JV Boys' Taos Running Camp

Last Sunday, the Lovejoy Leopard JV boys loaded up into a 12 passenger van en route to Taos, New Mexico for a week of running at an altitude of over 7500 feet. It was an 11-12 hour drive through beautiful northwest Texas (sarcasm) and northern New Mexico (not sarcasm, actually beautiful). I knew it would be both a fun but difficult week, because I hadn't been away from my girls for that long.

We stayed in a cabin that was halfway up the mountain toward the ski valley, and there was no cell service unless you went all the way to the top (4 miles from the cabin). It was hard not talking to Jess some days until about 6 pm her time. I think Cecelia grew about a foot while I was gone, but she was so excited to see her daddy when I got back! :) I am traveling back out next week for the varsity boys' camp and it will be tough again, but at least this time we will know what to expect. I think I'll plan better this time for calling back home.

The running in Taos was great, with a low in the upper 30s to low 40s in the mornings and highs in the afternoon in the mid to upper 80s. I think it hit the 90s one or two days but with the dry climate, it was fantastic weather. I got a good 40 miles in in 5 days, though it felt like 60 at sea level with trying to adjust to the elevation. The last morning, we continued the tradition of the run to the ski valley. It is 4 miles up from the cabin and goes from 7200 feet or so all the way up to over 9000 feet. It was VERY tough, taking me 35 minutes to get all the way up (almost 9 minute pace) but only 27 minutes to come back down, with the help of the nice downhill on the way back.

The kids had a great time and set some good goals for the upcoming season and the next few years. It was an excellent team building exercise. The only downside for the kids was the inability to take me down in ping pong, and I was the camp champion!

At this point, my running is going very well, too. I'll get another 50+ miles in this week and hopefully get over 50 again next week at elevation. That will set me up for some 60 mile weeks in the next 3-4 weeks and 70+ after that. I am running a 15k on Saturday, so we'll see how that goes.

The picture gives you some insight into where my loyalties now lie when it comes to choosing a training shoe.

50 mile weeks and moving on up...

I'm settling into my summer training routine, and I'm right on schedule. I just finished consecutive 50 mile weeks for the first time since probably 2001 or 2002 (if I ever did consecutive weeks at that mileage then at all). My long runs are up close to 11 miles, on their way to 15ish by the end of the summer.

The team did their first uptempo workout of the summer, running 1 minute hard / 4 minutes easy x 5 or 6. I got 5 in and felt pretty good. I've been looking forward to getting some uptempo stuff in, so I was excited to put the pedal to the metal a bit.

This week has me on pace for about 50 or so again but in only 6 days as I took a break Sunday after about 12 straight days of running. We leave Sunday morning for the JV boys' training trip in Taos, NM, so next week should be a bit tougher at a higher altitude. I'm hoping to push into the mid 50s to low 60s in the next 3 to 4 weeks and ultimately get to 70 mile weeks by mid August.

July 18th is my next road race, the "Too Hot To Handle" 15k, so that should be fun (and smoldering hot). I'm going to try to be more consistent with updating my training from here on out.

Lovejoy Country Run 5K

It's been a pretty good training year so far, though just last week I was feeling pretty tired. I have done no real speedwork, so yesterday's race gave me a pretty good idea of how far I've come since I started running again and better yet, it gives me an even better idea of how far I have to go.

I was discussing a little bit of strategy (if you can call it that at my current fitness level) with Greg, and he suggested that I hold back a little the first mile and then try to run negative splits the 2nd and 3rd miles. I guess that plan completely slipped my mind because when the gun went off, I strode right up to the front with the leaders. The first quarter to half mile may have been a bit too fast, causing me to slow down the next half, putting me at 5:54 a mile in. Normally I think this pace would be fine, but it probably should have been a bit more even.

At the halfway point, I was actually in 4th place but by the end of the 2nd mile (6:12 mile, 12:06 total at the check point), a few people passed me, and I felt like I was fading rather quickly.

I faded a bit more before trying to gather myself for a mini kick at the end and crossed the line in 19:01. I had envisioned running low 18s or better, so I was a bit disappointed, but it honestly is a good start and with the training I have planned for the summer, I really believe I can get much faster. Conversely though, I won my 25-29 age group and brought home a medal! :) That's pretty good encouragement I think.

