It's been quite a while since I last posted anything on the blog. It seems like Facebook has been a better way to keep in contact with the running and workout community lately. I do think I will still try to update periodically as I do get emails from folks wondering why I haven't been posting.
For now I just wanted to say Happy New Year as many of us are making resolutions to get back into shape. I have been working out regularly and have already participated in an indoor track meet this year, but I've got some work to do to get back into competitive shape. I actually ran my first 60 meter race that I can remember. I posted the 2nd fastest time at the meet so I'm not sure what that means, but it was kind of fun to run a race that takes less than 10 seconds.
For those in the Twin Cities area, USATF MN has been hosting a number of very well-run meets on Sundays this winter. You can check out the remaining schedule or results from previous meets on their web page - http://usatfmn.org
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Monday, June 17, 2013
I'm Going to the 2013 USA Outdoor Championships
A little while ago I mentioned on the blog about how I wasn't going to be able to compete in the USA Track and Field Masters Outdoor Championships because of a scheduling conflict. I'm still disappointed about that, but I am excited that I will be attending the USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships this coming weekend. Now just as a point of clarification, these are the elite track and field athletes. People like Tyson Gay, Sanya Richards-Ross, Justin Gatlin, LaShawn Merritt, and Allyson Felix.
This is the meet that is used to determine who will represent Team USA at the IAAF World Championships August 10 - August 18 in Moscow, Russia. The World Championships only take place every-other year, so most of the big stars of Track and Field will be at the US Championships this year.
It also happens to be taking place in Des Moines, Iowa at Drake Stadium. I haven't been back to Drake since 1995 when I was there to compete in the Drake Relays in college. My first memory of the Drake Relays was the year before that when I warmed up on the track with Carl Lewis and stood about five feet away from him as he started the 100 meter dash. But that's a story for another time. Des Moines is about a four-hour drive from my home so it works out great. Me and my son are going to go down there for three days. It should be some good bonding time for us and he seems to be excited about it as well. We're especially looking forward to the 100 Meter Men's final on Friday night.
Our seats are in the section right after the finish line in the second row. As long as we get some good weather this weekend it should be a great time. I'm really looking forward to it. I'll consider it a week-after Father's Day weekend for me and my son.
One night a father overheard his son pray:
Dear God, Make me the kind of man my Daddy is.
Later that night, the Father prayed,
Dear God, Make me the kind of man my son wants me to be.
~ Unknown
This is the meet that is used to determine who will represent Team USA at the IAAF World Championships August 10 - August 18 in Moscow, Russia. The World Championships only take place every-other year, so most of the big stars of Track and Field will be at the US Championships this year.
Our seats are in the section right after the finish line in the second row. As long as we get some good weather this weekend it should be a great time. I'm really looking forward to it. I'll consider it a week-after Father's Day weekend for me and my son.
One night a father overheard his son pray:
Dear God, Make me the kind of man my Daddy is.
Later that night, the Father prayed,
Dear God, Make me the kind of man my son wants me to be.
~ Unknown
Monday, June 10, 2013
USA Track & Field Minnesota Masters and Mid-America Open Track & Field Outdoor Championships
We had the USATF MN Association Open and Masters meet this past weekend up in the Twin Cities. It seems like it is early in the track season to hold the State Championship meet, but the always run it the day after the Minnesota High School Track and Field Championships at the same venue. They also run a regional meet called the Mid-America Open.
The way it works is that if you are from Minnesota you are competing in both meets. If you are not, you are running in the Mid-America meet. The Minnesota meet is broken up into age groups, so the open division is 19-29 and Masters is five-year increments after that. My current age group is 35-39. So it's possible for a Minnesota resident to place twice in one event. For example, I placed first in my age group in the 400 Meters for Minnesota and third in the Mid-America Region Open. They used to have different age categories for the Regional meet, which meant that for age groups like mine without a lot of participation, I would come home with a lot of medals. I like this way of doing it better because it adds more value to being able to place in the Region.
