Why Do You Run?

Just some inspiration before I head out on my Sunday long run to cap off a great week at 61 miles. 

I run to let loose

To unleash my deamons

To show them a clean pair of heels

To create art

because it's the only thing that I truly understand

I run to be free

Why I Will Suceed This Track Season

"Don't dream of winning. Train for it"

My past four years running at Shawnee have been up and down. My training was very inconsistent at times. Running too hard, too slow, low-mileage, high-mileage. I was all over the place. Often times we raced our workouts, running too hard too often, depleting out bodies of all glycogen levels before the race even started. Don't get my wrong, Eric Putnam lead me to times I'd never dreamed about in high school, and without his guidance and coaching I would not be the runner or person I am today. He left me hungrier than ever, but I did not truly understand how to run fast, but I did understand how to run hard and often times that lead to poor racing and poor training.

Since I've started training on my own here in Toledo, Ohio I've been able to analyze and educate myself on the basic principles of track and field. Running mileage everyday by yourself in the woods gives you a lot of time to think about the future and the present. More time then I'd like to admit, I often place myself in a race six months from now blazing into the bell lap, taking the lead and running away with it - and when I'm not dreaming, I often think about my training in all aspects. With the new addition of an extremely educated coach, and with the freedom to choose the length and races of my season, the amount of room to excel is vast.

I've come up with some simple steps or tips that I think can help any distance runner looking to take there running to the next level.

1) Keep it simple: Don't put all the focus on the details. Take a step back and look at the big picture. The more farther you run in distance the better aerobic fitness you have, the better you'll do. Don't be afraid to run doubles four, five, or six times a week.

2) The more consistent running you can get in, the better: Faster runs do not always equal better. take your easy days easy. When running 100 miles or more a week pace is the last thing you need to be thinking about. Don't be scared to run 7:30 pace if you need to. Consistent aerobic training equals better threshold.

3) In workouts run without the watch, go by feel: The goal of every interval or every workout is not to run as fast as you can. The key to running fast is to relax. Teach the body to put all energy into your mechanics and relax muscles that are irrelevant for speed. You want to be trying to run as relaxed as possible at a faster pace. There is a difference between running hard and running fast. If anything you want to be getting faster as the workout progresses, not slowing down.

4) The number one key to running fast is staying healthy: Quit drinking pop and eating artificial snacks. Your body relys on you to fuel it with the right nutrients and vitamins. Learn what works for you, and stick with it. Get into the habit of eating complex carbs before workouts and races, and high protein meals after hard efforts. You are constantly breaking down your body, and it is your job to recover as fast as possible to get the most out of each mile.

5) Learn how to run workouts just under your threshold: Figure out your threshold and use it to base your workouts and intervals off of. You should be just under your threshold and not struggling to complete the workout out or hit a certain pace. Again, go by feel and ease into the workout.

6) You've got to believe! This may be the most important aspect of your success. Running is an extremely mental activity. If you go into a race thinking there is no way you can run with these guys, or no way you can hold onto the pace, stop! You have to believe in your training and believe you are able and ready to run fast. Accept the discomfort as a natural part of the race and hang on, keep going and push through it!

I hope that anyone who reads this gets some knowledge or a better understand of why we runners do what we do. I am more then excited for the bright future that lays before me. By no means is it going to be a simple task, but one that will be with daily toils and hardship, and I'm gonna take it one mile at a time.

-BJW

Limited Distractions

"To win enough of the time to be considered successful 

you have to both care a great deal about it 

and also not care about it at all"

Recently I've been so tied up with school, work, and making sure I'm running that I am finding it hard to keep everything going smoothly. It is very difficult to juggle all of these while having some down time and relax. Often I neglect the important things just for some self satisfaction or just simply down time. I've been thinking recently how tied up I get in social media, that I am considering an experiment. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Letsrun, Tracktalk, Flotrack, and numerous amounts of music forums, and other time gasping websites. My entire day, if I'm in class, running, eating, or whatever I'm always on my phone, listening to music, on the internet, watching tv, literally sucked into this twentieth century technology hole.

What if I were to shut off my computer and put it in my closet. Turn my off 3g internet, set my cell phone to just take and receive calls, and leave it in my car in case of emergencies. Force myself to only access the internet at the university library. Leave the ipods locked away at home. Fully and truly break free as much as I can from these things that suck me into their orb. If I were to do this, how much time would I have to focus on studying, getting in touch with nature on my runs, or simply enjoying the sound of the wind?

Starting this Friday October 12th, I will do just that. I am hooping that my habit of spending hours sucked into this online world, will dim down a great bit as I realize the freedom of limited distractions. This will allow me to focus on what's important, and create a hardened orb of self concentration and time management. Along with this I will focus on keeping a daily schedule and routine to follow which will help break up my daily toils and make things run more smoothly. I will shoot for one week through October 19th, and will write down day by day what I encounter and realize during this experiment. I hope I don't go too crazy...

-BJW

Autumn Days

Today marks the second week of my long train to sucess. As the leaves in the area are falling, I've been flocking to the trails welcoming in the fall breeze with a long powerful stride. This is my favorite time of the year, and I'm loving every step of my running. My runs are coming very easy and enjoyable to me and I know it's going to stay that way.

I have recently started working as a package handler for Fedex Ground in Toledo. It is not easy money by any means. The job itself evolves a lot of heavy lifting, and coordinated fast loading of boxes into a trailer. It has been difficult incorporating this into my routine. I have been struggling a bit in my academics and not getting in the weight room much this week. My job has left me tired throughout much of the day and my laziness has been getting the best of me. I have just now started to get into the swing of things, and I'm finding a routine that I feel comfortable in taking on everything.

Today I met with my new coach at Starbucks to for our first meeting. We discussed my short term and long term goals, current and future training, and everything in between. I feel very confident that he has the knowledge and drive to push me to new limits and mold me into a very respectable mid-west distance runner. I am extremely excited about what the future holds and my willingness and motivation have been at an all time high. I feel like I am finally getting comfortable in Toledo, and have a good plan laid out. Now I just have to juggle everything and hope something good comes out of it.