12/15 to 12/21: Treamiles are Boring

15-Dec		Long Run		0:08:38		12.40		Biffed it on the ice! First time! Also learned the term 'biffed it'!!
16-Dec		Easy/Easy				10.29		Double trouble. Stayed upright, but slow as crap.
17-Dec		Easy				4.03		AM commute to work. Icy and slow.
18-Dec		Moderate MLR		0:07:30		10.08		Treadmiles. Too icy, and would've taken forever to get this done outside.
19-Dec		Intervals				10.50		1000/800/600x2/400x2/200x2/400x2/200x2 - I added on the last 4 to the end. Lots of quality.
20-Dec		Easy		0:08:28		5.05		Just an easy run before Border Café.
21-Dec		Fresh Pond x 2		0:06:15		8.18		Fresh Pond 2 lapper - 4.52 @6:15, negative split.

Splits:

1000-3:21.09

800-2:40.28

600-1:57.08

600-1:56.14

400-1:15.00

400-1:13.46

200-32.77

200-30.28

400-1:19.80

400-1:18.82

200-34.73

200-34.30

Total: 60.53

Assault on Mt. Hood Race Report: Best Race Ever

This was probably my best race ever...

Workouts and general mileage have gone alright since the underwhelming Thanksgiving 5k, but I wasn't expecting anything special at Mt. Hood - I knew it would be a fun race nonetheless. There was a great contingent of CSU runners, and it was my first XC race ever. We had two teams signed up for CSU consisting of Kevin, Terry, TomW, Andy, and Pat (Masters team) and another team of myself, Phil, TomD, and Alex (open team). So we had some fun inter-squad competition to look forward to as well.

Me, Tom, and Phil carpooled from Cambridge and met up with the rest of the CSU crew for a warm up, and we took a look at the first 2+ miles of the ~3.4 mile course. After stopping off at the car to change shoes, we took a quick look at the last half mile of the course. My takeaway from the warm up: hilly as crap, crazy cold but not too windy, and not great footing. After retreating to the clubhouse to do some light stretching and shed some layers, we went to the starting line.

The race went off, and quickly narrowed onto a cart path. I was caught behind a group of folks that went out at a full sprint - and I watched TomD haul ass ahead as he elected to bound along the edge of the cart path sneaking through the clusterfudge. I waited for the course to open up a bit before making an effort to catch up as I knew the course would bottle neck again shortly thereafter. Terry, Kevin, and Phil were within sight before ascending towards the tower, and the subsequent steep downhill.

TomD and I flew on the downhill to catch up with the group of three, and I kept my momentum going at the turnaround - I was not going to try and kill it up the freaking massive hill so I used my energy holding the quick pace before transitioning to what felt like a glacial crawl up the aforementioned freaking massive hill...anyways, I just churned the legs trying to avoid burning too much energy and we all stayed fairly close together. The course continued to roll along as we passed the mile marker, and I expected the others to start putting some distance on me - but I planned on holding on as long as I could.

The middle portion of the race was more of the same - hit the hills cautiously, let it fly on the downhills, and keep everyone in site. At about 2.5 miles the course had one more big downhill and I really opened up my stride to reel in Phil, Terry, Kevin, and another runner. I was pretty gassed, but I wasn't fading...so I had that going for me, which was nice.

With about a half mile to go I was still hanging onto the back of the pack - we took a sharp turn around a tree, and Phil took a spill, but bounced up and recovered quickly. I expected Terry and Kevin to make a move, and I decided I would make an aggressive push before they had a chance to open up any sort of gap. So I surged ahead and moved to the front of the group for the first time all day.

Initially I thought to myself, "Kevin and Terry will pass me shortly", but I saw the final hill ahead and got a shot of confidence knowing that after that short steep hill was a downhill to the finish. So I kept pushing hard, and grunting in pain at any moderate incline on the course.

