60+ Continues

This week started really well...The long run on Battle Road was extremely comfortable - and being able to handle 16+ at a 7:4x pace comfortably is something that has me really excited for the new year. I've given myself plenty of time to prepare for Boston and Big Sur, which is probably a wise choice, and so far I'm feeling pretty darn good about my start.

I also ran a handful of doubles to start this week. After the Sunday long run, I went for a 4 mile shakeout in the evening with the dog. Then on Monday I had an active-recovery-double of 4 in the afternoon and 6 in the evening.  Both runs at a very easy pace.

Tuesday was the company holiday party, and I would have preferred to get in my normal hill workout - but I had to adjust and so I ran a handful of repeats during lunch, then took the pooch out after work to get him some exercise...which also served as a good shakeout for me.

I've yet to write out my full training schedule, but so far I'm enjoying the Tuesday/Thursday/Sunday routine I have going. At some point I'll start alternating tempo runs and hill workouts, but for now I think the hills are serving me well.

Sunday

9-Dec

14.0

18.0

Long Run

0:07:42

20.31

16.28m on Battle Road w/CSU in the morning - a little sluggish to get started, otherwise a good run. 4.03m shakeout in the evening.

Monday

10-Dec

6.0

6.0

Recovery Double

0:08:10

10.17

4m in the afternoon, 6m in the evening. Shins were a little tight - iced post run.

Tuesday

11-Dec

5.0

10.0

Hills/Tempo

0:07:44

10.18

Three hill route at lunch w/repeats on heartbreak, ~7m tot. 3+ w/Raleigh after work. Left knee issue.

Wednesday

12-Dec

4.0

6.0

Recovery

0:08:18

4.00

Recovery. Left knee still an issue.

Thursday

13-Dec

10.0

10.0

Intervals

13.13

200/400/600/800x2/600x2/400x2/200x2 - tough workout, but I was just about where I wanted to be. Knee and shin are on the verge of being an issue.

Friday

14-Dec

4.0

4.0

Recovery

0:08:13

6.04

Three hill route during lunch. Heavy legs today.

Saturday

15-Dec

4.0

6.0

Tempo/Moderate

0.00

Shin was bothering me all day. A reluctant day off.

Thursday splits: 200-0:37, 400-1:17, 600-2:00, 800-2:48, 800-2:51, 600-2:06, 600-2:06, 400-1:15, 400-1:16, 200-0:35, 200-0:34

Total: 63.83 miles...stupid reluctant day off, I was so close to 70!!!!

It IS Marathon Training

"Dear Patrick Bugbee, This is to notify you that your entry into the 117th Boston Marathon on Monday, April 15, 2013 has been accepted..."

"Dear Patrick, Congratulations! You are now registered for Big Sur International Marathon. Please check the event's official website for updates: http://www.bsim.org/. You are now successfully registered for the 2013 Boston 2 Big Sur Challenge..."

Awesome.

This Looks Like Marathon Training

At this point, there's a lot of time before any race in the spring. And I'm happy about that. This gives me a chance to try and push my training mileage.

And so the goal between now and, say, sometime in January, will be to run often. I'll try to do some interesting workouts, long runs, hill repeats, and maybe a Fresh Pond race here or there - but the only thing I'm really concerned about is mileage.

With that in mind, I was able to hit 65+ miles for the past week. I think that might be a new high water mark...



On to the data!

Sunday

2-Dec

16.0

16.0

Long Run

0:07:36

16.26

Battle Road w/CSU. Eli came along for a solid 9 miles as well. Legs weren't all there, but it was a nice effort.

Monday

3-Dec

4.0

6.0

Recovery Double

0:07:57

10

5 at lunch & 5 in the evening. Afternoon run was slow, felt much better in the evening but I tried to take it easy/recovery.

Tuesday

4-Dec

5.0

10.0

Hills

11.04

5m warm up, 10 repeats on heartbreak, ~2.5+ cooldown. Warm up was very slow and my shins were bothering me quite a bit. Massaged out some knots before the repeats and was good to go.

Wednesday

5-Dec

4.0

8.0

Recovery

0:07:56

4.01

Recovery run.

Thursday

6-Dec

7.0

10.0

Intervals

12.21

(400/600/400/200/200)x2/800/600/400 - I added the last three, and most of the workout went well. A probably just-a-little-too-hard of an effort though.

Friday

7-Dec

6.0

6.0

Moderate

0:07:57

6.14

Three Hill route. Felt pretty crappy.

Saturday

8-Dec

5.0

5.0

Recovery

0:08:26

5.48

Recovery run w/3 strides to finish up.

