‘Races’ Articles at , Page 10

‘Twas the Night Before Some High School Cross Meets

Posted on November 26, 2011 by Cait — 5 Comments ↓

Cross-country champs comes but once a year. 🙂 Okay, I won’t go too crazy on that sentiment because technically there are LOTS of things that come but once a year…for instance 9:36 on 11/25/11 only comes but once a year too, right? Haha.

But because there are plenty of seasons wrapping up here I wanted to do a post. Yes, for all the NCAA fans those cross champs happened on Monday. Congrats to all the great college showings there! Living in California, during high school I really associated Thanksgiving weekend with the State Championships; California likes to be all special and be the VERY last state to hold their champs and it is tomorrow.

Along with that, the National High School meets are starting the rounds; there will be Nike Team Cross Champs (NXN) as well as the first few Footlocker Regional Meets. Now, even though I’m FAR graduated and becoming a geriatric, I still get a little excited buzz when I think about all these meets.

Especially in high school, the first time you go to any of these events they seem, in a word: Epic. We’ll just say Nike does know how to do it right and you start to feel a bit like a rock star…and being a sport where you’re not exactly thought of as holding that status, it feels weird. Oh, and did I mention the schwag? Ya, that’s not a bad deal either. 😉

So, to all those athletes and teams prepping for these big races: Good Luck. I’ll just say a few things, some words, and some fond memories:

* CA State Champs: I don’t know what the weather forecast is in Fresno, but my Soph year it was a mud slide, some real cross country. What’s great about cross is times really can get chucked out the window (varying courses and conditions do that) and it’s really competition…vying for the win, getting one more spot higher to help your team’s score. Get gutsy.

* State Champs again: the night before my Junior year my coach said some rather inspiring words that I still remember today — “The first mile is just about keeping the nerves in check…be smart and don’t go out too fast, but get out fast enough that you’re not stuck behind so many people that you then have to weed your way to the front. The second mile is tactical…stay smooth and strong, start thinking about moving up and putting yourself where you want to be. The last mile is heart…how bad do you want this?”

* Footlocker West: my Frosh year this thing blew me away. I was in runner-dorkette awe, I lined up and remember looking to my right and left and seeing harriers that were idols to me. Looking back I’ll just say this to anyone: on the starting line we’re all equals. Sure, there are people that may be faster or in better shape, but on any given day you don’t know what the future holds. Remember you belong on the starting line and race for yourself, race your best.

* Footlocker Nationals: I only got to go once, but think about regionals on steroids. (please people, know I’m joking, there are no actual drugs involved here…haha) Live it up while you’re there, relish those freebies and meeting the pro runners that rock…soak up the experience. Be focused on the race, yes, but don’t be so intense that you ignore how lucky it is you get to be there…so have fun. That is what cross is about too. Have fun (actually I always liked the distractions before because they help limit getting overly nervous), and then when the start gun cracks, go for it. You can be both: a person and a racer…and in that racer role you can be fierce and ‘out for blood’ but after you cross the line you can be the nicest person in the world. The athletes I respect the most are like that…they can kick your @$$, turn around and congratulate you, and cool-down with you all in the span of an hour.

Good luck racers, and even if you too are a ‘geriatric’ far removed from high school or college cross country don’t worry you can still be excited for these guys. PLUS…the USATF rounds are still to come and the road racer warriors are never to be ignored. 🙂

1) What is one of your fond memories from high school or college? If you race for a team it can be about that but it doesn’t have to be.

2) Any words of advice you have for anyone going out for a race?

3) Are you racing this weekend?

Turkey Trots, Charity Bets, and Some Holiday Tomorrow…

Posted on November 24, 2011 by Cait — 11 Comments ↓

Fair warning, this post will be all over the place. It’ll be dishing up a fine slew of sides, sort of it’s own little bloggy feast. In a break from any kind of tradition, we’ll start with the main course.

Gobble, Gobble, turkey wobble. Yes, Thanksgiving is tomorrow for those of us in the States and I’ll break out the festivities early. I’m pretty sure that yes, indeed, the first Thanksgiving involved a mad dash for the bird, racing bibs and all.

