Back in Colorado now which means I am officially on my break after the season... again!

The race in Austin was pretty rough. I remember getting through 1km in just over 2.50 
and I probably managed that pace for about 2.5km but by 3km I was in the shit-box. I
think I remember seeing around 8:47 when I went through and it only got worse!!!

I knew that going into the race it was either going to go great or shit, unfortunately I got
the latter but it was a great experience nonetheless. I got to feel what it's like to run at 
a huge meet here in the states and will take a lot from it. 2 weeks prior I had run the 5/10k
double at altitude at conference, then stopped running all together for 5-days so I wasn't
going into the race with any massive expectations - just wanted to get out there and see
what I had. Have to say the humidity was pretty insane, sounds like East was pretty bad 
too - especially with the numbers that dropped out. 

So now I am officially into my break again. I'll likely take around 10-14 days off and slowly
get back into it. This year I'll be going into the summer a lot different than last year. Last
year I was pretty worn down from being ill, and didn't have a lot of good running in me. 
This year I ran a half-decent 5k but more importantly knew I had a lot more in me. My foray
into 10km territory wasn't the best but at least now I know what it's all about. My goal this 
season was 14:00, so didn't quite achieve that but considering I ran 14:11 less than a month
after being entirely-spent during indoors I am pretty happy that we have found the type of 
training that I really respond too. To be honest that was the highlight of the season - being 
really worn down, then in around 3 weeks getting myself up to running 14:11 at SAC. Would
have loved another shot to try and give 14:00 a crack but you can only play with the cards
you are dealt with and either way I took a big chunk off my PB. More importantly, sub-14 
feels so much more achievable now and will be going into next indoor season with that 
firmly as the expectation. 

With that in mind, I really can't wait for the upcoming cross season. I will also likely be red-
shirting (competing unattached slash in a Wellington-Scottish singlet) next indoor/outdoor
track season, which means I can just focus on a few specific meets and not worry about
points at conference. It also means that two years from now I'll still be competing and going
one-step further than this year and make the NCAA-Finals. 

One thing I will be doing different next season and in general is how I structure my build-up. 
With such long seasons here, trying to do too much too soon can really jeopardise how 
you are able to perform at the end of the season when it really counts. As such, this summer 
I will likely not run much more than between 80-90 miles a week (albiet probably entirely off
singles) so that I get to the start of cross season ready to start training, not race-fit. That was
the mistake I made last year - I was very, very fit come the start of the season and absolutely
spent by Conference. I became far to hung up on running over 100 miles a week which is 
bloody hard up here. It's easy to let the numbers take a hold of you when what is most important
is how you are feeling and responding to the training, whether it's 80 a week or 110. 

This time I'm going about it very differently. I'll still have plenty of good running in me, but also
plenty of rest so that I am ready to roll come Regional's and National's. 

Well that's it from me for a while. I'll update in a few weeks when I am back into some running. 

Cheers,
d-wal

Am into my 3rd day here in Texas and still don't race until tomorrow night.

So far am enjoying my time here in Austin. It's hot but I've only been jogging
so far so not too bad, racing in it will be a different story but I've run in the heat
plenty of times before so not dreading it like some of the other guys seem to be.

Haven't done much but run, eat, and hang around in the hotel but I watched a
few races yesterday - the track is absolutely awesome. It's massive and has a 
sweet view over down town Austin. 

Looking forward to racing. I am in the first of two heats starting at 8:05 tomorrow
night. Going into it with absolutely nothing to lose. I plan on sitting back a bit and
hopefully can pick some guys off as they start to die. A week ago I thought my 
season was over, so am pumped to be here and give it everything. Don't have 
any time goals in mind, just want to run hard when it counts as it will likely go out
pretty slow. 

Good luck to all of the kiwi's East & West. 

d-wal

Well it's lucky I didn't write a blog right after Conference (last weekend) as for the last 5
days I thought my season was done and haven't run a step, but today I got the news that
my 14.11 was good enough for the National Qualifying meet in Texas which are the 
prelims for Nationals that are now going to be straight finals in Eugene. 

