"Running For Nothing"

from Daily Bread (given to me by my Dad and Mom a year ago)

-As my friend Roger Weber started the 2006 Chicago Marathon, he noticed something on the ground. It was a runner's chip--the device each runner puts on his or her shoe to record progress at various timing stations during the race. Apparently, one poor runner would be traversing the next 26.2 miles on foot with nothing to show for it.

Officially, that runner did not run the race. There would be record of his participation. Even if he had finished the race in a record time, it wouldn't have mattered. The folks who organize the race set the rules, and no matter how well someone runs, if the officials say the runner doesn't qualify, that's the way it is.

In one sense, that's also the way it is with us. We can run what appears to be a good race by doing all the good things for others and obeying lots of rules. But when we arrive at the final checkpoint--heaven--and haven't made sure our name is recorded in the Lamb's Book of Life by putting our faith in Jesus as our Savior, we're disqualified to enter.

Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me"(John 14:6). are you trusting in Jesus? If not, you're running for nothing.
-Dave Branon

It's not what I achieve that qualifies,

It matters not if I gain wealth or fame;

The only thing I must be certain of

Is "Have I put my trust in Jesus' name?"

-Hess

I Hope everyone has a safe and Happy New Year's!!

Training Log 12/22-12/28 2008

73miles on 8runs in 6days: (Stamina/Strength Phase 3/5)
**Recovery Week**

M: 55minutes w/Hill Burst (5)/35minutes
T: 13miles paced Marian for the middle 8miles in (6:27) pace.
W: OFF (Planned)
T: 82minutes w/Marian on Gallia Bike Trail up to Mount Hill Cemetery for a beautiful overlook. The best Christmas run ever!!
F: 11miles with 6mile Steady State (32:09/5:21avg)
@Point Pleasant(Main Street)
Splits: 5:35, 5:22, 5:20, 5:23, 5:07, 5:20
S: 42minutes/35minutes
S: 15mile Thirds Progression Long Run (1:32.31/6:10avg)
5miles Easy/5miles Medium/5miles Medium-Hard
Splits: 1st 5-(33:58/6:46avg), 2nd 5-(30:01/6:00avg), 3rd 5-(28:32/5:42avg)

Recap: Really solid week of training especially for a recovery week. I missed one workout on Tuesday due to a tight calf after the Monday Hill Burst, it was good to go on the 13miler while pacing Marian though but wouldn't have been smart to do my planned Hill Repeats. The Friday Steady State showed me the fitness is there, based off the McMillan Charts Steady State effort runs around 5:12-5:21 pace equals to a 1:08 Half Marathon Fitness when done in the right zone. I think a better test of my fitness will be in a couple weeks when I move into Tempo Effort(4:59-5:12pace) for 4-7milers. The Sunday Thirds Progression was smooth for the most part the only challenge was the 30plus mph wind gust. The first 2.5 miles of each 5miler was into the wind and then I would have the wind to my back for the 2nd half of each 5miler. The advantage of having the wind to your back is no where near the disadvantage of running into those gust...nasty!

Christmas: I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, we had a great 2-day trip back to my parents house where they had a big Christmas dinner(20people or s0). My best man from the wedding and running hero Casey Batey came in and spent Christmas Day and night with us, he then jumped into the first 4miles of that Steady State run Friday with is a huge help and made the run feel even smoother. Getting to spend time with the family and friends during the Holidays always makes them that much more special!!

HERD: Today is action packed if your a MU Thundering Herd fan. First we have Donnie-Ball as the BBall plays at the Cam at 2pm and then we have Chad and the Dolphins looking to stick it to the Jets at 4:15 and take the Division Title and playoff berth. If only Herd Football still had Bobby Pruet as the the Head Coach then we probably would be looking forward to still playing in some good post season bowl games.

Christmas Day Run!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

*Video of me finishing up Christmas Day run, doing post run drills, Marian doing drills, and the last picture is from the top of Mount Hill Cemetery overlooking Gallipolis Ferry where my parents live, you can see the farm land and roads that I do my local runs on there when home visiting. Todays run to the top of this cemetery was so much fun, Marian and me ran together from the Gallia Bike Trail through the town and up to this lookout spot.

-10 DEGREES

*Had to update that this mornings run might have been the coldest run I have ever been on. It was 8 degrees but with the wind chill -5 to -10 degrees! Marian and I were out the door a little later then usual(8:30am) but the extra hour wasn't helping anything. Actually my core body and legs stayed pretty comfortable but my fingers, toes, face were hurting pretty bad. I shook my hands out countless times which helped very little. Today's first run was a easy day of 55minutes with some hill burst at the end(not the best day to stop for hill burst) but Marian toughed it out for 75minutes. As you can quess we didn't see a single runner out that early and in that cold of a morning but with a busy morning of doing Christmas shopping we couldn't wait around.