Whether you are partaking in a Turkey Trot of some kind or not, there are a slew around and a big one going on in California is the Run to Feed the Hungry in Sacramento. Now, this race is kinda special to me (cue sappy little music…haha) because back looooong ago it was one of the very first 5k road races I ever did. Actually, it was the first one that was more than a dozen or so runners and here is my funny little story:

I had just joined a local running club and had no idea what this whole running thing was outside of you ran until it hurt and you crossed a line. I was fuzzy on the kilometer thing but got that it was a little over 3 miles…pick jaw off the floor, yes, three miles was long back then!

I was young and following the leader, the other girls lined up in the front row and while the Run to Feed the Hungry wasn’t as colossal as it is today it was in the multi-thousands at that point and I wasn’t in any kind of fast-person-deserves-to-be-in-the-front shape, we’ll just say that. Right before the gun went off my mom grabbed my shoulder, white knuckled, “Honey, just so you know you need to get out fast. There are LOTS of people behind you and I’m not kidding if you go down you will get trampled to death.” Thanks, Mom.

BOOM…gun goes off. The good news is I am alive today. Anyways, I remember it was a lot of fun, but not going to lie a major highlight was probably the slew of eats afterwards…I remember pizza.

This year, the Run to Feed the Hungry has a fun little twist. For anyone who doesn’t know, Michael Stember (he grew up around these parts and it has a local appeal here too) is dusting off the racing flats and running for charity. There is a deal though, he is challenged to run a sub-18 minute 5k. Now, if you look at his past PR’s, he is a former Olympian after all, you’d laugh and say he should be able to run it backwards. But, he hasn’t been competitive for awhile, and I can attest that if you don’t use it you lose it. 😉

Anyways, I give him props for both putting himself out there and making a dash for charity. My bet is he does break 18 (I doubt he’d put himself out THAT far without some kind of gauge in his fitness) and the American Indian Model Schools get some charity proceeds.

Speaking of fast runners there are also some big guns racing in a Silicon Valley Turkey Trot; one of them is Dathan Ritzenhein. Trust me he’ll break 18 minutes and it’s one of his first races back from a long line of injuries so GOOD LUCK to him!

Told you this was all over this place, and we’ll end with some mashed taters and pumpkin pie. I am a fan of pumpkin pie, but mostly because I scoop out the top part and save the crust for last…it is the best part and I like it all soggy from the pumpkin stuff. Wow, yum.

On that note, Happy Thanksgiving to all!

1) Are you running in any turkey themed races tomorrow?
No, I’m not but trust me I’ll be putting in my sweat session.

2) Putting yourself out there and broadcasting a goal certainly ups the ante; if others know what you’re shooting for you can’t really take it back. Do you have one you’d like to share? Are you vying for any PR’s?

3) Something you are thankful for?
My family and some cool friends.

On the Ever of the NYC Marathon, it’s Worth Remembering That…

Posted on November 6, 2011 by Cait — 5 Comments ↓

I’ve gotten sucked into NYC Marathon hype…not unduly of course because I think there are plenty of things to be excited about. Is it strange that I’ll post all of this and I’m not even running the race? Oh well if it is, I’m a runner geekette so I can be a fan and post if I want to. I do think it would be really awesome to run it one day.

I thought it worth doing a couple previous NYC highlights over the years, and a part of the idea came to me cause Cecily over at ReRun Running did something similar for another race she IS running in. 🙂

Source
The first woman to run in the NYC Marathon was Nina Kuscsik in 1972; she actually took part in a sit-in with all the other female entrants on behalf of gender equality. They waited ten minutes after the gun and then took off; Nina won NY two times, snuck herself into the 1969 Boston Marathon before being officially recognized as the Boston winner in 1972. Further, she was a propelling force in getting the Marathon instituted as an Olympic event for women.

Source
What has made a lot of press recently is that one of the legends of the NYC Marathon, Grete Waitz, died earlier this year and thus the organizers have dedicated this 2011 running to her. Between 1978 and 1988 Grete won nine times, set the world record for the event a total of three times (even in her first attempt) and what I found astonishing was that she really entered the first time kind of on a whim. She had been a track star, setting twice the world record for the 3000 meters, and I read in one of her tributes something like, until the marathon her longest training run was about 10 miles! She is certainly one of the greatest female distance runners, but she also did a lot of wonderful charity work and co-founded a cancer federation. She is certainly missed.
alberto salazar and cait chock
Another one of my great running idols, Alberto Salazar, won three times from 1980-1982 set the world record for the event in 1981. He was the last American to win until Meb Keflezighi finally changed that in 2009.

