runCrain

12/12-12/18

2011-12-18T20:51:00.003-05:00

This week was probably about the same as the last two weeks - not great but not bad. I did not run as much as I hoped because my hip started bothering me again so I was either on the elliptical or in the pool. I really do not enjoy the bike so I am trying to find other ways to stay fit and not go crazy. I hope to get over this hip thing soon so that I can get on with training. The longer this goes on the less likely I am to run fast this spring.

Monday: 8.1mi (54:41) + 30min on the bike

Tuesday: 7.1mi (42:49) + 1 hour in gym and 3x400m swimming (7:20, 7:11, 7:03)

Wednesday: 1 hour on bike

Thursday: 1 hour on bike + 1 hour in gym + 3x400m swimming (7:12, 7:21, 7:21) - I learned that it is not smart to swim right after lifting. I was so tired.

Friday: 8.5mi (56:09)

Saturday: 1 hour in gym + 1 hour on elliptical + 1 mi on treadmill @ 7:10 pace w/ 5% incline + 2x400m swim (7:04, 6:53)

Sunday: 65 minutes on bike

Totals:

running - 24.7 miles + 1 hour on elliptical

biking - 72 miles

swimming - 3200m

12/5-12/11

2011-12-07T19:11:00.007-05:00

Good week but my mileage was a bit lower than I hoped because I did not recover from last Sunday's race until Wednesday or Thursday. I have never been so sore for so long after a race. I guess that comes from racing a hard 9.5 miles when not in shape. I am hoping to gradually ramp up my mileage to around 60 miles/week by the new year and keep the swim and bike about where it is. I am finalizing my plan for the next 3 months and will post it sometime next week. I should be able to start adding some quality (LT run) this week and keep ramping up my strength work.

Monday: My quads are extremely sore from the race yesterday so I am taking it easy. 20 minutes on the bike and some easy lifting.

Tuesday: 4mi (29:54) + 25min on bike + 1200m in the pool (3x400m in 7:10, 7:15, 7:18). The swim was hard because I doubled the distance per leg, but I was able to keep the same pace, or a little bit faster. Still really sore.

Wednesday: 6mi (42:30) + 1 hour on the bike. Soreness a bit better.

Thursday: 7mi (51:00) + 1200m fs + 100m bs in the pool (3x400m in 7:15, 7:15, 7:12) + lift. I really need to work on my swimming endurance because I hit halfway for each of these in 3:25ish feeling fine and proceeded to slow down to ~3:50 for the second half. This run was so slow. I guess that I am really tired from the race still. Did 6 x short hill repeats (~8 seconds each w/ full recovery).

Friday: 6.1mi (43:39) A bit better today but still slow.

Saturday: 6.6mi (46:49) + 1200m in the pool (3x400 in 7:10, 7:15, 6:55) + lift. I had this all done before 8AM and was starving when I got done. Swimming was alright - I really focused on kicking and fully extending on the last repeat and actually felt better at the end than the previous two. I spent an hour in the gym doing a lot of static and dynamic leg strengthening - a lot of bounding, jumping, squats and lunges. I was surprised that I felt alright on the run, which I did last.

Sunday:11mi (77:30) + 20 miles on the bike. I had this all done by 8:30 and it went pretty well. It was pretty cold this morning during the run (21F at start, 23F at the end) but once I got warmed up I was able to roll at a decent pace. Added 6 short hill repeats (~8 seconds each).

totals:

running - 40.7 miles

biking - 59 miles

swimming - 3700m

11/28-12/4

2011-12-01T22:20:00.006-05:00

I am mixing things up a bit more this winter and trying to keep in shape but not beat myself up. A fairly low key week trying not to go too wild before the Mill Cities Relay on Sunday. I had a decent race and ran quite a bit faster than I expected. I figured I would only run 5:40-5:45 pace but ran 53:05 for 9.52 miles, which is 5:35 pace. Next week I will ramp things up.

Monday: 3mi (20:29) + 20mi on bike + lift

Tuesday: 3mi (20:36) + 20mi on bike + 1000m in the pool

Wednesday: 4mi (27:00) + 20mi on bike + 1000m in the pool

Timed this swim for information's sake because I am just getting used to

being in the water for the first couple weeks. Did 5x200m with ~20 seconds rest between each set to evaluate what I was doing. Times were 3:50, 3:48, 3:46, 3:42 3:32. I did not push any harder on each set, rather I focused on my stroke and kicking. It is amazing how much kicking helps!

Thursday: 20mi on bike + lift

Friday: 6.2mi (41:53)

Saturday: ~5mi (35:27) With Justin and Chris in Mine Falls

Sunday: 2.5mi warm-up, 9.5mi race (Mill Cities) in 53:05 (5:35/mi average pace) + 1.25mi cool-down. Total = 13.25mi. I ran faster than I expected considering that I have not really been running much lately and I have been working on my strength quite a bit lately. My splits were fairly consistent, except for the first one, but I was definitely slowing down at the end:

1. 5:24

2. 10:58 5:34

3. 16:31 5:33

4. 22:10 5:39

5. 27:44 5:34

6. 33:20 5:36

7. 38:59 5:39

8. 44:37 5:37

9. 50:15 5:38

9.52 53:05 2:50

totals:

running - 34.5 miles

biking - 80 miles

swimming - 2000m

Thanks to Steve Wolfe for the photo. There are more here.

11/21-11/27

2011-12-01T22:13:00.002-05:00

Like I said last week, I spent more time on the bike this week but I did more than I thought. I also did a lot less running than I thought I would.

Monday: 3mi (21:52) + 20mi on bike

Tuesday: 20mi on bike

Wednesday: 20mi on bike

Thursday: 20mi on bike

Friday: 20mi on bike

Saturday: 20mi on bike

Sunday: 4mi (29:53) Slow as shit.

total: 120 miles on the bike and 7 miles running.

11/14-11/20

2011-11-20T21:25:00.002-05:00

Not a bad week but I am feeling a little banged up. I am going to back off the mileage this next week and put some time in on the bike (yippee).

