9/20/15 to 9/26/15: 111!

This was neither planned nor expected, especially considering that this week started with a race instead of a long run...and yet I have a new weekly mileage high water mark.

In addition to the great mileage, I had a good amount of quality this week.  I unexpectedly ran three tempos to finish the week, which I will now need to be very cautious about recovering from, though two of the three tempos were on the moderate side.  The first was on Thursday and was ~8miles at around 6:45 pace, which included pacing Elizabeth for a 2 miler.  And the third tempo was the Fresh Pond two-lapper on Saturday that I simply went at a comfortably quick pace to save time (not the best of reasons...).

Eh, whatever, here:

20-Sep		Lone Gull 10k		1:53:27		15.35		AM: Lone Gull 10k.  Effing crap.  Slower than last year in 36:17.  Not happy.
21-Sep		Easy/Moderate + Short Hill Sprints		2:10:57		17.12		AM:  7+ commute at 7:32per. PM: 10+ including 5 at around 7:10per, and 6 short hill sprints at the very end.  Total average of 7:43per.  Took Raleigh around Fresh Pond as well (hence the skewing of the pace a bit).
22-Sep		Moderate/Intervals		2:57:01		22.78		AM: 7+ commute at 7:36per. PM: (800, 600) x 3, 400 x 3, 600’s w/200 surge (5400) 800@5K, 200/200/200@>5K/<5K/>5K, 400@mile...2 min/easy 200 rest
23-Sep		Easy/Easy + XT		1:51:04		13.83		AM: 7m+ at 8per. PM: 6.7m at 8min.  Followed that up with a good 40 minutes of XT.
24-Sep		Easy/Tempox2		2:00:14		16.06		AM: 7m+ at 8per. PM: 1m warm up then straight into 5m progression starting averaging 6:46.  Waited for Eli and paced her around Fresh Pond for 2.5 averaging 6:35.
25-Sep		Easy/Tempo		2:18:54		18.63		AM: 7+ at 7:50per. PM: 11+ with ~4.5 tempo with Terry and Jean Dany.
26-Sep		Fresh Pond 2 Lapper		0:52:08		7.23		AM: Why did I run the Fresh Pond race?  I think I won it averaging something like 6:50 for the 2 lapper.

Splits:

800-2:42.65

600-2:01.33

800-2:43.14

600-2:05.58

800-2:44.07

600-2:02.57

400-1:14.93

400-1:15.01

400-1:10.60

Total: 111

Lone Gull 10k 2015 Race Report

Photo Courtesy of Thomas Cole

This past Sunday I woke up early, had my cup of coffee, and ate some granola before heading off to Gloucester with Eli, Brian O'Donovan, and Raleigh for the Lone Gull 10k.  We arrived with plenty of time for a full warm up, and were fortunate to find a porto on a construction site that allowed us to skip the absurdly long bathroom lines back at the parking lot.

I've been feeling sluggish for the past few weeks, and instead of backing off the prior week I, perhaps stupidly, bumped up the mileage.  I still expected to improve on the 37:08 ran last year.

At the starting line I got in a few strides, and silently passed Jon Waldron as he seemed to be getting in the zone.  A quiet nod...

On the line, Wayne Levy was just ahead of me recalling the awkward start last year when the start was an obscure siren.  It would be the same this year.

For the first mile, I tried to stay relaxed, keep the pace quick, and find a comfortable rhythm. The watch buzzed and showed a 5:43 first mile.  I was hoping for faster, but I wasn't going to press the issue.

Miles two and three turn towards the bay and through some nice neighborhoods.  I didn't notice wind or a changing elevation and seemed to be settled at around 5:45s.  I don't recall the 5k split exactly, but it was 17:5x and I was disappointed.  I wasn't hurting too badly at this point, but my legs simply didn't feel springy...likely the result of the prior week.

From the start of the fourth mile until the end of the race, I took what the course gave me.  I was feeling uncomfortable, frustrated and once again, I didn't have any familiar faces around me - a theme for Grand Prix races this year (for me at least).

The last stretch on Atlantic Road had some brutal headwinds. There was a group of two ahead of me that I kept trying to reel in, but my increased effort yielded no results.  I glanced back to see if the group behind me was catching up, but it looked like I was neither gaining on the folks ahead of me nor was I losing any ground. That was good, but I tried to bear down and make up some ground on those ahead of me for the final push.

