Youngstown, Ohio

BY KENNETH LUNDGREN

Hey Guys,

Things have been going well… Been spending a ton of time in front of the laptop lately, laying out ATPs and making sure everyone is getting on track for 2009… As mentioned, this time of the year can be very tricky. Regarding the training, it’s nice to get out now, with mellow miles, to enjoy this time of the year… Autumn is, by far, my favorite time of the year…

Not riding a whole lot. But I’m running a ton. I am running close to 7 hours a week. What’s nice is you just tie the shoes and out the door you go. Whooooooooooooooosh. Nice to just get out…

I have a few runs I do — of course I’m always thinking of how to approach this stuff!!! Nothing too regimented, but I’ve been basically doing shorter recovery runs, longer endurance runs, and medium-distanced tempo runs. Keep it simple. As Michele Ferrari once said, “Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity.”

And each run is getting better. My longer runs are over 90m, and now I’m really getting into the groove.

Today was my longest run thus far, almost 10 miles exactly, and I was VERY surprised how strong I felt and how fast I went — I flew and it felt, dare I say, easy. This just reinforces what I’ve been saying: I’ve been doing tons of easier running, lotsa light endurance and steady tempo, and today when I felt like opening up and just GOING, the body responded very, very well (but only after a long, steady build-up).

During the length of today’s run, I ended up on the course we used to run during our high school wrestling days. Up Sunset. Down Brooklawn. Up this Munson Road (helluva climb), back down Sunset. Almost 3 miles. And it was nice to get back, almost deja vu of YEARS ago running those same roads. Only now, strangely, I felt so much faster. I just ripped up Munson as if it were flat and I can remember clearly, even when in top wrestling shape, that climb KILLED me… 🙂

On the way home, I slipped into a trail for almost a mile, then cut out on the other side. Very nice day, temps in the low 50s when I departed. Nothing like working out in perfect conditions. Just puts a nice taste in your mouth for the rest of the day…

Taking mini-vacation this week. Headed to Youngstown, Ohio to watch Saturday night’s Calzaghe-Jones fight with Kelly Pavlik. Youngstown is Planet Pavlik, a dying steel-mill town in the heart of the rust belt, but this young fighter has given the town huge hope and inspiration…

At the press conferences, where fighters get in each other’s faces, talk smack and boast and try to intimidate in staredowns, Kelly shows he’s not interested in any of that. He gets up on the podium, then taps the microphone off his hand. “YOUNGSTOWN,” he says deeply. “YOUNGSTOWN…” It’s a little weird, but also captivating… He then goes on to give his humble 5 cents… Very interesting fighter…

This weekend, no tape recorders, no cameras, no pens. Just a writer going out to meet with a fighter and have some good times. Maybe we’ll play tennis or go for a bike ride Sunday. I’ll try to take it easy on him!

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Coach's Diary | Tuesday, November 4th, 2008 | | |