Monday: 8.1mi (55:46)

Tuesday: 10mi (62:30) 32:15 @ 5mi and 30:15 last 5mi

Wednesday: 10.8mi (74:50) Recovery run.

Thursday: 8.2mi (57:04) Easy run.

Friday: 10mi (67:43)

Saturday: 0 - feeling beat up a bit.

Sunday: 16mi (110:58) Felt like garbage for first 10 miles (71+ minutes) but then rolled 6:30 pace for the last 6 miles.

total: 63.1 miles

Catching Up

2011-11-15T21:09:00.007-05:00

I have been running but I have not been writing anything on my blog lately for some reason. I guess that I have been caught up with trying to run and balance everything else in life and something, being this blog, had to slip through the cracks.

I was planning on running some cross country races and maybe jump into half this fall but, as usual, injury kept me on the sidelines. This was the first time in a year that I missed time to injury and it was actually due to an "equipment failure". About a month ago I felt like my shoes were getting to the end of their life and I needed to replace them to be safe. I sucked up the cost and forked over 100 clams for a new pair of the Adidas Adizero Aegis, my favorite training shoe. I have not run in them for a while because I can not justify the cost so this was the first time I ran in the new version. Apparently Adidas changed the design of the heel and, long story short, this caused my calf to blow up and I missed a week of running.

It is amazing how much fitness I lost in that week off so I have been working on getting fit and building my base for the last month or so. I hope to do a little racing (Mill Cities Relay) this fall with a focus on the indoor and spring track seasons. I would really like to go sub-15 in the 5k and sub-4 in the 1500m. I also want to pop a fast time at the New Bedford Half next year, assuming that it is still part of the Grand Prix Series.

Here is a brief recap of the last couple of weeks:

11/7-11/13

Monday: 8.2mi (57:31)

Tuesday: 10mi (69:01)

Wednesday: 10.8mi (74:38)

Thursday: 10mi (67:57)

Friday: 8.1mi (55:07)

Saturday: 0

Sunday: 16mi (107:50) Ran first 8mi in 55:25 and second 8mi in 52:25

total: 63.1 miles

10/31-11/6

Monday: 0

Tuesday: 6mi (43:36)

Wednesday: 8.4mi (56:46)

Thursday: 8.1mi (55:14)

Friday: 8.1mi (54:23)

Saturday: 0

Sunday: 13.2mi (89:39)

total: 43.8 miles

10/24-10/30

Monday: 3mi (19:13)

Tuesday: 6mi (39:49)

Wednesday: 0

Thursday: 6mi (NT)

Friday: 10mi (65:14)

Saturday: 10.7mi (75:05)

Sunday: 0

total: 35.7 miles

10/10-10/16

2011-10-16T21:35:00.006-04:00

I was supposed to run a race or two this weekend but I hurt my calf and had to take the weekend off. It seems like when I read about other people's injuries I get that same injury a couple days later. I have never had PF before but read about JJ's struggles with it and ended up with PF at the end of this week and two days after finding out about DD's calf tear I hurt my calf. I am going to stop reading other peoples' blogs ...

Monday: 8.1mi (58:36)
Tuesday: 10mi (70:45)
Wednesday: 10mi - Track workout, 4x1 mile
Thursday: 0 - I am feeling a little PF flare up so I took the day off to let it settle down.
Friday: 10.8mi (77:00) - This was a real easy run and I wore a new pair of shoes. About 6 miles into the run the lateral side of my left calf started hurting and by 8-9 miles it was quite painful. I am pretty sure that it is because of the new shoes and am hoping that it is not a tear or strain, but I am going to take a few days off from running to give it a chance to heal.
Saturday: 0 - off, calf hurts.
Sunday: An hour on the bike (20ish miles) Calf is better but still hurts.

Total: 38.9 miles + 20ish miles on the bike

4 x Mile @ 10km Pace

2011-10-13T07:07:00.003-04:00

I felt a bit better tonight than last week so I was hoping to run well. We were actually supposed to run at HM pace but I decided to run at 10km pace and take a couple more seconds of rest. My goal was between 5:00 and 5:10 with 2:30 rest. Splits and rests were:

5:10 (2:31)

5:04 (2:36)

5:06 (2:36) - I got forced to lane 4 on two turns here

5:05

The workout went well but there was a lot of traffic on the track that made running in lane 1 a little difficult. I suppose working through traffic like that is good training for a race like Mayor's Cup. I started the workout with a 3 mile warm-up (21:30) and finished with a 2.2 mile cool-down (19:16) and 4 easy strides. Total = 10 miles.

10/3-10/9

2011-10-03T20:39:00.008-04:00

Not a great week overall. I had a couple good runs and got 64 miles but I bailed on my workout and did not race. I considered going over to the Great Island 5k in New Castle, NH or to the Wayland Cross Country Festival but did not really feel like driving for 2-3 hours to race in 80 degree heat. I drive 2 hours every day for work so am really reluctant to drive that far on the weekend. I wish there were more races closer to Nashua. Next week I am heading up to Manchester for the Footrace for the Fallen for a tune-up before the Mayor's Cup race on October 23rd.

Monday: 10mi (61:27) I wanted to get in a harder effort today but was not sure how recovered I was from my cold so I did a progression run. I figured I could work into the effort and see how I feel. I started out at about 7min/mi pace and worked my way down to 6:10 at the halfway point (32:19). At this point I was feeling good so I decided to keep pushing a bit and ran as quick as 5:35min/mi on the way back and finished the second half in 29:08. Good effort.
Tuesday: 8.2mi (58:55) Easy run to recover.
Wednesday: 7.5mi - Track workout. Supposed to do 8x800m @ 10k pace but I am definitely not recovered from my cold yet and bailed after 3. I went 2:25 (2:25), 2:28 (2:25), 2:31 (2:25) and quit. Each one was getting slower with the same effort and I could not breathe because my chest was pretty congested. Rest up the next couple of days because I would like to race this weekend.
Thursday: 10mi (68:35) Easy run.
Friday: 10mi (64:18) Nice weather and I felt good so I went with it.
Saturday: 5.5mi () Easy run.
Sunday: 13mi (84:55) Did an easy 7 mile warm-up (47:52) and then 5 miles @ 6min/mi pace (29:59) and 1 mile of cool down. Wanted to get something hard in but it was really hot.