After Oregon we had accepted that I wasn't going to get in to the meet as my 10k was shit
and I was ranked like 70th in the 5k with only 48 going to the National Qualifier. With that 
in mind we went into Conference just wanting to run hard and hopefully get a medal. I
ran as hard as I could but didn't have the legs in the last 8 laps and ended up 4th in the 10k.
I really think the 10k only 2 weeks before was still in the system but it was my first one so
was a bit of a learning curve before and after the race. The next day I ran the 5k which was 
one of the hardest things I have done. Was very shattered after the 10k but wanted to try
and get some points for the team. The race went out pretty fast as there was a lot of fresh guys
in it - I ran 2.55 for the 1st km and was out the back picking up t-shirts. Got pretty rough but 
rallied in the last km to be 10th. 2 spots out of scoring but it was a solid effort. Was a very hot
New Mexico day at altitude. 

We really thought there would be no chance I'd make it to the NCAA Qualifier, especially not
in the 5 but out of the blue it happened. Some might wonder why I just didn't keep training just
in case but I ended up being 76th on the list, with 48th being 14:00. It is also the first year of this
system so we couldn't look back and say "well, 14.10 made it last year on the list so lets keep it
going just in case". The 5k was without doubt the deepest event in the West, and it seems like 
a lot of the guys seem to think their best shot is in the 10, although there are still 26 guys at 
14:00 faster. The 10 is pretty stacked too but looks the the 5 and 15 are the deepest events.

 So today I threw the trainers on and rolled out for a easy 50'. Was anything but easy but it won't
take long to get back into it. The break will probably end up being pretty good for me as in the 
last two weeks of the season I ran two 10km's and 5km with the last two races at altitude. The 
shit food and piss probably wasn't the best for me but at the same time I'm going into next weekend
with nothing to lose and very excited. Not so excited about how hot it is in Austin but not racing
until 8.45pm so shouldn't be too bad. Not sure what the goal is going to be. I only ran one 5k 
during the season but believe I was in shape to get close to 14:00 so am not intimidated by those
guys. I'm just going to get stuck in and give it everything. 

So yeah, pleasant surprise today. Not often your season ends and then starts back up again part
way through your break!! 

Good luck to all the other kiwis competing at both the Qualifiers. Going down the list from the West 
haven't spotted any other kiwi names but a few aussies - seems the NZ'ers are all out East!! 

d-wal

It's been about 10 hours since I ran the 10k in Oregon and I'm now in Washington (Just over the border)
as we fly out very early tomorrow morning from Portland which is only 5 miles away. 

The pace went out as planned but from the gun I wasn't feeling it. Just felt flat. Frustrating as I didn't
feel terrible, just couldn't "go". I was sharing the pace with another guy for the first 5k and went through
in 15.02. That would have been fine it I was feeling good but unfortunately I wasn't. My final result was
5th in 30:27. Bit of a bummer but am not going to beat myself up too much about it. I actually started feeling pretty good by about 8km but it was far to late by that time. I was also solo for the entire last 5km. I'm looking at it thinking that if that if I can run under 30.30 feeling pretty shit and basically by myself then I can live with that. It's far from ideal but I can take a lot from it and really attack my next 10k. It's also no surprise that all the fast 10ks in the states come out of races with big trains where you can just sit in and tick the laps off and always have someone around you, ours was pretty bloody thin but I always enjoy being at Hayward Field, they crowd is always supportive and very knowledgeable of the sport. 

Not entirely sure why I felt like I did. The original plan was that we were running on friday, so maybe I didn't
do "enough" of a workout on tues, but can't really see it making that much of a difference. Just really not sure. It seemed like most of the guys felt pretty shit. Luke Puskedra ran 29.30 after going out in 14.35 and
the Mercado's ran 29.52 and 30.02 off the same 5k split. I talked to the Mercado's after and they said they 
just weren't feeling it as all of them ran about 1:00 slower than their PB's. The weather at 10am when we ran was ok - a bit windy but good temp's. 

Not sure what is in store for me right now. I basically have Conference to nail a time to get to Regionals but 
I can't see the 5k or 10k there being fast at all so hopefully Berryhill has an ace in the sleeve idea about how to get a time. As it currently stands id need 10 guys to pull from the 5k to get to regionals - not an unreal situation as a lot will run the 15 or 10 but the chances are very, very slim - especially with stanford this weekend. 

I'm fit but for some reason just couldn't get it out today, one of those days. 

d-wal

What's up NZRun fans..

