12/11/2016 to 12/31/2016: Three Weeks of Up and Down

After getting the stomach bug/food poisoning on the 10th, the start of this 3 week stretch was very up and down.  The Thursday of that week, I did the BU track workout, and that went well enough, so I decided to double at the first BU Mini Meet.  I ran the 3k there in 9:51, and I simply couldn't get any pop out of my legs.  I think last year I was clicking off 38/39 per lap, and for this race I was at 40 and that felt like the spot I needed to stay at.  When I came back for the mile, I was expecting a poor race, but surprised myself by running 4:49.  I approached the day as more of a rust buster, so I that was an "up" day.

The following week was a pretty vanilla week of training, but it was still good to hit just under 102 for the week. Terry and I met up at BU for a "get something done" type of workout, and the 1000x4/800x2 fit the bill.

Christmas/NYEve week was low mileage, with just a bit too much eating and drinking.  After a fun Christmas with the Bugbee's in Plympton, Elizabeth and I drove to Long Island with a visit with her family.  I managed a pretty solid long run on Tuesday the 27th.  I wanted to get something done so the morning of, I came up with a 5/1/3/1/2 tempo/fartlek type workout.  After a 4m workout, I averaged 6:30 for the 'on' and 7:00 for the 'off.'  That felt a lot like marathon training.  My left Achilles got a little bunkish, but it never flared to the point of being too worried.  Nonetheless, I kept the remainder of the weeks run's on the easier side.

On New Year's Eve, I showed up to the 2nd BU Mini Meet feeling better than I had for the first one.  I'm still not remotely sharp thanks to the ankle/achilles/stomach bug train wreck of the past ~month, but it's not like my training has gone in the toilet either.  So I was extremely please to run 9:41/4:47 and finish 2nd in my heat for each race.  Neither is a PR, but they're both close.  And I finished the mile super strong with a 66s last quarter (34/32s 200 split).

Anyways:

11-Dec		Long Run		0:08:55		0		AM: Off.
		Off		0:00:00		0		PM: Off.
12-Dec		Easy		0:00:00		0		AM: Off.
		Moderate		0:00:00		0		PM: Off.
13-Dec		Easy		0:42:51		5		AM: Very easy 5m.  Still felt way out of it.
		Workout		0:43:03		5.01		PM: 5m around 8min/mile.  A little dizzy to start, not bad by the end.
14-Dec		Easy		1:04:54		8.01		AM: 8m around 8/mile.  Not bad.  Left Achilles still isn't 100% so I need to be aware of that on top of still being sick.
		Easy		0:48:58		6.03		PM: 6m at 8/mile.  Felt ok, not great.  Workout Wednesday too.
15-Dec		Easy		1:04:59		8.05		AM: 8m around 8/mile. Again, left Achilles still isn't 100%, so I don't want to forget about that.  Really cold.
		BU Track				12.45		PM: Commute home then (800/400/200x2/400/800)x2.  Added 3 x 100 in spikes.  5k/mile pacing.  Pretty taxing since I'm not quite 100%.
16-Dec		Easy		0:42:28		5.13		AM: Something like 5 degrees out.  Whatever.
		Easy		0:39:49		4.73		PM: 4+ very easy.  Quads are crazy sore.
17-Dec		BU Mini Meet #1		1:00:00		7		AM: BU, 3k/mile double.  9:51/4:49.  Good stuff.
		Dinner w/Delaney's		0:00:00		0		PM: Dinner with the Delany's.  So much sushi!
18-Dec		Long Run		2:07:00		16		AM: WOW, super sore quads still.  Left Achilles was a little pinchy.
		Dinner w/Stearns'				0		PM: Dinner with the Stearns'!
19-Dec		Easy		0:48:51		6.14		AM: Left Achilles didn't get worse, but I purposefully ran short just to be safe.
		Moderate		1:17:53		10.03		PM: Man, I was tired for this run.  Surprised to get in the 10.
20-Dec		Easy		1:03:10		8.02		AM: 8+ at whatever.  Achilles meh, but it warms up.  Odd.
		Workout		1:58:40		14.76		PM: Ran over to BU.  1000x4/800x2.  Started at 10k pace as I had really dead legs.  Got to around 5k by the end, but it wasn't pretty.
21-Dec		Easy		0:42:27		5.13		AM: 5+ at whatever for the early meeting.
		Easy		0:56:19		7.11		PM: 7+ at 7:55/mile
22-Dec		Easy		1:05:20		8.4		AM: 8+ at 7:47/mile. Not bad, I guess.
				1:15:55		10.02		PM: 10 at 7:35.  This felt faster than it should have.
23-Dec		Easy		0:55:20		7.1		AM: 7+ at 7:48/mile. Just a commute.
		Easy		0:39:22		5.2		PM: 5+ at a surprising 7:34.  Had a work lunch party type thing and had wings a couple beers.
24-Dec		Workout		0:27:53		4		AM: Fresh Pond 1-lapper.  Zero warm up.  Probably should've just taken it easy, but I think I averaged 6 flat, so whatever.
		Easy		0:00:00		0		PM: Off, drove to Plympton.
25-Dec		Long Run		1:19:18		10.03		AM: 10 miles on Christmas morning at around 8min per.
		Off		0:00:00		0		PM: Off.
26-Dec		Easy		0:41:43		5		AM: 5m slow before heading to Long Island.
		Moderate		0:00:00		0		PM: Off, lots of driving and a ferry ride.
27-Dec		Easy		1:49:17		16.01		AM: 16 tot at 6:49/mile.  4m warm up, then 5/1/3/1/2.  Averaged 6:30 for the "on" and 7 flat for the "off."  This was made up the morning of.  Since it was a solo run I wanted to get it done a little quicker.  Cold.  Windy.  Rainy.
		Workout		0:00:00		0		PM: Off.
28-Dec		Easy		0:45:23		5.08		AM: 5m extra slow.  Ran around with Eli and Raleigh who stopped to pee everywhere.
		Easy		0:54:33		7.05		PM: 7m at around 7:44/mile.
29-Dec		Easy		0:41:46		5.04		AM: 5m slow at around 8:17 with Eli and Raleigh in the cold and rain.  I added a mile at the end with 6 strides.
						0		PM: Off.
30-Dec		Easy				0		AM: Off.
		Easy		0:38:01		4.36		PM: Back from a lot of driving. Ran slow with Eli and Raleigh with a stride or two.
31-Dec		BU Mini Meet #2		1:04:00		8.5		AM: 3k/mile double at the mini meet.  Came in 2nd in my heat in both.  9:41 and 4:47.  Closed the final 400 in the mile with a 66 (34s/32s).  Very happy with that.
		Easy		0:00:00		0		PM: Chilled out.

12/15 Splits:

800-2:40.8

400-1:13.4

200-35.7

200-34.5

400-1:12.0

800-2:38.3

800-2:40.7

400-1:14.8

200-35.8

200-35.9

400-1:13.6

800-2:35.6

100-13.7

100-14.1

100-13.9

12/20 Splits:

1000-3:25.69

1000-3:25.58

1000-3:21.38

1000-3:23.51

800-2:40.90

800-2:35.71

Weekly totals of 61.41, 101.91, and 61.07