Total: 64.2 miles

9/26-10/2

2011-10-02T20:59:00.002-04:00

This week did not go exactly as expected. My plan was to race the Applefest Half Marathon on Saturday morning, assuming that the weather cooperated, but this did not happen because I woke up with a horrible chest cold Thursday morning. I threw every vitamin, Airborne, fluid and as much rest as I could with no success. I held off judgement about racing until Saturday morning to see how I would feel, but I could not walk up the stairs with out getting tired so decided to bail and live to race another day. Kind of a bummer. I ended the week with just over 40 miles. I have some fast races coming up the next 3-4 weeks, so hopefully I can pull things together and run some good times.

Monday: 8.2mi (56:24)
Tuesday: 9.2mi (63:07)
Wednesday: 10 miles with track workout
Thursday: 0 - sick
Friday: 0 - sick
Saturday: 0 - still sick
Sunday: 13.5 - no time because my Garmin died.

Total = 40.9 miles

4 x Mile @ HM Pace w/ 400m rest

2011-09-28T20:26:00.003-04:00

I treated tonight's workout as a pacing workout for the Applefest Half Marathon this weekend. I felt pretty good going into the workout and just wanted to nail down the feel of running goal pace, which is about 5:30 pace. Splits and rests were:

5:30 (1:46)
5:22 (1:52)
5:26 (1:55)
5:23

The recoveries were pretty brisk, but I was completely recovered halfway around the track and just wanted to bang this thing out. I do not think that I did a great job of hitting pace, which is usually my strong suit. I can generally hit lap splits within a second of goal pace but tonight my quarter splits were all over the place, ranging from 78 seconds to 84 seconds. On top of that I was too fast on the last three. Rest up for this weekend and hope for cool, dry weather. Total = 10 miles.

2 Mile / 1 Mile / 2 Mile

2011-09-21T21:08:00.003-04:00

Tonight Dave Dunham served up an interesting workout - 2 mile / 1 mile / 2 mile with 800m rest between sets. The 2 mile efforts were at HM pace and the 1 mile was at 10km pace. My legs were still a bit tired from the weekend but I definitely felt better than I did on a daily basis just a month ago. I started with a 2.5 mile warm up and some strides. Times and splits were:

2 mile: 5:20/5:17 = 10:37 (5:05 rest)
1 mile: 4:58 (5:02 rest)
2 mile: 5:20/5:25 = 10:45

I felt good for the first two efforts (the mile was surprisingly easy) and the first 1.5 miles of the last effort but had to scale back a bit for the last 800m because I was getting dehydrated and my arms were tying up a bit. Overall it was a really good workout. I wrapped up with a 1.5 mile cool down and 4 barefoot strides on the grass. Total = 10 miles.

Weekend of Racing

2011-09-19T08:34:00.005-04:00

I have not posted in a while because things are so busy - if something has to go it is blogging about running rather than the running it self. Any way, my confidence has been shaken a bit over the summer because of some pretty poor race performances and I wanted to take advantage of the nice weather this weekend. I am pretty sure that my poor performances were due to the heat and humidity over the summer and we got a taste of fall this weekend with lows in the 30s and temperatures around 50 at race time.

Salem Fest 5k (results)

I started the weekend off by heading over to the Salem Fest 5k (Salem, NH). I guess that I would not have picked this race other than for Jim Johnson's account of it last year as well as the fast times it produced. When I headed out the door it was a crisp 40 degrees so I was excited to run a quick time. After registering I headed out on the course for a warm up so that I could wrap my head around all the turns on the course. This is one of the most confusing courses I have ever run with about 30 turns in the 5km (a track 5k only has 25 turns!). I was feeling alright but my legs did not feel particularly fresh. I did not see any of the big guns I knew, but there was a guy with a Whirlaway singlet on that looked quick (after the race I found out it was Patrick Ard). When the gun went off I immediately went to the front, where I would stay until just before the three mile mark. By just 1/2 mile into the race Pat and I were alone. I was pretty glad that Pat was there because I do not think that I would have pushed as hard otherwise and I had to ask him which way to go at three of the turns (he ran the race last year). Unfortunately my watch did not start so I did not get any splits but after the race Pat told me we went through mile 1 in 5:00. It was probably just after this that I started trying to pull away from Pat with little success - he matched every move that I threw at him. Based on the finishing times we must have split about 4:54 for each of the next two miles, which is faster than anything I have run in workouts. In the last mile I was working pretty hard but I tried to prepare myself for the finish by letting up a tab bit to catch my breath. I did not see the three mile marker but this is about where Pat made his move to pass me. This is the only part of the race that I am upset about - Pat looked so smooth going by me I figured that I could not match his move and really did not but up much of a fight. I did not know how far it was to the finish until it was too late. When I rounded the last turn the finish was only about 50-100m ahead and I had no chance of catching Pat. However, I ran 15:20 so I can not be too upset with the race. Normally I would be suspicious of the course, but Jim Johnson measured the course 3 times last year and concluded that it is a legit 5km. I am not really sure why the course is so fast but this was a big confidence booster for me.

