12/31/2016 BU Mini Meet #2: 3k & Mile Race Report

For the 3k, I was hoping some young guns would take it out quick so Kevin and I could click off laps without too much bunching up.  Unfortunately, the race went out closer to 41 to 42 seconds that first 200.  I quickly moved from back of the train to second place by the end of the 2nd lap, then into first by the 3rd lap.  I came through the mile (actually, 1600) in 5:13, with Philip Shaw of Millennium Running right on my heals.  He made a very hard move in the 9th lap, splitting probably close to 35 seconds.  I thought the move was a little too aggressive, and so I split 38 or 39 seconds and he opened up a gap.  Thinking he would settle back into a normal pace, I stayed steady at my increased pace and hoped I would be able to close the gap with 600-800 to go.  Instead, he kept his foot on the gas and he put a total of 12 seconds on my by the finish.  I was pleased with the race though.  I had some bounce in my step finally and ran 9:41, good for second place in my heat.  Kevin also ran a solid race, hitting his goal of breaking 10 - though there is a bit more in the tank for him.  Maybe take another crack at the GBTC Invite?

There was enough time between the 3k and the mile for me to cool down, then warm back up.  I felt pretty good, but I didn't have any expectations.  When the gun went off, I went from lane 6, straight to the rail and the back of the pack.  The first split was extremely slow, and I thought about moving up but I could feel the pace quicken, and there were no open spots for me to get back on the rail if I made that move.  A quarter mile in, though, and I was three seconds behind the leaders.  Joe Fischetti was on the back stretch yelling out my splits and he was yelling at me to move up.  After the third lap, I could tell the pace was slowing just a bit and the girl just ahead of me chopped her stride a bit - so after coming off the corner I made a hard move on the back stretch and through the turn going from last to 3rd/4th at the halfway - splitting 2:27.  Somewhere around this point, Chris Blondin made his move to the front.  When he made a hard push that created separation, I moved into 2nd and tried to close the gap.  With 400 to go, he was less than 2 seconds ahead of me.  He started to really press on the penultimate lap, and though he was barely over 2s ahead of me, it was a pretty sizable gap.  While I never caught up to him, I'm pleased with how I closed the gap over the final ~50 meters.  I finished in 4:47, with the final quarter in 66 seconds.  In an evenly paced race, I think I am a lot closer to 4:40 than I was just a few weeks ago.

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