10/19 to 10/25: Mile Training

With the Pub Series wrapped up, this week began my training for the mile.  I have something like 8 weeks until the first BU mini meet, and the plan is to race at two or three of those meets.  But, between now and then I need to mold myself into a miler.  The mileage I've been running since April should serve as a solid base, and now I'll begin some challenging interval workouts with the intention of first getting some leg speed back, and then working on my speed-endurance (I think that's the correct term).

Hey here it is, whatever you want PAL!:

19-Oct		Paddy's Shuffle 5k		0:05:33		12.50		13th place in 16:37. Backed into 5th place in the Pub Series standings. EDIT: no I didn't…
20-Oct		4HillRoute/Easy		0:07:45		16.62		AM: 4 Hill Route. 8m at 7:45ish. PM: Commute home + 6x10s Hills.
21-Oct		Easy/Intervals		0:07:29		19.03		AM: Around the Charles at lunch 4m at 7:29/mile. PM: (800/1000)x3. 1000 split into 5k/mile/5k pace. One of the toughest workouts I've done in a while.
22-Oct		Rest/Easy		0:07:30		7.14		AM: Rest. Left foot ok, but want to be 100% as soon as possible. PM: 6m+ at 7:30 + 8 short hill sprints.
23-Oct		Easy/Intervals		0:07:45		16.24		AM: ~4m commute at 7:45/mile. Cut a little short due to internal distress. PM: Commute home + 200x15 @ mile pace.  I was a little uneven with the pacing, but I primarily wanted to maintain a smooth and strong stride.  My foot was OK. Average 34.94s and 1:38.5 for the rest.
24-Oct		4 Hill Route		0:07:40		6.38		4 Hill Route during lunch.  Took it easy - the left foot was pretty uncomfortable.
25-Oct		Easy		0:07:32		4.81		Just easy around the Charles. I started to do some Poplar strides, but the foot was just a bit too tender. Not worth pushing it.

Tuesday Splits:

800-2:42.11

1000-3:22.58

800-2:44.46

1000-3:20.58

800-2:43.72

1000-3:19.76

Thursday Splits:

200-34.69

rest-1:47.38

200-37.73

rest-1:52.05

200-36.10

rest-1:30.92

200-35.65

rest-1:28.52

200-36.29

rest-1:37.69

200-34.92

rest-1:36.59

200-35.12

rest-1:38.51

200-34.65

rest-1:44.18

200-35.06

rest-1:42.66

200-34.17

rest-1:35.22

200-34.10

rest-1:35.46

200-33.62

rest-1:37.31

200-34.48

rest-1:32.83

200-33.94

rest-1:39.49

200-33.63

The intention was to average about 90 to 120 seconds of rest, so that's why I included all of that. It's pretty annoying to look at, but I think it gives a better idea of how the workout went.  I felt pretty good, but my left foot was a little uncomfortable with the banking. I think that might have contributed to the erratic pacing.

Total: 82.72

Paddy's Shillelagh Shuffle Race Report

Prior to the race, I was told that Lee Danforth was in France on work, and that would almost certainly result in me backing into 5th place in the Pub Series standings, and more importantly - into the money. That wasn't the case though, dagnabbit!!

Anyways, on Sunday the 19th I made my way over to Paddy's in Newton for the final race in the Pub Series. I was mildly nervous about my foot, but it ended up being a total non-issue. At the start of the race Lotsbom and Klucznik, once again, went out ahead of me and I tried to keep contact. I hit the mile mark in about 5:23, which is pretty much what I was targeting. As they began to pull away, I was focusing more on keeping a smooth stride and listening to my foot.

I ran with John Sullivan for a short bit - he works/is neighbors with my brother MKike, and oddly enough we had a short conversation. That was a nice distraction to help time pass just a little quicker during the always-painful second mile. He ended up dropping back after a quarter mile or so, and I was in no man's land for most of the remainder of the race.

Somewhere around the second mile, I was passed by two gentleman hauling ass with baby strollers. That bugged the crap out of me. And hearing someone yell, "nice job! you guys are running faster with strollers than most people are without them!" Holy crap did that annoy me...and make me feel slow as hell too.

I could tell that my second mile was slow, and I had also noticed that Klucznick and Lotsbom were thisclose to being within striking distance - so I made a pretty long surge to try and make up some ground. Unfortunately, I didn't make a dent in the gap. I did, however, feel pretty good during that surge, and I could see Kevin and Terry in their pack right behind me - so I kept up the harder pace straight through to the finish.