Paula Radcliffe, the current women’s world record holder, has won three times. Kara Goucher made her debut at the distance in 2008, Shalane Flanagan also made her first attempt at the 26.2’er in 2010, coming in second and making her the top finishing American female for the span of 20 years.

This year it’s going to be Lauren Fleshman’s turn to tackle the marathon for the first time. On the men’s side there is plenty of talk of a new world record in the works…only time will tell.

So I don’t feel like I’m the only one who should be excited for this year’s event even though I’m not running. Like I’ve said many times before, running IS the best sport around…GOOD LUCK to those racing! 🙂

1) Are YOU excited for the marathon? Do you have any tidbits you’d like to add?

2) What else are you excited about this weekend?

3) Who are some of your running or athletic heros?

A Century-load of Motivation

Posted on October 20, 2011 by Cait — 5 Comments ↓

If you’re feeling tired in a race and cave to sneaking a peek behind you, if you see this man behind you it should act as a swift burst of motivation!
100 year old marathoner
(Image Source)

Fauja Singh, at 100 years old, recently set the World Record for being the oldest person to complete a full marathon. This was done last week in Canada’s Toronto Marathon. (Actually, what’s really cool is you can read a first person account of Singh’s journey because the rocking Christina ran alongside him for a part of it, so go check her story out!)

You see, that’s where I want to be when I’m 100. Actually, let me correct myself; I’ve said many a time in regards to the ever-increasing life-expectancy: “I only want to live as long as I can still be ‘me.'” Read that as: I can still run and relish in snarky, sarcastic humor.

So, IF I make it to 100, I better still be kicking and living in sweating running clothes…just saying. So, to those who feel they can’t do something and set limits on themselves, take a look at Singh. What I find even more incredible about his story is that his FIRST marathon wasn’t run until the spry age of 89. You see, it’s never too late to turn to the ‘running side’ and become one of us crazy masses. It also proves you should keep challenging yourself and setting new goals, step out of your comfort zone.

His time for this century-aged marathon was 8:11:05; interesting to note that in completely the Toronto Marathon he also established the records for 100-agers in the 100 meter, 5000 meter, and five other distances along with the 26.2 miles. His sights are ever looking forward and up next is of course the grand-daddy of them all: The Olympics.

Juuuuuust hold it…he wants to be a member of the torch relay for the London games. 🙂

1) How old do you hope to be?

2) Do you plan on running/being active up until that last sleep?
You bet, if I can’t I may just go senile.

3) Most inspirational thing/person/quote/etc. that you’ve seen or heard of lately?

4) Do you have a current goal you’re working towards right now?

Battling the Race Day Nerves — Use the Nerves to Your Advantage

Posted on October 17, 2011 by Cait — 9 Comments ↓

Sunday again already, eh? Well, we are approaching the ‘GO TIME’ for races here; whether it’s the high schoolers gearing up and going through all the sectional/regional races, the college athletes doing the same, the road racers continually make the circuit, and of course the marathons. We have NYC Marathon fast approaching, other ones going on all around the world, and then come January the US Olympic Trials…exciting stuff!

Though, whether you are racing in a huge meet or a low-key fun run, there is something special about putting on that race bib. Even if you are going into a race using it more as a workout or a tune-up, you still get that little buzz right before that gun goes off.

Races wake up that competitive beast just a little more…if tough workouts are just poking it with a stick than having a gun go off is like kicking him in the mouth. I’ve talked about how people have different perspectives on races: for some they just want to survive, others don’t care a lick about time and are all about the fun, and then there are those who are out for time and want to push themselves to their absolute limits.

Any and all of those goals are valid and great; but if you do fall into that last category and each of these races are upping the ante: read as you need to hit a certain qualifying mark, place as high as possible to make it to the next round, and there is a lot on the line, you CAN’T let the nerves get the better of you.

You want that buzz of adrenaline, the prick of your hairs as you crouch at the line, because that’s all a part of racing. But you don’t want to take it to the extreme and sabotage yourself. Don’t ‘think’ yourself out of a race.

