Saturday December 10, 2005
Training: 56 DL1 in the morning, core strength, 20 min. jog evening with drills
Day Mileage: About 10 miles
Where: Thun and Steffisburg
WEATHER: High of 38
Quotes: "The mileage hasn't hit me yet..I will let you know when it does." -Me
Training Details: My legs felt stiff in the morning, but loosened up a bit after stretching for a long time…Core strength went well….although doing the core strength makes me feel just how week my core is. At least I know when I am improving! Morning pace felt around 7:00 pace per mile, maybe a little fast at times.
Sunday December 11, 2005
Training: 22 minutes warm up, 4 miles race, 21 mins warm down
Day Mileage: about 9
WEEK Mileage: about 70+
Where: Neuchatel, Switzerland
WEATHER: Really windy, hi of 38
Quotes: "I think there are like 3k worth of hills in this race." Celina
Training Details: The course was really bleeping hilly. It was through a bit of the town of Neuchatel and there were two really long hills, then we had to run over some bridge and up these steps through some kind of castle courtyard, back around and then waaaay down hill (feel the pounding)! There were a lot of sharp, sharp turns where you had to put on the breaks real hard and almost walk around the turns from coming from a steep down hill. For 6k, we had to do 4 loops. Two women were with me the first two loops, then one woman was with me for halfway of the third and then I was on my own for the last one. Neuchatel is a beautiful city. (Again, when I say city…I mean a Swiss city! That means a lot of gorgeous buildings, lots of outside shopping strips, really ritzy ones here, and just all around a laid back and cool atmosphere.) CRAFT was the sponsor of this race, which is a name brand for sporty clothes and such.
Also today was the European Championships for cross!!!
Here are the results: http://www.tilburg2005.org/
Our super star of the day, Astrid Leutert, placed 24th! Good job Asiiiiiii!!!!!!!
Monday December 12, 2005
Training: 72 mins DLL – core strength and weights (arms) for 40 mins.
Day Mileage: about 9.5
Where: Steffisburg on new trails I found!!!!
WEATHER: brrrr, chilly hi of 36
Quotes: I wonder where this goes…. My inner dialog when running today
Training Details: I decided to go explore some trails today since I have basically been running the same routes since I've been here! I was sooo excited when I found these sweet new trails near me. It was hilly and really nice trails, there were a couple obstacles (jumping over a lil' river where I busted my butt on some ice), a really shaky draw bridge (that I was afraid to run on because I thought it was going to fall down into the river below) but it was a really fun run. I was such a little kid when I found the new trails.."I wonder where this goes…" In my head, I sounded like Conrad when he says "this is delicious" (roomies from apt 203, you know EXACTLY what that sounds like…that squeaky excited way he says he likes something hahahahha). Anyway, I am excited to explore some trails that branched off of this one to see where they lead. Pace felt like maybe 7 minute pace until my legs loosened up then dropped it down to 6:50 for a while….based on feel!
It's gotta' pay off sometime…I just have to stay patient enough to see the day it happens….
I have been putting in a lot of hard work and I know that it will be worth it. I remember I was talking with "Chrigu" Belz and someone had requested to see what his training was like leading up to his awesome race in Helsinki(where he broke the Swiss 10k record AGAIN and placed 14th at the World Track Championships)…he and I were joking that he would have to send his training log for the past 10 years…we laughed, but it was a serious suggestion! What I mean is that the training you do for years is just as important as the months of training leading up to a huge break-out race one may have. I am obviously in this for the long haul, therefore, I am staying patient, believing that this hard work WILL pay off at some point or another…I just have to keep working and keep believing in myself and in my hard training. I have to constantly remind myself of this as I go out and train everyday and with every unsatisfying and satisfying race I run in the next couple months. The LONG RUN, the BIG PICTURE is what matters. So does this mean if I don't reach my big goals at the end of this long run that this wouldn't have been worth it? ABSOLUTELY NOT! It is totally worth it because I am chasing my dreams and since I am following my passion, I won't regret trying…Because as the common phrase reads, "you'll never know until you try." So I will never know until I try, and I am not only trying, but I am trying my best! Live life, love life, no regrets…
NEXT: December 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 – Everybody needs a break...
PREVIOUS: December 8, 9 – I am so blessed to be able to run...
INDEX: Unfinished Business -- Former PA XC state champion Josi Lauber's post-collegiate adventure.