Ras na hEireann / End of trip recap

Sunday - Day 5

8:00 AM - 10 min shakeout from the hotel

2:15 PM - Ras na hEireann 6K XC race

21 min warm up

6k - 18:35 (11th place)

1500m loops - 4:28, 9:04 (4:36), 13:46 (4:42), 18:35 (4:49)

20 min cool down

Sunday was our last full day in Ireland and it was also the day of our second and final competition, the Ras na hEireann. The race was about an hour from Armagh and was out in the middle of nowhere on a grass field. I got out on the course fairly early for a walk through and as I entered the finish area, I was asked by the local media to do an interview for Sky TV. Even though the other guys were certainly more deserving of this, I thought I did a good job in the interview. It was great to be a spokesperson for my country and be able to talk about our wonderful experiences during this event.

The race had a smaller starting field than the Armagh race on Thursday since it did not include the junior or veteran competitors and didn't have as many local participants. The course was pretty flat which made it look fast at first glance, but the surface was very soft and uneven. It was a 1500m loop that we did 4 times and there were lots of turns which made it feel like you were going faster than you were. If you look at my lap splits above, you'll see my race plan was pretty similar to that of Thursday's race - go out hard and hang on as long as possible. The first half mile certainly felt fast and everyone was right together on the narrow course. Coming around to the completion of the first lap, I noticed several people dropping back so I got around them quickly and just stuck onto my teammates and the lead pack. I stayed close to them through the completion of two laps at which point the race started opening up more. I was seeing several breaks up front and the pack started to pull away from me. I found myself 15m off the back with Mark Carroll who had apparently been behind me for a while. I passed a couple more people on the 3rd lap and then stayed in 11th position through the finish. I was left to do most of the work in the last 2k by myself and did my best to fight for every second I could as I watched my teammates doing the same up ahead.

It was certainly a tough race and when I finished I knew I had nothing left in the tank. Even though I slowed down quite a bit in the second half, I thought I ran very strong and didn't give up any ground without a fight. I am happy with the effort I put forward and can say with confidence that I have not run that hard in quite a while. Running in the USA uniform in a foreign country is an experience that I'll never forget and a feeling that I just can't explain. When I was running out there, I would see little kids sprinting across the field yelling for me, "GO USA" and others would be saying, "here comes another American... alright America"... it was a pretty cool feeling. After the race, I was approached by so many young runners asking for autographs as they looked at me in amazement as if I were a world hero. I was so happy to be here and glad I was able to put everything I could into that race.

While I was content with my performance on that day, I couldn't help but think about what I could have done if I had been in top form, if I hadn't gotten hurt this season and had been able to do the right amount of training. 20 seconds faster and I would have been right in the mix of that race, on the heels of my teammates and competing right along side some very accomplished athletes. This race and this experience has really opened my eyes to the possibilities that are out there. I have met some amazing athletes this week from all over the world and have learned so much about their cultures and how these guys are both very different but also so very similar to myself. I want to be a part of all this and have more experiences like this one. As I finish this trip, I find myself hungry for more! More competitions, more traveling, more people to meet, more everything! My body is finally starting to cooperate and I am ready to work harder than ever this spring. I may be a long shot (ok, a VERY long shot) from being a trials qualifier this year but I'm ready to put in the work and find out what I'm capable of.

This trip was just what I needed after the last couple of months. I think it is the start to a long drive towards a successful outdoor season as I continue this quest for greatness.

Thanks again for all the support!

Thursday's Race Photos

Armagh International Road Race

Quick Ras Results

2 for 2! US team repeats as international champions at the Ras na hEireann 6k XC Race

Weather wasn't too bad. Cold and windy, but no rain. Course was soft and very rough footing with lots of turns. Times don't reflect the efforts put into this race. They said it was by far the most competitive field they've had so for us to put 5 guys in the top 11 was pretty solid. I was happy with my effort and I'm pretty sure that I couldn't have run much better than I did with my current fitness. I hung onto the lead pack longer than in the 5k on thursday and didn't lose as much ground when I was dropped. I'll have more to talk about when I get back... but now, we're gonna go spend the rest of our monopoly money at the bar before we leave in 8 hours.

Here are a few times from the race.

1. Jussi (FIN) 17:45
2. (POL)
3. (POL)
4. Jon Pierce (USA) 17:57
5. Thomas Morgan (USA) 18:04
6. Pat Tarpy (USA) 18:09
7. Mark Carroll (IRE) 18:13
8. Christian Hesch (USA) 18:14
9. Marco (ENG)
10. (FIN)
11. Jeff Caron (USA) 18:35
...
15. Brian Farrell (IRE) 18:49
Ryan Warrenburg - DNS

Touring the city

10:00 AM - 9 Miles, 61 min

Same route as yesterday through the back country roads, just turned back a little earlier. Ran with Jon and two of the Finnish athletes.

Woke up feeling pretty tired this morning and thought about going back to bed but I just shook it off and met up with Jon and the Fins for an easy run. After a couple miles, I started feeling pretty good and had a lot to talk about with our Finnish marathoner buds. One was a 2:13 guy that was 3rd on Thursday and the other was a 2:19 guy (not too shabby). After a late lunch, we decided to do the tourist thing for a while since we haven't really had a chance to do that since we got here. Armagh is pretty small so it didn't take too long to see the sights, but we got in a little shopping and took some nice pictures of the cathedrals. So overall, it was a more relaxing day then the last couple have been, which was rather nice. I included a few pictures below for you to get an idea of what we saw.

Lastly, the race of course... the Ras. It's been raining a lot so it's gonna be sloppy and slow but I think it'll be a good one. I'm recovering pretty well considering everything we've been doing and I think I'm a little more confident after Thursday's race. I think my strength will be ok, so I should be able to toughen out the middle of the race... I just think it will come down to the last mile again to determine if it will be a good race or not.

Joanie had a good race tonight in the 800 and wasn't too far off from making the final; Jess and Erin race in a little under an hour and I know they'll both be great! So I'm gonna sign off now and hope to get some added inspiration from those lovely ladies as I prepare for my final race of the season.

Stay tuned...

St. Patrick's Cathedral

The Roman Catholic Cathedral

View of Armagh from the RC Cathedral

The Mall (Location of the Armagh 5K on Thursday)

Kids playing Cricket on the mall

Armagh Road Race and Giant's Causeway

Sorry for the lack of information on here... things have been crazy and I just haven't had time to post anything. I'll try to sum up the last couple days as best I can.

Thursday - Day 2

11:00 AM - 3 Miles, 23 min
8:45 PM - Armagh International Road Race
24 min warm up
5K - 14:42 - 25th Place
2:50, 5:44 (2:54), 8:42 (2:58), 11:39 (2:57), 14:42 (3:03)
21 min cool down
12 Miles total

We started the day with breakfast around 9:30 and then made our way down to the mall (the race course) for our TV interviews. After waiting around in the cold for a while, the camera guys came over to set up. It turns out they just wanted to interview Christian, so the rest of us just stood around in the background while he talked. After that we did an easy shakeout around the course and went back up to the hotel to stretch, shower, and meet up to go to lunch. We've been taken care of really well by the way... every meal is like a banquet and it's all taken care of so I haven't really had to spend any money since I've been here. So we had a big lunch reception with the Mayor of Armagh and went back to the hotel to relax and I took a nice long nap. We then met up with Charlie Breagy (the guy who's made all this happen for us). He gave us our USA uniforms, which we thought would be the 2004 one's but turned out to be the 2000 one's instead. Still pretty cool though so I wasn't complaining. We had a light meal with Charlie at 4:30 and had a real nice time talking about all sorts of things. I found out a lot of behind the scenes things about professional distance running (both how it is today and how it was 20 years ago) which were really interesting. Mostly, it was cool just to network with someone like Charlie and open up a few opportunities for the future.