Out-thinking it can happen even days or weeks before you start your warm-up. For whatever reason I think I was pretty good at not psyching myself out to the point where it ruined my race before it even started; I think it was because of a few things, and I’ll just share a few tips or pointers that might work for you:

* It’s just a ‘workout-plus’: the thing is, I get nervous before hard workouts too. I can’t really put into words why exactly, part of it is because I want to do well of course, part of it is that I know it will hurt but I want to test my mental toughness and see how far I can push that. I am a big believer in that being a mentally gritty and tough runner is one of the best attributes to have; I respect that probably the most in other people. How to use this for the race then: just think of this race as you would a tough workout; yes, there is more ‘on the line’ but just like in hard track sessions, go out there and give it the best you’ve got. The ‘plus’ part comes from the extra boost the excitement, adrenaline, and competition will give you; usually that will happen on it’s own and will help push you a little harder.

* Go in with multiple goals: the races I’ve been the most nervous for were the ones where I wasn’t exactly sure where my fitness was. Maybe I was coming off on an injury, perhaps I hadn’t raced for awhile; whatever the case if you haven’t built up enough workouts to gauge your level of fitness that can be daunting. In this instance, I’d suggest looking at what workouts you HAVE done, (here is where a coach helps a LOT as they can help you predict and set a goal for the race) and set a few goals. Set one for what you would consider ‘acceptable’, another a little bit higher, and then have a third that you might think is a reach but you still have to put it out there. Now, the three goals things still works even if you are in good shape; you always want to have a third goal where you really put your neck on the line and set it; even if you don’t tell anyone but yourself.

* Carry the confidence: now if you DO know you are ready to rock that race, then I’d suggest thinking back on your key workouts. The ones where everything clicked, you did well, and they are proof you are in good shape; so then when there is the point in the race where it hurts like a beast you can tell yourself, “Okay, I did such-and-such workout and that hurt way more, I CAN do this.

* Power-down, Power-up: leading up to the ‘big race’ just try to push it out of your mind with about two days to go. If you stress out too much about it, what happens is you will physically just wear yourself out. Your body will produce this hormone called, cortisol, which will, come race day, leave you wiped out. Not only that, your mind will have been stewing and could just work against you. So set your goals in advance, then tune out the days leading up…flip the brain back on when you are starting your warm-up because then it’s GO time.

* Relax: ummm, thanks for the obvious advice? Haha…no but seriously, I know we all handle nerves differently; for me I used to sort of turn into this weirdo-yabber mouth. I was the one on the line saying good luck to people or making some dorky joke; for whatever reason that helped me let off some steam by keeping it light. There is a limit of course, you don’t want to be outright rude because some racers are the opposite and like to be completely stoic, so give them their quite. I respect that everyone works in their own way; for the relaxing though, it helps to sometimes just shake out your arms because your shoulders can be up to your ears without you knowing it.

We're equal opportunity here, here's one for the guys. 🙂

I hope a few of these things help. Lastly, if you’re running with a team, use the camaraderie to your advantage, not your undoing. Yes, let it propell you to pick off that last person down the stretch, to really reach…but don’t let the opposite happen where you just absorb all that pressure to perform. The funny thing about it, the more you focus on ‘wanting to do well’ that is usually when you are working against yourself the most. Often times the races or times I’ve felt my best is when I wasn’t thinking about ‘wanting to do well’ but instead just letting it happen.

I’ll share a quote my mom used to always tell me when I would be nervous: “If you weren’t nervous, then I’d be worried; that means you don’t care.”

1) Best way you’ve found to channel nerves to your advantage?

2) Do you get nervous before key workouts?

3) Did you race this weekend? If so…share!

Reinstituting the Long Run and the Debate on How to Run Them

Posted on October 9, 2011 by Cait — 12 Comments ↓

Hello, good friend, oh how I’ve missed you. I knew today was coming since last week and I looked to it with both eager anticipation and trepidation. I’ve been running pretty much all outside the last two weeks, and it was high time to do an outside long run.

I have been doing quite a bit of weekly road miles, for me, so I wanted to be smart and gradually up the distance of my long run so I didn’t wind up injured and all that jazz. So today I added 2 miles to the 11 miles I’ve been covering outside…so let’s be smarter than a first grader and make that 13 miles.

hmmm, wich I ran there but not today.

