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C O R Y  M c G E E  | R2M 09



w e e k 5 > Today, January 25th, I woke up with a terrible cough. I called my coach Yousri, and instead of running my 4x400 meter workout, I ran only three miles and barely broke a sweat. I went to bed early with a heating pad for my headache in hopes of waking up well. 

January 26th, I woke up at 5:30 and headed out for a three-mile early morning run. I stayed at a decent pace considering I was unable to breathe through my nose and didn’t feel any better than the day before. After school, I headed to the track and jogged a couple of miles, still trying to recover from a bad cold. I felt a little better than earlier. 

This morning, I woke up late and was in a rush to get out of the house for my two miles. After a long day of sickness and going through about five boxes of tissues, I headed to the track for a pyramid workout. I hit most of my times but tried to stay relaxed and make sure I did not push myself to get any sicker than I already was. Because the race was so close, I finally reached the point where I convinced myself I was not sick. Every time a friend would notice my frequent coughing fits, I would simply reply, “I don’t know what you are talking about. I am not sick.” I think this worked pretty well; it was practically my last attempt to get better. Mind over matter. 

This morning I woke up for my two-mile run. After school, I went to the track and ran another two miles. Afterwards, a group of friends came over for a pasta good luck dinner. I went to sleep especially early because of my early flight tomorrow. The cold was still lingering.

This morning, the 29th, I woke up at 4:30 for an early flight to New York. I got dressed and ran two miles on Menge Avenue. This is one of the busiest roads where I live so running along it was quite an experience. Usually for my morning runs I steer clear of this street because of the traffic, but since it was so early and practically a ghost town, I figured, why not? After I finished my run, I loaded my bags in the car with my parents and headed off to the airport. After a delay in the air we arrived in Dallas, everything seemed to be going fairly smooth. After another hour of ground delays, we finally boarded our plane. The pilot then came on the intercom only to inform us the landing gear was broken and we would have to change planes. We deplaned and were lucky enough to switch flights from LaGuardia to JFK, the catch was we only had 15 minutes to reach the opposite side of the airport. After a nightmare of traveling, and eating a dozen of my mother’s homemade muffins, we finally arrived and I went to the treadmill on the top floor of our hotel.  The hotel interior reminds me of the hotel portrayed in the movie The Shining, hallways that go forever.  I got on the treadmill and ran my two miles.

Race day. I woke up around 9:00 and headed upstairs for my two mile run. I was continuously coughing because of the dry air in the hotel mixed with my already weak lungs because of the cold I had been suffering from. I relaxed in the hotel for the entire day and ate very sparingly. Finally, five o’clock came. My dad and I headed over to the Gardens. With about an hour to go until the race, I looked up and saw Yousri! I was so excited. He and I went outside to warm-up. After we finished, I grabbed my spikes and ran to check-in but first I needed to try and blow my nose one last time. Never before had I been in a rush to get to the starting line until this race; I was panicking. Once we stepped out on to the track I relaxed some. Nervousness is one thing I usually do not experience. When the race began I was excited and anxious. It seemed to go by very slowly, and there was a lot of contact at the start. I love aggressive races. By the time the finish came I was satisfied with the outcome, but still wished I had done something a little different. Winning Millrose was one of my goals this year, but I feel I performed my best for that day, and cannot wait until next year’s competition.  


w e e k 4 > Today, the 18th, I woke up and ran my regular two-mile shake out to prepare for a pending track workout this afternoon. Normally, my coach stresses I run with a partner for the extra push from some competition. Today, however, he had me run alone, which I do not mind at all. I had 200 repeats and met all of my set times. 

Monday, the 19th, I had a pretty relaxed training day and spent some time with my good friends Sara and Katy. After my three-mile easy morning run, where multiple small dogs and one that was a bit larger chased me, we headed out for a day of excitement. Between our adventures at the park and many other places, we seemed to lose track of the time and after thirteen missed calls from my parents and numerous unnoticed text messages from my mother, I finally realized it was time to head home for my second four mile run before it got too late. 