Am currently in Eugene for the Oregon Relays this weekend where I will be running the 10k.
The race was supposed be tomorrow night but has been changed as G-Rupp is going for the
US record and Alberto reckons conditions will be ideal on sat night, so the Gods have
spoken on that one.  No dramas though, doesn't change much at all - just meant that today instead
of just an easy 30-odd minutes I did a 20min warm up then a 1k in 2.57 then half mile cool-down. 
Was nice and easy but good to get in something a little more than just a jog so that I'm not flat 
come saturday. Takes me back to the days of the Team DC Speed-Session on thursdays. 

In terms of the race, up front pace is on for Ruppster to get the US record, and he has two guys
pulling him along. Back from that Oregon is throwing in a 13.41 guy to take the pace through 5k
at 29.15 pace. This has left me with two options: Either sit on the back of that and go through around
14.40 or run by myself and try to hit around 14.50. After talking to my coach we think I should go
with it. From the guys I've talked to about running 10's it seems pretty bloody important to get in a
rhythm that first 5 and relax as long as possible so if I can run in behind some other guys then that
is going to make it a hell of a lot easier. I'm not sure what I can run as its my debut, but I want to get
out there and give myself a shot of running fast. There are only so many times that you are fit and
have the chance to sit in and run well so I want to make the most of it. At the end of the day I just 
need to run 29.50 to go to Regionals but I didn't come out here to just run "ok", if I wanted to do that
I would have just stayed in Fort Collins and run at the homemeet.

My training hasn't been 100% for the 10k but it wasn't 100% for the 5k either and that went pretty
well so I believe I can knock out a good one, especially seeing as over the past year my mileage
has been consistently pretty high. So the plan is to just sit in behind the Oregon guys and relax as
long as possible, then man up and see what I can do. Its either get stuck in and give myself a shot
or fuck around running alone. Overall I'm just excited to get out there and give it a crack as running
at Hayward Field is pretty bloody awesome. 

Good luck to all the other guys and girls running in the states this weekend as well as those
throwing it down at the Rotorua 'thon. 

d-wal

Well am back from the Mt.Sac relays in Cali where I finally nailed a decent 5km. Have been
fit enough for a while but after tweeking training a little bit it finally came out. We had spent 
indoors nailing track workouts thinking it was going to get me faster, when in reality all it did
was make me tired so we went back to some very basic stuff that I seem to run well off. For 
3 weeks after indoors I ran 90miles a week with a basic longer race-pace track session once
week, Hills, and 2 long runs. We also introduced a couple of tempo runs which got me working
but didn't tire me out like the track does. From that I went from running 14.20's feeling shit and
tired to 14.11 at Mt.Sac feeling really good off what was mainly 10k leaning training. 

The race was just what I needed - I was able to sit in and just tick off the laps, although the 
guys around me weren't too content on doing the same as people were going back and forth
from me a lot in the middle stages. I lost a few seconds on my second mile but managed to 
finish strong over the last 800. I went from the mid-teens to finishing 5th in that last half mile.
It was great because I feel like if I had run a little more aggressively, I could have run 5 or so
seconds faster on the night. In the end its what I wanted though, I went into the race with 14.10
as the goal so 14:11.20 will do for now. It was very important for me mentally as things are
finally clicking now and I feel like I can really give 14 a crack this season. 

For now it will be more of the same, as in two weeks I am going to the Oregon Relays to run 
another 5km. I am currently ranked 57th in the West Region for the 5k, and need to be Top 48
to go to the National Qualifying meet. At the moment 48th is 14.08, but with Stanford and a 
number of other top meets coming up out here I think I will need to run 14.05 to go. We have 
also considered a 10km, but will wait on word from the organisers at Oregon to see what the
field will be like in terms of depth. Likely though it will be the 5. I haven't thought a lot about it
yet but I will likely try to run pretty close to my 3k split at Mt.Sac (8.32) but focus on that 4th km
as if I can hold 14.10 pace through 4km then finish like I always seem to over the last half mile
then that will have me in a good position to run 14.05 or faster. 

d-wal

The last time I blogged I think I had just arrived back from Iowa State where I ran the 5000m.
The rest of indoors was pretty up and down - I raced 5/6 weekends and the cumulative effect
really beat me down. As such, although I was fit I was struggling to get to races feeling good 
both mentally and physically. A good example of this was Iowa itself, where the week of was
pretty rough. That was the trend of the season - fit, but tired. Pretty simple fix really: less intensity
too close together. 

