Mid-August, 2013, Oregon:
'I am disgusted with myself. I need to go for a run.’
These thoughts crossed my mind in the late summer of 2013 after a move from Kodiak, Alaska to Astoria, Oregon. Like many Coasties experience during, and after a transfer between units, I was displeased with my fitness level. A 2-week-long drive is rough on the workout regime. Further, wife-Erin and I had to hustle down to Astoria to look at a house we had previously put an offer on sight-unseen.
That is, all before we descended upon Iowa for RAGBRAI (with Erin bachelorette partying en route). All that kept us busy and only afforded us the time to just do one run in over the course of 4 weeks. Moving…bleh…
Erin took a job in Manhattan, requiring her to spend much of that semester away. I dropped her off at the Portland airport and coped with my post-roadtrip sadness by driving to central Oregon to pick up a tandem bike box. On the drive back, I stopped at the majestic Detroit Dam for a run. It was a beautiful summer evening. I was running right at the transition point in the day where it’s still hot in the sun but cooling down substantially amongst the trees. I huffed and I puffed but the air was fresh. A great environment to get lost in one's thoughts, I determined I was fed up. I needed to figure out what extreme measures I needed in place to get to where I wanted to be. This nagging mile competition amongst my friends had its moments of motivation usually followed by 3 or more posts of their faster times. While running along the Detroit Lake, a commitment was born: I was not going to cut my hair until I ran a sub-5-minute mile. Arbitrary meter of time? Sure, but that’s the best kind. Requiring regular haircuts, I had to get a program together that was going to get me running. And fast!
May 9, 2012, deployed to Cordova, AK, an email I sent to some runner friends:
My favorite line in Goodwill Hunting is when Matt Damon asks Robin Williams, 'Do you workout?'
'Yeah.'
'Whadya bench?'
It's so macho. We need to be asking people what they bench as often as possible...just randomly in life.
I was watching a marathon today and for a while, the pace was mid-4-minute! Ashamed at my inability to do that for even one mile, I got up, went outside, and ran a mile as fast as I could. The last time I did that was in middle school. I ran a 5:41 in 7th grade - I remember it well. Today, I ran 6:04. Meanwhile, freak'n Byronne can hammer out low 6's for 13 miles.
So, my question for you is, how fast can you run a mile?
(Vulgarity redacted). Report back.
Jim.
Why a mile?
I think the mile is the perfect distance. It's the most applicable to life. It's far enough to be a lactic-management challenge for sprinters. It's short enough to demand speed out of those distance runners. The mile doesn't take up one's entire life to train. Training varies enough to be interesting, even fun sometimes.
Over the course of 2 days, smack-talk ensued:
Jesse: My marathon training program doesn't call for just running a mile...go run a marathon. (Vulgarity redacted).
LMS: Yea I hear ya Jesse, my 1/2 Ironman training plan can't jive with a what-did-you-call-it? 1 mile run? Is that like only 1/10 of a ten-miler? Huh. How some people spend their time...
On a serious note, I am excited to do this and will asap. Stand by for report.
Ian: Ironman Texas next weekend Jim- I'll report on an avg of miles 16-24 after the 112 bike. Sufficient?
Jim: Jesse, marathons are boring. I prefer to feel like my heart is about to explode than the steady-state snoozefest that is a marathon. I'm going to go figure out my max bench.
Richie: I wasn't training. Today it starts. My goal: solely to beat Jim. Jim- brace for impact. [Jim's 11/16/14 response: I’m still waiting…]
Scott reported a mile time of 5:11 from February. A flex of worthy intimidation.
Results promptly reported:
Jim: 6:04 - 5/9/12
Jesse: 5:59 - 5/10/12
Keith: 6:17 - 5/10/12
Richie: 6:17 - 5/11/12
Scott: 5:11 - 5/11/12
Scott: 4:48 1500m - 5/16/12 winning the race at a USATF-certified course.
Byronne: 5:13 - 5/17/12
Reading all these results from within just a few days drew a smile across my face. I pictured the Wolfpack, running their asses off throughout the country. What kind of people are this responsive?! So awesome...
Jim: 5:49 - 5/20/12 - I beat Jesse with this one. 1 wolf down… I had a great conversation with Richie this same day. He told me about a college friend of his who, at age 34, proved his ‘sub-5 is not that fast’ point by taking 3 months to train himself to a sub-5 mile. It inspired me.
Over the following year, I regularly thought of this story, making faster times seem more realistic.
