08.03.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 12:33 pm by Victor
Does running make you high? This was the first thing my Western Civ professor once asked me while we were reviewing material for his class. He has asked if I was an athlete at Carolina because I was wearing the team issues gear around campus one day. I explained to him that I was a long distance runner.
This conversation has been coming to mind lately because I’m getting fit. I feel great on most of my runs and when I finish a run at a sub 5 minute mile during a tempo and I’m barely breathing hard….I’m high. I finished my tempo this week so pumped up that I continued by doing strides, quick feet, hurdle drills, 25 minutes of core, pull ups, and of course push ups. We get our running high when we feel or see the results in personal bests or just great workouts. The point of this post is that I wanted to share my running high with everyone and hope that everyone is feeling the same way as we come closer to Aug 20! I hope that everyone is having a great summer and is looking forward to running fast times!
I’m currently visiting home! It is the first time in 8 months that I’ve had the chance to see my family and it feels great. It is currently 57 degrees outside with thick fog on the Mendocino Coast. I’m about to take off on a run and wearing long sleeves. Such a drastic difference from Chapel Hill. Take care everyone!
Run Hard!
Victor
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07.03.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 10:50 pm by Victor
One of the hardest things to do in any sport is to earn the right to represent your country in the Olympics. Over the past couple of days I’ve been glued to the races on TV. Watching my former Tar Heel teammate’s punching their tickets to Beijing! Watching athletes dreams come true after years and years of training. Incredibly talented and determined humans like my very own coach. It is an incredible feeling to watch. Better than any Superbowl, NBA finals, or Euro 2008. This means more to me. My dream is to one day be amongst those fighting for a spot. A dream that all of us on CAC share with each other.
I can’t explain how jealous I am of those watching in person from the stands at Hayward Field! It’s been two days of rest for the athletes and spectators. Now I’m 10 min away from watching some more sweet races from Eugene!
GO USA!
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05.14.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 11:01 pm by Victor
I want to thank everyone who came out to the track on Friday night to watch the 5K at UNC! It was a great feeling to have so many people cheering me on…it was amazing. I came into the race with a goal of running sub 15min for 5K and fell short. I was on track through 3k and then started to lock up and fall apart. I ended up running 15:27. I was happy to run the CAC standard but was disappointed that I didn’t reach my goal. I didn’t leave the track with my head down though. I felt so amazing through 3k…running 8:58 and then 9:37 for 2 miles. I want to be there again next time but be prepared to hammer at that point and keep the same pace. I feel like I’m learning so much from racing on the track. I tend to just space out sometimes due to the nature of going around in circles for so long. Everyone has always told me that I run so much faster in cross-country and on the road. I do get intimidated by the track because I haven’t performed up to my potential. I felt the same way after running 31:40 for the 10K last year at Duke.
I learned something on Friday night though…running on the track is more mental than it is physical. You need to be fierce, hungry, and a little crazy to just stay focused for so many laps. I’m getting little more fierce, hungry, and I’m crazy about getting on the track and training for my sub 15 min performance. During workouts…when you hit that 12th 400 during your repeats…the workout has only started! Having that mind set will only translate to my races. I’m so lucky to have a wonderful coach and great teammates…it’s time to get this done! GO CAC
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05.03.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 12:22 pm by Victor
The idea of possibly stepping on a deadly snake and it biting my leg is scary to me. I never experienced this running in California. What scared me in California was running in the foot hills and before entering the park…noticing the “be careful for Mountain Lions.” It said that if a mountain lion was to appear…look big and make noises. I’m thinking I weigh 135lbs and I’m 5,9″…hmmmm…I’m going to be a snack to that Lion.
Anyways, I was running yesterday and thought that I jumped over a little branch. Then I I had this feeling that as I jumped this twig had a funny design. I stopped and looked back… it was a copperhead! I saw 8 of them last summer training in Chapel Hill but this is the first of the Spring.
I was also chased by a goat in California once. What have you been chased by that has scared you?
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02.05.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 12:34 am by Victor
“The longer I run, the smaller the problems become. Impossible is Nothing!”
-Adidas-
I was reading this quote from a poster I got from work and I started thinking… Life has it’s ups and downs. As Tyler mentioned below, running is a mental sport where we test our desire and will to overcome pain. It is a battle between who has more guts. Besides the thrill of competition and posting new personal bests…running is something else. Running is a therapy. I can only speak for myself and I hope some agree but no matter how depressed or sad I can be….running never fails to put a smile on my face. I could be having a terrible day before my run and once I start pounding with my teammates or alone…I always feel the weight come off my shoulders. I feel refreshed and motivated to attack any obstacle. As runners we know how to respond to disappointment or excitement. If we fall short in a race we know to suck it up and come back twice as hard. If we are victorious we raise the bar just a little higher. We always push for excellence and this translates to our regular lives. So no matter what happens in life I feel that as runners we are trained to deal with not only the lactic acid build up in our legs but the unpredictable challenges that life throws our way.
Life is just another race….woop woop
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10.14.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 11:18 pm by Victor
Hey everyone!
I thought I would share my unique experience I had this weekend in Raleigh. It was the first time that I had ever been so late to a race. Besides being late to the race, I had pulled an all night study session finishing a physics lab report one night before the race. I got a little confused with the directions to the race. I made it there at 8:35 ish and barely had time to register and visit the bathroom before the race started at 9:00! My warm-up consisted of jogging from the bathroom to the start which turned out to be a minute. The gun went off and my legs felt weak…like when you get up the morning after a hard workout and take your first few steps. I came through the mile at 4:57 felt comfortable but strange because my legs still felt numb. Finally, at two miles i split 9:56 and my legs were feeling more awake. I just remember seeing the 400 meter sign and I thought to myself….this is over already! I started to move and finished in 15:38. I remember smiling after the race and thinking 15:38 for a warm-up not bad. I was more satisfied with the effort than the time. I love hearing about everyones training. It has been very inspiring to me. Thanks for the great details Marc and Brent about the training sessions.
Has anyone had any unique pre-race experiences?
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