Since indoors I have just completed my 3rd week in a row of 90 miles/week up here in Fort Collins,
which is right on 5000ft. My training has shifted very much to a 10k leaning style of 5k training, as 
opposed to the mile/5k work during indoors which was hard to maintain. The reason behind this
was pretty simple; I wanted to be able to stay consistent, to nail week after week of training and 
feel good. What I have found up at altitude is that I get pretty beat down off intense stuff, yet thrive
off big miles and long sessions so we are sticking to that. 

Weekly format looks something like this:

Mon: Easy 45 + plyo's, Strides and core. 
Tues: Track session
Weds: 30' AM -- 60' PM
Thurs: 1:30'
Fri: 60' Easy + plyos, strides and core. 
Sat: 14 x 90sec hills + 30' PM
Sun: 2:00

I'm on the track once a week on tuesday and have been alternating between a 10k session
and a more 5k race specific session. So far that has been something like 6x800 @ 14.10
pace w/ 75sec rest or a longer session - last weeks was 2400, 2000, 1600, 1200, 800, 400
with a lap jog (about 2') in between - cutting down the pace each rep. I have noticed that I 
recover from that longer stuff very well which has meant I have been able to get great consistency
and retain the two long runs a week as well. On Monday and Friday I am pretty diligent about 
doing 4x150 at around 21secs with a full walk/jog recovery. Its one of the things I picked up
from Aish which I really like to do - It means that no matter what type of training I am doing, I 
always have speed in the legs. 

Plan for the season is to nail a regional time - 14.00's should get me there. Then once I do
that, I may run a 10 - but that is up in the air at the moment as all I am thinking about is 
getting the 5 in. I'll be heading to SAC in 3 weeks time to try and nail that. Hopefully I can
get into a heat that is won in 14.00 or under, because I believe that by that time I will be as 
ready as ever to run right around there. At the end of the day though, I just want to take the 
next step which is 14.10, then go from there rather than get too ahead of myself. The main
thing for me is just showing up to races feeling good and not having left it all at home on 
the training track - if I can do that, I'll be ready to roll. Thats the plan!! 

This weekend I will be running a low-key 1500m in Greely, CO. I will not be altering training
at all for it - just a chance to get a race in before Mt.SAC. 

Congrats to the World XC boy's and those who put it all out there at T&F Nat's. 

d-wal

Well the weekend has been and gone and I'm back from Iowa and my 5km. 

The race was not what we expected and was a far cry from the year before. 
The field was deep on paper, and i was ranked 9th with my 14.23 from last year. 
Everything was magic up till around 3000m. I hit around 8.31-ish and was feeling
good just sitting in the pack following the train. Unfortunately the leaders then fell
to pieces and the pace dropped big time. I found myself moving from around 10th to
4th in the matter of a couple of laps and was pretty much in no mans land. I lost a lot
of time in that 4th km and although i pulled together a solid last 800, I finished 4th 
in 14:24.49. 

Pretty disappointed to be honest as i am in much better shape than that - just wasn't
the race we thought it would be. I have been training very much on the strength side
of things as outdoors is the priority but believed (and still do) that I could run 14.10 and
qualify for WUXC. I would love to have another crack but the qualifying period was
essentially just indoor season and had too be at sea-level, which meant I only had one
real chance over 5000m - while the 10'000 standard (30.30) was never going to be an
option as they certainly don't run that indoors anymore!!! I'm glad I had a crack though
and have made it clear I am still available for selection as Canada is just up the road
and I believe I can be very competitive at that meet. 

Finally have a week off from racing this week as I had raced the past 4 weekends in a row.
I'm also feeling a lot better than last week as I was starting to feel quite run down before
traveling. The plan now is Conference next weekend where I will be running the 5km/3km
double - 6 days after that we will be traveling to the Ben Brown Invite in Fullerton, CA to
open up the outdoor season. At that meet last year I ran 14.23 to win the B race, this year
I will be hanging close to the front in the A race. That race will essentially dictate what happens
for the rest of the season. If I can run 14.0X I will likely have a good enough time to make it 
to the National Qualifying Meet, so will have a lot of options in terms of training and racing for
the rest of the season. Tentative schedule after that is Stanford and Mt.Sac. 

Not much more from me - just looking forward to some more solid training and Conference! 

d-wal. 

Well this weekend is what I have been training for since break - the 5000m at Iowa State. 
Since my last entry things have continued to go pretty well.

