08.23.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 3:42 pm by Tori
Popsicles - all kinds, flavors and types. However, when I refer to this amazing frozen treat I’m talking the kid kind, real deal!
Joan unknowingly knows my favorite summer time treat and weakness - Popsicles. I regularly eat and indulge in these each day for lunch. Yes, Eddy’s Whole Fruit Strawberry, Wholefoods Caribbean Punch, Kroger soda flavors, melon flavors, banana popsicles, old skool Flavor-ice…mmmm…
So, for my last official CAC workout in NC, popsicles was the perfect grape-y way to say goodbye.
And for that I want to say thank you.
Thank you fellow CAC-ers for all the good times, memories, encouragement, withstanding of outrage, and camaraderie. Thank you for sweating it out in August on the early portion of the hills series, for letting me go ahead on my fast cool downs, and warm-ups, for letting me be one of the guys. Thank you for an open forum where I can cry and rave and race and laugh. The opportunities and support and experience that CAC has been for me is not able to be captured with mere words.
To end I wish to post a memory/comment for those I ran with:
Hombres:
Tyler - Umstead long run entertainment. Thanks for being willing to let me tag along.
Devin - Sheer speed. I’m always amazed at the runner you are.
John - Such a secret treasure trove. There are so many layers to your personality and I only begun to scratch the surface on our XC Championships road trip.
Brock - Hilarious! Such a sense of humor and amusement.
Rob - quiet and smart. Clickity-clack man and crazy legs. Two terms that are now permanent parts of my vocabulary.
Jason - a huge heart. Thank you for making me feel at home right from the beginning and always saying hello at practice. Oh and your stories - classic!
Victor - the Fleet Feet man. I’ve enjoyed our random chats at the store, on warm-up, and about PT.
Ben - One of the first people I met (outside of CAC). It has been great to run with you in both settings, you are so easy going.
Brent - the tech-y. You have such a lively demeanor, but when it comes to business, punch it out.
Marc - I’ve loved reading your posts from afar and seeing your different approach to training. I like to think one day I’ll again achieve that machine quality you display in your distance running.
Dave - handsock gloves and websites. 
Thank you.
Ladies:
Joan - challenger, coach, sister friend. Always so enthusiastic, but raw-ly yourself, unabashed - LOVE IT!
Trish - cheetah fighter. Joan first described you as a cheetah to me and when running XC country with you I saw what she meant. But, you’re so funny and “out of the box,” kind, and happy. An amazing person, runner and mother.
Caroline - smiley. You always have a great smile and listening ear. I love that you have a blue beetle for a car and I thank you for your advice and always listening to me and just letting me be me.
Diana - Fellow outdoor pool runner. That was great even though I was waaay late. You are such an encourager. You are so straight forward in the perfect way and I love that, but I really can’t thank you enough for encouraging me to look at my life and be unashamed of what I want and go for it.
Sarah - Racer. You are so welcoming, team orientated, and understanding. I feel so comforted and calm when with you. You always make me feel included and I’ve loved talking academia with you.
Kim - advice giver. You are so grounded and great at offering advice and the other perspective. I’ve enjoyed our bit-runs together and doing those 100s with you every week. Couldn’t have done it without you.
Rebecca - such an awesome first workout partner.
There is so much more that could be said and so much that applies to various team members. So just THANK YOU!
I’ll be seeing you on the roads and keeping in touch from afar. Best to all on this coming year. I can’t wait to see the next phase of CAC and what the new drum circle rhythm may be.
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08.21.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 10:21 am by Joan
I’m not kidding … it really is this picturesque:
Last night, CAC started its 2008 fall training season with a traditional Team Wednesday “bench-to-bench” workout at the Mason Farm reserve. Few people in Chapel Hill know of this tiny patch of paradise on the edge of town. Most days I run out there, the only company I have is bunnies, birds, and bugs. Most days, Mason Farm is peaceful and eerily quiet … but not yesterday. CAC ran 6 [8 for Victor and Kevin!] sets of out-and-back on a 1200m section of trail with what I call 1/2 time recovery. If it takes you 4 minutes to run an interval, then 1/2 time recovery is 2 minutes; full time recovery is 4:00. Pretty simple. Serious improvement for distance runners comes when you can whittle that recovery time down, down, down. I used to start my 1,000m repeats with 90 seconds recovery and then get them down to 30 seconds between each 3:00 interval (yikes, that’s 1/6th time recovery, if I am doing my math right). Anyway, if you want to open your fall training season with a bench-mark (heh heh), head over to Mason Farm and try disturbing the peace!
