Chasing Slater: Adams State Visit

Hello Readers,

This week was a good one! So I'm happy with that. Training is getting back up there in volume. I was also fortunate enough to have my visit to Adams State this week, which went well. ASC is one of the most storied programs not only in Division II, but across all divisions. Sunday morning I met up with the coaches at ASC, and got to visit with them and the team for a bit. It was long run day for the guys, so I joined in for 12 miles with them. I could definitely notice the altitude, but I handled it well and it didn't really affect me too much with going an easy pace. After the run, we went out to Campus Cafe, a local breakfast place in town that used to be regular eating place for legendary coach Vigil and the team. The resturaunt was decorated with pictures and plaques from various cross country and track invitationals. Jordan Patterson, a junior on the team, whose from Illinois as well, helped out with the visit a lot. He was in my XC sectional my Freshman year, so it was nice to see a familiar face out there. ASC's graduate assistant coach, Zach Hall, gave me a tour of Plachy Hall after we ate. I was impressed with most everything. They definitley have the funding for different equipment that a lot of schools don't have. They are also fortunate enough to have an alter-g treadmill, for when/if any of their athletes get injured or are coming back from injury. Sunday evening I stayed with three of the sophomore guys on the team. We went out for pizza and some bowling. Monday morning I attended a class with Jovanny (my host), had my meeting with Coach Martin, and then got a campus tour. After everything, my dad and I had lunch in the student cafe and headed back home. I had a really good time, and everyone there was very personable and helpful.

Here's the Log:

Sunday - 12 miles with ASC guys on the dirt roads outside of Alamosa, 1:21:52 (6:49/mi). Most of them were going 16-20 miles. Started slow, then started hitting solid splits, especially for altitude. Splits: 1-7:28,2-7:14,3-6:58,4-6:43,5-6:49,6-6:41,7-6:43,8-6:36,9-6:32,10-6:37,11-6:42,12-6:44. Felt really good overall. Definitely could feel the altitude towards the end, as the effort went from casual to trying to hold on the last 2 miles.

Monday - 60 minutes easy on the dirt roads of Las Animas County,CO on the way home (~8.5mi). Kept the pace function off on my watch as I wanted to relax. Stayed overnight at a little hotel in Oakley, Kansas and did some Injury prevention/core there along with my stretching/rolling out.

Running Monday in Las Animas County, CO (I'm that little orange speck in the distance)

Tuesday - 9 miles with some intervals at tempo pace in the middle of Missouri. I did 5min on,2 off,4 on, 2 off, 3 on, 2 off, 2 on, 2 off, 1 on at LT pace in the middle miles. Most of my tempo pace portions were at around 5:45-5:50/mi, not quick but the roads were icy. First few miles were very slow as I was on worse roads than the main portion. 59:53 (6:39/mi).

Almost home. 9 miler in Missouri.

Wednesday - 8 miles easy around Bushnell, 55:00 (6:52/mi). Left Sartorious muslce was tightening up again, and I didn't want to push it much with it. I think I had problems today because yesterday when I ran, I got right back into the car afterwards without much stretching or rolling out.

Thursday - 2 warmup outside (13:47), 6 uptempo on treadmill (37:54) , 1 cooldown outside. The effort on the treadmill just feel different from outside and my rythym just feel unnatural, so I usually don't go as quick on it. Obviously the pace I was running wasn't that quick, but I just wanted to get in a bit better effort than my normal days. Judging by my ability to run 10 miles at 6:11/mi pretty easily a couple of weeks ago, including my first few warmup miles, I can go a lot faster for my uptempo runs. Hopefully the weather will cooperate soon. (Tot. 9mi) Injury prevention and core afterwards.

Friday - 9 miles easy, 1:02:27 (6:56/mi) on loop just outside of town. Did a few strides during to get the legs going. Injury prevention and core afterwards.

Saturday - 9 miles, 59:56 (6:39/mi) around town/country. Felt really good. Stopped at a mile to do 6x80m strides. Doing them this way I think is better when my quads aren't 100%. This way I'm not doing them when my legs are more tired after the run. Injury prevention and core afterwards.

Total: 64.5 miles, with more quality than last week. The leg felt much better this week. I'm still trying to be fairly cautious with it, but we'll see. I'm definitely more happy with what I did this week than the previous weeks. It also feels like I'm getting into more of a routine with my injury prevention. Next week I'm looking to add more overall volume, whether that is some easy morning runs, or some additional cross-training, we'll see. Also, I want to do strides more days after my runs (well, maybe in the middle), hopefully I can get my leg back to 100% and I can do it no problem.

Here are some more pictures of campus and the scenery around Alamosa: