An Ras Mor 2015 Race Report

Similar to last year, I went for an easy 1 mile jog when I woke up to get the blood flowing and loosen up the legs.  After throwing a few other things in a post-race bag, I hit the road to jog the ~3 miles down to Central Square.

Last year this race was 40 degrees and rainy and this year it was ~25 degrees and windy...what can you do?  So I ditched the tights, but kept the shirt/hat/gloves.  I ended up timing my change somewhat poorly, so after I bumped into Elizabeth at the baggage check I had to rush to hand off my warm-up clothes so we could quickly make our way to the starting line.

I was glad to see Elizabeth out there today too, since it was so cold - she normally wouldn't run in the weather with her Reynauds - but I've been pushing her to run the Pub Series this year.  She ended up running 22:08, which is about a minute slower than last year. I chalk that up to the cold, wind, and limited winter training, and I would bet money that by the end of the pub series she's in the low 19s for 5k.

CSU in general had a great showing all around.  Amory won the women's overall, Terry won the 50+ age group, Kevin came in 2nd in his age group, and I'm really hoping Jon and Jonathan continue with the Pub Series - I think they could do some damage in the standings. We'll see!

I situated my self up front since no one else seemed to want to lead things off.  After looking through Thomas Cole's photos, I couldn't help but laugh. It looks like TJ Unger is giving me a look like, "Hey!...wtf are you doing ahead of me!?" That wouldn't last too long, but I was only 24 seconds behind him - I assume he's either coming back from injury, doesn't enjoy the cold, or was just taking it easier out there.

In any case, I was out of the gate pretty quickly and moving well.  I had run most of the course on my way down to central square, so I knew the first mile would be moderately uphill and likely a tad slow.

Just after passing the mile marker, I heard a familiar breathing. I took a quick look and didn't see anyone.  A minute later, someone came up on my shoulder and I looked, and just behind the guy on my shoulder was Kevin.  As soon as I saw him, Kevin quickly moved up onto my shoulder, then 5 seconds later put the hammer down.

I had been feeling pretty comfortable up to that point, but Kevin went all Johnny Ringo on me.  Well, this is the Pub Series after all, so I was thinking, "alright Delaney, I'm your huckleberry!" And so we battled back and forth for the next two miles, all the while reeling in runners ahead of us.

I was throwing in surges here and there, but Kevin was on my shoulder like glue.  Once we turned onto Brookline Street, I looked at the runners ahead and tried to real them in.  I was able to catch up to a small pack of two with about a quarter mile to go, and I tried to really lay the hammer down. I recognized one of the runners and thought it odd that I had caught up to him - but I was hoping it simply wasn't his day.  He ended up hanging onto me while the other guy faded a bit, and as we turned for the finish he out-kicked me by a slim margin.

Splits:
5:36.06
5:31.56
5:26.39
31.92

Results

Scott Mason's Photos

3/15/15 to 3/21/15: A Good Week's Training

Let's just get to the data, shall we!?

15-Mar		New Bedford Half		0:06:01		17		Ran a PR. 1:18:46…can't complain, but I overestimated my fitness. Tough conditions, very windy.
16-Mar		Easy/Easy		0:07:45		10.16		AM: 4m commute at ~7:30. PM: 6.5m at 7:55
17-Mar		Easy/MLR		0:07:25		16.19		AM: 4m commute at ~7:45 PM: 12m at 7:25. WINDY.
18-Mar		Easy/Moderate		0:07:47		10.23		AM: 4m commute at ~7:45 PM: 6m+ commute at ~7:00. Still windy. Almost blown over!!
19-Mar		Easy/Intervals				16.04		AM: 4m commute at 7:20 PM: Commute home + to Harvard, then 6x600. I would've done more, but some high school girls sprayed a perfume that gave me a pounding headache. Thanks you stupid idiots.
20-Mar		Easy/Easy		0:07:45		8.56		AM: 4m commute at 7:45 PM: 4m commute + 5 strides.
21-Mar		Easy/Rest		0:07:50		4.4		AM: 4m+ easy. PM: Rest.