I was holding onto front position within the group of four (barely) as we approached the base of the final short steep hill. During warm ups my shoes had a difficult time with traction on this hill - so I focused on keeping my footing, tried to hold position...meanwhile my freaking quads were on fire. I was able to just barely stay in front as we crested the short hill and turned towards the final ~250 meters toward the finish. My legs were beat, but they had just enough juice to hang on.

I didn't win the race or anything (15th overall)...But I did finish as the top CSU runner - the first time that has happened - which easily qualifies this as likely my best race ever. 

Note: It's always fun getting situated at the starting line and looking over and seeing a 2:14 marathoner...

Lots of good performances from CSUers (who earned multiple nutcrackers): Results: http://www.coolrunning.com/results/13/ma/Dec14_Nineth_set1.shtml

12/8 to 12/14: Oh hey, winter

I don't mind the winter, but I'm starting to mind the icy sidewalks. Must...avoid..treadmill!

Sunday		8-Dec		Long Run		0:07:40		16.70		Battle Road. Really dehydrated at the end of the run due to a late night. Otherwise, felt comfortable.
Monday		9-Dec		Recovery		0:08:10		6.05		Easy run around the Charles.
Tuesday		10-Dec		Indoor Speedwork (Harvard)				14.20		Dang, running home from work sure adds some miles! (600/400)x5/200x3 - 600's at just under 5k, 400's at mile, 200's comfortably fast. This workout didn't feel great, but I was able to gut it out.
Wednesday		11-Dec		Recovery		0:07:57		4.05		Easy cheezy lemon squeezy.
Thursday		12-Dec		Moderate		0:07:23		7.01		First and last mile easy, middle five at about a 7min clip just to get a quasi tempo in.
Friday		13-Dec		Moderate		0:07:34		5.01		Took the day off and just went out for a relaxed five.
Saturday		14-Dec		Assault on Mt.Hood				7.10		Probably my best race ever.

Splits:

600-2:04.55

400-1:15.80

600-2:03.06

400-1:16.22

600-2:03.28

400-1:16.20

600-2:03.42

400-1:14.88

600-2:03.27

400-1:11.30

200-35.35

200-32.83

200-33.83

Total: 60.12

12/1 to 12/7: One Cold Gone, Another Arrives

Dang, winter came quick!

Sunday		1-Dec		Rest				0.00		Sick
Monday		2-Dec		MLR		0:07:46		10.02		Felt terrible…another day off might've been in order. Oh well.
Tuesday		3-Dec		Moderate/Tempo		0:07:15		10.16		Felt ok in the afternoon and ok in the evening. Not particularly good though.
Wednesday		4-Dec		Moderate/Moderate		0:07:30		10.21		Ran back to work in the afternoon, then around the Charles in the evening. Probably going a little too fast.
Thursday		5-Dec		Indoor Speedwork				9.55		800x2/400x4/200x2 - 800's at slightly faster than 5k, 400's at mile pace, 200's comfortably fast. 400's were tough, everything else felt very comfortable.
Friday		6-Dec		Recovery		0:08:13		6.12		Easy w/Raleigh then around the Charles.
Saturday		7-Dec		Fresh Pond x 2		0:06:10		6.47		Fresh Pond 2-Lapper in 30:06. 2nd place.

Splits:

800 - 2:47

800 - 2:39

400 - 1:13

400 - 1:13

400 - 1:13

400 - 1:13

200 - 33.x

200 - 33.x

Pretty tough to hit the 400 splits, but it's a good sign that I was steady. I need to make some time for faster work on the track if I want to get in one of the BU mini meets...

Also ran Fresh Pond and went for the 2 lapper. I went out like I was running one lap, felt like crap, so I slowed it down and went for two laps. Pretty happy to run low 6 for almost 5 miles while my legs felt like crap. Running this is going to be an important part of marathon training.

