103 degrees in Central Park! Time for the "Summer of malmo"

One of the most succinct training programs ever written was written by  (redacted).  It is also one of the most "Googled" items in the entire running community.  It's goal is to prepare athletes for the upcoming cross-country season, and make the summer enjoyable and productive.  It is a self-contained, self-explanatory program which can be followed by just about anyone, regardless of fitness or skill level.  Each year, thousands of runners have questions about the program, all of which could be answered by reviewing the text again.  I shall present the program in written form and in movie format in three parts, so all may enjoy the goodness within.

SUMMER OF MALMO

To paraphrase George Costanza: "I proclaim this 'The Summer of malmo!'"

Q: What is this so-called "Summer of malmo"?
A: It's a foolproof, no-nonsense, 100 percent guaranteed program that will help runners of all abilities to improve their fitness over the summer without the attendant physical or mental fatigue. "Summer of malmo" revolves around a relaxed commitment from a group to meet just twice a week for an organized workout. One tempo run and one longer interval session. JUST TWICE A WEEK IS ALL I ASK. Emphasis on relaxed and emphasis on commitment. Make this a social event.

Q: Who is it for?
A: Everyone (almost). Anyone that isn't reaching their full potential, and you know who you are. It's for runners that have been THINKING about doing doubles and haven't yet started. It's for you runners that have been THINKING of jacking up the mileage and haven't yet started. It's for college runners. High school runners. Boys, girls, men and women. Anyone that wants to make the leap for next year's cross country season. Different skill levels? No problem. Fitness levels? Coming off an injury and are way behind? It's OK, I've thought of it all. This foolproof SCHEDULE is all things to all runners!

Q: Who isn't it for?
A: Any runner who has immediate racing goals. This "program" is a springboard for the cross country season. An easy way to prepare oneself for the real training to be done in the fall.

Q: I thought that you don't believe in writing SCHEDULES?
A: I don't, these workouts are only examples, you can customize it any way that you want - except for the intensity level. That part must always be relaxed and within yourself. Otherwise it is not a genuine Summer of malmo. The product and your warranty will be null and void.

Q: How do I start?
A: First up, call all of your running friends, crew, homeys, goodbuddies, gangmates, posse, stable, team or pals and commit to meet twice a week for a workout. Get together with runners from other teams in your town or city. Make it a social event. Meet for pizza or a BBQ afterwards. Start now. Also, start running twice a day now. In the words of John Ngugi, "Don't waste good time." Do doubles four, five or six days a week. Can't make it four days? Then do three. For most of you grasshoppers doubles are the missing element that is keeping you from reaching your full potential, so start 'em now.

Q: What if I get tired?
A: You will get tired, I can guarantee it. IT WILL PASS. Trust me.

Q: How many miles should I run?
A: I don't know, but more than you've been doing. The time is now to find out exactly where your personal sweet spot is. The main goals are to (1) increase the mileage and (2) to run doubles. Some of you may be running over 100 miles per week for the first time, other still think that running 70 mpw is a lot. It's OK, this PROGRAM will accommodate everyone.

Q: My friends are going to meet twice a week, where?
A: On the track. Why? Because the "program" is designed to accommodate everyone with one simple formula. You'll see soon enough.

Q: What workouts do we do?
A: Once a week meet for a tempo run on the track of four to six miles. The other workout is four to six by 1200m to 2000m with one lap jog, OR 16 to 24 by 150m to 300m with FULL RECOVERY - that's a really slow jog. Walk if you have to. You determine what you want to do; these are just recommendations.

Q: How fast?
A: Whatever is comfortable for the group. Not once should you come off of the workout with your eyes rolling back in your heads, that's not the point. Basically it's threshold training, but don't tell anyone I said so - I've got an image to uphold. Let's say on your tempo run you've got four of you who are comfortable with 5:20 pace for five miles but you have two others who would have to struggle with that pace and another two who just simply are not in shape. No problem. The middle two could probably run for two miles, rest a lap and when the group comes around again, jump back in. Just as long as it's still a tempo run for them. Both the leaders and the runners jumping back in will benefit from each other. Those two out-of-shape runners? Jump in at the back of the pack for a lap or two, rest a lap, jump back in for another lap or two, and repeat until the run is over. Each week they'll be able to run more and more, and before you know it, they'll be right up there with the lead group. Same thing with the long interval session. The beauty of the "Summer of malmo" is that no matter what kind of shape you or your comrades-in-sweat are in you can all train together and benefit from each other.

Q: What should my heart rate be?
A: I don't have a clue. I'm trying to get you to "feel" Kung Fu, not "think" it.