Thursday splits: 400-1:17, 600-2:00, 400-1:19, 200-0:37, 200-0:36, 400-1:19, 600-2:03, 400-1:20, 200-0:38, 200-0:35, 800-2:47, 600-2:04, 400-1:18

I'm happy with that week.

Post Marathon - Getting Back Into It

With the Cape Marathon about a month ago, I've been able to take a look at my training to see what went wrong in addition to get back into it.

I don't want to dredge up the crappy finish too much, but the big issue I've noticed with the training is the lack of quality long runs. I basically started training in earnest 10 weeks out (just a few days after the BUDA tournament), and 10 weeks simply wasn't enough time for me. I also should have run a lot more 16+ long runs. I had respectable mileage throughout the 10 weeks, but a lot of that came from doubles. In retrospect, I think the doubles would best serve me as recovery runs - not a way to hit X miles for the day.

With that in mind, training towards something in the spring slowly started just the week after the Cape. Next time around if I crash, it will not be due to a lack of training, long runs, or anything else.

Sunday		4-Nov		Moderate		0:07:38		7.02		Warm up w/Raleigh then around the Charles.
Monday		5-Nov		Rest		0:07:27		7.5		Three Hill Route during lunch. Couple miles and gym in the evening.
Tuesday		6-Nov		Intervals				10.1		M800/400/1000/1200/1000/400/M800
Wednesday		7-Nov		Recovery				0		Rest
Thursday		8-Nov		Hills				10.01		Hill repeats on heartbreak.
Friday		9-Nov		Recovery		0:07:37		1.07		Easy jog with Raleigh
Saturday		10-Nov		Moderate		0:08:07		6.09		Jog to the Harvard track, drills 3x100m (13.69, 13.35, 13.58), jog home.
Sunday		11-Nov		Recovery		0:08:13		8.13		Recovery run.
Monday		12-Nov		Rest		0:07:26		8.04		2m w/Raleigh in the afternoon. Evening: 1m-easy/1m-hard/1m-easy/1m-hard/1m-easy/.5-hard/.5-easy.
Tuesday		13-Nov		Intervals				10.76		800/1200/800/600x2/400x2/m800 - I was trying to hit 5:40 pace for the 8's and 12's, and was pretty dead on, and aiming for between 5:00 and 5:20 for the 6's and 4's and hit that as well.  Tough workout, but went well.
Wednesday		14-Nov		Rest or Recovery		0:07:40		6.05		Three Hill Route.
Thursday		15-Nov		Hills				10.07		Hill repeats on heartbreak.
Friday		16-Nov		Tempo				1.03		Jog to and from gym. Ankle bothering me - cross train.
Saturday		17-Nov		Rest or Recovery				6.09		Fresh Pond race in 14:41 (5:58/mile). Tendonitis didn't bother me until the cooldown, but it's still there.
Sunday		18-Nov		Long Run		0:08:15		12		Resting for most of the day then went out with Raleigh and decided I'd hit the mileage. Tendonitis in my ankle since Sunday still bothering me.
Monday		19-Nov		Rest				0		Rest.
Tuesday		20-Nov		Intervals		0:08:09		8.59		400/200x4/400 - CSU doesn't do the track workout during Thanskgiving week so I just jogged to the track to do a quick speed-focused workout on my own.
Wednesday		21-Nov		Rest or Recovery				0		Travel.
Thursday		22-Nov		5k				6.06		18:41 for the 5k - my watch had a different time by 14 seconds, but regardless this was a crappy race. Not write-up worthy.
Friday		23-Nov		ADATTFG				0.48		Started to do a warm-up before football, but stopped short due to the tendonitis in my ankle.
Saturday		24-Nov		Rest or Recovery		0:07:43		4		Easy.
Sunday		25-Nov		Long Run		0:07:46		13.1		Never felt comfortable. Ankle still an issue.
Monday		26-Nov		Double		0:08:02		6.08		No time for a double, just did an easy 6.
Tuesday		27-Nov		Hills				0		Lots of driving today and the ankle is still bothering me. Vacation/kitchen week anyways, so this day off made sense.
Wednesday		28-Nov		Rest or Recovery				10.1		4m in the a.m., 6 in the p.m. Evening workout was a 2 mile warm up then the final 4 at about a 6:30 pace. Ankle still an issue, but legs felt ok.
Thursday		29-Nov		Intervals				11.5		(200/200/400)x4/800.  Long warm up, hard workout, long cool down.  Solid.
Friday		30-Nov		Rest or Recovery		0:07:38		8.14		Three hill route at lunch. Easy   w/Raleigh after work.
Saturday		1-Dec		Rest or Recovery		0:08:12		3.14		Ankle is still pretty tender - just an easy jog before tomorrow's long run. Cross training/core at home afterward.

