Getting By W/ A Little Help From My Friends

The Four Horseman,from right to left,Dave Brown,Neill Clark,yours truly and Nick Berra,not sure why Dave is looking sooooooooo serious,the photo was taken after we'd won the relay!!!!
Another easy 8 miler this evening,no rain to dampen things tonight.

Took things a little easier this evening,all four 8 milers between Tuesday and tomorrow were slated to be easy runs as I aim to conserve my energies for Sunday's 5 race track pentathlon but somewhere b4 the turnaround I got caught up visualizing an up coming race and b4 I knew it my pace picked up,not a bad thing but when you're trying to conserve energy for a race or in my case 5 races it's not the ideal preparation.

Wanted to share this gem from yesterday,coming back to Cobbs Creek Parkway through what I always refer to as Cobbs Creek Park I thought I heard another pair of footsteps,maybe it was just me running through the rain but then I thought I heard them again,even at 5.15pm you can't be too careful so I glanced a look over my left shoulder.... yep somebody running behind me,it's rare I encounter that so I wasn't sure what to think....the lights on Baltimore Ave were in my favour so I went for it,if I was being chased I could lose my potential stalker as the lights changed,a few strides in on the other side of Baltimore Ave I looked over my shoulder and saw my team mate Bryant Nix laughing to himself.......we jogged the final mile discussing the upcoming races in Syracuse and Rochester and not the fact I thought I was being stalked!!!

Rebuilding My Mileage

That's me and my buddy Ron from Missouri after he won a bronze in the 1,500m on Sunday,after getting 17th place in the prelims of Worlds in the 1,500m and only 16 advanced and then running slower than he expected in Thursday's 5,000m he fully deserved his bronze.....even if he did beat out my friend and GPTC team mate Neill Clark.

Anywho,having gotten all caught up w/ my races at Nationals yesterday allow me to fill in the blanks from the past week re training.
After 6 weeks of slowly bringing my mileage down(35,35,34,32,30,26)it was time to begin bringing it back up last week,prior to my departure to Cleveland I notched back to back easy 4 milers b4 a 2 mile jog on the Baldwin Wallace college track upon my arrival in Berea.
I managed a 2 mile warm up on the indoor track prior to the 5,000m final and 1 mile post race.
On Friday Ron and I partook in a easy 4 mile loop from our hotel,Saturday pre 10,000m final I did a mile warm up on the indoor track b4 a two mile cool down w/ Francis,Brian Pilcher and Adam Weiner.
Either side of the 4x800m on Sunday I ran a mile to round out at 31 miles.....technically 31.75 so let's call it 32 miles.

Monday b4 the drive home I retraced my 4 mile loop from Friday to jump start the week,as stiff as I was when we got back to Philly after a 7 hour drive,plus it was 95 degrees at 5.15pm when I got home,it was a darn sight cooler in Berea at 7am I'm glad I ran in Cleveland.
Yesterday I did my first 8 miler along Cobbs Creek Parkway since June 26th which will set me up for the rest of the week b4 Sundays Track Pentathlon which should give me 41 miles this week,a nice step ladder back up to 50 miles next week.

Summing It All Up

Now that the 2011 edition of Outdoor Masters Nationals is in the books I can sit back and say it was an unqualified success.
I've said it b4 but feel it bares repeating,for me Masters Nationals is "track camp for grown ups" it's not just about what happens on the track but off the track also.
At my first Nationals in Charlotte 06 I knew a handful of athletes from my 18 months on the Masters scene,in Charlotte I made new friends who I then saw 8 months later at Indoor Nationals in Boston and subsequently made new friends or got to know runners who eventually became friends and so the masters running "circle of life" turns.

I 've always said one of the things that makes the weekend fun for me is that we as a team at Greater Philadelphia Track Club all enjoy each others company and are a team in every sense of the word,for example on Thursday Ray Parker showed up at 9.30am to watch my race even though he didn't begin to compete in the Pentathlon till 12.30pm,I in turn was all done by 9.55am but stuck around till 4pm when Ray was all done his event.

There were some great soundbites all weekend between us,Ray insisting on paying for dinner after winning the silver in the M45-49 Pentathlon,Delvin getting some good natured ribbing from the team after he was selected for a random drug test after his 800m final,Nick giving me a hard time for all the meat on my plate after I hit the USATF Masters awards dinner for seconds on Saturday nite,the list goes on.