Lone Gull 10k (results)

Following my plan to capitalize on the cooler weather I headed down to Gloucester, MA to run the Lone Gull 10km. I did not really know anything about the course or who would be running it but I wanted to take a shot at running a quick 10km. Like yesterday, after registering I headed out on what I thought was the course for a warm up. They only provided a hand drawn map so I was really confused about where the course was. I got a little nervous that I did not see the start, finish or any mile markers on my warmup. It turns out that the start is about a half mile from the registration at Good Harbor beach and the race heads out on a side street along the coast. I felt about the same as yesterday so I was hoping that once I found the course and got running I would be able to roll. However, once the gun went off I could tell that my legs were pretty tired and that this was going to be a tough race. The weather was not quite a nice as the day before either - it was probably 55 degrees at the start but it felt pretty sticky. Also, the course was out and back and we had a pretty stiff head-wind the whole way back along the water. Right from the start Brennan Bonner took off and ran alone the whole race. I ran with Brian Deal and Mark Mayall for most of the first mile to mile and a half but by two miles we strung out in single file and stayed in the same order for the rest of the race. I kept trying to pull them in but my legs would not respond and once we turned at 5km the wind was tough. My splits were 5:16, 10:33 (5:17), 15:52 (5:18), 21:28 (5:35), 27:02 (5:34), 32:30 (5:31), 33:36 (62). I split 16:27 at 5km, which is pretty good since my first 5km race this year at Rhody was about 16:24. Ironically, after the race I met Joe Donnelly, who now runs for Whirlaway but used to run for Gate City. I am not sure why I had never met him since I have run for Gate City for 5+ years and he was a member for a year or two. In hindsight I probably should not have raced twice but I wanted to find out what my body was capable of. I think that doubling up races in the weekend is a game for the young.

The only other down side to the weekend is that I missed money at the Salem Fest 5k by 5 seconds (only pays for first) and at the Lone Gull by 6 seconds (pays 1-3). Maybe my days of getting cash in open races are over but in 13 months from today I will be a Masters runner!

7/25-7/31

2011-07-25T09:46:00.001-04:00

Monday:

AM: 70 minutes on the bike. Boring!
PM:

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Friday:

Saturday:

Sunday:

Completed: 20 miles on the bike

7/18-7/24

2011-07-19T21:34:00.006-04:00

Monday: Off to recover from the 'race' yesterday.

Tuesday:

AM: 10mi (71:22) Horrible start but it got much better at end.
PM: 5.2mi (34:46) I felt great tonight. It is sad that the last three miles of this run were faster than the last three miles of my race two days ago.

Wednesday:

AM: 5.8mi (41:48) Easy run.
PM: 10mi (70:04) Felt good for the first half but really slowed in the last half due to hydration issues. I am really tired of this hot, humid weather...

Thursday:

AM: 5mi (37:47) Holy crap, that run sucked! I was supposed to go 10 miles but I was dying running 7:30 pace and had to bail. It is only 75 degrees but the dew point is 69. I think that I am going to ride for the next couple runs because I can not take these beatings any more.
PM: Bagged the workout because I am just toast.

Friday: 70 minutes on the bike/trainer. I could not deal with the heat today.

Saturday:

AM: 75 minutes on the bike/trainer.
PM: 5.2mi (36:45) First run in a while since it cooled off to 90 degrees with a dew point of 65 degrees. I felt good but felt a twinge in my lateral calf (peroneus longus?). I am going to ice and use the foam roller.

Sunday: 75 minutes on the bike/trainer again but today it was because of my calf. I am going to take it pretty cautiously because I do not want any setbacks. My calf is a bit tender but I am icing and rolling 3-4 times per day and using advil.

Completed: 41.2 miles running and about 73 miles on the bike.

7/11-7/17

2011-07-17T21:11:00.005-04:00

This was a short week to rest up from the last 4 weeks and because we have family staying at our house all week and I will just not get the chance to run as much as I should. I had one decent workout and one of the worst races in my life. I am going to try to forget this week....

Monday: 10mi (71:20)

Tuesday: 6mi (43:21)

Wednesday: 8mi () 2.2mi warm-up (15:14), full-speed 200m, 4x800 @ 10k pace, 4x400 @ 5k pace and wrap up with another full-speed 200m. All rests were 1/4 distance and 1/2 distance between sets. Times were 28.0 (69), 2:39 (66), 2:38 (80), 2:35 (72), 2:32 (2:22), 73 (62), 75 (60), 73 (66), 72 (1:50), 28.8. I was a bit surprised that I was able to run the 200's so fast - that is the fastest I have run in a long time. The rest of the workout was alright given the heat and humidity.

Thursday: 8.4mi (60:41)
Friday: 8mi (57:00) Finished with 6x100m strides.

Saturday: 5.3mi (36:28) Felt good for race tomorrow.

Sunday: 11.5mi () 2.5 mile warm-up, Stowe 8 Mile race (46:40) and only managed to do a 1 mile cool down. I can wrap up the entire day with one work - BOLLOCKS!!! I was hoping to finally get in a good race but I do not run well in the morning, in the heat or in humidity. This was a perfect storm to kick my ass. Knowing this I went out conservatively with a goal of 5:30 pace and felt pretty good through the first 3-4 miles. I even started to push the first of the climb at around mile 4+ but as soon as I turned onto the dirt road I was in survival mode and my race was done. I probably lost a good 6-7 pounds on the run and was severely dehydrated the last half of the race. In the last mile both my arms and legs started cramping up and I could not even thing of pushing. I lost count but I think a good 10 people passed me in the last mile. My splits were:
1. 5:43 (long)
2. 10:55 5:12 (short)
3. ? ? (missed the three mile split)
4. 22:06 ? <- Right on pace for 5:30 goal pace
5. 27:48 5:41
6. 33:57 6:09
7. 39:55 5:58
8. 46:40 6:45 <- This is not a typo!

I was so dead after the race I tried to crawl through a mile cool down with little success. My legs cramped up for the next two days after this.

At the finish. Photo is from KrissyK's collection (DoubleJ's wife).

Completed: 57.2 miles

7/4-7/10

2011-07-05T20:14:00.006-04:00

It took me a while to get back to posting but I got 70.6 miles in 5 days (9 runs). I went on a big camping trip with my two older boys, all of my siblings and my dad on Saturday and Sunday so I knew I was not going to get a chance to run on the weekend. Good week - rest next week.

Monday:

AM: 10mi (72:20) Easy run early to avoid heat. I was going to race this morning but I was too sore from the down hill mile race yesterday so I canned that idea.
PM: 5.2mi (35:37)

Tuesday:

AM: 10mi (71:19) Easy recovery run early in the morning.
PM: 5.1mi (36:27) Waited till almost 7pm when it cooled off. Mine Falls park.

