12.02-12.08: 106 Miles/Week

Really great week.  I wanted to do some hard running off tired legs, and accomplished that on Thursday.  It felt good to do intervals on the track again.  It was my first track workout since October.

Monday-
AM: 8.5 miles(7 x 1/4 mile hill hard w/ jog downhill recoveries)
PM: 7 miles

Tuesday-
AM: 12.5 miles

Wednesday:
AM: strength training
PM: 13 miles

Thursday:
AM: 8 miles
PM: 10 miles(Track-5 x Mile w/ 1 lap jog recoveries: 5:01, 4:57, 4:54, 4:52, 4:49)

Friday:
AM: 9 miles

Saturday:
AM: Long Run 22.5 miles(nice and slow easy pace), 2 hrs 40 min

Sunday:
AM: 10 miles
PM: 5 miles


Total: 106 miles

Winter/Spring 2014 Races

Photo above: 2013 Cherry Blossom 10 Miler, 13th place

I really can't complain too much about the way 2013 racing went.  One thing I would say is perhaps I did not race enough(but I think I also needed to not race a lot this year).  I ran some PRs, and had some good placings.  I only did 9 races.  Although I had top 10 finishes at both of the half marathons I raced this year, I think Cherry Blossom was the highlight placing for me, finishing 13th overall in that race.  I just got invited to do that race again, and I will be aiming for top 10 this coming year.  In terms of race times, I PR'd in 1 mile, 5K, 10K, and 10 miles, but came up short in the half marathon.  I think the half marathon will happen with time, and there are certainly workouts I have done that indicate I am ready for a breakthrough in that distance.  In hindsight, I ran PRs this year, but haven't made any major breakthroughs.  And now I am looking to do so. 

But I need to get to work.

I need to increase my mileage.  Over 2011, 2012, and 2013, I have averaged 75-77 miles/week(upper end 100s/week, lower end 50s/week) for each entire year(roughly 4,000 miles/year), which I think has worked for me during these years, but in order for me to make the jump to the next level I need to average at least 90s/week now(and get a lot of 100+ mile weeks).  My workouts are good, I just need to add more volume.  One thing I really have going for me is that I am incredibly durable.  My body doesn't seem to get injured with increased mileage/intensity over the years, along with racing faster.  But I think that is also because I pay close attention to the little things like foam rolling, stretching, strength training, sleep, and nutrition which I will continue to do.

I am pleased to say I got accepted into the 2014 USA Half Marathon Championships, in Houston, TX.  The race is on January 19, 2014.  I don't want to put a lot of pressure on myself for a certain time, I just want to compete well and hopefully place well.  It's certainly awesome competing in a championship race, and it's inspiring to meet other people around the country who either are Olympians or elite runners who train very hard.  Nonetheless, I am training hard, and feeling pretty darn good.  I think it is a really good thing I didn't do a marathon this year, since that takes more recovery.  Last year it took me a while to get back into my training, and I was pretty beat up after the Philly Marathon in 2012(see one of my earlier posts from last year).  The week after the Richmond Half Marathon(where I placed 10th in 1:09), I was amazed how recovered I felt.  In fact, it felt great to just run mileage, which I certainly did hitting a 96 mile week after.  Last week I hit 86 miles, and decided to jump in the Bethesda Turkey Chase 10K, where I placed 2nd.  My goal was to tempo it at 5:05 pace, and I hit 5:07 on a pretty hilly course.  On Saturday, I did a long run with Capital Area Runners' Christopher Mills(a 29:00 10K guy), covering 2 hours and 10 minutes in much of Washington, DC.  This morning, I did some hill repeats, and will do another run this evening.

As for the rest of my 2014 schedule following Houston, it is still in the works.  But another thing I want to do is to get back on the track and really sharpen up on my
speed this spring.  I am looking to do a few indoor track races, perhaps at Virginia Tech in February.  I want to do a fast indoor 3,000m race.  I think I will really benefit from that leading into the spring season.  Then there is Cherry Blossom on April 6, followed by Pikes Peek 10K on April 27.  Pikes Peek is always a PR course, and I run well there, so it seems logical to do that, but I am also debating about a track 10K.  I am still looking into races.  Chris mentioned Bucknell as a great track meet, and it looks like a possibility, the only problem is that it is a week after Cherry Blossom.  Decisions, decisions.

