Monday, September 22, 2008

Training Week -- 9/15 - 9/21

Only two runs, but at the extremes. 10 miles non-stop (a first) plus a 4-mile race at 6:02 per mile (haven't run fast since last winter).

Mon: ride, 1 hr, OSM easy
Tue: run, 10 miles, non-stop, ~8:30 pace
Wed: ride, 1 hr, easy around Goleta
Thu: ride, 1 hr, OSM, moderate-hard (~17:00)
Fri: nada
Sat: ride, 3.5 hr, roco ride to 2nd Casitas hill
Sun: run, 5 miles, Goleta Education Foundation 4-miler + w/u

Totals: 6.5 hrs riding; 15 miles running

8 comments:

Tom Anhalt said...

What? No awesome Fannelli write-up on the GEF 4 miler? I'm crushed... ;-)

Marco Fanelli said...

Well TnA, I won't be able to sleep tonight if I think you are crushed, so...

GEF 4-miler: ~200 runners, A few speedsters like Eric Forte and Rusty Snow, but mostly just neighborhood folks out to support Goleta schools. My goal was to not get hurt and see if my legs could turn over at something quicker than 7:00-per-mile. From the gun, Eric bolts and I watch as another runner slots in behind while Rusty hangs back just watching. He is a pro, and in total control. Ricky Ho, Shigy, and a couple others quickly fall into the ever-increasing gap between me and the front trio. Ricky & co. are cruising just about 100 meters in front of me, which my cycling brain interprets as a trivial gap easily closed down with a brief surge. My running brain has yet to realize that a 100 meter gap cannot be crossed unless the guys in front fall apart. I see the first mile pass at 5:57. Hmmm, I haven't done a sub-six mile on any run in more than a year. This might be trouble. My form gets sloppy and the gap to Ricky and Shigy continues to grow. I turn into the lake and almost slip on the white chalk marking the turn. oops. Mile 2 passes at ~12:04, a substantial slowdown. Footsteps and breathing from behind get louder and louder. I ease up to let the chaser catch on. My cycling brain says I should make him pull. It's Leif Reynolds ...the same Leif who sometimes rides up OSM with us on Thursdays, only I didn't know this at the time. I slot in right behind him and marvel at how ripped his back muscles are, which takes my mind off the pain. I'm probably violating ten different running-race etiquette rules. I know I'm too close, and probably inside his "space". Another cycling habit... get your wheel about 1 cm away from the one in front for maximum draft. I also decline to pull through. I might have accidentally snotted on his leg too. Mile 3 passes at about 18:04, thanks to Leif's strong pull. At 1/2 mile to go, I see Steve Boelter course marshaling and decide to show off so I surge past Leif, grunting something insincere like "Come on, let's go" while I try to accelerate hard enough that he won't respond. He doesn't. Just before the final turn I check for him in the reflection of a car. Turning around to look would have been too tacky, even for me. I mean come on, we're competing for 8th place overall and 3rd in our age group. It's not the Olympics. But still I sprint as hard as I can. Final time: 24:06. Later Leif is nice to me and even invites me to join his group run on Sunday mornings. My cyclist brain warns me: that's where he'll take out his revenge. Or perhaps it's possible that runners are nicer people than cyclists... (since no runners read my blog, and mostly cyclists do... I better say that I'm just kidding of course. Cyclists are the nicest, most well-adjusted people on the planet.)

Anyway, it was nice to see so many familiar faces at the running race, including Boeltero, Choo-choo, TnA (running no less!), Eric, Shigy & Romy, and of course Gina's trio of hotties.

Running Rocks!!

Anonymous said...

Great post! Don't forget the weekly Tour coverage with John Tesch and his music. In 89 I was at my first newspaper job and I was able to read the two paragraphs of wrap up and the daily results and overall standings that moved on the wires. My paper never ran it of course. At least until the last day when I finally convinced the sports editor that Lemond's win was worth at least a mention on an inside page.

1. is that joop third from the left behind sean kelly? just taking a wild guess.

What, no Stetinas?

Anonymous said...

D'oh! commented on the wrong post.

Anonymous said...

Just to let you know, some runners DO read your blog, and we ARE the nicest ones out there. he he :)
Thanks for the race details, always appreciated for both running and cycling!

Marco Fanelli said...

> some runners DO read your blog

Uh-oh!! I better watch what I say from now on.

Naaaa....

Somebody should do a study to see who's more neurotic, cyclists or runners. Both are off the scale of normal I think. :)

Anonymous said...

I think you're right, both runners AND cyclists are a little bit neurotic...in a good way of course. If I like both sports, does that make me completely neurotic? ;)

Marco Fanelli said...

Yeah, In a good way!

Actually, in my professional pscho-babbling opinion, people who both run AND ride are less neurotic than the single-sport athletes. They show healthy balance and fewer OCD tendencies. Of course, this doesn't include triathletes.... They're certifiably nuts.

(hopefully no triathletes read this blog...)