Photo Courtesy of Thomas Cole

My finish was underwhelming...the same as how I would describe my result.  Level Renner always has great content, and their recent posts regarding the Lone Gull 10k have been...somewhat comforting.  But not really.  I expected to do much better.

Splits:
5:43
5:47
5:42
5:57
5:52
6:00
1:13

Final: 36:23

Results

I believe that I have the fitness to go under 35 right now, but I need to do some sharpening to improve my recent results.  The blade is dull.

9/13/15 to 9/19/15: Mileage is Back

Hey-o-hundo!

While my race results have been sub-par recently, I think I'm finally back in the swing of things with my training.  I've decided to increase the distance of my morning commute from 5m to 7m, and hopefully this will etch itself as part of my standard routine.  Beyond that, I'm hopeful that the longer easy run in the morning will get me out of this stupid plateau and perhaps jump start some GAINZ.

For the weekly training - I had to cut my intervals short on Tuesday thanks to a continuing calf issue.  So, while the faster stuff is a bit touch and go, I'm able to hand my standard runs without issue...and thus I was able to get 100+ for the week.

The Stuff:

13-Sep		Battle Road		2:12:00		17.04		Battle Road with Kevin.  17+ at ~7:45.
14-Sep		Easy/Easy		2:06:23		15.7		AM: 7+ at ~8min. PM: 8+, some with Raleigh.  ~8min per.
15-Sep		Moderate/Intervals		2:21:34		17.98		AM: 7+ at ~min. PM: Commute home, then 600/1000/400.  Cut the workout short because my calves tightened up pretty good.
16-Sep		Easy/Easy		1:53:00		14.18		AM: 7+at 8min. PM: 7+ at 7:50 per.
17-Sep		Easy/Tempox2		2:08:01		17.2		AM: 7+ at 7:45 per. PM: Commute home with 4m at a faster clip, then a Fresh Pond 1-lap tempo with Terry at about 6:10ish. 10+ tot.
18-Sep		Easy/Easy		1:44:08		13.23		AM: 7+ at 7:45 per. PM: 6+ at 8min.
19-Sep		Easy		0:47:01		5.6		AM: 5+ at 8:30.  Taking it easy with the right calf still tender, and now the left achilles becoming something to monitor - though not an issue.

Splits:
600-2:01.84
1000-3:38.91
400-1:26.40

Total:

100.93

Nagog Season's 20k Race Report

Coming back from my honeymoon, I figure, "I'll be well rested!"...right?  Maybe yes, maybe no - either way, the race did not go well.  I got in a decent enough warm up, with no indications of the oncoming struggle.

I lined up next to Kevin for the start, and I felt fairly comfortable for that first mile.  It was a bit downhill, but nothing crazy and the mile passed in 5:49.49.  I was hoping I would be able to hold this pace for most of the race - I've been putting in a solid mileage base this summer - but that was the only mile I would run under a 6min pace for the day.

I hadn't realized quite how warm it was at the start, but early on in the race I was noticing the heat and as the race wore on, I felt it more and more.  I also didn't realize how hilly the course was until we turned off the main highway.  I started to recognize the terrain from a triathlon I had done a few years ago, but even then - I didn't recognize that those hills I had previously ridden over on my bike would be much more difficult on foot.

Miles two through four left me with a growing fear of the distance I still needed to cover before finishing.  I felt like I was moving OK, but eight miles to go felt like a LONG way.  Still, I was hoping it was just a quick bad patch.

It wasn't.  Not only was I starting to hurt VERY early, I also had hot spots on the top of my feet starting at mile two that turned into nasty blisters by the end of the race.  The course was very hilly, and I noticed the downhills more than anything else thanks to the blisters.  They were quite steep, and my feet moved inside my shoes ever so slightly creating some excruciating friction.  Essentially from that point forward, I was altering my stride on the downhills and trying to...I'm not sure how to describe it...I was almost tip toeing the downhills.  I would try not to slow down, but I was also very conscious about limiting the chance that my feet would slide around.