On to Richmond

I first want to cover Army Ten Miler, which I feel pretty good about.  The race was a build-up for me for Richmond Half, which I will race on Nov 16.  I wanted to go sub 51:00, but I'll take the PR of 51:35.  The start of this race is always a bit chaotic, which I began quite conservatively(first mile was 5:09).  Although, ironically, 5:09 ended up being my average pace for the race in the end.  The race started off with the lead pack, followed by a chase pack, and then myself a few yards back.  We made the uphill turn onto Arlington Bridge, running along the uneven stones for a short time before getting back onto pavement.  I patiently keyed off of GRC's Sam Luff, who was at the back of the chase pack.  By mile 3, as the race unfolded, the chase pack broke apart, with Sam and I gradually passing runners who went out too fast.  I wanted to run right next to him, however, he seemed to maintain this consistent 3-4 seconds on me, but both of us were running the same speed and passing people.  We passed the 5 mile mark in just under 25:30, which was on target for sub 51.  We hammered down Independence Ave, catching a few Ethiopians who had fallen off the pace, and I passed through 10K in 31:49, and mile 7 was 35:50-something.  I saw Charlie Ban, who took a sweet picture of me turning the corner towards the 14th street bridge(above).  The 14th street bridge would then slow things down.  This course certainly is slower than Cherry Blossom, mostly because of the last 3 miles of this race.  Sam and I hammered up the 14th street bridge as efficiently as we could, and caught a few more guys.  It certainly felt like I was running 5:00 flats, but my next 2 miles were a lot slower than it felt(averaged somewhere around 5:12 splits), even though I felt I had picked up my pace, and continued to pass a runner every now and then.  The bridge is deceiving.  We finally, finally exited off the bridge, after mile 9.  Sam and I had surged ahead of a few other runners, but one runner was right behind me, Graham Tribble, who had clocked a 1:07 half marathon back in Sept.  The last mile is a few twists and turns, with the last 1/2 mile uphill towards the finish.  Graham started kicking past me, and appeared to have beaten me, but I drafted right behind him for one last charge.  With a 1/4 mile to go I surged past him and never saw him again.  I ended up finishing 4 seconds behind Sam, in 25th place.

Overall, this race is a really good build-up for me to race the half marathon.  I have been coasting since then, hitting 56 miles the week after the race, and 72 miles last week.  My long runs were 17 miles each week, along with some extra cross training.  This time of year I always feel the need to add a little cross training to my routine.  I got my bike out for the past few weekends, getting about 20 miles of riding each session.  Nothing crazy, just work without the pounding.  While I was in Florida in the beginning of October I added pool running again too, which I have continued to do weekly.  I will do a tune-up track workout this week, but nothing too taxing to take anything out of my legs.  Just enough to get me in the right zone.

I now look to Richmond, to compete well, and in the process of doing so, to finally, finally take down my 1:08:39 half marathon PR.

9/30-10/13

This has been a long stretch of racing very minimally, if at all since the summer.  I dropped out of the Philadelphia Half 4 weeks ago, which was sort of a race-tune up I suppose since I raced the first 6 miles.  Since then, I've continued to fine-tune things and my overall average mileage has dropped somewhat.  I ran 73 miles during the week of 9/30-10/6.  On 10/2, I did 8 x 800 meters with 2 minute rests, in 2:21, 2:20, 2:19, 2:21, 2:20, 2:21, 2:20, 2:18.  It was a good sharpening workout to get ready to race.  During the week of 10/7-10/13 I was in Naples, Florida, and ran 71 miles, but with (intentionally) no workouts.

