I ran about 4 miles outside around my neighborhood. Foot was sore and groin was tight so I didn’t want to push it too much. I was stopped and asked by an old lady where “Hideaway lane” was on my way out. I grew up and lived in Hollis for 20 years of my life and have never heard of “Hideaway lane”. I couldn’t help her but I gave her a possibility of where it might be and continued on my run. She ended up hitting me as I was crossing the street on my way back….just kidding. I did end up seeing her on my way back and she said she couldn’t find it. I said “well, I guess its a true embodiment of its name.” She stared at me and  immediately drove away.

Got a massage later in the day. Waiting for my rematch against my brother on the basketball court. He is the worst.

Going down to Boston tomorrow for some meetings and to visit some friends. Great to be back.

We Are One 365.

AR. NF. NR.

Nick

Always nice to be back home. Combination of the cold weather, the california weather turning me into a wuss, and not working out til the sun already went down, I went to my high school to work out…inside…on a treadmill. Not the best especially because the treadmill was a very old school one.

3 mile warm up.

3 mile tempo run.

1.5 mile recover

1 mile fast

2 mile recover.

Felt alright but being inside, not being able to spit, and obviously a treadmill wasn’t the ideal condition. Played a little basketball with my brother afterwards. I’ll say it. He beat me but my lateral movement was limited due to my groin. Yeah, I said it. And I’m sticking with it. The amount of games we played is irrelevant and how much he won by is also not important. Brotherly love. We Are One 365.

AR. NF. NR.

Nick

Easy 4 miles in the morning. Lots to do before I leave tonight to go back to New Hampshire. Wicked excited. A little over 90 miles total for last week. Will back off a bit this week and potentially for a race on Saturday at Boston University. Will let you know.

We Are One 365.

AR. NF. NR.

Nick

Saturdays, as all my loyal followers know by now, are the longer runs for my week. Normally anywhere between 14 and 18 miles but I was cautious today since this run two weeks ago was when my Achilles started to hurt so I didn’t want to, after two weeks of rehab with it, go through that again. So I only went out about 45 minutes then turned around and came back for a total of about 13 miles. Foot was starting to hurt at the end so it was definitely a good call to cut it a little short. I don’t mind uphills at all. But when you’re going uphill on slanted ground knowing that you’re going to have to come down this same slanted area, its not a feeling of joy. I just really dislike uneven footing and when its uneven and slanted, its the living worst. And this week was a pretty high mileage week (90) compared to last week (50) coming off a minor injury. In addition, this week was tough with three track workouts so it was definitely a smarter move to be careful today. The run was great though with some gorgeous views of Catalina Island and the ocean. The friggin Catalina Wine Mixer…

I will get about 4 miles in this afternoon before the Christmas Track Party.

The new site looks awesome. Well done Marena and Matt. We Are One 365.

AR. NF. NR.

Nick

Started off with a 9 mile run up to the horse ranch place that I stumbled upon in the canyons. Not a lot of cars which was nice but a good amount of horse dung which was not good. Ran in a pair of shoes that happened to be pretty old and didn’t see one of the piles so that was an awful 30 min run back to my apt. Luckily, it was trash day so the dumpster was right outside and I, very quickly, added my shoes to it. Now it was a pretty warm day so I decided to take my shirt off before the run. It was one of my favorite running shirts because it was given to me from a friend who runs for the same track club as one of the best American distance runners in the country, Ryan Hall. And the shirt was the team’s logo. Anyways, I tied the shirt to the bannister next to the stairs going out of my apartment and when I returned after tossing my shoes away, the shirt was missing. There happened to be some repair men working on the apartment and I asked if they saw it. They said they did…about 20 minutes ago until someone came along and took it. I asked if they saw who took and they said yes but didn’t know who it was. Awesome!

Then I came up to the apartment, shoeless and shirtless, and wanted to take a shower. I checked my phone and saw that I had a text from my building manager. He wanted to inform everyone that there would be men working on a leak in the building so the water had to be shut off. No shower for me.

So I decided to make breakfast. After spending about 20 minutes on a pineapple and bacon chicken sausage, egg, cheese, peppers and pesto breakfast sandwich, I was ready to transfer it over to the bagel. As I was lifting it with the spatula, it slid right off and onto the ground. Normally (not saying this happens a lot), I would just wash it off and continue on. However, the water was still shut off. So I may or may not have wiped it off with a paper towel and continued to put it on the bagel. It may or may not have still been very good.

After breakfast, I rubbed my legs down with Bengay. I had to answer my phone and forgot about having some bengay on my hands still. Ended up touching my eye and getting bengay in it. Quick! Run to the sink and wash it out…oh right….no water still. Have you ever had bengay in your eye? I do not reccomend it. So yeah, awesome morning.

Ran 5 miles in the afternoon. Some tightness in the lower ab area but nothing to painful. 14 total on the day. In the canyons tomorrow.

We Are One 365.

AR. NF. NR.

Nick

I felt great in the morning and went for a 7 mile run. Got some dynamic stretches in and was still feeling very loose. Used the rolling stick to massage out for about a half hour. Did some exercises to strengthen my lower back and loosen up the hip areas. Need to start getting back into the hurdle work.

We were back at the track for a 3rd time this week. I figured it was going to be short but I didn’t know exactly what Coach had in mind because, like always, he never tells us. So we warmed up for two miles. Did 6 x 150 to loosen up. Jogged a lap. Then 6 x 200 at, basically, an all out sprint (26/27 per 200). It took me about 100 meters to even get my bricks, I mean legs, to move. Very tight, stiff, and felt like I couldn’t possibly get my legs to go any faster. We jogged a half mile afterwards where I jumped over two hurdles. I really need to get back into hurdle work.

