Short run and this weekend's predictions

Cut my run a little short today. The heat really got to me. Did just 4 miles. I'll probably come back with 7 or 8 miles tomorrow.

Here's my predictions for this weekend's USA Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon. The top 3 finishers in each event qualify for World's in late August (assuming they have the "A" qualifying standard). Here's my picks for men's track events:

100m

1. Tyson Gay

2. Michael Rodgers

3. Darvis "Doc" Patton

200m

1. Tyson Gay

2. Walter Dix

3. Wallace Spearmon

400m

1. Jeremy Wariner

2. Michael Berry

3. Jamaal Torrence

800m

1. Nick Symmonds

2. Robby Andrews

3. Tyler Mulder

1,500m

1. Andy Wheating

2. Russell Brown

3. Will Leer

5,000m

1. Bernard Lagat

2. Chris Solinksy*

3. Matt Tegankamp

*May opt to run 10,000m instead. If so, Teg will move up and Andrew Bumbalough takes 3rd.

10,000m

1. Chris Solinsky*

2. Galen Rupp

3. Tim Nelson

*May opt to run 5,000m instead. If so, Nelson will move up and Bobby Curtis takes 3rd.

110m Hurdles

1. David Oliver

2. Aries Merritt

3. Omoghan Osaghae

400m Hurdles

1. Bershawn "Batman" Jackson

2. Angelo Taylor

3. Johnny Dutch

3,000m Steeplechase

1. Dan Huling

2. Billy Nelson

3. Steve Slattery

Humid as Hell

I ran 6 miles this morning with Mike Doyle around Tyler Park. Felt pretty good. Still kind of have to hold back from wanting to push the pace. I know it's still a tad early to be running at 7 minute or under pace. Not much else to report on the home-front.

Coming soon: My predictions for the upcoming USA Track & Field Championships. Stay tuned.

My Top 15 LP's of 2011

Took an off day today. I feel like my body needed it and after doing the math, I feel I can easily hit my weekly goal of 38-40 miles by taking today off. May be my last day off for a few weeks.

We reached the midpoint of the year and since running is not the only thing I do with my life, I figured I'd give my favorite albums so far of 2011. Here it goes:

15. Tennis - Cape Dory

14. Ducktails - Ducktails III: Arcade Dynamics

13. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake

12. Bon Iver - Bon Iver

11. Craft Spells - Idle Labor

10. Seapony - Go With Me

9. Dirty Beaches - Badlands

8. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Belong

7. Girls Names - Dead to Me

6. Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring for My Halo

5. Toro y Moi - Underneath the Pine

4. Smith Westerns - Dye It Blonde

3. Yuck - Yuck

2. Cults - Cults

1. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

Getting to that time again...

So I'm at that point again in summer training. When I mindlessly get in my car and drive to Council Rock South's track and grind out mileage in the rolling hills of Tyler Park. Easy runs have stopped feeling like a struggle now that I'm feeling somewhat in shape and I can leave my home, run, and come back and it doesn't even feel like I went. This is when it gets more fun, I think.

Sunday, I ran an easy 45 minutes. Usually I designate Sunday as an over-distance day, but with the longer than expected run Thursday I felt like I wouldn't benefit from it. Plus, I was feeling a bit fatigued, so why not just enjoy an easy morning in Tyler with former South teammate Sam Garfield, who will be running at Tufts in the fall. Went 6 miles total.

Today I went 7.5 miles with Sam again. Went through Tyler. Hit up the college trail. Felt very easy. Maybe too easy, but it's June, so I'm not too concerned.

Coming tomorrow: My favorite LP's of 2011 so far...

Saturday 6/18

Already running out of creative titles. Oh boy. It's gonna be a long summer.