Thanksgiving Pilgrim 5k Race Report

The past few months I've felt very fit. All my workouts have been going well, and I've been putting in more mileage than ever. So I approached this small 5k in Plymouth a bit more seriously than I have in years past. Last year I came in 4th overall and did not run particularly well. My recent fitness showed that I would be at least a minute faster if I ran well - and as long as there were no surprise race entrants, I would be able to compete for the win (not something I can do frequently).

Race morning was cold, and I got in a shorter warm up than I was hoping and no drills. I felt pretty good though. Even though it was in the 20's (maybe colder), I felt warm enough with just gloves. The announcer called everyone to the start and I weaved my way up to the front while just about everyone made comments about the crazy guy wearing barely any clothes...Once to the front I found the only other guy in a club shirt from the Somerville Road Runners. I recognized him from last year, and knew he was one of maybe two or three other guys that would probably be going for the win.

The bell was rung and we were off. As is typical, there were a few young kids that went out hard, but me and the SRR basically stayed shoulder to shoulder. After about a quarter mile the kids faded, and we began to pull away from the pack.

We held a fairly steady 5:45 pace up until the turnaround point around the halfway mark. I liked that we were able to see the runners as we approached the 2nd half of the race - hearing Matt, Corven, Freeters, and Layman at varying times gave me a shot of adrenaline. And really, almost all of the runners said something encouraging since it was pretty clear we were having a good race.

Courtesy of Plymouth Rock Racing

Once we hit the turnaround we both start to 'race' a little bit more. I would inject little surges, and he would react, then counter by holding the surge a little bit longer. This went back and forth for the remainder of the race, but once we hit the ~3 mile mark he picked up the pace for a final surge. I was able to hang with him up until the final two hills that felt like mountains.

I dug into the well of pain, but the legs just weren't able to produce. I wish the final straightaway wasn't uphill, because I'm confident in my kick - but I didn't have a chance on those hills as SRR looked extremely comfortable.

In the end I finished 3 seconds back, and recorded my first ever 2nd place in a race of this size (594 finishers). Not bad, but finishing 3 seconds back really stings. I need to work on my strength in the hills. And just flat out get faster.

(Note: Course was long. We averaged about a 5:48/mile pace.)

11/24 to 11/30: Stupid Cold / The Streak Ends

There goes my streak. Fifty days in a row of running. And six weeks at 60+ miles. Thanks to a stupid cold.

Sunday		24-Nov		Long Run		0:07:30		14.26		Battle Road. Freaking cold and windy.
Monday		25-Nov		MLR		0:07:37		10.32		Ran home from work and kept going. Had a couple of inadvertantly fast miles due to the story playing in my head…
Tuesday		26-Nov		Easy/Speed		0:08:04		11.21		Commute to work in the AM. 800x2/200x2 in the PM. No CSU workout, so I did a short workout just to get some turnover before Thursday.
Wednesday		27-Nov				0:07:43		2.02		Easy w/Raleigh
Thursday		28-Nov		Pilgrim 5k		0:05:48		5.71		2nd place.
Friday		29-Nov		ADATTTFG		0:08:54		1.08		Easy warm up before football.
Saturday		30-Nov		Rest				0.00		Sick

Splits:

800-2:52.8

800-2:51.9

200-36.5

200-31.8

Just an easy workout on Tuesday to find a good 5k pace, then get some turnover going for the 200's.

Total: 44.60

11/17 to 11/23: Laying the Base

Sunday		17-Nov		Long Run		0:07:25		14.25		Battle Road. Hurt my back in the PM doing freaking laundry…
Monday		18-Nov		Easy		0:08:44		4.10		Very easy, just to try and loosen up the back. Felt ok.
Tuesday		19-Nov		Intervals				13.00		800/1200/1000/800/600/400/300/200 - for the 1200 on down, surge for the first 200m on the last quarter. Back felt fine, pretty happy overall.
Wednesday		20-Nov		Medium LR		0:07:48		10.01		Ran  home from work and kept going.
Thursday		21-Nov		Easy/Hills				16.13		Commute in the AM, Commute home + hills in the PM
Friday		22-Nov		Easy		0:08:22		4.06		Commute in the AM.
Saturday		23-Nov				0:06:29		4.14		4 mile tempo around the Charles. BRUTAL headwind on the 3rd mile.

