6/15 to 6/21: Ribfest 5 Miler + Mt. Washington RR + the Miles

So, the Ribfest 5 Miler went ok. The week prior saw me maintain my 70+ miles per week, which should remain steady throughout the summer regardless of the schedule.

Splits:

5:46

5:44

5:51

6:05

5:32

The course started off with a little bit of an uphill before hitting a main road/highway that had a slight decline, but a very stiff headwind. Terry laid down two very fast miles to put about a 15 second gap on me. I obviously faded a bit, so that made catching him even tougher. I think he must have slowed a little bit as well though, as I was continued to gauge his lead and it wasn't growing. I had a shitty 4th mile though. Total crap. The slight downhill on the way out was now I slight uphill on the way back, and while I'm sure the headwind was now a tailwind - I certainly didn't notice it. The road was also freshly paved and hot damn, that can be really suffocating when the heated asphalt radiates through the shoes. During that fifth mile, people were trying to pass me, and while I figured Terry was out of range - I wasn't so cooked that I couldn't defend my position. One guy in particular was hanging on my shoulder for quite some time, and I was trying to keep my foot on the pedal...but I also saved a little something for a final kick. That turned out to be unnecessary as the second we turned towards the finish I opened up a large gap that he couldn't answer.

Moral of the race - don't be a wuss in the middle miles.

I will do a separate report for Mt. Washington.

Here is the stuff:

15-Jun		Ribfest 5 Miler				13.19		AM: Ribfest 5 miler in 29:07. Pretty tough course, but it went OK. PM: Shakeout run around the Charles. Tired.
16-Jun		Hill Route/Moderate		0:07:45		14.06		Noon: Hill route, felt pretty sluggish. PM: Ran Raleigh, then around the Charles. Still sluggish.
17-Jun		Easy/Intervals				16.94		AM: Commute to work. Very warm and humid. I was drenched…not a great way to start the day. PM: 4m commute + track, 800/1000/600x4/200x4. Stomach felt bloated during the 600's, but it passed and I was able to stretch out the legs nicely on the 200's. First sub 30 200 in some time and it felt comfortable/held form.
18-Jun		Easy		0:07:56		4.19		Easy around the Charles. Very warm, and my lunch caused some GI issues. Not fun.
19-Jun		Easy/Easy/Ultimate		0:07:47		8.15		AM: Commute to work. PM: Commute home + killer bees.
20-Jun		Easy/Drive		0:07:40		4.13		AM: Commute to work. PM: Long drive up to NH. So much traffic.
21-Jun		Mt. Washington RR		0:10:50		9.57		Easy warm up, then MWRR in 1:23. I, surprisingly, really enjoyed this race. It was freezing at the summit though. I'll need to do a better job packing next time.

Splits:

800-2:42.91

1000-3:27.80

600-2:02.77

600-2:02.26

600-2:02.48

600-2:01.11

200-34.36

200-33.86

200-32.69

200-29.79

Sub 30 second final 200 to finish the workout. Hell yeah baby!

Total: 70.23

6/8 to 6/14: Summer Time Training Continues

I'm still not doing enough additional work like Myrtl Routine, planks, core work, etc. - but the miles are continuing and I'm healthy. Can't ask for much more than that.

Less talk more stuff!

8-Jun		Long Run		0:07:30		21.00		AM: Battle Road with Kevin and Matt. Got there a little early for 2m beforehand.  We were running low 7min pace for 10+. Warm out, good effort. PM: 4.75 around the Charles
9-Jun		Moderate/Easy		0:07:52		14.00		Noon: 3hill route, 8m 7:45/mile. PM: Commute home, then easy with Raleigh. PM: 4.6m with Eli and Raleigh, easy.
10-Jun		Intervals		0:07:50		19.00		AM: 4m commute to work. PM: Commute home, then interval workout of (800/1200)x2, 400x4 - pretty tough workout, but it went well.
11-Jun		Easy/Rest		0:07:48		4.45		Noon: Easy lunch run. PM: Felt pretty tired, but I was very very antsy and almost disappointed in myself for not doing a double. Don't want to be fried for the upcoming races though.
12-Jun		Easy/Easy/Ultimate		0:07:52		8.00		AM: Commute to work, easy. PM: Commute home, easy. Then ultimate. Played 99% of the time, and never felt really tired. Good.
13-Jun		Easy		0:07:45		5.24		Easy miles.
14-Jun		Easy		0:07:31		4.10		Easy miles with a couple of pick ups.

