summer and fall in Mammoth Lakes, CA has come to an end. The October weather cooperated nicely with 60degF days until the last weekend. We did some excellent hiking, biking and scenic driving. Tioga Pass remained open until the end of October. Fall colors were spectacular along the June Lake Loop. I got in one last Mammoth Creek session – it was so cold it STUNG! We went to hear Deena talk about overcoming her disappointment about the Olympics. I got to talk to her and Jen Rhines a bit afterwards. We went to a Halloween party with the… more »

I did a “Summer” Biathlon (Run, Shoot) this weekend. That is a cool sport. The course was in a desert like setting at about 5500ft on a 35 degree F morning with some serious wind chill. BRRR! Shorts were completely out of the question , although my friend, John, wore shorts - crazy. In fact, I wore tights, a short sleeve, a long sleeve and a thin fleece with gloves and a thin fleece hat and never felt overheated. The run was approximately 1 mile with a big hill for the first half followed by a half mile downhill. Pretty… more »

My Sunday long run was pretty cool. I was about 1:15 out and a guy on a mountain bike came by me and said “morning” as he passed. I could see a runner up ahead of me on the dirt road who looked “for real”, but I was slowly gaining ground. The biker rode up beside the runner and was talking to her. We started up a long hill (about 1.5mi) and I caught them. I realized it was Kate O’neil and Terrance Mahon on the bike. Then Amy Hastings jumps out of an SUV up ahead and starts running… more »

A Week at Sea Level – Leg Limited I went down to "The OC" for a week and a half to do some face time with clients and test out my new Red Blood Cells. The day we headed back I went for a 1:40 run with some strides in Mammoth. The next day at sea level I went for an easy run which turned into an hour because I felt so good. The next day was easy 40min, then a 2 hour run the next day. I could barely hurt myself. Two days later I was on the track… more »

Morning run with Olympians Well, not exactly but close. Sierra Striders practice this morning was 3-4x1mi on dirt trails with 2.5min rest. Have I mentioned that they start at the ungodly hour of 7:00am?!? I opted for 3 miles, then 4x400m for a little turnover work because I have a race coming up in 2 weeks. I was pretty happy with how it went. I followed Andrew pretty closely and cut my time on all three miles and felt pretty smooth and strong doing it. The 400s hurt me severely. It burns like fire! I jogged my cool down and… more »

Coach’s wisdom I have had a lot of coaches with lots of different philosophies. Here are a few of the gold nuggets I picked up over the years. “Fast as you can easy” – My HS coach used to use this phrase all the time. Over the years I have come to understand it better. Run hard, but not all out in your workouts so you can stack more workouts together. 3 workouts a week at 80-85% is better than 1 at 95%. It’s not how fast you go, but how much you go fast. There are 2 ways to… more »

Cage Match – Marathon vs. Century – Thigh burn city! Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!!! Comin’ atcha! I rode my first cycling Century (High Sierra Fall Century, Mammoth) and can now make a comparison to the Marathon. Lance Armstrong said the Marathon was the hardest event he had ever done after 7 Tour De France wins. The Century depletion was similar in that I felt very drained at the end. However, every marathon I have run, easy or hard, has also left me deeply sore for a week or so followed by dead legs for weeks after that. Armstrong was under trained… more »

The Olympics are over and I spent the entire 2 weeks glued to the TV. I don’t care what the sport is, I watch it. The Olympics are the pinnacle of sport and it is exciting to see those who rise to the occasion and those who don’t. While Phelps was amazing, I would put Bolt’s and Bekele’s performances on the same level. Liu Xaing, Tyson Gay, Deena Kastor all proved they are human this year. Now that the Olympics are over, there is the void left. We all have goals and when their time has passed (achieved or not),… more »

I have run two races that were largely comprised of high school kids in the past few weeks because they are having training camps here in Mammoth. By the way, “training camp” is a serious misnomer. They stay in resort condos, are well fed, and have vans drive them to all their runs on marked courses with support stations. When I was in high school, “training camp” was showing up at school at 8am for the 2 weeks before school started to go for a run with the team. I’m just jealous. The first race was a trail Half Marathon… more »

Gymnastics, Diving. The fate of the athlete is in the hands of a clearly biased judge. The Gymnasts would get up there and perform some incredible routine and receive a mediocre score. Immediately after was a mediocre routine with a great score. It is frustrating to watch. Thank God track is coming on soon. You don’t have to look pretty, there is no penalty for bad form. Just cross the line first. The finish line and the measuring tape or clock are the only judges. They have no bias and it is as fair as possible. I’m ready for track… more »

Tuesday evening they have these Mountain Bike Races. Registration is free and so is the beer. Now there is an incentive to get finished early! I rode the Sport Race (Intermediate) for the first time and was Steady Eddy with the pacing and just kept passing people. The third lap I dumped the bike in a sandy hairpin turn, but got right back on and only lost 10-15sec. I thought I had moved up to about 5th, but checked the results and I finished 3rd. I was pretty thrilled. Chugged down a brew to celebrate. The little woman got 3rd… more »

  After a hike last Saturday, my wife and I drove to a new hot tub someone had recommended as a cool place to go. As I came around the corner on the two rut dirt road I saw far more dude flesh than I ever wanted to see. I attempted to drive past, but drove into a camping area where a fat guy was grilling nude waving at us. At least he had a hat on so he would not get sunburned. I hope did not get confused about where the bratwurst was located. There was a car ahead… more »

The water in Mammoth tastes better than any bottled water I have ever had. It’s like drinking from a mountain spring. In fact, maybe it is drinking from a mountain spring. So I drink a lot of it. Normally I am a soda and sports drink guy, but the water here keeps me drinking. When I would hike with my Dad as a kid, he told me if I ever got lost I should find a stream or river and follow it downstream and I would eventually find a town. People always build society near water. Mammoth sits along Mammoth… more »

There is leg limited and there is lung limited running. In Mammoth I am lung limited. Usually for me that means I just need more base or tempo type running. When leg limited, it is time for speed work. Thursday, I did about 25min easy with a few strides. Confidence was LOW for the Friday Freedom Mile race. My legs were heavy and slow. My lungs were really working for O2 even running easy. We went to the Street Party in Mammoth Thursday night. There were 10 tents and one was the Sierra Striders, another was the Tri club, and… more »

I still don’t feel good, but better than warmed over dog poo anyway. Tuesday I went to my first Sierra Striders workout. They were doing repeats in Shady Rest Park. I ran from home (about 10min) and got there a few minutes late. It isn’t the first time I’ve been late and I am guessing it won’t be the last. I saw the group running away and cut across the park to catch up. I have a good excuse for being late though. I taped the OT 5k races the night before and had to watch them before going to… more »

Everybody wants to be a rock star. I ain't it. I wanted to go to the Olympics but just don't have the talent. Don't get me wrong, I am a decent local road racer, but not world or even national class. I do love to run and train almost to the point of obsession – at least that’s what my brother says. But I am going to try something that I never have before and most people don't do or get the chance to do. My wife and I decided that we wanted a change of scenery in our lives… more »