Written on December 17th-
It’s now been over four months since I’ve posted a blog entry. I wrote my last entry while in the car on the way out to attend my first semester at Adams State College. I’m writing this entry on the train on my way back home after my first semester. A lot has changed. The last time I posted was with an optimistic view of what was to come while being out there. I had been coming off of a four month layoff and one of the most difficult times of my life. Luckily, that’s over with and my training is now progressing the way that I have hoped.
There are a combination of factors and numerous reasons why I took the long break in posting. I didn’t want to rush things and come back too quick. Oftentimes while training with everything public, I would often do things that my body wasn’t ready for. I wanted so badly to be able to post happy, upbeat entries where everything was coming along just fine. But it wasn’t. I also needed a break. I needed a break from the meticulous totaling of weekly mileage. From the constant assessment of where I was in relation to my goals. I needed a break from setting goals.
While being at Adams I’ve put my focus off of myself for a bit. It’s awesome being surrounded by such great teammates. 4:03 milers, national champions, international talents. I’m such a small fish in a big pond. Instead, I’ve just been trying to enjoy the experience as much as possible. It’s truly an honor to be surrounded by such phenomenal athletes on a daily basis. I chose to just soak everything in and focus on taking small steps in the right direction. Nothing else.
Alright, now we can get to the details. I became able to gradually increase mileage in the beginning of September. I did this with 20-30 minute runs on grass fields and then slowly transitioned to dirt and gravel trails and roads. I would supplement this running with cross training after and several times a week I would still only cross train. Aside from a couple days here and there with minor nagging injuries, I was able to increase quite rapidly and saw the gains in fitness coming back quickly. By the beginning of October I was already doing 75 minute long runs. When I’d try to hop into team workouts, I’d get blown away by the rest of the Freshmen who had a summer base. I think I may have tried to jump into the fast stuff a bit too soon, as I had a tiny setback period in mid october where I kept missing a few days here and there with more aches and pains. I just wasn’t structurally adapted to the training that I was trying to do yet. So, after several weeks of trying to do XC workouts, I went back to just easy running.
Through mid to late October I continued to only run easy and started seeing mileage increases without any setbacks. By November I was doing similar mileage to the rest of the Freshmen most days of the week. I then started doing workouts with an emphasis on long aerobic strength building. The tempo runs I was attempting to do in September were laughable, but these were now starting to feel a bit more promising. Week by week I was seeing small but noticeable improvements. With the mileage and quality of my workload increasing, I was starting get on the same level of training as the rest of my first-year teammates.
I can feel myself getting stronger each week. Tempo run paces are getting faster while the effort seems to be dropping as well- even at 7500 feet! Yesterday while doing a tempo workout on the country roads surrounding Alamosa, I started to get a feeling that I haven’t experienced in all too long. I was gliding along, clipping off 5:40s and it felt effortless. Effortless! I felt smooth, controlled, and powerful.
While my fitness still isn’t where I want it to be and far behind most others on my team, I know it’s headed in the right direction. I haven’t ran a race almost eight months. I’m finally started to get the itch again though. Confidence in my ability is coming back. I’m looking forward to hopping into a few late indoor meets, even if I am getting my butt kicked. The adrenaline that comes with toeing the line is something that I’ve missed for far too long. I want to get back to the level of fitness I had before the injury and then continue to build and continue to get stronger. This time though, I’m smarter.
If I’m feeling pain, I take a day off and cross train. No question. There’s no guarantee that I’m going to stay injury-free and follow the path that I want, but I’ll give it the best shot I can. I still have so much I want to get out of myself. I’m only 19. I know I’ve got loads of untapped potential. So if I stay smart and diligent with my training, the improvements will continue to come and I will see what I can get out of myself.
Like always though, the number one reason that I run is because I enjoy it. I’m thankful to be able to take personal satisfaction from it. To be able to get out there and cover distances on foot. It’s not a solitary pursuit anymore though. I have a group of teammates, all of whom are pursuing their own goals and all of whom are extremely motivated. As a group they come together and really represent Adams State well. They are what makes Adams State excellent.
Here's a quick video of the our guys finishing (and winning) the regional championships:
I won’t get too detailed on what I did last week, but here’s a brief overview (12/11-12/17):
14 mile Long Run with the team on Sunday, which was my first one in a very long time. Started off at 0 degrees, but warmed up slightly throughout. The rest of the week consisted of a moderate tempo run on Tuesday a tempo repeat workout on Friday and easy 65-70 minute easy runs on all other days.
I’ll get back to the detailed logging of mileage for this next week of training.
I hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas break.
-John
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