Splits: 

800-2:45.83

1200-4:14.52

800-2:44.81

1200-4:11.58

400-1:14.23

400-1:12.93

400-1:12.85

400-1:09.42

Total: 75.79

6/1 to 6/7: Lots of Quality

I didn't realize how much quality I ran this week until this post. I wasn't planning on it, but if the legs are up for it - I suppose it can't hurt to listen to the body and go with the flow. More importantly though, I was able to stay above 70, and double six out of seven days. Still, I wonder if that's too much. I had 3 races, an interval workout, a tempo, and Monday's Easy/Easy was probably closer to moderate/moderate. Anyways, with the Ribfest 5 miler and Mt. Washington coming on back to back weeks, perhaps it's good to have a tough week so that I can follow it up with some slower running - and hopefully, get my legs to have some sort of pop.

A quick synopsis of the Adrian Martinez Mile:

The schedule of events didn't come out until ~race day, and I wasn't scheduled to run until 8:20. Since I had only signed up three days prior to the race, I wasn't especially committed. So once I arrived at the race, I was in waffle-mode right up until the start of the race. Obviously though, I decided to run it.

I was chatting with one of Jon Waldron's runner's, Finn Pound, prior to the race and he was hoping to run sub 4:20 - his number would've had him starting in the back of the crowd, so I pushed him into my spot. The gun went off and he bolted out ahead of the crowd and quickly made his way around the bend. Meanwhile, I was waaaay too indecisive at the start. I thought I would find my pace and end up with a group of similar runners. Instead, a few guys sprinted quickly, then slowed down dramatically, and I had to pass wide on the very first turn to pass a handful of slower guys.

I came through the first 400 in about 1:16. What little motivation or hope I had of sub 5 was quickly adjusted. At the 800 mark, I was around 2:34. I tried to stay relaxed and consistent. I hit 1200 at something like 3:55. A quite crappy 3rd quarter. The final lap went well though. Since I dogged it on the 3rd lap, I was able to finish strong with a 1:14 final quarter. A final time of 5:09.03. I'm not too upset. I left some time on the track, but I was not hurting or sore after the race, which allowed me to run a tempo at lunch on Friday.

Here's the week of stuff:

1-Jun		Corrib's Pub 5k/Shakeout				7.11		AM: Corrib Pub 5k, 17:38 for 12th place PM: 2m shakeout with Raleigh
2-Jun		Easy/Easy		0:07:45		14.22		AM: Early lunch run on the three hill route. PM: Commute home, plus some additional mileage.
3-Jun		Easy/Intervals				17.74		AM: 4m commute PM: 800, (1000/600)x3 - really cooked after this workout. Went ok, but this might have been too much ahead of the mile on Thursday.
4-Jun		Easy/Easy		0:08:00		10.25		AM: 4m commute PM: 6.25m commute + Raleigh
5-Jun		Easy/Adrian Martinez Mile				6.75		AM: 4m commute PM: Adrian Martinez Mile (5:09.03) - I took it way too easy, but I don't think I had sub 5 in me on this night.
6-Jun		Tempo/Easy				13.00		Noon: 3hill route, 7.2 in 49:30, then easy with Raleigh. PM: 4.6m with Eli and Raleigh, easy.
7-Jun		Fresh Pond 1-lap+volunteer				6.25		AM: Fresh Pond 1-lap in 14:30, took it easy-ish. Just wanted to be the first finisher in time for volunteering. PM: Rest. Legs are tired.

