11/16 to 11/22: A Bad Day A Good Sign

So on Thursday I went to the Harvard indoor track looking to build on last week's very good workout of 400x4/600x2/400x4.  I showed up feeling really tired, but hoping that was just residual work-fatigue.  The plan was to try one of two workouts: 400x3/600x4/400x3 or 400x4/800x2/400x4...I ended up leaning towards the former, but after both the second and third reps felt like they fighting against me I decided to stick to the vanilla 400x10.

As the workout progressed, I was never hitting the target of 72 second quarters, and each rep felt like I was forcing the issue. Luckily I was recovering well enough, but there was still a lot of thought about ending the workout at six reps and again at eight. In the end, I finished all ten.  And though I never hit 72, I averaged about 73 mid.  That works out to be roughly 4:54 mile pace.

...So on a shit day, I was able to still hit respectable splits. I think that's a good sign.

bangpowboom:

16-Nov		Long Run		0:07:37		18.47		Battle Road with the CSU gang. Felt a bit tired throughout, but the last 2 miles I felt really strong and decided to go with it. Almost kept going.
17-Nov		Easy/Easy		0:07:45		10.4		AM: What a crappy rainy commute. 4+ at 7:45/mile. PM: 6+ at 7:50/mile through a LOT of rain and puddles.
18-Nov		Easy/Intervals				17.56		AM: Commute 4+ a 7:45/mile. PM: Commute home + 800/1000/1200/1000/800/400/200, 5k effort for 800 and up mile effort for 400 & 200. It was very cold and windy, so the splits were slow, but the effort was there. I'm becoming more and more pleased with my recovery in between reps.
19-Nov		Easy/East		0:07:32		13.15		AM: 6+ commute back during lunch at 7:30/mile. PM: 6+ at whatever.
20-Nov		Easy/Mile Training				16.76		AM: Commute 4m at whatever. PM: Commute home plus 400x10. Had a different workout planned, but I was fighting through every rep so I stuck with the vanilla quarters. Positive takeaway is that I was only 1 second slow on each rep. Bad days are still pretty good.
21-Nov		Easy/Easy		0:07:50		8.1		AM: 4m Commute PM: 4m Commute
22-Nov		Easy		0:07:40		4.23		Easy around the Charles. Tired legs.

Tuesday Splits:

800-2:52.62

1000-3:29.54

1200-4:10.25

1000-3:27.32

800-2:46.49

400-1:13.85

200-31.00

Thursday Splits:

400-1:12.98

400-1:13.15

400-1:13.49

400-1:14.03

400-1:13.25

400-1:13.47

400-1:13.87

400-1:13.51

400-1:13.15

400-1:13.37

Total: 88.67

11/9 to 11/15: Middle Distance Runner

Another successful week of running in the books. I'm probably not getting in enough naps throughout this process, but I don't have any lingering injuries that feel like they could be an issue - and I consider that to be the hallmark of a lack of rest. So for the time being, I'm just going to continue my pursuit of a fast mile.


Thursday nights workout was very solid and yet another week where I was able to benefit from some solid help in making sure that I didn't slack off on the pacing - thanks to TomD, Jonathan, and Terry for that.


A song:




The numberz:

9-Nov		Long Run		0:07:32		18.23		Battle Road. Felt pretty dang tired, but got it done.
10-Nov		Easy/Easy				12.36		AM: 4m commute at ~7:30. PM: 8+ commute home plus 4 short hill sprints.  I felt really good and was tempted to go longer, but this was the longer end of what I was planning anyways so I decided not to push it.
11-Nov		Easy/Intervals				20.06		AM: 4m commute at 7:35/mile. PM: Commute home plus intervals. 800x3/600x2/400x2/300x2/200x2 going from 5k/3k/mile/fast/faster paces.  Pretty spot on with the paces I was aiming to hit.
12-Nov		Rest/East				7.07		AM: Rest. I had a meeting and needed to have a freshly pressed shirt. PM: Commute home + a bit with Eli and Raleigh and finished with 2 short hill sprints. I wanted to do more, but I was feeling off and wasn't sure if I was coming down with something.
13-Nov		Easy/Mile Training				16.87		AM: 4m commute at 7:30/mile. PM: Commute home plus Harvard indoor. 400x4/600x2/400x4. Averaged 1:11.6 for the fours, 1:50 for the 6's, and 2:19 for the rest. Really happy with this workout.
14-Nov		Rest/Easy		0:07:48		6.19		AM: Rest. Tired. PM: Commute from the Back Bay.
15-Nov		Fresh Pond				4.27		Fresh Pond in 13:59 - first time breaking 14 minutes I think. Not bad for a hungover run.

Tuesday Splits:

800-2:46.21

800-2:45.24

800-2:43.44

600-1:57.07

600-1:56.18

400-1:12.78

400-1:11.95

300-52.16

300-53.64

200-33.69

200-30.65

Thursday Splits:

400-1:11.83

400-1:10.37

400-1:12.74

400-1:13.62

600-1:50.28

600-1:50.76

400-1:12.45

400-1:13.10

400-1:11.23

400-1:07.99

Total: 85.05

11/2 to 11/8: Feels Like Good Training

I feel a little bit like I'm training for the marathon lately as my mileage is pretty high, and I'm almost always tired. But...this was a really good week. Coming off of a 100 mile week, I was able to get in four days worth of quality. While a long run isn't really a workout, I still consider it quality - especially when it's an 18 miler.