Splits:

800-2:48.6

1200-4:12.2

1000-3:27.1

800-2:46.5

600-2:03.7

400-1:16.4

300-55.1

200-29.5 (pretty happy with this considering it was cold as heck)

Total Miles: 65.69

11/10 to 11/16: Consistency

Sunday		10-Nov		Medium LR w/Pickups		0:07:40		10.18		First six with Eli. Miles 7-9 were at about a 6:20 pace. Last mile+ relaxed.
Monday		11-Nov		Medium LR		0:07:39		10.01		Ran home from work, then kept going. Legs felt good, run felt easy.
Tuesday		12-Nov		Intervals				12.57		800/800x5/400x2 - the 800s in the middle were done with a 100m surge in the middle, otherwise 5k pace. 400's at 3k pace.
Wednesday		13-Nov		Easy/Easy		0:08:06		10.13		Commute to work in the AM. Commute home + Raleigh in the PM
Thursday		14-Nov		Easy/Tempo		0:07:57		11.98		Commute to work in the AM. Tempo in the PM averaging ~6:15.
Friday		15-Nov		Easy		0:08:59		4.14		Easy miles w/Eli and the pooch.
Saturday		16-Nov		Fresh Pond				5.10		Fresh Pond PR - 13:56

Tuesday Splits: 

800-2:53.19

800-2:47.60

800-2:43.72

800-2:49.22

800-2:44.70

800-2:45.30

400-1:16.58

400-1:10.30

Saturday's race was interesting. I was 'meh' when I woke up, got in a 'meh' warm up, had a ~5:30 opening mile, then held on to PR. A very imperfect way to reach a PR, but I'll take it!

Total Miles: 64.11

11/3 to 11/9: First 80 Mile Week

Can I get a 'hell yeah'!?

(Thanks Mike. Thanks AC. You guys didn't have to do that out loud, now everyone is staring at you.)

This week wasn't totally unexpected, but I'm in uncharted territory so I didn't know what to expect. And finishing the week feeling totally healthy is pretty much the best result I could hope for. Based on how the week went, I can foresee this becoming a pretty standard looking week during marathon training. I could also see the mileage increase...we shall see.

Data! 

Sunday		3-Nov		Long Run		0:07:39		14.19		Battle Road. Pizza + fish&chips + beer + poker = ImDumb
Monday		4-Nov		Moderate/Moderate		0:07:35		11.09		Moderately paced 4/7 double. Some pickups at the end of the evening run felt great. Left toe took awhile to loosen up. Right achilles/ankle/foot is an annoyance to keep an eye on.
Tuesday		5-Nov		Intervals				13.76		800/1000/1200/1600/600/400 - Eight and up at 5k pace, six and four at 3k or faster. Really couldn't hold a strong pace on the 1600, and didn't feel comfortable on the 400 despite respectable splits. An eight mile warm up and lots of miles are the likely cause.
Wednesday		6-Nov		Easy/Easy				10.58		Commute to work, commute home, and 5 strides. Legs were really tired and stiff. I think the strides helped out.
Thursday		7-Nov		Moderate/Hills				12.42		Commute to and from work, then 10 repeats on Appleton.
Friday		8-Nov		Easy		0:08:00		4.03		Commute to work.
Saturday		9-Nov		Long Run		0:07:58		14.27		Battle Road. Easy & relaxed pace.

Splits: 

800 - 2:48.7

1000 - 3:30.9

1200 - 4:14.3

1600 - 5:42.8

600 - 2:00.3

400 - 1:09.7

Total: 80.34

10/27 to 11/2: High Mileage Continues

This has been an unexpected surprise recently. Increased mileage, and good health being maintained.

Some rambling thoughts on why my shins have been holding up well...