I feel hungry to race now, with Army Ten Miler coming up on the 20th.  It has been a while since I've had a good race, and feel a breakthrough right around the corner.  It's time to go all out and see what I have in me.

The Truth

Dear Letsrun,

My name is David Torrence. I am a Professional Track Athlete and Road Racer. I’ve run in front of packed sold-out stadiums, and in front of empty bleachers. I’ve run in Road races with 10k participants, and some with 10 total.

Upon reading the recent discussion on Competitor/RnR events, the value of elites, popularity of the sport, etc…something has struck a chord with me. Specifically with what John Bingham said in the comments section of Toni Reavis’ blog “Dumbing Down, Slowing Down”

Bingham wrote, “I invite ANY winner of ANY race to join me (cheering on finishers) instead of rushing back to their hotel after the awards ceremony. I guarantee that the first ‘elite’ to show even a LITTLE interest in the rest of the pack will become a hero overnight.” (bold my emphasis)

Well John, that comment… how can I put this politely… really frustrated me.

Show even a little interest in the rest of the pack? Guarantee overnight fame?

I have signed autographs in Zagreb, Croatia, t-shirts/hats/shoes in Eagle Rock, CA. In Falmouth, the day after racing the track mile, I voluntarily chose to jog the road 12km with the “rest of the pack” to interact and chat and cheer people on. I have driven myself at 4am to Fresno and sat for hours giving out and signing hundreds of autograph cards with personal messages to HS runners at the CA XC state meet. I have co-created my OWN track club to reach out to the community with greater numbers and unity. I have put on my OWN race (BAXC) where we paired up the average casual runners with the elites and had a scored meet. I recently went to Compton to kick off a weekly run event that the Mayor created for her community that lacks a strong running culture, and jogged 2miles with the youth of the city. I signed autographs and interacted with fans so quickly after my race in Stockholm, for so long, and standing so still (due to the stairs) that my body was unable to clear the lactic acid like it normally does, and I vomited during my cool down for the first time in my entire running career.

Am I an international phenomenon? Am I a national hero? Do people even recognize me on the trails in my own CITY where I train and live 6months out of the year? No, no, and no.

The blaming of the elites HAS to stop.

Are there some who don’t give back and selfishly head back to the hotel room? Yes. But in my experience, they are far and few between.

The vast majority are NOT jerks. They are people just like you. And are honestly some of the nicest/humblest people I’ve ever met. I feel honored to be a part of the professional running community.

But what more do you want us to do? What more CAN we do? Why aren’t NBA, NFL, MLB, Tennis, NASCAR, professionals held to this same standard of fan interaction?

Who are the ones that are creating this disconnect between the Elites and the casual runners?

I’ll tell you what is to blame: Television.

TV has done the absolute WORST job of promoting our sport and our elite athletes, and to put it simply: make us look cool. Every race is scripted to the point that the announcers only really know the top 5 seeds (2-3 in track), and if a lesser known athlete is leading and/or wins…he/she is often ignored completely, or mistaken to be one of the athletes that is on their sheet of paper. Track and Road Races are broadcasted the EXACT same way they have been broadcasted for DECADES. There has been very little innovation, very little creativity, very little drive to try and make it more entertaining on the screen.

And for those who say “well, running just doesn’t lend itself to entertainment on the big screen”. That is just a lazy response. Running is amazingly exciting, IF YOU KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON. If you are educated enough to know the splits, the moves, the surges, the falls, etc. Every NASCAR race has almost half the screen filled with stats of speed, position, name, etc. Without it, it’s just cars going in circles. Which is exactly how running is broadcast.

EDUCATE the public. Create BETTER TV broadcasts, and don’t just SETTLE for how things have always been done. As great as it is that Running gets on TV, I honestly believe that every time a meet/race is aired, we LOSE fans who tune in and think “gosh, this is the most boring thing ever.”

Take some CHANCES for crying out loud.