I ran an easy 5.5 miles in Tyler Park, with Mike Doyle, a former high school teammate, who will begin running at Lock Haven in the fall. Felt pretty relaxed and easy throughout. Good end to the week. Did more than I had wanted these past two days, but hey, who's counting? (Oh yeah, me.) Here's my weekly mileage:

Sun, June 12 - 6 mi. (Tyler Park)

Mon, June 13 - 5.5 mi. (Tyler Park)

Tue, June 14 - 4 mi. (neighborhood)

Wed, June 15 - 5.5 mi. (Tyler Park)

Thu, June 16- OFF

Fri, June 17 - 7.5 mi. (Langhorne/Neshaminy)

Sat, June 18 - 5.5 mi. (Tyler Park)

Week 3 Mileage: 34 miles

Total Summer Mileage: 75

A morning long(er than expected) run

Visited my roommate and ladies' man, Tim Haines and ran a little longer than expected. The original plan was to go about 6 miles, but we ended up closer to 8, finishing up at 56 minutes. I'm not too concerned though. Pace dropped in the last few miles, which always tends to happen. Felt pretty whipped afterwards, but felt god overall. I'm not supposed to feel strong at this point in the season.

Tomorrow will probably be an easy 4, making it 33 total miles for the week. Pretty much right on schedule. Sunday will be a long day. Looking forward to it...

A run and an off day

Wednesday, I met up with a couple of high school teammates and ran for 42 minutes. We'll say it was about a 5.5 mile day, bringing my weekly total to 21. Run went well. Ran through Tyler Park and hit a few trails which was nice. Felt great cardiovascularly. Afterwards, I still felt a tad sore. Got the run done with in the morning, so I had the whole day to lounge around. It's going to be interesting once my job (a 8:30-4:30 camp counselor position) starts to see how I can respond when I can't just sit around all day. It shouldn't be a problem, with the exception of lugging myself out of bed on my doubling days.

I took off today. I planned for an off day this week. I feel like my body definitely needs it with the increased volume this week so far. If I can hit 5 miles for each of the next two days, I'll still put myself right at 31, my original plan for this week. My plan seems to be working out well. Planning on a 55-60 minute long run Sunday.

Slow and Sore

Did an easy 4 miles today in 30 minutes around my neighborhood. Doing my most consecutive day mileage the past two days (a measly 11.5 miles, but hey, it's June), I guess my body was a tad tired. Felt really sore, particularly in my left quad. I'll keep an eye on it, but it seems like normal soreness. I always get those small aches and pains, especially when I start to build up my mileage. The pace was slow; I came through my neighborhood checkpoint in 16 minutes, when I'm used to coming through in low 15's. Today wasn't a terrible day. There'll be those "slow and sore" days. Just part of running.

6/12 and 6/13

Sunday was your basic over distance day. I went 6 miles at Tyler Park. Weather was nice. Not too hot for a June day. I went to the First Unitarian Church at night to see Kurt Vile, Pissed Jeans, and Meg Baird. Great show. Listen to Kurt. Talented musician from Philadelphia.

Today was a 40 minuter. Went to Tyler Park. Incorporated some hills. Had a few tired moments throughout the runs, nut felt good overall. I'll say about 5.5 miles.

The plan for the week looks like this: easy 4 tomorrow, 5 Wednesday, off thursday, and then I'll go from there. Although I've been feeling good injury-wise as well as general cardio, I still want to stay cautious and take it easy for the month of June. I did some math on my run today. If I continue to add 7 miles to my weekly mileage, it'll put me right on track to hit my goal mileage come early to mid August. Of course, this is all depending on me staying healthy and just feeling good. I want to feel good on most all runs this year. I don't want to be laboring too much. If I notice multiple days in a row where I just don't have it, I'll have to re-evaluate my plan. But for now, that is what my plan is looking like.

Week 2 (6/5 - 6/11)

So 2 weeks are already through of XC training. These first two weeks were easy ileage so I didn't feel a need to give an everyday update. At this point, it's not really about how I'm feeling because (as I should be) I'm not shape yet. Here's a look at my mileage from week 2:

Sun, June 5 - 6 mi. (Tyler Park)

Mon, June 6 - 3 mi. (neighborhood)

Tue, June 7 - OFF

Wed, June 8 - 4 mi. (neighborhood)

Thu, June 9 - 5 mi. (neighborhood)

Fri, June 10 - 6 mi. (Tyler Park)

Sat, June 11 - OFF

Week 2 Mileage: 24 miles

Total Summer Mileage: 41