Training Aug. 23-29

Monday - 17 (6,11)

Tuesday - 18 (11,7)

Wednesday - 18 (6,12) PM Track at BCC - 3200 (10:12 - 5:08, 5:04); 4 by 800 (2:26, 2:24, 2:24, 2:24); 3200 (10:11 - 5:08, 5:03) - rest for everything was a 400 jog

Thursday - 19 (11,8)

Friday - 14

Saturday - 12, 8 strides

Sunday - 20 - pace gradually picked up: last hour was around 6:00-6:20 pace. Cruising.

Total - 118

Training Aug. 16 - 22

Monday - 17 (10,7)

Tuesday - 17 (9,8)

Wednesday - 23 (17,6) AM Downpour. 10-minute surges every 30 minutes.

Thursday - 14 (10,4)

Friday - 13

Saturday - 13 ... On the towpath with GRC. Big group.

Sunday - 17 ... WU 4, Capital Ale House 10 Miler in Hartwood, Va. - 1st, 56:02. 2nd place was 59:01. All-hill course, very humid, treated it like a tempo/threshold effort; tried to just stay within myself. Legs were not dead but had no real pop. It's good practice for 16 on at Chicago so I'm pleased. 27:46, 28:16 - second half is tougher so it's a fairly even split. Ran an easy 3 afterward with masters ace John Piggott.

Total - 114

Training Aug 9 - 15

Photo from RUN WASHINGTON

That's me there owning No. 10 to claim second at the Leesburg 20K Aug. 7. What a clown. Oh, wait ...

As it happens, I could easily make a photo album titled "Dickson Getting Lifted In the Final Stretch."

You can see here that I have plenty of energy. In this instance, though, the problem was that my closing speed was simply less than Evan Jurkovich's of D.C.

What am I getting at? Those would be lingering questions.

Do I simply lack the wrong muscle fibers? Do I lack the kick gene? To be honest, I consider myself pretty tough in the sense that I can deal with a lot of discomfort, put myself through a lot of training. But could I be tougher (or do I lack the tough gene?)? I mean, look at Evan's eyes. Those suckers are On. The. Prize.

Lastly, the question. Can a kick be improved?

That's what I want to look into. I'll get back to you on this one. Comment with comments.

(Note: the "gene" references above go back to an article I read some months ago on "sports genes" by Sports Illustrated's David Epstein, who was formerly an 800-meter runner for Columbia University. This is the best article I've ever read on the subject, and really just one of the best articles I've ever read. Epstein has it all here: great style, facts and more facts, balance. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1169440/index.htm)

Monday - PM 13

Tuesday - 16 (11.5, 5.5)

Wednesday - 17 (5,12) PM ... track ... Yasso 800s. 10 reps. 2:28 avg. That might not sound very good, but my legs were dead, dead, dead. The heat was killing me, I was having stomach issues, really dehydrated.

Thursday - AM 10 with Dave Fontaine in the thunderstorm.

Friday - AM 14 with Murphy

Saturday - AM 12

Sunday - AM 23 ... My Dad visited me this weekend. Rather than meet the team, then, at 8 at The Line in RCP, I started early from apartment so I could have a little more time to hang out with him before he caught his 1 p.m. train. The goal for today was a steady run -- nothing too fast, just build up to a decent pace, like 6:30-7 minutes per mile, and put in some decent time on my feet -- and I think I got it done. I actually planned to go 24 and thought maybe I did, until afterward when I thought it over and looked at 11 miles worth of splits I took in the middle of the workout on CCT (didn't look at them in the moment). They ranged from 6:20-6:55, a lot of 6:30s. Blah, blah, who cares? I think it was 23 in 2:37. Weather was pretty good. I basically went out and back, down Independence to Jefferson to Rock Creek trail to CCT. Turned around at mile marker 4.

Total - 105 ... Not bad. 9 runs. I missed a couple doubles. More later ...

Training Aug. 2 - 9

This is a down week. No workouts, though I plan to race the Leesburg 20k on Sunday -- the goal there is to get in some pace work.

Monday - PM 10

Tuesday - 14 (6,8)

Wednesday - 16 ... The heat returned. Met Jake Marren near Georgetown and he took me for an epic loop through Rock Creek Park. He stopped at his place and I continued down Connecticut Ave., passing the zoo ... back through the park, took Independence Ave. rather than cut through the Mall. The heat literally smothered me, and my nutrition that day was pretty bad. This one was kind of epic. Man, I was really glad when this one was done.