What we took from Nebraska is that I am strong but needed to get the wheels turning 
a bit quicker. Rather than get into specific speed work we thought we'd enter in some 
shorter races to sharpen up. The mile at Airforce went pretty well - it went out very slow
(1:09) but gradually picked up. At half way I took the lead and got moving, closing the 
last 400 in 60.01. The converted time wasn't blazing (4:12/13 if I remember right) but 
you don't go to 7000ft to run blazing times, yet to close that fast up there I was pretty
excited about my fitness - I don't think even Carl Jackson has closed that fast up there
in a mile. After the race we were outside for a 20' tempo which felt harder than the race
itself!! It was a good day of training and nice to get another win. 

Training since that mile has been ok - not great, I was a little tired in out "michigan" workout
the following tuesday. I still hit the splits but wasn't as relaxed as the week before. That 
weekend I travelled to New Mexico for another mile. I felt great in the warm-up but didn't
feel great in the race. I ended up with another 4.12. I am in much better shape than that
but it just wasn't my day and the training we have been doing though has been 100% 
focussed on the 5km. For the last 2 weeks Tuesday has been a michigan, and Thursday
90', so to still be able to run a couple of half-decent miles is pretty good. 

This week I was still a little tired. Tuesday was 4x800 @ goal race pace - the times were
fine I was just a little fatigued still so I took Weds completely off - my first unscheduled 
day off in a long time!!! It was well needed as I have been fighting off a bit of a cold that
has been going around (both the people I live with were sick in the last two weeks!) which
is probably why I haven't felt 100% in training in the last week or so. Today was a lot better
though and I'm confident I will be ready, rested, and ready to go on Sat. Shit, if Galen Rupp
can run 13.14 after being sick surely I can run a minute slower!!! 

We leave tomorrow at 5.15am which is a kick in the nuts but its nice to finally be flying - the 
8hr bus trips back and forth to New Mexico suck pretty bad. 

d-wal

Well since cross finished a few changes were made, and things quickly turned 
around for me after a pretty disappointing end to the Fall. 

We tried a few things in cross that didn't work out, but nonetheless it was still great
hard training and we learnt a lot. After a week off of no running I slowly built up so
that after 4 weeks I was at full miles again - about 90. Its been very basic stuff but has
got me fit very quick. Basic outline was something like this:

Mon: Easy 60' 
Tues: Tempo (b/w 20-30mins @ Heart-rate) + Easy 30'
Weds: 90' medium. 
Thurs: Easy 70'
Fri: Fartlek (Varied b/w 1min, 3min, and 5min efforts) + Easy 30'
Sat: Easy 60' + Easy 30'
Sun: 1:45' over hills. 

Throw in with that some core work a few days a week as well as some 150's for basic
speed on Monday and Thursdays and I am currently very fit. So far we have done very
little on the track, only about 3 sessions so far. One of which was 6x800 @ 5km goal pace
(14.10) with 1min rest which went very, very well. I am finishing sessions feeling good and
having a lot more in the tank which is why I am still able to hold the miles at 90/week. I will
be around that all indoors except for 3 weeks for more important races. 

The goal this season is just flat-out to run 14.10 to qualify for World Uni XC. With the season
not very long I'll have one really good shot at hitting that time at Iowa state on Feb 13. Running
indoors is obviously a bit slower than outdoors, so the chance to run on a larger track will
probably be my best shot at qualifying. If I wasn't trying to make this team, I would likely
just be focussing on the 3km but it is important for me to have a crack and my coach has 
been right behind it. 

Plan is to run a 5km this weekend at Nebraska. Goal there is basically to see where
we are at. I'll plan to get through 3km at 8.40 and then if I'm feeling good I'll try and
pick it up. A few hours later I'll run a 1km for a bit of a workout. Week after is one off in
terms of racing, but on Feb 5 I'll be racing a mile at New Mexico, followed the week
after by the 5km at Iowa State. 

So along with Conference, that will be the plan for indoors. I am really looking forward
to the season. It's night and day in terms of how I am feeling now compared with cross. 
I'm training well but feeling fresh - not buggered all the time. Despite some average 
weather we have a decent little indoor facility to train on. 150m indoor track so plenty
of turns but nice to be able to get the work done when outdoors is not an option. 

Good luck to the others competing indoors this season and to those on the track at home. 

d-wal