Secret about me: I am a total running nerd.  I love everything to do with running.  I read running books (from inspirational to technical), I read running websites (letsrun, flotrack, etc), I talk about running, I watch running videos and I work in a running store.  So, you can imagine my excitement this time of the year (if you are not a running nerd, this time of the year is when pro races really take off).  Even better is that this year is a WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP year.  So this past week I have spent most of my time either watching USA Track Championships on TV, the internet, or rewatching videos via flotrack.com.  With all of that said it is time for : MEGAN’S SUPER AWESOME NATIONALS RECAP!

First races first.  The women’s 10k is one of my FAVORITE races to watch.  I am constantly inspired by Shalane Flanagans badassness.  She tore away from the field immediately and stayed in the lead the entire race.  Running 30:59 alone is VERY impressive.  Kara Goucher and Jen Rhines placed 2nd and 3rd both getting A standard times.  Desi Davilla made a move to catch Rhines but didn’t give herself enough time, still she PR’d and placed 4th.  The men’s race started slowly and ended in a fast kick.  Galen Rupp (the masked man) started the race with his silly pollen mask on and ripped it off when it was time to go!  Very dramatic.  I think he looked like splinter.  Anyway, Galen won with a 1:52 last 800 meters (FAST!) and Matt Tegenkamp got second.

The 5k’s were equally as exciting.  The ladies stayed together as a pack for a while before American Record Holder Molly Huddle took over and hammered it in.  She looked very smooth as she pulled away to win in 15:10.  The men’s race started slowly just like the 10k (this would be a trend that spread to the 1500 als0) Matt Tegenkamp took over the pace and pressed.  I believe he did this in order to help out his OTC teammate Chris Solinsky (who was in the race).  After Teg dropped back Solinsky took over and made the final drive for home.  He almost held on for the win, but Bernard “Kip” Lagat edged him out in the last 100 meters.  The masked man (Galen Rupp) managed to place third in this race even though he was tired from the 10k.  Rupp’s two performances were combined were very impressive.

The next day brought some real excitement and drama with the 1500m races.  First, the women’s race started in exciting fashion with Christin Worth-Thomas surging to the lead and taking it out in 62 seconds!  She followed that with a 2:09-2:10 800.  At this point she had a sizable lead on the pack and I (and the commentators) were not sure if it could be made up.  She started to falter on the last lap and Morgan Uceny started her VERY impressive kick and ran her down by the final curve.  Not only was she run down by Uceny, but also Jenny Simpson AND right at the line Shannon Rowburry.  Ouch, all that of that pressing and leading to fall to 4th (out of worlds)!  The men’s race went in the complete opposite direction with the pace being a SLOW 66 through 400 meters.  These guys were stepping all over each other and pushing.  No one wanted to take the lead and it was obvious. The race came down to a kick and I assumed that Bernard Lagat would take it.  No one can outkick former World Champion Lagat, right?  WRONG!  College Junior Matt Centrowitz outkicked the great Lagat!  The battle for 3rd was even more interesting as Leo Manzano came up from practically last place to steal 3rd place from Andrew Wheating and Will Leer.  Lagat has declared that he is NOT running the 1500 at worlds so Andrew Wheating and Will Leer BOTH have the chance to chase A standard times (because NONE of the men have A standard times).  So we still do not know who will be representing us at worlds in the men’s 1500 yet!

Look at that finish!

With all of that motivation happening this past week I had no excuses to get my own runs in.  I finally hit 50 miles for the week last week! Yeay!  I also ran as a substitute on a 4×4 team at the NOTC’s free track meet and split a 65.  Our team broke 4 minutes (first time I have been on a team that was fast)!  These meets are fun, everyone should check them out!

My speed makes me blurry! Lolz.

Until next time, happy running!

This past week was not the greatest week of running for me.  Frankly it was pretty terrible.  Rehash:

Sunday: Did not run because I was too tired from kickball festivities.

Monday: 6.8 miles at LA Running Company’s Run Group.  The fact that I did not tack on to make it 7 means I felt crappy.

Tuesday: 6.1 miles in the morning.  This was the only run all week that I felt remotely decent on.

Wednesday: 4 miles slowly in the morning and 5 miles in the afternoon.  The morning run  was not that awful, BUT the afternoon run was hellish.  I wanted to faint and vomit all at the same time.

Thursday: 6.2 miles at the Southern Runner Garmin Test Run.  I tried to quit at 4 miles but was forced to carry on by my running partners (good peer pressure job guys).

Friday: I jogged 3+ miles while watching the track meet.  Even running slowly and a short distance left me dead.

Saturday: SS and I planned to run 10-12 miles in the morning.  Instead I ran 8 and then jogged/walked back to the car.  Total of 9.3 actually running.  Once again feeling dizzy and like death.  To add to the fun my left hamstring/back of knee thing flaired up and I had to take the day after off.

This entire week of running made me want to scream and take up skateboarding (or french fry eating).  Instead I just kept plowing on and so far this week things are looking up.  I have not had any amazing runs, but everything has pretty much been normal.  I think the heat had a lot to do with last weeks painful runs.  When I have a week like I did last week I do a few things.  First, I asses how much rest (sleep) I have been getting.  I tend to need more sleep when the weather is really hot and I am running.  Second, I asses how much/little/what kinds of things I have been eating.  Sometimes I am not drinking enough water, or taking in enough salt to absorb the water.  Dehydration makes runs feel crappy.  Third, I try stretching more (this helped with my tweaked leg).  Last, I just plow through hoping for a breakthrough.

With summers as hot as they are here it is inevitable that we will all have crappy weeks.  Don’t let them get you down!

Fun fact about me: I LOVE LOLCATZ!

For fun at work today we had a Gatorade VS Powerade taste test.

We tested the red flavor and the results were unanimous:

Gatorade: 2 points

Powerade: 0 points

Our reasoning was the Powerade had a sticky consistency and was too sweet.  Any other votes?  I think this blog has a comments section… use it.

Now for something running related…  This morning I did a run too the track at City Park and did strides (the straights and jogging the curves).  It felt SOOOO GOOOD to do something that got my legs moving quickly, I felt like a frisky colt.  I often forget that miles of running at a regular pace can make me feel stale and a few strides are a good way to breath life back into my running.  Yeay for strides.

Sorry about the blogging absence.  I had a busy week and updating the website dropped on the priority list.

Last wednesday I participated in the NOTC’s free for all summer series race number 2.    These races are fun because they are free and low key.  The course is different this year and I think it is pretty fast. My game plan this summer is to jump into these free for all races without changing my weekly training.  This past wed was an excellent example: I doubled on Tuesday and then ran Wed morning before the race.   Poboy and I also planned to do a longer warmup before (we did 3miles).  We thought we had plenty of time but almost missed the start (NOTC started the race at 7 instead of 7:06).  I ended up pacing a little better than the week before and running 2:5? 5:4?’s, 5:57.  Total time of 11:42 or 43.  I was pleased with the effort.  After the race NOTC provided hot dogs, chips, cherries dipped in vodka, and abita beer.  A good time was had by all.

Lots of people can spend all summer building a solid base without ever losing motivation or becoming bored.  I am not one of these people.  This is why I jump into races like the FFA’s or the NOTC Track Meets.  Races keep me motivated and remind me of why I am putting in the work.

Promise to blog more this week!