Countdown to Club Nationals
Monday, 11-05-2007
AM: 9 Mile Steady Run around Pigeon Hill in 53:27
PM: 7 Mile Run around Pigeon Hill in 46:25
Tuesday, 11-06-2007
7 Miles around Pigeon Hill in 43:59
Wednesday, 11-07-2007
3 Mile Warm-Up
4 x 1200M (2' Rest) in 3:36, 3:35, 3:35, 3:36
3 x 1600M Cut-Down in 5:09-5:09-4:58 (4' Rest)
4 Mile Cool-Down
Thursday, 11-08-2007
7 Miles around Haw Ridge Park (TN) in 48:12
Friday, 11-09-2007
AM: 4 Miles Easy around Kennesaw Mtn. Loop in 27:11
PM: 4 Miles Easy around Kennesaw Mtn. Loop in 27:48
Saturday, 11-10-2007
3 Mile Warm-Up
Millen Cross Country Run 4.8M in 24:16 (CR, 24:18)
5:15, 10:29 (5:14), 15:39 (5:10), 20:49 (5:10), 3:28
3 Mile Cool-Down
Sunday, 11-11-2007
15 Miles Easy around Kennesaw Mtn. with Jayaraj in 1:46:36
Total
78 Miles
* With the tragic passing of distance great, Ryan Shay, I looked through my results to see how many times we lined up against each other, as my best memory of Shay was when he captured the 2004 USA Half Marathon Championship in Kansas City when I placed 16th that day. He was a gracious champion. More recently, I spent quite some time chatting with Ryan at the Jacksonville Gate River Run 15K in March, as he was in the Saucony expo booth signing autographs, while I was working across the way in the Brooks booth.
My most vivid memory of Shay was at the 2004 Falmouth Road Race, where in very hot, humid conditions, Ryan was rushed into an ice bath with a 104-degree temperature, pretty reminiscient of Salazar's last rites, as Ryan was close to death as once could be. Here's what I have found from the year's I was able to run the "circuit":
- '03 USA Half Marathon, Shay (1st, 1:04:13) ~ Me at 24th, 1:11:40
- '04 USA Half Marathon, Shay (1st, 1:05:04) ~ Me at 16th, 1:11:04
- '04 Bix 7M, Ryan Shay (8th, 33:37) ~ Me at 14th, 35:22
- '04 Famouth 7.1M, Ryan Shay (32nd, 35:08) ~ Me at 36th, 35:49
* On a happier note, I took Perla out last night to MF Sushibar in Atlanta, and I risked my life having some sushi... then again, I ordered the "cooked" items of the Philadelphia Roll (alright) and the Special Crunchy, which was absolutely delicious. I could have eaten 20 of those. We also had a great bottle of Spanish wine, Bodegas Muga Rioja. Anyway, it was a great night and well worth the money spent.
* And so, this morning was the Georgia USATF Cross Country State Championship over the legendary 4.8M course in Millen. This would be an interesting test, as I knew I had lost fitness in the past couple of weeks, but I had a solid workout on Tuesday and some interrupted training leading up to this race, which might have prevented me from doing too much, too soon. Anyhow, Malcolm Campbell showed up and I knew it would be a two-man race. However, from the gun I just took off uphill, flying down the path (missed the mile mark) and kept flying. However, by 2 Miles I knew I had gotten myself into trouble, as I had gone out way too hard. Usually, Malcolm is ahead of me for at least the first mile, as he is a renowned aggressive runner, but on this day, I was just hammering. I rigged big-time at Mile 3, but was able to recover once I got back on the trails and rallied to steeple the final barrier while the clock was ticking above 24' and sprinted like mad to make sure I was under the CR, which had stood since 1998-1999 (24:18, shared by former Western State great, Paul McRae, in 1999, and ATC Michael Strickland, in 1998). Really pleased with my strength, but learned that I cannot be that aggressive at Club Nats or it will be death.