Jesse: 5:42 - 5/23/12. DAMNIT! Jesse took the podium back! This back and forth stoked the competitive flame. This was becoming something more than a one-off check of our health. Oh no, I was now thinking about the mile more and more. We were regularly impressed with each other, which only further increased the urge to go faster.
Seriously, where in the Sam-hell am I?! As I explained to LMS when I accepted this challenge, there are actually polar bears in town. 1. Polar bears are predators of man. 2. Running triggers animal chase instinct. 3. Polar bears max at 35mph, faster than I can run. 4. Simply, there are animals walking around the area that will kill me. On day 1 of this deployment, we spotted a bear near the Elementary School. Day 1!!!
After surveying the conditions, I was going to request a 3-week pass from you gentlemen. With this pass, I wouldn't train while in Barrow, then pick back up once I returned to Kodiak. Here's why:
The Preparation:
This was at least a 2-hour project.
Matt, I'll sleep in on Sunday then bang this out. I'm guessing you'll get my time at around 6pm eastern. You get 24 hours, foo!
Responses:
Pass That Torch, LMS:
Pressure remains:
Hanging Up The Sneakers:
Me: 11/16/13, a year ago from this post.
Studs,
Post-Script Odds and Ends:
Nov 19, 2014 Update:
Byronne did it again. And within 3 days of this post! So impressive.
Here's his message:
These thoughts crossed my mind in the late summer of 2013 after a move from Kodiak, Alaska to Astoria, Oregon. Like many Coasties experience during, and after a transfer between units, I was displeased with my fitness level. A 2-week-long drive is rough on the workout regime. Further, wife-Erin and I had to hustle down to Astoria to look at a house we had previously put an offer on sight-unseen.
May 9, 2012, deployed to Cordova, AK, an email I sent to some runner friends:
My favorite line in Goodwill Hunting is when Matt Damon asks Robin Williams, 'Do you workout?'
'Yeah.'
'Whadya bench?'
It's so macho. We need to be asking people what they bench as often as possible...just randomly in life.
I was watching a marathon today and for a while, the pace was mid-4-minute! Ashamed at my inability to do that for even one mile, I got up, went outside, and ran a mile as fast as I could. The last time I did that was in middle school. I ran a 5:41 in 7th grade - I remember it well. Today, I ran 6:04. Meanwhile, freak'n Byronne can hammer out low 6's for 13 miles.
So, my question for you is, how fast can you run a mile?
(Vulgarity redacted). Report back.
Jim.
Why a mile?
I think the mile is the perfect distance. It's the most applicable to life. It's far enough to be a lactic-management challenge for sprinters. It's short enough to demand speed out of those distance runners. The mile doesn't take up one's entire life to train. Training varies enough to be interesting, even fun sometimes.
Over the course of 2 days, smack-talk ensued:
Jesse: My marathon training program doesn't call for just running a mile...go run a marathon. (Vulgarity redacted).
LMS: Yea I hear ya Jesse, my 1/2 Ironman training plan can't jive with a what-did-you-call-it? 1 mile run? Is that like only 1/10 of a ten-miler? Huh. How some people spend their time...
On a serious note, I am excited to do this and will asap. Stand by for report.
Ian: Ironman Texas next weekend Jim- I'll report on an avg of miles 16-24 after the 112 bike. Sufficient?
Jim: Jesse, marathons are boring. I prefer to feel like my heart is about to explode than the steady-state snoozefest that is a marathon. I'm going to go figure out my max bench.
Richie: I wasn't training. Today it starts. My goal: solely to beat Jim. Jim- brace for impact. [Jim's 11/16/14 response: I’m still waiting…]
Scott reported a mile time of 5:11 from February. A flex of worthy intimidation.
Results promptly reported:
Jim: 6:04 - 5/9/12
Jesse: 5:59 - 5/10/12
Keith: 6:17 - 5/10/12
Richie: 6:17 - 5/11/12
Scott: 5:11 - 5/11/12
Scott: 4:48 1500m - 5/16/12 winning the race at a USATF-certified course.
Byronne: 5:13 - 5/17/12
Reading all these results from within just a few days drew a smile across my face. I pictured the Wolfpack, running their asses off throughout the country. What kind of people are this responsive?! So awesome...
Jim: 5:49 - 5/20/12 - I beat Jesse with this one. 1 wolf down… I had a great conversation with Richie this same day. He told me about a college friend of his who, at age 34, proved his ‘sub-5 is not that fast’ point by taking 3 months to train himself to a sub-5 mile. It inspired me.
Over the following year, I regularly thought of this story, making faster times seem more realistic.