Over-striding is a major cause of a lot of different running injuries. I won't link to any articles, but the articles and studies are out there, and common sense tells me this is true. And running 180 steps per minute, or thereabouts, is commonly thought of as the 'sweet spot' for a runner's cadence. I'm not sure if that is in fact the case or not, though a higher cadence would seem to correlate with running faster, so I'll buy into a little bit...

A few weeks ago I decided to count my steps in order to match the 180-cadence. It didn't feel that different. My legs were turning over faster, but nothing crazy. However, this was during an easy run where I wasn't trying to kill the pace. BUT I did notice that my stride shortened up as I focused on turnover.

I didn't think too much of it at the time, but during most of my easier runs my mind has wandered back to the 180-steps, and out of boredom or curiosity...I've simply been doing it more frequently during warm-ups or easy runs. During this same time, my mileage has been at an all time high. I've noticed little things bothering me here and there, but the shins are not a major problem.

So with the increased focus on 180 during easier runs, I think that I am inadvertently "correcting" my stride. Similar to how drills will help with form over time - I think just letting my mind wander to the 180# has been like a reset button on easy runs. And the potentially significant reduction of stress on my legs during easy runs is allowing me to recover and continue the higher mileage.

Maybe not, but whatever. Here's the stuff.

Sunday		27-Oct		Long Run		0:07:25		16.17		Battle Road. Felt tired, but likely from pizza and beer while watching the Sox.
Monday		28-Oct		Easy/Easy				10.33		4 in the afternoon, then 6 in the evening. Tried to keep it at 8+min pace and just take it easy.
Tuesday		29-Oct		Intervals		0:07:59		11.30		1000x4/600x2 - alternate 1000's at 5k+5 sec to 5k - 5 sec. 600's at 3k pace. Definitely a bit quick for me, but it went well.
Wednesday		30-Oct		Easy ML Run		0:08:10		10.08		Right calf/achilles a bit sore. Just an easy paced run though.
Thursday		31-Oct		Easy/Hills				14.19		Commute to work, then jog home and 12 hill repeats on Appleton.
Friday		1-Nov		Easy		0:08:28		4.02		Commute to work.
Saturday		2-Nov		Fresh Pond				4.89		Fresh Pond in 14:20. Felt sluggish, but a solid time with record mileage on my legs.

Splits: 

1000-3:34.1

1000-3:21.0

1000-3:33.5

1000-3:23.5

600-1:58.1

600-1:50.7

Total Mileage: 70.98

10/20 to 10/26: New Weekly Mileage High

The legs feel good, the mileage is up, and workouts are going well. This has been a productive few months of training, and hopefully it can continue.

Sunday		20-Oct		Long Run		0:07:16		16.01		DANG good workout. 2m easy to warm up, next 10 at 6:46, then 4m to cool down. This was an out and back to the 3-hill-route too, so…killer.
Monday		21-Oct		Recovery		0:08:24		7.25		Easy 2 w/Raleigh, then around the Charles and then some.
Tuesday		22-Oct		Intervals				11.18		800/1200/1000/800/600/400x3 - another killer track workout.
Wednesday		23-Oct		Moderate Distance		0:07:55		10.04		Ran home from work, then kept going. Nice little Wednesday run.
Thursday		24-Oct		Easy/Hills&Fartlek		0:08:02		14.10		Ran to work in the AM. 4 hills on Appleton then Fartlek w/Tom&Phil. 10m @ ~7:30. Great workout.
Friday		25-Oct		Recovery		0:07:43		6.10		Went a little fast for a recovery run, but felt good.
Saturday		26-Oct		Easy		0:08:10		6.57		Started w/Raleigh then just kept it easy.

Splits:

800 - 2:48.5

1200 - 4:11.5

1000 - 3:26.0

800 - 2:43.1

600 - 1:59.8

400 - 1:17.6

400 - 1:17.8

400 - 1:10.5

Total Mileage: 71.25

Hell yeah.

