2/12/17 to 2/18/17: Not a Bad Week

This was an interesting week of training.  Footing was terrible every day, but I still got in the miles.  And while the long run was kind of crappy due to the footing, my other two workouts were fantastic.  My mood for the week was generally annoyed, thanks to the footing - but really that Saturday workout put me in a good place.

Wednesday night at BU, I went in with the mindset that if my 5k PR pace is 5:12/mile, then I need to stop running all of my interval reps at 5:20 pace and start getting comfortable with feeling uncomfortable.  So, I aimed to dial into the pace as I got further into the workout.  The first 1k was the standard 3:20, but after that all other reps got closer to where I should be.

On Saturday, the weather was a bit windy, but other than that it was fantastic.  I had basically no warm up as I jogged over to Fresh Pond to run my 10 mile tempo.  I wasn't sure the conditions at the pond, so I figured I'd do at least one loop, then if need be use the roads.  As I somewhat expected, there was a ~.5 mile section of ice, in addition to the always brain dead dog walkers who use the 20ft leash.  So after that first loop, I peeled off and used the outer section to go back and forth.  It wasn't an ideal route, but it was effective and free of traffic.  For the full 10 miles I averaged 6:04 per mile.  That's about 10s per mile faster than my tempo on February 4th.  I think there is something to be said for suffering through runs in poor footing - that first day to run fast feels like an opportunity not to be passed on.  Anyways, I never felt great during this run, but I didn't hit any rough patches either.  That's par for the course for marathon training for me though.  I don't really taper for anything until the marathon so I'm always going to feel a little bit worn down.

So that's that and here's the rest:

Sunday	12-Feb		Long Run (David & Amory)		2:18:27		16.06		AM: 16+ at 8:37/mile.  So flippin slippery.
			Off		0:00:00		0		PM: Dinner with Meghan and Rory.
Monday	13-Feb		~Easy		1:00:47		7.01		AM: 7m in ankle deep slush.  God I hate when the sidewalks are like this.
			~Easy		1:01:41		7.01		PM: 7m.  Whatever.
Tuesday	14-Feb		~Easy		1:02:49		7.25		AM: 7+ also whatever.
			Moderate		1:21:42		10.22		PM: 10+.  Pace is slow, but the effort was there due to the footing.
Wednesday	15-Feb		~Easy		0:54:31		6.2		AM: 10k easy.
			BU Track		1:40:07		12.14		PM: Commute home then BU (1000, 200)x3/(800, 200)x2, 5k and mile pace w200m rest.  Great workout.
Thursday	16-Feb		~Easy		0:59:57		7.01		AM: 7m easy.  Footing still sucks, so "easy."
			~Easy		1:09:40		8.17		PM: what the hell ever.  Sick of the footing.
Friday	17-Feb		~Easy		1:05:20		8		AM: Same.
			~Easy		0:51:51		6.39		PM: Same.
Saturday	18-Feb		10m Tempo		1:05:00		10.49		AM: 10 mile tempo with essentially no warm up.  Averaged 6:04/mile and had a ~half mile segment running on ice around Fresh Pond.  If not for that and the stop and turn around points, I may have been under an hour on this. Very good workout and great weather.
			Off		0:00:00		0		PM: Off.

Wednesday Splits:

1000-3:20.5

200-36.8

1000-3:18.5

200-34.8

1000-3:10.4

200-34.5

800-2:32.8

200-33.8

800-2:33.2

200-31.6

100-13.5

100-13.4

100-13.6

100-13.6

Saturday Splits:

6:02

6:03

5:56

6:11

6:06

6:07

6:11

6:05

6:02

5:51

Weekly Total: 105.95

2/5/17 to 2/11/17: Weekly Summary & BU Valentine Mile Race Report

Saturday night I showed up just in time to the BU Valentine meet.  I ran over from home, hoping to watch heat 1 of the men's 1000, but I had just missed it.  I was lucky though - as I was walking over to the far section of the stands to put my stuff down I heard over the loud speaker, "if you haven't checked in for the mile, you are going to be scratched!"  It was 3pm, and I wouldn't be running until 5:30 or so!

After checking in, I took a seat on the infield to watch and wait.  That amount of time between arrival and the race start wasn't ideal, but I was expecting that.  I jogged around here and there to loosen up just a bit before sitting down again.  When the race start was finally in sight, I did the standard drills with a handful of imperfect strides.  With such a big crowd, I was forced to go at maybe 80% as people would haphazardly walk across where everyone else was trying to warm up.

Once I got to the line, there was no time for nerves as the gun went off within ~5 seconds of lining up.  I didn't have much time to debate what to do, so I instinctively went to the back of the pack, and would remain in 2nd to last place until coming off the turn after the 800 meter mark.  There was a growing gap, and the race was not remotely going to plan.  I was already frustrated with a slow first lap, and when I came through 800 meters I didn't expect to run the time I wanted, but at a minimum I would race as best as I could.