Jesse: 5:42 - 5/23/12. DAMNIT! Jesse took the podium back! This back and forth stoked the competitive flame. This was becoming something more than a one-off check of our health. Oh no, I was now thinking about the mile more and more. We were regularly impressed with each other, which only further increased the urge to go faster.
Scott: 4:57 - 6/4/12. Scott really showed his consistent speed and seemed unattainable to us all…that is, except Byronne, who was quietly becoming restless with Scott steadily posting faster times.
Richie, Jesse, Byronne, Scott, Keith, Me: Beer Mile the day before my wedding - 6/29/12. Byronne won the running portion then Scott, a light-drinker, persevered and chugged his little heart out, winning the Beer Mile. Byronne got 2nd. I got 3rd. Jesse barfed twice.
LMS: 5:25 - 6/30/12. WHAT?! This one set me off. First, LMS gets into road biking in 2009, something I USED TO pride myself on being fast at. Within 2 months of his new road biking hobby, he could smoke me on any ride. We raced a triathlon in 2010-2011 timeframe where I ran past LMS within the last 150 yards. From that tri's results, I KNEW I was a faster runner than LMS. That is, until this post.
His ability to improve at everything he does still amazes me, and I’m proud of him for that. But a 5:25?! That’s where I draw the line! It is this time, 5:25, that set the bar for my new goal: beat LMS. This time ate at me for over a year.
His ability to improve at everything he does still amazes me, and I’m proud of him for that. But a 5:25?! That’s where I draw the line! It is this time, 5:25, that set the bar for my new goal: beat LMS. This time ate at me for over a year.
What followed LMS’s 5:25 was a transformation for me. Motivation skyrocketed and I starting taking the mile seriously. I didn’t know then, nor do I know now, why I took the mile so seriously. This competitive urge was unlike anything I’d felt before.
Jim: 5:41 - 8/4/12 - This, months later, was when I realized my obsession. Finally tied my previous personal best (from middle school!).
An official challenge is made public...and things are getting real!:
Jim, mid-September from Barrow, AK:
Well hello, [vulgarity redacted],
Well hello, [vulgarity redacted],
In a lifetime of sports, namely those 13 dedicated years of short track, I have never been more motivated and competitive than I have with this BS challenge. Some time has passed but the pilot flame has remained. Here's an update of where we stand and where we're going:
Bodyweight
|
1-Mile Min
|
Sec
|
Mile Date
|
Max Bench
|
Bench Date
|
|
Jesse
|
170
|
5
|
42
|
5/23/12
|
220
|
4/10/12
|
Byronne
|
5
|
13
|
5/17/12
|
|||
Ian
|
||||||
Ben
|
||||||
Scott
|
170
|
4
|
57
|
6/3/12
|
170
|
6/2/12
|
LMS
|
5
|
25
|
7/1/12
|
185
|
6/29/12
|
|
Richie
|
6
|
17
|
5/11/12
|
|||
K$
|
172
|
6
|
17
|
5/10/12
|
||
Gym
|
185
|
5
|
49
|
5/9/12
|
255
|
5/11/12
|
The Challenge:
With respect to LMS's June 30th 5:25 mile - 2 months after the initial smack-talk began - I thought, 'Fast time, impressive...BUT NO ONE GIVES A $#%$ if you take 2 months to do it!'
I articulated this to LMS. He responded with this July 22nd email (almost 2 months ago):
I articulated this to LMS. He responded with this July 22nd email (almost 2 months ago):
"Of course this wouldn't be a macho tracker if you didn't have an equal chance to best me. I did take my sweet time, training otherwise pretty much every day. I could say that I had my hands full with blah blah BS this and that but we all know you were as busy if not more-so so F' me. I will say that in two months time, to the day (which you call) I will receive your time and THAT DAY I must make my follow up attempt. That way you can train as hard as you want and I have to be ready no matter what. …best be runnin."
I responded by taking this entirely too serious, acquiring a 3 month miler training program (lopping off 1/3 of it), and banging out a metric ton of speed training in the last two months, unbeknownst to you all, of course. This email right here, to you all, is the first LMS has heard of any of this. I started the program on July 23rd, a day after LMS's challenge. September 23rd is this Sunday - RACE DAY!
The Concerns:
- 5:25 is way faster than my 5:49. To cut 25 seconds is a lofty goal for 2 months. To boot, I need to cut enough time to disable LMS's chances of beating me.
- Training in Kodiak is challenging- it's rainy, windy, and cold. Straight up difficult to get a consistent program in. I needed to be okay with substituting workouts when weather was crap.
