from the land of disappointed patriots fans

while many people were gearing up for america's most televised sporting event on sunday, i was attending a less popular but also noteworthy competition: the high school indoor state track meet. overall it was a great day for the kids. all of them performed well and several kids came out with some stellar performances. both teams ended up in the top ten. it was definitely interesting as a coach to see which kids really peaked. the training program for this season focused much more on strength and speed rather than accumulating miles. this really seemed to work for most of the kids but they peaked at different times and some of them more dramatically than others. i'm definitely interested in learning more about this training approach and continuing to experiment with the right balance of speed, distance, and strength.

as for my own running, i've taken some significant time off over the past month to try to remedy shin pain before jumping into boston training. my shins still aren't 100% but with the support and guidance of some pretty awesome people i'm starting with a new running schedule and strength training plan this week. without going into too much detail, i can give you a general overview of what i'll be doing. i am planning on only running twice a week: once for a long run and once for a workout. the rest of the days i will be cross training in the pool and on the bike. i've also invested in a shin splint compression sleeve and will be doing some exercises to hopefully strengthen some of the muscles that have been inflammed. finally, i will be lifting twice a week and alternating weeks of circuit work with supersets. this is all just experimentation and i'm interested to see how this will all translate into my sophomore marathon effort...boston's only 12 weeks away!

who's up for a challenge?

million mile ultra run

big goals, little steps

this is my first post for the lead pack and it only seems appropriate that i introduce myself on an evening where the new england weather changed my training and coaching plans for the day.

for a little under two months now i have been busy training for the 2008 boston marathon and volunteering as an assistant track coach at a local high school in the seacoast area of new hampshire. marathon training and coaching have been life goals of mine and this fall i experienced both for the first time by coaching a high school cross country season and completing the manchester city marathon. now with these experiences under my belt, my next big goal is to improve upon my initial performances.

for me one of the most challenging parts in this process of improvement is translating my big goals into the little steps that must be taken each day. as a collegiate athlete, daily training was supported by a strong network of coaches and teammates; as a post-collegiate athlete, my daily training is supported by a strong network of people who i sometimes call 'coach' or 'teammate' but most often call family and friends. as i learn to convert my goals into every day reality, it is the encouragement of these people that gets me out the door on a day like today when practice got cancelled and the most suitable footwear was snowshoes.

expect more updates from the seacoast before the next nor'easter!