Answered

Three questions were asked of me lately, two by friends and one of myself. Thought I might use this opportunity to address them.

Q. Is Hicham the same person as in this article?

A. Mark, I have no idea how you came across the TC article but as Dr. Evil already pointed out, yes, he is the same Hicham that ran with us in Boston. Don’t be fooled by the moniker, it couldn’t be further from the truth.

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Q. Doesn't Jack Daniels’ state that repeats at that pace should not exceed 5 minutes each (re: my w/o last Tuesday)?

A. Thomas, the short answer is yes. I believe that Daniels’ is one of the best coaches around and I’ve had success with his marathon program. As I train for the RVM though, I thought I’d try something different. I’ve built a framework based on Gabriele Rosa’s emphasis on speed (arguably the world’s greatest marathon coach), allowed for 2-weeks of transition, and then tacked on an approach used by Ronaldo da Costa (2:06:05). As a check, I’ve overlaid this on my preparation for the California Int’l Marathon in 2006 (my fastest marathon to date)... the result is eerily similar.

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Q. What the hell was Bruce thinking when he gave me this w/o in 2006, and why am I doing it again?

A. Because I want to reconnect with my speed. Almost three years ago, Bruce gave me the following w/o as I prepared for the CIM, 3x [600 2:00, (1’) 1,000 3:12 (3’)], and in an effort to build upon the past I attempted the session Saturday morning.

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I wasn’t too worried about the 600s (2:00), but the idea of running 1,000s at +/- 3k pace (3:12) was worrying. I really don’t enjoy the discomfort of running 5k pace, and I like 3k pace even less. Not wanting to dwell on the inevitable though, after running a short warm-up I hopped straight into the first 600. I kept the rhythm steady and told myself not to worry about finishing 2” slow; much better than the alternative. As the seconds ticked away during my recovery, I could only grin as I toed the line about to begin the faster paced interval. 3:11, wow, that was unexpected.

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I tried to concentrate on relaxing during the second set but as the times indicate, I believe there is an inverse relationship with these concepts where I’m concerned. The last set rolled around all too soon but as it turned out, I shouldn’t have worried. That is not to say there wasn’t a little bit of desperation in the last lap.

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2:02, 3:11

2:03, 3:14

2:01, 3:11

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As I was cooling down, two friends of mine showed up at the track to start their own w/o, 6x200. I watched them for the few and then was coerced into keeping them company for a couple. I couldn’t believe the butterflies in my stomach as we started, but all that quickly vanished. Can’t recall running that fast in quite a while, 27.3. I was half way through the second 200 when I felt my blood turning to concrete and decided to shut in down coming out of the corner, 29.1. Fun though, stupid considering my achilles, but fun.

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Training:

Thursday: steady 35:56

Friday: easy 38:42

Saturday: 1:05:52 with 3x(600m (1’), 1,000m) (3’) + 2x200m

Sunday: easy 1:56:55

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Weekly mileage: 6h24’18”, +/- 90k or 56 miles