Finally, there was the race. The weather was getting progressively worse throughout the day and the projected times were getting slower and slower as time went by. There were wind gusts of 30-40 mph and rain on and off. The temperature wasn't too bad for a guy from New England but I still decided to wear gloves for the race. There were a record number of runners in the open race this year and they packed us in like sardines at the start of this narrow 1k loop course. This made it a little messy over the first 400m. I got out well, almost too well as I was running approximately my mile race pace. After about 400m, the pace relaxed and I was able to select position a litle better. At this point, the field was already starting to separate as about 30 guys huddled into a pack and were creating "the race". If I was just here to try to run even and safe, I would have settled into the chase pack, but I was here to compete and take a risk so I latched onto the tail end of this pack. The leaders were 2:48 at the k and I had good contact with Ryan and Tarpy (2:49-2:50) as the pack was still pretty bunched together. At 2k, the pack had strung out a bit more and I was about 5-6 seconds off the leaders. Various guys up front started making some moves with Mark Carroll and our Finnish friend Jussi right in the mix. Jon and Pat both through in hard moves as well and made their presence known early in this race. I started fading a bit in the 3rd loop and was about 14-15 seconds off the leaders at 3k. I started feeling the pace get away from me at this point as these guys just ran away from me but I wasn't going to let myself give up in the middle like I did at Valentine, so I fought for every position and hung on as best I could. I was still in the top 20 at 4k and had caught back up to Ryan, but lost about 5 spots in that last loop and slowed down quite a bit, getting passed by 3 guys in the last 400m. I finished with a 14:42 in tough conditions and was 2 seconds faster than my track race just over a week ago. While I know 14:42 isn't super fast and my fellow US teammates all blew me away in this race, I was happy with the result and more happy with the way I ran the race. I was aggressive and actually made hard moves throughout the race, showing that I deserved to be here, while also making sure to leave nothing left at the end.

While I was back in the pack "surviving", my teammates were dominating this race to win us the team title over Poland, putting 4 guys in the top 8 in a race that had 4 guys under the old course record. Christian did exactly what he said he would do and won his 3rd title here. The race was followed by an awards ceremony and another banquet type dinner which stretched into the evening as all the teams mingled over drinks. After a long day and a hard race, the Guinness was going down smooth! We left the dinner around 1am and went back to the hotel bar where we finished out the evening around 3:30am. Long day but a lot of fun!

Results Again:
1. Christian Hesch 13:57
2. Mark Carroll (Ire) 13:59
3. Jussi (Fin) 14:01
4. Poland guy
5. Pat Tarpy 14:08
7. Thomas Morgan 14:12
8. Jon Pierce 14:15
16. Ryan Warrenburg 14:33
25. Jeff Caron 14:42

Kristen was 8th in her race with at time of 10:05 (3K)

Friday - Day 3

5:00 PM - 10 Miles, 68 min
Back roads and trails through the hills and farm land of Armagh. Great run w/ Tarpy, Jon, and Thomas. Legs were feeling pretty good.

We had a lot scheduled today but I figured things would be pretty laid back and we'd have time to relax between activities. This wasn't the case. We started the morning with breakfast at 8:30am (getting about 4 1/2 hours of sleep) followed by a bus trip to the Giant's Causeway. This was a 2 hour trip up to the northern coast to see some great sights and beautiful countryside. It was actually really cool around that area and I got some neat pictures as we walked along the coastline.



It was also the windiest conditions I have ever been in and at times, I seriously thought I was going to get blown over. We stayed up there for a while and finally got back to Armagh at 4:30pm. We now had to get in a run and shower to be ready for our next activity at 6:30. We made it down to the concert hall (a little late) and saw some great musical and dance performances by some very talented local children. This was followed by a very fancy dinner and a VERY LONG reception. It was nice at first with all the interaction between the teams, but by the time we got through the presentations, more musical performances and the skits from each country (ours wasn't very good), it was past 12:30am. It was definitely drawn out too long and could have been over much earlier. We were all exhausted and had already had a few drinks with dinner so decided to turn in early and call it a night. Tomorrow should be a little more relaxed with less activities and I should finally be able to explore the town a bit.

Lastly, I just want to wish all the best to my teammates and friends competing in tomorrows USA Indoor National Championships. We have Joanie in the 800m and both Jess and Erin in the 3000m. They have all had stellar seasons thus far and I know they will make us very proud this weekend. Rupprecht will also be running a 1200 leg of the DMR which I'm sure he'll do well in. If you are interested in watching these races, they will be on ESPN2 at 5pm on Sunday.

Long post today so I apologize. I'll try to keep them shorter in the next couple days.

Quick update

25th Place - 14:42

Tough conditions... rain, wind, cold

US won the team competition

1. Hesch 13:57
5. Tarpy 14:08
7. Morgan 14:12
8. Pierce 14:13
16. Warrenburg 14:33
25. Me 14:42

More details tomorrow...

