McMillanElite :: Charlie Serrano

Entry #74
Week of November 3, 2008
by Charlie Serrano

* Long Sigh * Ok, where to start? Well, I guess a few things have been going on since I last “blogged” and I'd be lying if I said everything was fine n' dandy. Since my horrible run at the San Jose half a few weeks back I've had some real inconsistent training and I think I may have hopped back into the higher mileage too soon after the race. I had been dealing with tightness in both legs that carried on for quite some time and am currently fighting a calf issue that just won't go away. I'm starting to speculate whether it may be a fatigued calf, rather than an extremely tight calf. It seems as if I cannot catch a break up here with my recovery after runs and workouts, and seeing as my decision to move up here is probably my only real shot to improve AND still be able to afford food and gas without having to mooch off the parents, I'm determined to turn things around and I won't let this little setback be the end-all-be-all, so to speak.

Other than that, Greg and I have talked and altered my workout/training regimen to better coordinate with my recovery cycle and the next big race that I'll be shooting for is the Houston Half. So, that's the running aspect of the blog covered.

As far as work goes, I've quit my job at Home Depot after about two weeks of working there and have got in with this married couple that own a business called, “Inconcrete.” They deal with the production and installation of custom concrete counter tops and they are the coolest bosses ever! They let me eat while working, listen to music in the shop, let me take breaks if I need them, come in late if I need to, and even trust me enough to let me work by myself when no one is there. And I make more than I did at HD.

Alright, we've got the work and income section out of the way, so that leaves us with entertainment and joy/joyness next. To boost up my joyness levels, I continue to play a ton of Call of Duty on Xbox Live, hangout with the roomates and watch movies, browse the world wide web, and eat. Aaand, that's pretty much it, hope everyone had a happy Halloween and have a jolly Thanksgiving. :0)

-Charlie

As for the job search, I just got hired at Home Depot but haven't actually started yet, although I'm pretty eager to start working, mainly because my funds are beginning to vanish. One thing that I noticed about being up here at 7000 ft. is that you really have to respect the altitude, while my regular aerobic runs have gotten much easier to handle, my workouts haven't been the greatest. I think it's mostly due to trying to run with the guys rather than paying attention to my body and the effort given during the beginning of the workouts. I'm more accustomed to starting a workout at a slightly conservative pace and then progressively notching the pace down, whereas here, they start out at around the goal pace and I think by doing that, in conjunction with the altitude, it puts my legs into shock, making it difficult for them to recover and pretty much ruins the rest of my workout. After talking with Greg about it, we felt that maybe trying to get a more substantial warm up before the workout might serve me better. Meaning, I should try and be more thorough with my stretching and do more strides to get the lungs open a bit before I start.

Other than that jazz, everything else has been all gravy. My roommates are cool, they don't get mad at me when I play Call of Duty hours on end. The weather has been pretty nice so far, not too much rain, although the thunder storms here are way cool. And I really enjoy hanging out with the rest of the team, it's like being in one big happy family, where everyone is overly fit and no one is opposed to nap time.

Before I go, I'd like to devote the rest of this blog to thank everyone that has helped me get to this point, either financially or emotionally. I want to thank my parents for being so supportive and understanding of my decision to do this, without them there's no way that I could've kept up the training needed while still trying to make ends meet financially. All other relatives and siblings that continue to cheer me on in my chase for glory. Gary Towne, Tyler Graff, Vern Ruiz, and Steven Springhorn, for helping me grow and develop as a runner and a person. Foot Pursuit, for helping me out with gear and travel during my time out of college. P-Boi and Scotty, for being great training partners. All the runners, guys and gals, on the Chico State X-country and track team. Liz, for putting up with all the days that I might have been cranky due to the higher mileage weeks and understanding why I chose to move here. And last but not least, Erin, my sister and biggest fan.

See ya,

-Charlie