Today, I started back to school after a long, thoroughly enjoyable weekend. To my surprise, I had the morning off, which was wonderful considering I was back to waking up early after a few days of sleeping in, so it was a nice transition. As opposed to running at 5:30, I could have an extra hour of sleep. We had our first day of track practice for the school today and the weather was still a little chilly. This year most of my closest friends are participating so I am very excited. When I returned home, I added another layer of sweats and headed out for a six-mile run on the roads followed closely by my dad on his bike. 

January 21, I woke up at my regular time and rode the stationary bike as opposed to running in the freezing weather we are oddly experiencing here this week. After my long day at school, I headed directly to the track for a workout. The lanes were flooded with middle school first year track runners and many other sports like baseball and soccer players, all conditioning for their upcoming seasons. I tried to make sure lane one was open in order to meet my times on my 1000 meter breakdown. Thanks to a lot of my schoolmates, I had more competition than necessary and completed the brutal workout successfully. 

The 22nd, again, I woke up and the weather was not welcoming to my planned morning run. Instead, I got on the bike and rode for half an hour before school. After school, I went out to the gym and worked on my strength training. Overall, I had a fairly easy day. 

Due to a lack of sleep, I was able to convince my mom into letting me stay home from school a few hours this morning so I could make sure I completed my run and be sure I was actually able to function properly instead of heading into class and being totally delusional. When I awoke at the ridiculously late time of 10:30, I headed out for a brisk three miles and then speedily readied for school.  I attended only two classes, and after school ran 8 x 200’s. Afterwards, I attended our high school’s soccer game, and then returned home early for some good recovery sleep. 

This morning I woke up and headed out for a six mile run on the beach. I prefer to run these alone, especially when the weather is nice, like it finally was today. Afterwards, I headed to my sister Regen’s soccer game. My sister Shannon came in from school for the night, which was a wonderful surprise. After the game, I went for an easy two mile run and finished off the night spending some time with my friend Jamie.

w e e k 3 >  I ran my first race of the indoor season yesterday at LSU. Today is the eleventh of January. This morning I ran two miles easy, plus some core training and spent the rest of the day relaxing.

Today, the 12th, I ran three miles as my morning run for the first time. Usually I do a simple two miles before school. However, today I ran three, which was very different because I’m already short on time to get ready for school, but I liked it. This afternoon I ran four miles at a moderate pace.

Today, I again ran three miles as my morning run. After school, I headed straight to the track to meet my dad for a track workout. I ran three 1000’s and was very pleased with my performance. Afterwards, I went to our high school basketball game and our school defeated last year’s number one team in the state. It was extremely exciting.

January 14th, I woke up and ran two miles at the regular 5:30 am. After school, I did some strength training in my dad’s workout room. Today was a relaxed training day.

The weather has been colder lately, I don’t like it very much, probably because I’m not used to it whatsoever. It actually got into the teens overnight. That never happens in South Mississippi! I rode the stationary bike this morning for 30 minutes. After school I did an interval workout at the track of 6 x 200s and then some more core training in my dad’s gym.

Friday, January 16th and it’s still frigid out. I rode the stationary bike again and tried to get 10+ miles in 30 minutes. I made it to 9.7 miles. This evening, after a 4 mile run, I went to the movies with my little sister Devin. On the way home from the movies, the Red Dragon started smoking and I had to pull over at my friend Jamie’s house. I left the Red Dragon there and had it towed to the garage. It seems the cold weather caused a radiator hose to break.

Saturday, and the weather is getting back to normal. I did another 30-minute bike ride this morning and then went rock climbing in Slidell, LA with two of my girl friends. This afternoon I had a track workout consisting of 800m, 200m, 800m, 200m. My sister Devin and my friend Charlie ran with me. That night I had friends over, and we built a big bonfire in the fire pit.


w e e k 2 > Today is January 4th, I woke up this morning to extremely warm weather, and it barely feels like winter here. My morning run was an easy four miles along the beach. Later in the day I had a second 4-mile recovery run at about a 7:30 pace with my younger sister Devin. Because of car difficulties, my sister and I rode our bikes to the park, which is about 5 miles away, and proceeded to embark on our 4-mile run.

Today, January 5th, I woke up later than usual, taking advantage of the last day of my winter break. Because my car, The Red Dragon, as my friends and I have deemed it, had encountered mechanical malfunctions (and, truthfully, I could have run faster than it was capable of moving) it had been placed in the shop. The day had finally come to go pick it up. I returned home, after taking my younger sisters to the movies with my friend Sara, and it was already dark. I was forced to run my 5 miles alone, and cold.