Total weekly mileage of of 41, 50, 31, 52. Weekly long runs start now.

Interval Advice, but not from me!

Nate Jenkins is a local runner who writes with Running Times Magazine. His blog hasn't been updated in some time, but there is still plenty of older material to dive into. And I liked his response to a question in the comments section from this post to be really interesting. I'll have to try it some time...

The question basically asked what his thoughts were on active recovery between intervals vs. standing recovery.

His Response:

"There is a huge difference in the aerobic requirement of recovering while jogging vs. standing still. For example in your 10x400m workout if you jog 200m rests in 1min rather then stand in place this becomes an extremely tough session for your AEROBIC system as well as your anaerobic. why? well the simplest way to look at is this if you run 10x400m at 75 with 1min standing rests you will cover a total of 4000m in 21:30(over 8min mile pace average). you will do 4000m of work in this session in 12:30.

If you do the same session with the 200m jogs in 1min you will have the same 4k of work in 12:30 but you will cover 5800m in 21:30 (5:46 mile pace!!! average for nearly 4 miles of work. That is really tough to do for many runners.

Its funny but talking at a camp yesterday about this same subject and me and a good local college coach were in total agreement that this single thing is the easiest way to improve HS runners. So so often HS runners are doing VERY fast rep sessions but there races simply don’t line up. For example in HS I myself once ran 6×400 in 59 and I routinely ran an 8x400m in 65 session and thought it was kinda easy, but I only ran under 9:50 for two miles once or twice with a 9:47 PB. Now this winter I did 8×400 in around 65, but my best 3k was 8:10( roughly an 8:46 two mile) the difference in those sessions? well in the hs sessions I would take walking or standing rests, this winter I was running 200m in 40 to 45 seconds.

Quick jogging rests are one of the few ways to really train your aerobic system to the specific demands of racing. If I were to give a HS runner one tip for BIG improvement in a short while it would be to do aussie 400′s once a week during his/her season and just try to bring that jog down to as close to 45(for the guys) and as close to 55 or a minute for girls or younger/newer guys.

I don’t think you’ll find a single HS guy in the US who can run 10:00 who would consider 8×400 in 75 to be a tough workout. But most of them can barely, if they can at all, break 16:00 for 3 miles- particularly in a workout. So if take these guys and have them run 8×400 with 200m jogs in 1;00(that is only 8min mile pace) and have them do 8 jogs- either by starting with one before the first rep or finishing with one after the last rep- they will cover 3 miles in 18:00- Coaches you will be shocked how many of your 9:40 to 10:00 kids can’t do this session. You will be shocked again to see how fast they improve in their races after only doing this type of sessions a couple times. If an athlete can move to running the 8x400m in 75 with the 200 jogs at 45 he’ll be running 3 miles in 16:00mins. An athlete who can run that session can easily run 15:00 to 15;30 for 5k and will run well under 9:40 for two miles, probably more like 9:20.

A few pointers for including this session in your own work- the JOG is the key- the intervals are secondary. Way way to often kids, and adults, RUIN a workout by adding to the rest so they can hit the times they want on the intervals. This is one of the worst things you can do! Better to hit the times on the rest and let the intervals fall where they may.

Now lets say you have a top notch HS team and you have a group of guys with 2 mile bests from 9:20 to 10:00 what pace should they run? So often coaches will either have them all run the fastest guys pace (in this case 70) or have them all run their individual paces. In this session absolutely don’t do either of these. Have them all run 75′s, in the second half(last 4 reps) you have an athelete or athletes who feel they can go faster, let them, BUT only let them go faster on the JOG.

I know I got real specific with the 8×400 aussie 400′s but that is because it is easy to explain and do right. The truth is that with all reps middle to long distance runners should be equally or MORE focused on their rest then they are on the intervals themselves. The rest, or more correctly the lack of rest, is what enables an interval workout to be a stepping stone to better racing performance. Standing rest is never a good idea, no matter how short except in sessions that are about muscular development.

So why are your intervals slower when you take a jogging rest? Your aerobic system is massively under trained compared to the rest of your systems and you are running far too hard, to get optimal training benifits, on your interval sessions when you take standing rest. Now if you are extremely strong aerobically it is possible to actually be slower on your reps when you take standing breaks, because you stiffen up a bit. This is why in some close to maximal speed sessions you’ll see athletes doing a odd walk/shuffle/jog thing- see flotracks wow vid with maggie vessey from last week where she jogs 100m rests in about an hour."

Cape Cod Marathon Race Report

Oof, what a mixed bag this race was...

