The (Magic) Stick
Hopefully the popular New York rapper named after a denomination of money won’t mind the title of this post. But having come off a recent injury, I truly have discovered a magic stick. Otherwise known as “The Stick” it is a simple handheld massage device that you roll over any muscle, tendon or ligament you want to stretch and it gently stretches it out. Magic!
After using it for a couple days, I’m now back in the running saddle again and building back into my marathon training.
Of course, it was just more than a slim plastic stick that got me back on my feet, I also did some dynamic stretches I picked up while under the tutelage of John Zupanc at UWO. That and just running while being conscious of your body, seemed to help as well. If I started tightening up, I stopped and stretched, something I’ve never done any other time in my running, ever.
So, to say the least, I’ve learned a couple things from my latest setback. And, to be honest, I think it is a good thing. If I had started my training any earlier, I most likely would have burned out by the time the marathon (October 5) rolls around. As I learned from my last marathon, the training process takes a lot of focus and determination to just keep going.
On a side note, I have an interview with the one and only Kurt Knueve in the pipeline. Kurt is a former All-American at Hillsdale College in Michigan and also a very nice person. But then again, aren’t all runners?
Posted Friday July 18, 2008
For Old Time's Sake
Last night, like a great number of track fans in the Madison area, I made a 20 minute round trip to watch a three and a half minute race.
It was well worth it, it isn’t everyday you get to see a couple Olympians duke it out over 1500-meters here in Madison. Matt Tegenkamp, Paul Riley, Chris Solinsky and Sean Quigley ran a metric mile at Don McClimon track on Tuesday night in an attempt to break the Wisconsin record of 3:40 or something like that.
They did so easily. Tegenkamp won in 3:37 with Riley at 3:39, Solinsky at 3:40 and Quigley at 3:43. I think the coolest part was after the race when Tegenkamp gave out high fives to spectators that lined the track.
It will probably be the last time the Tegenkamp, Solinsky, Riley trio will ever race in Madison. It looks like after the Olympics, the trio will be moving out to Oregon, along with former Badger CC coach Jerry Schumacher. If it was the last race, they couldn’t have gone out any better!
Posted Wednesday July 16, 2008
Playing the Waiting Game
Back in February, when we had snowdrifts that towered over your average-sized SUV, I was counting down the days until summer.
Now the snow is gone and its summer and I can’t run. For the last two weeks I’ve had a nagging pain in my left leg, somewhere in my hamstring and IT band. It doesn’t feel like anything serious. I think it just needs some time to heal.
But sitting at home while I watch runners, walkers and bikers revel in the snow-free outdoors has been hard. But if I’ve learned anything from running, it’s that patience can just as important as hard work.
Still, it’s been tough going. Last weekend, my ever-eager training partner Matt cranked out 22 miles in preparation for the Lakefront Marathon, which I’m running with him. There’s nothing wrong with getting in 22 miles during marathon training but the thing is the Lakefront Marathon isn’t until October.
I did my best to stay right with Matt in our training for the Madison Marathon but I think for this go-around, I’m going to take it little easier. I’ll probably max out with a 20-22 mile run instead of 28. And I’m already ahead of myself by not training like crazy five months out from the marathon.
In preparation for the Madison Marathon, which was at the end of May, Matt and I were in peak shape by the third week of January. Trying to maintain peak fitness for five months is hard and stupid. By the time May rolled around, I was so sick of running that I barely got out at all. On the positive side, I didn’t have to worry about not tapering.
So a little pain in my leg is slowing me down in my training for Lakefront, so what? If it still hurts in August, I might start to get a little concerned but for now, it’s giving me a nice little break. Come October, I’ll be ready to go.
Posted Tuesday July 8, 2008
Solinsky Frustrated with Olympic Trials Race
I know I’m a couple days late on this post so you’ve probably already heard that former Badger Chris Solinsky just missed out on making the Olympic team in the 5,000.
And when I say just missed out, I mean it! Going into the last lap he had the lead and he even was in contention the whole way until the final couple hundred meters. He finished in fifth place, only 3 seconds off third place.
The good news is his former college teammate and training partner Matt Tegenkamp placed second and will be representing the US in Beijing. Jonathon Riley, a former Stanford standout, who has been training in Madison with Tegenkamp and Solinsky placed 13th. He represented the US in the 5,000 in 2004 Olympics.
The Capital Times published this interesting article yesterday. Apparently Tegenkamp and Solinsky had a strategy for the last 1,200 meters of the race that involved Tegenkamp taking the lead with one lap to go. Tegenkamp did not take the lead and Solinsky was forced to lead two laps instead of one. Leading this extra lap may have possibly taken away valuable energy that might have helped with his kick at the end of the race. Who knows?
Reading the article, it sounds like Solinsky learned some important lessons from the race. Either way, he ran a great time and will no doubt be a top contender in 2012 (Yes, there's already a homepage for the 2012 Olympics).
Posted Wednesday July 2, 2008
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