If you want to see real pain, watch my finish here. It shows the winner, who beat me by about 1:40ish, but Jess did some pretty good camera work, and you can see the times as the runners cross. (I got 8th overall).

Gas left in the tank?

Friday provided me with a hint of hope that I could actually get things going and run fast again one day. We held the 1st annual Swine Flu relays at Lovejoy High School since the regional meet was pushed back. The kids were scheduled to run fast on Friday before all this flu hysteria let loose, so we let them. They got all suited out in their uniforms, and we had a nice little round of time trials.

On Thursday, Greg asked me if I could run a 56 second 400 to rabbit the 800 guys through the first lap. Hesitantly, I said I could. I was admittedly nervous, though that is somewhat embarrassing to say. I had to borrow some spikes and while I was warming up and doing strides, I had the feeling it would not go well. The gun shot off for the 800, and we took off. Through the first 100, I felt pretty smooth, so I settled in to a nice relaxed pace. One of the guys had gone out really fast and actually was in front of me, so I had to step on the gas in order to fulfill my end of the rabbitting bargain (I realize "rabbitting" is word likely only used in running). We flew through the 200 right at 27 seconds, and I was still not feeling too bad. The lack of speedwork (for about 8 years) starting setting in at about 270ish and as we came through the 300 at 42, I knew I was running close to empty. I kept trucking but started telling the guys to start passing me up. As soon as they passed me at about 370 or so, I stepped off the track, just in time to hear their time as they came through the 400, 56 seconds. I was pleasantly surprised to see that I could still get up and go a bit. It worked out, too, since our district champion 800 runner ran a PR of 1:57, which was the goal, and our district runner-up ran a new PR of 1:59.9. It was a good run for the 800 runners.

Our 300 hurdler girls still had to run, and I also wanted to help them out as well. Though it would have been ridiculous for me to run hurdles, I thought I could at least run with them in the next lane and give them pointers as they were going. This occurred about 10 minutes after my 56 second 400 attempt, so I was pretty gassed. Our district champion hurdler ran a PR of 46.6 with me running right alongside her, which was fantastic, though I once again found myself wondering how I ever did some of the interval workouts that I did in my previous life.

By this time, my calves were barking like hound dogs, but we still had our 1600 girls left to run, and Greg asked me if I could help pace it as well. I knew the middle 2 laps of the 1600 were the hardest, so I volunteered for that. Our district champion 1600 runner ran right at her PR of 5:33, and I was able to pace her through the middle 800 in 2:50, a struggle, especially after the previous attempts to catch a glimpse of the glory days.

While my mileage has receeded the past few weeks as fatigue has set in, I still was encouraged by my mini workout on Friday. We have the Lovejoy Country Run 5K this coming Saturday, and I'm hoping to run under 18:00. This would be very close to a PR, though I would say I never ran to my real potential when running cross country in high school.

I've enjoyed getting back into the swing of running and have some goals in mind for the next calendar year. They include running the "Too Hot To Handle" 15K in July in 6:10 - 6:15 pace, running at the OSU Jamboree 8K in October (brutal course) in under 28:00 (possibly a stretch), and the ultimate goal is to run sub 6:00 pace for the White Rock 1/2 marathon in December. If all of these things go according to plan, then I am planning on running a few 1500 meter races next track season, including running unattached at the Texas Relays.

Since I quit running in college, this is the most serious I've gotten about it again. I love long runs and just being decently fit. Encouragement will be welcome as I take on these lofty goals, all the while being a father and a husband. Luckily, I have an awesome family and have nothing but support from my wonderful wife and though she does not understand the concept of support, I know Cecelia is rooting for me, too.

Have a great week!

Dirty Running Laundry & Worn Out Shoes

This is a good combination for me. It gives me at least a slight sense of accomplishment, the feeling that I've been working pretty hard and being consistent. As we speak, I am washing a load so I'll have some clean running gear for tomorrow's run.