Arriving in Armagh

12:00 PM (7:00 AM EST) - 10 Miles, 67 min w/strides after
Ran w/ Christian, Ryan, Thomas, Tarpy, and Jon on some great trails. Longest run in a while and it felt pretty good. Nice to run with the guys and have a group again.

Armagh, Ireland
So I was hoping to sleep on the flight but didn't end up doing much of that. I spent a couple hours talking with Kristen (pictured on the right) and then tried to sleep a little once they turned out the lights after the meal. Since I was pretty tired, I figured I'd get to sleep right away but just wasn't able to get comfortable so I was in and out of sleep and probably only got a little over an hour total. Once we got to Dublin, we were picked up by a guy named Jim who talked very fast with a very heavy accent (as expected). He was a great guy with a lot to talk about, but I didn't always pick up everything he was saying and often found myself just nodding my head and chuckling along at his comments. It was a pretty long drive to Armagh (pictured above) and I was feeling the lack of sleep along the way. Once we got to the hotel, we met a few members of the Armagh Track Club and got our rooms... now, I was ready for a nap! ....But that would have to wait because Christian and the Zap guys were heading out for a run and I didn't want to go by myself later on. So I guzzled down a coffee got changed and went over to the trails with them. It was actually a great run and I was glad to have the company of the guys. Finally, I was able to take a nap around 3:30PM and get a couple hours of rest before dinner.

After the nap, I walked around town with Kristen a little and met the rest of the athletes for dinner at the hotel restaurant. There was so much food in this four-course meal and sure enough, I ate it all! I sat next to Christian and his parents at the table and was able to get to know them a lot better and share some great stories about all sorts of stuff. I already know the rest of the team pretty well so it was good to talk with Christian more.

The picture above shows the small town of Armagh with the St. Patrick's Cathedral on top of the hill. It really is a beautiful town and if I had some more time I would have taken more pictures. I'll be sure to do a better job in the next few days.

Now, I have to get some rest, try to adapt to the time change, and get ready for a very full day tomorrow. We have a lot of pre race things going on throughout the day which should be a good way to help the time pass without tiring us out at all.

Lastly, I have tomorrow's race to think about. We have a stellar squad and could potentially sweep the team championship. As I've said before, I'm not in the greatest shape right now, coming off a frustrating indoor season, but I'm here now and I'm ready to run hard with these guys. I'm really excited about the race under the lights (around the park pictured to the right) and going out there with my USA uniform, not afraid to lay it out on the line and take some chances. I really have nothing to lose so if I stick to my plan, I can't be disappointed with the outcome.

Alright, off to bed. More tomorrow.

Leaving on a jet plane

7:30 AM - 6 Miles, 41 min
River path up to the park and back. Beautiful morning and was able to run on the grass and dirt for the first time in a while. Legs were still a little tight and sluggish but better than yesterday. Kept it easy.

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go!

The last few days have been very busy and I've constantly had the feeling that there's a million and one things to do before I leave. Slowly, I've been checking these tasks off the list. Even though this is just a short vacation, I felt the desire to make many phone calls, emails, and visits before making the journey. I've spent time with close friends, sent well wishes to those competing next weekend, and I finally finished Again to Carthage yesterday. I was very happy with the ending and truly felt the accomplishments of Quenton Cassidy in his trial of miles and miles of trials. It was such a great read and one that I know will be read many times over.

I got up early this morning, got my run done and out of the way, did all the last minute errands I needed to do and packed everything as efficiently as I could, double and triple checking all the important items in the process. Now, I can finally relax and start to enjoy some free time. I'll meet with one other person this afternoon and my preparation for this will be complete. From there, I'll head over to the airport and Kristen and I will be on our way at 7:15pm tonight. We'll be arriving in Dublin at 7:45am Greenwich Mean Time tomorrow morning which is 5 hours ahead of us (2:45am EST). I'll try my best to sleep on the plane but I'm sure I will be in need of a nap at some point tomorrow. The first race we're doing on Thursday will be at 9pm so maybe that will help with the adjustment somewhat, but we'll see.

That's all for now. My next post will be from Armagh so stay tuned...

Preparing for Ireland

7:00 AM - 8 Miles, 57 min
River path and Minuteman trail in the rain. Legs were tired and left hamstring was pretty tight at the start.