As far as my times from this past weekend, I was pretty happy with my performances. Based on the weather conditions at the meet, my limited training so far this year, and my times I was hitting in practice, I was expecting to hit about 54 seconds in the 400 meters. I ended up running 53.28 which is quite a bit faster than I ran last year at this time. It at least gives me a small amount of hope that I might be able to get under the All-American Standard time of 52.5 seconds. With my shortened season I only have one more chance to hit that this year at the end of this month. And you never know what the weather will be like on that day.
Speaking of weather, we had some pretty rainy conditions this past weekend. It was pretty cool and was sprinkling a little bit for the 400 meters, which wasn't too bad. There was a pretty strong wind on the home stretch, but it wasn't terrible. By the time we got to our 200 meter race it was raining pretty hard. They were having some issues with the timing system so we were standing out in the rain for quite a while before our race. There's always a concern about staying warm and not straining any muscles when it gets colder out so the longer we were standing there, the more nervous I got. I went out a little tentative in the 200, but at the same time I really wanted to get to the finish line to get it done. I thought I ran a pretty good race considering the conditions.
Unfortunately, the timing system that they used for the meet had some issues with the rain and did not register the starting gun. They brought us all into a tent at the end of the meet and explained that they did not have our times. It was disappointing, but at the same time it probably doesn't really matter all that much. I don't think my 200 time would have been all that exceptional anyway. It would just be nice to know where I'm at even if the conditions were poor.
As I have mentioned a few times before, I am kind of a fairweather person when it comes to training outside on the track. I figure at my age it might as well be a nice day if I am going to run around outside. Otherwise I can just do my workouts in the comfort of my home. I might need to reconsider that a little bit and just go off of what my training schedule says I should do.
So with that, here is the quote for this post -
There is no such thing as bad weather, just soft people.
-Bill Bowerman
The way it works is that if you are from Minnesota you are competing in both meets. If you are not, you are running in the Mid-America meet. The Minnesota meet is broken up into age groups, so the open division is 19-29 and Masters is five-year increments after that. My current age group is 35-39. So it's possible for a Minnesota resident to place twice in one event. For example, I placed first in my age group in the 400 Meters for Minnesota and third in the Mid-America Region Open. They used to have different age categories for the Regional meet, which meant that for age groups like mine without a lot of participation, I would come home with a lot of medals. I like this way of doing it better because it adds more value to being able to place in the Region.
As far as my times from this past weekend, I was pretty happy with my performances. Based on the weather conditions at the meet, my limited training so far this year, and my times I was hitting in practice, I was expecting to hit about 54 seconds in the 400 meters. I ended up running 53.28 which is quite a bit faster than I ran last year at this time. It at least gives me a small amount of hope that I might be able to get under the All-American Standard time of 52.5 seconds. With my shortened season I only have one more chance to hit that this year at the end of this month. And you never know what the weather will be like on that day.
Speaking of weather, we had some pretty rainy conditions this past weekend. It was pretty cool and was sprinkling a little bit for the 400 meters, which wasn't too bad. There was a pretty strong wind on the home stretch, but it wasn't terrible. By the time we got to our 200 meter race it was raining pretty hard. They were having some issues with the timing system so we were standing out in the rain for quite a while before our race. There's always a concern about staying warm and not straining any muscles when it gets colder out so the longer we were standing there, the more nervous I got. I went out a little tentative in the 200, but at the same time I really wanted to get to the finish line to get it done. I thought I ran a pretty good race considering the conditions.
Unfortunately, the timing system that they used for the meet had some issues with the rain and did not register the starting gun. They brought us all into a tent at the end of the meet and explained that they did not have our times. It was disappointing, but at the same time it probably doesn't really matter all that much. I don't think my 200 time would have been all that exceptional anyway. It would just be nice to know where I'm at even if the conditions were poor.
As I have mentioned a few times before, I am kind of a fairweather person when it comes to training outside on the track. I figure at my age it might as well be a nice day if I am going to run around outside. Otherwise I can just do my workouts in the comfort of my home. I might need to reconsider that a little bit and just go off of what my training schedule says I should do.