*This morning did make me remember a memorable run from about 3 winters ago when me and John Davis(the old long run partner, GET BETTER one day John!!) went out for a Sunday 2hour run at 7am with the temperature at a toasty 7degrees(can't remember the wind chill factor but close to today) and when we returned his beard had snot ice-sickles that were at least 2inches!! It was the funniest post long run thing I have ever seen and somehow never noticed during the run. Marian took a picture of it but I can't seem to remember where we put it or I would put it up for the entire world to see how funny it was!! (lol)

*Ok well I still have to get out the door for a 2nd run of 35minutes but now it is a balmy 20degrees so this one should be a comfortable warm one!

Training Log 12/15-12/21 2008

84miles on 9runs in 7 days: (Stamina/Strength 2/5)

M: 55minutes on Gallia Bike Trail
T: 75minutes Gallipolis Ferry Farm Run in the Snow
W: 65minutes/30minutes
T: 14miles w/10miles(54:22/5:26avg) Steady State
Splits: 5:33, 5:37, 5:22, 5:15, 5:18, 5:31, 5:26, 5:19, 5:26, 5:30
@ Johnstown Road Miles 2,6,10 were the hilliest ones so effort was tough on those miles (27:08 1st 5miles/27:14 2nd 5miles)
F: 65minutes in the pouring rain
S: 2Hour Long Run on the Allegheny Highlands Trail in Elkins, WV
S: 45minutes/45minutes

Recap: Very solid week of training, mileage was slightly lower then I had wanted but there was a lot of rain this week and travel so that prevented some 2nd runs. The steady state workout and the long run were both very good days, the long run was ran pretty fast this time to take advantage of the awesome highlands trail.

TRIP: Our short trip to the Mountains of Elkins, WV was a great time. What is not to like about mountains, clean small town air or countless trails, back roads, dirt roads, etc to run on? I would love to coach at D&E there is so much potential for a D2 running powerhouse up there in the mountains. While in town we went to the American Mountain Music Theatre (http://www.americanmountaintheater.com/) and stayed at the Graceland Inn (http://www.gracelandinn.com/) which is located on the D&E campus. I recommend both as excellent choices on things to do or places to stay if in the area. The variety show was actually really funny with the comedy they add into the music.

Also post long run we hit up Scotties, a small local little Hamburger/Breakfast place. What a great breakfast stop, the place is a small old looking type of restaurant but by 10:30 when we were leaving it was packed so stop by early for a great meal. While in there a Elkins local went outside got a newspaper and come back in and handed it to me and said Merry Christmas....wow now that is my type of place!

What is fast!?!

*It's funny I have been having these thoughts lately where basically I've been telling myself that my fartlek or steady-state runs aren't really fast or hard and that my long hilly run isn't that long. To my surprise since starting to really believe this things have been clicking. I'm back to knowing that these workouts aren't really that "super" tough and that honestly to get to where I should be they better not be "super" tough. But this mental approach is making solid workouts feel pretty darn smooth. I have made some nice changes since the TCM buildup where things went well all summer but I never really clicked even though I tried hard to tell myself that I was clicking. I know that right now all that summer build and races are paying off with this training cycle. I'm eating healthier as in eating enough compared to maybe getting a little too small for my body type this summer, my hamstring/butt/hip is feeling better then ever maybe do to some new drills I started or maybe from running between 75-85miles a week compared to the summers 95plus each and every week, adding in of some things I left out during the summer build training wise has been a huge benefit, and of course getting some help from Coach McMillan for my own personal training has been a nice added mental break to have a plan sent to me instead of me designing my own stuff on top of everyone that I coach. I haven't really had to try to do anything really fast yet in training but these workouts that shouldn't feel hard aren't feeling hard, today for example I ran 54:22 for 10miles on Johnstown Road and I'm just 7 weeks into my cycle that will hopefully lead to something really fast at Shamrock Half Marathon in March. Things can change instantly due to many factors but I'm enjoying being on a smooth feeling training streak right now and I hope it continues to get better!

Here is the video about thinking about "What is Fast" that I saw today and had to laugh because my thoughts have been so geared on telling myself in my own training and paces that it Isn't really fast......**This guy uses a 4minute mile or 14flat 5k as not being really that fast which you got to remember he coaches a group of elite level 1500-5k runners.