Splits:
800-2:45.91
1000-3:33.55
600-2:01.25
1000-3:29.76
600-1:59.91
1000-3:33.49
600-1:53.81

Total: 75.32

Corrib Pub 5k Race Report

This course was hilly! And it was pretty freaking warm too, but I can live with that for a 5k.

Lining up at the start was pretty interesting. Mayor Marty Walsh was there along with a few gubernatorial candidates getting some solid face time with the crowd of ~2500 runners and numerous spectators. Terry made a comment as we were lined up looking back at the crowd of runners - it really had a 'big race' feel as the crowd was packed in there and you could look back to see rows and rows of runners. It was also the first time that my niece, Annie, ran a 5k - so that must have been fun for her being in the big crowd.

When the gun went off there were 5 or 6 ding-dong's sprinting for about 200 meters, as usual. It was almost funny though, because a few of them were a little bigger. Anyways, I settled into a quick pace and Terry was right on my shoulder, with Kevin and Phil a stride behind. The first mile is flat and maybe a little downhill, and we hit the mile at around 5:28. Nothing too crazy, but I was surprised at the number of runners ahead of us. As we turned onto VFW Parkway the road gradually went up, and Terry made a hard move right around here to pass me. He put some good distance on me, and we were each passing a handful of the runners who went out too fast.

As we took a right onto Corey Street, we went up another short incline (either there, or one of the other little side streets) and I was able to make up some ground on Terry here. This was a tough spot though, it felt like I was really working and you can never tell with Terry whether he's just cruising or working hard. I'm not exactly sure where I passed Terry, but I think it was right before the start of the next uphill.

I turned into one of those loud grunting runners, and as we started on the hill I kept my eyes half shut and just started working. I don't think anyone passed me on that last long hill, and thank god - I was working hard and that would've sucked. Once we leveled out I knew we were about a quarter mile from the finish and I started to eye runners ahead of me.  At that time, it seemed there was only one runner within striking distance (about 20 meters ahead) - so I started to semi-kick right and started eating up chunks of pavement. Once I passed him, I realized I had a chance at a second runner who had been waaaay ahead of me, and I really opened up my stride. I could see that he was hurting and I was just hoping that he didn't have anything left. With barely any room to spare, I was able to pass him at the line. Gotta get those points for the Pub Series!!! 

Splits:

5:28

5:53

5:45

.33

12th place in 17:38 out of 2530 participants!

Pub Series Standings

5/25 to 5/31: Putting in the Miles

So far so good with this summer training plan. I really wanted to go for a double on Saturday and hit 80+ miles for the week, but my legs felt really cooked and I wanted to be able to run on semi-rested legs for the Corrib 5k. The plan is to be at around 70 every week throughout the summer, so I didn't want to get too greedy. The plan also calls for me to double every chance I get though - so in that sense it's a bummer.

Whatever...here's the stuff!

25-May		Long Run		0:07:29		16.25		Solid run at Battle Road. Had some GI issues, but otherwise ran well.
26-May		Easy		0:08:00		4.76		Easy around the Charles. Wanted to double, but felt really tired all day.
27-May		Intervals				14.22		Again, no double, but the workout was pretty tough & fast: 800 (600/400/300/200)x3
28-May		Moderate/Moderate				14.10		AM: Late morning lunch run 8.6 in 1:06 PM: 5.5 in 40min
29-May		Easy/Tempo/Kbees				12.00		AM: 4m commute in 30min PM: 4m commute, 4m tempo in 24:50, and a KB game (ultimate)
30-May		Easy/Easy				11.30		AM: 6m lunch run PM: 5.3m easy
31-May		Easy		0:08:01		3.01		Left hamstring and ischial tuberosity both very sore. Especially after volunteering at Fresh Pond Day for a few hours. I need to stop attempting foot blocks when playing ultimate.

Splits:

800-2:49.02

600-1:58.37

400-1:18.49

300-56.71

200-34.63

600-1:54.47

400-1:14.99

300-54.77

200-34.45

600-1:57.94

400-1:14.32

300-54.82

200-33.11

Total: 75.64