I for one look forward to the 2012 Indoor Nationals in Indiana in March(16th,17th and 18th..oh what a happy paddy I'll be !!!) and Outdoor Nationals in Illinois in July(dates yet to be confirmed)
Till the clans all gather together again...........................................................

Feels Like The First Time

"Love is like a high prison wall but you can leave me standing so tall,you are gold,gold always believe in your soul,you've got the power to know you're indestructible always believe in, 'cause you are gold"

Gold-Spandau Ballet

They say you never forget your first time,I remember mine like it was yesterday.......I refer of course to my first gold at Masters Nationals in 2006 in Charlotte North Carolina!!!
After a 6th place finish in the 400m prelims and then a 6th place finish in the 800m final I was looking at coming away from my Masters Nationals debut empty handed(side bar,since 06 I've made the podium in each event I've ran) until the 4x800m relay where w/ the help of teammates Russ Patton,Chuck Sheilds and Scott Landis we won the 4x800m and I notched my first ever Masters National Championship medal,I loved the feeling it gave me I abandoned my road running career to focus on track and more importantly Masters track.

A year later in Orono I rounded out my weekend w/ another 4x800m relay gold thanks to Russ Patton,Ray Parker and Chuck Shields and while Greater Philadelphia Track Club only sent 3 athletes to Spokane in 08 I didn't allow a little thing like that to deter me,going non club or ad hoc as it's known I got a foursome together of Francis Burrdett,Scott Pesch and Robert Van Cleve to win a third gold.
In my absence from Oshkosh in 09 GPTC won gold in the 4x800m thanks to John Patterson,Bob McGinty,Chuck Shields and Scott Landis and last year in Sacramento even though the M40-49 couldn't put a foursome together myself and Nick Berra went ad hoc w/ Francis Burrdett and Tom Fitzpatrick to claim the gold.
This brings us to Sunday in Ohio myself,Nick Berra and Masters Nationals rookies Dave Brown and Neill Clark made up a foursome,I joked w/ Dave and Neill about the proud record both I and GPTC had at 4x800m at Nationals and the need to not"fuck it up" which I then added"but no pressure guys" hey a little hazing for a rookie never hurts!!!!

We went w/ the order of Dave,Neill,myself and Nick at Chuck's recommendation,I had thought myself or Neill to lead off the opening two legs then Dave and Nick to anchor but given Dave's frustration at a pair of 6th place finishes in his 400m and 800m finals Chuck felt Dave would run w/ a chip on his shoulder and a point to prove.....he wasn't wrong!!
In a 5 team race we lined up alongside a team from So Cal(Southern California) two teams from TNT a Philly based team and a second GPTC side consisting of Chuck Sheilds,Carl Stocking and another pair of Masters Nationals rookies John Goldthorpe and Delvin Dinkins.
Originally Chuck had hoped to repeat last years M50-59 gold in the 4x800m but injuries meant in order to run as a team both Chuck and Carl would have to drop down to M30-39 along w/ John and Delvin to score as a club.

Dave lead off and quickly put daylight between us and the field,alas w/ all 8 of the team available out on the track there was no one to get splits(side bar the team only sent 10 athletes to Berra,Ray Parker had left on Friday after his silver in the Pentathlon and Tom Jennings had left after his 1,500m that morning) but w/ an overall time of 8.41. we averaged 2.10 per man and at 8.41 it's the second fastest Nationals 4x800m relay I've ran on.
Neill showed no signs of any discomfort from his early morning 4th place 1,500m and handed off to me w/ a commanding lead,for the first time since Charlotte in 06 I ran fresh in the 4x800m,I'm used to running the 1,500m Sunday morning b4 coming back for the relay.
In a season that's seen no outdoor 800m or 1,500m and only one god awful mile I could be forgiven for feeling a slight sense of apprehension,I did have an impromptu 4x800m relay at Icahn under my belt in May where I believe I ran 2.10. to draw inspiration from and it seemed to do the trick,Tom Fitzpatrick said from his position on the outside of the track I looked good so maybe my 800m days aren't over just yet??

