Journal #1 - A New Beginning

I'm going to give it bash. Too long have I been uncharacteristically unmotivated in my sport. I thrive on competition either against other people or against my previous self, but I have let that ingrained nature of mine fall asleep like a sluggish old sod. No longer. That vigorous and energetic mentality that shaped who I am is being revived.

The problems before was that training on your own sucks, I didn't have a plan on races or training, and I didn't compete enough. Fix these motivation killers. I also didn't do enough tempo and speed workouts. I mean how do I expect to run fast in a race when I've never done it in practice. Not since the old Glendale days was I consistently training fast.

So now I have goals. I am going to run road races during the fall, and 1500m and 800m track races during the spring.

Unfortunately as honorable as my intentions were my first race since the new mental shift was pretty rubbish. I ran the Stop Cancer 5k in Woodley Park in Van Nuys, CA. I was 5th overall and 2nd in my age group, but my time was the worst I have run in about 2 years... At least I have a starting point on which to base my training. I can only go onward and upward from here.

Miler versus Marathoner - Who Will Win?

Watch more videos on Flotrack

Great workout challenge between Rogue Athletic Club athletes 3:57 miler Chris Gowell and 62:56 half-marathoner Scott MacPherson.

MPSF Championship Results 2014

For the avid enthusiast or casual fan of collegiate Track & Field this weekend on February 28 - March 1 the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) is hosting the 22nd annual championships at the University of Washington.

For those of you who have a FloTrack.org Membership you can watch live coverage of the events HERE

For those of you without FloTrack HERE is a live update of the results as they occur. HERE are the heat sheets to see who is racing what. HERE is the event coverage page where you will be able to see pretty much everything related to the competition including race videos a little while after the race has finished. So that should pretty much cover where to get your information.

I'll definitely be keeping my eyes on the 400m and the 800m men's events and the women's 3K and 5K as the women in those events are my wife's competition in this upcoming outdoor season.

Last year on the Men's side Arizona State dominated with Oregon finishing 2nd and Cal Berkeley finishing 3rd.

MEN

1) Arizona State 125.5
2) Oregon 102
3) California 73.5
4) Washington State 70
5) Stanford 66
6) BYU 46
7) UCLA 39
8) Washington 37
9) Arizona 36
10) Colorado 34
11) Long Beach State 16
12) CS Northridge 15

The reverse occurred on the Women's side with the Ducks snatching the top spot and the Sun Devils falling to second.

WOMEN

1) Oregon 112
2) Arizona State 96
3) Arizona 92
4) Stanford 82
5) UCLA 67.5
6) Washington 48
7) Washington State 34
8) California 31
9) BYU 24
10) Utah 21.5
11) Colorado 19
12) Hawaii 18
13) Cal State Northridge 15
14) Long Beach State 2

Click HERE to see the official preview of this year's meet.

Coverage kicks off at 12pm PST so good luck to those competing and happy watching for the fans.

Make A Running Sandwich

As Track & Field season gets underway there will be an influx of running enthusiasts, who normally either only run for fun or to stay socially active, into the Track world. It's like January 1st for the gym except for the Track. However, the following technique to be explained in this post is aimed for everyone on the Track spectrum, be you the runner who thinks they can run a 5k for fun and then come on the track and try bust out a 2 minute 800m or the experienced track athlete looking for a new way to improve in their ability. I learnt this philosophy on training from the Cross Country/Track coaching staff at Glendale Community College in California and it has proved most beneficial to me: it is called "The Sandwich Technique".

This is not a detailed orientated training program, but more an overview on how to actually formulate training from this base point. As I myself strive to be a 400m runner I will explain the technique from that perspective. Here however, is an incredibly detail oriented training plan for the 400m runner from the official Coaches Association of the IAAF-NACAC . HERE

A sandwich wouldn't be complete without the bread on either side of the filling, otherwise it wouldn't be a sandwich and just a pile of vegetables and meat. Those outer layers (bread) of the sandwich are essential to its being, and thus the same is true for the runner. As a 400m runner the vegetables and meat are the 400m; the bread on either side is the corresponding race on either side of the 400m, i.e the 200m and the 800m.

A 400m runner must have the speed of a 200m sprinter and the endurance of the 800m runner. So during your training you have to incorporate ingredients from both a 200m training program and an 800m one. Of course your main training focus will be on the 400m, but weekly portions of your training should include these factors. Even in the early stages of track season when the races are not very important you should use the sandwich technique by entering into races from the 200m, 400m and 800m (That doesn't mean all in one day, but well done if you do). You will get experience racing against unearthly quick 200m racers and the never-ending endurance of the 800m racers. This will allow you to combine all of this experience into your race, in which you are going to be confronted with aspects of both.

The sandwich technique is simply logical philosophy on an overall way to train and race. Take what you will from this and remember that every runner is different, so it may not work for you, but it doesn't hurt to give it a try.

Good luck to all!