I finished well, and with no one in range that would necessitate a kick to the finish I simply kept pace across the line. In retrospect, I am happy about that; I think an all out sprint would've put a lot of pressure on my foot. I finished feeling healthy, and with a strong final mile, placing 13th overall.

Splits:
5:23
5:39
5:21
13sec .05m (Garmin rounding error or whatever)


Results, photos, and photos.

10/12 to 10/18: Mild Injury Equals Lower Mileage

And my first day off in 62 days...that was a good streak!

My left foot has been causing some considerable discomfort for the past ~10 days, and so on Saturday (the 18th) I decided a full day of rest was in order.  Actually, that's not entirely accurate. I woke up and with some friends up for the weekend, I decided I would push the run off until the late afternoon.  Then, after walking around Harvard Square and catching a movie, I decided I would take the day off.  The foot was making popping noises all day long, and was causing a mild limp and that's not a good sign.  And even though I made that decision, I was still arguing with myself up until ~10:30 at night thinking that I could just get in a quick 4!!! Thankfully, reason won out.

I'm still kicking myself too...THE STUFF:

12-Oct		Easy		0:09:00		4.12		Drove back from NH and had a nice easy jog with Eli and Raleigh. Left foot is still quite sore.
13-Oct		Easy/Easy		0:08:00		12.47		AM: 6m at 8min on way to Tufts 10k volunteering. PM: 6m home from volunteering. Left food held up in the giant Nike shoes.
14-Oct		Easy/Intervals		0:07:45		18.54		AM: 4m at 7:43/mile. PM: 400/600/800/1000/1000/800/600/400 - left foot was a mild concern and there was a lot of self-bargaining, but I made it through the workout.
15-Oct		Rest/Easy		0:08:11		6.21		AM: Rest - left foot is really sore. I need to back off. PM: 6m at 8min+.  I was going to take today off, but Eli had to work late and I had to get home. Foot felt fine during the run though.
16-Oct		Easy/Easy		0:07:50		10.49		AM: 4m commute at 7:50/mile. PM: 6+ as commute and saying hello before skipping the tempo. Foot hurts too much to risk making it worse.
17-Oct		Rest/Easy		0:08:12		7.63		AM: Rest. PM: Ran back from Back Bay and then some, just taking it easy. I was tempted to add on some miles as I felt pretty good, but with Dan visiting from Providence I didn't want to be running all night.
18-Oct		Rest				0.00		62 days in a row…ends here. So annoyed. Fucking foot.

Splits:

400-1:15.27

600-1:59.34

800-2:43.77

1000-3:27.43

1000-3:24.52

800-2:44.61

600-1:59.25

400-1:09.55

Total: 59.46

Warner 5 Miler Race Report

The night before the race I could feel some sort of cold coming on.  My sinus had that dry achy feeling, and on top of that my left foot was really really bugging me. With each step, throughout the day, I had moderately painful clicking and a minor limp (never a good sign)

So, race morning I woke up plenty early to have some coffee and a light breakfast. I felt pretty crappy, but not bad enough to scrap the race plans. Eli drove me to the start where I was able to get in an uneasy warm up. The whole time my equilibrium felt off. I wasn't so sick that I was weak, but it was enough to have me slightly concerned. The good thing, though, was that I didn't see any obvious fast guys on the starting line. There were a few younger guys, and one runner with a singlet that seemed like they could be quicker, but I felt confident in my chances.

When the gun went off, there were the typical 3 or 4 kids that bolted from the line - only this time they had some company - me! I went out quick and I wanted to establish a fast pace.  This course has some brutal hills, and I aimed to run a faster first 2 miles. That went mostly to plan, though mile 2 was slower than mile 1 due to a quarter mile(ish) long hill in the middle. It wasn't a totally draining hill, just enough slow down the split. Through this point I had led the entire race and was feeling pretty good.

Bean Hill Road is the start of mile three, and it's a real ball buster.  Uphill for nearly the entire mile, it gains something like 350 feet of elevation (at least according to gmap-pedometer) with lots of false flats. I was lucky to run a 7min mile here, but once the road leveled out my legs were not cooperating.  The road still had a very small incline and I couldn't get any faster than that 7min pace and back to my sub 6 pace. I took a peak back and noticed the two runners behind me gaining on me.  Once the road started to make its gradual decent, I was able to open up the stride and hit my pace, but Bean Hill left me in tough shape.