- To conduct newlywed ops, I put off my deployment to Barrow, AK as long as possible. Kodiak 60 pilots are spending a painfully-boring-3 weeks up here. Those elements that make training in Kodiak difficult are even more pronounced in Barrow.
Giving up:
- Two months ago, holding up the sheet of paper that had my training program, I asked, 'Erin, do you support this?' 'Yes,' she replied. Well, when I was out there busting my ass in Kodiak's rain and wind after work, newlywed-Erin was far less enthusiastic. I was close to stopping all the training. Nonetheless, she stood by her commitment to support me. (Thank you, Erin).
- Flip’n tendonitis. I had it when I ran cross-country as a kid. It signaled the time for new sneakers. Determined to discontinue my horrendous heel-striking technique, I have been trying to force myself to run on the same sneakers until they fell apart (a la Born To Run). I ran in extraordinary pain for 4 of the 8 weeks. I had a bulge in my right shin which I referred to as The Battle of the Bulge. My new Asics Speedsters are good for speed (not distance) which has worked well since deciding to cave in and buy new sneaks.
- F’ing Barrow, AK.
Seriously, where in the Sam-hell am I?! As I explained to LMS when I accepted this challenge, there are actually polar bears in town. 1. Polar bears are predators of man. 2. Running triggers animal chase instinct. 3. Polar bears max at 35mph, faster than I can run. 4. Simply, there are animals walking around the area that will kill me. On day 1 of this deployment, we spotted a bear near the Elementary School. Day 1!!!
- Constant winds 10-25 knots.
- Blowing snow.
- Sideways rain.
- As I was greeted stepping off the C-130, 'Welcome to the Mud Capitol of the World.' The only blacktop is the runway.
- Polar bears.
The Preparation:
- Sweet potatoes
- There's a football field I've been running on. The astroturf looks like a Middle School art project. It's semi-okay to run on; good enough. The field has a 4' fence around it. I don't know if it'll keep polar bears out, but it gives me enough of a sense of security to run like some caged zoo animal. Last night, the fog yielded 1/4 mile of visibility. I was scared the entire run. Fog is white. So are polar bears.
- There are no Ameri-cans (porta johns) near the football field. Grrrrrr…
- Carbo-loading.
- Told this tale, all 20 minutes of it, to all 3 rescue swimmers I'm currently deployed with. They think we - this group of friends - are awesome - which we are.
- Wind analysis. This wind is a pisser. I thought that since I'll be racing laps around the field, the wind would balance itself out. Turns out, the acceleration caused by the wind is rather fatiguing. If nothing else, it's taxing mentally. Eating 20 knots of wind sucks - simple as that.
- Technique analysis video.
This technique video was shoot in our laundry room.
This technique video was shoot in our laundry room.
- Lastly, putting together these killer set lists:
Matt, I'll sleep in on Sunday then bang this out. I'm guessing you'll get my time at around 6pm eastern. You get 24 hours, foo!
Fellas, I don't know that I can win this challenge, but I'm sure as hell trying...
Eager,
Jim.
Some responses:
Byronne:
I'm a little overwhelmed by the humor and machoness of this email ... Too much to reply too and comment on within 24hrs so I'll just start with thank you for bringing this conversation back to life.
LMS:
Yaaaawn...oh is it time to run yet?
Me:
BS!
LMS:
After reading your email OUT LOUD to the wife, we both agreed it was the scariest most hard-core message ever. All I could do was fuel the fire in the spirit of Macho, although truthfully you are the f’ing Stephen King of running challenges. I can't wait. Please don't die up there.
Getting close and PB’ing along the way:
9/23/12, after 2 months of dedicated training to beat LMS’s 5:25, Race Day, I wrote:
Defeat:
Defeat is a horse pill to swallow. Having ran a 5:27 mile today, I will state publicly that at least for now, LMS, you are the faster runner.
Technicality:
At 5:35 in the video, you can see me stop and start running again. My stupid watch beeped with a message saying, "Don't give up!" You'll see, I heard the beep, stopped running and looked down at my watch, realized what it said, that it wasn't in fact the end of the mile, and sprinted for the remaining 90 feet. My heart rate monitor’s been working intermittently lately. The Garmin rep had me reset my watch as a fix and now, all those extra beeps are back to factory settings - which I'm not used to. While all this resides in Excuseland, you could see, after 2 months of busting my ass, this would piss a man off.
