Going Fast Again

Everyone seems to be going up in distance and down in speed these days; screw that I want to go fast! Just a post collegiate mid distance runner and coach chasing some old PRs.

[tomrunfar]

Easiest way to win your next Halloween costume road race

1) dress up as Predator 2) then just cut the course like Rosie Ruiz 3)if someone accuses you of cheating tell them you were just invisible the whole race. It's full proof (unless the course has timing mats)

[hustleformuscle-deactivated2026]

I’m sick of seeing “perfect” bodies. “Perfect” bodies with perfect lighting and perfect make up shot with a great camera and expensive clothes. More than that, I’m sick of being told that that’s fitness.

I wanna see all kinds of bodies doing all kinds of amazing things. People pushing their body in to the unknown and doing more than they could yesterday. That is fitness to me.

[tomrunfar]

Nothing heavy or special but I'm improving! Home gym decorated in honor of my college teammate running the Olympic marathon in Rio for Zimbabwe.

[tomrunfar]

First run back! Short 30min out and back in my new Saucony Zealot(last year's model I've been wanting forever that just went on sale). Definitely felt like the prehab I've been doing with my weight training helping a lot. Didn't lose too much fitness, and the shoes performed great. Nice cushion, Heel drop in the range I like, and wide toe box. Basically a more cushioned kinvara without the lace lock(aka annoying wedge of death), and better toe box. Glad to be back!

[tomrunfar]

Anyone want to go in on asics sublimination? If only they weren't $75 a pop with a minimum order of 6... Team IDC would be stylin!

[tomrunfar]

Really been hitting the prehab hard. Rotational stability has been my biggest deficiency so I've really been hitting that hard.

[tomrunfar]

To mile or to marathon.

I was planning on giving a marathon a shot in February, but my last training cycle really made me realize I like going fast more than anything else. Seriously considering training for the 1600 at some indoor meets this winter and moving my marathon to late 2017. Decisions decisions....

[tomrunfar]

Knowing When to Say When

So I had my first experience with pulling out of a target race, and cutting my training short. I had no motivation, and a foot injury that wasn't healing. Looking back now I can see evidence of overtraining and its effect on not just my training, but my job and coaching as well. I had no motivation for anything, and my negative emotions overpowered my thinking easily. It honestly sucks having to pull out of a race you've been training hard for months on, but I'm not going to be negative about it. Without this happening I wouldn't have learned what actual over training feels like. I wouldn't have learned the exact mistakes one can make that can cause over training. I can recognize it as a coach, but having it happen to you personally gives you more perspective on what to look for. It has given me the opportunity to improve my mental strength through the strategies I've learned in my newly acquired spare time. Strategies that I can carry over to improve my physical strength when I get back to training. Most of all it has given me time to fully focus on prehab and building the base I need to improve my mechanics, something I was having a hard time doing while in middle of a training cycle. I'm working on turning any failure I will inevitably face around in my head to find the positives. I'm excited to get back to running in a couple of weeks, but for now it's all about sleep, sound nutrition, mental recovery, and enjoying the spare time that training usually occupies.

[tomrunfar]

Awesome AM workout on the track I did my high school training on, and as the head track/XC coach's son basically grew up on. It has been abandoned and partially reclaimed by nature since they built the new high school, but it works just fine. The first turn is torn up from where they drove the excavator on it when they tore down the field house, but the old pavement track shows through and there isn't much more surface variability than running on the greenway. I get a lump in my throat every time I come back, but I'm happy that I can make some more memories on it.

[tomrunfar]

Lying on the floor waiting for the Run Gum to take effect.

[tomrunfar]

I've been working on my hip extension a lot lately. Glad to see its actually carrying over to running. Now I just need to work on it carrying over to slower paces.

[tomrunfar]

Still off my feet for another day just to be sure it's healed up before I get back to training hard. I put out a garden with my 87 year old grandmother. I did the work she barked the orders. Planted peppers, cabbage, beans, and tomatoes. I'm going to have some excellent scratch made chili this summer. It's probably my favorite running fuel because I can make it with or without meet and fit a ton of veggies into one dish. Definitely a year round food for me.

[tomrunfar]

Changed shoe laces on some of my running shoes so Burr The Bear Coach got some dreads. In other news Katniss REALLY likes how the edge of my rocker board feels. HAPPY FRIDAY!

[tomrunfar]

CAN I RUN YET?!

Running with a friend tonight. Hopefully my foot will feel better and I won't have to take any more days off. I'd run right now if I didn't have someone to meet! Patience young samurai.

[tomrunfar]

2 days to save 8 weeks. I irratated the area around my sesamoid bone from the mountain training I've been doing so I'm sadly taking a day or two off my feet this week. Luckily they say rest, rehab, and taking some time off hills will allow it to heal up fine. I had felt it for a while but was finally able to pin point exactly what it was yesterday. I feel lucky I did because I most likely would have run through it, kept the hill intensity up, and gotten a stress fracture. It has been easy to keep perspective with this more than other injuries though because I'm having to choose 2-3 days off and flat runs over a stress fracture and 8 weeks off my feet and missing my target race. BTW the Thera Band accessories pack I'm using in the pic is a highly recommended purchase for any runner. I'm using the foot loop and door mount for eccentric ankle exercises, but it's a great kit for making Thera Band even more versatile.

[tomrunfar]

Runner struggles:

Are the cloud to ground lighting strikes going on right now a deterrent from running outside or a challenge?

[tomrunfar]

Not really a fan of giving Nike my money, but I've decided to run my first marathon in March and I thought I'd try out the Lunar Tempo as potential race shoes. I wish more people would focus on running fast 5ks and 10ks before moving to the full marathon, but I'm being a hypocrite because I'm turning 26 this year so I figured it would be a good year to give 26.2 a try. Consulted with a US Marathon champ to see if my goal was realistic and she thought it was so I guess I'll give it a try :)