Jacob's Running Log

It's been a bit since I've updated this page. I just didn't have much to write about after the race at Rice last Thursday. Friday was a recovery day with two 30' runs. Saturday I had scheduled an 8 mile tempo at 5:15 pace, but was very un-intelligent in planning and ended up running at the hottest part of the day. Splits weren't very good...this is from memory, so I might be off, but 5:24, 5:22, 5:16, 5:26, 5:20, 5:26, 5:36, 5:36...Sunday I ran with two buddies from our Ameriprise Financial team...95' easy around the Seabrook trails. Monday was super busy, but in the a.m. I got in a 45' fartlek with 5x2' pick ups with 2' recoveries + 8x200m in 30-31's...

The workout for the week (Tuesday) was 6x800/300m...Goal was as follows:
Set 1 -- 2:32 - 53
Set 2 -- 2:28 - 53
Set 3 -- 2:24 - 53
Set 4 -- 2:20 - 53
Set 5 -- 2:16 - 53
Set 6 -- 2:12 - 53

Actual splits are as follows:
Set 1 -- 2:30 - 54
Set 2 -- 2:26 - 51
Set 3 -- 2:24 - 50
Set 4 -- 2:17 - 50
Set 5 -- 2:14 - 50
Set 6 -- 2:10 - 48

I got a little fast on all of them except for the 3rd, but felt really good. I believe this is the first workout I've been able to really nail in about 3 weeks. It felt good and I believe I could have done another with the same sort of progression.

This morning was just easy recovery as is tonight.
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The title "rings" is because my girls and I got our National Championship DMR rings Monday night at the Athletic Banquet.

Tomorrow morning at 5 a.m. we leave for the airport for our 7:35 a.m. flight to Indianapolis. I'm pumped about Nationals. Hopefully we will have safe travels and run our hardest!

What a weekend. I just want to say that my team's collegiate track season is over and it's sort of bittersweet. On one hand, I need the down time now to recharge and refocus and to actually focus on my own training for a bit, but on the other hand, we had such a good season and ended on such a high note that I wish we could have one more go at a few events.

In saying that, here is a recap on my last 4-5 days of running:
Thursday ---
a.m. travel
p.m. 15' w/up w/ guys and katie + 3x400m w/ 400m recovery + 15' c/down w/ guys
splits: 57, 59, 59

Friday ---
a.m. no running -- arches hurt
p.m. same

Saturday ---
a.m. no running -- arches hurt
p.m. same

Sunday ---
a.m. travel
p.m. 78' w/ first 15k in 54:19
Felt great to run again, especially around WRL.

Monday ---
a.m. 4.5 miles extremely easy...definitely calling this recovery!

....

Just want to congratulate my Dallas Baptist University Patriot Track teams. Katie Noss ended her career as the 5000 meter National Champion...second year in a row! Garrett Sage was All-American in the Steeple with his runner up finish!

Can't wait until the 2007 Cross Country Season!

So I'm in Austin for the 3rd time this spring...yay!

Updating on the training/racing...this week has been horrible in terms of training. I got in a decent long run on Sunday...78 minutes of running...the first 15k in 54.19...felt really strong and smooth. Monday, couldn't hardly walk, so got in 2x4.5 miles (once in the a.m. and another in the p.m.). Tuesday I couldn't walk...so I did 20 minutes easy on the grass track. Wednesday, I ran with Dan in the a.m. 28 minutes and finally felt okay. That afternoon I did 20 minutes easy again and felt horrible in the stomach area...but no leg problems.

This morning I did a speed workout and actually did better than the time previous to, which is awesome being my legs are trashed...
but I had 400-600-400-200 w/ 200m recovery.
splits: 60.97, 1:33, 60.56, 29.xx
Awesome workout.
Followed it with a nice 3 mile cool down.
This afternoon I ran through Austin for 22 minutes easy and then cooled off in the pool.

Tomorrow I've got two recovery runs and then a 5k race in Houston on Saturday a.m.

Congress Avenue next weekend. I'm pumped.