Wednesday:

AM: 5.2mi (37:45) Ran this morning banking on doing workout tonight despite heat/humidity.
PM: 8mi () 2.2mi warmup (15:25), 6x600 w/ 200m rest and 2.2mi cool down. It was freaking hot but times were 1:49 (1:25), 1:51 (1:31), 1:49 (1:32), 1:47 (1:44), 1:48 (1:55), 1:44.

Thursday:

AM: 5.2mi (36:10)
PM: 12.1mi (85:02) Really suffered from the heat.

Friday:

AM: 10mi (72:48)
PM: 0

Saturday: 0

Sunday: 0

Completed: 70.6 miles

6/27-7/3

2011-06-27T20:46:00.009-04:00

Monday:

AM: 4mi (29:17) Easy run.
PM: 9.3mi (60:23) Ran at Mine Falls Park in the evening to avoid the heat and sun. It was still over 85 degrees though. The run started out easy but I was feeling good and I just kept revving things up. By the end I was probably close to 6min/mi pace and I finished with a full speed 200m on the track. I wrapped up with 6x100m barefoot strides on the grass and some core work.

Tuesday:

AM: 5.8mi () Easy day and supposed to be hot and humid so split mileage between two runs.
PM: 5.9mi () Did not want to run tonight but forced myself. Really wanted to sit on my ass.

Wednesday:

AM: 4mi () Easy run. Really humid.
PM: 8mi () 2.2mi warm-up with 2x2400m @10km pace w/ 800m rest and 2.2mi cool down. I have never done 2400m repeats and did not feel like pushing too hard because it was in the 80's and a bit humid so I figured that I would just settle into what ever pace felt comfortable and go with that. I was pretty consistent as I ran 7:43 (5:04), 7:42 and hit 5:08 at 1600m for both. The only real difference was that I pushed the last 200m of the second one a bit more but both were very comfortable. I finished up with 6 barefoot strides on the grass.

Thursday:

AM: 8.1mi (60:23) Easy run in the morning to avoid the heat and recover.
PM: 4.1mi (27:57)

Friday:

AM: 4mi (28:59) Easy run.
PM: 8mi (58:02) I originally planned on going 10 miles but I was so damn tired that I cut it short. My first mile was 7:59 and my last was 6:26. Crazy! I will be going really short the next two days as I am racing Sunday morning and maybe Monday morning if I feel up to it.

Saturday: 4mi (27:45) Nice easy run to shake out the legs. A bit tired from the week but hoping to run fast tomorrow. Finished up with 6 strides.

Sunday: 5mi () 2mi+ warm up, HASLAW Manchester Mile race and 2mi+ cool down. I was feeling a bit heavy in the legs prior to the race and it was really humid but it was a down hill race, so ... Anyway, I warmed up a bit with my son Samuel who was doing his first mile race. We lined up a bit back of the line so that we would not get in the way of the "big guns" and were off at the gun. I immediately found my self running with the top three women (Julie Cully, Nicole Blood and Nicole Shappert) and tried to pull ahead because I just did not want to be that guy you see on TV running with the women. It did not work. I felt totally out of control going down the hill that drops 188 feet in just over 1/2 mile. By the time we got to the flat I was able to gain control and push past Nicole Shappert but not able to catch the other ladies. I finished in 4:19 gun time (4:18 net time) for 17th place overall. I peeled back to cheer on Samuel and he crossed the line in 6:59 gun time but had a 6:54 net time for 123rd overall and 1st in his age group. He got a nice shinny medal for his efforts.

I am a little uncertain about how to feel about this race. I think that the hill was worth about 15 seconds, so that puts me around 4:34 for a flat mile. The biggest thing I take away from this race is that I am not doing the right work to allow me to run as fast as I want in the type of race I want to run. I need to change that.

Full results.

Completed: 70.2 miles

6/20-6/26

2011-06-20T21:17:00.009-04:00

Monday:

AM: 8.1mi(57-) Felt pretty darn tired, especially at the end of the run. Need sleep.
PM: 3mi (22-) Ran easy in Mine Falls before Sam's track practice.

Tuesday:

AM: 10mi (70:48) Glad to get this one out of the way when it was cool. I still suffered a bit at the end due to hydration issues. I saw my first deer in Mine Falls Park. I am a bit surprised because it is pretty hard to get there without crossing a major road.
PM: 3mi (20:30) Felt pretty good but it was hot.

Wednesday:

AM: 3mi (22:30)
PM: 9mi - 2.2mi warm-up (15:05) followed by 12x400 @5k pace w/ 200 rest and 2.5mi cool-down. I felt good on the warm-up but a little flat on the workout. It could have been because it was pouring and the track was a wet sponge and my shoes felt like lead weights. My times were 71 (99), 70 (92), 72 (89), 71 (90), 72 (89), 71 (89), 71 (91), 72 (90), 72 (94), 72 (90), 70 (88), 68. This is about a 71 average, which is probably closer to my current 3k pace, not my 5k pace. I have been feeling really tired lately and had blood work done this afternoon to see if I have any deficiencies or if there is anything more sinister going on.

Thursday: 6mi (43:30) Real easy run. I cut it short because of work and bailed on the second run because I did not feel like running in the rain again. Probably for the best. I got 9.5 hours of sleep last night too.

Friday:

AM: 4mi (28:30)
PM: 10mi (65:29) I only intended on running 8 miles today but I was having so much fun doing a hill workout that I decided to add on a little extra. I looked for some long hills in Nashua that I could grind out and found just that in Shelley Dr and Browning Ave. I did four long hills that were about 1/2 mile each and a bunch of shorter climbs. I really enjoyed this run and it reminded me of doing hill tempo runs in college in the Chestnut Hill area with my running partner-in-crime Jesse Darley. Good times. Anyway, I felt much better today than I have been feeling for a while and it may have something to do with adding "meat with feet" back into my diet a couple days ago. More on that later.

