Running Times, Online

Monday AM hilly 10 around bear creek area with Tommy Neal, 1;10, tot. 10

PM solo 6, 46:00 at fountain valley, then 8×100m strides on track w/ jog back rest tot. 7

XT stretching 1:20

Tuesday AM 3 warm up, to bear Creek from Monument Park, 23:52, 10k progression on 2k loop, 35:07(5:39pace), loops- 7:20.5, 7:11.9(14:32.4), 6:59.9(21:32.3), 6:57.6(28:29.9), 6:37.3(35:07) last 2k only at 5:19.7 pace and it was allout.  3 c/down 22:17

PM bear Creek 10 w/ Tommy Neal, 1:14:11 tot. 10

XT stretching 40mins

Wednesday AM 10 solo at El Pomar, 1:08:21 tot. 10

PM 8 with Tommy Neal at Fountain Valley, 59:21, tot. 8

XT stretching 1hr

Thursday AM 10 at El Pomar, 1:11:11, first 8 with Blake, Tommy Neal, Kyle from Canada, tot.8

PM 8 at Fountain Valley, 1:00:43, started with both Tommies legs felt like two sacks of shits tot.8

XT stretching 1hr

Friday AM at El Pomar solo, 3 warm up, 23:24, 5 miles hard Fartlek, 29:09 (52:33.8), 3 c/down 23:39-1:16:13 tot. 11

PM 8 at Fountain Valley, 59:58, started with Blake and Tommy Manning tot. 8

XT stretching 40mins

Saturday AM 12 at El Pomar solo, 1:20:20, tot. 12

PM Bear Creek 7 with Blake, 53:18 tot. 7

XT stretching 1:20

Sunday PM 22 at El Pomar solo, 2:17:43 tot. 22

XT stretching 1:20

Summary 133 miles for the week, 2 ok workouts.  The positive of the week is that I was able to do a long run at a decent pace, sub 6:30 without hammy/hip problems.  The downsides were that it was my legs that were hurting not my lungs and that makes me think more that what I need to work on is muscular etc.. and not ideal for being up here and frankly my workouts are still sucking and I just can’t see myself running fast when my legs struggle at 5:20 pace.  More and more I’m reading a lot of anti-altitude or at least anti living there all the time stuff.  We’ll see how the Lilac Bloomsday 12k goes this weekend.  I really feel like I belong in the top 10 but we’ll see how the field is and frankly it is a bit of a crap shoot going down to sea level.  If I run like I did at Crescent City I won’t be in the top 10 that is for sure.

To be clear about what I’m thinking about altitude:  The more I’m up here, combined with catching up on my research is leading me to feel that it is a great place to come do a base phase.  That if you do a program, like many do that is a Tuesday workout, maybe a Saturday race or tempo and normal running to get your aerobic fitness it is a great place to be.  That if you have good natural muscular endurance and strength the same.  Also if you have the resources to go up and down a lot that opens a lot of other windows.  I also feel this is really different if you are born up here.  Lastly I feel that if you stay up long enough you can get there but I’m not sure I want to put in that kind of time.  I had a shitty year last year. Finally last fall I came around and ran well this indoor and finally my hip/hammy seems to be getting better.  I’ve been dealing with this thing for more then 2 years and I’m not really in the mood to start sucking for much longer if I don’t have to.

Quote of the week “Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory or defeat.” Theodore Roosevelt

4/23/09
Hey Everyone,

I wanted to get you a blog up about my race at the 2009 Boston Marathon.

I had a rough one, but I finished in 2:30/2:31 ish for 55th place and know that I will will bounce back from it even stronger.

I was going for my Olympic Trials Qualifer and I went out on pace to achieve that time(sub 2:19) but I slowed as happens during some races and was a little behind by 1/2 way, around 1:10 or so and then I entered the “black hole” of Newton and the hills there destroyed my chances of making the time.

I learned a ton and having run Boston numerous times before I don’t know why I didn’t expect it to be as challenging as it was in the 2nd half but I am just excited to have been a part of the race (we had both Ryan Hall & Kara Goucher finish in the top 3) and know that my failure to achieve my desired outcome will push me to work even harder over the next year to come back to Boston and do much better in 2010.

My next international is the 100K World Championships in Italy on June 19, 2009 and I would like to win the race so I have a lot of work to do between now and then.

Hope all is well on your ends and look forward to letting you know what I am up to.

Best Regards,
Michael Wardian

Monday AM 8 solo at El Pomar, 53:08, tot.8

PM 8+ w/ Tommy Manning at Fountain Valley, 1:01:58 tot. 8+

XT stretching 1:20

Tuesday AM 13 “tempo” at el pomar 1:17:59, 3 min w/up and 3 min c/down had to run last mile in 5:44 to get under 1:18:00. tot. 13++

PM 42:40 w/up at Bear creek then 10×20 sec steep hills, jog down rest, 19:12 c/down tot. 9+

XT stretching 1:20

Wednesday AM 8 at El Pomar 1:00:30 tot. 8

PM 39:50 at Fountain Valley w/ the two Tommies and Blake, 5x 30 secs butt kicks after tot. 5