During the summer, I bought some Nike Lunartrainers, some very lightweight running shoes that have been great. However, since I put a pretty good amount of miles on them, they wore down, so I had to get some new ones. I stayed with the same model of shoe but went with different colors this time. Now I have two pairs that I can rotate out, so hopefully I can go longer before buying the next round.

Things are going pretty well. A few weeks back, I got sick for a few days, just when my mileage was at the highest it has been in several years. I went ahead and took a whole week off to make sure I was better. I am planning on training with the team when we start summer workouts, so I figured it was best to get some rest anyway. I'm working my way back up, and I'll get 70 minutes in this Sunday. Next race up on the agenda is the Lovejoy Country Run, sponsored by Luke's Locker. This is just a 5k, but I hope to run a decent time and hopefully get me in a good frame of mind going into the summer.

Rock to Victory 1/2 Marathon...

I ran my first half marathon on Sunday and had a blast! I was curious to see if my training is getting to the point that I'd like it to be, and I was pleasantly surprised at the race. The longest I had run going in was about 70 minutes, about 9 miles, so I was a bit nervous.

My plan was to try and average somewhere around 7:30 per mile for the whole thing and through 6 miles, I was about right on but started feeling really good. So for the next 6 miles, I averaged in the mid 6:40s and started really reeling in some of the people toward the front of the pack. After 45 minutes and change for the first 6, I went just over 40:00 for the next 6. Unfortunately, that was about all she wrote for me, and mile 13 was about 7:00.

I ended up 5th in my age group (25-29) and 62nd overall out of more than 1200. Now, feeling much more confident about where I am with my fitness level, my new goal is to average 6:00 per mile for the 1/2 marathon at White Rock in December. While I've enjoyed getting back into shape, now it's really time to start hammering out the miles.

This blog will begin to lean more toward my running since we now have a fantastic website ( www.ceceliaraineallen.com ) to chronicle the life and times of our little angel. It will be a good way to keep myself accountable for my workouts, so I'm looking forward to it!

3rd Month of Fatherhood

I still find it hard to believe that I've been a father for 3 months (officially tomorrow). Day by day, Cecelia is growing and changing, developing her own little personality and expressions. This past weekend has been my favorite so far, the best two days (other than the "Big Day") I've had with my little girl. Yesterday morning, I tried to let Jess sleep in as much as possible, since she takes care of her all day during the week. We had a ball, and she had plenty of smiles and little giggles for daddy. We were up at 5 AM (if memory serves), back down at around 6, then back up around 8; each time, getting a little snack and then singing and playing. It's safe to say that Cece loves her daddy, which suits me just fine. :)

She's also becoming little miss independent. Playing on her little gym mats, sitting in her bumbo, and relaxing in bed, watching her mobiles have become some of her favorite things to do when she gets bored with mommy and daddy holding and talking to her. Songs from both of us bring loads of smiles and good times. It's becoming obvious that she has taken to the singing and should one day challenge daddy in a karaoke showdown (though we all know who would win that battle).

One of my favorite snapshots of the weekend came this morning when I was holding her, and we were having a conversation. Suddenly, she wasn't looking at me anymore and had become focused on my shirt. I realized I am wearing my USA Olympic shirt with the rings on the front, and it all became so clear to me: Cecelia Raine Allen, 2032 Olympic Medalist in the 5,000 meters or 10,000 meters. Mark it down; by then, I should be a halfway decent coach.

I can't wait until she can run around with me at cross country meets, yelling for our runners. I'm not saying that I am going to force her to be a runner but by keeping her options limited, I should have a really good shot (really, I'm kidding... or am I?).

I'm more in love with my family every day. I'm still amazed daily at how wonderful my wife is. Jessica does so much for us; she truly is Supermom. Cecelia is such a little angel, too. Every weekend, I find it harder to go back to work because it's so much fun hanging out with her. I'm so lucky to be part of such a great team!

Oh, I don't want to end this without giving a shout out to Tony, our little buddy, for being such a great dog. His protective side has reared its head, as every little peep that goes on outside our apartment invokes a bark from the little guy (as I write this, he's growling at something going on outside right now, no joke).

Overall, I truly feel like the luckiest man in the world. I hope everyone has a great week!