Q: What about those 200s? Why are we doing speed work now?
A: The only way to run fast is to, well, run fast. The time to start is now. Let's say the group is running 200s. Just go out and run them. FULL RECOVERY. The whole point is to train the neuromuscular system, to concentrate on the mechanics of running - you know it: forward lean, arm carriage, knees up and out, heels clipping your butt, stride length and turnover. I've always been amazed at the number of runners that think that they can "get speed" during the last three weeks of the season. It doesn't work that way.

Q: So what you're saying is a five mile tempo run once a week AND, lets say, five by one mile, OR 16 x 200 for the other workout?
A: That's exactly what I'm saying. All of these workouts should be within yourself. Remember this isn't the end-all training program, it will prepare you for the real work to begin in September.

Q: No hill repeats?
A: Nope. If you want to, go ahead, but the objective here is to get the most during the summer with the least amount of effort - that's physical and mental. By meeting twice a week and running in a group the mental effort should be at a minimum. Remember, no racing the freaking workout!!! There will be plenty of time for that later.

Q: What about the other days?
A: Keep those doubles going. If you're out on a run and are feeling good you just might rip into another tempo run. My favorite: "run to the barn", that is, the last two to three miles of an easy run just let it rip. Go into orbit. Some of you geeks might even call it AT training.

Q: I live in the country and don't have anyone else to run with.
A: That's OK. Just do your tempo runs on the roads. For your long repeats you might just go out on the roads for an hour or so of 5:00 easy/5:00 hard (on of my favorite workouts). Still the same principles apply to you. All of these workouts should be run within yourself.

Q: I want to run some summer road races, can I?
A: Sure, why not? As long as these races are not the end-all. You've got bigger fish to fry in the fall so take it easy. Who are you trying to impress in the summer anyway? Not me, baby. Save it for later. If you've got the discipline then run your tempo run during these races. Alright, I know that everyone has one race that they'd like to concentrate on, go ahead and go for it. Just don't make it a weekly habit.

Q: How much will this cost?
A: Nothing. There is no "Gold, Silver, or Bronze" plan to sign up for. I won't provide increasing levels of attention dependent upon the amount on the check. This program isn't about me, it's about you. I'm just passing on to you what is public domain, hopefully you'll use it.

Q: Go over that again?
A: (1) twice-a-day, as many days as you can - four, five or six days a week
(2) increase your mileage, look, you guys are made of the same muscle and bone as me, you can do it. Find your own sweet spot
(3) meet with a group twice a week
(4) one tempo run of just four to six miles and
(5) one workout of 1200m to 2000m repeats OR 16 to 24 by 150m to 300m
(5) don't try to impress anyone, run within yourself
(6) relax, the real training doesn't begin until September.


"Summer of malmo: The Movie" in three parts can be found here! (Celebrity impersonations employed.   All rights reserved by PSU Track Alumni Golf.  Any use of the images and audio content are expressly forbidden except upon waiver by Group Officers.)

Reality Bites, Music From Heaven, Long May She Wave and Another PR Beaten by a PSU Woman ("WOW")

It takes me back to my days in Detroit, spent mooching off the discarded season tickets of the real doctors.  The perennial last place Red Wings drafted guys like the long-haired Petr Klima, scoring machine Steve Yzerman and tough guy Bob Probert from south across the river in Windsor, Ontario.  Back in the day when helmets were optional! The twenty-five year resurgence of the Wings started with these three guys.

Now, Bob Probert is dead at the age of 45, possibly related to a heart condition exacerbated by his long struggles with substance abuse. (Stay away from the stuff everyone!)  The discarded season tickets were so good that I once saw Bob lose one of his teeth on the ice during one of his epic brawls.  Could actually see it on the ice.  They never even looked for it, they just scraped it away with the blood.

And on a lighter note, maybe the celestial music will soothe his immortal soul, something like the music synthesized from the Hadron Collider in Switzerland.

And who could resist the bargain basement price of $1 for a 61-star American Flag?  (4 more than the states visited by our President leading up to the election!)

And, Bridget Franek came back from a so-so showing at the USATF Champs with an impressive 3000 M SC 5th place (first American) at the Prefontaine Meet this past week.  Her (6th fastest American all-time) time of  9:32.35 is also better than my PR, set in high school at an all-comers meet in front of Arthur Lydiard.  I can always claim my barriers were higher, but there goes another PR beaten by a woman from PSU!  All I can say is  "WOW".  Apparently it was the heat that slowed her down at NCAA's, not the continued at-peak season she has produced from the Fall of 2008 until now!  She is an Animal, in the most complementing and honorary sense of the word.  Good luck to her in her Nike Career.