After waiting for this and looking forward to it for so long, I am finally leaving for my Ireland trip tomorrow. For those that don't know what this is all about, let me update you. Back in November, as a result of winning the NE XC Championships, I was invited to join other US athletes in a free trip to Ireland where I would compete in two races against some solid international fields. The two races that we'll be competing in are the Armagh International Road Race (5K) on Thursday and the Ras na hEireann XC Invitational (6K) on Sunday. I'll be traveling with my teammate Kristen Coon and will be joined by the following athletes that will make up the mens roster:

Christian Hesch - Winner of the 2007 Armagh Road Race & CR holder
Pat Tarpy (Reebok) - 8th at the 2007 US XC Champs
Ryan Warrenburg (Zap Fitness)- 1st at the 2008 USATF XC Club Nats
Jon Pierce (Zap Fitness) - 3rd at the 2008 USATF XC Club Nats
Thomas Morgan (Zap Fitness) - 2nd at the 2007 USATF XC Club Nats

As you can see, these are all well established athletes that I'll be joining. They have all achieved All-American status and have all either run in an Olympic Trials already or have at least qualified for one. I have to say I am very honored and excited to be on this team, one that is comprised of such incredible talent. I already know four of them pretty well so I'm looking forward to my experiences with them and can't wait to put on that USA uniform.

I'm assuming I'll have internet access on a daily basis so I plan on updating this blog frequently and try to keep you all up to date of my many adventures along the way.

Don't call it a comeback...

...But things are starting to come around.

I'm sure my readers (what few are left) have been getting sick of my ranting and constant frustration over the past few weeks, as this season has not been going as well as I thought (or hoped) it might. Even though I felt I was doing everything I could to avoid these setbacks and making conscious adjustments along the way, it seemed that nothing was going right... both on and off the track. And worse yet, I felt like it was all beyond my control. If you've been reading all along, you've seen that this has presented a lot of frustration in my 2008 campaign. For those loyal patrons, I apologize for those depressing entries. This blog has been my outlet through all of this, and a way to voice my thoughts about my running and its many influences. Even though I may have seemed down at times, I never gave up through this and tried to learn from each stumble I took and gather whatever positives I could from each situation. I have to say that this effort was also aided by a tremendous support group that's been behind me all along... the ones that have taken each stumble with me and helped pick me back up again. These select few individuals would set me straight whenever I drifted away from my focus and lost perspective of the important things. So I thank those that were a part of that, and you all know who you are!

Now, after several weeks of frustration and having to scale back my training, I have finally started to feel like a runner again. I spent this past week just doing easy mileage on the treadmill. Nothing fast, nothing on the track, just easy distance. Through this process, I was able to get the rest my body needed and gradually work into feeling comfortable and consistent on daily runs. After a week on the rat wheel, I went out to Lincoln to do a tempo run and possibly get a little feedback on where my body was at. The biggest thing I wanted to get out of this was a hard sustained effort that was comfortable and controlled. I was pleasantly surprised to find that 5:10 pace felt fairly relaxed. I was breathing heavily toward the end, but never went outside my comfort zone. I covered the 4.6 mile loop in 23:53, which was just 17 seconds slower than I covered that course in september in a similar workout. I considered myself in pretty good shape in september, so to run relatively close to that time at a comfortable effort was a good feeling and means that I'm not in horrendous shape.

I'll continue to keep my recovery days short and easy and shoot for about 60 miles in this next week as I head into the Ireland races. Once I return, I'll probably take some down time, make sure everything is healthy and balanced and then start building up for outdoor. As I've said before, outdoor is the main focus and has been all along. That's where I'll have the chance to make things happen and that's where I plan to find some answers.

Lastly, I'd like to call attention to some NB Boston-ites that hit the roads down in Foxboro today at the Old Fashioned 10 Miler. On the mens side, Mario and Ryan came in right together not too far behind race winner Terry Shea. And for women, Christy Mae and Karina both put up some solid performances. I've said it before and I'll keep saying it... we've definitely got some studs on this team!
Congrats 'mates!

Training Log: February 11-17

Monday: 7:30 PM - 6 Miles, 45 min (treadmill)
Kept things real easy. Feeling better but the knee was still bothering me and tightened up a little towards the end.