So in wrapping up this weekend, I would just like to say that many lessons were learned. Many. Starting with the 16th annual Summer Kick Off 5k in League City, TX. My buddies at Ameriprise Financial asked me to come out and race this weekend in what was set up to be a pretty competitive race. Unfortunately I have had a pretty rough two-three weeks of training and have been faking my way through workouts and days and was just not prepared to race a distance over 1,500 meters. It was the first time that I lost on the roads this year. But to the story:
Starting off at 8 a.m. it was already extremely hot and humid as we're near the coast. I was going to get either 1st or 2nd with the opposite place going to John Hendegren. It was nearly a guarantee and it was fun to finally race this BYU alum. My plan was to tuck in behind him and let him do the work and use my "miler's speed" to outkick him.

But for those that know me, I don't ever play to the game plan and decided that I would just drop this guy that I didn't know early and coast in for victory. HA! I led through the first mile in 5:00 and felt like I was hauling, but I wasn't! Panicking I surged during the second mile thinking I could hold 4:40-4:50 for the last two...HA!!! Going through the second mile in another 5:00 for 10:01 I was running out of gas and couldn't shake Hendegren who was so close to my hip I was hitting him with my right elbow every time I swung back.

At that point in the race I decided to shut it down and set up for a kick since he was going to do nothing more than sit on me. Somewhere around 200m before the 3M mark I mentally lost it and asked him to go ahead and I jogged it in. I went through the 3rd mile in 5:13 and ran my last 200m in 34seconds. Not a good day for me.

I don't want to think about it. I have a tough week ahead of me, as well as a huge race on Saturday.

...

my mother turned 50 today!

5-14-07
(Workout)
1 x 1000m in 2:34
1 x 600m in 1:33
5 x 300m cut downs

(Actual Splits)
1000m -- 2:38
600m -- 1:33
300m -- 47;46;45;45;44

Summary:
When I did this workout a few weeks ago, I ran 2:44, 1:38 or something along those lines. So this is a huge improvement. What I'm most excited about was the fact that I was in total control of the 300m cut downs after running hard for the first two intervals. Big confidence booster. Just wish I could have hit my goal on the 1000m. Next time. Next time.

Today I've got a 7-9 mile run (most likely at the Irving Trails) and tomorrow back to some hard track stuff...

So with Congress Avenue coming in two days, I'm getting a little nervous. I've worked really hard this spring and have had some small things get in my way. But I am really anxious to see what can happen when I am on the road, running down hill for nearly 1200 meters.

Did a turnover workout yesterday a.m.
3x300m w/ 100m recovery.
Goal was to run 43" for each.
Splits are: 43.6, 43.9, 43.06

Felt good, aside from the cool morning and head wind on the home straight.

Tonight I've got 3x400m in 57-59...

So I'm back from Austin. I had an amazing weekend, excluding my Congress Avenue Mile Race. I came away really disappointed and still need to work on the mental aspect of racing. But to catch everyone up on what has been going on...here she is.

Wednesday -- 3x300m w/ 100m recovery in 43"
43.60, 43.9, 43.06

Thursday -- 3x400m w/ 400m recovery in 57-59"
58,59,59

Friday -- Recovery runs a.m. and p.m.

Saturday -- Congress Avenue Mile -- Goal 4:10 (gabe's goal)
Finished -- 5th in 4:12.51
Splits:
:58
1:57
3:01
4:12.51

*Really fell apart if you cannot tell in the last 400m or so. Really in the last 800m. No excuse for that sort of collapse.

Sunday -- 10 miles in 63'
Felt really good around Whiterock Lake.

Monday -- a.m. rained in.
p.m. 40' fartlek + 200's

Tuesday -- Luke's Locker mile...

Used the Luke's Locker All-Comer's Track Meet as a workout last night and had a pretty good showing. I was to run the Mile and then do 6x300m cut-downs (or simulate it in a fartlek style if I could not get onto the track). The goal for the mile was to run 65-65-65-60ish...
Splits:
65; 2:10 (65); 3:15 (65); 4:24 (69)

Once again, I really blew up on the last 400m of the race. The wind was horrible, and running 65's felt like running 62-63's so I'm not "unsatisfied"...I believe I won by about 10 seconds in the mile, so it was exactly what I wanted. A good, hard effort that served more as a workout than actually going to the well.

