…so it must be true. Today was actually the second GTS (group training session) of our season and it went well! Except for the painful feeling in my knees after finishing the run (for only about 1.5 minutes, don’t worry Mom, haha) the run was a success. We completed a series of 3 OAB (out and back) runs where your goal is to run as far away on a given path for half the time and complete the second half in the same amount of time. Even through 3 years of running cross-country back in high school, I don’t remember training in this method, but it was great to be able to ramp up intensity. First 10 minute OAB was a warmup to get the legs loose and work on our form, second OAB was an intermediate speed that gave our bodies a good push, while the final trip was split to make the first half out a all-out hustle, while the return was a recovery run to let us cool down. Of course, with the cool New York air at 730pm today, cool down we did, and fast.
There was squats between OABs to train our bodies to feel as if we just got off a bike, and even though we are in the early stages, I can definitly tell that on race day I am going to look like a gimpy Manute Bol (more so than he usually was). At the end was core work, which is always fun to try to challenege yourself to put up with intense pain that the mind has a hard time understanding. What I mean is that just simple positions to put yourself in while sitting/laying on the ground results in an intense struggle to maintain form in just over 15 seconds, and I’m even in pretty good shape already! If I don’t get my six-pack by the end of this training, I think I’ll have to give it up trying to get it back.
As for the first workout, it was kind of weak, as the coaches just wanted to get everyone moving, so it was just a single, easy 10 minute OAB, followed by some running form excersices, and a quick trip to a running store to grab some gear for those who needed it. I’ll go over the running form in the future, but suffice to say, I’m surprised how much I learned about how to run. Seriously. It is going to be a contant fight to keep my strides shorter and quicker, as I’m acclimated to using my 6’6″ frame to get places very fast by opening up the stride.
Also, Domino’s backed out of giving us a few free pies for after our training session, so even though I never buy their crappy pizzas anyway, I’ll still say I’m on an official Domino’s Pizza boycott. C’mon, we’re trying to cure cancer here!
Big challenge for myself this weekend as I’m travelling to Pittsburgh for my good friend Rob Booth’s wedding. Will I have the resolve to get up early on Saturday morning and get a run in before the celebration begins? We’ll see, but I should be able to get a quick post in Saturday morning if I pull it off. If it’s all quiet here, you know I’m going to blame my laziness on the peer pressure of the night before… 
Go Pens,
R