Tuesday: 7:30 PM - 7 Miles, 52 min (treadmill)
Easy does it is the theme for this week. Knee wasn't bothering me much at all and the run actually felt pretty good overall.

Wednesday: 12:00 PM - 7 Miles, 52 min (treadmill)
Didn't have to work today but I went into the store anyway to use the treadmill. There weren't many customers so Tony just chatted with me while I did my run. It was a pretty comfortable run and having someone to talk to made it go by a lot faster. Later in the afternoon I had a massage with Glenn and stopped over in Westboro to visit Mario at the store. After he closed up, we went to grab a bite to eat and continued to catch up on everything which was great.

Thursday: 8:30 PM - 8 Miles, 59 min (treadmill)
Long day at work left me feeling a little sluggish in the beginning, but started feeling better about 20 min in. Overall, I'm feeling more comfortable on the runs, which is a good sign.

Friday: 5:30 PM - 7 Miles, 52 min (treadmill)
Decent run. Nothing bothering me too much. Tired in general but just from being very busy lately.

Saturday: 8:30 AM - 8 Miles, 59 min (treadmill)
Decent run... starting to feel more comfortable again on these runs, which is definitely a good thing. After that, I had a productive day, followed by a really great evening with Gabe & Liz.
Furthermore, I'd like to congratulate Erin on yet another amazing performance this season! This time it was a 25th place finish at the US XC Championships! We're proud of you Erin!

Sunday: 9:00 AM - Tempo @ Lincoln
21 min warm up
4.6M - 23:53 (5:11, 5:23, 5:10, 3:09, 4:58)
21 min cool down
Total = 11 Miles
Solid effort. Left hamstring was a little tight but nothing too bad. First mile felt a little quick so I relaxed in the 2nd and was able to pick it up from there. It was a nice morning and nice to get off the rat wheel after doing it all week.

Weekly Totals: 54 Miles
Better.

A not-so-sweet Valentine

Well, I went into this race with a hope and a prayer of coming out with a decent performance. I was hoping I could rely on my racing experience and my ability to be tough to get me through it. However, the fact that I've only run about 100 miles in the last 3 weeks left me anything but prepared for a race that requires so much strength and confidence. Two things that I used to pride myself with but have recently been lacking quite a bit of. I did my best to hold it together and take a chance out there. After going through the mile in 4:37, I actually felt comfortable and thought that I had a chance of running a good race. At about the 2400 mark, I started to feel myself getting heavier and laboring a bit more. I made several efforts to stay on pace and hang on to the pack that I was with, but I could only hang on until about 3000m. At this point, I fell off and was feeling terrible. I was terrified of what the next 2000 meters would feel like. When you're hurting at 3k, you know it's going to be a rough day. I am ashamed to admit this but I actually had thoughts of dropping out of the race. I have never dropped out of a race in my life and I didn't plan on starting now. Instead, I found myself resorting to survival mode, dropping down to close to 5min pace and pretty much giving up on any effort of actually competing in this race.

It's amazing how quickly things can change in a race, going from feeling confident and comfortable one minute to losing it all just a few laps later. If you look at my splits in the log below, you'll see where this change happened. I knew I couldn't hold on to 69-70 pace anymore... knowing that I still had over a mile to run. But instead of gradually dropping off to 71-72, I just plummetted to 74s. This is the point that always makes or breaks the 5K, and I broke it. My 4th kilometer was 3:05 (15:25 pace). That was what ultimately killed that race for me. Once we got into the last kilometer and I realized I was about to get lapped, I started to wake up a little. I made a couple pushes as the two leaders went by but it wasn't until about 600 to go that I finally started to race again. At this point, there's not really anything I could do to make a good race out of it, but I just did what I could to cut down the embarrassment of each added second on that clock.

So was this a good race? I wouldn't say so. Could it have been worse? Most certainly yes! Considering how I felt at 3K, finishing with the time I did wasn't terrible. Considering the way I've been feeling the last couple weeks and the way my training has been going, this had the possibility of being 15 something. So considering everything, I can't beat myself up over this too much, even though it seems like that's all I'm doing right now. I have to say it is definitely frustrating to complete a season without setting a personal best, without proving that you've progressed from the previous year, without showing others that you've worked hard, really hard to make yourself better than you were before. I know I'm a good runner, and I know I have the potential to be a great runner, but I have yet to prove either of those on the track. That's the thing with this sport... it doesn't matter what you did for a workout in december or what kind of mileage you ran in october, all that matters is what time you ran on race day. That's what people see and that's what defines you for those that don't actually know you. I have yet to be defined in this sport and now I'll have to wait a little longer before having another chance at it.