Thursday Splits:
600-2:01.54
600-2:02.94
600-2:00.61
600-1:59.57
600-1:59.90
600-1:58.30

Total: 82.58

New Bedford Half Marathon 2015 Race Report

Man, did I over estimate my fitness or what...Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with the result of the race, but I grossly misjudged where I am at. I thought I could flirt with 1:16:low, but I'm simply not there yet. I suppose it's better to find that out now, so I can begin to more accurately target my marathon paced runs.

Pre-race rituals went well. A couple miles jogging, minimal drills, and a handful of strides. Normally, I'm not big on the national anthem before every single race, but New Bedford gets a big crowd and lots of runners so it makes sense. This time around, it was especially cool. The singer stumbled over the words early on and the crowd picked up the slack and sang to the finish.

Once the gun went off, I had a clear path and didn't need to weave through any crowds.  I went through the first mile in 5:48 feeling pretty comfortable.  The next three miles were decidedly slower as I struggled with the hills.  I was really hoping that I would be comfortably hitting 6 minute miles through this section of the course, but that simply felt too fast.

Around the 5 mile mark, I thought I heard some familiar breathing, but as I turned to look - I didn't see anyone.  Right around 10k though, Terry pulled up beside me chugging along comfortably.

One thing I don't like about races in the USATF-NE Grand Prix series is that I don't have that sense of competitiveness that I feel during the Pub Series. If I'm running alongside someone I don't know, I'm not thinking, "oh, I better stick with him other wise I'll come in 150th instead of 149th..." BUT, when Terry came cruising by, that knocked me out of my funk. I immediately thought, "crap, Terry was biding his time all ski-season building up strength and now he wants to put me in the hurt locker!!"

For a little while I was behind Terry and the group he was running with.  Once we hit a good stretch of road to accelerate on, I started to increase the pace a bit and see where I was at. From then on, I decided to just keep looking forward and putting in the effort I thought I could maintain to the finish.

Turning onto Cove Road, I was pleasantly surprised that the wind wasn't so bad. Unfortunately, that was short lived. Right around the 10th or 11th mile, the wind was relentless.  I tried to draft off some runners, but it seemed that I was able to maintain my pace while they were fading.

Once we started back inland, the wind seemed to stay strong, and the hills started to arrive.  I was able to see a good handful of runners I recognized a good chunk of distance ahead of me and I used them as a goal to reach/pass them in the final miles.

During the final brutal hill, I was fairly vocal runner - grunting with each step. My hip flexors and left hamstring felt pretty bunk, but I was digging deep and passing a lot of runners.  I felt a sense of relief when I crested that final hill and set my sights on some runners that I hoped to catch in time for the final straight.

Photo Courtesy of Thomas Cole on Facebook

Once I turned onto the straight, I knew it was a greater distance than it looked and I steadily increased my pace. I caught up to a Western Mass Distance Project runner with a good chunk of pavement to go and he and I battled it out to the finish (passing a few runners en route). Unfortunately, I was too cooked to go to my toes and he edged me at the line. Oh well.

0:05:48

0:06:04

0:06:13

0:06:17

0:06:00

0:05:57

0:05:50

0:05:49

0:05:58

0:05:59

0:06:11

0:06:00

0:06:00

0:00:39

1:18:46

A new PR by 2 minutes and 18 seconds. I also passed the 10 mile mark in under an hour, so that was nice. Beat my brand new 10 mile PR only three weeks after setting it.

Results: http://www.coolrunning.com/results/15/ma/Mar15_38thAn_set1.shtml

3/1/15 to 3/14/15: Back to Back Hundoz + a Not so Down Week

Back to back is still not a dynasty...but it was good to follow up the final week of February, with another 100 mile week to start March. And then that was followed up by ~84 miles this past week.

The plan was to back off leading up to New Bedford, and I could have done a better job at that.

