ChornyRuns! into a Cactus and goes on a helicopter

So, while I was in Phoenix, I ran into a cactus and pieces of it broke off and stuck into my hip and my arm. I immediately felt a quick numbness in the pricked areas and I was a little scared because I didn't know if they were poisonous or if it was something to worry about.

It hurt so much, but I was standing there laughing at myself because I had pieces of cactus stuck to me. I can only imagine what the people driving by were thinking. Well, they were so prickly that I couldn't use my fingers to pull the barbed needles out, so I had to use a stick to pry it off. In my wrist alone, I had about 60 different prick marks. That was 5 days ago, and some of the needles went really deep, so have bruises.

HELICOPTER!!!!

I love going in helicopters, and lucky me got to go up today over St. Thomas and St. John, thanks to Don Hebert Photography. (That's my uncle.) He had a photo shoot taking pictures of different rental properties and a happy parasail. Some pics and videos.

ChornyRuns! in St. Thomas V.I.

ST. THOMAS V.I.

As I write, I'm sitting on a balcony in 85 degree weather, looking out over the Caribbean. Just arrived in St. Thomas V.I. Tuesday. Here for the 8Tuff miles which is on St. John on Saturday. It's an 8.38 mile race that climbs 1400ft. 5 miles up, 3 miles down. There are iguanas in the trees, lizards all over the house, humming birds, and a black lab. Spent some time in the water today, it was excellent.

TRAINING

Lately I've been running between 50 and 60 miles per week. I've backed off from the 70s I was running back in November to allow my Achilles to heal. Unfortunately, healing hasn't completely taken place, although it has been more manageable lately, which means less pain, but still annoying. When I look at my overall mileage this past year, it ironically has been one of my more consistent years. I've been running every week, and 32 of the last 43 weeks have been at 50 or above. 50 miles a week...big deal right? Well, if it gets me to 60 next year and 70 the next, then I'll be just fine. And, fitness is definitely coming along. A couple key workouts lately: 6 mile LT in 30:53, and 8x1000m (60sec rest) cut down from 2:57 to 2:51, avg. 2:54.5.

I just spent 5 days in Phoenix, and climbed up Camleback. The last time I climbed camelback was in 1998 when I was running for IU. We always came to ASU or our first outdoor track meet of the year.

RACING

I tried racing another mile at one of our home meets at IU. I was thinking I could run 4:10 or better, so I figured 2:06 at the half would be ideal and then close in 2:03 or so, but I was pretty tired from some hill work that week, and ended up running 4:19. In every race I have run I've gotten to a point where I can feel the exact moment that I reach my lactate tolerance level. It's a flush of lactic acid that flows right up my thighs and at that point, I know there's nothing else I can do. So, I just smile and try to finish, hoping that next time I can go a little further.

I'm getting fit, so I'm not worried. Threshold is coming along, speed is there, VO2Max is a work in progress. I added some hill work to prepare for a race that I have coming up this Saturday.

COACHING

You'll hear me say this over and over again. I'm impressed with the guys and girls at IU. They work hard and consistent and I can't wait to see how they perform at BIG TEN's this weekend, Saturday and Sunday. The guys travel to Minnesota and the girls to Penn State. Results might be here. Sad I won't be there, and I wish them all the best.

NUTRITION

Let's keep this simple. All Nutritionals are not created equal. Neither are cars, or cameras, or restaurants. You may make the argument that 'all I need is a car to get me there, or a camera that takes pictures, or food to fill my stomach.' That's great, but if a car has no steering wheel, and a camera has no lens, or if a restaurant gives you a plate full of cardboard and glass, then you aren't getting what you pay for. When it comes to Nutritional products, there is ONLY ONE WAY to know for sure that what's on the label is in the bottle, nothing less, nothing more. The product must meet USP (Pharmaceutical) GMPs (Good Manufacturing Practices) when they are produced. That's it. 'Satisfaction' guarantees are not good enough.

This video talks about USANA, one of the few Supplement manufactures that are pharmaceutical grade.

...and this is why I only recommend USANA to everyone I meet. Remember, nutritional supplements are not created equal. Don't sell your health to the lowest bidder.

Indiana University Track and Field School Records... and my new haircut.

The current IU athletes are starting to populate the lists. Check them out here.
Also, this just in, I cut my hair... I wanted to be like Andrew Poore and Jeff Coover.

ChornyRuns! like a rabbit!

This past weekend turned into a great and historical meet for IU. Complete Results here.

IU Men:
Andy Bayer, a redshirt Freshman ran sub 4 in the mile, clocking in at 3:58.89. DeSean Turner, although he was last (9th) in the race, clocked in at 4:02.68... as a season opener in the mile, not too bad. Look for some great results in the future from Turner. (Yoshi Shimizu 4:21, Dan Kinn 4:21)

On Saturday, Andy Bayer and DeSean Turner were gracious enough to pace Andrew Poore in the 5K. Clocking 4:28 at the mile and 8:57 at two miles, Poore closed with a 4:17 and finished in a 13:48.88, only 1.88 seconds away from an Automatic qualifier to the NCAA finals. Tim McLeod 14:18, Zach Mayhew 14:20.

The 3K was pretty solid too. Cole Hardacher 8:16, Andy Weatherford 8:16, Jacob Laird 8:19, Nate Morrow 8:21 (Andrew Ramos 8:40)

Danny Stockberger won the men's 800m in 1:51.96, while Freshman Joe Holohan was 2nd in 1:52.16.

IU Women:
The women's mile didn't disappoint. The IU women had the top three spots and all were an NCAA Provisional time. Molly Beckwith 4:43.44 , Chelsea Blanchard 4:45.87, and Wendi Robinson 4:45.88.

Sarah Pease won the women's 3K clocking 9:32.44 only a couple seconds away from a provisional mark.

And Helene Delone won the 5K in 17:41, and Jenny Kulow was 3rd in 17:51

Lindsay Hartman won the 800m in 2:10.68 with Ashley Baker 4th in 2:11.81
THE BEST
Perhaps the highlight of the meet was ME rabbiting the 3K, and you can watch that here: Video
It is interesting for me to watch this because it seems like I'm running a lot different than I have in the past. ( Anybody else think it looks different?) I've really focused on shortening my stride and increasing my stride rate this past 6 months and it seems to have taken. In theory, this should help me be more efficient... we'll see what the outdoor season brings.