10/13 to 10/19: Managed Well

In my efforts to keep the left leg issues at bay (some sort of tendinitis), I took it easy-ish last week.

This week I was aiming to do the same thing, and it started off well. I skipped the Sunday long run since I was travelling and didn't feel like squeezing it in, opting instead for an easy run enjoying the fall weather. Then Monday was the Tufts 10k, and I could not do too much after standing around for so long...

Track Tuesday continues to go very well, and this week was no different...and with the help of a double on Wednesday and Friday, I was able to hit 60+ for the week. So yeah, I'm managing the injury well!

Stuff:

Sunday		13-Oct		Long Run		0:08:14		6.01		Easy run. Started w/Eli and Raleigh, then a few more on my own. Left shin was tender, so I chose not to try for a longer run.
Monday		14-Oct		Tufts 10k Volunteering		0:08:00		6.30		Great weather. Then ran a sucky 6+ home - standing for hours really sucked the life out of my legs.
Tuesday		15-Oct		Intervals		0:08:19		12.01		1000/600/400/800x4 - Felt flat for the first two 800's, then the legs woke up. Very happy with the splits all around though. Especially while feeling 'flat'.
Wednesday		16-Oct		Easy/Moderate		0:07:30		10.12		Easy afternoon run, then 6 after work that went much faster than planned - the legs just felt good.
Thursday		17-Oct		Moderate		0:07:48		10.01		AM massage. PM - first 4 at 8+, next 6 at a quick pace. Left leg felt a little 'meh' at times, but really not too bad.
Friday		18-Oct		Easy/Moderate		0:08:11		10.26		Ran to work, then ran in the evening at a solid clip.
Saturday		19-Oct		Easy		0:08:15		6.09		Fantastic weather. Handled clip board duties at Fresh Pond, then a nice run with Eli along the Charles.

Splits: 

1000 - 3:34.34

600 - 2:03.50

400 - 1:21.50

800 - 2:45.15

800 - 2:46.15

800 - 2:44.28

800 - 2:36.70

Total: 60.80

10/6 to 10/12: Managing + Race Report

My left shin continues to be mildly troublesome. A day off here or there is therefore necessary. It must be managed.

Data!

Sunday		6-Oct		Long Run		0:07:44		14.80		Battle Road. Felt a little bit achy in the lower left leg - more so in the tendons around the ankle and not the shin - but overall just a solid long run.
Monday		7-Oct		Easy/Moderate		0:07:30		8.14		Easy lunch run with Raleigh, then ~6 in the PM at moderate pace.
Tuesday		8-Oct		Intervals				11.60		800/1000/1200/(600x4) - Another speed session that went really well.
Wednesday		9-Oct		Easy		0:08:26		4.10		Left shin tender, just took it easy.
Thursday		10-Oct		Rest				0.00		Rest and travel day.
Friday		11-Oct		Hill Repeats		0:08:25		4.16		Run in NH, 8 hill repeats.
Saturday		12-Oct		Warner 5-Miler				9.13		4th place, but that workout yesterday was a bad idea the day before a HILLY race.

Splits:

800-2:44.8

1000-3:32.0

1200-4:13.1

600-2:00.2

600-2:03.7

600-2:01.8

600-1:54.1

The shin may be hurting, but those splits are a great thing to see. If I can kick this mild injury and start doing some specific work, I would love to take another crack at the mile this winter.

The race on Saturday sucked, but I didn't really set myself up to run well. Hill repeats the day before a hilly race is a dumb idea. And drinking and playing poker the night before isn't really much of a help either...oh well, it was a big family weekend, so I'm perfectly ok with the results. I had a slow 2nd mile, and I would have expected to be around 11:40 at that point, but instead I was around 12:20. There is a massive hill right in the middle of the race and a massive downhill shortly thereafter, so I have a ~7:30 mile that is likely caused by not just the hill, but the fatigue in the legs thanks to Friday's run. I finished the final hill strong before cruising to the finish without anyone in front or behind me. Felt pretty good though and probably would've been able to hold a quick pace if the race were longer. Oh well, fun times.

