"For today's practice..."

The first day of track practice my high school coach always wanted to make sure that everyone who showed up to be on the distance team really meant it. The runners who had been through a track season with my coach already knew the workout that we were about to do, and I felt that was the reason why half of us put in some off-season mileage during the winter to stay fit.

After some casual introductions he would tell us to do a series of warm up exercises and a few laps to warm up the legs. During the stretching portion of our warm-up is when he would go over the details of the interval work we were about to do.

"So for today you will be doing 24-400 meter intervals with 2 minutes rest inbetween each one. I would suggest to lightly jog or walk around inbetween each interval to keep loose, as this workout takes awhile."

I always felt bad for the new kids coming out for distance for the first time--they must have thought we were nuts and did this everyday! But my sympathy for them would always go away after lap 8 or 9 because I knew that I was going through the same thing that they were. If a runner wanted to quit early my coach would never stop them--most of the new people would give in around lap 14 or 16, but the guys and gals who were upper classmen knew that 24 was the benchmark for the rest of the season. Even if it wasn't pretty, finishing the workout was a must.

At 4:30pm we suddenly found ourselves alone on an empty track. The jumpers, sprinters, and throwers had finished up their respective workouts before us and were now in the locker rooms changing to go home. I think those left on the track finishing up the workout wouldn't have had it any other way. Completing the workout by ourselves is what distance running was all about.

"58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63", yelled my coach for the final lap splits. "Now that's what I'm talking about--try to get a mile in for your warm down and I'll see you all tomorrow for an easy day. Good job."

Most of us lay there sprawled out on the track breathing heavily and seeing stars above us mixed in with a now spinning blue sky. Welcome to track.

What's the Hardest Track and Field Event?

As I woke up this morning (if you are wondering, it was NOT at 5AM) I smelled an unmistakable whiff of track in the air. It was a small mix of fresh cut grass and almost warm breeze--the kind where you can tell Winter is starting to give way to Spring. By the way, that's about as poetic as any of my blogs will get, so savor the moment.

I got goosebumps, my heart skipped a beat, and for a fleeting moment I realized how much fun track and field was for me in high school. Of course, there were those notsofun moments of track and field, which usually included 24x400 workouts (which my coach was famous for giving on the first day of track) and the occasional all out effort on the rubber oval.

I got on my bike for a training ride and started to daydream about track and field and realized that everytime I think about track and field I come to the same question:
What is the hardest event in high school track and field?

I finally came to my answer, and will leave it a mystery as I don't want to offend anyone...ok ok you pulled my leg. I think (in my totally unprofessional opinion) that the 800 meter dash is the most challenging event in a high school track race. In no other event could I imagine a sprinter and distance runner having a fair shake at winning evenly competing at. It takes speed, endurance, technical running skills, and even luck to put together the perfect 800 meter race.

It's the "halfway point" between those kids that refer to themselves as strictly distance runners, and the sprinters that would never think about going farther than a lap. One thing is for certain--if you take any stellar 400 meter runner and turn them into an 800 meter runner you will no doubt get a fast time if they put some distance workouts or mileage in. It take dedication and a ton of versatility to do this though, as most sprinters are already wrapped up in 4 events in a meet--the 100,200,400 and one sprint relay. The 800 is almost certainly viewed as more of a distance runners event, but I really think a lot of solid 200 and 400 meter runners are missing out by not training at least one year for this and trying it out.

For a track spike for the 800 I recommend a distance spike--although now you can find more and more middle distance spikes that have a small amount of heel padding instead of a full length foam cushion like all distance spikes have. This cuts down on weight and makes the spike more versatile if you are doing the 800 as your longest event (you can use a middle distance spike for the 800 down to the 100). A distance spike can be used for all events, but is a little heavier and the spikeplate is configured differently so as not to put you on your toes as much as a middle distance or spring spike would.

Fit Right NW has 5 different middle distance spikes from Asics, Brooks, New Balance, and Nike (the New Balance one is stocked in multiple widths).

For distance spikes they have 8 different options from Adidas, Brooks, Nike, Puma, and Saucony.

If you're looking for some options check them out!

5am Never Felt So Great

There's a knot in my stomach, the room is dark, and that stupid, annoying song that I used to love is now playing at an uncomfortable volume on my phone's alarm. Now I hate that song, because the only time I hear it is at 5am when it starts to vibrate on the nightstand next to my bed.

I quickly turn it off because by now my roommate is probably wondering why he's paying me the rent instead of the other way around for all the sleep he's missed. Now is the moment of truth--the decision that I must make when I'm not in a decision making mood (or state for that matter). Do I turn over, hit the rack and snag a few more hours of sleep, or do I jump out of bed and go for a run?

It's cold outside, windy, and you guessed it...raining.
I turn on my nightstand light and the looming poster of Billy Mills hangs above my bed. I look up to the image of the "Mighty" Bill Mills which is blurred because I don't have my contacts in. I don't need them in though because I know all too well what it says...hand signed too:

"Follow Your Dreams-Billy Mills"

Kind of ironic now that I think about it--going back to sleep and dreaming up some lofty new goals sounds rather nice right now. But I know what that poster really means, and nowhere in my personal goals or ambitions is there a clause that says, 'and by the way Andrew, be sure to skip out on your runs and get more sleep'.

So I roll out of bed and do what a lot of you are probably doing this time of year--putting in some off-season work. But I've gotta be honest, this isn't something that I do because I know others are out there doing the same thing--quite the contrary. The reason why I get up on mornings like this is the thought of all those who chose not to get up--because every day that they sleep in is another day that I gain an edge on them come Spring. Every true champion knows that Track and Field season isn't won in March, April or May, but rather in December, January, and February.

I throw on some split shorts, favorite pair of gloves and long sleeve tech shirt with beanie. By this time I'm committed and honestly hating every second of it. Shoes, socks, and deodorant follow and I'm off and running on Springville Rd. in what seems to be the middle of nowehere.

Houses are dark, dogs are awakened by my stride past their fences, and people are warming up their cars to go to their early morning jobs. It's pitch dark as I run past one guy walking in his driveway to his car to start it up. All he can say is, "You're crazy."

It's been like this since I started running when I was 14, and I don't think it will ever change. People really do think that you're crazy--especially if you're like me and basically live in split shorts during the winter running season. But now that I'm halfway into my run my body is awake, blood is flowing, and I feel more alive than I ever would had I fell back asleep and skipped out on this run.

"Okay", I think to myself. "Now I remember why I do this."

The sun breaks over the ridge into a glorious sunrise and I'm finishing my run now--walking up the stairs to my condo. I'm dripping with sweat but feel relaxed and complete. A cup of water later and I walk to my room only to see that the 1964 Olympic 10K result still hasn't changed. Mills is still in his triumphant pose crossing the finish line in first, except this time I can actually read his words.






"Yeah, yeah...you were right again Billy. I'm sure you got up a few times at 5am too."