Baton safely around I handed off to Nick w/ a big lead,having ran the 800m the day b4 and the 1,500m that morning I'm sure the last thing Nick wanted was to duke it out,he needn't have worried Dave,Neill and himself had given the club a comfortable cushion and w/ it my 5th 4x800m relay gold at Masters Nationals.
For the record our M30-39 team complete w/ two 50 year old runners Chuck and Carl finished 3rd overall behind TNT and won silver,what can I say GPTC....we know how to run relays!!!!

(Irish)Cream Always Rises To The Top

"Put on your shades cause I'll be dancing in the flames tonight,yeah baby it doesn't hurt cause everyone knows my name tonight alright
It's hard to feel the rush to push the dangerous I'm gonna run right to,to the edge w/ you where we can both fall over in love
I'm on the edge of glory and I'm hanging on a moment of truth,out on the edge of glory"

The Edge Of Glory- Lady Gaga

At the start of every season my goals are clearly defined,becoming National Champion at the Outdoor Masters National Championships is the huge carrot that helps me get through the peaks and troughs of each year but this year I could've been forgiven for thinking 2011 wasn't going to be my year.
I've still yet to win an individual gold at Indoor Masters Nationals(1 relay 4x400 gold,1 silver,5 bronze) and I passed on a trip to Albuquerque in March for this years Indoor Nationals and after my woeful 4.54 mile at West Chester on June 3rd I could've been forgiven for thinking that Berea Ohio for Outdoor Nationals in 8 weeks time was even a possibility much less getting on the podium or even returning to the realm of National Champion a title last associated w/ me after the 1,500m at Spokane in 08.........

I never gave up hope much less gave up training and while I fought against a backdrop of red tape to get a doctors appointment or a referral for the much needed blood work that would eventually confirm a mild form of anemia was to blame for my dip in form I never lost sight of my goals.
While publicly I'd gone on record to say"if I come away from Nationals w/ 2 bronze medals I'll be happy after all the crap I've gone through this season" publicly I believed in my heart of hearts I could win the 10,000m.
Some may say that was a bold statement for a runner w/ only 2 prior 10,000m races on the track to his credit but it's what I believed and in running as in life you have hold onto what you believe in.

As a Masters Nationals rookie at 10,000m I wasn't aware how previous years races had gone off but given the lower than usual turn out for this years event due to Worlds and World Senior games it was no surprise the fields had been combined to accommodate 6 age groups,although technically 5 as there were no takers in the M30-34 so 27 of us lined up on the track Saturday just b4 10.15am to duke out the 25 lap race.
Pre race the M45-49 stood at 6 entries but a notable dropout meant only 5 of us would contest the race,like in the 5,000m I'd done my homework to see who I thought would be likely to take up the early front running,Paul Manwaring a M35-39 runner from North Carolina by way of England and Brian Pilcher who'd ran the M50-54 5,000m were the two runners who's seed times stood out so it was somewhat of a surprise neither of them took up the lead from the gun but rather a runner from the M40-45 age group,whom I can only imagine had put NT(No Time) as his mark,why else would he have not registered on my radar?

Not to be pulled from my square I eased my way through an opening lap of 85 seconds,I had hoped for 80s but it was already warming up on the track and even though I'd ran two 3x2mile repeats either side of Worlds at 10am on a Saturday I had to make sure I was prepared for the heat.
Over a 25 lap race I forget where I moved to the front of the M45-49 age group,it was w/in the opening couple of laps I was 6th overall but more importantly 1st in my age group.
5.32 for the opening mile and 11.03 at 2 miles which is as close to even splits as you could ask for I'd established a good pace and rhythm which I was keen to hold onto.

Props to the officials for supplying a misting station on the top turn,I didn't bother w/ it as I felt running 6 miles in wet running clothes was a recipe for a slower time but that said if it helped runners from over heating fair play.
I did however take advantage of the two man water station on the back straight but only after every 4th lap and after two cups of water successfully "down the hatch" I them opted for water in the face to keep me cooled off.
My buddy Ron gave me my 5,000m split 17.25,potentially 34.50 pace,a shade off my 34.44 pr but hell I'd take it.
For me the trick to running 6 miles on the track would be to visualize my out and back 6 mile loop along Cobbs Creek Parkway so now having gone through 5,000m I had imagined making the turn towards home.