Eons ago that would have been ‘nothing’ in my mind and I would have pushed the pace. But today’s goal was to just cover the distance and get ‘er done. I say I was both excited and a little nervous for these reasons:

* Long runs were and will always be my favorite runs/workouts. I’m a true distance person with not a single fast-twitch muscle fiber, so I feel more in my element. I have felt like a quasi-runner knowing that I haven’t been doing a ‘real’ long run.

* My favorite way to run long runs used to be to go fast; there was nothing more rewarding than finishing an awesome long run and looking back over my splits.

Today I knew for darn sure there was going to be no speed racer showing up. That’s okay, I am more than happy to at least be doing a long run at all, but it’s a shift of thinking. Plus, I’m kind of excited to see my progress; today was a starting point and I want to see myself gradually get the pace down. Sure, it still may not be of speed racer status, but there will at least be the element of putting in the effort and doing that offers that same kind of endorphin run/reward feeling.

But to long runs in general, I know that there are more and more articles and training philosophies that specifically say: DON’T go too fast and hard on your long runs, long runs are meant to be relaxed and just about building the aerobic base. I would agree that for the most part, that’s the way to go and I can vouch that my coaches were constantly telling me NOT to try and race my long runs and slow down for many of them.

Real fast, this next part is going to be only my personal opinion and I’m not a coach or bona-fide specialist, so take it for what it’s worth…only from experiences I’ve gleaned over the years. I say that for the most part, yes, you want to keep your long runs relaxed and make the priority covering the distance and not totally tapping out the tank. For those who are planning to run a marathon, it’s very important to just get the time out there on your feet and to do that, you want to safely ramp up the distances of your long runs. There is another rule that I agree with: only do introduce one new variable at a time in your training, either adding more volume OR increasing speed, not both at the same time.

So, if you are making your long run longer than last week you typically shouldn’t be then also trying to go faster. This is particularly true if your goal is to just finish the marathon and time is not a big factor.

BUT, if you plan on really racing longer distance races I think it’s smart to turn some of your long runs into workouts every couple of weeks. Use the first few miles as a warm-up and build the middle chunk into a tempo type workout, long repeats (multi-miles), or make it a progressive long run where you get faster and finish under marathon or whatever-goal-race pace.

Why? If you plan on running the actual distance fast you need to train fast. The reason I really liked doing tempo-long runs is because I felt it not only made me stronger physically but mentally as well. There are some big mental barriers that you need to crash through when you hit say, 5 miles of a tempo effort and know you’ve still got 5 more. (add more barriers if those distances are even longer!) I knew that by miles 6,7, and 8 I’d be grimacing, those dang middle miles are the worst because you’re not quite at the ‘okay, I’m almost done, the end is in sight’ point.

But I knew that when I ended that long run, using the rest as a cool-down, that the next time a 5k or 10k race came up it would feel so much shorter. So hard long runs callous the mind and the body. I think the aerobic base they build is very important as well.

Mind of matter, baby! 🙂

That said, they take a lot out of you and that’s why you then hear, read about, and see so much talk of stressing: take your long runs easy. You need the time to recover from them, make that exponentially more if you do them as a workout.

So I think it all just depends on your goals. If you aren’t concerned about the time/pace of your race and the goal is to finish, then by all means you probably should only keep your long runs easy and relaxed. But if you do want to race, then as they say, “Race fast? Run fast.” Going that route, don’t do a hard long run the day after a race or hard workout, make sure you do an easy run the next day if not the next two, and count it as your long interval workout for the week. Also know that you shouldn’t be doing this every week; do it every other week at the most. Finally, treat your body right and recover the rest of the day…veg style baby! 🙂

Wrapping up my epic post, like I said I love long runs. I used to love them because I felt in my element and would be chomping at the bit to see how fast I could do them. Today’s long run was not of the kind eons ago, it was about making sure I covered the distance, remembering that I still love the long runs and now I can at least feel like a ‘real’ runner again.

1) Do you do long runs, do you like them?

2) What have you heard about how to approach long runs?

3) What are you up to this weekend?

Setting a Warm-up Routine – You’ll Run Better and Feel Better Doing it

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Cait — 13 Comments ↓

I don’t want to waste energy. I’m really late and the gun is JUST about to go off. I don’t really need to. I’m just plain lazy.

All reasons, ahem excuses, that people give for not wanting to do a warm-up. The energy wasting one is something that I’m sure even the most seasoned vet is guilty of when they first started out, I knew I fell for that one in my first few meets. Or I guess back then I was probably also just lazy too. Though this is one of the biggest fallacies even though common sense might lead you to plead a case for it.