Nice cold ice bath, as I type. Other than trying to keep the computer from falling into the water, its not too bad. It definitely helps keep the mind off the cold.

Til tomorrow…We Are One 365.

AR. NF. NR.

Nick

6 miles in the am.

PM practice at the track:

2 mile warm up

I figured it was time to tell Coach about how I was going to be going back to New Hampshire for the holidays. I was putting it off because he does not want any of us missing any days. So I told him. And he was not happy. Then we started the workout.

10 x 100m strides

6 x 150m

2 laps easy

3 x 400 m

2 laps easy

4 x 400 m

2 laps easy. I switched back into my trainers (regular running sneakers). Right as I finished tying them, Coach looked over and said, “You’re not done”. I realized that although the other guys were on their cool down and closing 100m strides, I was not done due to that fact that I would be gone next week. I smiled at him and he said, “We are having fun today”. Mind you, the previous 7 400’s were all sub 60 so it was a bit faster than even the hard workouts. I finished the 2 laps easy.

3 x 400 m

2 mile cool down with strides

Surprisingly felt pretty good during and after this workout. Joints and muscles felt strong and pain free. No complaints. Another day on the track tomorrow. Literally no idea what we will be doing. 3rd day this week on the track.

Lots of cool gifts out there this holiday season for the beginner or advanced athlete. One, for example (http://www.ems.com/product/index.jsp?productId=10851182&emssrcid=GoogleBase:PS10851182), is the rolling stick that I use everyday to massage the muscles. This is a very useful loosening tool and its travel size. Long car rides, visiting family over the holidays, present for the stiff athlete…easy to carry and use.

Can’t wait to see the new design for the site! We Are One 365.

AR. NF. NR.

Nick

Jim asks: I’m about to start going to a gym in Austin. I weigh a little over 200 pounds and want to get back in shape. What workout should I do to do this for an hour, 4 days a week?

Pretty basic starting point for anyone who is trying to get into shape. Very important note. You need to be careful when you’re first starting out. For anyone who pretty much never had to worry about health or your body whenever you go out for athletic activities; consider the added weight and time spent out of a healthy lifestyle.  It would be in your best interest to start off slow. Even if your condition is really not that bad, if you were to go out and start doing 30 minutes of cardio followed by weight lifting and some other exercises, your body is not used to that type of action with the added body weight. Going all out right off the bat can cause injury and prevent you from accomplishing your goals sooner. Here’s a good plan of attack for starting out and getting back into a routine:

Day 1: 20 minutes cardio (run, elliptical, spin, bike, lessening the amount of impact on the knees is key because that is one of the more vulnerable areas for injuries when working out with added weight), followed by some core work (sit ups, planks, push ups, lunges, squats) and some very light lifting (no more than 25 pounds for curls or upper body work), ending with 5 to 10 minutes of cardio (walking) to cool the body down

Day 2: 15 minute cardio, 15 minute lifting (still light), 10 minute cardio

Day 3: 30 min cardio (total time…so take breaks if needed, encouraged actually), light core (3 sets of 10 push ups/pull ups/sit ups etc)

Day 4: 15 minute cardio, 45 minute lifting session (still light for starting out), 5 cardio cool down

Rest days in between (but make sure to listen to your body). That’s just a basic breakdown for a beginner getting back into working out. Attacking one particular activity or part of the body can be very risky and sometimes dangerous. Much better to have a much wider range of focus and work on all areas of the body.

Today I ran 3 miles in the morning and 7 miles at practice with an 8 mile bike ride and both body clinics. We Are One 365.

AR. NF. NR.

Nick

I ran an easy 5 mile run in the morning followed by a good session of dynamic stretches and massaging of the calves and quads afterwards. Wasn’t sure what the workout on the track would entail or if I was even going to do it due to my Achilles.

Warmed up 6 laps on the track and my foot felt alright so I decided to continue.

3 mile fartlek run with every 150 meters alternating between fresh, good, and hard pace. 50 meters in between. About 16 minutes for those 12 laps.

3 x 800 (finally!!!…good pace, fresh, good pace) The first and third one just over 61 seconds per lap. 400 meter recover in between each 800.

1200 meter jog followed by a fast 400 (around 56 seconds)

Mile cool down with 10 x 100m strides. Body felt pretty good after all of that which is a good sign since I raced on Saturday. Also, this was this first workout that actually felt like a distance workout since we got to do 800’s. Need to work on my mechanics and form a bit but glad the speed is there.

About 15 total for the day.

We Are One 365.

AR. NF. NR.

Nick

If you can’t tell, I’m a fan of alliteration. Anyways, today was a pretty big day of rest for me. I really want my ankle/Achilles to recover from whatever its been going through. Since the fall racing season has basically come to an end, I want to hit the track season up nice and strong with no minor injuries. Next race will probably be towards the end of January, hopefully on an Indoor Track. Next up for training is in New England for 2 weeks working out with my brother, a member of the crew team at Cornell. Always a great guy to work out with. At the end of our respective sessions, we play a little one on one basketball but rarely finish the games because one of us ends up getting a little too upset. Isn’t that right, Alex?

Today’s run with Louie at the track was great. 30 minutes (about 4 miles) went by pretty quick and his questions are always so entertaining. They make me think so much about my own training and why my technique and idiosyncrasies are for warm ups, cool downs, starting line jitters, etc. Achilles felt alright but definitely needs to be strengthened. Will start some physical therapy sessions this week at a sports clinic in addition to incorporating massages into my schedule.

Glad that the Patriots got their 10th win and that Aaron Rodgers posted big numbers for my fantasy team.

Hope everyone had a great weekend. We Are One 365.

AR. NF. NR.

Nick