Secondly, (this is for track specifically) create a better in person meet experience. All the dead time, the lack of focus, the lack of ANY attempt to entertain fans between races and events, has created meets that lose any energy that it gains from amazing performances. If you go to any NBA or NFL game, every timeout, quarter break, or play review is CONSTANTLY filled with some sort of fan interaction. Be it cheerleaders, t-shirt bazookas, fan contests, cameras that pan to the fans. Just silly games to keep people engaged.

For road races, create a Fan-Zone like Brendan Reilly mentioned where people can interact with the elites. Or organize cooldowns with the elites and the fans that wish to join.

I sincerely wish that USATF would hire somebody that manages the in-house experience of NBA games, and have them bring their recommendations, expertise, and know-how to the USATF championships, and make a meet that for ONCE is entertaining for the casual fan that knows nothing about track.

If we can accomplish these feats, then we will have made serious headway. But what is holding us back? Who else is holding us back? Is it money? Is it meet management?

I don’t know those answers, but I can tell you who are not the problem: elites.

- David Torrence

This could have not been said better.  Thank you David Torrence for summing that up so well.

While I am by no means on his level, I can clearly understand his frustration.  People are always looking for someone to blame, such as the elites themselves.  But the problem is much more complex than pointing to the group that always finishes in the front of the pack. 

Elites and sub-elites do not have it easy, especially when there isn't a lot of money in the sport.  To put it in perspective, the best professional runners in the world make 1/100(if that!) to what an average NFL player sitting on the bench all season makes.  Rephrasing the quote actor Brad Pitt makes as Billie Bean from the movie Moneyball,   

"There are rich sports, and there are poor sports.  Then there's 50 feet of crap.  And THEN there's professional running."

Competitor cut out Elite support from all of their events, including the (once known as Philadelphia Distance Run-historically known as one of the fastest half marathons in the world), as a monetary decision to invest better for their business.  It is a shame that Philadelphia(despite the winner running 59 minutes this year), will become less and less competitive/deep.  In fact, it already has this year.  My time from 2011, when I placed 57th in the race in 1:08, would have put me 28th or so this year(and this year's conditions were nearly identical to 2011).  Many famous runners have competed here, and world records have been broken on the course.

I came to a screeching halt when I saw this, and while I obviously am not good enough to get appearance fees, I was wondering if they were still honoring comp'd entries that elites were entered by under a separate system.  I wondered, if I was entered in the race still? Thankfully I found out I was, thanks to Matt Turnbull, who I have only good things to say about.  Matt has done a tremendous job of helping support elite runners and the sport of road racing.  Having support for not only the top but second-tier athletes is crucial for the betterment of U.S. distance running.  I thank him for all he has done.

For more insight and to a man who knows the sport really well and has great ideas, I suggest reading Toni Reavis' blog: http://tonireavis.com

Moving on...

I hadn't felt great the week leading up to the Philly Rock n Roll Half.  I felt tired and sluggish, and was sleeping a lot.  I actually was contemplating doing the race still, but my buddy Matt Linman and I already had a hotel payed for, and he was certainly going to race(his debut).  I decided I would go for it and see what I had on the day.

I passed GRC's top man Sean Barrett around the 4 mile mark, but I had a feeling he wasn't having a good day.  I wasn't feeling great either.  I had passed the 5K mark in 15:45, but once I got to 4 miles I could tell that I just wasn't quite ready to race 13.1 miles.  As I approached 6 miles in just under 31:00, I pulled out of the race.  That was all I had in me, pretty much a tempo run, or perhaps I should have done a low key 10K instead.  I later learned that Sean had also pulled out of the race.

It's easy to ask myself "Why did I enter the race if I was going to drop out?" but it is necessary in order to "save" the energy for when it counts.  A good friend and runner who I have known since high school, Lucinda Smith, dropped out of a half marathon one month before she placed 18th(11th American) woman at the Chicago Marathon.  It can be mentally difficult during a "race" to do so, but I am very, very happy now that I made that decision.