One of these doesn't belong, can you guess which one? 🙂

Physiologically your body CAN’T perform at its best going from 0 to 60 the second the gun goes off. Sadly we are not a high performance sports car that all the macho guys drive, peel out, and feel like ‘the man.’ Rather, our muscles burn glucose (energy) most efficiently if you gradually work into that faster pace. Not only will you be running faster if you’ve warmed up but it will actually feel easier too. [the same rules apply for the actual race, and that’s why it’s smarter to run negative splits; go out at one pace and pick up the pace as the race progresses, make that closing mile/lap your fastest]

What constitutes a good warm-up? Well, that is different for everyone and it’s a matter of finding one that fits with you. Still, there are some general ingredients to add to this recipe; I’ll just put out what worked for me when I was racing. Another couple of things; the other major benefit of having a warm-up routine set out is once you find the perfect recipe for YOU, stick to it. Keeping the same routine helps eliminate variables for the race but it also helps mentally.

Art Credit: Cait Chock Designs

The routine helps keep some of those nerves at bay. For me, the day before and of a race I’d try to limit thinking about the race too much to avoid getting overly nervous. But once I started my warm-up that’s when I started to really focus again. During my warm-up I’d mentally run through my race plan, think about staying relaxed, calm, and remembering what I wanted to accomplish for the race.

The routine, my body knew it and could go through it on auto-pilot, it was known, familiar, and that was reassuring. It also allowed my mind to focus on the race at hand. Another reason why I was able to run through it all on auto-pilot is I did basically the same thing before hard workouts. Just as with other aspects of training, come race day you want to limit any variables. So practice what you’ll be doing come the actual day.

Finally, with timing, I usually liked to start 50-45 minutes before I had to get to the line. I’m also really anal, and would rather err on the side of being early to the line rather than feeling rushed or heaven forbid not make it!

Here is a little sample or rough guideline to get you started:

* 2 miles easy: Keep this easy and you want to actually be overly warm if anything; that’s why even in hot conditions you’ll see people layered up in sweats. You want those muscles as warm as possible before you strip down to that singlet. People vary how long they run, but you want it to be at least 10 minutes.

* Drills and stretching: After the running I’d do some static stretches then move into a set routine of drills (think quick feet, A skips, butt kickers) to get my feet moving fast and work on turnover. I’d then do dynamic stretches, mostly leg swings. Keep the sweat on and I liked to keep moving around.

* Strides: After drills I’d then do 4-6 strides, 60-100 meters long. The last few I’d do faster than race pace, staying controlled and keeping good form.

* Stripping down and spiking up: Time to take off the sweats, I’d usually be so hot by this point I couldn’t wait to get rid of all the sweats. Then change into the shoes I’d be racing in.

* Head to the line and last strides: Then time to get to the line, I’d usually do one or two last short strides and then time to go!

Art credit: Cait Chock Designs - Inspiration: Mamma Nappy's amazing cookies! 🙂

I know that cross country season is well underway, so good luck to all those racing! I also know there are tons of people signing up and training for road races; for some it are their first races and I thought about posting this because I had been hearing from some that they didn’t even know what a warm-up was, so I hope this can help them out and do their best come the big day. 🙂

1) Do you do a warm-up routine before your races or hard workouts? If so, what?

2) Name one reason people may not want to warm-up?
The first time I went to a junior high meet (mind you I didn’t train at all before, that was an ugly 400…haha) my mom suggested it but I thought she was insane. I also didn’t want to look like a weirdo being the only kid running around before the actual race. Gotta love self-consciousness and peer pressure.

3) Happy Wednesday, what was your workout?
11 mile run outside and core, I’m slowly feeling better going sans tready…yay. 🙂

Women’s Marathon Records Under Scrutitny and Reverted to Times of Decades Past

Posted on September 22, 2011 by Cait — 7 Comments ↓

Are you joking me, IAAF?! In case you haven’t heard, apparently the new rule is that if a woman runs a world best time in a race that has men in it, the time WON’T count as a legitimate World Record. That’s insane! What does this mean for women’s distance running?

