Chasing The Trials

Hello everyone my name is Travis Hobbs. I am a former Master's College runner who just never left town. This is my first contribution to the Runners Lane blog. I have recently returned to the staff at Runners Lane after a short away from the local running community.

I am inviting you into my weekly training in preparation for the LA Marathon in March, where I am hoping to dive into the low 2:20's of not a sub 2:20 gaining me an Olympic Trials birth.

I am coming off of a decent base phase where my mileage averaged into the high 90's to low 100's. Now transitioning into my marathon specific training which has brought my mileage and intensity to a whole new level that I have not seen in several years since graduating from college I am looking forward to each run. Just yesterday I went on my longest run yet in my build up reaching the two hour mark and averaging 6:00-6:30 pace on my run. Everything was rolling smoothly through the first hour, and then I realized I had only packed one gel and not two!

Post long run I ate a monster chop salad from Stonefire along with a few breadsticks and a bowl of tortilla soup. I washed it all down with Fluid Recovery mix, and a few liters of water.

I learned that preparations for long runs should be identical to preparing for a race (everything should be laid out the night before) this prevents you from leaving something behind! Training has been a real battle, my training partner Kyle Robinson just got married and has been out of town for the past couple of weeks. Lucky for me, my wife pushes me out the door in the morning to get the run in.

The next two weeks in my training cycle will consist of longer runs and tougher workouts, but I am taking it one run at a time. A preview of what is to come: Ten mile tempo, some fast three minute sections, and another monster long run. Until next time be consistent, and don't forget your gels.

Travis