Tennis Season Begins (but this is still about running)

Well, folks, I started clay court tennis season last weekend, with a rousing 6-1, 6-0 loss to a better player. The up side was that we hit for about an hour straight first, then played two sets at a fast pace. Although the score was lopsided, rallies were typically long, hard, and fast-paced, and we both had a tremendous running workout. This guy is in good shape, as he works out in a gym and on an exercise bike regularly.

Thursday I played someone more my ability, and won 6-4, 7-5 (after being down 0-3 in the 1st set). This guy was slower, and consequently, it wasn't much of a workout, but still fun.

I only ran 4 times this week for about 17 miles, plus the two times playing tennis. Came down with a cold yesterday, so I am not attempting any time trials this weekend.

Hope to do one by next weekend.

Mark

Mile Update: Good news and bad news

I finally got around to attempting another mile this season, just today, in cool, windy weather. The good news is that it was a season's best, at 5:48.3. The bad news is that in my first time trial, nearly 6 weeks ago, I ran 5:49.2, so I only improved 1 second in all that time. Now granted, it was very windy today, with temperatures in the low 50s, requiring a jacket to warm up, and long sleeves for the actual trial. I suppose I could claim 3 or 4 seconds due to the gusty winds, and even Roger Bannister, on the day he first cracked 4 minutes, looked at the wind, and voted NOT to run, but was convinced otherwise. He said that he would have to run an equivalent 3:57 to break 4 due to the wind, so he was allotting about 3 seconds.

I guess the lesson learned is that I had not really done any track work in the past 6 weeks. Perhaps this is going to be a necessity for required improvement.

Another bit of good news, though, is that my splits were negative. After a 2:58 half, I came back in 2:50, with a final lap of 83 seconds. This tells me I could have probably run a bit faster with more even timing, but I also think maybe I really wasn't warmed up well enough, and was just starting to warm up during the last quarter.

Next time, I really want to shave some time and go under 5:40. We'll see.............stay tuned.

Some End of Season Surprises

Well the track season is winding up with an exciting flurry! 

 

Greg ran a 53.1 this week in a non-championship division of the conference meet and won.  It’s his personal best and while not quite as fast as we were looking for, definitely a move in the right direction.   With a strong training program as a lead in to next fall’s cross country season, Greg should be faster and have stronger endurance for next year.  Greg did qualify to run the 200 but is unlikely to move out of the qualifying heats.  Still in all, it was a good season for him and I think he learned a lot.

 

Although not involving Greg, the most exciting news for the Hudson High Track Team occurred yesterday in the 4x800 relay.  Hudson placed third in a sparkling time of 7:50.2.  The winning time was 7:47 and the top three teams each posted a faster time than the previous best in the entire state of Ohio for this year.  Our coach in convinced that yesterday’s race was a better and more exciting race than whatever will happen during the state championships later this season in Columbus.  Because of how the divisions stack up during the regionals, all three teams may not meet again until the final or may not qualify.  It’s a complicated set-up but it is what it is.  Hudson’s race was the second best in school history and all four runners turned in splits under 2:00.  Two of our guys ran mid 1:56.  It was a very exciting race and it’s great to see guys peak at exactly the right time.

 

Despite some earlier setbacks, the season is ending well for Hudson and I’m looking forward to the regionals. At this point it looks like our top miler (4:19.6) will qualify for the state championships and our relays look strong as well.  We have a real chance to qualify in the 4x100, 4x200 and 4x800.  More updates to come shortly.

 

Regards to All!

 

Former Runner

 

 

Training Update: tempo runs

I'm starting to incorporate some weekly tempo runs into my routine, just to give my legs some semblance of race pace, and to learn to grit it out for a couple miles at a time. Earlier this week, I ran 4 miles, with the middle two miles in the 6:30s. I did a similar run a couple weeks ago, and this time I averaged about 5 seconds per mile faster for the tempo portion. Maybe that means I'm in slightly better shape, maybe it just means I put forth more effort this time.

I hope to get out on the track this weekend for a timed mile, which is really the best indicator of progress. The tempo run, as depicted by the SportTracks software (imported from the Garmin GPS watch), is summarized above (or to the left, depending on where the graphic ends up on your screen).

Mark

Dr. K Striders Vintage Photos

I thought the group would enjoy these vintage Dr. K Striders photos from the 70s and early 80s. The first photo is from the Maryland Marathon, and includes several familiar faces.



The 2nd photo (below) is Mark and Mike Raybuck at a race in Maryland. I think this was post-collegiate action for Mark.

Confirmed: 2nd generation Strider to attend Binghamton!

It's confirmed, folks. Kaila Raybuck, daughter of Mark Raybuck, will be the first known second generation Dr. K Strider to attend Binghamton University, albeit as a Bearcat vs. the former Colonials. Kaila will attend Binghamton this fall as a business major. Unfortunately, she is not planning on running track or cross country, but that could all change once she arrives on campus. I have not let Gary Truce know yet, but perhaps he can do a little recruiting once she arrives.

Needless to say, this is very exciting news. Should we prepare a jersey? Would Kaila also be the first female Dr. K Strider? Does she even want to be a Strider?

More exciting Strider blogging to come.............with authentic never-before seen photos of Strider legends Mark and Mike Raybuck in uniform!

Mark