So with that, here is the quote for this post -
There is no such thing as bad weather, just soft people.
-Bill Bowerman
Monday, May 13, 2013
The Masters Championships Dilemma
I was soooo looking forward to the USA Track and Field Masters Championships this year. I feel like I had a pretty good showing last year, placing 3rd in the 400 meters and 4th in the 200 meters. I was also just over a tenth of a second away from hitting the All-American mark in the 400 meters.
This year the National Championships are going to be held in Olathe, KS. When I asked my best man, who lives in Kansas City how far it is from him, he said it's only minutes away from his home. "Perfect", I though. A good excuse to see my friend and run in the meet all over one long weekend. Maybe we can even get a masters relay team together. They have had the date up on the website for the past year and it just so happens it was scheduled for my birthday weekend. I would actually be running the 400 meter finals on my birthday. This is great. I cleared my schedule for the weekend and a couple of days before and after. I was so excited.
Then they opened up the website for registration...
"That's not the right date" I thought to myself as I clicked the link for the webpage. They moved the date up by a weekend. How can this be? They have had the other date on their website for the past eight months. I had a sinking feeling in my gut that we had something else going on that weekend. I walked upstairs to check our master calendar and sure enough, we have a family trip scheduled to go to Wisconsin Dells. My wife's sister is coming over from Taiwan with her kids and her entire family has blocked off the time to be there.
I tried to figure out any good way that I could make it work and I can't come up with anything. So it looks like I will be missing the National Championships this year. I'm still training, but for a much shorter season. It's also harder for me to get motivated to get out and train hard without having as much at stake. But it might be a good opportunity to try some different things with my training.
Then they opened up the website for registration...
"That's not the right date" I thought to myself as I clicked the link for the webpage. They moved the date up by a weekend. How can this be? They have had the other date on their website for the past eight months. I had a sinking feeling in my gut that we had something else going on that weekend. I walked upstairs to check our master calendar and sure enough, we have a family trip scheduled to go to Wisconsin Dells. My wife's sister is coming over from Taiwan with her kids and her entire family has blocked off the time to be there.
I tried to figure out any good way that I could make it work and I can't come up with anything. So it looks like I will be missing the National Championships this year. I'm still training, but for a much shorter season. It's also harder for me to get motivated to get out and train hard without having as much at stake. But it might be a good opportunity to try some different things with my training.
You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you. - Sri Ram
Friday, March 15, 2013
USATF Minnesota Indoor Championships
The Minnesota Indoor Championships were last weekend at the University of Minnesota. After my little bout with illness over the past couple of weeks it was up in the air if I was going to run or not. I really didn't make the decision until that morning, but I decided it was best if I didn't run. It was tough to be there watching the Masters races. Actually, it was much tougher than I thought it would be. I put so much into getting ready for this meet that it was disappointing to not be able to see what I could do.
It was good to see some familiar faces at the meet. This meet was better attended than many of the Charities Challenge meets so it was fun to catch up with some folks that I haven't seen in a while.
The afternoon was the youth meet and we had a pretty good showing from the La Crosse area. Many youth from the La Crosse Track Club were there and put on a good showing of the track athletes from our area. My son and his friend competed in the 60, 200, and 400 meter races. Even though I was disappointed to not run myself, I have found that I almost get more happiness from watching my son compete and have fun.
Here is his 400 meter race. He is starting in lane five and his friend is in lane six.
There was a post that Shaun T made on his Facebook page today that I really liked and thought I would share with you today.
Not everyone is good at math but its time for you (and me) to create and solve our daily equations.
I want you to come up with three equations. 3 equations that you create. And by solving these equations you are producing answers that you will LIVE by for today.
My three equations are:
... 1. Workout + eating well= a healthier day.
