Speed Week, PSU, & Lynyrd Skynyrd

I capped off my tough week of training with the XC crew with a wonderful Saturday morning speed workout on the track. No invite this weekend, so extra speed work.

Essentially, what we did was 4 x 1600m where we were breaking it down by 200's. The first 200 was a constant pace for all four 1600's at a little quicker than road pace (6:00 miles - 45 sec/200). The 2nd 200 to complete each lap was to be a quicker pickup to simulate surging in the race. On the first mile, we were shooting for 38-39 sec and worked our way down to 33-35 sec on the last one. We got a good 4 or so minutes of rest in between. This all together came out to 5:20-5:35 miles. Whew!

Now, it's taper "week" for me as I get ready for the Great Race. When I only race three or four times a year, I make sure I'm well tapered for each one to make the most of race day.

PSU over the OWLS
It wasn't pretty in the first quarter, but the Lions got rolling with 31 points in the 2nd quarter to take care of business (again) against ANOTHER inferior opponent in Temple. It ended up 45-3. Next week, a well-rested Illinois team comes to Happy Valley in PSU's first true test. I'll say it again, I hope the D-Line doesn't get worn down in the second half. But, then again, with the way the offense is rolling Illinois may need 50 points to win.

Pitt actually had a character win against Iowa. They came from behind in the 4th quarter. The Big East looks so weak, Pitt may still win the whole thing if they beat South Florida in a few weeks. But, we'll see how they look against meager Syracuse next weekend.

Skynyrd
I was down at PNC Park for the Pirate game Saturday night with a couple of the track coaches. They mainly wanted to go because of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Concert after the came. The game itself was one of the better-played games the Pirates have had all year as they won 6-4. The concert was decent, too. I'm not a big fan of 70's & 80's rock, but those guys (as over the hill as they looked), could sure jam. There's nothing like the spontaneity of live rock music and jamming.

One of the other coaches was joking that there were about 7,000 people there for the Pirates and 30,000 for the concert....he's probably not far off as not many people left after Nyjer Morgan's great racing catch on the left field line ended the game.

Rough Day for the Stillers
The Steelers came back down to earth today in Philly as the O-line lived up to the preseason expectations placed on them and they lost 15-6. They were very mediocre all day as Big Ben was running for his life and had no time to pass.

Baseball's Playoffs Around the Corner
Congrats to Jen Harrison's Chicago Cubs as they clinched the NL Central. Good luck to them in the playoffs. Also, congrats to the Tampa Bay Rays in their first playoff berth clinching.

I feel like I've somewhat followed Tampa Bay's run. Last November, when we were in Clearwater for Beth's 70.3 World Championship race, the front page story in the St. Petersburg Times was that the organization announced the change from the "Devil Rays" to the "Rays" (like sunshine).

In April, when were were back down there for Beth's St. Anthony's race, the Rays were just wrapping up a statement sweep of the Boston Red Sox. Then, my "All You Can Eat Seats" Day at PNC Park at the end of June, I saw (you guessed it) the first place Tampa Bay Rays. Coincidence? Maybe I should put some money on them for the playoffs (if I actually gambled).

Time to hit the hay and get ready for another big week of school and resting up for the big race next weekend.