goTeamVaughn

Castle of Edinburgh

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 12:57:24 -0800

Castle of Edinburgh

Glasgow International Match

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 12:50:00 -0800

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!

Glasgow International Match 1500m

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 12:30:00 -0800

Glasgow International Match 1500m

Veggie Delight Lately, Brent and I have been trying to go “meat free” a few nights each week. Since...

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 10:01:30 -0700

Veggie Delight

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!

Veggie Delight Lately, Brent and I have been trying to go...

Sun, 26 Aug 2012 20:45:00 -0700

Veggie Delight

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:

Baked Eggplant Parmesan:

Cheers!

Photo

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 20:37:20 -0700

T-shirts!

Wed, 30 May 2012 12:59:00 -0700

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

Photo

Tue, 08 May 2012 15:37:07 -0700

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.

Tue, 08 May 2012 15:36:16 -0700

Hi there, a roach is a type of sit-up where your knees and shoulder lift up and lower simultaneously. See pictures:

Workout, repeat.

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 08:42:38 -0700

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!

Sara Vaughn Scrambled onto Team USA

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 23:19:28 -0700

Sara Vaughn Scrambled onto Team USA

Photo

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 00:30:56 -0800

Merhaba Turkiye'den

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 00:28:00 -0800

Hello from Turkey!

When you’re training very hard, and nothing is out of the ordinary (no new injury, chamionship won, PR, or pregnancy to tell about), its easy to ignore the blog. I’ve recently felt as though I have nothing to report. Things have been going according to plan, which makes my running life somewhat…boring.

But you know what’s not boring?

(Above photo.)

Just looking at it makes my heart pound. Thinking about wearing it makes me want to, as Sara Hall put it, “sprint a Long Run.” And though being here in Istanbul and representing my country was all part of the plan, it’s anything but mundane.

I am incredibly excited and feeling so blessed to have this oportunity. And if I’m able to take advantage of this opportunity (which I plan to), it shall be rather exciting!

Aside from the international competition and World Championship experience, I’ve been trying to take in as much of the Turkish culture as possible. Each day I’ve encountered something new. Among them: being chased by stray dogs, making friends with an anchovy fisherman, seeing amazingly elaborate mosques, drinking super-strong coffee, sampling five different kinds of Turkish Delight (most for free, thanks to the beautiful Brenda Martinez, whom the Turkish men love), and buying little gifts for the girls.

Today (Thursday) will be pretty low key. Mostly relaxing in the hotel room. I just returned from a light massage and will head over to the competition venue soon. We’ve only had access to the practice track so far, so it will be nice to see where the races will take place. After that, a little skype with Brent and my girls, dinner, and hopefully a good night’s rest.

I race at 6:30 local time tomorrow night I’ll post an update after. Wish me luck!

Hey, Brent, are you planning to run the Marathon Trials?

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 12:57:56 -0800

Yes, sir, I am! I’ll be on the starting line in Houston in January. It will be my marathon debut. I will still plan on running the Track Olympic Team Trials next summer, also.

Marathon training has been going really well and I’m looking forward to it.

Family at the Pumpkin Patch. This was the best photo we could...

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 13:44:43 -0700

Family at the Pumpkin Patch. This was the best photo we could muster.

Baby doing exercises with Daddy-O!! What a big girl.

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 20:12:16 -0700

Baby doing exercises with Daddy-O!! What a big girl.

800m Time Trial did not go as well as expected. Still unded up...

Fri, 22 Jul 2011 14:51:00 -0700

Mom and babe post-workout

BEST fan ever

800m Time Trial did not go as well as expected. Still unded up with my third fastest time ever(unofficially)- 2:04.1. I totally died the last 200m, but it was good practice. I ran hard! Thanks so much to the guys our there helping me, especially Jon Riley, the perfect pacer!!

—Sara

“My future is so bright, I have to wear shades.”

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 13:25:13 -0700

“My future is so bright, I have to wear shades.”

Time Trial

Wed, 20 Jul 2011 14:50:00 -0700

What: BAC, Chris Cook Hosted 800m Time Trial for Sara Vaughn

When: Friday, July 22nd at 1pm sharp

Where: Nike World Headquarters’ track

Who: Sara Vaughn, Jon Riley (Pace), Jon Marcus, Ahrlin Bauman, Alex Cameron

Why: Mostly for fun, to get a race stimulus before racing again in August

Results, pics, and video posted here after event.

Hey-I'm a personal trainer/track and field coach pursuing my running goals and I followed you guys a lot when you were with Jay Johnson. I really enjoyed the posted training videos to get insight on what your supplemental training consisted of. So, hows training in Oregon going? What made you guys decide to leave Colorado?

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 15:16:00 -0700

Hello,

Great questions. We decided to leave Colorado for Brent to join Jerry Schumacher’s group here in Beaverton. The group offers a lot of world class training partners with whom Brent can train. Also, the resources here at Nike are unmatched.

That said, we loved Colorado, and always will. We will be back someday. This was a career move, but Boulder will always be our home. We also loved working with Jay Johnson and our training partners there. We will miss it, but this is something we had to do.

So far it’s going really well. Sara has PR’d by 3 seconds in the 1500m. Brent was injured when we left Boulder, but he’s back to training now. We’re hoping for a big 2012!!