2. Speaking my mind + keeping others feelings and interpretation in mind= positive results
3. Doing one thing that makes me happy + doing one thing that makes someone else happy= a better relationship.
Write these equations on a post-it note and look at them once an hour. Hopefully this will help you have a more productive day! A day that is filled with goodness that YOU created.
- Shaun T.
It was good to see some familiar faces at the meet. This meet was better attended than many of the Charities Challenge meets so it was fun to catch up with some folks that I haven't seen in a while.
The afternoon was the youth meet and we had a pretty good showing from the La Crosse area. Many youth from the La Crosse Track Club were there and put on a good showing of the track athletes from our area. My son and his friend competed in the 60, 200, and 400 meter races. Even though I was disappointed to not run myself, I have found that I almost get more happiness from watching my son compete and have fun.
Here is his 400 meter race. He is starting in lane five and his friend is in lane six.
There was a post that Shaun T made on his Facebook page today that I really liked and thought I would share with you today.
Not everyone is good at math but its time for you (and me) to create and solve our daily equations.
I want you to come up with three equations. 3 equations that you create. And by solving these equations you are producing answers that you will LIVE by for today.
My three equations are:
... 1. Workout + eating well= a healthier day.
2. Speaking my mind + keeping others feelings and interpretation in mind= positive results
3. Doing one thing that makes me happy + doing one thing that makes someone else happy= a better relationship.
Write these equations on a post-it note and look at them once an hour. Hopefully this will help you have a more productive day! A day that is filled with goodness that YOU created.
- Shaun T.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Pneumonia
I've been pretty sick for the past week. It started out as a sore throat, but has become worse over time. So bad in fact that I agreed to go to the doctor. We're about three days out from the Minnesota Indoor Track and Field Championships. I haven't been able to train much because I've been very short of breath whenever I try.
Anyone who knows me could tell you that I only see a doctor as a last resort for something that I think should take care of itself. This was pretty bad though. I was mostly sick over the weekend and tried to get some rest when I could. I went back to work on Monday and didn't feel too bad, but Tuesday morning when I tried to work out I just couldn't do much. I ended up calling in to work and went back to bed. I started having chills so bad that my whole body was shaking. Even with five blankets on and the temperature set at 72 degrees I was still freezing. So I called the doctor and made an appointment for 1pm that afternoon.
One of the main thoughts on my mind was that I need to get better for the track meet this weekend. I've been so concerned about not getting any conditioning in and how that will affect my race this weekend. This is going to be my last indoor meet of the year and the last chance to improve my times for the USATF rankings. After a few minutes with the doctor I realized that maybe the race shouldn't be my primary concern and I just need to focus on getting better.
The doctor had me go in for some x-rays on my chest and they determined that I potentially had pneumonia. It seemed to fit all of the symptoms that I was having and there was a spot on my x-ray in my left lung. So now I am on antibiotics that should help me get healed. I have been off work for the past few days as well.
I'm feeling much better now than I did a few days ago. My breathing is still a little rough, but I have some energy back. I am not going to rule out running at the meet this weekend until I need to. Either way I don't think I will be able to get any training in prior to the meet so I'll be in rough shape even if I do run. I think my most likely scenario is to go to the meet and watch my son, and the rest of the kids from the local track club run.
Anyone who knows me could tell you that I only see a doctor as a last resort for something that I think should take care of itself. This was pretty bad though. I was mostly sick over the weekend and tried to get some rest when I could. I went back to work on Monday and didn't feel too bad, but Tuesday morning when I tried to work out I just couldn't do much. I ended up calling in to work and went back to bed. I started having chills so bad that my whole body was shaking. Even with five blankets on and the temperature set at 72 degrees I was still freezing. So I called the doctor and made an appointment for 1pm that afternoon.
One of the main thoughts on my mind was that I need to get better for the track meet this weekend. I've been so concerned about not getting any conditioning in and how that will affect my race this weekend. This is going to be my last indoor meet of the year and the last chance to improve my times for the USATF rankings. After a few minutes with the doctor I realized that maybe the race shouldn't be my primary concern and I just need to focus on getting better.