Miles 4 and 5 are a little bit up and down, but generally downhill.  All through this section of the race I made it a point not to look back. I didn't want to give the guy behind me any fuel to make a hard surge, and I was also making it a point to vary my pace and so I was throwing in 15+ second surges every minute or so with the occasional very hard surge lasting ~60 seconds.

With about a half mile to go there is a really nasty steep downhill that lasts a quarter mile +, and I could feel both my quads and my left foot barking at me. I basically ignored both and made sure that he would have to run semi-out-of-control to have a chance to catch me. Before hitting the final uphill and turning towards the finish I took a peak back to see that I had put a comfortable distance between the two of us. I went up the final uphill at a very controlled pace, allowing some of the distance to close, but making sure I could have a killer kick if necessary.  Once I turned the corner I threw down a quick blast of speed, took another look back, and coasted across the line - winning my first real race ever.

Splits:
5:33.04
5:57.69
7:00.30
5:51.85
5:14.88

http://www.coolrunning.com/results/14/nh/Oct11_Warner_set1.shtml

10/5 to 10/11: Two Races & Two Workouts

This week included a lot of hard running. Sunday started with a very solid race at the Bernie's 3-Miler in Dedham, followed by Track Tuesday, Tempo Thursday, and a 5-miler in Warner on Saturday. To go along with all of that hard running, I developed a cold and some sort of injury in my left foot. The cold has essentially come and gone, but the foot injury lingers.

This would probably be a good time to look back at my "training" from the winter of 2013 where I had to do 8 weeks of cross training because I was too stubborn to back off for a few days here and there...

DATASTuff:

5-Oct		Bernie's Run 5k		0:05:33		8.76		Bernie's 3m (not 5k).  Finished 7th in 16:39, and was under 11min at the 2 mile mark. First time doing that I think. Solid race. Couldn't keep up with O'Leary or Lotsbom though. Fast jerks!
6-Oct		Easy/Easy		0:07:40		12.76		AM: 4m Commute at ~7:30/mile. PM: Commute home + Raleigh, + 6 Poplar Strides. Averaged probably 8:00/mile. I had a 'mini-bonk' 3m into the run…strange.
7-Oct		Easy/Intervals		0:07:40		19.17		AM: 4m commute at 7:40/mile PM: 15+ total, 1200/(1000/800/400)x2 - 5k/mile/5k pace, with the mile surge for 200 meters starting at the 'bell lap' of the rep.
8-Oct		Rest/East		0:07:40		9.08		AM: Rest, legs are quite cooked from last night's workout. PM: Dropped the car off with Eli then just ran for a bit. Finished up with 6 barefoot strides over at Fresh Pond. 9m total.
9-Oct		Easy/Tempo				15.55		AM: 6m at 7:40ish. PM: Commute home plus a tempo in about 30:30. Ran 3 short hill sprints to get the legs started on what I hope will become routine.
10-Oct		Easy/Easy		0:07:50		10.11		Battle Road, first 2m slow w/Raleigh, final 8m at a relaxed pace.
11-Oct		Warner 5-Miler		0:05:56		9.65		Won in 29:42. Very hilly course. Left foot sore.

Tuesday Splits:

1200-4:10.06

1000-3:24.03

800-2:39.70

400-1:16.22

1000-3:22.95

800-2:40.50

400-1:08.95

Total: 85.05

Bernie's Run 3-Miler Race Report

For the 5th race in the Pub Series, I hopped in the car with Elizabeth in the passenger seat and Raleigh in the back and drove down to Dedham. The 11:30 start time provided ample opportunity to get in a good night's rest, a good breakfast, and a solid warm up.

After picking up my number, I bumped into Kevin and we got our warm up started and met up with Terry, Theo and Nash as well.  We roamed the coarse for a bit, and as become a familiar process, gave plenty of waves and nods to the other Pub Series regulars.

I felt pretty good prior to the race, though I was a little bummed that I didn't have a really great pop to my stride. I was hoping that trimming the mileage back a little would give my legs a bit more oomph, but as I was doing my strides I felt like it wasn't quite there.  By the time I got to my fifth or sixth strider though, my legs certainly felt loose and warmed up, and I was ready to go.

