07.31.07

Accountability

Posted in The Blog of Jabaut at 8:52 pm by Jason

ac·count·a·bil·i·ty  [uh-koun-tuh-bil-i-tee]

–noun

At work, where I live during every weekday, I have a few running-related decorations adorning my desk and walls.  I have a big poster of Pre asking, “Where Are All The Rock Star Runners?”  I have a small carolina-blue paper clock that reads, “Gone Running.”  And I have a little yellow sticky note that sits unceremoniously atop my desk, often buried under mail or miscellaneous paperwork.  It reads “ACCOUNTABILITY,” and it is underlined. 

I wrote the note a couple months ago, when I was making my final preparations for US Outdoor Nationals and a hopeful bid to make the US World Team in the 1500m.  In light of Joan’s recent post about stating our goals, this topic seems especially relevant.  I thought it was important to speak my goals aloud, to make a statement to my community and be held accountable to more people than just myself.  The note was a reminder to myself to write a post on the CAC Blog about my goals, kind of like a press release…  But I was too scared (of success? of failure?) to tell people my goals, or even say them out loud.  The note has since become a blemish on my desk, a constant reminder that I did not believe in myself enough to be forthright with other people invested in my running (my family, my co-workers, my training partners and teammates, my friends, my coach to a certain extent, and my community). 

I held myself accountable for my goals but quietly in the safety-net of my home and journal (I don’t think I even spoke them aloud at home…).  Well, here are my aforementioned goals that I was too shy, frightened and unsure about to admit to the world: I wanted to make the world team; I wanted to travel to Osaka, Japan and compete for the US; I wanted to run a personal best time in the 1500m; and I wanted to beat every single person in that final.  Broken-heartedly, I will admit that I did not even make the final.  But I’m coming clean; I had aspirations of greatness, not to be confused with delusions of grandeur (I hope). 

And now, after all that soul-searching and confessing, I have one last confession.  I’m training this year with one goal in mind: to make the US Olympic Team in the 1500m.  There, it’s out in the open.  Now I’m held accountable to everyone who reads this.  And I’m carrying the pain and baggage of not making last year’s final with me.  In more poetic terms, I’m going to train my body to perfection in order to purify my soul.  With that, I will reach a new plateau and become eligible to earn a spot on the 1500m US Olympic Team. 

Before you cast me off as crazy or heroic or naive, ask yourself: Who do you hold yourself accountable to?  Youself?  God?  Your wife?  Husband?  Children?  Parents?  Significant other?  Coach?  And do those people know what really drives you?  Do they know your goals?  I’m not going to lie to you, it’s an emotionally-charged subject, maybe because it requires an honesty that’s inescapable. 

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07.30.07

time to find new words

Posted in Uncategorized at 11:22 am by Joan

We had a small taste last week of what it will feel like to have the whole CAC gang back together again for fall training. Marathoners Marc and Brent rocked the 10 X 1,000m road intervals (broken into two sets of 5 with the following recovery: 90, 80, 70, 60 seconds on set one; 4:00 set break; then 60, 70, 80, 90 seconds recovery on set two); Marc averaged sub 3:00 while Brent was steady at 5:00 pace. Tyler and Jason did the first set as part of their summer conditioning and we had a “guest runner,” Florida asst. track coach Todd Morgan (a former UNC athlete of mine back in the day), join us for #’s 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7. I must say it was eerie seeing Todd’s familiar stride out there with my new batch of athletes. You know how a 4-lane highway is sometimes built right alongside a narrow country road? Well, that’s the way it felt last Wednesday. Todd represented my old coaching life, the old road running alongside the new. Later, Todd and I talked about what made our team at UNC successful … why we were all so close. Much of it had to do with building a dream together. Each season we/they re-committed to trying to make it to the NCAA championships (despite having NO scholarships on the men’s team) and trained like animals to get there. They spoke the words out loud at team meetings and in individual coaching sessions with me. As Linda Olsson says (below), “Everything lay exposed.”
As CAC begins its first full training year as a team, I wonder what we/they/I will say out loud about our goals. Marc and Brent have their fall marathons (Olympic Trials in New York and Chicago) but what about the rest of us? How high do we want to finish at Club Nationals? How hard are we willing to train?

http://www.usatf.org/events/2007/USATFClubXCChampionships/athleteInfo/awards.asp

I always look at prize money breakdowns to determine where the money pack is. Not because I’m greedy for $, but because that’s where the cut-off line is for “making it.” How deep does the money go? 5 deep. Okay, that’s a start: Top 5 at nationals.

Let the conversation begin.

“She was thinking about the book, about the continuous process of reshaping and reassembling all her ideas and plans. It was as if the book she had begun in another world, in another life, had been written by someone else. The words no longer had a connection with the person she had become. Here, there were no distractions other than those she carried within, and everything lay exposed. It was time to find new words.”