The truth is, the lower mileage weeks of 58 miles(9/2-9/8), 42 miles(9/9-9/15) for the first 2 weeks of September gave me a really beneficial "rest period" to absorb all of the hard training I had done over the summer.  September 16-22 I did 62 miles, and felt really refreshed and rejuvenated going into last week, which was really great training.  A strong 5 x mile workout, a brisk 20 miler, and a 95 mile week let me know my fitness is as strong as it ever has been.  I will do another mid-week workout next week, and then get ready to race Army Ten Miler on Oct 20.

Week September 23-29:

Monday: AM: 9 miles/

PM: 4 miles

Tuesday: 10 miles

Wednesday: AM: 8.5 miles/
PM: 1.5 mile warm up, 5 X 1600m: 4:48, 4:46, 4:46, 4:48, 4:46, all with 2:30 rests.  1.5 mile cool down.  

Thursday: 8.5 miles

Friday: 12 miles

Saturday: 20 miles(1:59:00)

Sunday: 15 miles

Total: 95 miles

Review of Summer Training

June 1-August 31: 1,184 Miles

Average: 91 Miles/Week

I trained my ass off this summer.  This summer's training has been really strong, because of the combination of quality running and overall mileage.  I have had the best workouts of my running career.  I think not racing much at all this summer really helped.  I am hopeful all the work I have put in will show through this season.  I tapered down last week(58 miles) and this week am doing light mileage to get ready to race the Philly 13.1 this weekend.  Below is the continuation from my last build up for the past 3 weeks.  This week is just short, easy runs.

August 19-August 25: 92 Miles

Monday: 10 miles(67:00)

Tuesday: 9 miles(61:00)

Wednesday: AM: 15:00 warm-up + drills, 4 x 1.5 miles on track w/ 3-4 min rests: 7:21, 7:21, 7:29, 7:27,  20:00 cool-down

PM: 45:00 easy on trails

Thursday: 11.5 miles(82:00)

Friday: 10 miles(73:00)

Saturday: 20 miles(first 10 miles: 70:00, second 10 miles: 60:00)

Sunday: 14 miles(1:40:00)

August 26-September 01: 86 Miles

Monday: 14.5 miles

Tuesday: 6.5 miles

Wednesday: AM: 2 mile warm-up + drills, 7 X 2K on track: 6:15, 200 meter jog, 6:12, 200 meter jog, 6:12, 200 meter jog, 6:17, 2-3 min rest, 6:14, 2-3 min rest, 6:24, 200 meter jog, 6:24, 1.5 mile cool-down

PM: 6.5 miles easy

Thursday: Rest

Friday: 13 miles(1:32:00)

Saturday: 17 miles(1:52:00)

Sunday: AM: 11.5 miles(83:00)/PM: 3.5 miles

September 02-September 08: 58 Miles

Monday: 6 miles

Tuesday: 10 miles

Wednesday: AM: 1 mile warm up + drills, 3 X 5K w/ 4 min rests @ towpath: 15:58, 15:47, 15:43, 

3 mile cool down

PM: 3 miles easy

Thursday: 6.5 miles

Friday: Rest

Saturday: 11.5 miles(86:00)

Sunday 7.5 miles

The Build-Up

The solitude and tranquil nature of this place re-captured my soul.  I felt alive.

My summer started off with shorter intervals working on speed and jumping in the mid-summer night's mile race.  The primary focus was to keep up leg speed before diving into the real training.

The week of July 15-21 I did a workout of 5 x 800 meters to get things going.  It was just a moderate effort, working down to no faster than 2:24.  I was to race the Rockville Twilighter 8K that weekend, which was cancelled.  At the time it was cancelled, I had a really good feeling, because I knew that I needed to continue to just train.  Besides the Midsummer night's mile on July 12, not racing for the rest of the summer was EXACTLY what I needed.  The workouts speak for themselves the past several weeks.  From there, I did a solid build up of workouts while also averaging weekly mileage of 95/week.