The doctor had me go in for some x-rays on my chest and they determined that I potentially had pneumonia. It seemed to fit all of the symptoms that I was having and there was a spot on my x-ray in my left lung. So now I am on antibiotics that should help me get healed. I have been off work for the past few days as well.
I'm feeling much better now than I did a few days ago. My breathing is still a little rough, but I have some energy back. I am not going to rule out running at the meet this weekend until I need to. Either way I don't think I will be able to get any training in prior to the meet so I'll be in rough shape even if I do run. I think my most likely scenario is to go to the meet and watch my son, and the rest of the kids from the local track club run.
"You can only lead others where you yourself are prepared to go."
- Lachlan McLean
Monday, February 11, 2013
The Starting Blocks
When I came home from work the other night there was a box waiting for me. I was so excited I rushed into the house to open it up. It was a new set of starting blocks I just ordered over the weekend.
I've never owned starting blocks before, and it's one of those areas I haven't really spent a lot of time on. Unless you own or have access to blocks the only time you really get to use them is at a meet. As I get older, any little improvements I can make can make an impact on improving my sprinting times.
We've got an indoor meet coming up this weekend and the current plan is to go as a family. It's a very informal meet for all ages. My son will run and we should have a decent size group from our area going up. It's always fun to see the kids competing because they have the ability to get better every time they compete. As opposed to us Masters athletes who fight to slow our declining performances as much as possible.
My current training program is really a mix of different programs. I don't do any indoor training on a track, partially to give my legs a rest in the winter, but also due to not having easy access to a track to practice on. I'm still working out with my wife for about half of the week so those days are either Les Mills Combat or Turbo Fire. For the past couple of weeks I have been adding in P90X, RevAbs, and Insanity: The Asylum workouts. I still think Asylum has the best workouts for Track and Field so I try to get those in on days where I can really get a good workout in. The past couple of weekends I have done the Game Day and Championship workouts as my meet day simulations.
So we'll see if the hybrid workout approach pays off this weekend or if I will need to make some modifications and go more specifically to an Asylum-based program.
It will also be interesting to see how my son does with a block start. He's been practicing with the blocks, but it almost seems to be throwing off his first few steps. I think at this point he doesn't want to use them, but I'll have them there in case he changes his mind.
It's been fun to watch the kids practicing with the blocks. They take turns with a Nerf gun as the starting pistol and run through their whole starting sequence just like the pros. Very cute.
The quote for this week is from Insanity: The Asylum Volume 2 - Championship:
We've got an indoor meet coming up this weekend and the current plan is to go as a family. It's a very informal meet for all ages. My son will run and we should have a decent size group from our area going up. It's always fun to see the kids competing because they have the ability to get better every time they compete. As opposed to us Masters athletes who fight to slow our declining performances as much as possible.
My current training program is really a mix of different programs. I don't do any indoor training on a track, partially to give my legs a rest in the winter, but also due to not having easy access to a track to practice on. I'm still working out with my wife for about half of the week so those days are either Les Mills Combat or Turbo Fire. For the past couple of weeks I have been adding in P90X, RevAbs, and Insanity: The Asylum workouts. I still think Asylum has the best workouts for Track and Field so I try to get those in on days where I can really get a good workout in. The past couple of weekends I have done the Game Day and Championship workouts as my meet day simulations.
So we'll see if the hybrid workout approach pays off this weekend or if I will need to make some modifications and go more specifically to an Asylum-based program.It will also be interesting to see how my son does with a block start. He's been practicing with the blocks, but it almost seems to be throwing off his first few steps. I think at this point he doesn't want to use them, but I'll have them there in case he changes his mind.
It's been fun to watch the kids practicing with the blocks. They take turns with a Nerf gun as the starting pistol and run through their whole starting sequence just like the pros. Very cute.
The quote for this week is from Insanity: The Asylum Volume 2 - Championship:
"Whenever there's 70 meters left to go in a 400 you've got two choices to make - you can give up, or you can keep going." - Shaun T
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