After Boston, I thought to myself - well, there's no way that conditions can be worse than this. Then leading up to the Cape, the weather forecast went from perfect to a friggin hurricane on the way. Really?...that would've been awful, but thankfully the storm held off until the following day. The weather was fairly temperate, but ranged from fairly-windy to stupid-effin-wind-windy. Better than 90 though, so I can't really complain.

The first eight miles went by at a solid clip, with minimal issues except for a slight pain in my butt. I'm not sure where that came from or what caused it, but for the most part it didn't bother me. Six of the first eight miles were into that "fairly-windy" headwind. Not too noticeable at the time, but likely contributing to some late-race wear down.

Probably one of the toughest things to endure was running alone the entire time. No headphones (not that I ever wear them anyways). No pack of runners to tag along with. No one that I could trade places with and do some drafting. During that first eight miles it seemed like maybe a pack would form, but I ended up being the "lead" runner (not actually leading) without ever being able to enjoy the benefits of the pack. Some of those middle miles became pretty tedious.

From mile 8-24 I received a steady diet of hills. I handled the majority of those miles well, but I began to slowly unravel from mile 18-21. Mile 22 was a struggle, but not nearly as ugly as 23 to the finish. And just when I had begun to really unravel, the winds picked up tremendously. Those final miles are all along the coast, and the head wind was just...well, it f*****g sucked. At one point during those final ~4 miles there was a crow circling me. And not long after that a relay runner ran by me and said, "c'mon buddy, follow me and I'll handle the wind!"...thanks, but that was too little too late at that point. Seemed like an unintentionally cruel joke.

In the end I finished in 3:25:20. I'd like to be happy about that, but I can't say that I am. It was a tough course with tough winds at times, but I can tell that something was missing. I will do a lot of things differently the next time around both in training and during the race. Here's the splits.

Mile	Pace	Average	Mile	Pace	Average	Mile	Pace	Average
1	0:07:06		11	0:07:13	0:07:09	21	0:07:48	0:07:18
2	0:06:54	0:07:00	12	0:07:29	0:07:10	22	0:08:24	0:07:21
3	0:06:58	0:06:59	13	0:07:07	0:07:10	23	0:09:15	0:07:26
4	0:06:57	0:06:59	14	0:07:16	0:07:10	24	0:09:05	0:07:30
5	0:07:09	0:07:01	15	0:07:11	0:07:11	25	0:09:41	0:07:35
6	0:07:13	0:07:03	16	0:07:50	0:07:13	26	0:10:21	0:07:41
7	0:07:13	0:07:04	17	0:07:08	0:07:13	26.6	0:05:19	0:07:43
8	0:07:13	0:07:05	18	0:07:25	0:07:13		(~Garmin)
9	0:07:24	0:07:07	19	0:07:42	0:07:15
10	0:07:15	0:07:08	20	0:07:38	0:07:16

I call that a learning experience. A painful one. 

More pictures and whatever once they're posted, but here's some pics for those with power looking for time to waste during Sandy.

Douglas Weisman Photography
Scott Mason Photography
Go to 18:25 and watch me painfully cross the finish...

Course Profile
Results

Also thought I'd mention - what an awesome course. Very few, if any, "boring" sections, and the run along the water was pretty amazing with waves from the oncoming storm already creating a bit of ocean spray. Even while hurting I was able to find some enjoyment in that.

Race Day Approaches

Preparation feels a lot different from what I did to get ready for Boston, but I'm not sure that's entirely true...so let's take a look!

Training for Boston:

Average Weekly Total: 45.92
Highest Weekly Total: 60.23m
Highest Total Over Any 7-Day Span: 63.33m
Number of Runs >10m: 34
Longest Run: 23.42m
Highest Monthly Total: 221.7 (March)
Number of Speed Sessions: 16
Total Miles: 642.84m over 14 Weeks.

Training for Cape Cod:

Average Weekly Total: 49.52
Highest Weekly Total: 64.51m
Highest Total Over Any 7-Day Span: 72.22m
Number of Runs >10m: 34
Longest Run: 21.5m
Highest Monthly Total: 224.64 (September)
Number of Speed Sessions: 24
Total Miles: 495.52m over 10 Weeks

Total Miles: 644.36m over 14 Weeks

The summer was not an easy time to establish a running schedule due to frequent Ultimate games, triathlons, and Grand Prix races - so in reality, most of the focused marathon training was done over a 10 week period.  But when I look at the total miles over 14 weeks - the training actually looks pretty similar. The figures for the 10m+ runs and speed sessions venture outside of the 10 week/14 week windows, but since they were part of the broad training picture - I thought it was worth it to take a look. Either way, the hay is in the barn - as the saying goes. I think I'm ready to run a solid time, but we'll see how it goes.

