Cook Wins SF Marathon in 2:26:46

Andrew Cook, formerly of Texas A&M and now living in Denton (if that's right, as he is constantly moving), won the San Francisco Marathon this morning in 2:26:46. Cook has already qualified for the 2008 USA Olympic Marathon Trials with his 2:19:48 personal best set at the Freescale Austin Marathon earlier this year. Congratulations to one of Texas's best distance runners!

Cuba Dominates CAC Games

Just a little props for Cuba dominating the Central American and Caribbean Games. Distance times were 1:46.26, 3:42.52, 8:44.86, 14:09.08, 29:40.08, and 2:24:35, all times which I believe me and my little brother would be competitive in (well, Steeple-Marathon). One day.. like those that train to be Master's runners, I stay fit to one day perhaps run for Cuba on some national teams...

Also, a quick word on the failed drug tests of Justin Gatlin and Floyd Landis. I can remember telling my wife when Gatlin raced to a 9.77 WR that I always felt Gatlin would be a great championship runner, but I'm not sure if he could be a WR holder.. he's just not fast enough. Well, soon enough, Gatlin was running sub-9.85's routinely and it really opened my eyes. I always fear for sprinters when they start looking more like bodybuilders and less like Edwin Moses/Jeremy Wariner or like they spend more time in the weight room than on the track.

As far as Floyd Landis goes.. all I can say is that I have never been more inspired than after his gut-wrenching, "take that" solo trek of Stage 17 in the mountains. And for him to reportedly fail a drug test (jury is still out on him, however, whereas Gatlin's A and B samples were positive) just, once again, took the wind out of my sails as an athlete.

From now on, I will compete without comparison to others, without care of others, because I can know one thing for certain: I am clean and I am not certain that others are clean as well. As I usually tell my athletes, you can only control what you do. Period.

Until the next failed drug test or fallen star, I wish everyone health. I am taking a hiatus from running until mid-August to fully allow my body to recover and then I'll be back on the horse in my ol' secret fashion, building the foundation for Olympic Trial attempts to come...

Perla's Surprise

Visited an old friend at Lewis Jewelers today in that of owner, Slade Lewis. Slade is a phenomenal athlete and budding Cat 3 cyclist that races for Tilson Homes.

However, in his spare time he runs the 25-year old Lewis Jewelers in Clear Lake off of Highway 3. Slade was a customer of mine while at On the Run, and was one of the first athletes in Clear Lake to purchase the revolutionary Timex Speed and Distance monitor with GPS.

Anyhow, with Perla's first work day approaching at Stewart Elementary, it was only rational that she begins the new school year "on time" with her first serious luxury watch. So, Slade was nice enough to allow Perla to try on various models and brands that appealed to her personality.

After deciding between a few models, Perla finally decided, with the input of Mr. Chad James (who happened to stumble in), upon a women's Tag Heuer Aquaracer with diamonds and a mother of pearl face, pictured here, the same watch that tennis star Maria Sharapova wears.

After a proper fitting, Perla and I thanked Slade and were off to Panera Bread to meet back up with Chad for some nicely needed lunch, and with a very happy wifey...

Training Week

July 17-23, 2006

Mon- AM: 5 mile fartlek in 32:01 with 6 x 2' hard, 3' easy / PM: 3 miles easy in 22:31
Tue- 8 mile progression in 49:33 (7:10, 6:39, 6:33, 6:22, 6:00, 5:53, 5:45, 5:35)
Wed- AM: 4 miles easy in 28:15 / PM: 4 miles easy in 28:26
Thu- AM: 7 mile fartlek in 46:58 with 20 x 200m on-off / PM: 4 miles easy in 27:36
Fri- AM: 3 miles easy in 23:01 / PM: 3 miles easy in 21:09
Sat- AM: 8 mile variable pacing in 53:48 with 2 x 2 miles easy, 2 miles hard (14:39, 10:31, 15:11, 10:55) / PM: 4 miles easy in 29:33
Sun- 10 miles in 1:08:45
Total- 65 Miles

* Still am not 100%. Perhaps closer to 80% healthy as my leg is still slow to heal, although it improves every week. Hopefully I will have a breakthrough next week in terms of treatment and rest. 54 hours of work; 65 miles of running; over 10 hours of driving; 2 ART treatments; 3 quality workouts; 12 runs = a busy week.

Fartleks Continue

7 Mile Run, including 20 x 200 meters On/Off Fartlek at CBHS Track

Another positive run this morning in Webster. I had planned for today's farltek session to be run at the Kemah Bridge, sprinting 40-seconds uphill, and then jogging back down for recovery, but due to work commitments, I saved the drive and decided to repeat last week's (12 x 200 m) location on the track.

Started out tentatively, but my legs were feeling pretty good. Hit my mile warm-up in close to 7'30" and then started 5 miles of alternating 200 meters "on" with a 200 meter float/jog recovery (20 times total). I ran in Lane 5 of the track, as to minimize stress and after 10 pickups, I switched directions (anything to stay healthy). The run went well. I covered the 5 miles in a little over 30' and felt very efficient. I was hitting each 200 meter "on" section in about 40", so I am still lacking much power, but at least I was training. Only started a bit of strain towards number 20, which was promising. Had a pain-free run back to the car for my cool-down.

So, a good day overall, covering 7 miles in a little over 45' with some nice quality. Will run 4 miles very easy tonight at Memorial Park, as has become my routine before heading home..

No racing until I receive my Snickers Marathon Team uniform, so hopefully I can get more training in until it arrives. Just pressing on...

