This is Zack, and it's nice to be checking back in! Wow, this has been quite the week in Illinois. This weather has really made it difficult to train, especially consistently. Consistency is crucial to a runner's training, and those who were able to accomplish this throughout this week have really demonstrated their dedication and love for the sport. Between the extreme cold earlier in the week and the snow that came in this weekend, the weather has separated the men from the boys.
Our team was forced to train indoors for parts of this week due to the inclement weather, but we were still able to execute the workouts that we needed to get done. The guys all got in a tempo/ fartlek workout on the treadmill on Tuesday, and then came back and knocked out a workout on the indoor track Saturday morning. It was pretty awesome to watch the guys kill those intervals, especially Jared Spilky, who was really getting after it out there. Of course I can't forget to mention Ryan Clevenger rolling sub-60 second quarter mile repeats mid workout on a 160m track. I'd say that he's been doing fine this winter... But seriously, the kid's a monster, and I'm very excited for what he will accomplish this season. Anyways, training inside can make already difficult workouts even tougher, and it sure does take a lot of mental toughness to get them done with enough intensity. No doubt, a week like this may set some teams back, but I can confidently say that it did not trip up DGN one bit.
Hopefully, the weather will clear up a little bit over the next few weeks here so that we can get in some more quality workouts outdoors, but, nonetheless, we are still very excited that the season is upon us. We are ready to go despite the miserable winter that Illinois has had this year. I know it has not just been our team that has been working hard, and I'm excited to see some of the guys from other schools in our conference compete. Knowing that there will be plenty of great runners and new competition in every race is part of what makes track such an enjoyable sport. Best of luck to everyone in their training in this weather, and I'll be checking back in next week!