"There's no such thing as bad weather, just soft people."
-Bill Bowerman

Let the Tapering Begin

Now that I'm winding down the training and taking a look back - I would say that training for Cape Cod has gone fairly well. It's unfortunate that my plan after Boston was derailed by persistent shin splints - that in reality still aren't 100% - but I was able to lightly train through it in addition to playing quite a few Ultimate games. After the Ultimate tourney in mid August, I started to focus 100% on running and set my sets on the Cape.

Later in the week I will compare how training for Cape Cod went vs. training for Boston, but the one major regret I have is not racing a half marathon at some point towards the end of September. At this point I don't have a great idea as to what I can run, and that's a little bit discomforting. That being said - I believe I am in better shape than I was for Boston. Only one way to find out:

Sunday		14-Oct		14.0		17.0		Long Run				0		Rest, ran long yesterday.
Monday		15-Oct		-		-		Rest		0:07:35		8.1		2m warm up, 4m averaging 6:54, 2m cool down w/Raleigh.
Tuesday		16-Oct		6.0		8.0		Intervals				10		800/1200/1000/800/600/400/800m
Wednesday		17-Oct		2.0		5.0		Recovery		7:40:00		5.6		Three hill route during lunch.  Man, this felt terrible and my calves are destroyed. Did some rolling and stretching after work though, hopefully it'll help a bit.
Thursday		18-Oct		6.0		10.0		Hill Repeats				9.08		Repeats on Heartbreak.
Friday		19-Oct		-		5.0		Recovery				0		Rest.
Saturday		20-Oct		7.0		7.0		Finish w/ 8x100m strides		0:08:03		5.25		Nice run with Eli. My left foot was bothering me a bit.

Tuesday Splits: 800-2:43, 1200-4:10, 1000-3:33, 800-2:46, 600-2:00, 400-1:13, 800m-2:52

Quote repost:

"One of the first lessons running teaches us about success in athletics and in life is that there is no one else. No one else can do your workouts for you. You alone must do the drills, repeat the core exercises, stretch, and lift the weights. You cannot hire someone else to do your cross-training when you are battling injury, or pay someone to run a race and get you a new PR. You are truly your own hero in running. It is up to you to have the responsibility and self-discipline to get the job done."

Last Week Before Winding Down

More rest than usual this past week as I try to get in the last few quality workouts before tapering. I'm feeling pretty good though thanks to my last long run that went fairly well. I also had a solid interval and hill repeats at Heartbreak, to top it off.


I would say that the 20 miler a few weeks ago gave me a bit more confidence thanks to the miles at MP, but this was a little bit longer of a run and still a solid pace. And really, any time I can go for a 20+ mile run that I finish up feeling strong is a positive. And while I didn't really feel worn down afterward, I did take a late afternoon nap.  It was fantastic.

runninglog

Sunday		7-Oct		20.0		20.0		Long Run		0:07:51		4.16		Calves were really tight today - already planning on not going for 20, so I just got in some miles with Eli.
Monday		8-Oct		-		-		Rest (or Long Run)		0:07:58		6.59		Volunteered at the Tufts 10k, then ran home.
Tuesday		9-Oct		6.0		8.0		Intervals				10		800/1600/400x6/m800 - the 400's were done so that the repeat + rest = 2min.  I thought it was an awesome workout, but I'd likely run my splits more evenly on my own vs trying to keep up with the group.
Wednesday		10-Oct		12.0		12.0		Medium Long Run				0		Oral surgery in the morning, supposed to take a few days off since it occurred close to my sinus.
Thursday		11-Oct		6.0		6.0		Recovery + Speed (6x100m)				10.09		Hill repeats on Heartbreak.
Friday		12-Oct		5.0		5.0		Recovery				0		Rest
Saturday		13-Oct		5.0		5.0		Easy/10k tune-up race		0:07:39		21.5		I wasn't feeling great, and wanted to get these miles in at a moderate to easy pace - so I was surprised a little by the pace. I ran towards work and hit the Three Hill Route as part of the run, and the last 4+ with Eli.

Tuesday Splits: 800-2:48, 1600-5:40, 400-1:22, 400-1:18, 400-1:20, 400-1:22, 400-1:22, 400-1:16, 800m-3:02

Raleigh and I finishing up Track-Tuesday at Harvard

Cape Cod Training Update

This past week went fairly well.  I wasn't able to get in a long run, but I'm likely pushing that off toward the end of this week or worst case scenario early next week. I was still able to get in ~56 miles for the week though, so I'm happy with that. And between the two races, Tuesday intervals, and Thursday hill repeats - I would've been pushing it had I tried to get in a long run anyways.

