[01LUGrad]

I love your sig, Dan!

[01LUGrad]

I'm not trying to hijack this thread...really.
I was looking on letsrun.com and noticed a thread about Josh's training logs. I found one from 2005. http://joffroirunning.com/archives/mcd_09_2005.html
I have to tell you (Josh Cox and Pete can confirm), those workouts sound VERY familiar! Of course, I wasn't cranking out 120 mile weeks, but the other stuff is pretty much exactly what we did about 10 years ago. In fact, I passed out on a "Falwell Trail" threshold my freshman year! Ahhh, the red clay!

[Tatchi]

good to see people dropping in. In regard to the whole cross training or tri thing, I feel that it helps inprove overall cardio fitness and some muscle groups. It also lets me train more, in addition to miles. As the the Tatchi thing its a nickname thats been around for a while.....

[Josh McDougal]

Yeah,
It sounds like the old school Liberty guys were hard workers. Things really fell off a bit for a few years between that generation and our generation. When I came in me and all the other freshmen were higher milage guys than all the upperclassmen.
That was an old training log, now that most the guys live off campus I'd say that we do far more runs out at blackwater creek or out on some dirt roads off of 501 up by Eagle Eyre. Falwell trail just isnt that great for 22 milers.... We have also started to move away a bit or at the very least modify alot of the old way of Liberty training. More tempo and threshold runs, and less short stuff on the track, at least in the early season when there is no point in being race fit...
The biggest thing I was refering to about the program being different is the coaching. I'm not sure who was the distance coach back in the day, or if Tolsma perhaps worked with distiance runners back then more than he has in the past years. Now we have Jimmers and coach Zealand as well as some world class runners/GA's working with the program. I'm quite sure Liberty distiance runners did not have the privlage to pick the brains of NCAA Champions and World XC meadalists on a daily basis 10 years ago. Every year I have been here we continue to get more experianced people on staff to work with our distiance team. With the added numbers in staff focusing on distance our distance runners are getting more one on one time with experianced coaches, hence my hope that turnover within the team will be lessend....

I informed all 22 guys scheduled to come out for XC of this site. So far we have 6 or so on board, hopefully the others will make an appearance soon...

[PeterParker]

Interesting insights, Josh. Other than Jimmerson, what other world class runners do you guys have up there on the mountain these days as GA's.

Oh, and in my brief stint with the team back in the day, we did the classic LIBERTY workout, the track workouts you speak of, and one of the first runs we did (Freshmen initiation perhaps) was a run straight up the mountain right where the east dorms are at (ah, nothing like needing climbing gear on a run and to outrun disgruntled gun-totin' landowners yelling at you to get out of their pond.)

22 runners...what are some of the career stats on the new personnel?

[quote maker]

To answer that last question, Coach Zealand was the 2nd American in the World CC Championships a few years back and we are currently also working on getting David Cheromei here as a graduate assistant. He's beaten McD at least once, something most of us cannot claim. Though I don't have much time for posting here, it is nice to be able to read what goes on in the heads of our distance athletes and to get to know some of you a little before you arrive at Liberty. Great to read about those commitments to honoring the Lord. He is our source - of life, of peace, of joy and of power. As you learn to tap into Him more and more, you will be able to accomplish anything that is a part of His wonderful plan for you life. You will not be limited by your own hang-ups or insecurities, but only by His purpose which you can fulfill and which will give you fulfillment. Be patient with those who know nothing of His presence in their lives, for they are speaking from a position of ignorance. (Most of the posters on Letsrun) "The foolishness of God is far greater than the wisdom of men." I see God preparing to use you guys to do some more amazing things this coming year. It will be challenging, it will be exciting, it will be hard, and it will be fulfilling. Don't spend running time on the computer. All distance runners should be getting a least an hour/day of aerobic work these days. If you're injured, it should be in the pool or on a bike, rowing machine, or something. "Prepare the field for RAIN."
God bless: The Quote Maker

[Sly Fox]

Fingers need aerobic exercise too.