Thursday - 9

Friday - AM 10

Saturday - 9

Sunday - 3 WU, 20K race (3rd, 67:38, 5:27 avg), 2.6 CD - 18 ... My goal for the Leesburg 20K was to start at marathon effort, run as comfortably as possible and finish within the top 3, for which the race offered cash prizes. I knew the race was "challenging," though I did not know to what degree. What I found out was that it was definitely rolling and that there were tough hills but that none of them were so tough as to rip you open. (The course, from what I heard, was not the same as last year's). As it turned out, we were aided by relatively cool weather -- and lots of downhills.
A 10K and 20K are run simultaneously, both out and back. I wanted to hang back early on, until 5K, and not get caught up in the wrong race. At 5K, everyone ahead of me turned back except for Michael Wardian, who had about 100 meters on me and would win this race for the third year in a row, and we kept on through a tough stretch of Dry Mill Road, the rolling, country (you might even say scenic) road that hosts the bulk of the race. Was there anyone behind me?
Around 4 miles, as we entered the W&OD Trail, an asphalt bike path, I could see there were not one but two runners within striking distance. My previous miles had been pretty slow, mostly because of the terrain, and as we hit a downhill grade, I really went with it. At the turnaround, I could see they were still close. Wardian had about 50 seconds on me. I then faux convinced myself I could catch Wardian, hoping that that effort could prevent me from getting caught. Five miles later, I thought perhaps I had broken free. Nope. At 11, I heard footsteps: Evan Jurkovich. I dug in a bit. I figured he probably has a better kick than me -- just about everyone does -- so I need try to take it away now. I wasn't tired, really, but I could also not run much faster. We turned left onto the final uphill stretch toward Market Station, and I had plenty left. But Evan had more. And he passed me. And I was kind of pissed -- at first. I would have been more pissed if I had been passed because I ran out of gas, but I got run down while running a big negative split. Also, as I found out after the race, he lives in D.C., so he should probably just join our team; that way the next time I lose to him it won't even bother me.
I ran the equivalent of a 1:11.15 half marathon effort, so, in all in all, this turned out fine.
Here are some of the splits I have: 1 (5:46), 2 (5:33), 3 (5:40), 4 (5:51), 5 (5:57) -- 28:48 -- 6 (5:21), ... something on my watch got messed up here ... 9 (5:20) 10 (5:25) ... My second 10K was 32:58 ... Run Washington article: http://www.runwashington.com/news/2814/

Total - 86

Training July 26-Aug. 1

Monday - 16 (4,12) ... In the evening I stuffed my credit card in my pocket and picked up a badly needed pair of shoes (Brooks Glycerin, since about 2004) mid-run at GRC. Way more efficient than driving there. I even got to recycle my past-dead shoes!

Tuesday - 16 (6,10) ... Felt good in the afternoon. Just throwing this out there: Eating a high-quality carb -- in this case, half a whole grain bagel -- about an hour before training (as I was walking out of work) really helps. I ate a power bar perhaps an hour before that -- so what I guess I'm saying is that getting that double dose of good carbs in the hours leading up to training is very beneficial. This is something I always do before hard workouts, but not necessarily the easier/recovery days -- and it is way harder to execute when training early before work.

At the same time, it can bite you by knocking your blood sugar out of whack (at least, I think that's what happens) and giving you that lightheaded dizzy feeling (which is particularly the case if I try to eat when I wake up an hour before training in the morning). For what it's worth, I also a drink a cup of coffee -- usually while driving home from work -- before my afternoon session. And before my morning session. And before ANY time I run. Not really sure why I just put this out there -- most of it is pretty basic -- but I'll leave it.

Wednesday - 16 (4,12) PM Track workout at BCC: 3 by 2 miles with 400 jog for rest. Very hot and humid. Legs were pretty zapped. My workout was good for 5/6ths of the way, but came undone in the last mile of the last rep. 10:30, 10:19, 10:39 ... This is a lesson in not getting greedy. 10:30s across the board would have been fine.

Thursday - 15 (10,5) In the afternoon, Emily rode a bike beside me as I ran a loop through SE. We got crushed by a rainstorm. Pretty funny.