Happy Birthday USA!

An amazing conglomeration of individuals argued and debated 234 years ago in Philadelphia and came up with a document starting a new nation in order to free themselves from a Monarchy that paid them little heed and yet desired ever increasing taxes.  At the end of it, the document they came up with was signed by all the crafters, making all of them subject to a death sentence for sedition by The Crown. No one of them hesitated.

One such Signer, was James Smith, lawyer in the back country west of the Susquehanna River, first in Shippensburg and finally in York, PA.

What these men did was history-changing not only for the new colonies, but for the world at large.  Their new nation took hold because of the principles they instilled in our founding documents (The Declaration of Independence, The Treaty with France, the eventual Treaty with England, and the Constitution).  Take a moment to remember these great men, and endeavor to replicate in small measure the ideals they proposed.

Happy Birthday USA, may you long live in Freedom.

Finally!

Finally, someone may be getting around to giving us the flying cars we were promised since the early 60's!  I can't wait for the inevitable traffic delays caused by idiots trying to "drive" these and messing up both the Interstate System and Air Traffic Control.  All it will take is one idiot to mess up the entire country.  I hope to be an early idiot adopter of the technology.

But no matter what, these vehicles will be better than the upcoming crop of cars we will be forced to deal with when the Green Agenda is full bore.

And in Triathlon News, Chris Foster won the San Diego Triathlon this past week.

Consuella Moore: National Champion and A Few (More) Good Men (and Women)

In no particular order:

• Ryan Fritz, 6th High Jump, 7' 2 1/2"
• Fawn Dorr, 3rd 400 M Hurdles,  55.99
• Blake Eaton, 16th Shot Put, 51' 11 1/4"
• Bridget Franek, 5th 3000 M SC, 10:07.49

And former PSU star Consuella Moore, National Champion, 200 M, 22.40.  She came back after a two-year hiatus!


It was a very good year for PSU Track and Field.  Get involved and help make the future even more exciting.  Operators are standing by. And remember, the golf part is entirely optional!

Addendum:  Kate Curran '06, current Head Coach of St. Lawrence University, has alerted me that I missed Shakeema Welsch's ('99) second place finish in the Triple Jump.  Blog fact checkers responsible for the slight have been sacked. 

Evonne Britton: National Junior Champion 400 M Hurdles

Evonne Britton one-upped her second place finish in the 100 M Hurdles at the USATF Junior Championships with a winning effort in the 400 M Hurdles.  She has qualified for the USA for the World Junior Championships upcoming in glorious Canada!  (You know, Canada, the country that's sort of like our attic.  You forget its up there, but when you finally remember, you find all kinds of great stuff up there.)

Karlee McQuillen also finished eighth in the Javelin. Megan Duncan finished 20th in the 400 M Hurdles, while Fawn Dorr, now representing Brooks, qualified for the finals of the 400 M Hurdles with the second fastest time.  Also qualifying was Shana Cox, former Lady Lion, giving Dear Old State two lanes in the finals.  Honorary PSU Track alumni Golfer Rebecca Donaghue placed 7th in the 5000M.  Brooklynne Ridder placed third in the  Jr.5000 M, just missing a place on the US Squad for Canada.

Casimir Loxsom: National Junior 800 M Champion

Casimir Loxsom outlasted this year's other 800 meter phenom Robby Andrews at the USATF Junior Championships in Des Moines, Iowa today to become the US National Junior 800 M champion.  Both will head to Canada for the world Junior Track Championships.  Casimir's time of 1:47.45 edged Andrews time of 1:47.75.

Bridget Franek also easily advanced to the Sr. Steeple finals.  Shana Cox advanced in the 400 M, while James Carney placed 8th in the 10,000 M finals. Nicole Lord also placed third in the Junior 3000 M steeplechase.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The Good is the USATF Championships (and Junior Championships) with some strong representation from current and former PSU athletes.  I'll keep my antennae up and try to bring you any significant performances.





The Bad is all the trouble Al Gore is in with women in the past few months.  Divorce and now scandal were never in anyone's thoughts about the former marathon runner turned Oscar winner and Nobel Prize recipient.

The Ugly is all the oil washing up on the Beaches of the Gulf.  I don't like the sand, the ocean, the sun or the crowds, but spend a week each year "down the shore" in New Jersey.  I wouldn't like seeing that stuff on the beach from my boardwalk table as I ate french fries and read the paper!

Is String Theory Failing?