Track and Field Videos on Flotrack

Snow Fun!

*I have spent the last few days at my parents house while Marian has been in Phoenix. My dad recently had shoulder surgery so I was able to help out around the house while home. I also got to run today on my old loop around their house for 75minutes slogging through the snow. It was a blast, probably wasn't going any faster then 8minute pace but I could do runs like that everyday. I was suppose to do a stride workout in the middle of the run but with the shoe deep snow that wouldn't have been pretty to try to run fast. I still will get in the workout this week I will just rearrange things slightly. During the winter there will be times where I will have to skip the hard workouts on nasty days. Knowing this could be a rough winter I'm glad to know I'm already fit and in a good position to go with the flow of the winter weather. Getting the 80-95miles in a week isn't usually a problem in the bad weather but getting in the faster workouts can be, but I know that missing a few here and there sometimes can be a good thing in the long run for staying healthy.

*Pat recently added a "Training Section" to TriStateRacer.com and he had me start things off with a article on Base Building, Check it out: http://www.tristateracer.com/New_Folder/TrainingInfo/index.htm
He also has a big plan that he is working on and hopes to release to the site soon, when he does be prepared for something HUGE that will be coming to the Huntington Racing Scene!! It has me jacked up!

*I have a surprised trip to the WV Mountains for Marian when she gets back. It will be a short weekend getaway trip to Elkins to stay in a Cabin. We love going to great running places for getaways and Elkins has many trails and great running to explore we will probably do our long run at the Allegheny Highlands Trail since it is right in the town area http://www.highlandstrail.org/. I also have us some tickets booked to the American Mountain Theater while in town and I know Marian will love that.

*Finally got some pictures sent to me from the Mizuno 15miler from this summer so I have attached them to a blog: http://runpyles.blogspot.com/2008/09/mizuno-15miler-columbus-ohio.html

Training Log 12/8-12/14 2008

87 miles on 9 runs in 7 days:
(Stamina/Strength Phase 1/5)

M: 38minutes/55minutes(Hilly)
T: 80minute Thirds Progression Run
(25minute Easy/25 Medium/25 Med-Hard/5down)
W: 80minutes with middle 7miles pacing Marian
T: 30minutes/52minutes (Both in the rain)
F: 12miles with 8mile Steady State(43:39/5:27avg) in the Middle.
@Ritter Park Creek Path
Splits: 5:33, 5:26, 5:26, 5:23, 5:29, 5:30, 5:25, 5:24
S: 75minutes with Marian (super early before her flight)
S: 2hour @ Big Ben Highway (Very HILLY)

Recap: Good week of training. The Thirds Progression run went smoothly. On the Friday Steady-State I warmed up at Johnstown Road and it was black ice, so after 2miles miles I jumped in my car and drove down to Ritter Park. I jumped out and finished the workout. It was VERY COLD and miles 1,2,5,6 had a cool wind in my face that I could feel was cooling off my body and making running hard tougher but on the turn I would warm back up and get back into comfortable running effort again, it was a good change up to go back to Ritter for the Steady-State.

Long Run: New long run spot at Big Ben Highway which I really liked. This is a connector highway from Barboursville to Route 2. On Sunday mornings traffic was non-existed for the most part. The horseshoe loop is roughly 10k in distance and is very, very HILLY. It made for a tough long run especially with the extra loop I added in on Seven Mile Road which is more rolling hills. The cool thing about this run is that your running between the hills that they cut through to make this Highway so it is very scenic and has many great views where you can see the Hilly Highway curving through the hills from point to point. I plan to make this a Long Run spot at least once a month!

How Does Running Glorify God?

2008 USTFCCCA National Convention

Marian heads to the desert of Phoenix, Arizona this Saturday for the 4-day 2008 USTFCCCA National Convention (http://www.ustfcccaconvention.com/). If you check out the link above be ready to get quite jealous of the awesome experience and setting she will be enjoying during her stay in Arizona. She will be staying in a resort and spa that has running trails right out the front door!