I pulled out wide and passed a handful of runners, with a couple of them following me to close the gap.  I never did make up much ground though.  The whole race kind of sucked as I never had any pop in my legs.  Shaun Dever, the Flotrack announcer, giving me props was, without a doubt, the highlight of the race for me.  And really fun to listen to when I got home:

"You see Patrick Bugbee of the Cambridge Sports Union moving up in that chase pack. Just about any day you're out there on the Charles River you can see Bugbee going back and forth to work, he commutes via run.  Puts in a lot of miles.  If he isn't wearing that orange kit, he's wearing a bright orange hunting hat." etc. etc.

So, even though it wasn't a great race, I'm now pretty famous.  It's going to be tough remaining anonymous after that.

Splits courtesy of Stephen Binder:

"37.0 (209m)
35.5 (1:12.5)
36.8
36.6 (2:25.9)
35.4
36.2 (3:37.5)
35.2
33.2

My watch: 4:45.93
Actual: 4:46.22"

As for the week, well, here's the stuff:

5-Feb		Long Run (Catherine)		2:37:39		20.08		AM: 20+ at 7:52/mile.  Tired legs.  Tired.
		Super Bowl		0:00:00		0		PM: Off.  Sort of, watching that could be considered a workout.  What a game.
6-Feb		Easy		1:02:22		8.1		AM: 8+ at 7:42/mile.  Upset stomach, how fun.
		Easy w/Drills & Strides		1:13:42		9.14		PM: Commute home and stopped at the Harvard turf field for drills and strides, then back home.
7-Feb		Easy		1:03:34		8.03		AM: 8m commute at whatever.
		Easy		0:52:30		6.28		PM: 6+ at whatever.  Really exhausted.
8-Feb		Easy		0:55:11		6.02		AM: 6m at 9:10/mile.  Pure ice.  Yeesh.
		Moderate		1:12:23		9.05		PM: 9m at 8:00/mile.  7m at a moderate clip and last 2m slow with Eli and Raleigh.
9-Feb		Easy		1:05:19		8.02		AM: 8m slower in the storm.
		Harvard Track (BU Cancelled due to snow)		1:10:14		8.52		PM: Left at noon due to the storm.  Stopped at Harvard to run 100x4/600/200x2.  Went alright actually.
10-Feb		Easy		0:51:48		6.09		AM: 6m commute at 8:30/mile.  Rolled my ankle AGAIN!  Definitely minor, but frustrating.  Running through the snow for portions.
		Easy		0:57:31		6.41		PM: 6+ slow.
11-Feb		Valentine Invitational		0:00:00		0		AM: Off.
		Valentine Invitational		0:40:00		5.53		PM: 4:46.22 for the mile.  Not what I was hoping, but that's fine.

No splits for the Harvard track.  I think the 600 was 1:46ish.  The 200s were whatever.

Total: 101.27

1/29/17 to 2/4/17: Big Month & Big Week

Not until Wednesday morning did I realize that I had put in a new monthly high during January at 497.  It helps that there were 31 days in the month, and the month started on a Sunday (long run day)...still, whatever, I'll take it.

This week was surprisingly solid.  I sacrificed a little bit of sleep to get over to Harvard on Tuesday morning, had the standard track workout at BU on Thursday, and then a very solid 10m tempo around Fresh Pond on Saturday.  The Saturday tempo is a hard workout, but something I hope to repeat a few times before Boston.

Anyways:

29-Jan		Long Run (Del & Judy)		2:16:20		16.55		AM: Hilly long run.  Ankle ok, but achilles started to bother me.  It was a very solidly hilly run though, so I was happy about that.  Scrapped the extra mileage due to the achilles though.
		Off		0:00:00		0		PM: Off.
30-Jan		Easy		1:02:13		8.03		AM: 8m commute.
		MLR		1:31:24		12		PM: 12m at 7:36/mile, roughly.  Garmin pooped out with a half mile to go.
31-Jan		Harvard Track		1:04:54		8.24		AM: 2m to Harvard.  800/600/400/200 at mile pace, then 4m to work.
		Hill Repeats		1:17:06		9.27		PM: Commute home and met up with Eli and Raleigh.  Ran over to Appleton for 10 hill repeats.
1-Feb		Easy		1:04:25		8.1		AM: Whatever.
				0:53:29		6.51		PM: 6+ at 8:12/mile.
2-Feb				1:01:57		8.06		AM: 8+ at 7:42/mile.
		BU Track		1:40:00		12.6		PM: Commute home then BU (1000/800/600)x2/400/200x2/100x4.  5k to mile pace.
3-Feb		Moderate		1:00:51		8.09		AM: 8+ at 7:31/mile.
		Moderate		0:46:10		6.29		PM: 6+ at 7:21/mile.
4-Feb		10 Mile Tempo		1:07:47		10.66		AM: 10m tempo averaging between 6:10 and 6:15.
		Off		0:00:00		0		PM: Off.