Today is the first day back to school, the 6th. I woke up at 5:30 for my easy 2-mile morning workout. With my new class schedule I knew the semester would be easy, unlike my impending workout this afternoon. First, I had one 1000-meter interval at a 2:58 pace, with a long ten-minute recovery I jogged into a 600-meter interval at a 1:44 pace. Four minutes later I had a 500-meter at 1:28, followed by a 400 meter at 1:06. I then had a 200-meter at 29 and a 100 at 14, followed by a one-mile cool down.

Today, January 7th, at 5:30 I ran my regular 2-mile easy morning run. After the day of school I ran with my friend Charlie. Since I am preparing for a race this Saturday, I only ran an easy 2 miles to shake loose.

January 8th, I woke up and repeated my schedule from yesterday. I love the days before a race.

January 9th, at 5:30 am I woke up and ran 2 miles, how predictable! After school I headed to the beach for my last run before my race, another easy 2 miles. I got a good night sleep preparing for tomorrow morning.

This morning, January 10th, I woke up at 6:30 and headed to LSU for my first indoor meet of the season. My dad and I took The Red Dragon and were closely followed by my mom and friends: Sara, Katy, John, and Jonathan. The two-hour drive was easy for my poor Red Dragon and I got to the race where I was happy to find out that I would have some competition from Malia Cali. I ended up winning the 1600m, running a 4:55 and feeling very good. I think I started off the season well.


w e e k 1 > Today is Monday, December 29, 2008. I woke up this morning to sunny, 70-degree weather, and clear skies on Cat Island, which is right off the Mississippi Gulf Coast, with my friend Sarah Ann. I then went for my four mile easy run along the beach and picked up jellyfish along the way. Portuguese Man of War, probably not a good idea. I didn’t get stung. Later, we got back on the boat and headed back to the coast. I headed to the track, which is right on the beach and very windy, a few hours later with my dad. My workout was probably one of the most difficult ever. My coach, Yousri, had given me 3x1000’s (3:10), 3x300’s (47-49), and 3x150’s (each at 22 seconds).

Today, Tuesday, December 30, 2008, I had a pretty relaxed training day. I woke up to another clear day and went for an easy three-mile morning run starting at our towns Yacht Club and jogging along the beach. Later on, I went to meet my friend who was returning from vacation in Costa Rica. After spending the day with her, I returned home for a four-mile easy run and strength training with my dad.

This morning, December 31, I ran four miles with my i-Pod along Second Street through downtown, which I rarely do, and followed up with 8x100 meter strides to stretch out my legs. A few hours later, I headed to my schools track, outdoor, since we do not have indoor tracks here in Mississippi, and completed a very demanding workout with my dad as my timer. I ran the first 1000-meter interval in 2:56 with a three-minute recovery, then 4x400 meters in 72, 71, 72, 71; Next, I had 4x200’s, the first was 33, then 32, 31, and 32.

I slept in late this New Year’s morning considering I only had one run. After spending most of the day with my three sisters and parents, I went for a sub-seven-minute pace seven-mile run around town with my neighbor and close friend Charlie. Afterwards, I headed to my grandmother's for an early New Year’s dinner including black eyed peas for good luck. I finished off the night with a movie with my older sister, who was my initial inspiration to begin running, and went to sleep later than I would have liked to.

Today is January 2, 2009, and I slept in late, again. I had the day off from running and did a strength workout in my dad’s gym. I worked on my core strength, mostly, which has been sore for days since my last strength session. I loaded up on carbs at dinner and got a lot of sleep to prepare for a hard workout tomorrow.

This morning, January 3, 2009, I woke up and went for a quick 4-miler along the scenic road, which runs parallel to the beach with my younger sister, Devin. I pushed her a little more than I probably should have since she has not run much since the AAU XC National Championships. This afternoon the sun was covered and there was a little rain and wind. I had a very time-consuming track workout, 12x200 meter intervals. I ran 9 in 30 seconds, and 3 in 29 seconds. After I returned home from the track with my dad, I took a ten-minute ice bath and then went to dinner with my older sister, Shannon, before she headed back to Mississippi State.





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