Training Progress

Alright, I have finally settled into a nice training routine taking into consideration my new employment on the west-end of town. Memorial Park has been serving as my "base" in between home and work, and I am thankful to have such a positive and motivational training environment for the future. Olympians trained and train at Memorial Park, from Alberto Salazar to Ron Tabb to Sean Wade to Jeff Wells to Jon Warren. It is the true mecca of distance running in Houston and I aim to take full advantage of the training environment it offers.

Last week started out poorly, as I got in a great long run with Chad James and Rudy Rocha. Chad started challenging me on the run and soon enough, my instincts took over and I started flying. However, it was too much for my leg to handle and I felt the strain of my injured left adductor. However, this was for the best, as it forced me to get professional treatment, which I did in the form of Dr. Chris Sanders at MultiSport Healthcenter. So, now I am able to take more risks in training with the security of knowing that I am on the path to being completely healed by receiving ART Treatment on my legs.

So, I have been feeling better, less pain, and so on Thursday of last week I ran a 12 x 200 m on/off workout to test my leg. Felt good. That following Saturday I ran a 6 variable fartlek, alternating 1 mile easy and 1 mile hard with Rudy, hitting the "hard" miles at Memorial in 5:35, 5:25, and 5:21, which was quite promising and with little strain and covering the 6 miles in 39-minutes and change. My "easy" miles were in the upper-7:00 range.

And that brings us to Monday, which was another fartlek, this time a 5 mile fartlek integrating 6 x 2' hard, 3' easy. I covered about 600 m per pick up and felt good, with only the final fartleks causing any strain as I covered the 5 miles in 32:01. Later, after work, I would run an easy 3 mile shake-out run at a surprisingly packed Memorial Park on the year's hottest day... which brings me to today's workout:

Today, at Memorial, I had planned an 8 mile progression run, dropping the pace every mile. This was a curious workout because the only time my leg acts up is when I mix distance and intensity and the resulting fatigue strains my leg. So, I was anxious to see what I could run.

I started out relaxed in 7'10", dropping down to 6'39" for the second mile, which worried me that I had dropped pace too quickly. However, I was feeling good and proceeded to run 6'33" for the next mile. Now I started playing mind games. Oh, this will be an easy run if I can run 6'30, then 6'25, so on and so forth.. But, my lack of fitness showed as I rolled off another solid 6'22" and now I was beginning to breathe. After hitting 6'00" for the fifth mile, I knew the workout was on and there was no turning back. I had to commit to the pain and the pace. I needed to dip below 6' pace for mile 6 and I did, furnishing a straining 5'53. My left adductor at this point was beginning to seize up on me, and so I stopped at 6 miles to stretch my leg (only giving myself 6" to do this as I wanted to keep the progression going, but without hurting myself.. remember, train, don't strain) and took off confidently for the final two miles of my run.

Mile 7 passed in a strong 5'45", which pleased me as I was now feeling quite strong and my left patellar tendinitis had subsided, giving me 100% running for the time being. However, I was a bit worrisome that I could close much faster than what I had just run, but I powered away, hitting 5'35" for my final mile and continued on to cover the 8 mile course in under 50-minutes.

So, a very positive morning, other than 1) I am getting sick (woke up with a slight fever and chills), and 2) my leg did seize up a bit on the workout. However, it feels pretty good right now, although it definitely feels worked out. Anyway, after some exercises and a shower, I headed off to work, stopping to chat with local Olympian Sean Wade about his wonderful racing as of late. Sean is super-fit, attributing some great breakthroughs to his altitude tent. I don't believe I have ever seen him so thin, but you could sense his excitement for what he has been accomplishing on the roads, which is nothing short of impressive. I wish him well at Falmouth!

And then, it was off to IHOP and off to work. Much more pressing on to do... but tonight, we have the Ringling Circus with Perla, Madelyn, and our hundreds of cousins!! Should be fun...

Back "Home"

Thanks to everyone for their patience while I moved myself and my family back across country from Miami to Webster. The non-sale of our home, coupled with the fact that my wife is 5 months pregnant, and the timing of our contract situations forced us to make some very important and difficult decisions.

That being said, we are very relieved to be back "home" in Webster in our own home and space. Perla has landed a dream position in Clear Creek ISD, while I have found employment back in the running shoe industry as the Store Manager of Finish Strong Sports, located in Houston.

Otherwise, we have been revisiting past-friends, situating our home, and searching for schooling options for our 3-year old. My running is in a recovery phase at the moment (back to being male "pregnant" like in 2003), as I attempt to fully heal my left adductor injury before making a serious attempt at a Winter marathon and the Olympic Trials standard and recharge my batteries with all the recent turmoil and instability in our lives.

However, we are very fortunate to have such supporting family and friends. This truly would not have been possible, mentally, without everyone's support, and for that we thank you. We left behind my generous and loving family in Miami, as well as the FIU family that was so hospitable to me and my family, and the former friends I was able to re-acquaint with and a new one in John and Tanya Eckart. We truly wish everyone the best, especially the Garrity Family with their beautiful new addition, Grace Elizabeth.

So, hopefully I will log on here some very positive news as we proceed into the remainder of 2006. I have some very serious goals I would like to achieve, but I need complete health in order to achieve them and some stability in life. Perhaps everything is coming together at a perfect time in our lives as we await daughter number two.

So, please, once again, thank you for your patience, and know that we think of everyone one of you every day. As for now, I will be getting some rest before tomorrow's follow-up appointment with Dr. Chris Sanders of MultiSport Health Center for some Active Release Therapy and recover from today's 5 mile fartlek of 12 x 200m on, 200m off.

Pressing on in Texas, until next time...