[Josh McDougal]

22 runners...what are some of the career stats on the new personnel?

Well the whole point of starting this thread was so we could learn about them. I know we have a bunch of guys returing, we only graduated 1 guy last year. We have atleast 1 good transfer ( though there is still some hope of a few more). We have several true freshmen coming in, though only 1 of them is a recriut, there are a few more guys walking on who would have been recriuted every year of our existiance prior to this year. Other than that I saw a list of several guys who I dont know anything about. 22 was the list of guys that are planning on coming out for cross country, though that list could grow a bit more, or shrink, nothing is set in stone yet. We will have to see who shows up for practice in August. Coaches summer training shedule though not as tough as the early/in season training is always rigorous enough to scare away the few people who are not commited enough to survive in a D-1 program.

P.S. exellent post quote maker. Your knowlege of spiritual matters is matched only by your knowlege of the inner happenings of our program (or perhaps you are on the inside?). I didn't think anyone knew of David being a GA yet....

[PeterParker]

Some info on David Cheromei for the unitiated browsing the thread: (article from last fall)

http://www.trackshark.com/blogs/TimGold ... f+VIC.html


With a GA who has Olympic Dreams and an LU rising senior with Olympic Dreams on the mountain, perhaps LU has the makings of an east coast distance runner Olympic Development Program in some cabin up in the Blue Ridge out there...complete the trifecta by luring Cox back to the mountain for an 18 month pre-olympic stint.

David Cheromei attends Virginia Intermont College, were he is a multiple time NAIA national champion. David has personal bests of 8:38 in the 3k steeple and 28:02 for 10k. David hopes that he can lead his team to another national crown this year in cross country. He has high hopes for this year and beyond.


What was your running background before you came to the United States?

It was great! I ran at home with some great runners. In fact my family are all top world athletes. My cousin is the world record holder in the marathon, Paul Tergat, and I would train with him back home. My sister is Lydia Cheromei she won World Jr. XC when she was 13, beating Paula Radcliffe. And is the #2 all time half marathoner. My brothers are both marathoners in Kenya. Joseph and Jeremiah both run 2:08 and 2:09 marathons...


What is your favorite part about being at VIC?

I think I have the best coach in the nation. It is a good environment for training. The people are nice here. I have a strong Christian faith and a strong church family here in Bristol.


What are your goals for this year?

I want to win every single race that I compete in. Progress through out the year and progress my training.


Do you have any time goals for this year?

Yea, I want to run 8:20 for the steeple. I want to run 13:30 or faster for the 5k. My aim is the steeple though.


Do you plan on running professionally?

Yes, of course man. One day when it is time to do so, hopefully by the next olympics.


Do you plan on staying in America after you are done with college?

Yea, I would love to stay and race here. But, I would like to go home and train in Kenya first. Hopefully I will become an American citizen in the future and run for this great country.


Do you have anything you want to leave us with?

Yes, two quotes. "You will all pay for pain," "Everything is possible through God, and have faith."

Do you stretch and if so when and how?

I stretch every time before starting any run, and after any race or run. I do 30 minute stretching on Wednesday with alot of kenyan drills. [Who knew the secret all along was the Kenyan Drills? ]

[Jarvis Jelen]