That stellar 2:15:25 Paula Radcliffe ran, void. The new ‘World Record’ (and I’m going to continue to use air quotes going forward) is 2:17:42. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a great time, but it’s only her third fastest time over the distance. I thought we were supposed to be pushing our sport FORWARD, not taking steps back.

Additionally, shouldn’t the IAAF be more concerned about drug cheats and covering matters there, why are they scrutinizing women’s records when there are far more pressing matters to be discussed. I mean, there are quasi-men running in women’s track races, yet they allow those records to stand.

“To have it stripped from you, when no drugs were involved, when no scandal was involved, is just hard to believe,” was Deena Kastor’s reaction upon learning about the ruling. She is having her name taken completely out of the record books, as her 2:19:36 previous American Record was under mixed race conditions. So, the ‘new record’ is reverted back to the 2:24:52 run by Joan Benoit Samuelson back in 1984.

“I wouldn’t mind if someone would have broken that record because it’s gratifying to see the sport move forward,” Kastor continued. “But to have it taken away? That feels like a little bit of a cheap shot.”

Those are my thoughts; if we are going to go that route, should all track records not done on cinder tracks be null and void too? I mean we are living in a world that is constantly propelling forward in everything; new technology, new strategies, new theories, new thoughts and ideas. Along with that, training has advanced, shoes have advanced, spikes are lighter, tracks are better, heck, we have anti-gravity treadmills to run on!

The IAAF’s argument is that having male pacesetters for women is giving them an unfair advantage and leads to faster times. Now, yes, having a pacer is certainly a luxury, but men have pacesetters available to them for races, should all records done with a rabbit now not count?

True, women are ‘lucky’ in that they have another gender that is genetically able to cover distances faster and thus are able to theoretically pace for the entire distance of a race. Men don’t have the luxury of getting horses to pace them through full distances, but they have other men around them that can race them along after a pacer drops out. In the case of Paula’s 2:15, it is so far ahead of what any other woman could run that there is not even a pack she could work off of.

Now, sometimes just because men are in the race that doesn’t necessarily mean they are there to pace the woman. Sometimes the women blow the men out of the water anyways. Still, Paula Radcliffe herself notes that in setting her record time in 2003, “I was actively racing [the male pacers]…I fully believe that I would have run pretty much the same time that day alone.” Touche.

I just think it’s sad that all of these records are being scrutinized in the first place. First there was the whole Boston Debacle, now this. I don’t understand why instead of being excited over an evolving sport, with records done clean, officials insist on wiping away these times. Again, I’m just going to go out and say that there are way too many dirty racers that they need to be working on busting instead of nitpicking these issues? Is it more a matter of that they have just simply given up on tackling that front and then instead are trying to just shift focus and bring up non-issues instead?

Regardless, I’d like to end with what Kara Goucher had to say, because I think she sums it up perfectly and succinctly, “That’s too bad.”

1) What are your thoughts on this whole record debate?

2) Have you run in a mixed race or had men pace you?
I have, and yes, of course having a pacer does help, but it doesn’t make or break a runner’s performance. If you run it on your own two feet and the distance is accurate, count it! I’ve also had women pacers too, so just because it’s a man shouldn’t even be an issue.

America Wins One FINALLY on the Track and Pictures of Dreams Realized

Posted on September 2, 2011 by Cait — 5 Comments ↓

So I have to start this post off with a huge congrats to Jenny Simpson (previously Barringer) who won the Gold Medal in the 1500 meters at the World Track Champs. She is the first American to win any Gold for any distance race for 28 years!! Finally we have broken the African dominance streak…hehe. 🙂 If you’re not a huge track fan, I’ll let it slide and tell you you’re missing out later, you should still appreciate this feat and go read up on what’s going on at the World Track Champs scene.

Looking at the faces and reactions of the various athletes crossing the finish line is always really fun. There are those moments that capture utter euphoria at a dream finally recognized, the athletes who have poured their hearts and souls into this moment for years, never a guarantee that all of that work would in the end grant them a Gold Medal. There are those shy receptions of breaking the tape from the ones who were the overwhelming favorites going into the race and already have multiple Golds waiting back at home.

There are the comical ones sometimes, tossing up hand gestures, one guy looks like he’s strumming an air guitar, others sticking their tongues out. I’m not judging; hey, if you win you can do what you like, some people find it disrespectful but I think so long as you don’t turn around and run down the homestretch backwards or break into some MC Hammer running man you’re alright.