Saturday: 5.1mi (38:16) This run totally sucked. My legs are so hammered from yesterday. I guess that this is the pay-back for having such a great run yesterday. I still think that it was worth it!

Sunday: 14.1mi (101:48) I felt alright today, but I am still not recovered from the hill workout on Friday. This is the first long run that I just ran a comfortable pace every step and did not try to push at all. It was kind of nice.

Completed: 75.3 miles

6/13-6/19

2011-06-16T21:24:00.007-04:00

Good week this week. Hit 67.4 miles even though I skipped one afternoon run to be conservative and avoid an injury flaring up. The workout was alright. Not much to say.

Monday: 8.1mi (52:56) I was a bit tired from yesterday and just wanted to work the hills on this run but ended up running fairly quickly. I really pushed all of the uphills and blasted the last mile in 5:38.

Tuesday:

AM: 3mi (23:15) Easy morning run.
PM: An hour on the bike. I started to feel a little tenderness in the lateral side of my right gastrocnemius so I took it easy on the bike. Better safe than sorry.

Wednesday:

AM: 3mi (21:14) Quicker than I expected. Easy run to test out my leg and it all feels good. I do not feel any pain but the spot is still tender. Ice, advil, foam roller and friction massage.
PM: 10mi () Track workout tonight - 2.2mi warmup, pyramid run (4/8/16/8/4/2/2) with half the distance rest except for equal rest on the 200's - all at 5k pace. I ran 71 (85), 2:25 (2:51), 4:54 (5:27), 2:25 (2:43), 69 (107), 29.0 (94), 30.0. Finished up with a ~3.5mi cool-down. The weather was really nice for the workout but I only felt alright. I was expecting to feel great but I was a bit flat. The only part of the workout that was a little tough was the 1600, but it was easy after that. I was surprised that I ran the 200's as fast as I did and that I stopped the watch on exactly 29.0 and 30.0. When I did 200's two summers ago I could not break 30 seconds no matter how hard I tried so this shows that my basic speed is pretty good. I just need to work on the lungs. I finished up with some core work and 6 barefoot strides on the infield.

Thursday:

AM: 4mi (28:31) Easy run. Morning runs are coming along and I am feeling better with each one that I do.
PM: 8mi+ (59:46) This was an easy regeneration run and I took it easy due to the heat. Overall I felt pretty good considering the workout that I did last night.

Friday: 9.7mi (71:30) This was a crap run because I was tired and got completely dehydrated by the end of the run. I lost over 5 lbs of sweat on the run and walked the last 1/4 mile home. Blah!

Saturday: 6.5mi (45:32) Easy run

Sunday: 15.1mi (1:41:34) I wanted to get in a nice easy long run because I have been limited to about 12 miles each of the last 2-3 weekends. The weather was phenomenal and I felt decent. I finished the run with a 400m @ 5k pace in 66 seconds and then did 4 strides. My speed must be coming along because I have dropped the 400m in my long run from 72 down to 66 with the same effort.

Completed: 67.4 miles

Coe-Brown Developmental Track Meet

2011-06-06T21:39:00.006-04:00

Samuel had his second track meet on May 28th and I am a bit behind in posting his results. For the second meet in a row he decided to run the 100m and do the long jump but added the 200m to his repertoire. Samuel was able to improve his 100m time and place from 18.43 seconds for 4th place to 17.90 seconds for 3rd place. He also added almost 18 inches to his long jump by improving from 7'-11.5" for 3rd to 9'-5" for 1st! I wish I could have improvements like that now. In his debut at 200m Samuel finished in 40.1 seconds for 3rd place. Not a bad day. I took a bunch of pictures of Samuel and any other Gate City Strider kids that I could.

Boys' Results
Girls' Results

6/6-6/12

2011-06-06T21:36:00.009-04:00

I got a little behind on updating the running blog but finished the week with 69 miles. This is quite a jump from what I have been doing so I need to be careful for the next couple of weeks.

Monday: 10.3mi (72:44) Speaking of stepping up my game, I was going to start morning runs today but when I got out of bed my calves were so sore from yesterday. I put it off to tomorrow.

Tuesday:

AM: 8.5mi (61:20) Wanted to get it out of the way before the heat settled in.
PM: 3mi (21:40) I stopped in the woods in Groton on the way home from work for my first double. I really love running on the trails because it is so much cooler, it forces you to run light on your feet so that you do not turn your ankle (there are a lot of rocks and roots) and it forces you to get some lateral motion in. I finished off the run with 5 strides.

Wednesday:

AM: 3mi (22:40) Really slow run. Pretty tired.
PM: 7mi () Track workout tonight - 2.2mi warmup, 3x1 mile @ 10k pace with 400m rest and then 2 mile cooldown. It was REALLY hot tonight and I do not run well in the heat so I did not have high expectations. My plan was to cruise 5:20 pace for each and take it easy but things went a bit off course. My splits and rests were: 5:13 (2:29), 5:18 (2:51), 2:41. I felt great the first one, tried to slow down to goal pace the second one and was dying of the heat and bailed after 800m on the third. Overall it was a good workout but it was a bit painful due to the heat. I was totally wiped after the workout and went to be at 9PM. I am planning on running the USATF NE 10k on Sunday and wanted to get a better feel for 10k pace. 5:20 should be doable considering that it will be 60 degrees at race time, not 90 degrees.

Thursday: 10mi (74:48) This was just an easy regeneration run. I ended up on the treadmill, to my great dismay, because I did not want to deal with the storms or the heat and humidity. I actually felt really good today despite the beating my body took in the workout yesterday. It must have been the 10 hours of sleep last night and the air conditioned gym.
Friday: 10mi (72:30) Slow easy run.
Saturday: 5.2mi (36:44) Easy run to loosen up for tomorrow. I am pretty tired from standing around in the cold rain all day at Samuel's track meet. Hopefully I feel better tomorrow.
Sunday: 12mi (76:41) I was supposed to race today but just did not feel like driving 2 hours to race. Instead I did a progression run today and did a 400m on the track at 5k pace after 6mi (69 seconds) and after 12mi (70 seconds) to get the fast twitch muscles involved. Finished with a couple strides.

