Forever fast? Better keep working...

After last week break and a poor 16-mile running week but great get away in Lake Tahoe, I was going to title this weekend's post: "Back to work!" Indeed, many more miles this week, 85 in total, despite man work and short nights as a consequence. A great 4-mile repeat workout at the track with Bob on my birthday and too long runs this weekend. On Saturday, I joined the Stevens Creek Striders for our weekly meeting and ran with some of them up to Pichetti Winery before hitting Montebello Road up to Black Mountain. I added the Bella Vista trail loop and, as I was pushing hard on the second climb to Black Mountain, I ran into Chris (Garcia) who had left Mike Topper and Gary Gellin after starting at Windy Hill. After going on the Watermill trail, I had a great run down Montebello thanks to the extra cushioning of my Brooks Ghost 2. The road was actually very busy, first with many bikes going up, but also many cars visiting the two wineries on this road (Pichetti and Ridge). I kept pushing the pace going through Cupertino, clocking the last flat 3 miles at around 6:20 min/mile pace. I ended up running 29.5 miles just under 4 hours, for an average pace of 8:03 and 4,300 feet cumulative elevation. The rest of this week's running has been flat (Alviso, track or my neighborhood), including a 18.6-mile (30K) "recovery" run at 7:10 min/mile this Sunday. With some tapering and hopefully longer nights this week, I feel well prepared for Way Too Cool, although I have no expectations given the super competitive field and the fact that I will have to drive and leave the house at 4 AM on race day. The ultra life...

Back to the title, I received the email/announcement below from USATF this week and found this video interesting. You know, the "interesting..." that we use in the US when "great" is not appropriate. Indeed, as much as the theme of keeping competing in Track & Field despite the age appeals to me, I found that some of the images made the performances look very laborious. This is the part in me which feels that we, Masters, are not that old. My point is that, except for the pole vault which I found impressive, they could have picked smoother and more impressive runners and jumpers. For instance, I'd wanted to see our local Bill Dodson who, at 75, has a perfect running form, even at the end of a 50K or 50M and would have looked better than some runners on the track for a few laps. Now, sprinting is really hard as we age, and that's one reason I escaped into ultra, so congrats to those still chasing the tenths of a second on the track... Again, it's "interesting", and I of course like how this movie promotes our sport and camaraderie. And serve as an introduction to the upcoming World Masters Athletics in Sacramento in July. Here it is for you to see by yourself, if that makes you want to work hard to be... "Forever Fast..." (Visit the USATF website if the video inclusion doesn't work for you.)

See some of you next week at Way Too Cool. With the new course and the super fast guys on the entrants list, it's going to be very fast. For some anyway...



FOREVER FAST, USATF Masters Promotional Film, Premieres in Boston

INDIANAPOLIS - FOREVER FAST, the USA Masters promotional film, premiered in Greater Boston on Sunday, February 27, 2011, at the Waverley Oaks Athletic Club in Waltham, Mass. The film's inspiring theme - that athleticism is possible at all ages - was an obvious hit with the enthusiastic crowd at Waverley Oaks.

FOREVER FAST is a 14-minute USA Track & Field film that will promote Masters Track & Field throughout the United States. The film is a dynamic new tool that will 1) recruit new participants to Masters Track & Field and 2) attract sponsors that want to associate their products or services with "lifetime competitive fitness" and "positive aging."

Boston-based film maker, George Araneo, produced and directed FOREVER FAST under his company, Life Skills Productions. Editor and camera man for the film was Aleksandar Lekic, and the title and concept of FOREVER FAST originated with John Oleski, marketing chair for USATF Masters Track & Field. Gary Snyder, chair for USATF Masters Track & Field, was instrumental in getting USATF commitment for the film.
FOREVER FAST  will be shown throughout the U.S. at health and athletic clubs, and a multitude of other venues, for people who are already reasonably fit, but don't know about the opportunities for competition and camaraderie that Masters Track & Field offers.
FOREVER FAST  will also be presented as a continuous loop showing at road races, youth track meets (for parents, of course) and other venues.

To view FOREVER FAST, click here.