I'm here, I'm here, don't worry. Anyway, I am from Sioux Falls, SD and have been running since middle school, but I also played soccer through my junior year of high school and I was a low-mileage runner in high school. I looked at Liberty a little, late in high school and got to know Josh a little bit through the recruiting process. I never visited and decided to go to D2 Augustana College in Sioux Falls. I never intended on transferring, but I did not have a good experience at Augustana and I decided that if I was to transfer, it would only be to a school where I could count on my teammates being commited Christians and also commited runners. I visited Liberty my freshman year of college and really enjoyed it here and soon after decided on transferring for my sophomore year. I started training on a completely different level my sophomore year, starting with a 2 week visit to the McDougal's house in early August before we went down to school (which has become a tradition). I was very pleased with my cross country season that year and indoor track went well. I was injured for most of my sophomore outdoor season, which I think was probably a preventable injury if I wouldn't have made some mistakes in my training. Last year (Junior) I continued to increase my level of training and I had a good cross country season (except for regionals) and was excited to see what I could do in track. However, I was a little too excited and I got injured while back home in SD for Christmas break. I didn't run for about 2 months and ended up redshirting indoor and outdoor track this last year. I will be a Senior in cross country this upcoming year and a redshirt junior in track. My training is going pretty well now, but nothing big to report on except for that I am healthy and have been for awhile.

I thank God for bringing me to Liberty and I know it was in His will for me to come here and I have completely bought in to what our school and our program are striving for. I have improved as an athlete while at Liberty, but most importantly my relationship with God has grown so much stronger while I have been here and especially this last year. There are still some things I don't like about Liberty like the hair code (I've always had my hair long and this rule has been tough for me), but it is absolutely worth it sacrificing a few things to be able to go to a school like this and be a part of God doing big things with all of us. I am extremely excited for all the awesome things happening with our team and for the upcoming year.

I would have posted this earlier, but unlike some other people on here, I have a full-time job and have been really busy, I kid...but seriously. (I was a bum myself last summer though)

[PeterParker]

Welcome, Jarvis. Hoping for good things for you guys this year from afar.

[gjimmerson]

Hey guys,

Josh, thanks for starting this. It is great to hear what people are up to and get some background on guys. Like Jarvis, I grew up in South Dakota and spent my summers and winters running in ridiculous conditions. I started running when I was about 8. My parents took me to see the moving Running Brave, about a native american named Billy Mills. Awesome movie for all you running fans. Mills was from South Dakota, so when I saw him winning an Olympic Gold medal, I figured I could do that too. I never quite achieved that, but was part of a team Bronze medal at the 2001 World XC Championships in Belgium. That was the pinnacle of my career. I graduated from Stanford in 1998 and was on the 1996 team that won NCAA XC. That was definitely my college highlight. After graduating, I ran with the Nike Farm Team in Palo Alto and worked part time as a Mechanical Engineer in the silicon valley.

After a while I realized that I didnt' want to spend my life working with lasers, but would prefer working with people. That seemed to me more in line with the way God had created me and the purposes that he intended me for. It took me a while to really let go, but eventually the Lord gave me the peace I needed to pursue ministry. I left engineering and started working with Athletes in Action at Stanford in student ministry. During my two years with AIA I started to consider the possibility of coaching. My work on campus was largely being involved with the track athletes, and it just natually led me to want to coach. I spent a year in Chicago as a volunteer coach at Northwestern, and from there accepted the job at Liberty. I've been really blessed throughout my running career, and it is so fun now to be on the other side of things and try to help college runners achieve their potential. My first year at Liberty has been such a great experience, and I really feel like I'm at home. I know that the Lord's hand has been on the program with all the success we've had this year, and I do believe that we have greater things ahead in the coming year.

I'm also in transition in my personal life, as I'll be getting married on July 7 to my best friend Melanie Chan. She's awesome. I can't wait for you all to get to know her better. She works in the financial world in an area called Microfinance. Basically banking for the poor. They give loans, mostly to women, in developing nations where they live on less than 2 dollars a day. It is a really cool field. A guy named Mohammad Yunnis just won the Nobel Prize for this kind of work a few years ago. Anyway, Mel's coming out to Virginia to live with me after the wedding and will be looking for work as soon as she gets her green card (she's Canadian).