9/29 to 10/5: Reluctantly Easing Up

The Nahant 30k did not go especially well, but I had trained through it and handled the knots in my stomach well enough (it's good to occasionally have a race not go well). So I was hoping to build off of that race into this week and pile on some miles, but unfortunately the familiar bruised feeling on my shin returned...this time on my left tibia. I do not want another stress fracture.

I had a solid streak of 24 days of running in a row, and an even better streak of five 50+ mile weeks in a row...two reluctant days off seems to have helped though, and a tough lesson learned to start the year will lead me to continue making the smart decisions so that I miss two days at the sign of injury instead of two months.

Sunday		29-Sep		Nahant 30k		0:07:17		19.75		Nahant 30k in 2:17:03. Meh.
Monday		30-Sep		Easy		0:08:14		6.00		Three hill route at lunch. Oof.
Tuesday		1-Oct		Intervals		0:07:51		10.17		800x3/1000x3: 800's at 5k pace, 1000 at 8k/3k/8k pace - the 3k is a 200 meter surge in the middle. Left shin felt fine, but still feels like a bruise when I press on it.
Wednesday		2-Oct		Easy + Strides		0:08:32		3.03		Easy lap around Fresh Pond w/Eli and Raleigh then 10 barefoot strides. Left shin still in monitor mode.
Thursday		3-Oct		Moderate		0:07:23		4.18		Started easy around the Charles then inadvertently picked it up. Left shin didn’t bother me until the last quarter mile. Iced it up afterward.
Friday		4-Oct		Rest				0.00		Shin was sore enough that I reluctantly took a stupid pointless day off. Days off suck.
Saturday		5-Oct		Rest		0:09:07		1.20		Very easy with Raleigh. Shin was OK, so I didn't go back out. Basically a day off.

Tuesday Splits:

800-2:50.7

800-2:48.4

800-2:45.9

1000-3:38.9

1000-3:35.5

1000-3:27.5

The track workout was probably my strongest workout ever. The normal folks that usually lead the intervals were either recovering from the 30k (or a 50-miler), or an injury - so I led each rep, which is something I'm not sure I have ever done. Apparently this works for me?

Total Miles: 44.33 

Nahant 30k Race Report

Photo Courtesy of TFXC

it was really tough
and I had to stop at about mile 12 to take a dump
I averaged about a 7:20/mile with the dump
and a 7:12/mile if I subtract the time I was giving it a squeeze
so it wasn't a total disaster
but I felt like it was a shit race (pun intended)

Photo Courtesy of TFXC

Photo Courtesy of TFXC

Splits:

1	07:00.8
2	06:57.5
3	06:54.8
4	07:02.5
5	06:46.1
6	07:10.5
7	07:15.6
8	07:04.4
9	07:16.4
10	07:09.0
11	07:25.8
12	10:22.3
13	07:22.7
14	07:06.4
15	07:12.7
16	07:14.8
17	07:38.0
18	06:49.9
0.82	05:13.4

9/22 to 9/28: Seven for Eight

Another 50 mile week, and this one leading up to the Nahant 30k. This makes 400+ miles over the past 8 weeks, with 7 of those weeks at 50+. This has been a great block of mileage recently, and I imagine I could handle more since I've been racing a lot during this time as well. Hopefully this is just the foundation to more mileage as the fall weather really sets in.

Here it is:

Sunday		22-Sep		Tavern tt 5k				12.11		Short course, 17:17, but would probably add 30 more seconds for an accurate course. Still - I ran well.  PR w/the 30 seconds.
Monday		23-Sep		Double/Tempo		0:07:24		10.02		2 in the afternoon then an 8 mile tempo in the evening (~7:05/mile)
Tuesday		24-Sep		Intervals				10.39		1200/400/1000/400/800/400/600/400 - really solid workout. Felt strong the whole time.
Wednesday		25-Sep		Easy		0:08:24		6.04		Easy around the Charles, then grabbed the dog to finish up.
Thursday		26-Sep		Moderate		0:07:31		5.10		Pretty quick 3.7 along the Charles, then grabbed Raleighdog to finish up.
Friday		27-Sep		Easy		0:08:29		3.12		Just a casual night run.
Saturday		28-Sep		Easy		0:07:57		4.07		Around the Charles at noon. Warmer than expected.