More importantly, both workouts on the track went very well.  On Tuesday it was once again a workout that involved 1k repeats with 5k/mile/5k pacing.  We had a similar workout on 10/21 and it was one of the tougher workouts I had done in a long time - I really hurt after that surge in the middle. This Tuesday I felt like I was able to recover very very well, and I hit 3:23 on each of the three reps - even pacing is a good sign in my book.

On Thursday, the workout was head and shoulders above last Thursday's attempt at 400 meter repeats.  I owe a big thanks to TomD for coming out so soon after running 65 miles and helping me out - having him hang on my back shoulder for the 2nd half of each 400 was a huge help and making sure I didn't ham and egg it out there.  My pacing for the 400's still leaves a little bit to be desired, but I'm running lots of miles, with lots of quality - so the fractional misses aren't really bothersome.  It also doesn't help my splits when I have to dodge little kids that are walking across lane one with their eyes closed.

whatthewhat?

2-Nov		Long Run		0:07:47		18.18		Battle Road. Left foot is improving, but I still feel like I'm landing on my heal and that I'm getting minimal pushoff/response. Left hamstring remains a mystery to me as well.
3-Nov		Easy/Easy		0:07:45		10.28		AM: 4+ commute to work at about 7:45/mile. PM: 6+ commute home at about 8min/mile
4-Nov		Easy/Intervals		0:07:45		15.77		AM: 4+ commute to work at about 7:45/mile. PM: 800/1000x3/400x4 - 800 at 5k pace, 1k at 5k w/a 200m surge in the middle, 400 at mile pace with 1 minute rest.
5-Nov		Rest/Easy		0:08:00		6.2		AM: Rest. PM: Commute from the Back Bay at 8min/mile.
6-Nov		Easy/Mile Training				16.76		AM: 4m commute at 7:20/mile. PM: Commute + 400x10.  Tough workout, but went well. Big help from TomD on hopping in for the second 200 of each rep to make sure I didn't ham and egg it.
7-Nov		Rest/Easy				6.26		AM: Rest. PM: Commute from the Back Bay.
8-Nov		Fresh Pond		0:06:41		7.04		Fresh Pond 2 lapper in 30:08.  Faster than I expected on a poor warm up and being slightly hungover…

Tuesday Splits:

800-2:42.49

1000-3:23.75

1000-3:23.84

1000-3:23.62

400-1:15.08

400-1:13.05

400-1:13.18

400-1:10.45

Thursday Splits:

1:14.01

1:12.67

1:11.95

1:12.55

1:12.47

1:12.8

1:13.27

1:12.16

1:13.62

1:13.16

Average: 1:12.87

Average Rest: 2:05.58

TOTAL MILEAGE FOR THE WEEK: 80.49

10/26 to 11/1: Mileage and Quality

This week ended up with some higher than expected mileage, and plenty of good running. One thing I'm starting to realize, though, is that I'm not getting enough sleep. Because I'm really tired right now.

Taking into account the poor rest and higher mileage, I think most of the runs went well this week.  The long run at Battle Road was challenging, but it was a quicker pace so that's to be expected.  And the workout on Tuesday night went well, but I missed hitting some of my target paces.  Thursday night's workout wasn't a disaster, but it also wasn't a success. I'll attempt the same workout this coming Thursday and hopefully it'll go better. Running a 1:12 400 feels like I'm straining, which I consider a bad sign. I'm hoping that it's simply running on tired legs or something like that, but time will tell.

Anyways, whatever, therefore, hereyougo:

26-Oct		Long Run		0:07:26		18.22		Battle Road with Kevin. I did 2m beforehand, and then Kevin and I had a really solid run. I felt kind of sluggish, but it was a very good run - neither of us were pushing the pace, just worked out to be quicker.
27-Oct		Easy/Easy		0:07:34		12.58		AM: 4m commute at 7:34/mile. PM: 8m and 6x10s hill repeats. Might have done more, but my left hamstring and foot both felt tender enough to warrant caution.
28-Oct		Easy/Intervals		0:07:37		18.95		AM: 4m commute at 7:37/mile. Left foot a little meh. PM: Commute from Back Bay to the track. 1200/(600/400/300)x3 - 1200 at 5k, 600 at 3k, 400 at mile, and 300 at less than mile pace.
29-Oct		Easy/Easy		0:07:45		12.41		AM: Lunch run home 6+ PM: Run home from Back Bay 6+
30-Oct		Easy/Mile Training				15.61		AM: 4m commute at 7:23/mile. PM: 4m commute + 400x8. Averaged 1:13.8 per 400, and 2:09 rest.  Cut it short as I felt like I was redlining too much and I didn't want to lose form. Foot had to be loosened up between the last few as well, but was OK.
31-Oct		4HillRoute/Easy		0:07:46		13.05		AM: 8+ lunch run at 7:46/mile. PM: 4+, ran to meet Eli then did a loop around Fresh Pond.
1-Nov		Fresh Pond				9.86		AM: Fresh Pond 1 lapper at about a 5:55 pace. No warm up, should've just jogged it. PM: 4+ easy around the Charles at 7:53/mile.

Tuesday Splits:

1200-4:05.9

600-1:54.70

400-1:15.23(SLOW!)

300-53.73

600-1:58.37

400-1:13.59

300-54.15

600-1:55.39

400-1:12.48

300-50.10

Thursday Splits:

1:12.8

1:13.1

1:13.9

1:13.9

1:13.7

1:14.0

1:14.1

1:14.7

Total Mileage: 100.68