The Life and Times of Sam Luna

  I have enjoyed getting some time to focus on my running and there is something about you first love (in sports). I remember running laps around our cul-de-sac as a kid dreaming of olympic glory. No Paris for me this year, but I will make a "run" at nationals in Cali later on. I have always had a sweet spot for the 1500/mile. Definitely not my best event, but do what you love, and accept the outcome. I had a good build and speed period to get ready for the race at Rice University. The down side was a 1pm start, so very hot. I wanted to be 4:45 range for the 1500m race, but came up a bit short at 4:52. I will blame it on the heat and I died in the last 200m. Started out strong and led from the gun. Driving into the last lap before the monkey jumped on my back Yep, thats all there was to give. I must also say that I am proud to represent BKV Energy . I joined the team a year ago as a new startup in the retail energy space. They have also help support my athletic pursuits. The ...

Over the winter break after the Brickhouse Triathlon I decided to mix up my winter training and work on some running speedwork. I found the USATF Masters was hosting their regional meet at UH, so of course that sounded perfect. Training I created a training plan that had 1 speed workout and 1 strength run a week; a couple recovery runs and a couple days of easy cycling. Core speed work focused on repeats at mile pace, or just slightly under. My goal was to get to a 5 min mile. Most of my speed work ended up at a 5 min mile pace, which set me up race day for a 5:08-5:10 goal mile. Assuming 1 sec slowly per 400, plus another 1.5-2 for the full distance. Race Day I decided race day to give the 5 min mile a go, fully knowing that my times didn't reflect it. Warm up consisted of about a mile and half jog, 4x100 strides a bit faster than mile pace, lots of stretching and waiting. I went out at goal pace and held on through 1009(first lap of the mile is 209m), with 2 laps to go the wheels...