My splits don't show the struggle nearly as much as I felt it.  Aside from my feet, which were an issue for the remainder of the race, I was seriously huffing and puffing like crazy from mile five through ten.  I specifically recall passing the 10k mark and really considering dropping out.  The pity party had officially started.

I don't know exactly when, but at some point I could feel Kevin on my shoulder.  I'm not sure how I knew it was him, but I had been expecting it and when I finally turned and saw him I assumed he had been there for some time and was about to lay the hammer down.  I was in a pretty rough spot, and all I could think was, "just put me out of my f*****g misery."  What I said was, "go get 'em Kevin."  I'm amazed to see that my splits during that portion were ~6:30.  I felt like I was crawling.  Kevin put about 40 meters on me during one of the uphills as he caught up to a small group ahead of me.

After I saw the split at mile ten, I knew I basically had a Fresh Pond lap to go (~2.5 miles).  I had been mired in a mental slump for miles, and I started to curse at myself and imagine random spectators cursing me and telling me to "pick it up" or something perhaps a bit more colorful.

I played the "run hard for ten left footfalls" game and closed the gap slightly during the 11th mile, and kept that going until I counted the gap ahead as 7 seconds.  Once we turned onto the road for the final ~1.5 miles was hurting, but the lure of the finish line was great.  I started randomly yelling every once in a while to clear out the fog that was continually forming in my head, and with perhaps 3/4 of a mile to go, I caught up with Kevin.  There were a couple of other guys just ahead of us, and I focused on reining them in and hopefully creating a bit of space.

I ended up catching a few of those guys, and finishing in a respectable time of 1:17:47.  I think I'm capable of running significantly faster, but I'm not disappointed.  I was having a terrible race and thanks to Kevin for unknowingly calling an end to my pity party, I gutted it out.  I still have soreness in my calves two weeks later, and hopefully that's 100% in time for the Lone Gull 10k on Sunday.  We shall see!

Splits:
5:49.49
6:10.89
6:07.51
6:03.77
6:17.81
6:09.65
6:17.39
6:24.66
6:33.09
6:32.08
6:17.00
6:02.70
2:58.51

Results

8/23/15 to 9/12/15: Wedding Bells and Running

Well THAT was an eventful three weeks of more than just running...that's obviously always the case, but the past three weeks were even more eventful than usual.

Mileage was a bit lower with family coming into town, getting married, and then going on a honeymoon - but I think it all worked out quite well.  I returned from the honeymoon just in time to crap the bed at the Season's 20k...but I'll do a full race report on that one.  For now, here is the data:

