Graveyard Train

I’m back in Toronto for an 8 day respite from the Desert. I guess it was wishful thinking, but I was really hoping the weather would be fairly nice here. As I traveled up and across the continent, however, the weather got progressively worse. From some snow and gloom in Kansas City, to a full on snow storm when I arrived in Canada.

It made me want to get back on the plane.

With about a foot of snowfall from the day/night before, I got in the car yesterday with my brother and headed down to the graveyard for my long run of 50 minutes (its all relative). The graveyard always seems to get plowed within hours of the snow, no matter how bad! The 2 ¼ mile loop surrounded by graves and mourners can be a bit wearisome, but I’ll gladly take it in exchange for the secure footing! The burning in my lungs and muscles from the cold was a bit of a shock to the system...I guess I’ve already gone soft after living in Arizona for only 2 months!

Training is progressing well after a couple of solid workouts this week. They included a bit of strength and a bit of speed, I even ran a 28.5 for 200m! I’m also able to go for real runs now without having to take walking breaks in the middle, which is nice...There are times that it feels like I’ve ripped something open inside of me again and a constant general soreness in the area of the surgery/groin. It’s kind of annoying, but something that I’ll just have to deal with for a while. I forget sometimes that it’s still only been 3 months since surgery…

Despite the weather, it will be nice to be home for a while. Out for a run and then headed into the city to the Burger Bar (great spot) for dinner with Tim Konoval and Mike DelMonte tonight…

  - Linc

You Can't Roller Skate In a Buffalo Herd

Yesterday evening a group of us decided to go check out some live Roller Derby action in Phoenix. There’s a first time for everything and with the potential to see all that Brawn and Beauty first hand, I was pretty excited; we were in store for a double-header. The first match pitted the AZ Derby Dames Hot Shots against the LA Derby Dolls Fight Crew. It was a blow out. The Hot Shots were simply outclassed. Next up was the Brutal Beauties vs. Runaway Brides. Again, it wasn’t much of a contest; the Runaway Brides ran away with it…In the end, there was definitely a lot more Braun than Beauty and a desperate need for some skating lessons. Nevertheless, it was still thoroughly entertaining. How could it not be when the girls had names like: Craven Cadavers, Hell Hussy, Karma Knockside, Vulvarine, Killin Mae’ Smalls, Deja Déjà Vu, Hilary Skank, and Trixie Biscuit. Not to mention the guy in the seat next to me who declared himself the biggest piece of white trash there and provided us with one-liner gems all night. Here’s a piece of the action:

 On a side note, I was back on the track Saturday morning for a nice dose of some longer intervals (1600, 1200, 1000). The stuff that always makes me suffer, even when I am fit! It was really windy out, so of course the fat kid had to break the wind for the girls on each lap…I was still really happy with how things went though. If you had told me I’d be working out on the track right now a month ago, I wouldn’t have believed it! Also, I broke 30 seconds for a warm-up 200m which is the fastest I’ve gone in a really long time. I was proud of myself.

This morning saw a group of us meet down at ASU to hit the trails for a long run. I made it 48 minutes straight and 58 total. Easily the most I’ve done so far and my body responded pretty well, especially after yesterday. We stopped by the Coney Island Café afterward for a nice breakfast/brunch…time for a nap!

    - Linc

On the Road Again

The journey is long and arduous; both my travel to Scottsdale and the path remaining before me. After leaving Toronto on December 27^th, 2010, I traveled 2,270 miles, through 2 countries, and 11 states…and saw 37 different state license plates.

Nevertheless, there is a long way left to go.

Trying to get an injury diagnosis, the complete downtime, surgery, and rehab have been a long and drawn out process that seemed like it might never end. I’ve come a long way, but I’m still nowhere close to where I need/want to be.

On Tuesday, I got back on the Track for basically the first time since I finished (slowly) at Penn Relays on April 24^th of 2010 - Almost 10 months. I’m fortunate enough to have some great training partners down here with me, so the road back to respectability, although difficult, will at least be bearable. I’ve been thrown back into the mix with the women’s training group we have here; consisting of Andrea Parker, Ashley Hinther, Lisa Aguilera, and Lemlem Bereket. I’ll be their workout bitch for the next couple of weeks as I try to regain some fitness. Except on the steady state and surge sessions, I’m sure they’ll still hand it to me!

The workout on the track (2x600, 500, 400) went better than I expected. It’s nice to know that I haven’t forgotten to run (moderately) fast and turn left. Seriously though, I handled it pretty easily and had no pain at the surgery site, which is the most important thing at this point! One step at a time.

It’s finally starting to feel like I’m back on track…

  - Linc

p.s. Lemlem asked me if I had lost weight yesterday, because I was looking way too heavy before. That must mean I’m moving in the right direction!?

Sweet Home Arizona

As the New Year comes along, so too do new challenges and changes…This fall, I made the decision to switch to a new coach and training group. It wasn’t a decision that I made quickly or easily; but in the end, something that I thought needed to be done. I’ve joined the National Training Center under the supervision of Wynn Gmitroski (coach of World Silver medalist Gary Reed) and look forward to working with him over the next couple of years.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get off to the best of starts with the new group since I had to have sports hernia surgery on November 30, 2010.  Surgery left a nice scar (bye bye modeling career), but it took care of the pain I’d been having for almost a year, so I’d say it was worth it!

I wasn’t able to do any real training before the surgery and I was pretty much useless, (more so than normal), for about 3 weeks after the surgery. So, upon my arrival in Scottsdale, AZ, after about 7 months of no training, I was fat and out of shape.

Things progressed rather slowly for the first few weeks (barely being able to do a lap of the track without dying) and I was still having pain in my groin/lower abs. But, in the last week or so, it really seems like I’ve finally turned the corner and my comeback is on!!

It feels like there’s a lot to say since I’ve just started this thing, so I’ll try to jot down some more this weekend while I’m lying at the pool enjoying the 26/80 degree weather we have here…Those numbers are Celsius and Fahrenheit, by the way, to accommodate my Canadian and American readers! 

     - Linc

I'll Take You to the Candy Shop

And so it begins…my first foray into the world of online blogging. The title has nothing to do with what I actually have to say, but I thought it sounded intriguing, so I went with it…After much procrastination, cursing, and wanting to throw my computer across the room, the website is finally up and running. There are still a few areas that need some work, so bear with me until it’s finished…

The blog will be a way for me to provide everyone with some insight into my training, racing and everyday life as I venture towards 2012 and beyond. I’d like to think that I’ll have the initiative to write something on here every week (or more frequently); But, I can be pretty lazy, so I’m not making any promises… and I may not be able to say everything that comes to mind; nor, probably, should I. But, hopefully, I’ll still have enough interesting things to say to keep it entertaining!

Stay tuned…