Smurf Shoes...

Good morning!  Hope that you are doing well and enjoying the first Sunday morning in June.  I had a 4.5 mile recovery run this morning and ended a great week of training:  48.5 miles run this week.  This is the third time in four weeks I've run 40 miles or more.  So...here goes.  My race update!

Smurf Shoes, Glove Socks!

First and foremost:  Smurf Shoes.  Last week I went to Bluemile in Broadripple and tried on the new Nike Pegasus running shoes.  They felt great, were light, and well cushioned.  They were also Smurf Blue.  I love them.  I know, can you imagine me wearing blue shoes?  I bet they would sell out of these in Lexington or any town sans Louisville in the great state of Kentucky.  Regardless, I love my smurf shoes.  The race yesterday went pretty well.  First off, it was hot--88 degree and humid hot.  I knew at the start line that I'd have to pace myself well.  In my head the real trade off I was making was try and average around 6 minutes a mile and break 30 minutes or start a bit slower and see what happens.  Gun went off and we started the race.  I felt really good the first mile and hit a 6:09 for the first mile and was in 7th place.  Then....I got carried away.  I picked up my pace and ran a 5:39 second mile and was in a very solid 5th place.  The third mile was run in 6:09 and that was 17:58 for three miles.  Not too bad.   However, my breathing was labored, my legs felt like jelly, and the fourth mile was rough.  I ran a 6:47 4th mile and could feel my 5th place standing in real jeopardy.  The heat kicked my tail on the 5th mile and I was just done.  I struggled to run a 6:59 last mile for a 31:45 time and a 7th place finish.  I did not finish the way I had hoped and probably would have finished 5th had I not pushed the second mile.  Running is funny.  After 100s of races and 23,000 miles of running I can still make a very simple mistake.  The lure of feeling good early in a race sometimes makes you forget that you'll pay if you don't pace right.  Being off on my pacing is typically how my first race of the season goes.  If I waited until I was in perfect shape to race, then I'd never race.  Getting out there and getting after it is much more important than running the perfect race.  To put it in perspective, typically in a five mile race I would run each mile within 10 seconds of each other.  Yesterday, there was a 1:20 difference between my fastest and slowest mile--yes, I have some work to do.  Overall, though, I am proud to have finished 7th out of 295 people.  I ran three miles at my goal marathon pace and I have five months to get ready.  This is a great starting point. 

Before diving in to my #3 best for the week I wanted to write a couple comments about Ohio State Coach Jim Tressel who resigned this week in the face of a NCAA Investigation.  For me, Jim Tressel resigning was inevitable.  Honestly, it's not because his players traded OSU memorabilia and bowl game rings for tattoos and cash.  It's not because the OSU players were driving cars from a local car dealership without paying.  For me, it's that when Jim Tressel was presented with the information last fall he did not do the right thing.  Coach Tressel could have notified his compliance office and the NCAA.  If he had done that, then the players would have been suspended.  But...Jim Tressel would still have a job, would be seen as extraordinarily ethical, and the good name of Ohio State would not have a huge blemish.  Instead, he covered it up and lied about it. Jim Tressel is an influential coach and was charged with the responsibility of coaching and developing young men.  Part of that development has to be development of character.  By not stepping up and telling the truth, Jim Tressel did everyone of those young men a disservice.  Coach Tressel let winning become more important than doing the right thing.   In my line of work--working with college students--I am always talking about doing the right thing even if it's the hard thing to do.  As a society, we don't teach this concept enough.  One of the most influential individuals in my life was my high school cross country coach (as referenced above).  While I will not go into specifics on this blog, I know for a fact that when presented with ethical challenges Coach Rowe always went the hard way and erred on the side of accountability.  I also know that he probably could have had a couple more state titles if he ignored character type issues.  However, for him teaching young men about character was more important than simply winning.  For me, that lesson is one I remember and is far more significant than winning a cross country meet or state title.  Being able to win in running comes and goes.  Having character and always doing what's right stays with you forever.  And that...folks...is why I'm so adamant that Jim Tressel needed to be gone--it's not what the players did but rather that he lied.  Lying is unacceptable and winning can never become more important than character.

Three best for the week:





Spent At End of Race


1. Sarah!  She came to my race last night and brought Myles.  It was not easy because it was hot and humid and there were 100s of people.  Myles is not the easiest to deal with in the heat.  I was very glad to see her at the end of the race and happy she came!
2. Racing!  I enjoyed being able to race.  It was great.  Enough said.
3. HRL Student Staff:  Their work, dedication to attending interviews to help us select RD, and just their commitment to giving their best effort is humbling to me.  Even the undergraduate student staff that have graduated have not checked out.  Their work speaks volumes about their character and it's been needed as I've used some of them more than others.

Have a great week.  Happy running to you.