After the runners all lined up and the gun went off, the usual crowd up front had made some room. I ran a quick first quarter mile to make sure I had plenty of space and I also wanted to stay close to Lotsbom who is sitting at #5 in the Pub Series Standings.  As we turned into the first loop inside a big parking lot, the leaders were already separating themselves from the pack. I was still within shooting distance of about 4 other runners, and I had the pack of Terry/Kevin/Nash/JFallon pretty much right on my tail. As we made a sharp turn inside the parking lot before heading back for the exit, I was able to get a quick glance and see how the race was shaping up.

Once we turned back onto the main road, we had a relatively small incline before hitting the first mile marker and I had passed one HFC runner along the way before hitting the mile in about 5:26 (the markers seemed off a bit, so I'm going based on my watch).  Lotsbom and O'Leary were ahead of me by about 4 seconds at this point.

We quickly turned into the neighborhood-section of the race, which started with a short little hill followed by a gradual downhill.  It was at this point that Lotsbom and O'Leary pulled away even more, and I wasn't able to respond. I could hear Terry coming up on me during the uphill section, and I did my best to churn the legs and hold my position to the top of the hill. As we hit the other side of the hill, I let gravity help me out and I went into a combination of both bombing downhill and catching my breath.

I was hoping that I would be able to make up some of the aforementioned lost ground on the guys ahead of me during the downhill, but they seemed to be neither pulling away nor falling back.  In retrospect, I should've held a surge here and tried to make up some time. I felt pretty good as we maneuvered through the neighborhoods and I passed the two mile mark in 10:58/59 (the guy on the course said 10:44, though again - I trust my watch on this day).  Aside from a few slightly unexpected turns, and a pot hole riddled street - I was focused on keeping the pack of guys behind me right where they were.

There was one final straightaway before we turned towards the finish line, and I was oddly disappointed to see that I had made up some ground on Lotsbom and O'Leary.  I had a rough idea how far ahead of me they were - and knowing that I had less than a half mile to go, I was wishing it were a 5 mile race instead of 3. There would be no push from a quarter mile out, as I was stuck in no man's land and I wasn't going to be able to make up enough ground in that short of a space.

I passed Elizabeth, who was standing a short distance from the corner (about 200 meters from the finish), and I glided fairly comfortably into the finish in 16:39.  I was hurting, so 'comfortably' is a relative term, but I felt like I had more 'hurt' in me. That'll be good to know at the next Pub Series race.

Splits:
5:26
5:33
5:34

7th Overall

9/28 to 10/4: Back to Normal

With races the next three weekends in a row, this was the start of getting back to "normal" mileage.  I like knowing that my legs seem capable of handling higher mileage, but there is no doubt it would leave me ragged. And frankly, there is some doubt as to how long I could handle it.  So back down to the 70's for this week (of crappy weather), and likely in this range for the month of October.

eehhhhhhh:

28-Sep		Long Run		0:07:53		17.50		AM: Battle Road with the CSU doods. I felt sluggish the whole time. PM: Did a lot of rolling and a bit of XT.
29-Sep		Easy/Easy		0:07:49		10.13		AM: Commute 4m at 7:50/mile PM: 6m at 7:40ish/mile.
30-Sep		Rest/Intervals				15.74		AM: Rest. Got in a nap at lunch! PM: 1000x4, 600x2, 400 - a long warm up starting in the Back Bay. 1k alternating at 5k+ and 5k-, 600 at 3k, 400 at mile/faster.
1-Oct		Rest/Easy		0:07:31		6.23		AM: Rest. PM: 6m at ~7:30/mile.
2-Oct		Easy/Tempo		0:07:34		13.46		AM: Commute, 4m at ~7:30/mile. PM: Commute + tempo, 1-lapper at about 5:54 mile.
3-Oct		Rest/Easy				7.05		AM: Rest. PM: 7m at 7:55/mile.
4-Oct		Fresh Pond				4.22		AM: Fresh Pond in 15 something, kept it easier and tried to push a younger kid to a faster time. PM: Rest.

Splits:

1000-3:37.87 (5k+)

1000-3:24.52 (5k-)

1000-3:39.95 (5k+)

1000-3:23.07 (5k-)

600-1:59.23

600-1:57.27

400-1:10.26

The final 400 felt pretty comfortable for being that quick.  My legs started getting a little squirrely in the final straight, but for the first 300 I was just stretching out on the back end and making good time.  After recently deciding against the Manchester City Marathon (and the Iron Runner jacket....sigh), I'll start focusing on the mile.  This was a nice little indicator that the legs have the speed, and after the last few months of mileage I should have the strength. I just need to get a little specific over the next couple months and I should be in a good spot for the first BU Mini Meet.

Total: 74.33