Notes:
- On Tuesday, I banged out a PB - 5:35. I did it at night after a full-on steak dinner. Since I was tired, and it was offered with the meal, I opted for a soda. With a full belly, at night, and with freak'n Mountain Dew, my 5:35 gave me over-confidence that I'd demolish LMS's 5:25. With perfect prep in the previous few days, I'm surprised that I couldn't beat 5:20. The obsession continues...
This will hopefully end when I break 5 minutes.
Happy running,
Jim.
Responses:
LMS:
This is so GD metal I can't stand it! Jim Cooley is in freakin Alaska running his balls off to try and beat my mile here in sunny Florida. Something about that is just not fair. You sir are a badass. Going from a 5:41 to a 5:27 like that? Epic. This is great. I want to go out and beat my own time but I will not unless Jim Cooley f'in tells me to.
Jesse:
Mother f-er. I am going for it in one month. Half your prep time gym in consideration of your challenges. Stop bitching about polar bears and find people slower than you to run with. Don't be the slow guy and you will be ok.
[In response to Scott's discussion about an elite race he recently ran]: Scott, your times are impressive but stop commenting on genetic anamolies who probably have no life other than training to run fast on weekends. Yes they are impressive but until they do or prove they have done a running of the wolves, I don't give a hoot and they don't warrant mention in this forum. As for the Beer Mile, I may have puked, but I did it after a day of redneck booze cruising that was proceeded by a night of Moscow mules courtesy of Willpon and howling with wolves. Yes the wolves were howling 24 hours in advance of your sober well-hydrated arrival. Byronne should probably claim the crown for starting the race with an ABV above zero and nearly beating you.
Woof woof!
Scott:
5:27? for a 185 lb man who can bench press 225? that's like a freight train with rocket packs.
Richie:
Dammit Jim- I was hoping you forgot about that.
You are as stubborn as a mule, sir.
It's back down to lower field for me, gents. Fear not-- the bears over here are a bit friendlier.
Me:
In other comms, Scott said:
"Also, you wolves are closing in on my mile time and it is not the cushion it once was, therefore I'll be re-doing it. I did win a 1500 a couple weeks ago in 4:45 but that's not the mile now is it."
1. Byron, your 5:07 is impressive but since you did that in conjunction w/ a 1.5 run, I'm hanging on by a thread for this sub-5 you're about to do.
2. Scott, your 1500 is impressive, so is your win. Additionally, your 3000 win is also blazing, yielding 5:30ish mile splits!!! WTF?!
Byronne’s the fastest:
5/13/13: Out of nowhere, Byronne posted a video of him running a 4:56. It was a 1600m, not a mile, as he later (frustratingly) admitted. His message, humbly penned just to me:
Subject: Macho Tracker Update
"Gym,
I just put a video in the macho Dropbox folder. The video should run just over 5 minutes… but not me.
Hearts,
Byron"
Unreal. He celebrated the 1-year anniversary of the initial question, ‘Whadya bench?’ with a legitimate smackdown!
Honing In:
I was feeling good with my new personal best. The banter was good. Then the winter came and went, Erin and I packed up, and we moved out of Alaska. It was a super year, spending much of it outdoors. The roadtrip was impressive, as was my expanding waistline. Which brings us to the unforgetable solo run I took at Detroit Dam.
I decided to take photos of myself to help plus up the motivation. It worked.
Embarrassingly, my thoughts of doing a video journal of my forthcoming training and renewed commitment was squelched by my lack of confidence. ‘I trained for 2 months, hard core! And still couldn’t meet my goal!’ I thought. ‘Sub-5?! Yeah right!’
One thing I had on my side was time. While the commitment was to run a sub-5 prior to a haircut, 1. my hair grows slowly, 2. I had a post-RAGBRAI/post-mohawk buzzcut, 3. Kicking off her career, Erin was going to be away for much of that late summer, early fall (2013), 4. Our house-closing was delayed. I didn’t have many of my belongings to distract me from spending time running 5-6 days per week.
Here’s the gist of a fitness contract I made:
Consume:
Fruit
vegetables
fish
poultry
organic beef
non-peanut nuts
eggs
oatmeal
Don't consume:
white starch and carbs
alcohol
cheese
Training:
When searching for a program, I found a high school training schedule. I followed it to a T (except after bruising my heel from doing a failed endo in flip flops (dumbass). Then I did bodyweight exercises). Astoria is a hilly city. The steepest road in North America is 6 blocks from my house. Training on hills was convenient. Here’s Rick Morris’ program:
Early Season Phase
Day 1 – 8 x 400 meter repeats @ current pace. Recover between each repeat with 2 minutes of passive recovery. Then run 2 x 400 meter repeats @ goal pace. Recover between each repeat with 2 minutes of passive recovery.
