What is your athletic background?

While I've always been very competitive, I've had little formal athletic experience.  When I was in college at USL in the early 70's I sort of accidentally ended up on the cross country team in the fall of 71.  I scored no points and did not letter.  This was the year after Tom Hopkins concluded his eligibility.  Incidentally, Mike Alexander was on that same team.

 
How long have you been running?
 
9 and a half years.
 
What are your PR's for the various race distances and when did you set them?
 
200m--29.31 secs.; 400m--1:07; 800m--2:30.39; 1500m--5:14.55; 5000m--18:25; 5 mi.--30:28; 10K--37:46; Half-marathon--1:24:25; Marathon--3:22:30.  All of these marks were set in the first half of this year except the marathon which was set at Boston in 2003.  Next week I expect to set a new pr in the marathon at Huntsville, Ala.
 
What are your other interests?
 
I read a great deal.  About 120 books a year--novels, history, biography and theology.
 
I understand you don't stretch at all.  Care to comment on that?  Do you cross train in any other way?
 
My stretching is limited to when I'm feeling especially stiff.  On those occasions I stretch only the body part that's bothering me.  Cross training--weight training though I don't enjoy it and do as little as I think I can get away with.  Over the years I've also done a lot of bike riding to save my legs some of the pounding.
 
Do you adhere to a particular diet or dietary philosophy?
 
I try to limit my intake of sweets and fats.  Regarding sweets I seem to have only two choices--eat everything I can get my hands on or abstain altogether.  I do take vitamin and mineral supplements, particularly trace minerals.  I believe this has had a significant impact on my health as well as my athletic performance.
 
I understand you have an on-line coach.  Has he been a big part of your success?  Can you tell us how that works?
 
The jury is still out on how much he is helping me.  I didn't start training with him until the middle of June this year.  The pr's I set this year were all set before that.  Having said that, let me hasten to add that my best performances have usually been in the first half of the year.  So, the acid test will be how I perform in the first half of next year.  I can say that, although he has me doing almost exclusively strength work, I am running faster than I ever have in the fall.  To be fair to him, I told him I was not particularly interested in running fast right now.  Rather, I asked him to help me to be ready to attempt to dominate on the national level when I reach 60--13 months from now.
 
I believe you told me your mileage ranges from 60 to 90 per week, right?  Is that a huge increase from what you were putting in 5, 10, 15 years ago?
 
Last year I ran 2500 miles.  That was the most ever.  This year I will probably run 3200 miles, and next year probably close to 4000.
 
Is it the volume that counts, or is it more about training smart and having a plan?  You put in lots of miles at what would seem a pedestrian pace for someone as fast as you, right?  Can you give us a look at a typical week or offer some insight into your training structure?
 
Both.  The key to physical improvement is to properly manage stress and rest.  Too much stress and you either break down or plateau.  Too much rest and you definitely plateau.  A fairly representative week when I have no race would be as follows:  Sun.--6 mi. at 8:45 pace; Mon.--8 mi. at 8:45 pace; Tues.--13 mi. at 7:20 pace; Wed.--8 mi. at 7:20 pace; Thurs.--8.25 mi. with 2X2mi. at 6:20 pace; Fri.--8 mi. at 8:45 pace; Sat.--21 mi. hills at 7:20 pace.
 
What does running mean to you?
 
A lot of things.  First, of course, it's a boon to my health.  It's also an outlet for my competitive juices.  Additionally, running is about the only thing I know which, when I do it, allows me to relax my mind.  It has also been quite a boost to my ego achieving the success that I have.
 
Can you name three favorite books - running related or not.
 
The Bible, The Politics of Guilt and Pity by R. J. Rushdoony, and No Other Standard by Greg Bahnsen.  I could easily add another hundred or so books to this list.