Monday – September 25, 2006 Back to the Basics
Training: 5pm: 30 minutes
Day Mileage: 4 miles, 6.4 km
Week Total: 4 miles, 6.4 km
Where: Around Thun and Steffisburg.
Weather: Crappy! Rainy and cool.
Details: My run today felt like I haven't run for three weeks… So yeah, didn't feel great, but that is normal since I didn't run one step on my time off. I am eager to get back in the swing of things. I hope my fitness comes back as fast as it went! Hahaha.
Back to the Basics of Distance Running
Those basics are just straight-up mileage and strength! I haven't set any goals with my coach yet, so I don't know exactly what I am training towards right now… But I meet with my coach soon so that will change…First I just need to build my base up, up, up again and then worry about the real-deal workouts later.
Looking back real quick at this past year… I feel like the hardest thing is not having "seasons" like in college. In college you can the nice routine of cross country from September to November, then you get a break and a build up phase over Christmas, then indoor starts in January and then you have some down time before outdoor track comes along. On the international level, the seasons aren't as "nice and clean" as in college. For example, you may have a road race in the middle of your cross country or track season… We have no "road race season…" Road races are just all throughout the year and you have to decide which ones are the important ones… Over here, you make your name known on the roads, not really on the track. The general public doesn't really care too much about track over here, but pay more attention to road races. Of course we have some well-known tracksters, but a lot more people know you if you win tons of road races instead of going to another country to place maybe 10th in a track meet. People here don't care if you placed 8th among some of the best, they care if you won or not. That is all they know, if you get first place, then you must be good. So that means if you go to some rinky-dink road race and win, you actually get more attention from that than if you were to go to say Germany for a track race and actually run well. The only big track event that was actually well-covered by our media was the European Championships on the track. Roads, here I come…Again. But this time, angry! Okay, not really angry… How about with more of a fire!
NEXT: September 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 & October 1 – Ouch, Ouch & Ouch...
PREVIOUS: August 29, 30, 31, September 1, 2 – It was my birthday, the big 25!