- Linda Olsson

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07.28.07

Familiar paths

Posted in Jeuland's Musings at 12:45 pm by Marc

I always enjoy running in Chicago. Most large cities are not really great places to run in, but I like to think that the one I grew up in is unique in this respect, particularly if one has easy access to the lakefront. From my parents’ place in Hyde Park, one can go south towards Jackson Park, the Museum of Science and Industry and the South Shore Country Club, or one can venture north towards downtown and beyond to Lincoln Park. You can even run along the Midway Plaisance towards the west and Washington Park. There’s no need to worry about dodging cars or poor air quality (the wind in this city takes care of that). My only gripe about running here is that despite these options, it can get boring after a while. There are none of the elevation changes I have come to enjoy, and then, running along the lake can seem repetitive after a while. For a few days, though, it’s splendid, and pretty easy to gauge one’s pace along the well-marked bike trails.

I also have good running memories here. My only two marathons have been run here, and I was happy with both of them. I have run some smaller fun races here such as last year’s Thanksgiving Turkey Trot in Lincoln Park. And there are the other memories too…

I am actually home for my ten-year high school reunion. It will be a time of introspection, introductions, and re-introductions. This is the first reunion for my graduating class from Lincoln Park High School. Shuwen is with me, and will get to see a whole new part of my life up close (she’s only formerly met one of the people attending ). It am looking forward to seeing people again.

And of course, interspersed with the reunion events and family time are my runs (including a long one) and some work I need to get done; those are the regulating features of this unusual trip.

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07.26.07

Home at last. . .

Posted in Uncategorized at 7:38 pm by Brock

I’ve finally made it back home and now get a month in exotic Wichita before heading back to Chapel Hill. I thought I’d wait a while before posting again to keep everyone on their toes as to whether or not I survived the encierro. Given the media coverage of the event, my plan backfired.

Pamplona was wild, looking like a college town on game day with everyone decked out in white pants and shirts with red sashes and scarves. The first guy we meet in the tourist office is an American expat now living in Israel who’s been to the festival for 40 years. And what’s the first thing he tells us? Don’t run.

We were only there for one night so of course I was going to run and I couldn’t help but treat it as a race. Walking the course, checking the footing at different points, and locating escape routes (luckily I’ve never had to do that in a race before). As we lined up the next morning with thousands of others, 90% of whom were intoxicated, I realized something: everything comes down to chance. I’d spent the past day trying to minimized my chances of dying (i.e. by sleeping the night before, not downing a bottle of sangria at 7 AM, knowing where I was going to “run”). Yet when it comes down to it, a bull still could’ve veered my way and put me on the cover of the “Diario de Navarra”. As luck would have it, the closest a bull got was 10 feet away on the other side of the course and I’m telling the story now from the comfort of my home as opposed to a hospital bed.

The main things I learned from the trip: (1) Sangria and bulls don’t mix. (2) I have more to fear from an owl in Chapel Hill (or used to) than a bull in Pamplona. (3) PRs don’t matter in an encierro. (4) Bulls always win in an encierro. The bullfight. . . that’s another story. (5) That is hopefully the last 100m race I ever do.

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07.24.07

Jeuland’s long run

Posted in Uncategorized at 11:07 am by Joan

Humble Marc would never post this himself, so I will.

Check out the long run he did over the week-end: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1160536

If you know the roads of Chapel Hill, you can appreciate the fact that Marc put Damascus Church in the beginning of his run. The first time I ran this road, as a freshman at UNC, I stopped cold at the bottom of one of the huge hills, turned to my teammate, and said, “This is a joke, right?”

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07.23.07

It’s all connected

Posted in Uncategorized at 1:53 pm by Diana

As I continue my cross-training (which, I’m happy to report, appears to be working in my keeping pace with all the land-runners out there), I’ve been instructed to add in various strengthening exercises. First, they focused on my left glute. I’m happy to report I can now feel it “fire” in situations it hasn’t in the past. I also finally got that kick in the butt I needed to be good about crunchies. Now I’ve had to add in exercises with one of those big inflated balls to start tying things together.

I had no idea that my entire back was so weak, and so integral to having a stable upper body. Over the next couple weeks I will be increasing the amount of time I’m allowed to run (yea for 45 minutes!) as well as the number and difficulty of strengthening exercises I’m doing. Here’s to my evolution as a lean mean running machine!

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07.20.07

mad money

Posted in Uncategorized at 12:51 am by Joan

2007 Midsummer Madness

Godiva’s Midsummer Madness night in the summer track series is quickly approaching. On July 25th, there will be five events: The Tom Hare Mile (open); 300m; Elite Mile (cash prizes); 1000m; and 007k (17 1/2 laps).

The Tom Hare mile is run in memory of Tom Hare and is open to all. As usual there will be three heats for various pace groups.

The Elite Mile for very fast runners will start between 7:50 p.m. and 8 p.m. and there will be separate races for men and women. Cash prices will be awarded for the first three finishers in each Elite Mile race: $100 for first place, $50 for second place, and $25 for third place. There is no entry fee for the Elite Mile; registration will on site.

Meet location: Durham Academy Upper School track.
First race begins at 7:00 p.m.

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07.19.07

Can it be good to run in such heat?

Posted in Jeuland's Musings at 5:25 pm by Marc

Like many runners this time of year, I find myself preoccupied with the outside temperature these days. It seems like my schedule organizes itself around two things only: the weather forecast and the occasional summer research meeting (most of my work is totally independent this time of year). It is nice to have that freedom, but it is still occasionally hard to find a good time to run.