In my previous track 10,000m the sense of relief when I got to single digits on the lap counter was a huge lift and today was no different when I saw 9 laps to go,the only fly in the ointment was the lead 2 runners were about to lap me which meant I would have to keep adding a lap to the official lap counter.
As runners we are told we're responsible for counting our own laps which at 5,000m is no biggie but at 25 laps(I ran an indoor 5,000m earlier this year which was also 25 laps)you have to hope the officials have gotten your laps correct I've seen races where runners and officials have begged to differ on the official lap count,I did not want to become one of them today and to that end having Pete Taylor announce me as the "unofficial" M45-49 leader probably helped.
At some point a runner ahead of me dropped out so I was now 5th overall,an M35-39 runner lead w/ 2 M40-45 runners in second and third and Brian Pilcher the M50-54 leader 4th overall.

3rd overall overtook me w/ 2 laps to go but now all I had to do was stay on my feet and not get tangled up w/ runners I was lapping and I was home free,I forget what I came through the bell in but honestly it didn't matter I knew it wasn't going to be a pr but I could live w/ that and I managed my customary sprint finish up the home straight to finish 5th overall but more importantly 1st in the M45-49 age group in 35.27.4..........National Champion Again!!!!!
It's been a long time since Spokane 08 and my 1,500m victory,my 09 outdoor season got torpedoed by an achilles injury and last year in Sacramento after my hard earned bronze in the 5,000m Mike Blackmore and Jeff Mann both bested me for Gold in the 800m and 1,500m so this was a moment to savour.

The cynics,critics and haters will say it was lighter field than usual this year in Ohio,I for one won't dispute that,however what I will say is A I could only race who showed up and if somebody had to win the M45-49 10,000m why not me? and B I don't see an * next to the winners of the 76,80 and 84 Olympics when there were boycotts by the Africans in Montreal,the Americans in Moscow or by the Russians in Los Angles so........

Is this it for me at 10,000m on the track?I don't think so,granted I adopted the When life gives you Lemons make Lemonade mindset when the anemia meant I was only able to run 5.20 pace this season but I would like to make a fair fist of 10,000m on the track,I'm sure the turn out next Summer at Lisle Illinois for Masters Nationals will be bigger so let's see what I can do there,and while it's been fun getting ready for Masters Nationals on the track w/ only 7 weeks to prepare I'm not about to let all this hard work go to waste,my oldest pr is for 10k on the road,set way back in 1984 I ran 34.53........it's time for that pr to be put to bed so don't be surprised to see me in a 10k road race this fall.

Getting On The Podium

"There's saints and sinners life's a gamble and you might lose,there's cowards and heroes both have been known to break the rules
There's lovers and haters,the strong and the weak will have their day,we're devils and angels which one will I be today?

Winners And Losers-Social Distortion

During the course of my season I have been known to utter the following quote at least once,maybe twice"the difference between standing on the podium at Nationals and standing next to it is the difference between training or not training on the days you don't feel like it"
The fly in the ointment this season wasn't so much not wanting to train but being able to train at my best given my current condition.
Having committed to the 5,000m at Worlds in April b4 the deadline but knowing I was on a hiding to nothing in Sacramento I went out there w/ a "just run and have fun w/ it"mindset,my reward was to finish 14th in a seasons slowest time of 16.54.1,it was the best I could hope for given the circumstances but now three weeks later at Nationals I was hoping for better.

I knew in order to get on the podium for a bronze which again was the best I felt I could hope for would require a different type of race than the one I'm used to,more often than not and certainly in all 4 5,000m races this season I've adopted a gunslinger approach to the race,go out hard in sub 5 minute mile pace for the opening mile and hope to hold on,what this has resulted in is four races were I've ran slower than the last,16.21.8. at Penn,16.25.9. at Swarthmore,16.48.9. in New York and 16.54.1. at Sacramento,in order to reach the podium I would need to be the hunter,not the hunted.