Another fun thing I'll be doing this summer is heading to Mammoth Lakes, CA for our 4th annual Altitude Project Christian Distance Camp. I can't wait. I know there will be a few Liberty men there this year, so I think that will be a great way to prepare for Cross Country. It is just an awesome time of training and fellowship, and it really challenges me personally to deepen my walk with the Lord. If you want to find out more about that, we have a website: www.altitudeproject.com

I look forward to hearing more about the rest of you, especially the new guys. I'll update you all more after the wedding.

In Christ,
Jimmer

[Sly Fox]

Welcome to the board, gjimmerson. Thanks for giving us your backstory.

As for the wedding, just go along with whatever she wants and it'll be great.

[DUB-DEUCE]

Yooooooo wats up team. My name is Emmanuel Theart but my family calls me NuNu. My friends call me DUB-DEUCE...if you don't know what that means, it means 22...wanna know more about that, just ask me. I'm 19 and from the grand old sunshine state FLORIDA (ima miss it and my car). I'm very excited to start my schooling at a christian college...Liberty University!!! Go Flames

I've attended public schooling thoughout my enitre education. My passion is helping others. My major is Secondary Education with a focus on 1.English and 2.Biology (Double major). I hope to start a missionary group alongside with yele.org at LU. Please help me pray for that.

I've been running since the 7th grade and missed out my sophomore year due to a secondary tear in my LCL but "I'm back!!!" I've competed everywhere, Junior Olympics, States, invitationals and local races. Even though i'm a distance runner, i believe i can run a solid 200m lol. my times are: 800m 1:59, mile 4:32, 2mile 9:32, 5k 16:44 and 8k...college will tell

wanna no more about me check out the myspace
www.myspace.com/143WhatDoesItMean

Your teammate,
-Emmanuel Theart

[PAmedic]

welcome to our hole in the wall.

good to have you here- hope LU is everything you want it to be! I'm sure you'll have a great time.

like the enthusiasm!

[thepostman]

Hey Josh, any chance you trim that crazy hair of yours before heading back to the mountain for another year of kicking major butt?

thats a joke right??

[Dan Hibbs]

well i don't really have anything to post training wise, but i seem to have gotten over my shin problems and started running on monday. i've been feeling ok, but i think its going to take a little while to get back into good shape. and i guess since a lot of other guys have posted prs ill go along and do it too. 800: 2:04 (im not very fast haha), mile: 4:30.00 (my coach showed me the watch), 2mile: 9:33, 5k: 15:40

[JCox]

2004 10k and 26.2 Olympian Dan Browne and I rented a condo up here at Mammoth Lakes for 4 months to get ready for the fall. We are joining former UCLA coach Bob Larson and his prized pupil Meb Keflezighi. Meb is a long time friend of mine, we both went to high school in SD in the early 90's. He also happens to own an Olympic Silver medal.

I'll be updating my website with video blogs, podcasts and ministry related material soon so be on the look out. This log will eventually make its way onto Competitor.com but I figured I'd post it here first.

Jimmer, when are you coming up? We had dinner with Nutter and his new bride the other night. Saw your wedding photos too - ultimate frisbee rules!

And a note to the college guys: Get your base in now. Championships are won in the solitude of summer miles.

Training Log Mammoth Lakes Training Camp July 2007

S- 15
m- 18
t- 14
w- 14
t- 17
f- 14
s- 18 felt like crap… I remember when I was fast.
s- 5 miles b4 church took afternoon off, I’ll go 20 tomorrow.
115 all singles


m- 20 miles
t- 16 miles
w- 11 miles July 4th
t- 18 miles
f- 15 miles drove to Mammoth
s- first run at altitude – Bob suggested I should run easy – Deena was running a tempo with, Matt Byrne, Dan and the rest of the crew – I ran with them for 2 miles… then ran the rest at 6 minute pace
AM-12
PM- 5 + core work
17 total
s- 1:52 at 9000 ft. 18
meb went 2:02
DB 1:36
iced in stream
115