The tentative plan for now will be to have an 18-22 mile run sometime between Friday and Sunday, and then I'll begin to taper.


trainingtrainingtraining

Sunday

30-Sep

6.0

10.0

Kerouac 5k + Calendar calls for 18

0:07:27

7.73

Kerouac 5k in 18:44.  New PR, but I'm not happy about it.  I clearly lost focus during mile 2, and the pace was slow as a result.

Monday

1-Oct

-

-

Rest

0:07:35

10

Three Hill Route at lunch. Shakeout miles after work as well.

Tuesday

2-Oct

6.0

8.0

Intervals

0:07:50

11.15

800/900x4/M800 - the 900 was 400 at 5k pace, 100 at 3k pace, and 400 at 5k pace. I had some minor issues on the 3rd 900, other than that it was a solid workout in the rain.

Wednesday

3-Oct

-

5.0

Recovery

0:07:40

11.57

Three hill route at lunch, 4+ in the evening.  Tried to push a little harder in the evening. Basically running hard on tired legs.

Thursday

4-Oct

14.0

14.0

Long Run

8.19

Hill repeats on Heartbreak.

Friday

5-Oct

-

5.0

Recovery

0

Rest day driving up to NH.

Saturday

6-Oct

10.0

14.0

Warner 5-miler

8.07

Finished 8th at a 6:32 pace - huge hill in the middle, but finished with a  5:4x mile going downhill.

Tuesday night breakdown: 800-2:50, 900-3:12, 900-3:16, 900-3:23, 900-3:10, M800-2:45

Warner Fall Foliage 5 Miler Race Report

Sort of a last minute decision to run this, and so I'll keep it brief...

Mile 1: 6:06
Mile 2: 6:25
Mile 3: 7:30
Mile 4: 6:26
Mile 5: 5:47
M .06: 0:00:22

8th place, ~6:32 pace. Interesting course, and the big elevation gain during mile 3 was tough - I wish I had a little bit more pop in my legs to try and run that section a little better.  I made up some significant ground on the guy who ended up coming in 9th place during that portion, and during mile 4 I was able to pass him and hold that lead.

Elevation: http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=227936
Results: http://coolrunning.com/results/12/nh/Oct6_Warner_set1.shtml

Training Update

It seems that just about every week lately, I'm saying that I need to get in a quality long run. Yet all of my long runs have been semi-disastrous or all out disastrous. Well, this past week I was finally able to hit my stride so to speak.

On Sunday I went out with the goal of running about 20 miles. Due to a little bit of self sabotage, the run didn't go as planned and I finished ~17 with the last three miles an ugly slog trying to get home for some water. Not exactly a confidence builder.

Since I had the Kerouac 5k on Sunday, I moved up the scheduled long run and decided I'd go for 20, and try and get in a decent portion at marathon pace. I started the run straight from work, then completed miles 7-13 and 16-20 at a 7:06 pace, with a portion done during the Fresh Pond race so I could have a little company. I'd have to say that this run was easily the most successful long run of the summer and gives me a lot more confidence heading towards Cape Cod.

Sunday

23-Sep

17.0

17.0

w/14m at MP

0:08:11

17.19

When the hell am I going to have a long run where I feel good? The last three miles of this run were in a state of very uncomfortable dehydration. At least I hit the mileage.

Monday

24-Sep

-

4.0

Rest

0:08:05

6.1

Three Hill Route during lunch. I'm pooped.

Tuesday

25-Sep

8.0

10.0

Intervals

0:08:02

10.14

800/1200/600x2/400x2/m800 - I felt pretty darn good during this workout. Longer cool down w/Raleigh.

Wednesday

26-Sep

6.0

10.0

Recovery

0:07:59

7.00

Three hill route at lunch, finished up w/Raleigh for the final mile. Worked as a good cooldown.

Thursday

27-Sep

20.0

20.0

Long Run

0:07:38

20

w/11 miles at a 7:06 pace (miles 7-13 and 16-20). Really happy with the way this run went.  I'm glad I split up the MP miles so that I could get a feeling for how my legs will feel late in the game (changed schedule due to upcoming plans).

Friday

28-Sep

-

5.0

Recovery

0

Planned yesterday nicely as today it was gross out - planned rest.

Saturday

29-Sep

4.0

8.0

Moderate pace

0:07:49

4.08

An easy 4.  Legs didn't have pop, but that was expected.