Here's the past two weeks:

1-Mar		Long Run				20.07		Ran over to Waltham from home. I felt great at the end of the run. I think I may have missed an opportunity to run over the marathon distance today…
2-Mar		Easy/Easy		0:05:50		14.08		AM: Commute. PM: Commute + Appleton up&down hill repeats. I was feeling pretty good so I went back and forth on Appleton to get work running both uphill and dowhill.
3-Mar				1:16:25		17.06		AM: Commute PM: Commute home and to Harvard. 4xmile workout with no real aim - I should give these workouts more thought.
4-Mar		Easy/Easy				12.27		AM: Commute PM: Commute + neighborhood miles.
5-Mar		BU Intervals				27.61		AM: 10m tempo at 6:20/mile. PM: 2m warm up. ~6m tempo to track at 6:30/mile followed by 12x1000 averaging 3:34 per rep. Plan was to run X number of reps to exhaustion. Success. ~23 quality miles averaging 6:10/mile…
6-Mar		Easy/Easy				8.21		AM: Commute to work. I felt better than expected, but wanted to nap more than usual.
7-Mar						4.21		Easy run with Eli + 4 strides.
8-Mar		Long Run		0:07:50		15.78		CSU long run on the minuteman trail.
9-Mar		Easy/Easy		0:07:45		12		AM: Rest. PM: 12m at 7:45.
10-Mar						16.91		AM: Commute 4m at 7:50 per. PM: Commute 4m home. Started the workout right when I left home. 2m at 6:45 per to Harvard. 4xmile at 5:43 pace.
11-Mar		Easy/Easy		0:07:45		10.14		AM: Commute 4m at 7:45/per. Felt very tired and sluggish. PM: 6m commute at 7:45ish.
12-Mar		BU Intervals (FINAL!)				17.56		AM: 4m commute at 7:45 per. PM: Commute home, run to BU. 800x6 at ~10k pace.
13-Mar		Easy/Easy		0:07:45		8.16		AM: 4m commute at 7:45 per. PM: 4m commute at 7:45 per.
14-Mar		Easy				4.08		Easy around the neighborhood in the rain. No time.

Tuesday the 3rd:

1600-5:50.39

1600-5:46.07

1600-5:47.29

1600-5:35.28

Thursday the 5th:

1000-3:31.93

1000-3:34.69

1000-3:36.21

1000-3:34.40

1000-3:34.47

1000-3:33.70

1000-3:31.67

1000-3:34.26

1000-3:33.35

1000-3:34.47

1000-3:34.72

1000-3:33.59

Tuesday the 10th:

1600-5:43

1600-5:46

1600-5:44

1600-5:42

Thursday the 12th:

800-2:48.14

800-2:51.54

800-2:49

800-2:48.13

800-2:46.59

800-2:47.05

Totals:

3/1 to 3/7 - 103.51

3/8 to 3/14 - 84.63

A Special Block For A Hack Runner

As the 4 or 5 people who read this blog know - I primarily keep up with two running blogs. The first is Obi Jon Waldron's protege Tyler Andrews, and the second is the comeback kid Nate Jenkins.  They are both crazy fast, and put their training out there in a very readable and entertaining way. (This story, in particular, is a great read.)

One of the things I've seen pretty frequently from both of them is that every so often they will include a 'special block' in their training. In the latest issue of Level Renner, they have an article that does a good job of summarizing the what and the why of the 'special block', but essentially it is this: do two hard workouts in one day that add up to a lot of quality, and follow that up with adequate rest.

And so I've been thinking to myself, "shit man, this sounds like fun!" The next step was to find a day that seemed to work with my schedule and then...I dunno, wing it!

It just so happened that yesterday worked well. With a plumber scheduled to do some work in the building basement, I needed to take a half day anyways - so after giving him instructions, I went upstairs, grabbed my shoes and went outside.

AM: At around 8:45, with minimal warm up, I started my 10 mile tempo run along my neighborhood route. The route is ~6 laps utilizing Lexington/Brattle/Sparks/Huron and is solid in terms of elevation change.  By 10am, I was back inside chugging water, and getting ready for work.