M- AM- 1:30 debacle Better known as the left hand Inyo Crater Fiber One debacle … and that’s all I’m going to say about that. With Meb, DB and Bob. Stream.
PM – 25 minutes with DB then core work with Meb – 3 but I ran through town and back up to the condos 7 miles
19 total
T- AM – 9000ft. 2:05 Meb was running intervals on the lake – I ran the whole time. Base, base, base, strength, strength, strength. 19 miles Stream.
PM- 50 minutes easy with Meb and DB 7 + Core, weights and rope
26 for the day
W- AM- 1:30 with DB from Meb’s house on Meb’s trail as it is appropriately called. 13+ Stream.
PM- Meb told us he had a 20 minute loop. If you ask Dan we finished in 21:00 if you ask Meb 20:59 + Core, weights and rope 3
16 total
T- shady rest out and back with DB 12 miles + Meb cool down. 15 total
Pm- 48 minutes 7 miles easy + core
22 miles

F- Lake Mary 9000 ft.– 12 miles
PM – off – too many miles this week - 40 minutes of core and weights with Meb
S- AM- 13
PM- 5 miles
18
S- 21 mile long run - airport loop + mountain at the end. I put in a big surge for 3 miles from 12-14 - that was stupid. Meb came back and went off the front, DB went 17. I chased Meb up the mountain but he had put a few minutes on me.
Meb 2:17 - 2:21 for me – (db – 17 miles) - Roberto's for lunch on top of the mountain with the ladies. Jacuzzi with Meb.
134 MILES for the week - solid first week at altitude

[Sly Fox]

Was this in car, Josh?



Seriously doing that at altitude is making muscles ache just thinking about it.

[PAmedic]

well i don't really have anything to post training wise, but i seem to have gotten over my shin problems and started running on monday. i've been feeling ok, but i think its going to take a little while to get back into good shape. and i guess since a lot of other guys have posted prs ill go along and do it too. 800: 2:04 (im not very fast haha), mile: 4:30.00 (my coach showed me the watch), 2mile: 9:33, 5k: 15:40

question for HIBBS: ever tried training by dodging cars on County Line Rd?

I'd think that would come in handy- agility wise

just getting into the Wawa parking lot at County Line/Davisville is insane.

[PAmedic]

COX: I truly believe you are insane.

Just reading that made me so winded I had to go get a 20 oz coffee and a pack of Tastycakes.

God bless ya- keep up the good work.

[01LUGrad]

Josh C... I would love to be at altitude right now with you! The humidity here at the beach is insane. Oh...I would also like to run with the people that you are training with. Not that my high school kids aren't worth it, but... (I am doing in a week what you do Monday-Wednesday )

Did I miss your qualifier?

Good luck. Sounds like a lot of fun.

[JCox]

yeah, working hard up here. I did notice my first week was actually 8 days... but i only ran 5 on Sunday... hmm. oh well.

This week is coming along great. I don't have a qualifier yet but I was talking with Bob Larsen and we are mapping out the fall. I could tell you the plan but then I'd have to kill you - and that could get messy so I'm keeping it a secret.

--jc

here's a shot after the 21 miler on Sunday

[gjimmerson]

Hey Cox, good to hear from you, and I'm excited that you'll be up in Mammoth. You and Dan and Meb have to come talk at our camp. That would be awesome. I'll be up there July 27 - Aug 12, then I head back to Liberty. We have a good team this fall, so pray that everyone stays healthy and we'll turn some heads.

Jimmer

[JCox]

Hey Jimmer,

Sounds good brother. DB and I will be here - Meb just left the mountain for some racing. Dude is in crazy shape - no one will run away from him. Bix, Beach to Beacon and perhaps Falmouth. If he won all 3 I wouldn't be surprised. Only way he loses is in a kick - he can cover any move.

Give me a call on my cell when you get here.

DB and I are heading down to SoCal for 5 days after the long run on Sunday but then we'll be back.

For training clips check out:

www.youtube.com/jaycarbon

I just started the page - it's a work in progress. More vids to come.

--jc