Completed: 69 miles

5/30-6/5

2011-06-05T17:53:00.003-04:00

This week was alright. I hit a new high weekly mileage of 57.4mi in 6 days but I had to skip the track workout again (because of weather this time) and had a crappy race. Going into Rhody I felt that, based on the workouts so far, if I ran sub-16 I would be happy. This was my first race in almost 2 years so I did not want to set too high of a goal. However, I ran 16:24 and just could not move. I am trying not to get too disappointed because this is exactly how my season started out two years ago (ran 16:28 for my first race) and I finished the season running 15:10 just 5 weeks and seven races later. I am not doing the same volume as I was back then so maybe I have to step up my game if I want to run fast.

Monday: 10mi (68:14) Felt great in the beginning of the run but it was 90 degrees and I fell apart the last 2 miles.
Tuesday: 7.6mi (55:53) A bit tired from yesterday.
Wednesday: 0 - I did not run because of the crazy tornado warnings up here. Second week in a row that I missed the workout ...
Thursday: 10mi (64:49) Wanted to get in a little quality. I ran an out and back and did the first half easy (33:20 at turn) and then gradually dropped to 6min pace for the last 3 miles.
Friday: 10mi (68:28) Easy recovery run.
Saturday: 5.3mi (37:29) Easy run to rest for tomorrow's race.
Sunday: Did the Rhody 5k in RI. 3 mi warm-up over the course (22:10), 5k race in 16:24 (horrible!), 3.5 mile cool down solo (26:13) + 5 mile cool down with the Greater Boston guys (37:31). 14.5mi total.

Completed: 57.4 miles

5/23-5/29

2011-05-24T23:12:00.003-04:00

Pretty awful week. I got sick, missed the workout and then pretty much missed Friday too. Only 43.5 miles.

Monday: 6mi (44:42) - Really easy run to recover from yesterday's run. I am really tired.
Tuesday: 10mi (69:40) The humidity did a number on me today. I think that I need a lot more sleep.
Wednesday: 0 - I was really sick.
Thursday: 6mi (43:04) Felt alright but still feel off.
Friday: 3mi (22:48) Feeling sick again and bailed after an awful start to the run.
Saturday: 10mi (68:52)
Sunday: 8.5mi (61:00)

Completed: 43.5 miles

5/16-5/22

2011-05-18T20:15:00.008-04:00

I did not run as many days as I wanted, but the total mileage was pretty good. Things seem like they are coming around and I am starting to feel like a runner again. I am trying to find a good first race and it is looking like it will be the Rhody 5k on June 5th. The down side is that the Hollis Fast 5k is the following Thursday and I am considering running the USATFNE 10k race on the 12th. It always seems like I never race then all the races I want to do are bunched together. I am definitely doing the Rhody 5k and the Hollis 5k. After that, I will have to see how I feel and go from there. I would kind of like to get in a "rust-buster" between now and June 5th.

Monday: 0 - No time to run due to work and family.
Tuesday: 10mi (68:30) Easy run.

Wednesday: 9.25 () A bit short of 3mi warmup (19:57), 3x(2x400m+800m) with half rest and 2.2mi cool-down. Times were 74 (84), 72 (88), 2:25 (2:51), 71 (89), 70 (91), 2:25 (2:53), 72 (87), 71 (106), 2:27. I tried to ease into it and then average 72-73 / 400m for the entire workout which I was able to do, except for the last 800m. On the last 800m I went through halfway in 74 high and was able to make up for it. I was pretty tired at the end but this was a really good workout. The speed was not an issue, it was purely the recovery between sets. This should get better as I get more miles in. I may look for a low key 5km this weekend to find out where I really am fitness wise.

Thursday: 8.25mi (59:25) Easy recovery run. I felt much better than last Thursday.

Friday: 7.75mi (52:37) I did a long hill workout today with 4 repeats up a 1/4mi+ long hill. I felt really good at the beginning of the run and probably started out too quick. By the mid-point of the second repeat I was really working hard and was totally spent by the end of the workout. After the hill repeats I tried to do a hard mile on the way back home but only got 0.6mi in and had to shut things down because I was struggling so much. My legs felt fine, it was purely my lungs, which just shows the lack of miles. Really take it easy tomorrow.

Saturday: 0 - Intended to run but we put the garden in today and it took A LOT longer than expected.

Sunday: 16.2 (1:48:54) I was at Milford High School watching my son Samuel compete in his first track meet and ran home after the meet. I started on Rt13 and jumped over to Federal Hill Road all the way back to Hollis where I took Rt122 and Depot Road back. I have never run on Federal Hill Road before but that Federal Hill is one big-ass hill. The views are amazing from up there and I was actually glad that I hit all the hills. I have been working on hills for a while and I felt pretty good.

I also took a bunch of photos of the track meet today. I tried to take pictures of all the kids I knew but I also had to chase my one year old son around so I missed a lot. I need some more practice at shooting track meets because a lot of the photos are out of focus. My excuse is that it was pretty over-cast...

Results

Completed: ~51.5 miles on just 5 days of running.

5/9-5/15

2011-05-15T21:22:00.002-04:00

I have been gradually building my mileage since January and started doing track workouts in early April. I figured that it is about time that I start updating my blog again.

Monday: 6mi

Tuesday: 8mi

Wednesday:

AM - 10mi on the bike to warm up my hip and 15 minutes with the foam roller.
PM - 8.5mi () 2.2 mile warm-up followed by 5x1000 w/ 400m rest @5k pace. Finished with a 2+ mile cooldown. Times were 3:10 (2:55), 3:10 (2:51), 3:08 (2:50), 3:05 (3:08) 3:01. I felt good and in control the whole time.

Thursday: 7.5mi - my legs are dead today. Only ran 7:25 pace.

Friday: 8mi - I still feel really tired and only managed 7:19 pace and it was not easy.

