Beautiful Run through the Village

Got in a nice seven miles today. My new roommate, Paul, who is also an avid runner, joined me for four of them. Feeling good. Looking forward to the workout on Friday.

First Workout

Met up with Mark in Germantown for a surprise light morning workout. Felt like a beautiful Florida day. Very nice. 2 miles easy and then 6 x 1 minute on/1 minute off @ 5K pace or so on the Germantown version of Lake Needwood. We headed home for a mile cooldown as Mark is recovering from National and I'm starting workouts. I'll probably hop in hte Germantown Five Miler in May. My goal is to run 50-60 miles a week for the next 8 weeks with two workouts per week. Probably been running 40 or so for the last month, but no workouts. So, this is be a nice transition into training over just running. Looking forward to it.

Back to the Blogging World

I just can't get two statements out of head the last ten runs. A few years ago, my former assistant coach told me, "Nathan, sometimes you have to be selfish. Not in life, but with running." I'll be honest that for about two years I didn't think twice about that statement. I just went about my business. Living life, working the jobs I love ( actually two or three depends on who you ask), running daily, and pouring time into my runnners at Magruder. I haven't devouted more time to my own training plan in sometime. I'm in shape for most people, but for a former DI alum who still competes - I would call it weak. Only a few of my former college teammates still run (one really, really, really fast). The rest don't know I still run. But, you see the last few months. I don't miss running. I'm always running. I miss training. I miss races of my own. Trust me, I wouldn't have traded the last six years of coaching for anything. It's about balance. For a while, I didn't have it. Balancing faith, family, work, a social life, relationships, running, and everything is never easy.

So, back to these two statements. The first, I told you. The second one hit me even hard a few months ago. A standout runner in the area lives near Magruder and subs on occasion at Magruder. He asked about my top runner, life, etc. Then, he asked me a shocking question, "How about your running? I'd like to see you crank a good race this summer. Give your eight weeks and I bet you'll surprise yourself. Don't go crazy with mileage. Just get in two workouts in a week with a nice long run." I thought about his comment for a while and decided to cut out a few things I like to do to be able to train (not just run) again. So, yes, I'm going to give myself eight weeks for my first race back. A 5K in Bethesda in June.

So, Monday morning is coming and the week begins. And, for the two people who might read my blog - I'll keep it updated. Eight weeks. We'll see. Here it goes. As Jake says and I haven't said in a long time, "I'm all in."

Houston

I arrived in Houston on F riday evening and I was instantly at home. I love Maryland, but I love the South. I schedule this trip about six months ago and wasn't going to miss it for anything despite the last week being a little crazy with a surprise trip to St. Louis for my Grandmother's funeral. It was sudden, but reminded me of Psalm 90 and how we should number our days. I'll publish my note on her soon. So, I ran into Caroline White, who used to train in the DC area. My former teammate, Hannah, picked me up from the Airport. It was raining, but it was nice to be on vacation. I've read a lot about Houston, but this is the start of a journey. I've learned a lot over the last few years, and I'm finally ready to train at a high level and do my job well. Sunday is one step in that direction, Here's to taking 2010 - one step, one mile, one day, one race, and one chance at a time. I haven't been this exited about my own running since college. I feel like the main character in the movie, The Rookie. There will be growing pains, but I'm ready to face them this time around. Time for bed. The big show is on deck in the morning.

2009 - Part 1

2009 was a very strange year. Most of this won't be about running, but there will be some running related stuff for my two followers of my blog that I haven't updated since September. And, on paper it might not be seem to be too successful. I just turned 29 this month and I've had a lot of maturing to do. This year started off with a hard lesson in relationships, but this situation taught me so much about myself and people. I'm thankful I learned the hard way and moved on.More on this may be covered in my book I'll be working on this spring. I stepped down from head outdoor track coach at Magruder to bring more balance into my personal life. I love teaching and coaching, but after many years of considering this and the past six months of re-considering - I still stand by my decision. I had more fun coaching my cross country team than ever before. We didn't steal any headlines, but this team really taught me more than I could ever imagine teaching them. Here are two big lessons these kids taught me.

1. Relationships matter more than any accomplishment. (GIRLS TEAM) While everyone in the world believes in human accomplishment. These accomplishments are merely fleeting. My girls' team dramatically improved this fall, but two injuries crushed our state dreams. The relationships between these girls are so caring and generous - it makes taking the spring off very difficult. While elite coaches would say that I have no pure talent or national level runners in the girls distance - these girls inspire me by how hard they work. They are so healthy, fun, full of life, and even made me a cake for my birthday. Several seniors will graduate and my sophomore class will no be leaned upon to lead the team. I've never cried so much at an event as I did at our banquet this year. This team is such a special groups of kids. While I'm looking forward to next fall - I know it will be a huge adjustment for me. They taught me that relationships and quality time matter than any victory, record, or title.

2. Boys need guidance in dealing with adversity and it's not your fault when life isn't going so smoothly for kids you coach. (BOYS TEAM) In August, my top runner came down with an injury and all I was getting asked at my invitational, practice, school, and friends. When is Nick going to run? While this might not seem like a big deal to most people and even runners. I've been coaching Nick since his freshman year and I was so excited about his senior year. But, sometimes life takes a turn, but in the end we learn a lot from failure. When I talked about Nick at the banquet - I could have listed accomplishments or times, but his story of returning from injury and dealing with the pressure of being our top runner was what I focused on. The conversations, texts, discussions, tears, and joys with Nick are things I'll remember the most. And, his anchoring victory of the distance medley relay at the FIT Invitational. :) We all need help when life takes a turn and I'm hoping I have more of these interactions with kids in 2010. They taught me that coaching is more like really mentoring and being a father-figure and role model - then making someone fast.

For these two lessons, I'm very thankful.

Part 2 coming soon - my own running in 2009 and looking forward to 2010.




Interview with Nick Escobar on mocorunning.com:
http://www.mocorunning.com/article.php?article_id=569

VA Beach - Marathon Prep Workout

This weekend, I took a nice road trip with some friends to run the Virginia Beach Half Marathon and relax at the beach. The plan was to run the race controlled at my goal pace for the Marine Corps Marathon(2:40-2:44). Mission was accomplished (1:20) and I felt relaxed. Ran an easy 12 with Mark today. I'm trying to keep my mileage up while I prepare for my 32-team Cross Country Invite this Friday afternoon.

The Simple Plan

Here's the general training plan for the next six weeks.

Monday - AM 6 PM 8
Tuesday - PM 10 including workout with xc team
Wednesday - AM 6 PM 8
Thursday - PM 6
Friday - AM - 10 Mile tempo PM - 6
Saturday - 10
Sunday - 20 Long Run
Total ~80 miles