Hi everybody! Thanks for the invitation to participate on Lifetime Runners!I told Mr. Legend and El Maco that I was reluctant to post anything on the blog because I didn't want to expose my current lack of training, but it's always motivating to be part of a group, even if I am now 7,500 KM's away!
A quick introduction and/or update. I worked with El Maco and Mr. Legend at EAB in Kista from May 2005 to October 2007. I have run on and off for a good portion of my life, but I was in horrible condition when I arrived in Stockholm in May '05. (El Maco didn't believe that I had ever run when he first met me!) We started training that summer, and I still remember struggling through my first Ursvik 5K!
Well, the training continued, and we signed up for St. Eriksloppet in September. It was good to have a goal (and a persistent training partner like El Maco!) and I was extremely happy to run the race in 1:52.
That was the start of two fantastic years! In that time I participated in a lot of races, and met a lot of great people! I missed my goal of breaking 4 hours in Stockholm Marathon (4:15 in 2006, and 4:05 in 2007), but set a personal record in the half marathon (1;42 in 2007), and came really close to beating El Maco at Lidingoloppet 2006 (3:03 48 vs. 3:03:08!)
Well, that was then and this is now. I chose the name Mr. US Coach because as the old saying goes, "those who can't do, coach, and those who can't coach, coach runners!"
I have not been a model example of how to train (especially the last two years!) but I hope to snap that trend in 2010! My goal is still to break 4 hrs, and I will make my attempt in Portland in October (10/10/10!) I'll keep you all posted!
Keep up the good work on the blog and on the roads!
Thanks and very welcome Chuck, to our blogg. It's so nice to receive a bit of historical perspective. You have have the base and the knowledge of how to train, I am fully convcinced that you will be a sub4 marathon runner any day !
SvaraRaderaWhen you have some time please tell us a little bit more about Portland marathon. Is it a hard one ?? Right now we have a very hot debate about the effects of more than one LR per week. What is your opinion here Chuck, is itwast of time or ????
Hi Mr US Coach!
SvaraRaderaI have heard a lot about you, and I´ve been running with Mr El Maco and Mr Legend the same paths you used to run with them.
You and I share the same goal, I also want to do a sub 4:00 in a marathon. I´ll try than on Stockholm Marathon 2010...good luck to you!
Mylay
yo man. Who took the picture? You?
SvaraRaderaHej Mr. Legend, Mylay & El Maco!
SvaraRaderaGreat job on the Homerun today (Feb 4th)!
As for the comments above, I chose Portland Marathon for a few reasons. Portland is close to Seattle (and I have always wanted to visit), I have time to train for it, and it is one of the few nearby marathons that is in the middle of a month in the middle of a quarter (it's strange how many races are on June 30th or September 30th, and with my current job requiring me to travel to Dallas during the closing periods, I needed to find a race that fit in.)
The weather should be ideal, and it is a fairly flat course, so I have no excuse (except my own training) if I don't deliver.
Mylay, looks like you are doing great in your preparations for a sub-four hour Stockholm! Keep up the good work, don't try to ramp up too fast in mileage or speedwork, and as Mr. Legend said eat right, get as much sleep as you can, and stay healthy and you will be golden!
Regarding more than one long run per week, I would say that you should maintain a plan for weekly mileage that makes sense, given where you are with your training. You guys are at a level that you can run 60 to 70 KMs per week, with little risk of injury, but you should try to do that (as you have been) over 5 or 6 training sessions. You would not try to run two 35 KM runs in a row to meet your mileage goal, but if you ran 20 KM on Monday and 25 KM on Saturday with a few 10 KM sessions in between, you would be fine.
Thanks Mr. US Coach, for your mileage input. That make sence. Ok I see, Portland is a "middle-in-the-month" marathon. I agree, a lot of the major city marathons is always week 4 or week 1 in the month... I really looking forward to follow your preparations for Portland, and so cool if you want to share your distances with us on "facts & figures".
SvaraRadera