Friday - 17 (12,5)

Saturday - 22 ... We started from the store in Georgetown and kept it on the towpath: 5 out, 5 back, repeat. Wiggy and I added two more. We started really easy and gradually picked up through the first half: 68-ish. Wiggy and I did the second half in 56-high. This was a good workout, but we got out a bit fast for the second 10; I need to work on that.

Sunday - 13

Total - 115 ... Highest week ever.

Training July 19-25

Floyd Fest photo by friend and pro photog Susan Pleiman. Levon Helm: one of the all-time greats.

Monday - 17 (7,10)

Tuesday - 16 (10,6)

Wednesday - 14 ... No time in AM. PM: Met up with a small group at BCC for a tempo on CCT and some 150s on the track. We probably could have organized this better, as we went five miles out, all downhill, from miles 3 to 7.5 on the trail (~half mile from BCC parking lot to trail) and ran at marathon effort coming back -- you guessed it -- all uphill. Another big surprise was that it was really hot and humid -- by the end, my flats weighed about 10 pounds. I wanted to stay completely under control -- no straining, no hard breathing -- and I think I achieved that. I took splits every half mile and each was between 2:50 and 3 minutes, which I think is OK for this particular stretch. The time does not really matter for this; it's the work you put in. The long uphill grind made my legs feel very heavy and uncomfortable; that said, I like that I was still able to run an even pace. After exiting the trail, and heading back to BCC, I continued to 30 minutes to make sure I got in 5. After jogging around the track for awhile, we did 8 times 150 on, off then finished with two miles of barefoot running on the infield.

Thursday - 13 ... Ran with Dave Fontaine. Usual post-workout soreness, but I felt OK after an hour and extended it, as a work assignment prevented a double.

Friday - 14 ... Felt more sluggish than I did on Thursday. I got home late from work and did not get enough sleep. Six hours won't cut it right now. On top of that, my weekend plan involved going to Floyd, Va., to a music festival, Floyd Fest, for a good friend's 30th birthday. Packed the car and left.

Saturday - So there I was in Floyd, which just happened to be tucked off the Blue Ridge Parkway, which just might very well be the most beautiful road -- granted, I just visited Colorado -- I have ever seen. I ran out and back on it, passing marvelous overlooks, enjoying the cooler weather, running up huge hills, soaking it all in ... 12 ... Seeing the Levon Helm Band this evening was no doubt one of the musical highlights of my life. I've been an admirer of Levon for a long, long time.

Sunday - Drove back to D.C. in the morning, took a long nap in the afternoon (slept right through a big storm), went grocery shopping and then trained at night after the heat (temps in D.C. topped 100) had somewhat subsided. Got in a solid 20.

Total - 106

Training July 12-18

Monday - PM 13 ... Back in D.C. Ran with Jake Klim and Robert Jarren.

Tuesday - 18 (10,8) ... Got caught in a thunderstorm. Quite a downpour. Didn't really care.

Wednesday - 16 (4,12) ... PM: Met a big group at the BCC track for 6 by 1,000. I worked mainly with Karl Dusen, Joe Wiegner and Charlie Ban. The conditions were odd: the temps were down a bit but the humidity was off the charts. I don't think I have ever sweat so much, and it made my legs feel pretty dead; with that in mind, I tried to keep everything very much under control. 3:05, 3:05, 3:02, 3:04, 2:59 ... Lap jog for rest.

Thursday - 16 (9,7)

Friday - AM 13 with Patrick Murphy

Saturday - Visiting friends in Frederick for the weekend. Ran an easy 10 through former stomping grounds.

Sunday - PM 20 ... Ran from my apartment, did two loops in Hains Point, crossed 14th St. Bridge, ran past Reagan Airport, returned and continued to Memorial Bridge, Mall, added some in neighborhood ... I started to pick it up after about 20 minutes, once I reached Hains Point, and I gradually ratcheted up the pace. Was able to get a few splits: 6:30 pace on the first loop through Hains Point, 6:20 on the second; 5:55 on the way out to Reagan, 5:50 coming back. Continued as such. Shut it down at two hours and cooled down for 10 minutes. This was pretty good considering how hot it was (even at that hour). My shoes were making that squishing, waterlogged sound, to give you an idea.

Total - 106