I remember long ago when my sister came back from study abroad in India during college (I think it was the fall of 1997), saying that after a while in a hot, sweat-inducing climate, you get rid of many of the impurities in your body and start to give off a different scent (i.e. not as smelly). I did not really buy it at that time, and I still don’t today - I was in Mali long enough to know that people, myself included, can really stink no matter how long they have been in such a hot place - but I thought it was an interesting theory.

It seems like every other day there’s a story or article in the newspaper warning people not to exercise too hard during the summer months, and to make sure they stay hydrated. People become genuinely obsessed with this mentality of battling the heat and humidity. It’s hard not to become the running version of a hypochondriac in such instances, constantly assessing things over the course of a run: Am I dehydrated? Am I in danger of stopping sweating? Was that a chill I just felt? Am I cramping? Also at the forefront of my running mind is the race for which I am preparing; clearly this summer is the time to work, not cut back!

I also try to connect this to another Peace Corps experience I lived. I twice fasted with my host family and friends during Ramadan while living in Bamako, out of solidarity and trying to understand that part of their religious experience and practice. My second year in the country, I abstained from food but continued to drink (a partial fast) between sunrise and sundown. The third year I did the whole thing, not drinking water or eating food for about 12 hours each day, in a sweltering climate. I would definitely hit the stage of no longer sweating during that month, but I never hit the danger point that these articles incessantly warn you about. The whole thing gave me incredible respect for the countless people who fast throughout the world, despite the really difficult conditions they live in. Obviously I was not running at the time. Perhaps I was just lucky to be relatively healthy and fit, even without the running…

Stay hopeful, we are well into the summer!

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07.18.07

Memory Lanes

Posted in Uncategorized at 6:20 pm by Caroline

I am in the middle of a wonderful trip down memory lane in NYC and NJ. Rolling into town last weekend my husband and I enjoyed a fabulous wedding with a dear, old pal of mine from grammar school. No, you didn’t misread. Grammar School. In fact, I have multiple dear friends from that treasured time in my life. As much as I have grown up over the years, there is something so refreshingly honest about still being able to look into the faces of people I have known since I was 6 years of age. In addition, I not only have old and dear friends from that time, but I also have treasured running routes that span and spiral through my little old hometown in Northern NJ (exit 165 off the Parkway).

There is something so honest and pure about retracing one’s steps over carefully marked roads from years past. I have multiple loops that rope and wind along my first paper route, through makeshift games of hide and seek and wiffle ball, block parties, 4th of July parades, favorite place to play pick up basketball on summer nights, and past the street of my very first friend, Patty. Sentimental am I? Just a bit. At the same time, this nostalgia for the past is rejuvenating for my spirits. Every step along these quiet, leafy suburban streets emboldens me with a resurgence of energy for new things. Mileage, races, hills, all of it - somehow shoring up strength from my personal past seems like a sure way to race ahead towards the present and future. I embrace these quiet streets like the old friends they are to me, and along the way I am moved to train even harder for a future beyond these trusted roads.

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The View from the Elliptical Machine

Posted in Uncategorized at 11:28 am by Tori

It is a disheartening view after awhile. At first, it’s okay because it’s a change of pace, you never have to worry about the weather, you can keep up on your favorite shows or for me catch up on my trash magazine reading or some pleasure reading in general, but after awhile it gets old, especially when the weather is ideal for running, the spanish soap opera station is on along with three ESPN’s.

I guess it drives me nuts the most because I don’t feel like I should have been relegated to the elliptical for so long. At first, I was pleased to see the same people every morning. Now, I’m annoyed by the new comers and the close proximity with which they are to me on their machines. The slightest thing irritates me and so I try to drown it all out with music louder than anyone should listen to it.

The happiness I feel when I even contemplate the idea of running is way beyond my usual giddiness to the point that anyone would be suspicious. Yet, the longing for that run that path, the Tobacco Trail at 7am is haunting. I have tried to run, but to me it’s pathetic some (like five minutes) are okay, but it feels so slow and labored and difficult that I know it’s not right - it shouldn’t be like that, it can’t be right.

The aches I still feel when trying to sleep at night make me cringe. It shouldn’t take this long, it shouldn’t be this annoyingly aching. and yet I know it’s nothing intensely serious. I’m not sure how much more I can take of the view from my elliptical machine. Thank goodness for outdoor pools, but still it’s not the same and with a potential three week work trip looming in the next week - I may just break down.

I’m sure many a runner has experienced this, but to also think that I’m missing my favorite part of training (distance) in the summer months kills me inside. I think I’m going to have to just break down and get “fixed” instead of figuring out the crux of the problem - the conundrum of my body movements and changing them so I will no longer run into whatever “this” is in the future. But, I must say the process of figuring it out is interesting. Apparently there is a “movement/popping” in my lower back when I laugh, which has lead us to find that my second left rib from the bottom is somehow the cause of this. Yeah, fascinating! and in my words “retarded” at the same time. But, even though my body has continually changed through the past few weeks - in various ways - the view from my elliptical has not.

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