The 2008 USTFCCCA National Convention features:
Opening Session Keynote Address (Tuesday)
Technical Symposiums and Seminars (Monday)
Professional Development Seminars (Tuesday, Wednesday)
Assistant Coach Development Programs (Tuesday, Wednesday)
Business Meetings for Program Membership Divisions (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday)
NCAA Division I, II, and III Voting (Thursday)
Division II and Division III-Specific Speakers and Topics (Tuesday, Wednesday)
High School-Specific Seminars (Tuesday, Wednesday)
Meals and Social Events (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday)
Complimentary Airport Shuttle (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday)
Hall of Fame Induction & Dinner (Wednesday)
And a Whole Lot More…

Here is a few of the meetings I've marked for her to sit-in on: (Many more)
Peter Tegen - Training and Racing Strategies for 3K/5K
Robert Gary - Training and Racing Strategies for Steeple Chase
Rick Welts - President of the Phoenix Suns
Scott Christensen - Developing the High School Miler
Panel - What Head Coaches Look For When Hiring an Assistant
Panel - Moving from Assistant Coach To Head Coach
Panel - Effective Interviewing
Panel - Issues Facing Women Coaches

The trip is entirely paid for by Marshall Athletic Department. Seems to be a step above the trip to Lexington, Ky for a Level 1 Certification that I received while the GA (lol) This will be a great resource for her to helping make some connections with coaches and seeing what is available for next year. As hard as I try to get my foot into a (paying) assistant spot I'm finding that women just have more advantages on men right now in XC/Track. I was a finalist for 3 D1 openings and 2 of the 3 went to women. It's a tough business to get a foot in the door without the right connections. Marian has already been offered one D1 assistant position that we turned down and so we hope this conference will bring many more offers her way!

Training Log 12/1-12/7 2008

76miles on 9runs in 6 days:
(Base Phase 5/5 now move into Strength Phase)

M: 37minutes/55minutes @Midland with Trey Beckett (Hilly)
T: 84minutes with 6miles of pacing Marian on her steady-state
W: 70minutes including 12x30seconds hard with 60sec easy recovery in the middle of the run/30minutes easy
T: 55minutes/30minutes
F: 55minutes with Hill Burst(4)
S: Unplanned Off Day (calf issue)
S: 2 hours on the snow packed Ritter Park Trail
(Pain killers, Heat, Bio-freeze, and compression socks/tights got me through the run pain-free)

Recap: Not the ideal week that I had planned. By missing Saturday I missed out on a chance to run a fast 5k workout or a long steady-state run. Also the calf might still be a issue if not very careful so running 2 hours on the snow crunching trail might not have been the smartest thing but it didn't hurt the entire run. It mainly is tight when walking around barefoot or when trying to massage it. Strained it one of 2 ways, I hammered up the Hill Burst so maybe in those 10seconds burst I went too hard or I used the massage stick on my calf's for the first time in a few weeks Friday night so maybe made them sore with that. Both were tight/sore but the right one is more extreme with the soreness. Next week's training could consist of only easy running due to the calf and the roads being black ice and trail being slow running with all the snow.

CDR 15 Miler to Change Course!

Charleston Distance Run to change course
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Competitors in the 15-mile Charleston Distance Run will have a new route for the 2009 race.
For the fourth time in the Labor Day weekend race's 37-year history, organizers have changed the course. Next year's race will start on Kanawha Boulevard, in front of the State Capitol Building. It had previously started on Virginia Street, near the Virginia Street Bridge.
Runners will head west on the boulevard, turn onto Clendenin Street and then onto Virginia Street, where they'll head east toward the South Side Bridge. They'll then cross the bridge and run the traditional five-mile loop through South Hills.
The race will still finish at University of Charleston Stadium.
The CDR's 5-K run and 5-K and 10-K walks also will start at the State Capitol, which will also host the Verizon Pasta Dinner on the Friday before the race and the WOWK 13 News Awards banquet on Saturday after the race.

*The change is a major change but doesn't take out the 5mile hill section that the course is famous for and I'm glad about that, one of my major goals for 2009 will be on Labor Day weekend in Charleston, WV to make a run at the overall title. If the race is anything like it was this year I would have a chance, this years winner was only about 30seconds up on me in a half marathon 2 weeks before Charleston. The half was more of a focus and CDR was just a chance to make money and get in a long workout but it turned out that Gideon ran away with the win in the slowest winning time in the events history. Even on the start line Gideon looked at me and said "you run with me today" but I said nah thinking I wanted only a workout and not a race like effort. Long story short I will be prepared hopefully this year that if the field is similar to last year I want to go for the win! It would be a huge goal and accomplishment if that ever happened. You have to go back to 1989 for the last time a WV native won the CDR 15miler and 1993 for the last American. The times back then were very fast and untouchable for me personally so the only hope is that the turnout is more like last year and not like the golden days of CDR. But with the hilly section of the course staying a part of the event anything can happen and hopefully I'm not the one faltering up Oakwood Road come race day!