Below is my progression of workouts/mileage during the past month:

Week July 22-28: 107 miles/week
Track: 1 x 1200m: 3:45, 5 x 1600m: 4:55, 4:54, 4:57, 4:56, 4:57
Long Run: 20 miles

Week July 29-August 4: 90 miles/week
Track: 10 x 600m w/ 200m jog recoveries: 
1:57, 1:51, 1:48, 1:47, 1:46, 1:47, 1:47, 1:46, 1:47, 1:47
Long Run: 18 miles

Week August 5-August 11: 99 miles/week
Monday: 10 mile progression hilly route in Boyds(64:00)
Tuesday: 9 miles
Wednesday: AM: Track: 10 x 1000m w/ 200m jog recoveries: 
3:03, 3:00, 2:59, 3:01, 3:00, 3:02, 2:59, 3:01, 3:00, 3:03/PM: 4 miles
Thursday: 9.5 miles
Friday: 14 miles
Saturday: AM: Long Run 20 miles(2:17)/PM: 6 miles
Sunday: AM: 7 miles/PM: 9 miles

Week August 12-August 18: 84 miles/week
Monday: 6.5 miles
Tuesday: 8 miles
Wednesday: Track: 25:00 warm-up, 10 x 1600m w/ 2:00 min rest recoveries:
5:06, 5:05, 4:59, 4:58, 4:57, 4:57, 4:57, 4:55, 4:57, 4:56, 15:00 cool-down
Thursday: 13 miles
Friday: 12 miles
Saturday: Long Run 16 miles
Sunday: 13 miles

I can confidently say I am on a different level now in my training.  The difference really is in rest(which has been less than in the past).  These have been some of the best workouts I have ever done.  The 600s were the perfect distance to start the build up, and by doing the 200 jog rest gave me short recoveries.  The 10 x 1000m was a build-up from that by adding a lap to each interval, and by running close to the same pace.  Then the cooler weather broke through on Wednesday morning, and I did the best workout of my career thus far: the 10 x 1600m w/ 2:00 minute rests all averaging out to sub-5:00 pace.  If the weather is good at Philly in 4 weeks, I feel I can run very fast.  But I need a good day for it.

Blacksburg, VA(August 9-11):
Blacksburg is one of my favorite places to visit and train.  I have fond memories here when I was on the Virginia Tech Cross Country team.  On Friday I arrived and went to Pandapas Pond for an afternoon run.  The trails of the Jefferson Forest were exactly as I remembered.  I parked off Route 460 in the usual small parking lot and headed out into the forest.   There are miles of trails which have a series of ups and downs and different climbs.  I hadn't been here in 4 years, but I knew exactly where to turn.  Pretty soon, I was out in the middle of nowhere.  No cars, no traffic lights, no noise.  Sure, this is also why I train in Poolesville, MD, because of it's secluded/rural nature.  But nothing compared to training out here.  I need to come out here more often, I thought to myself.  The solitude and tranquil nature of this place re-captured my soul.  I felt alive.  And I re-discovered my joy for running more than ever.  This was truly, living.  I climbed up and down the hills, feeling my lungs take in all the fresh air they could get.  I pressed the pace on the way back to get in 14 miles that afternoon.

Saturday morning I got up early for a long run.  I decided to drive out to the New River trail, about 30 minutes from where I was staying.  The sunrise below was awesome.

The new river trail is actually flat, and is 57 miles long.  I started at Draper, pictured below, near milepost 6.  I headed out to milepost 16 and turned around to make it a 20 miler in 2:17.

Later that day, I drove out to the Blue Ridge Mountains to take in some awesome views.  I drove out to the Parkway to view the Devils Backbone, Elevation 2687 ft.

Saturday evening I did a second run along the Huckleberry Trail, which starts right near the Virginia Tech Campus/downtown Blacksburg.  I got in an easy 6 and felt quite good for having run 20 miles that morning.  The next morning, I ran on the trail again for another 7.  I drove back during the day, but stopped at Harper's Ferry that afternoon/evening to get another run in.  I got in 9 miles to finish up my 99 mile week.  As I drove home back to reality, I still had the above image in my head.

I will return to Blacksburg again, hoping sometime this fall.