New Bedford Half Marathon & Recent Training

I'm not going to call this a Race Report, but it's definitely a highlight for my recent training. I approached the New Bedford Half Marathon hoping I could run a fast time - but I knew that would be a long shot. So I did a ~2 mile warm up and felt pretty good. No aches, no pains. Always a good thing. But I knew this is not my goal race, and while still recovering from injury I needed to be careful. Eye on the prize...

The race started, and I went out holding about a 7:05 pace. My plan was to hold this pace for ~two miles and assess how I felt after that. Unfortunately, during the third mile I could tell it wasn't my day. My quads were already starting to feel beat up by that point. I've been able to start  running a bit more lately, but I have had a lot of time off and my legs are not used to the pavement. And in retrospect, they were not remotely recovered from my last two workouts. They felt really beat up, and since I was only ~3 miles in, I knew that I would have to back off and just use this race as a "long run with company."

I'm a bit torn about how I feel about the weekend. On one hand, I would've loved to be able to attempt a fast race, perhaps even PR, and I'm really bummed I couldn't get after it. On the other hand - this was my longest run in 12 weeks. That's a long time. And so in recent days I've tried to look at the bright side: I ran 16 miles for the day, and I held a ~7:21 pace for 13.1 miles on really beat up quads. With ample recovery, this will serve as good preparation for a shortened marathon training schedule. (Repeat: ample recovery). The more I think about it - this was my longest run in 12 weeks. Don't be stupid. Eye on the prize.

Here's some recent training:

				Pace		Distance
Monday		1-Jan				0.00		Resistance band. Eccentric calf raises. Single leg squats. Foam Roller. LIPUSx3.
Tuesday		2-Jan		0:08:10		2.00		2m easy - felt good. Eccentric calf raises. Resistance band. LIPUSx3.
Wednesday		3-Jan				0.00		33min bike w/hard intervals. Resistance band. 180 pushups. Core work (short). LIPUSx2.
Thursday		4-Jan				7.00		800/1200/1600/1200/800. Did not intend to run this workout, and was ready to stop at the slightest hint of a twinge. Really happy. LIPUSx3.
Friday		8-Mar				0.00		30min bike, 20min swim. Arm workout & core. LIPUSx2.
Saturday		9-Mar						Resistance band. LIPUSx3.
Sunday		10-Mar		0:07:46		12.11		Hosted CSU long run. Felt good. Quads got beat up, and right calf was really sore (definitely muscular) - but the pace was solid and the lungs were fine as well.
Monday		11-Mar		0:09:01		2.00		Myrtlx2. Foam Roller. LIPUSx3.
Tuesday		12-Mar				0.00		45min elliptical, 45min pool. Arm workout, eccentric calf, resistance band. LIPUSx3.
Wednesday		13-Mar				5.06		HM training program. Slow miles. LIPUSx3.
Thursday		14-Mar				8.90		6x800. Ran 2:54 for most of the repeats, and felt comfortable. The last two were bit more difficult than the rest, but still solid. LIPUSx3.
Friday		15-Mar				0.00		30min bike, 30min swim. LIPUSx3.
Saturday		16-Mar				0.00		Rest. LIPUSx3.
Sunday		17-Mar		0:07:21		16.00		New Bedford HM. Quads felt toasted by mile three. So it was a disappointing race, but I'm satisfied with the ability to hold that effort while in pain for ~10 miles. Warm up and cool down brought me to ~16. LIPUSx3.
Monday		18-Mar				0.00		30min bike, 20min swim (solid effort), Myrtlyx3, calf raises x 3, runner touch x 3. LIPUSx3.
Tuesday		19-Mar		0:07:45		4.00		4m run, 30min bike. 10min rolling, 10min stretching, resistance band. LIPUSx3.

The 7 miles on January 4th was my first workout back, and I consider that the turning point in my healing process. I had numerous days of 2 hours on the elliptical, or an hour on the elliptical/bike followed by an hour in the pool - and I couldn't be more happy to be done with that. I will continue to use all of that good stuff for cross training during the recovery period, but now's the time to put the feet to the pavement.

Boston 2013. Big Sur 2013.

600 Meter Interval Allowed to Live

The past 8 weeks I have had to miss all of the Thursday night workouts through the speedwork program at BU. Each Thursday morning I would get an email with the workout options for that night, and every time I read it - I would simply sigh, knowing hours of boredom in the pool and on the elliptical were awaiting me after work. I was diligent, and I was dedicated, but I was not satisfied.

A few weeks ago, while staring at my reflection in the blank tv screen in front of the elliptical, my mind became completely detached. I had apparently had enough two-hour sessions, and off it wandered. Normally, I'm not big on motivational sayings, but for some reason - once my mind returned, I found myself repeating the same thing over and over again:

I will be fast. I will be fit. I will be strong.
I will work hard. I will train smarter.
I will race my f___ing guts out.

I must have repeated that for 45 minutes straight. And while I'm sure it sounds a little lame, my pace quickened, and my heart rate elevated. It served its purpose.

...All of this brings me to last nights workout. My shin had been feeling much better, and I've gone out for a few 2 milers here and there. So when I received the email showing the workout: 800/1200/1600/1200/800/600
I decided I'd show up to at least do the warm up, drills, and strides.

I kept my clunky trainers on and ambled along at my own pace for a good 25 minutes. I lined up, and I did the drills. And all along I had no pain. I did the strides, and opened it up a bit on the straightaways. Again, I felt good. So I decided I would let the group I normally ran with start the workout, and I would go on my own, ready to stop at even the slightest twinge, pull, or tug in my shin.

The first 200 meters of interval number one, I listened to the shin. I heard nothing and finished the first 800 - 3:02. A little slower than what I remember, but considering I was easing back on the workout - not bad. I walked the recovery to let the adrenaline settle down and again listen to the shin for any barking. Still nothing. And so it remained.

Onto the 1200 - 4:30. Next up the 1600, be careful with this one - 6:00. That felt smooth. Keep it easy. 1200 - 4:31. Legs are there, but don't push it. 800 - 3:05.

Each interval felt strong, but I was nervous. I had been putting plenty of time in at the gym, but nothing but 2 milers up to this point. Just under 3.5 miles worth of intervals in addition to a ~3 mile warm up?...not what I was planning, but I wasn't pushing it too hard and I was ready to stop at any time. Only I didn't need to...And so I had one more interval to go - the 600.

Not often do I give a lot of thought to any particular workout, but up to that point - I felt like I was killing it. My first workout in two months, and I felt strong and in control. But I'm happy to say that I did what I believe to be the smart thing. I left the 600 on the track. I may have been killing it (at least for this hack), but I would let the 600 live for another workout.