My favorites though are the moments that capture pure shock. The ones where you can clearly see that an athlete is living out ‘one of those days’ on the track and even they haven’t even fully been able to wrap their heads around the fact that they may be, in fact, the person running. I mean of course they put the training in with the hopes of achieving such a feat, you have to have confidence in yourself, but there are no sure things in track…when you get to the line you still have to get through those laps before hitting the medal podium no matter who you are or your past accolades.

These shock moments come from runners who don’t necessarily come home with the Gold either. Heck, are you kidding me, when you get to that level you should throw your own flipping party over any medal in my book. Some of the happiest harriers captured have been the ones coming in second or third…sometimes to the point where their achievement almost overshadows the actual winner of the race.

Shalane Flanagan’s bronze at the last Olympics in the 10k was one, the year before when Kara Goucher snagged the bronze at the same event in the World Champs are just two examples. I loved looking at those pictures.

So Jenny’s 1500 meters pictures…track fan or not, you can’t help but be excited for her when you see the snaps of her crossing the finish line.

1) In your mind’s eye what would the moment of your own dream realized look like? If you have achieved this already do you already have a picture of just such an event?

I’m Back and Busy Watching the Pro’s Bring Fire to the Track at World Champs

Posted on August 29, 2011 by Cait — 5 Comments ↓

Goodness, me! Wow, sorry to have been gone for a few days there, don’t you hate it when work and life stuff gets in the way of the real important things? Blogging that is. I would say that it’s a pain in the butt should ANYTHING get in the way of running or working out, but we all know that would be a lie since there isn’t anything that I’d let get in the way of that one. 😉

But yea, I’ve been busily working on a few freelancing projects that have sucked up all my ‘would-be-blogging-and-blog-trolling’ time…so my apologies. The good news is that rather soon I’ll be rolling out some new art here…what, you’re not sick of the recycled ones yet? Good. Hehe.

I hope your weekends have been going well and if you’re living under a rock, I’ll tell you that the World Track Champs are currently underway. Now, I’m totally biased towards both the longer distances and my friends, so fair warning that’s really all I’ll be mentioning. Hey, it’s my blog so deal with it. 😉 But really, you can check the full results at the IAAF site and Paul Merca has a stand-out track and field blog which you should hop on over too.

Back to my biased little two cents; I was really rooting for our girls in the 10k there. Shalane Flanagan and Kara Goucher especially, I’m sure the 7^th and 13^th places respectively weren’t what they had gone in there vying for but we all know that on any given day all we can give is what the legs are willing to put out.

Kara though has shown her guts in just spiking up; she’s coming back from a stress reaction in her femur…and should I also remind you that she did push a human being out from between her loins this past year…just saying. 😉 Still, I never counted her out of putting it all out there, she’s one of the most mentally tough people I know. But again, injuries suck the big one and always have a ‘nice’ way of popping up at the least opportune time. Though, is there ever a good time for an injury? Me thinks not!

That said, all the athletes competing there have enough of the stuff to even BE there in the first place! And as a track fan it’s fun to watch or read all about it. In the men’s 10k there was a big upset in that Kenenisa Bekele didn’t win the very first 10k he’s ever entered; he actually DNF’ed. So the title went to a dark horse in a sprint to the finish, as much as it’s sad to watch a great runner DNF it is nice to spread the gold medal love around I suppose?

Back to us regular runner peons…hehe. 🙂 Did anyone have a race of their own this weekend? If so it’s bragging time! Just some easy miles for me with the distraction of some Disney. I wonder if Kara and Shalane were thinking of Disney related material while busting ther @$$e$ on the track? ;

Well, sorry to keep this short but back to the grind! Oh, before I forget…I need to address that for whatever reason stupid WordPress is now staging a revolt against me! All of my reply comments seem to disappear a few hour after I post them…I don’t know what is up?!?! So, please don’t think I’m ignoring you guys, I love comments and I reply to them! It’s WordPress, maybe somewhere in a dark alley it is selling the comments it stole from me. 🙁

1) What was the most fun thing you’ve done this weekend?

2) Do you enjoy going out and watching/cheering for track races? Do you actually stay and watch the full 25 laps or are you a dork who uses that time as a potty break?

3) Last thing you ate?

Cinnamon raise English muffins.