Are the 11 dimensions of M-Theory the last word in uniting Quantum Mechanics and the Theory of Relativity?  Is String Theory a waste of time?  Is an untestable hypothesis worthy of pursuit?  Is it OK to wear your running shorts a second time before washing them?

Younger physicists are wondering whether their life's work will have any relevance at all in the understanding of our universe.  I wonder that every day.  Twenty-four years in Podiatry have led me no closer to understanding anything of significance.  Except that Medicare is a Big Black Hole.  (Black Hole is used in the Physics sense here and should not be confused with racism in any way.)

Without Hair: Running With the Knobs

It's been 13 years since I actually trained for a race, a fact I can remember quite easily as that is how old my oldest daughter is. (sic)  I was talked into training for the Disney World Marathon at a time when it was merely a ridiculously crowded race, not THE ridiculously crowded race it has become. Now, anyone who's anyone in the non-running world ends up at Disney each year to partake in the Run for the Park Pass.

I actually took training seriously for the first time since college, even taking PED's (not really, just Creatine, Siberian Ginseng and Echinacea, eventually dooming my chances for success.)  Two-a-days, tempo runs and even the occasional long run led to a fitness peak unrivaled since my Nittany Lion days. All was rosy as I headed out for a Fall vacation week in beautiful Charleston, South Carolina.

My wife, Barb and I took turns pushing the new-fangled, top-of-the-line baby jogger complete with Martha, our barely 5 or 6 pound 6 month-old progeny. The week went well and I even took a twenty mile run through every single neighborhood in the city.  There is no better way to see a city than by taking a long run through it.  The end of the week came and it was time for a few brisk half-mile repeats.  What better way to do repeats than by pushing an underweight 6 month-old around the Citadel during their cross-country practice in a baby jogger meant for a 15-pounder!

Just one repeat into the work-out, a tiny whine emerged from our otherwise fairly quiet baby.  It went away as soon as I started the recovery portion, but resumed again during the second repeat, this time a little more audible.  With my expansive parenting skills (none, still) and post-graduate degree aided intellect (hah!), I figured it must be gas, isn't that what they always tell us?  Alas, it went away again during the second recovery run, so all was well again as I weaved in and out of the "Knobs" also doing repeats of some variety in the Park outside of their Castle. 

The third repeat brought out a whine that now was noticed by others around me, causing some to ask "Is she all right?"   I assured the throngs of hairless cross-country runners that I had the situation under control, as again the recovery portion had silenced the little one in her canvas sling.  "Just one more to do anyway", I thought, what could go wrong?  Milliseconds after beginning the fourth repeat, the whine now caused dogs in the neighborhood to glance up, the "Knobs" to pause their work-out, and me to slink off in hopes the police would not come.

Taking solace in the return of silence from what now seemed like an alien who had replaced my baby in the three-wheeled contraption, I picked her up to finally console her.  What I encountered finally lit the light bulb above my head as to the problem all along.  For those of you ever in the baby-jogger situation in the future, secure your wee one's head in the device before attempting any vigorous runs.  I had rubbed the hair off the back of her head, a mistake in proper parenting that took many months to forget.  Martha had become the youngest female Knob in the citadel's history.

I slunk off in shame.

In my defense, I am now a better parent than these two!        One  and  Two.

Coach Groves Politically Correct? Who Could Have Known?

Coach Groves' famous quote, "Between whale sh*t and the bottom of the ocean...", about the effectiveness and application of Title IX was originally thought to be one of the most politically UN-correct statements of all time.  After years of deliberation and This Revelation, it may turn out that he was politically correct all-along.  Who could have known?

It turns out that whales only eliminate at the surface prior to deep dives to feed.  The "result" actually significantly combats global warming.  I wonder if Coach took that into consideration all along?  Instead of buying carbon credits from Al Gore, we could buy poop credits from Moby Dick.

"We're Going Streaking!"

Today finishes three years for my "Streak" of at least one continuous mile every day (12:00AM to 12:00AM) since returning from my latest knee surgery.  Such "accomplishments" are totally arbitrary, counter-productive and quite stupid, to say the least.  And yet I take great pleasure in reporting my idiocy anyway!  I can't run fast, I can't run far, but I CAN run a (pitiful) amount every day, (2.9 miles/day running and 2.9 miles/day on the elliptical in addition.)   Tomorrow, I'll think about starting the 4th year.

Some of the best parties our Old School track team ever had were held at John Ziegler's Apartment right across from Old Main.  It took me quite a while, but I finally found some old tape of one of those parties and converted it into digital goodness.  Here's John dressed up with a snazzy green hat, and Kelly O'Brien exhorting the crowd to join him for a late night run!  Ah, for those carefree days again.