23-Aug		Long Run				17.12		17+ at 7:45.  I really felt off for this run.  Still, it's always great to be out on Battle Road with the CSU crew.
24-Aug		Easy/Easy				11.21		AM: 5+ at 7:45 PM: 6+ at 7:20
25-Aug		Easy/Easy				11.2		AM: 5+ at whatever. PM: 6+ at whatever.  I skipped track after getting home and feeling really wiped out.  It was warm, but I think I need a rest in general.  Well…restish.
26-Aug		Easy/Rest				8.06		AM: 8+ around the Charles at 7:40. PM: Future in-laws arrived tonight.  No time for a double.
27-Aug		Easy/Rest				5.1		AM: Just getting a run in.  5+ at 7:27. PM: More folks arriving, and the planning is really getting underway.
28-Aug		Easy/Rehearsal Dinner				4.01		AM: Easy Fresh Pond run with Eli and Raleigh at 8+.  This was a really relaxing run. PM: Rehearsal dinner or something like it.  Lots of fun!
29-Aug		The Big Day				4.35		AM: Wanted to get this done quick.  Around the Charles at 6:30. PM: I'm now married. Ha! What a great day.
30-Aug		Rest				0		Not too hungover today.  That's good!  Brunch, cleanup, and travel to the Cape.  No run.
31-Aug		Exploring				7.68		Nice long exploratory run.  Across the breaker to the scorpion tail, then along the beach, which happened to be a mix of nude/gay beach.  Then back inland through a pathway in the marsh, and back on Commercial Street.
1-Sep		Exploring				9.1		Ran to Race Point Road for another exploratory run. Ran along the Province Lands Bike Trail, Beech Forest Trail, through the dunes, then to Race Point Beach for some water and a quick dip in the ocean.  Ran into a fox that was not remotely scared of us as well.  Another great run.
2-Sep		Exploring				4.19		Ran along Commercial Street to Truro, then back.  Went up and down a few side streets as well to see what was around.
3-Sep		Exploring				4.63		Ran along Commercial St to Snail Rd, then through some incredible sand dunes.  Very challenging run, but beautiful.  The old shacks along the water look…inviting.  Once on the beach, we walked at least a few miles up and down the coast seal watching.  No sharks though.
4-Sep		Exploring				3.53		A somewhat shorter run seeing what is on Bradford Street, then back along Commercial.  Legs are actually pretty cooked from the dunes and all the walking.
5-Sep		Travel Day				0		Lobster roll lunch in Eastham, dinner in Plympton.  Good day.  Tired though.
6-Sep		Season's 20k				14.63		Good grief that sucked.
7-Sep		Easy/Rest				8.3		AM: Around the Charles, then a 3m tempo-ish around Fresh Pond pacing Elizabeth.  Averaged about 6:45.
8-Sep		Easy/Easy				11.2		AM: 5+ commute at 8min. PM: 6+ commute home at 8min.  Skipped track, my calves are really shot from Sunday, plus it's hot as eff.
9-Sep		Easy/Easy				13.24		AM: 7+ at 8min. PM: 6+ at 7:50ish.
10-Sep		Easy/Tempo				15.3		AM: 7+ at 8min. PM: 6+ home, then a 1 lap tempo with Terry.  Finished the final half mile at a really good clip.
11-Sep		Easy/Easy				13.18		AM: 7+ at 8min. PM: 6+ at 7:50ish.
12-Sep		Easy				4.17		AM: Volunteered at Fresh Pond then ran 4+ at about 7:15/mile.

Totals:

61.05

29.13

80.02

Napper Tandy's Flyer Race Report

A little bit late for this write up, but whatever.

This was my best race in quite some time.  The weather was hot and humid, and Elizabeth and I arrived with plenty of time to get a good parking spot and do a reasonable warm up - something I was concerned with for a Thursday night race.

The start was a bit funny, as we weren't sure whether the starter had given directions to go, or was actually telling us to go.  Turns out we were supposed to go!

I felt like I was working out some kinks in my stride during that first mile, but my lungs felt fine and I was moving quick.

The standard crew of guys that usually lead the race were well ahead, and I was in the group just behind them.  About halfway through the second mile, Chris Lotsbom, the runner who soundly beat me at every Pub Series race last year, came up on my right shoulder.  This was his first Pub Series race this year though, so I didn't expect him to pull away immediately.  He started to create a little gap, and I made the decision to stick to his shoulder.  The halfway mark went around a rotary, and I got a look at the runners behind and ahead.  At that point I was in 7th place, and just off of Lotsbom's shoulder.

There was a small downhill to start mile three and I closed the ~5 meter gap ahead of me, and decided to make a move and pass him.  One of his teammates passed at just the right time (coming in the opposite direction) and said something along the lines of, "let's go Chris, you got him."  Harmless and encouraging, but it sparked a bit of competitiveness and I made my move a strong one.  As we were entering the long uphill portion of mile three, I kept the effort level high.

I ended up putting some space between us, and I was comfortable in my position.  As I was nearing the top of the hill, I could see that Lee Danforth had a bad side stitch or something like that and I made a conscious effort to open up my stride at the top of the hill instead of easing back into a pace. I closed the gap between the two of us, and started to feel excellent (Note: I am normally well behind Danforth.).

The final mile was flat-ish and I was moving very well and closing the large gap between myself and Jason Cakouros.  It was probably 75+ meters at the start of that mile, but this was the best I have felt in a race in a long time.  My legs had bounce, and my stride opened and I could feel myself really stretching out.  The course has a few turns towards the end, and at that point I knew I had to start my kick.  So I ended up closing the final 15-25 meters during that portion, catching up and passing him just as we turned to the final straightaway.  Thankfully, I still have a solid kick and it worked on this day.

Garmin Splits:
5:40.54
5:37.86
5:58.44
5:28.96
5.36 seconds

Good for 4th place overall.  One of my best races and best showings in quite some time.

Results
Pub Series Standings