Thursday Splits:

1200-4:13.98

400-1:22.73

1000-3:40.46

400-1:26.02

800-2:53.45

400-1:23.14

600-2:10.75

400-1:09.40

Total for the week: 50.85

9/15 - 9/21: Good Weather Good Running

The week started off right with a PR at Lone Gull, then I had a great interval workout, then another PR at Fresh Pond...I guess running hard during the heat of the summer is starting to pay off during the cool fall weather.

Stuff:

Sunday		15-Sep		Lone Gull 10k				10.10		Welcome to PR City, population: ME...Lone Gull 10k in 37:59.
Monday		16-Sep		Recovery/Double		0:07:51		7.00		~2 at lunch w/Raleigh then out in the PM.
Tuesday		17-Sep		Intervals				11.58		800, 1600, 1200, 1000, 600, 400 - workout went really well.
Wednesday		18-Sep		Easy + Strides				6.20		Easy miles with Raleigh, then around the Charles, then 6 barefoot strides. Ran into Chris from GBTC who had a good race against Kevin at Lone Gull. Good company on the run.
Thursday		19-Sep		Fresh Pond				7.63		Quick 2 w/Raleigh in the afternoon then a Fresh Pond PR in the evening - 14:04.
Friday		20-Sep		Moderate		0:07:51		7.00		Lunch run. Very warm, uncomfortable.
Saturday		21-Sep		Easy		0:08:16		6.06		Easy miles that were split up a little bit via errand running.

Tuesday Splits:

800-2:56.32

1600-5:43

1200-4:13.64

1000-3:24

600-2:01.18

400-1:06.25

Total Miles: 55.57

Lone Gull 10k Race Report

Back on May 18th I ran my first ever 10k, and labeled it as "shit race, good effort." It was just under three weeks after I had run Big Sur, and in retrospect it was a predictable outcome. The Lone Gull 10k had higher expectations. Intervals had been going well, Fresh Pond results had shown a steady improvement, all while running good mileage and staying healthy. So while this wasn't exactly a goal race, I still had goals for it.

Photo Courtesy of Tom Cole

I was relatively close to the front of the pack waiting for the gun to go off, and I didn't have any nerves. My warm up went well, and the weather was perfect. The first mile went by in a bit of a blur, but my split was roughly 6:04 - a little fast, but the effort wasn't concerning. I came through the 5k in just under 19 minutes, and felt good. There wasn't any wind along the course at this point, nor were there any hills of note.

I started to over think things just a tad towards the end of mile 3...wondering if my legs were getting tired or if my breathing was labored, but I took inventory and realized I felt really good and should maintain pace and increase effort. There was a slight hill toward the end of mile 4, but I was running strong and passing runners.

With about a mile and a half left I picked up the pace and really started to pass runners. I knew that there was a short steep hill at the end of mile 6, followed a short downhill before the finish and I picked out some runners to try and catch up to them at that point. Mile 6 ended up around 5:57, and I put my head down and handled the short hill well. For the final straightaway, I was able to open it up and pass a big handful of runners. I saw the clock approaching 38 minutes and kept the effort, but after I passed a big group of guys there was only one female runner that I would've passed just a few meters before the finish - so I let up just a tad to finish even...for some reason I felt like it would be a meat-head move to pass her at the last second, but now I'm not entirely sure.

In any case, I finished with a chip time of 37:59, averaging a 6:08 mile, and I didn't have to second guess letting up. That time is 2 minutes and 38 seconds faster than the 10k in May. Now my PR isn't so soft.