World’s Fastest Human?

Anyone catch the Visa Championship Series – Reebok Grand Prix Track Meet yesterday on NBC?

Tyson Gay demolished the 200 meter field that included Wallace Spearman and Jeremy Wariner.

I mean, he totally destroyed the field.

In doing so, he clocked a PR 19.58, becoming the third fastest man to run 200 meters, behind only the 200 former world record holder Michael Johnson, and the 100 & 200 current world record holder Usain Bolt.

Can’t wait to see the 2009 Track & Field season heat up.

I also can’t wait to go for an easy 5-miler this morning, so I better get going.  Carpe diem, jeff noel  🙂

In Memory of Pre

Steve Prefontaine

Everyone who knew of him called him, Pre.

Jan. 25, 1951 – May 30, 1974

If there ever was an American runner who had courage, guts and vision, Steve Prefontaine would have to be at the top of the list.

Click here – Pre You Tube videos – and take your pick.

One of my all-time favorite movies, in any genre, is Without Limits– the Steve Prefontaine story.

He was a front-runner.  meaning, he went out front, grabbed the lead and held onto it until the finish line.

His coach, Bill Bowerman, at the University of Oregon, tried to get him to hold back and draft off other runners.  Hold back so he could run his last mile faster than his first mile – and probably his overall time would be faster.

Pre, basically, would have none of it.

(Click here – Pre’s attitude – to play the movie trailer)

The only way he knew how to run was flat out, all the way.

Even if he lost, he would always know that he left nothing on the track.

His greatest race was the 5,000 at the 1972 Munich Olympics.  He finished fourth.

But it was still his greatest race.

If I have to explain it to you, then you probably won’t understand.  But that’s OK.  There’s a ton I still don’t understand.

I do understand one thing though, if your goals aren’t impossible, you’re not reaching high enough.  You can quote me on that one. 

Carpe diem and leave nothing on the trackjeff noel  🙂

Can’t Wait to Get Started!

I’ll be heading out for a run soon. 

I’m hungry.

Not for breakfast, but for speed.

Life is hard and figuring it all out requires a great deal of effort. 

The past two days were “active rest”, meaning I didn’t do any type of workouts – no gym, no run, no track work.

Actually, I haven’t been on the track in 23 months, since July 2007.

In 2007, one week before Nationals and four weeks before Worlds, I had a sharp pain in my right foot.  It was plantar fasciitis.

Since I’m almost two months away from the Master’s Track & Field World Championships in Finland, I have made a commitment to be on the track tomorrow.

Two months of speed work ought to put me in a decent position to be the slowest of the fastest.

I hope your future goals are bigger than anything you’ve done in the past.  Carpe diem, jeff noel  🙂

Is Rest Under Rated?

Rest sometimes seems counter productive.

Doing nothing could mean we are not advancing towards our goal.

How can not advancing be a good thing?

So we push ourselves.  We compromise.

At least that’s my temptation.

More is better, right?

Well, I’m trying not to make the same mistakes four times, and stay injury free this season.

Yesterday was, and today is, dedicated to rest.

What this also does, is make me hungry for the next workout.

How important is hunger in achieving your goal?

Stay hungry, get some rest, and never let your memories be bigger than your dreams.  Carpe diem, jeff noel  🙂

World Record 400 Meters Video Story

Here is the video story of the fastest 400 meters ever run.

It was done at the 1999 World Track & Field Championships, in Seville, by Michael Johnson.

By the way, Michael Johnson currently holds the world records in both the 200 & 400.

While none of us will ever break a world record, we might ask ourselves, “Have I given it my all?  Have I done my very best.  Do I have any regrets?

Carpe diem, jeff noel  🙂