800-2:27.46

600-1:50.4

400-1:11.94

200-33.23

1000-3:19.7

800-2:37.7

600-1:55.1

1000-3:20.3

800-2:37.7

600-1:55.4

400-1:11.3

200-35.3

200-31.4

100-13.7

100-13.7

100-13.6

100-13.6

Total: 114.40

1/22/17 to 1/28/17: Disaster Avoided

For one reason or another, everything was on the slower side this week.  The long run, I'm fine with that on the slower side - it was a hilly route and I'm not really looking to hit pace xyz yet.  Even my easy runs...I don't necessarily think going on the slower side made my easy runs any easier though.  On Tuesday morning, I started getting bonkish at about 2.5m into my commute.  I was able to just plow through it, but getting that feeling is enormously uncomfortable.

Friday night was a shorter run.  I had a planned speed session at Harvard on Saturday morning with Amory, and I figured I'd try and have fresh legs.  Unfortunately, my new route that evening took me just past the Elliot Street Bridge on the dirt section...in the dark.  After the rainy week, there were a few sketchy sections and my left foot seems to be a magnate for divots recently.  I once again heard the pops and crunching of tendons as I hit the deck in pain.  This was far more painful than the sprain in November, but once I got to my feet I could tell this was not nearly as serious, thankfully.  I was able to go from a hobble to a very slow jog with limited limping.  Still, when I got home I was extremely unhappy.  Random injuries like this are a lot more mentally challenging for me than if I had developed an overuse injury due to my own stupidity.

Again, thankfully, the next morning, there was very limited swelling and I was able to walk around without pain or limping.  I jogged over to Amory's and the ankle was tender enough that I figured I would likely only be doing drills and strides.  I had come up with the workout earlier in the week, structuring it in such a way that I could ease into it, and this worked out in my favor with the newly acquired injury.  I did the drills and strides and then I did the first 200 slow, and the second 200 not quite as slow.  I didn't have 100% push off on my left side, but I had enough to continue.  I finished the workout and all of my splits were on the slow side, for obvious reasons, but I was pumped to finish the workout.  Disaster avoided.

22-Jan		Long Run (Tom & Kristi)		2:40:35		20.01		AM: Garmin was off on this, so it was def 20+, but whatever.  Great hilly route from Tom & Kristi's and just a fun route in general.
		Off		0:00:00		0		PM: Thought about a shakeout, but I couldn't get a nap in and my body and mind weren't up for it.  Patriots go to the super bowl - I'm sure Kevin is happy about that!
23-Jan		Easy		1:04:12		8.25		AM: 8+ at 7:47/mile.  Windy.
		Easy/MLRish		1:21:16		10		PM: 10m at 8:08/mile.  Extremely surprised to get in 10.  I was really tired.  Ended up doing an Appleton/Sparks loop to get a little elevation change.  Rain & wind, meh.  Meh.
24-Jan		Easy		1:00:39		7.42		AM: Flippin weather sucked and I was bonkish 2.5m in.
		Easy		0:51:09		6.25		PM: 6+ at whatever.  Weather still sucks, and I've been really exhausted all day long.
25-Jan		Easy		1:04:54		8		AM: 8m at whatever.  Upset stomach didn't make this easy.
		BU Track		1:52:43		14.19287		PM: Commute home then 1600/(1000/400/200)x3/100x4.  MP, 5k, mile, and <mile.  I've been doing the 100s to build some turnover and coordination.  There are times when those 100s feel really strong and in control, and I can see some benefits to them.  Tonight's workout, however, went poorly.
26-Jan		Easy		1:03:16		8		AM: 8m commute at 7:55/mile.  I think the Garmin is funky so this might have been longer & faster. Whatever.
		Easy		0:58:47		7.09		PM: Commute home then met up with Eli and Raleigh.
27-Jan		Moderate		0:58:58		8.03		AM: 8m at 7:21/mile. Not bad.
		Easy		0:48:00		5.49		PM: 5+ and an extremely painful ankle injury.  Thankfully, I could tell during the final 1.5m that it wasn't as serious as November.  Still, I was pissed.
28-Jan		Harvard Track		1:16:18		8.27		AM: Ran over to Harvard with Amory for a mile paced workout.  200x2/400x2/600/400/600/400x2/200x2.  Pacing was off for me, but I was happy to simply be able to do the workout after last night.
		Off		0:00:00		0.00		PM: Off.

1/25 Splits:

mile - 6:01

1000-3:23.6

400-1:12.1

200-35.5

1000-3:19.1

400-1:12.7

200-34.9

1000-3:20.1

400-1:13.5 (really?)

200-32.4

100-14.1

100-14.0

100-13.9

100-13.6

1/28 Splits:

200-38.7

200-37.4

400-1:14.3

400-1:13.3

600-1:52.2

400-1:12.5

600-1:52.1

400-1:12.8

400-1:12.8

200-33.8

200-33.9

Total: 111