Tuesday Workout:
800 - 2:44
1200 - 4:05
600 - 2:08
600 - 2:00
400 - 1:13
400 - 1:13
m800 - 2:56

Total miles: 64.51

Jack Kerouac 5k Race Report

There isn't a lot to talk about during a 5k...so here are the splits according to my watch:

Mile 1: 5:58
Mile 2: 6:11
Mile 3: 5:53
.14M: 0:41
Total: 18:43

Official Results: Cool Running
Video: Level Renner
Pictures: Jim Rhoades, KrissyK, CSU Facebook Page

I started a bit further back than I would've liked for the race. The race director said numerous times that if you aren't a fast runner, you should continue moving to the back of the pack. Nonetheless, I still had a father and his two little kids standing right next to me at the starting line. I should've taken that as a sign and moved up a good 10 feet...During the first half mile or so while the crowd was sorting itself out, I got stuck behind a row of people twice and had to do far more weaving than I would've liked., but after getting through that mess, I was able to settle into a decent rhythm.

After hitting mile 1 at about goal pace, I was pretty happy, but I ended up losing focus. I thought I was holding pace since I was passing people, but it was really just the crowd of people who started too close to the front coming back to me. So after trying to run based on effort, I looked at my watch at ~1 3/4 miles, and saw that I was running in the 6:20's. That was frustrating. I picked up the pace, but at that point my goal was cooked for the day.

After that first half mile or so, I wasn't passed by a single runner (this is NOT a testament to my abilities). But at around 2 3/4 miles someone from the Somerville Road Runners tried to pass me:

Photo Credit: Kristi Cabot

I started to pick up the pace just a bit to make sure I stayed ahead of him, and he stayed right on my back shoulder up until close to the final turn towards the finish line. At that point I was able to open it up a bit and finish comfortably ahead of him (around the 12:02 mark of the video).



In the end, I set a PR by 17 seconds, but that second mile sticks out a like a sore stupid unfocused and inexperienced thumb.

A Solid Week, A Solid PR

After last week, I assumed this week might be a bit of a struggle with some lingering tiredness in my legs from RTB - but apparently not.

I took one day off, reluctantly, and then was right back at it on Monday. My legs weren't too sore following RTB either, but I imagine that's because I was trying to stay consistent at about an 8min pace vs actually racing each leg. My calves have been tight for quite some time now though...

The more important news for the week was establishing a new Fresh Pond PR. Back on August 2nd I ran a 14:58 in what were probably less than ideal conditions.  Then this past Thursday in what were most definitely ideal weather conditions, I took 25 seconds off and ran a 14:33. I still had some lingering soreness, but thanks to Terry for pacing me I was able to finally reach my goal of a sub-6min pace for this race.

Data!

Sunday

16-Sep

-

-

Rest

0

Recovery after RTB.

Monday

17-Sep

9.0

13.0

Medium Long Run

0:07:52

15.06

8.2 progression run at lunch on the Three Hill Route+ that finished with a  6:50 pace for the final 1.2 miles (7:39 overall). PM - 6.86m at an 8:08 pace.

Tuesday

18-Sep

6.0

11.0

Intervals

10.03

(1000/800/600)x2/magic 800.  Workout was really tough partially thanks to the tornado like winds and also just tired legs.  Less of a warmup and more of a cooldown than usual.

Wednesday

19-Sep

3.0

6.0

Recovery

0:08:01

5.01

Just some easy miles, took Raleigh for a portion.

Thursday

20-Sep

6.0

10.0

Fresh Pond Race

0:05:54

8.66

Fresh Pond Race, new PR.  14:33 (5:58, 5:55, 2:40)

Friday

21-Sep

10.0

12.0

Medium Long Run

0:07:35

12.12

7.5 afternoon, 4+ evening. Afternoon was the Three hill route.  Felt good.

Saturday

22-Sep

-

5.0

Recovery

0:07:23

4.15

Tried to move a little bit faster - this didn't feel fast, but it hurt like I was moving fast. Should've taken it easy. Stupid!

Tuesday's Recap: 1000-3:37, 800-2:55, 600-2:08, 1000-3:47, 800-2:57, 600-2:09, 800-2:55

A total of 55.03 miles for the week. Hey, that's pretty solid!

Long run on the docket for Sunday...

Cape Cod Marathon Training

Well, as of the last post on my potential for a fall marathon - I think I said that the following two week period would need to go smoothly before I committed to Cape Cod.  Well...three weeks have passed since that time, and I think it's safe to say that I've come away feeling healthy, but not quite confidently ready.

In those three weeks I've had mileage of 52.27, 42.82, and 50.48, and I've also had nine days of 10+ miles. But I'm still waiting for a long run of more than 14 miles (I ran an ugly 14 on 9/3 as noted below).  And really, I think that I need to have two 18+ runs and at least one 20+ run before I'm confident in my endurance, let alone speed.