10 miles averaging 6:20/mile complete.


PM: At 5:45, Elizabeth got home from work, and I went out for a 2 mile warm up.  I stopped at home after the w/u for a quick pit stop and shoe change, and then went out the door to get in another tempo on my way to the BU Indoor Track.  After adding in 4 loops around the BU facility, I stopped at just under 6m and went inside to change into shorts and a clean pair of shoes (thanks to Elizabeth for bringing all that stuff to the track!).

~6m averaging 6:30/mile complete.

As I jogged towards the locker room to change, I crossed paths with Terry and asked for permission to run my own workout (which I had devised earlier that afternoon!), "do what you gotta do!" Permission granted!

After that quick break I hit the track and got right to it, electing to skip drills & strides in order to keep the break as short as possible.  The next 'planned' phase was to run 1k repeats 'stop when you drop'...

1 - 3:32
2 - 3:35
3 - 3:36
4 - 3:34
5 - 3:34
6 - 3:33
7 - 3:31
8 - 3:34
9 - 3:33
10 - 3:34
11 - 3:34
12 - 3:33

Avg: 3:34 (5:42/mile pace)
Avg Rest: 2:04

Total Miles for the day: 27.61

I almost stopped at 10 repeats, but I felt like I had a little more to give...not much, but a little. Once I finished the 12th rep, Elizabeth walked over and mentioned that my face had the gaunt and pale look that I frequently have after a marathon.  That was a good sign in my opinion.

Conclusion: I don't really have one. I don't know what this all means leading up to New Bedford or the Marathon. I had not given enough thought to the paces of each section, and I was surprised at the paces of the 1k reps.  Maybe I should have done the 10m run a bit faster or longer or both?  What pace are the 1k reps? 10k? I don't know. It was a pretty kick ass day though. So I got that going for me, which is nice.

2/22/15 to 2/28/15: Good to See a Hundo

This was a bit unexpected, especially due to the weather.  I just eked out a 100 mile week, which I wasn't planning - but even more surprising is the amount of quality.

I am hoping to have two hard weeks (this week included) followed by a relatively down week in terms of quality prior to the New Bedford Half.  So this does follow that plan.  I would like to arrive to the starting line with a semi-taper and go after a fast time there, so hopefully things continue as they have.

Here it is:

22-Feb		Amherst 10 Miler				14.19		4m warm up. 10m in 1:00:21. Mixed bag.
23-Feb		Easy/Easy				12.68		AM: Commute PM: Commute + neighborhood + 5 strides.
24-Feb		Easy/Mile Repeats				17.46		AM: Commute PM: Commute + run to Harvard + milex4/200x2. Felt pretty 'meh', but my pacing was off as well. I want to run 5:50/55 and oddly went quicker. 200's felt FLAT. Avg 1:45 rest.
25-Feb		Easy/Easy				14.3		AM: Commute PM: Commute + neighborhood for 10+tot
26-Feb		Easy/BU Intervals				19.22		AM: Commute PM: Commute+run to Harvard. 1200x2/800x2/600x2/400/100x5 - 8k down to mile pace, plus 5 faster strides in spikes to finish up.
27-Feb		Easy/Easy				12.19		AM: 4m commute PM: 8m commute and then some.
28-Feb		Tempo (MLR)				10.31		~10m at 6:24/mile.  ~5min cool down.  This was taxing, but I enjoyed myself Friday night, so it was expectedly uncomfortable.

Tuesday Splits:

1600-5:44.31

1600-5:39.13

1600-5:41.22

1600-5:39.93

200-~35

200-34.57

Avg Rest: 1:45

Thursday Splits:

1200-4:09.67

1200-4:11.15

800-2:38.69

800-2:39.17

600-1:55.93

600-1:55.48

400-1:12.71

100-13.64

100-13.77

100-13.48

100-13.53

100-13.76

Total: 100.35