XT stretching 40 mins, butt kicks

Thursday AM 8 at El Pomar solo, 57:05 tot. 8

PM 57:50 w/ the 2 Tommies and Blake, tot. 8

XT Stretching  1:20

Friday AM 8 at Palmer park in snow w/ Blake, 1:11:12 tot. 8

PM 10 from house on our trails, 1:10:21, first 6 with Tommy Neal tot. 10

XT stretching 40 mins

Saturday AM 12 at El Pomar solo, 1:22:37, crazy head wind on the way back tot. 12

PM 6 from home, 40:34 tot. 6

XT stretching 40

Sunday PM 22 at El Pomar, 2:26:27, out in 1:16:15, back in 1:10:12 tot. 22

Summary 126 miles for week, 1 hard day, 1 long run.  Basically a shitty week. I’m not recovering well and I got frustrated I should have forced out a progression run on friday or saturday but the weather on friday was an issue and I wanted to get a good long run but then I had stomach issues all run on the long run and wasn’t going good at all.  Basically I just ran this week which isn’t training.  I hope your weeks were better.

Quote of the week “While one person hesitates because he feels inferior, the other is busy making mistakes and becoming superior.” Henry C. Link

Monday AM Bear Creek 10 with Tommy Neal, 1:11:22 tot. 10

PM 6 at El Pomar, 42:59, strides after tot. 7

XT stretching 40min

Tuesday Noon 3 w/up 25mins, 3 min hard run passing 900m in 2:49, 5×600m w/ quick 400m rest (5k in 17:14) 400/600 splits (1:32.7/1:49.0, 1:38.9/1:48.1, 1:39.9/1:48.4, 1:39.1/1:50.6, 1:39.6/1:48.4)  3 cool down 25:08 tot. 10

PM 10 at El Pomar, 1:03:50 tot. 10

XT Stretching 1hr

Wednesday AM 8 solo shakeout, 1:02:37 tot. 8

PM 8 with Tommy Manning at Fountain Valley, 1:00:52 tot.8

XT stretching 40min,

Thursday AM Travel to New Orleans

PM 10 in New Orleans first 7 or so with Devin Swann, 1:12:44 tot. 10

XT stretching 1hr

Friday AM 30mins solo, strides after tot. 5

PM 5+ shakeout 39:57, drills after tot. 5

XT stretching 40mins, drills, butt kicks

Saturday AM 3 w/up 2 min hard run, strides, light drills Race Crescent City Classic 10th place, 30:46, I said going in that I would be happy with a top 10 finish or a fast time.  Well I lied. This was a positively dreadful run.  The course was as flat and fast as they come and conditions were perfect.  I’m not sure why the times up front were slower then usual but they didn’t have quite as deep a field as in some years but there were some solid runners.  But that is neither here or there.  The fact is that I myself ran horribly.  I put in a solid effort but the results were not there.  3 cool down tot. 13

PM travel to Colorado Springs

Sunday AM 9 miles solo, 1:04:57, tot. 9

XT stretching

Summary 95 miles for the week, 1 workout, 1 race.  Ok the race basically it shows that my lack of knowledge about altitude training has bit me in the ass big time.  Based off of indoor I would have expected to run on this course no slower then 29:20 and really based off of the 5k I ran this winter I really would have been aiming for 28:40.  Instead I ran a minute slower then last fall and that was on a much tougher course.   So what to do?  Well obviously change!  I’m going to get blood work done this week and make sure I’m not anemic, I have been taking liquid iron but I didn’t start for a week or two after I got up here, I had to order it as they didn’t have it in stock.  Also I’ll change up how I’m approaching workouts, I need to go faster so I’ll do shorter reps and much more of them.  I’m also going to try to do some more aerobic work at a few different speeds.  Lastly I’m going to start taking 2 recovery days after each hard workout and work on a nine day cycle.  Other then that I’ll be doing a lot of reading and research on altitude training and adjustment.  I didn’t think that I had it down but I had no idea I was screwing up this badly.  I’ll be racing at the Bay to Breakers 12k in about 5 weeks.  If I don’t see a complete turn around I may be on my way back to sea level.

Quote of the week “It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.” -FDR

4/9/09
Hello Everyone,

Well, I am back from the 2009 Marathon des Sables in Morocco and I had a terrific time.

Wardian, second from the right, running across Morocco with the lead pack.

I hope you were able to follow the posts that my wife was sending but if not, I have provided them below for you.

I ended up 8th overall and was the first (1st) American.

I also was on the third (3rd) scoring team-Dreamchasers USA

My Total Time was 18:44:49 and I was 2:17:23 off the winner, Mohamad Ahansal, a Moroccan Athlete and just a super nice guy.

I ran with the leaders almost every day and lost most of my time on the Long Day (91K) when I had some issues with dehydration and stomach problems.

I learned a lot during the course of the race and really hope that I can make the trip back to improve my position and place in the years to come.

I know that with some minor tweaks in my gear, food and staying away from illness, I can really move up and be a serious contender. Thank you all for your support during the race and now, I am getting ready for the Boston Marathon and can’t wait to run without a backpack and pavement.

Have a great day.

Best Regards,
Michael Wardian

Herewith the posts:

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