From 8/14 to 9/1 I ran 19 days in a row. I think rest is important, but I'm also starting to mess around with recovery miles instead of days off - and I'm curious to see the result.  After a hard race effort, I don't mind a day off, but an easy 2-4 miles could be a more effective way for me to both recover and build my long term endurance.  Junk miles? Maybe...but in order to make some significant strides in my fitness, I'm willing to give it a try in the hopes that after a year or two the cumulative miles will have been worth it...we'll see how that works.

Onto the data!

Sunday

26-Aug

14.0

16.0

Long Run w/12m at MP

0:07:52

13.1

Battle Road trail.  My legs/back did not feel good at any point on the run, but I'm happy I was able to struggle through and get in the miles.

Monday

27-Aug

-

-

Rest

0:07:41

5.06

A relaxed run, not too hard.  No ibuprofin and the shins felt fine up until the last half mile or so.  Did single leg lunges after and light stretching.

Tuesday

28-Aug

6.0

8.0

Intervals

0:07:46

10.55

800/1000x4/magic 800 - tried staying with the pack on the first two intervals and man did that hurt me for the last three 1000's.  I stuck it out though and held a respectable pace.

Wednesday

29-Aug

4.0

7.0

Moderate Pace

0:07:35

5.17

Lots of miles lately and my legs weren't ready for more than this.  Felt pretty good on the run though, and the temps were perfect.

Thursday

30-Aug

7.0

10.0

Hills/Fresh Pond/MLR

10.31

Ten hill repeats on heartbreak.

Friday

31-Aug

11.0

11.0

Medium Long Run

0:07:49

4.01

An easy 4 in Plympton after a day of golfing.

Saturday

1-Sep

7.0

8.0

Moderate pace w/10 100m strides

4.07

Did an easy warm up then went hard for 1 mile on the track (5:23 again, no new PR).  Finished up with a moderate 400 and 200.  Also played a bit of tennis for some CT.

Sunday

2-Sep

14.0

17.0

Long Run

0

This would have been my 20th consecutive day running…reluctantly took a rest day.

Monday

3-Sep

-

-

Rest

0:08:20

14

Went out easy from home toward the three hill route. After hitting Centre St, I took a right on Comm ave until the Johnny Kelly statue and then turned around to hit the hills.  Hit the big hill on Washington Street as well.  With a little over two miles to go, I was feeling extremely dehydrated.  The last two miles were painful.

Tuesday

4-Sep

6.0

8.0

Intervals

10.32

800/1200/1000/800/600/400/M800 - unbeleivably humid.  Killer workout.

Wednesday

5-Sep

12.0

15.0

Medium Long Run

0:07:36

7.02

My back was really hurting all day long.  I went out initially to try for 4, but wasn't feeling much of a pinch, and ended up going for a little bit more than expected.  The back was still sore afterward, but didn't bother me during the run.

Thursday

6-Sep

6.0

6.0

Recovery

10.02

Eight hill repeats on heartbreak.

Friday

7-Sep

12.0

12.0

w/7m at HM pace

0:07:30

1.46

Quick jog to go play some tennis.

Saturday

8-Sep

-

5.0

Recovery

0

Day off prior to tomorrow's triathlon.

Sunday

9-Sep

1.5

1.5

Call to Honor Triathlon

0:06:15

1.47

.25 swim/10m bike/1.5 run

Monday

10-Sep

6.0

8.0

Recovery

0:07:47

10.03

First 2m with Raleigh, then finished the next 8m at something close to a 7:30 pace. It's fairly clear that heat & humidity hurts me since tonight was perfect weather and I felt great.

Tuesday

11-Sep

8.0

10.0

Intervals

10.01

800/900x4/M800 - A pretty darn good workout.  The 900 was 1 lap hard, 100m at marathon pace, then 1 lap hard: a really fun workout. Interesting feeling trying to restablish a hard pace after a 100m slowdown that was still moving.

Wednesday

12-Sep

6.0

8.0

Medium Long Run

0

Rest.

Thursday

13-Sep

-

-

Pre-RTB Stuff

0:07:55

1.02

Easy short jog to loosen up the legs.

Friday

14-Sep

9.0

9.0

RTB

0:07:50

20.48

9m under a hot sun, then 11.5 at night - both runs were about 7:50 pace but felt harder than that.

Saturday

15-Sep

14.0

14.0

RTB

0:07:45

7.47

Final leg of RTB was 6.5, and went alright.  Went for a short jog when I got home to drop off the van and loosen up a bit. Felt surprisingly good, but obviously tired.

I'm not sure how to handle the RTB mileage in the grand scheme of marathon training...it obviously counts, but it's not quite the same as a Sunday morning 20-miler.  And that's what I need to put on the schedule somewhere between the weekend races, and weekly workouts.