January 29, 2013
- Nikon COOLPIX S6300
1/60th s
f/4
January 29, 2013
Glasgow International Match
Quick Recap:
I flew out of Portland Wednesday morning and landed in Glasgow Thursday afternoon. The hosting organization for this meet was great. Someone was waiting to pick me up and zoom me to the hotel.
I checked in and went on a nice shakeout run with my roommate for the weekend, Geena Gall. We definitely chose the wrong way to go on the path and ended up jogging six miles through old warehouses and dock buildings along the Clyde River. Good conversation made up for the lack of scenery. :)
After dinner and a solid night’s sleep (12 hrs, woohoo!), Geena and I decided on a day trip to Edinburgh. An easy 45 minute train ride, and we were 800m away from an amazing and historic castle. We paid the steep entry fee and spent about an hour wondering through the halls and buildings on sight. What a great experience. We could see the entire city of Edinburgh from the castle. It was such a nice escape from the hotel room!
Upon return, we did another shakeout run with a few strides from the hotel and a dinner of stuffed chicken, veggies, and potatoes. Though I knew what haggis was, I did not realize that’s what the chicken was stuffed with. Oh well, another Scottish experience!!
I slept well again and had a normal race-day morning. A little jog, a big breakfast, and a long wait…
Then, to the track! It was a well-run meet so it was easy to know what to expect. I did my normal warm-up then went to the call room for a little more waiting…
I stepped onto the track with a pretty definite race plan, which I didn’t follow at all. The race went out terribly slow, as expected, but because I had hip 1, I was on the rail and in the lead, without really wanting to be there. With three laps to go, I figured it was time to get the pace going. I knew the Russian (4:00 PR) and the German (4:04 PR) wouldn’t wait much longer. With one lap to go, I was on the leader’s shoulder, perfectly positioned to make a final pass for the win, but she slowly pulled away and I could not find another gear to stay with her! I truly wanted the win, but I’m satisfied (for now) with being competitive with two Olympians with much faster PRs than I have.
Positive take-aways: I dealt with the travel and time-change well. It was my first race of the indoor season and I was pleased. I closed in 1:35 for my last 600m - not sure I’ve ever done that before, especially indoors. It was a good start to 2013!
January 29, 2013
August 27, 2012
Lately, Brent and I have been trying to go “meat free” a few nights each week. Since we both grew up in the Midwest (Colorado and Nebraska), we’re used to a lot of red meat. Personally, I could live on bacon cheeseburgers without complaint. However, our evolving and environmentally aware food choices have led us to this decision. (It’s easier on the budget, as well.) Given what we’re used to, it’s hard to be on board with eating salad for dinner. We’re constantly looking for meat replacements when approaching this dilemma. Brent nor I feel full unless we have something “meaty” or hardy. Enter: Eggplant.
Tonight we had our first of two meals this week where the main “meat replacement” is, indeed, our (other) purple friend, the Eggplant. The first being Barny, of course. We picked up two of the largest Eggplants we could find, and breaded them with egg and panko/bread crumbs. Tonight we partook in stuffed Pita sandwiches. A few night from now it’ll be Eggplant Parmesan.
Last month when we were in Flagstaff, Az., a Canadian runner was looking for some dinner inspiration. Well, here’s two:
Baked Eggplant Pita Sandwiches:
Pretty simple, really. Skin and slice Eggplant. Cut into 1/4” slices. Bread (just like you would chicken) with egg and bread crumbs. Bake 20 minutes at 375. Put in Pita and stuff with whatever veggies your heart desires. We prefer tomatoes (especially ones from our garden), greens, cucumbers, and muchrooms. Also, feta chesse and hummus are must-haves in the Vaughn household.
Baked Eggplant Parmesan:
So tonight, I actually breaded and baked TWO large eggplants, then put one directly into a tupperware and on to the fridge. Tomorrow I will boil some pasta and heat some organic red sauce. As a side, we’ll pan fry some zucchini with salt, pepper, and oil. Yum. Simple. Kid-friendly — or at least my girls will eat it. Though we’ve offered it enough with no alternatives that they’ve had no choice but to eat it or go hungry. Our approach. Don’t judge. I will say that they literally cheer when certain veggies are on the dinner table now-a-days. Works for us.
Cheers!
August 26, 2012
June 18, 2012
May 30, 2012
T-shirts!
Join Team Vaughn!
Help support us by sporting our custom t-shirts while watching the Olympic Trials. Order by using the PayPal button in top left corner of the homepage. We’ll get them shipped out to you in time for the Trials. Thanks so much for your support!
Brent and Sara
May 8, 2012
May 8, 2012
goTeamVaughn
Anonymous asked: I watched Brent's general strength video when he was with Jay Johnson. In the video he refers to roaches as a type of sit up. I can't find any info regarding a roach. Could you help? Thanks.
Hi there, a roach is a type of sit-up where your knees and shoulder lift up and lower simultaneously. See pictures:
April 25, 2012
Workout, repeat.
I usually don’t recommend doing the same workouts every year, every season. It gets pretty boring, and, as any good coach could tell you, a runner needs new stimuli to make progress in fitness. BUT, every once in a while, it’s nice to directly compare the same type of workout year to year in order to see progess.
Last April, I headed to Fairview track in Boulder with Sara Slattery to attempt a 5 x 1000m (K) workout. The assignment was 75s/lap, or 3:07 per K, with 3 minutes rest. I struggled, struggled, struggled through 3, started a forth, and crawled home in about 2:35 for an 800m. (Sara S. rocked it, if I recall.)
Yesterday, I had basically the same workout here in Beaverton (yay, sea level).* However, Coach Cookie wanted me to run a mile (!), then 5 x K w/ 1:45 rest, then 2 x 400m fast. I was a little nervous to say the least, remembering this horrible failed experiment last April.
Yeah, it went great. The mile was easy, the Ks progressively got faster, and I did the quarters at 1500m race pace. I was very satisfied with it! And it was great to have awesome pacers and training partners. Carrie Dimoff also rocked the workout. :)
I think most of the satisfaction came from the fact that I can see in black-and-white in my training logs the progress I have made. Clearly, my ability to do a 5 x K workout has gotten better. Way better.
However, I have NO IDEA what this means over 1500m. And I know I still have a lot of work to do…
I race 1500m on Sunday at Peyton Jordan in Palo Alto, CA. Brent will race 10,000 later that same night. Wish us luck!