Day 2 – 10 kilometer fartlek run.
Day 3 – 3 x 2400 meter repeats @ 5K pace. Recover between each repeat with 4 minutes of passive recovery.
Day 4 – Run 12 kilometers @ easy pace.
Day 5 – 8 x 200 meter repeats @ 400 meter pace. Recover between each repeat with 1 minute of passive recovery.
Day 6 – 5K to 10K fartlek run or rest.
Day 7 – 4 x 200/400/200 compound sets. Run 200 meters @ 800 meter pace, 400 meters @ current mile pace and then another 200 meters @ 800 meter pace. Take no recovery between the distances. Recover between each set with 4 minutes of passive recovery.
Day 8 – Run 12 kilometers @ easy pace.
Day 9 – Run 4 x 400 meter repeats @ current mile pace. Recover between each repeat with 2 minutes of passive recovery. Then run 4 x 200 meter repeats @ 800 meter pace. Recover between each repeat with 1 minute of passive recovery. Then run 4 x 100 meter repeats @ sprint pace. Recover between each repeat with 30 seconds of passive recovery.
Day 10 – 10 kilometer fartlek run.
Day 11 - Run for 18 minutes alternating between 1 minute @ mile pace and 2 minutes @ easy pace. Then run 10 x 100 meter strides.
Day 12 – 5K to 10K fartlek run or rest.
Day 13 – Run 10 x 100 meter repeats up a steep hill. Run @ current pace. Recover by running down the hill @ easy pace.
Day 14 – Run 12 kilometers @ easy pace.
Mid-Season Phase
Day 1 – 5 x 400 meter repeats @ current pace. Recover between each repeat with 2 minutes of passive recovery. Then run 5 x 400 meter repeats @ goal pace. Recover between each repeat with 2 minutes of passive recovery.
Day 2 – 10 kilometer fartlek run.
Day 3 – 3 x 2400 meter repeats @ 5K pace. Recover between each repeat with 3 minutes of passive recovery.
Day 4 – Run 10 kilometers @ easy pace.
Day 5 – 10 x 200 meter repeats @ 400 meter pace. Recover between each repeat with 1 minute of passive recovery.
Day 6 – 5K to 10K fartlek run or rest.
Day 7 – 4 x 800/400 compound sets. Run 800 meters @ current pace then another 400 meters @ 800 meter pace. Take no recovery between the distances. Recover between each set with 4 minutes of passive recovery.
Day 8 – Run 10 kilometers @ easy pace.
Day 9 – Run 4 x 400 meter repeats @ current mile pace. Recover between each repeat with 1 minutes of passive recovery. Then run 4 x 200 meter repeats @ 800 meter pace. Recover between each repeat with 30 seconds of passive recovery. Then run 4 x 100 meter repeats @ sprint pace. Recover between each repeat with 15 seconds of passive recovery.
Day 10 – 10 kilometer fartlek run.
Day 11 - Run for 24 minutes alternating between 1 minute @ mile pace and 2 minutes @ easy pace. Then run 10 x 100 meter strides.
Day 12 – 5K to 10K fartlek run or rest.
Day 13 – Run 12 x 100 meter repeats up a steep hill. Run @ current pace. Recover by running down the hill @ easy pace.
Day 14 – Run 14 kilometers @ easy pace.
Late Season Phase
Day 1 – 2 x 400 meter repeats @ current pace. Recover between each repeat with 1 minute of passive recovery. Then run 8 x 400 meter repeats @ goal pace. Recover between each repeat with 1 minute of passive recovery.
Day 2 – 10 kilometer fartlek run.
Day 3 – 3 x 2400 meter repeats @ 5K pace. Recover between each repeat with 2 minutes of passive recovery.
Day 4 – Run 12 kilometers @ easy pace.
Day 5 – 12 x 200 meter repeats @ 400 meter pace. Recover between each repeat with 1 minute of passive recovery.
Day 6 – 5K to 10K fartlek run or rest.
Day 7 – 4 x 800/400 compound sets. Run 800 meters @ goal pace then another 400 meters @ 800 meter pace. Take no recovery between the distances. Recover between each set with 4 minutes of passive recovery.
Day 8 – Run 12 kilometers @ easy pace.
Day 9 – Run 4 x 400 meter repeats @ current pace. Recover between each repeat with 30 seconds of passive recovery. Then run 4 x 200 meter repeats @ 800 meter pace. Recover between each repeat with 15 seconds of passive recovery. Then run 4 x 100 meter repeats @ sprint pace. Recover between each repeat with 10 seconds of passive recovery.