On a more upbeat note, I have to say that my teammates are absolutely incredible! Every meet this season has become more and more exciting for them. Jess now has two national qualifiers, both in the 3k and in the mile, Erin just hit the 3k standard this weekend, Joanie hit the 800 standard at terrier and just missed it in the mile on friday! Justin ran a great 3k this weekend and Roland ran awesome in his 3k at terrier. New Balance Boston is certainly on the rise and I am so excited to see what will be in store for them as they approach the end of their season. I feel bad that I can't be putting up the same kind of performances as they are, but I am so happy for each of them and will do whatever I can to support them in their many successes.

In conclusion, I'll say that after this race, I'm stepping away from the track for a while and will be getting ready for my trip to Ireland. I'll be traveling with my fellow teammate Kristen Coon, and will be joined by other friends Pat Tarpy, Thomas Morgan, Jonathan Pierce, and many other great athletes. It will surely be an amazing experience, I will meet some stellar athletes, both domestic and foreign, and I know a great time will be had by all. So until next time, keep that chin up and stay focused because we still have a long way to go before June 27th.

Valentine Results:
Women
Men

NB Boston Interviews:
Jess
Erin

My 5K Race

Training Log: February 4-10

Monday: 8:00 PM - Pool Running, 60 min
Still feeling under the weather and still having some pain in my left hamstring and left calf. The problems that I was having on the right side seem to have gone away. Felt better as the day went on and had a decent pool workout at Tufts, doing an hour at medium effort with 10 x 1 min surges in the middle.

Tuesday: 7:30 PM - Track Workout @ Reggie
23 min warm up
8 x 400 w/ 90 sec rest
65.2, 65.0, 64.1, 63.6, 63.6, 64.4, 62.6, 63.5
21 min cool down
Total = 9 Miles
Ok workout w/ Roland but nothing special. Still having problems. I just don't feel like myself out there, which I guess has been the theme for me in 2008. I'm really struggling here. I just hope things will start to change direction soon.

Wednesday: 7:30 PM - Pool Running, 60 min, abs after
Calf is better, still having a lot of pain/tightness on the left side from my glutes down through the hamstring. I'm thinking nerve issues again because I'm now getting tingly and numbing sensations along with it. Chiroprator appointment tomorrow so maybe we'll find out more then.

Thursday: 9:00 PM - Pool Running, 30 min
Went to the chiropractor today and didn't find too many answers but he did all sorts of pain inflicting things to try to make things better. Had to work late so I only got a short workout in but I went at a medium-hard effort. Very tired after.

Friday: 7:30 AM - 4 Miles, 29 min
Didn't feel all that great. Aside from the leg issues, I felt slow and out of shape. Not a good confidence builder. I left work early to head down to the womens meet and watch some of my very speedy teammates. There were some really great performances there tonight and I so badly want to fall into that level of accomplishment tomorrow. I can't guarantee anything fast in this race, but I know I'll give it every ounce of energy I have and take some chances out there. A lot can happen in 25 laps and I'll have to be tougher than ever if I want to come out with a good race.
So here's hoping...

Saturday: Valentine Invitational
21 min warm up
5000m - 14:44.51 - 11th in heat, 20th overall
21 min cool down
10 Miles
A very disappointing performance. I'll discuss it more shortly but for now, I'll just give you the numbers.
400s:
70.9, 69.0, 69.3, 68.3,
68.9, 69.3, 70.6, 71.8,
74.3, 74.5, 73.1, 70.1, (33.5)
1000s:
2:54.3, 2:52.2, 2:55.7, 3:05.0, 2:57.3
Miles:
4:37.5, 4:40.9, 4:52.4, (33.5)

Sunday: Absolutely nothing
On friday night my right knee started bothering me. Saturday didn't feel any better and today it was pretty sore and hurt to walk up stairs, so I just took a zero. Piriformis is also very tight after last night.

Weekly Totals:
23 Miles
2.5 Hours in the Pool
Not very condusive to a fast 5K.