Andrew Tankersley leads off the first of the Texas Training Blogs for the outdoor season. He's a successful distance runner who has been kind enough to share his progress through the season. We'll check back on his progress every Tuesday. Enjoy.
2/9/15-Monday
Workout: 10min w/u, 15min c/d. 4x300, set break, 800-200-500-200 with 200 jog and 60sec rest in between each.
Mileage: 7 miles
Actually felt pretty decent on the track today after feeling pretty sluggish towards the end of my long run the previous day. I was able to run at a pretty good effort today and overall got in a quality day of speed work. These past few weeks have been going really well training wise and I've been able see my improvement in the workouts compared to last season. The team is really young, as I am the only senior, but they are all looking really fit and ready to race. We have our first meet next Friday and a time trial on Wednesday.
2/10/15-Tuesday
Workout: 90min of easy running in two runs
Mileage: 12 miles
Had an easy run in the park for the morning workout and felt pretty good overall, but when we came back in the afternoon for another run my legs were feeling pretty heavy the last few miles. We'll see how my body feels on tomorrow's time trial.
2/11/15-Wednesday
Workout: 15min w/u, 1200m time trial, 15min recovery, 600m time trial, 20min c/d.
Mileage: 6.5 miles
The team had a 1200 and then a 600 time trial to gauge our fitness level. I could feel the 12 miles from yesterday but was able to run pretty hard hitting 3:17 and 1:28. I'm still getting back into running that fast and so my pacing was a bit off plus my legs didn't feel fresh at all. It was an encouraging workout though because I can see where I am at currently with my fitness. My times were both drastically faster than last season so I'm excited to see what I can do in an actual meet. We all took an ice bath after our cool down to recover a bit more. We'll see how I feel on tomorrow's runs.
2/12/15-Thursday
Workout: AM, ran some and did drills. PM, 48min easy run.
Mileage: 10.5 miles
We had some drills and some easy mileage in the morning and I just tried to shake all the kinks out. It was a bit chilly though which is a nice change from the past few days. After school we ran a longer run and I could definitely feel how fatigued my legs are. The past 3 weeks of training have been going really well, but I've been hitting the workouts pretty hard. I think I'm going to tone down the intensity a bit since racing is going to start back up next week. I feel strong though and am definitely fitter than last season. We'll see how the body feels as I finish up this week.
2/13/15-Friday
Workout: 48min easy run
Mileage: 7 miles
Ran during my off period at school by myself in the park. I felt dramatically better than yesterday and the weather outside was perfect for running. It was one of those runs where you just think to yourself of how blessed you are to have the ability to run. For me, God has given me the gift of running and I am simply just trying to run to the best of my ability. Afterwards I played some soccer and ultimate Frisbee, doing some strides to keep the legs fresh. It's nice to have the weekend ahead and I'll definitely be catching up on some sleep.
2/14/15-Saturday
Workout: Off
It always amazes me how much my body recovers on my off day. I always have those little nagging injuries or soreness in the legs, but as of now I feel healthy and ready to roll come Friday.
2/15/15-Sunday
Workout: Long run
Mileage: 13.1
Waking up at 6:15am will never be easy for me, but the feeling you get once you finish running is all worth it. I ran with a couple of the guys on the team and one of my good friends Montgomery who runs for UTSA. We eased into the run and picked it up as we went. The others stopped at 10 while I finished up by myself. One thing I've noticed the past few weeks as I have increased my long run is that around mile 9-10 I start feeling tired and spent. I might start taking a snack to eat during the run to combat that. Good day though and as Coach McRaven, the Texas A&M distance coach, would say “money in the bank".
Week Mileage: 56 miles
Week in review:
Really solid week of training. Able to feel how fit I am. All of the guys on the team are looking really strong too. I think most runners would agree that your biggest competitor is yourself. One of the best ways to overcome yourself is to give yourself the confidence that you can run that fast whether it's through a killer workout or several good races. So as some of these first low key meets come around I want to use them as confidence boosters as I'll be having to push through most of the races by myself. Last season I felt like I raced too much and peaked a bit too soon so by the time State and post-State races came around my legs just weren't clicking. This season my coach, Dave Fulkerson, and I are choosing to race less and focus more on quality racing. I'll still probably jump in the 4x4 or 800 a couple of times to keep things fresh. I'm excited though to just get out there and compete.
