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Written by Maureen McCandless
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Sunday, 07 March 2010 |
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It feels like spring has sprung in central PA. Tomorrow is the first day of practice for outdoor track, the weather has improved greatly, and I am leaving for the Gate River Run on Thursday. John and the sprint coach shoveled off the icy backstretch of our track today so that we can practice outside tomorrow. Helpful for me too, I’ll be able to get in a few intervals Tuesday for my last tune up workout before the race. I’ve been doing all workouts on the roads for what seems like forever. I really prefer to get on the track to have a better idea of where I’m at by hitting specific splits. I don’t have any routes with splits just because I prefer to switch up my runs.
Once this race is over I will have more to blog about… Right now I’m patiently waiting to find out where I’m really out after months of not really focusing on a race. I’m just hoping all my workouts alone in the cold and wind were really good enough to get me where I need to be.
- Maureen
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Last Updated ( Monday, 08 March 2010 )
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Written by Maureen McCandless
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Monday, 22 February 2010 |
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Well it’s been a rough couple weeks of training due to the record breaking snow in PA, but I managed to get through it all. Things are starting to melt already, but it will be a while before I see my favorite trails and bike path. I have been really trying to focus on getting in long tempo’s and fartlek’s so the roads are ok for that, but I really like to get back on the track after a tempo and do some faster stuff to get my legs moving. I just can’t do that sort of work on the roads. There is an indoor track not too far from home and I went over there once, but it’s something I need to use sparingly since the turns are much too tight for my bad hip. I miss the long turns of Manley (Manley Field House in Syracuse).
I’m trying to get together my racing schedule for this spring. I know I will be doing the Gate River Run , Penn Relays, Broad Street Run, Lilac 10K, US Track Nationals, and maybe even the Boilermaker. I just need to figure out where to get in a 1500 somewhere and a 5000. I am trying to take a break from the track a little bit this year, it’s a lot of fun but I also tend to put too much pressure on myself to run fast when it doesn’t even matter yet. This year I want to save the fast track races for Nationals and maybe even the summer, so I’m getting in a lot of the road races this spring.
I finally had the opportunity to watch the SU track team in action this weekend. I was able to get to the Armory for the first day of the Big East Championships and watch the trials of the shorter races, the 5000, and the DMR. I was very proud of how well the team did; it is great to see how much they have progressed in such a short time. They are an amazing group and I miss them all!
- Maureen
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 23 February 2010 )
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Written by Maureen McCandless
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Monday, 08 February 2010 |
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So I thought when John and I moved back to Pennsylvania I would at least have less snow to worry about… I was very wrong. Saturday morning we woke up to about 19 inches of snow, and tomorrow to Wednesday we could possibly get another foot. Cold, I don’t mind, I’m used to it after five winters in Pittsburgh and two in Syracuse. The mildest climate I ever lived in was Philly, but snow just makes me mad. Mostly because I am the worst snow runner I know. Put me in that thin layer left over from the plow or from shoveling and I am as slow as molasses in January (as my mother likes to say). I get absolutely nowhere and it’s very frustrating. I also never run on treadmills, ever. One time in my life I may have made it over 20 min, I just can’t stand going nowhere and they always make my legs feel horrible. I think because I end up changing my stride so much.
Training was going very well before the storm; I did one of my favorite workouts from my college days… 10x1000 with 200 meter jog between each. I was lucky that I could get some of John’s high school team out there with me. We had a couple of guys able to jump in and run parts, having company made the workout go by faster. It’s a pretty slow workout and takes some time to get through but I love repeat thousands at a steady pace. The workout reminds me of my best couple seasons when I felt pretty much invincible (in running) and I’m really trying to work this year at getting that feeling back. I know confidence is a big weakness for me so I am just going to do everything I can to make sure I enter races feeling sure of myself, that I am prepared, and ready to run fast.
It looks like I won’t be able to get on the track for a while now so back to tempo work and fartlek’s on the road.
- Maureen
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Last Updated ( Monday, 08 February 2010 )
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Written by Maureen McCandless
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Sunday, 31 January 2010 |
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Yesterday I kicked off 2010 with a 3K at the Penn State National Open , and I was very pleased with the results. I ran 9:10 which was good enough for 4 th and a 3 second PR. I have been only concerned with building a good base and getting my head back into racing after taking most of the summer and fall off from competition. I had no idea what to expect from the race and I really surprised myself that I could handle that kind of pace.
I guess I should also kick off this blog with an introduction. Originally from the Philadelphia area, I went to high school at Nazareth Academy , a small Catholic girls school. I don’t want to say that I underperformed in high school, but I definitely hit a whole new level of running in college. I went to the University of Pittsburgh from ’01-’06 where I was a three time All-American. I hold eight school records and I am the only female runner from Pitt to ever qualify for the NCAA Cross Country Championships. I have dealt with many injuries relating to my left hip, where I had three titanium screws surgically placed to make sure a stress fracture in my femoral neck did not break all the way through the bone (which would have meant a hip replacement). This happened between my senior and 5 th years at school, and the year after graduating I also missed a full year of competition. In 2007 I moved to Syracuse with my now fiancé John Butler, where he was going to graduate school. With the help of Syracuse coaches, Chris Fox , Brien Bell , and Kristy Johnston, I managed to find my way back to the level of running I was at before the injuries. I qualified for the 2008 Olympic Trials in the 5000m, and made the final round where I placed 12 th. I have run PR’s in the 1500, 3000, and 5000 since graduating and being injured. I now hope to move up to 10,000 and longer road races. I am my own training now in Hummelstown, PA where John and I moved this fall for his teaching career. John is of great to help to me, but I have had to be on my own often. Outside of running, I am going to back to school next fall and I have taken some classes this year, I am also working part-time as a personal trainer, salesperson at the local running store, and helping John coach Lower Dauphin High School cross country.
I will keep on blogging as I get ready for the US 15K Championships, the Gate River Run in Jacksonville, FL on March 13 th.
- Maureen
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Last Updated ( Monday, 08 February 2010 )
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