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.

Indiana Relays Mile

VIDEO HERE

Are Limits Real or Self Imposed?

An anonymous person posted a comment on my last link and it brings up a question on which I would love some discussion. Are Limits real, or self-imposed?

ChornyRuns! Races! Training! Coaching! Nutrition! Jan. 26th, 2010

ChornyRuns! - One word summaries!

Life: Promising
Racing: Next
Training: Appropriate
Coaching: Impressed
Nutrition: Essential

LIFE

I like what I have going on right now. I see the great potential that the future may hold. It is up to me to be a co-creator, to shape it how I would like. "Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe it can achieve" (Napolean Hill) The future is already there waiting, you just have to start shaping it.

RACING

Ran my first double in a long time at the Gladstein Invitational here at Indiana University. Mile Friday night, and the 800m on Saturday. I've only run one other open 800m in my life and that was in 1999.

Back on 1/9/2010, I raced my first mile in a few years and, if you read my earlier post, you'll see that I was satisfied with my 4:14.60. It was a conservative opener and so I figured with a couple more weeks of training, I could expect a good shot at sub 4:10 and possibly a PR of 4:07 (listed to the right). I figured that I could go out in about 2:04 for the first half, and then hope to close strong, so I was 2:04-2:05 at the half, but at that point I knew it was going to be an uphill battle to the finish. My legs were already burning at 600m.

When something like this happens in a race, and you KNOW that you're not going to be able to finish strong, dropping out of the race always seems to present itself as a possibility. It's amazing what ideas your mind will try to feed you when you are in pain. Sometimes, that's where the real battle takes place. I think it's hard-wired into your brain to think thoughts that might lead to actions that will protect yourself from feeling the burn or even from feeling the potential embarrassment or disappointment. It must be a natural reaction to oxygen deprivation. If you can only decide before hand that IT IS NOT an option, it makes it easier to have those ideas, and just let them pass.

So, I smiled inwardly, and said "this is going to hurt a little bit". I held my form together as best as I could, and finished far behind the others in 4:23.02. I cooled down and started to prepare for the 800m which I would run the next day.

Feeling tired and a little nervous on Saturday, I warmed up for the race by running 3 miles, stretching and doing a few solid pickups around Assembly Hall. I knew that this race would only hurt for about a minute and I knew I could handle that. After what happened in the mile, I just didn't want to blow up and risk running slower than 2min. I was so tired and sore from a great week of workouts (see below) that I didn't know what was going to happen. With luck, I was thinking I could run close to my PR, 1:55. Again, didn't happen. I think I was 58sec at the quarter, and thought that I might have a chance to run a 1:56. I actually started to move (from the very back) but with about 300m to go, some guys got mixed up and someone might have gone down. I managed to zig zag through the mess and break through to the other side. It killed my momentum, but I got going again and finished 4th in my heat, running 1:58.04.

Although I didn't run the times I wanted, I did run two of the fastest 800s I've run in a long time, so I know it was good for training. Onward!

This Friday 1/29/2010, I am running the 3K at the Indiana Relays. Actually, it is my job to pace some of my IU guys at 8:10 pace. This means that I will be coming through the mile at 4:20-4:22 and if I feel good I'll keep going. I know what you're thinking... if you only ran 4:23, how can you expect to be the pace maker at 4:20? Stay tuned... I'll let you know how it goes.

TRAINING

Since I wrote last, my Achilles Tendon is still inflamed. I'm changing shoes, so let's hope this will help. Going to try the Mizuno Inspire.

Weekly mileage since July: (*signifies a day off.)

-----------------------------------

July: 53, 50, 50, 60
August: 62, 61, 50, 52, 60
Sept: 60, 60, 63, 60
Oct: 70, 55*, 67, 70, 72
Nov: 70, 53*, 70, 60*
Dec: 45*, 30***, 48*, 50*, 51*
Jan: 56, 60, 61
-----------------------------------

WORKOUTS

Three great workouts during the last couple weeks.

1) Tuesday's (1/12) 2x3200m on the indoor track... alternating each quarter in 65/75.

66.5/72.8/64.9/76.4/66.3/78.7/66.8/81.6 = 9:34 (full rest)
68.0/77.4/66.5/76.9/66.8/77.9/66.8/75.9 = 9:36

As you can see, the last couple '75s' were a little tough and not '75'. Coach Helmer bumped me down to the next group who were trying to run 67.5/77.5. The splits were not that much different, but this second rep was quite easy. Overall, I only ran 2 seconds slower, but I had no difficulty staying on this pace.

2) Friday 1/15 Road run, 12min LT, 10min tempo, 2x5min faster than tempo, 6x30/30. 4min rest between each. Very solid, ~5:16 LT, ~5:00 Tempo, ~4:52 interval, felt great on the 30/30.

3) Tuesday (1/19) 5xmile on indoor track, (4min) cutdowns 4:56 to 4:40
Ran: 4:51, 4:52, 4:46, 4:44, 4:29 The last one felt great, but I was pretty tired from this workout which is probably why I didn't do too well in the mile this weekend.

COACHING

IU currently has 8 guys that have run 4:10 or faster in the mile. I don't know if there's another college in the country that has that potential. There might be, I just don't know. Our fastest guy has run 4:03. Two IU runners just ran 7:55.25 and 7:57 for the 3K this weekend. They are getting fast.

My steeplers are impressive. I am going to try to find a camera to video tape one of our steeple sessions. Maybe I can put a video together and start some Steeple Clinics.

NUTRITION

It is important to get antioxidant protection from a multi-Vitamin. Vitamin C is great, so is Vitamin E, but don't forget about the B vitamins, CoEnzyme Q10, alpha Lipoic Acid and many, many more. A 'Potency-Guaranteed' multi should be your first choice when supplementing your diet. I recommend Usana's 'Essentials' for many reasons. e-mail to ask what makes them different, or watch this video.

Video of the Indiana Open Mile, 1/9/2010

I didn't realize that Flotrack was there to record, but I'm in this race. It was my first one in a while, so I'm not out to win it, just getting one under my belt. I'm in the all black uniform. VIDEO

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ChornyRuns! the mile in 4:14.60

Well, that's out of the way. This was my first race on the track since May 31st, 2008, before the Olympic Trials. After many nagging pains and a couple injuries, I've gotten myself back to a point where I feel like I'm ready to start training again.

Here's what I was thinking going into the race. If I run faster than 4:12 I'll be pleasantly surprised, but if I run slower than 4:16, I'll be disappointed and maybe a little worried that things are coming around. I know that's a small window, but I just needed to make sure I didn't blow up and run stupid.

200m Indoor Banked Track at Harry Gladstein Fieldhouse, Indiana University.

I wanted to be 2:06-2:08 at the half way point, so after a 62 second split, I needed to let up a bit, and that pace felt pretty decent. I think I came through right at 2:08 high, and was about 3:12 at 1200m; right where I wanted to be. I started to push the pace thining that a 58 could get me 4:10, but going into the last lap, I really started to feel the booty-lock (Chapman's official term). I smiled the whole last 100m because I knew I couldn't go any faster but I was going to be just fine. I haven't felt that pain for a long time. I love it!

So, this race basically says... 'OK Thomas, time to get out there and train.' My PR is 4:07, and I think I have a good shot at taking that down this season. Still taking care of my Achilles Tendon, but I should be back out on the track in two weeks, and again in 3 weeks.