Day 10 – 10 kilometer fartlek run.
Day 11 - Run for 30 minutes alternating between 1 minute @ mile pace and 2 minutes @ easy pace. Then run 10 x 100 meter strides.
Day 12 – 5K to 10K fartlek run or rest.
Day 13 – Run 12 x 100 meter repeats up a steep hill. Run @ goal pace. Recover by running down the hill @ easy pace.
Day 14 – Run 16 kilometers @ easy pace.
From August to November, it became dark. It rained. It got cold. And I quietly ran…and ran hard...
Pass That Torch, LMS:
Me, elated: 10/5/13
This was a big deal. Remember the competition with LMS from a year prior? Bam!
10/6/13, a day later:
I posted a video (and the above photo) from the Astoria Middle School Track revealing a 5:07. This time surprised the hell out of me. To go from 5:23 to a 5:07 was the biggest leap yet. Normally, those leaps are in one's initial phases of training. This happened literally overnight while in the later stages of my training. This leap made me realize the importance of rehearsing the run. As in, the familiarity of the actual mile was, at this point, as important as all the non-mile training.
An aside: The Red Barn is something us Saratoga Winter Club members from the late '90's are familiar with. The Red Barn was the first thing most of us ever focused our mind's eye upon. We listened to a guided-meditation tape every Monday night in MyGym Fitness. Bodybuilder and gym-ower-Mark coached us in meditation and visualization. We all got pretty good at it, even visualizing a 1,000m time trial so when we showed up to skate it, our goal times were already familiar. I go back to The Red Barn often.
An aside: The Red Barn is something us Saratoga Winter Club members from the late '90's are familiar with. The Red Barn was the first thing most of us ever focused our mind's eye upon. We listened to a guided-meditation tape every Monday night in MyGym Fitness. Bodybuilder and gym-ower-Mark coached us in meditation and visualization. We all got pretty good at it, even visualizing a 1,000m time trial so when we showed up to skate it, our goal times were already familiar. I go back to The Red Barn often.
I ran this 5:23 and 5:07 right after the government shutdown of 2013. The shutdown is relevant only because of my time spent in Eagle, Colorado during the shutdown. I was there at the end of September for training. Training got canned early in the week but I was instructed to hang out for a few days in hopes training would resume. Needless to say, I had time to run and gain some red blood cells.
While I was running a 5:07, LMS was simultaneously running his mile to re-assume his role atop the podium from my 5:23 (posted the day prior). I beat him to the email post...probably because I wasn't busy still running a mile...ZING!
Scott: 10/6/13
How the F did you do that? Probably a track record. I rode my bike 36 miles today and its been raining all afternoon. Which I guess is not an excuse.
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HOLY XXXX! Geez. That would have been absolutely demoralizing had you smashed my 5:23 AFTER you went ballz-out at the tri.
Frankly, today's time really shocked me.
I'm nervous for tomorrow's results. This is getting obnoxious...
Willpon: 10/6/13
You guys can do whatever you do and be manly. I rock the 00.0k today and feel like a winner. Have fun being manly!
Scott: 10/6/13
Jim's right, this IS getting obnoxious. I was having a nice little Sunday at the mall shopping with my girlfriend buying a $1,200 tool chest from Sears, stomach full of XXX’ing Q'doba, when I decided to check my email to kill some time in line
Ten minutes later I'm at a XXX’ing high school track, after sunset, in the rain, wearing the crap I wore to the mall, having ridden 36 miles today and only having run twice since June. I had absolutely no business doing this.
We pulled up, I walked to the start, XXX’ing hauled ass with no warm up, walked back to the car, and vacated the parking lot seven minutes after we arrived.
Time: 5:31 (80, 83, 84, 84).
G/f has no clue what the XXX happened, and frankly, neither do I
Scott
LMS: 10/6/13
Man I love this.
LMS: 10/7/13
I woke up to a plantar tendon so tight I was hobbling into the kitchen to make my black coffee and wake up to the thought of beating a 5:07. uuuugh
Me:
Injuries aren't worth macho ops. If you need a non-injury day, it's yours. In aviation we say, 'waveoffs are free.'
LMS:
If admitting defeat takes a real man then I am Chuck Norris. If you had not granted the pass then I would still be bowing out today, so thank you for softening the blow. You sir have ran one fast mile and I cannot beat it this day. The throne is yours...for now.
Victory tastes good.