The fartlek was good to and then enjoyed a very long cool down w/ Mark Ashley, Will Rogers, and Jeff Arnier.

This morning Dan and I got in 26:20 worth of running; ran the same course we've run the two previous times and each time we've knocked off a minute. The first time we ran together it was in 28:20ish, the second time 27:20, then today 26:20.

I've got 7 miles tonight.

I've got about a month to go and my track season will officially be over and then I will start focusing on the cross country season. I'm excited about this last month; I'm going to really focus on running as fast as I possibly can and not have any excuses (try not to anyways) for the rest of this month. I think the physical part is clicking. I believe the mentality is lacking.

Yesterday was a pretty easy day with the run in the a.m. with Dan and the 7 miles in the p.m. Today I decided to combine my two "recovery" runs into one recovery run. I need the longer effort right now.

Tomorrow will be an easy a.m. run with Dan and then an 800m time trial.

We'll see how it goes.

Jacob

P.S. "Around 10 seconds..." which if I did win by 6 seconds, would be around 10 seconds...right?

Friday - SMU - 800m Time Trial + 2x400m
So I made the trip to SMU to run with Mike Hummel for an 800m time trial. This guy has pr's at least 10 seconds faster than me in the 800m and so I asked if he could at least push me through 600m. He kindly obliged by running the whole 800m w/ me. I was really hoping for a 2-sub 2 effort. I warmed up, felt good, and then had nothing once we went to work. I ended up running 2:02.1(?)...we'll just say that it equals my PR. I was not very happy. At 600m I was at 1:29 and at 700m I was at 1:45. I just don't have it right now.
Following a decent recovery we did 2x400m in 58-59...so that was good. But man, I wanted a good 800m. Oh well. That's what tomorrow is for.

Saturday - GP - 2x200m
So you might be thinking, 2x200m?
Well, I ran 20' easy and then knocked off 2x200m in 28,27.
Not impressive speed, but just could not get rolling.
Finished off the day with another 20 minute run.

Sunday - GP - 3x400m
Starting to try and get some turnover in.
Woke up and got in 4 miles w/ Dan on Merrifield in the pouring rain.
Warmed up for 12 minutes in the afternoon,
ran 3x400m in 59,58,59 and then added on 20 minutes of cool down.

Monday - Merrifield Road
2 x 4 miles.

Tomorrow I am racing an 800m at the Luke's Locker Meet. We'll see how it goes.

Tuesday, May 29th, 2007
Luke's Locker All-Comers
800m -- 2nd place -- 1:57
Personal Best

*I can't describe the monkey that is now off of my back. I had been really panicking about my training, about my body, about my motivation, just about everything and last night in one 800m race I cured all that ails me mentally. For so long I had been listening to everyone but my coach and thinking, "what am I doing?" and "why am I doing this?"

Well, last night I got my answer, and in the most positive of ways found out how to find my legs once again. Gabe was right...how do you run 1:57? You know you can run 1:57...

After 14-16 minutes of warming up and some decent strides and feeling horrible, I lined up in the sub 2:15 800m heat of the Luke's Locker All-Comers. It was to be just Matt D, Clint Bell, and myself in a heat, but they threw us into this heat so that we could have more people. My goal going in was to pass through 400m in :57 and then just hang on the best I could.

400m into the race I was leading coming through in :55 (which happens to be a personal best for the 400m for me)...I felt really strong and put in a surge to try and gap Matt Daniels who was running off of my hip.

Around 250m Matt passed me on the outside of the straight and began to control the race. Mentally I shut down, but as we passed 600m in 1:24-25 I suddenly woke up and thought, "this is my race...", unfortunately about 75m from the finish my mind was working, but my legs were not. I locked up, but finished in 1:57 to Matt's 1:56(?)...

I made a ton of mistakes but know that I can run 1:55 now. I'm pumped. The season has been saved. Now time to get back to work. 9 miles tonight.