After getting soaked to the skin in a pre race downpour conditions were grey and overcast come the 9.35am gun time,due to a lower than usual turnout for Masters Nationals the M45-49 and M50-54 age groups were combined,no biggie it just meant making sure I knew who the main contenders in the M50-54 were as they would no doubt be ahead of me in the overall race.
As for the M45-49 race pre race I expected Francis Burrdett,Mark Zamek,Damon Blackford and Jeff Mann to be my main rivals for that top three finish,the race scenario I had thought up was Francis and M50-54 runner Brian Pilcher would take up the running and I'd be in the pack working off of the other 4 M45-49 runners I'd sized up as my threat to that bronze......the gun went off,Francis hit the front.....followed closely by Mark Zamek w/ Brian Pilcher a little further back w/ an unidentified runner w/ him b4 a gap to Damon Blackford and then a string of runners including Jeff Mann and then myself......and the moral to this kids is in running as is in life always have a plan b lined up!!

Mark Zamek had finished 9th at Worlds a full 25 seconds ahead of me so any hopes of going w/ him to try and get silver had gone up in smoke,fortunately in the clerking tent pre race I'd identified Damon Blackford by face,by name I knew him as a 16.35 seed time but that'd do me no good out on the track if I didn't have a face to put to the name,as it was Damon was giving chase to the lead four,Francis,Mark,Brian and the as of yet unidentified 4th place runner the race was well and truly on.
I was some what miffed that there was no official timekeeper at the 200m mark giving out overall time,granted there was a clock at the finish but in a 5,000m race it's always nice to get that opening 400m split and subsequent mile splits,thankfully for me at least my teammates Chuck and Ray were calling out my splits 81 seconds for the opening lap on route to a 5.22 opening mile.

The glory days of 75 second laps and sub 5 min opening miles will I'm sure return as my iron levels return to where they should be but this was a race I knew I needed to run smart,at Worlds there was no pressure so I just went out and ran an opening lap of 74 seconds and a 4.59 mile,the problem being my head and body aren't on the same wavelength,my brain thinks I can hold that pace,my body knows different so in order to maintain my proud record of a podium finish in each race at Masters Nationals since Orono Maine in 07{7 races and counting not including the 4x800m relay}I had to go out conservatively,this would be a race of two halves,the first six laps and the second six laps.......

Making my way up through the field I'd put myself in 7th overall w/ 5 laps to go and coming out of the top turn I passed Jeff Mann on the inside,Kudos to Jeff he heard me coming and moved out to lane 2 to allow me to overtake 6th overall and as best as I knew 4th in the M45-49 age group,the mystery runner in 4th overall behind Brian Pilcher was still unknown to me,but at least Damon Blackford was beginning to come back to me.
I forget where I passed Damon I think w/ 3 laps to go,having reeled him in I was tempted to sit behind him but thought it better to go w/ the momentum I was building,back to back 5.22 miles had put me at 10.44 at the 2 mile mark and remarkably I ran a third 5.22 mile to clock 16.06 at 3 miles,how often do I run even splits like this???
Thanks to race announcer Pete Taylor the mystery runner in 4th place overall had been revealed,Adam Weiner....M50-54,meaning my 5th overall was actually 3rd in the M45-49 age group and as long as I stayed on my feet the bronze was mine.

By now Mark Zamek was paying for going w/ Francis and had began to drift back to the chasing Brian Pilcher and Adam Weiner had there had been more laps to go I might've been able to mount a serious challenge for silver but I'd said prior to Masters Nationals that a bronze was probably the best I could hope for today and I'd be more than happy to take that which is how it ended up,5th overall 3rd in the M45-49 age group w/ a time of 16.45.0. 15 seconds clear of Damon Blackford and only 8 seconds behind silver and Mark Zamek.
I'd also reversed an annoying trend this season of seeing each race get slower,9 seconds faster than Worlds thanks to running a much smarter race.

So back to back bronzes at 5,000m it's hard to compare each race as they are so completely different,in both cases the best I though I could hope for was a bronze so in both instances I got what I expected but in a year I thought I'd be hard pressed to have 10 races to fill out a top ten list come December 31st this one will be in there.

Take The Long Way Home

Greetings,I'm back from Cleveland w/ my haul of 2 golds and a bronze,kind of beat after three races in 4 days and a 7 hour car ride but I will start to blog my races tomorrow.
Did squeeze in a 4 miler b4 leaving this morning to get the week going,easy 8 milers on tap for the rest of the week b4 Sunday's Track Pentathlon.....no rest for the wicked eh??