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08.18.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 5:55 pm by Joan
Here’s a great article on our USA 10k bronze medalist, Shalane Flanagan:
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer08/trackandfield/columns/story?id=3537975
Note, she mentions our warm-up loop … Gimghoul.
I don’t know a runner in Chapel Hill who hasn’t logged a gazillion miles on this 1200m loop.
Congratulations, Shalane!
USA USA USA
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08.17.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 5:31 am by Brock
A few months and time zones later, I’ve returned to the blog. After struggling through the last part of my track season, I took a few months off from running and somehow ended up in Bangkok, a city only rivaled perhaps by Cairo in terms of unfriendliness to running. I arrived in early June and will be here until December studying abroad and hopefully not causing an international crisis. History is on my side in that respect.
Like anyplace, Thailand has its pros and cons.
Pro: Unlimited potential for growing out facial hair. . . even for those that have not been genetically endowed with a gorgeous mane along the jaw line. In case you were wondering, that includes me. Here’s a sample.
Con: Olympic coverage is minimal, at least in terms of semi-mainstream events. Boxing, shooting, and weightlifting dominate the airwaves, while swimming and track broadcasts are few and far between. Phelps’s eight golds? Nope. Flanagan’s bronze? No dice. Given the tape delays you all are subjected to back home you must think I’m crazy, but still, I’m envious. How envious? I almost cried when I got to watch the second round of the women’s 100m. That’s right, the 100m.
Pro: Delicious meals for less than $1.
Con: Not getting used to the delicious meals until after a month in.
So enjoy the broadcasts back home and also the streets and trails of Chapel Hill as you’re inspired on your run by the latest track event. I will start to run again soon, but my running will only truly begin in earnest once I’m back in Chapel Hill. It’s great to hear of everyone’s training and I wish you all the best the coming fall.
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08.14.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 9:27 pm by Joan
In response to Marc’s earlier query (and Brent’s subsequent comment), here is my comment on this article (from the New York Times, Aug. 11 ‘08) about legalizing drugs in sport:
August 14th, 2008
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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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07.23.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 9:09 am by Diana
I must admit, I have been hesitant to post given all the thought-provoking and insightful posts of late. I haven’t had any deep thoughts about running lately. Perhaps this is due to the fact that what started out as a great trajectory of summer training was interrupted by a wedding and then a nasty cold. The recent heat wave certainly didn’t help my motivation to get back at it!
But, on to my thoughts about my new-found love for “strength” training. I started consistenly doing yoga this summer. I have always loved yoga, but it can get pricey and can be intimidating (have you ever seen someone do the Bird of Paradise pose?!). But, I can’t lie — the real precipitant was actually my wedding — who wants to have bad posture in a strapless dress? The strength and flexibility gained beyond that was just going to be icing on the cake.
I’ve discovered that although my legs are strong and my hips relatively open, there are back and shoulder muscles I didn’t know existed. I also realized I have a flexible lower back, which makes it all the more important to have a strong core (I need to find a way to make crunchies fun…). After yoga, I consistently wake up the morning after feeling like pulled taffy, which is much less comfortable to me than being really sore from a hard workout. But, overall I end up feeling stronger, more flexible, more centered.
I’m loving yoga as my “strength” training — and since I hate going to the gym, this is a step in the right direction! Hopefully my finances will allow me to continue my newfound love (second, of course, to running).
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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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07.02.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 5:02 pm by Joan
While digging in the garden, I happened upon the perfect visualization/metaphor for when you know your racing season has come to an end. I was using a sharp, pointed shovel to really turn the earth and on one fierce downward thrust, I unintentionally chopped off the tail of a blue skink (lizard). The tail-less lizard skittered off, while - to my utter surprise and disgust (?) - the lizard’s tail squirmed a flopped around of its own volition for quite some time. Now, what does this have to do with the season’s end? As I was watching this grisly scene, I thought of Asher at his high school nationals race and of Brent tacking on his marathon at the end of track season. Both runners were like the tail still going after the season had been cut off. Asher managed to eek out an 800m and a 400m PR at the local all-comers meets, well after his regular high school season had finished up, but hanging onto intensity for a mile against the best freshmen in the nation was a too-tall order. And Brent, bravely jacking his mileage up for 5 weeks after his 10,000m PR at Penn Relays way back in April, must have known it was a long-shot to race a fast marathon. He went for it though, as did Asher, and THAT is what each of these athletes should take away from this season. Yeah, they flopped around in the end - like the skink’s tail - but they were still going, still striving, still fighting for their dreams.
Now, here’s my question … will that tail ever grow back?
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