MEETING MEB

If you haven't been following my blog, I've been writing weekly about people I met at NCAA Division I Nationals. This week I am writing the story of meeting Athens Olympics Marathon Silver Medalist, 2009 NYC Marathon Champion, author of a new book entitled "Run to Overcome", Meb Keflezighi. I first found out Meb was there when I saw him being interviewed at the finish of the Women's Race. I noticed that he was inside the finish area, and using hints like the way the flags were moving in the video, I figured out that he was a matter of 100 feet away and if I hurried I might be able to snatch an autograph. I ended up finding him, passing my program over a fence and having him autograph it out in my name. I thought I wouldn't meet him again but then I was hanging around the finish area after the guys race, and guess who I run into (apart from Chris, Derrick, Sam Chalanga, Matt Centowitz, and a few others)? Meb! I just ask him for a picture and tell him that I was the kid who passed him my program over the fence and he just looks at me and says,"Wesley, right?". I was pretty surprised he remembered my name. Next week: Chris Derrick.

2ND WEEK OF WINTER TRAINING

So I'm in my second week of training now, my first week I didn't do many weights, like I should have been, so this week I really was paying for it. I started the week with pre-testing at Sports Enhancement. Pre-testing is basically measurable drills that they take to see what kind of fitness level you are at. After that, me and my friend, Senior Stephen Husk, did leg press. Let me tell you this, and make sure you remember this well. If you have not leg pressed since the summer, and you do sets of 10 reps, 8 reps, then 6 reps, and everyone of the final 6 reps felt horrific, you will be sore for at least 3 days. So I ran Tuesday with a sore right quad, and ran Wednesday with two sore quads. Then I also maxed out on bench, which was only a meager 100 lbs. So Thursday is day three of being sore. Thursday is also the day I went back to Sports Enhancement to do plyometric drills. We started with jumping drills, and more legs and more legs. So in other words, I walked around today barely being able to bend my legs, because my quads and now butt is sore, along with my abs. Stephen did then with me and he can attest that we were both incredibly sore. Along with that whole thing. I have another blister, on the inside of my left foot now. The one on the outside has gone away thankfully. What do you do to get rid of blisters fast?

RUN THE EDGE

This week Run the Edge topic is Four Ways to Breakthrough a Frustrating Running Plateau. This is what I wrote about my frustrating plateaus. "Last year in track, I ran my first 3200 in 10:07. The following Saturday I was 9:54, which is my current PR. Then I had a week or so (where I ran 3 800s in 2:15, 2:16, and 2:17). Then at Intercity I ran a 10:02. I ran one more 3200 before sectionals and that was in terrible weather which lead me to run a 10:17. Then at Sectionals I ran a 9:57. It was so frustrating all year running and feeling I had a sub-9:50 in me it just wasn’t there. My other frustrating one was my 8th grade year of track. I came in on fire trying to break a 5 minute mile. The first race, I run a hard first lap, then kind of cruise, kind of not for the next 3 laps and run a 5:07. The next race I ran a 5:02. Then I wasn’t feeling well for a week and went 5:15 and 5:16. Then finally, I ran a 4:58. I didn’t break 5 again until not making the state meet by .44, running a 5:01.44. I was so mad about it, I went to the track the day after the state meet and ran a 4:57 alone, apart from having two guys run 400s around me, which I really didn’t run with when they ran." Tune into Run the Edge at 11 am Central Time on Sunday!! http://www.blogtalkradio.com/runtheedge

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