I go public with my goal:
And then this…:
Willpon:10/10/13
The best part of this chain of e-mails is seeing the meathead that skinny Gym has become. I guess it is the years of doing "winter sports," which questionably qualify as real sports. Could you imagine if he played football?
The fortitude!:
Meanwhile, LMS posted impressive triathlon results. He averaged 6:04 for an olympic distance. As is the case with tri’s, he swam and biked his ass off before smoking that 6:04 pace. He won the tri. Jesse commented, ‘LMS, you can definitely break 5:00 after pulling an avg 6:04 minute mile following swimming and biking. Just do it.’
LMS: 10/14/13
Agreed. One more triathlon this Sunday then the real race begins.
From our 10-Year Reunion:
Pressure remains:
Scott: 11/11/13
5:26 today at the Special Warfare Command track at Fort Bragg. Debated posting a slower time but at least I ran.
And have a nice Veterans Day you nice Veterans.
Hanging Up The Sneakers:
Me: 11/16/13, a year ago from this post.
Studs,
This email string has influenced me more than you guys could ever know. Seriously. My 13 years of short track speed skating do not compare to the Cro-Magnon competitive urges I've had this last year and a half. Thank you, friends, for making me a better person. I'm sad it is over for me. Here's my final posting:
Sincerely,
Jim.
KOM
Post-Script Odds and Ends:
- When wife-Erin heard my result, she asked: ‘Does it make you wonder if you would have stuck with speed skating if your added "competitive drive" you have now with running would have kicked in more in speed skating as you aged?’
It really does. I was never more proud of a physical feet then when I passed the bike path that marked my finish line, looked down, and saw a 4:56. I literally jumped up and down uncontrollably. I can’t help but think about how my skating career would have been different had I the work ethic I applied to this. I have no regrets about those life decisions that pulled me away from the sport, but I do wonder ‘what if?…’
- The end results are pretty impressive:
Scott: 4:57 and a 4:45 in the 1500m, Byronne: 4:58 and 4:56 in the 1600m, Jesse: 5:09, LMS: 5:16.
- Byronne and I drove from Sacramento Airport to Squaw Valley last March. I can assure you that Byronne has NOT settled for these standings! To me, the difference between 1600 meters and 1 mile is negligible. NOT the case for Byronne. He is acutely aware that it took us the same amount of time for me to run 30.6 feet further.
So what’s next?
- I invited (challenged) the wolves to the NYC 5th Avenue Mile. You just barrel down 5th Avenue as fast as you can. It seems cool.
- In an effort to be more established in the community, I’m currently working on planning a monthly downhill race. It’s the reciprocal of the Divis Up or Shut Up run in San Francisco. The working title is Column On Down, a race from the Astoria Column to Fort Astoria. It’s about 1.5 miles and very steep. So steep, a portion of the road is only open to local traffic, but pedestrians are allowed to hurdle over the flower barricade, land 15 feet down the hill on cobblestone, and do their best to not blow their knees out. Sure, I’m impressed with people’s cardio (see: Divis Up), but am more entertained by agility (see: obnoxious downhill race that I’ll be forcing on this quaint town in the upcoming months).
- Scott still hammers out miles. In July, 2014, he ran a 5:19 without any training. The guy’s speed is only matched by his tenacity.
- I can hardly stand waiting for the inevitable crushing I'm about to get. If these wolves were willing to drop what they were doing and blast out a mile based on a 5 sentence email, I fully expect to be blown to smithereens in a few weeks. Looking forward to the results, fellas.
- I can hardly stand waiting for the inevitable crushing I'm about to get. If these wolves were willing to drop what they were doing and blast out a mile based on a 5 sentence email, I fully expect to be blown to smithereens in a few weeks. Looking forward to the results, fellas.
Nov 19, 2014 Update:
Byronne did it again. And within 3 days of this post! So impressive.
Here's his message:
Gym,
Your best competition article was truly inspiring and your 5th Ave [Mile race down 5th Ave in NYC] throw down was pretty motivating as well. So my thoughts: First of all, I missed this. Also, I'm sorry this had to happen on your 1 year anniversary / year-long honeymoon...I'm going to go work on my bench, my beer mile, and maybe my squat.
See you big boys on 5th. I'll buy you all some purses to pass the time while waiting at the finish.
Byronne
(4 laps on the track plus 9 extra meters)
Byron,
Why are you so fast right now? It's the middle of November- what's the story? Is that your fastest mile? Where'd you do it?
-Scott
I do believe this will never end...and I hope it doesn't.