Saturday: 16mi - Decided to get in my long run today because I was on a mini vacation in Newport RI and I love running along the ocean. It was about 50 degrees and I ran along Ocean Ave (right along the water the whole time). I felt great and averaged about 6:30 pace the whole way.

Sunday: Off.

Completed: 54 miles

10/25-10/31

2010-10-27T21:49:00.001-04:00

Monday: 0 - sick
Tuesday: 0 - sick

Wednesday: 0 - sick

Thursday:

Friday:

Saturday:
Sunday:

Completed: 0mi + 0mi cycling
Plan Total: 30mi + 100mi cycling (need to adjust for being sick)

Shoe Mileage - Aegis: 35.75, Tempo: 20

10/18-10/24

2010-10-18T22:53:00.009-04:00

Monday:

AM: 3mi (21:30) Easy run after lifting.
PM: 20 miles on the bike.

Tuesday:

AM: 20 miles on the bike
PM: 3mi+ (22:30) Easy run.

Wednesday: Brick - 20 miles on the bike + 4mi (28:03)

Thursday:

AM: 20 miles on the bike
PM: 4.25mi (30:32) + lifting. 3x15 (squat, leg extensions, hamstring curls, bench, lat pulldown, military press) + 3x10 1-legged squat (pretty darn hard).

Friday: 6mi (43:52) I did not really feel like cycling today so I ran a bit further. Man, it is really cold outside. I had to run with a hat and gloves. 3x10 1-legged squats + core work and stretching.

Saturday: Brick - 10 miles on the bike + 4mi (30:00) I did not have much energy today.
Sunday: 0 - sick

Completed: 24.25mi + 90mi cycling
Plan Total: 30mi + 100mi cycling

Shoe Mileage - Aegis: 35.75, Tempo: 20

10/11-10/17

2010-10-13T20:24:00.007-04:00

I am back from an easy week but I will probably not hit the same running mileage I was doing two weeks ago. I am going to continue riding 3-4 days per week to give my legs a break from the pounding but still get in the cardio work and possibly some more leg strength. I am also hitting the weights a bit harder for the next month or so. I will do a separate post about that latter this week.

Monday: 20 miles on the bike.
Tuesday:

AM - 20 miles on the bike.
PM - 3mi (20:40) Easy run after lifting.

Wednesday:

AM - 4mi (27:48) This was an easy morning run to shake out the legs. Quicker than I expected.
PM - 9mi () 2.2 mile warm-up (16:03) followed by 4x1600 w/ 400m rest @10k pace. Finished with a 2+ mile cooldown (17:11). I did the first repeat alone and then ran with Joe Rogers for the next three. He had a great workout and actually forced me to run the workout quicker than I originally planned because he was cruising tonight. Times and rests were: 5:15 (2:10), 5:19 (2:28), 5:10 (2:31), 5:07. I was cruising for the first two, felt comfortable hard on the third and had to work pretty hard on the fourth one. Good workout. I will probably just ride tomorrow with a short run.

Thursday: 10 miles on the bike and lifting. I was going to ride 60-90 minutes tonight but I think that I am going to take my day off today. My 9 month old son is sick and I got no sleep last night.

Friday: 25 miles on the bike.

Saturday: 20 miles on the bike + 3 miles running.
Sunday: 30 miles on the bike.

Completed: 19mi + 125mi cycling
Plan Total: 50-60mi + 60mi cycling

Shoe Mileage - Aegis: 24.5, Tempo: 7

10/4-10/10

2010-10-06T21:17:00.008-04:00

I have been ramping my mileage for about 5 or 6 weeks so far and even though my mileage is not too high (60ish/week), I can feel the stress of increasing mileage on my body. I am starting to feel a bit tired and my right IT band/knee are acting up a bit. I am going to take a really easy this week and cut my mileage to around 40 miles but add in some cycling to keep working on my cardio. I also trashed my old shoes and got two new pairs to help out.

I did not get near what I wanted with only 20 miles of running and 70 miles on the bike, but it was an easy week. This is roughly 40-45 total equivalent miles.

Monday:

AM: 3mi (21+) Easy run and then lifting.
PM: 30 miles on the bike (90+ minutes) Easy ride.

Tuesday: 5.1mi (37+) Easy run. I was going to ride too but I was really tired.

Wednesday: 9.5mi - 3mi warm-up, 4x1600 w/200m rest @ HM pace and 2.2 mile cool down. I really wanted to take it easy tonight because my right IT band is acting up a bit and I am taking a real easy week but I kept the rest real short and sweet. 5:57 (1:09), 5:50 (1:06), 5:42 (1:10), 5:30. I ran 85's for the first 3 laps of the last one and then let it out a little and closed in a 75. The workout was pretty easy but it felt good and my IT band did not bother me at all.
Thursday: 20 miles on the bike.
Friday: 20 miles on the bike (60 minutes) + paces elementary 2km and 3km races (~20 minutes).

Saturday: 0
Sunday: 0

Completed: 20.7mi + 70mi cycling
Plan Total: 40mi + 60mi cycling

Shoe Mileage - Aegis: 9.5, Tempo: 3

New Gear

2010-10-06T15:24:00.017-04:00

It is time again to get some new kicks because the old ones have served far beyond their intended tenure. I included a photo of the carnage below. I have been running in a mix of five different shoes: Asics DS-Trainer 11, Asics Gel-3000, NB 904, Nike LunarElite and Nike LunarGlides. I have mixed feelings about each of these shoes but they have served me pretty well for the last couple of months.

I have been a long-time Asics fan, particularly the DS-trainer, but I am so frustrated that they completely change the shoe every year. Some years the shoe feels like a light-weight trainer and other years it feels like a stability shoe. Some years it is too wide, other years it is too narrow. Over the last several years I have been as small as a size 11.5 and as large as a 14 when I am really a 12.5. I also tried the Nike Lunar shoes and they are alright but the heel counter irritates my achilles so those are out. The NB are way too soft.

Two years ago I took a chance on the Adidas Adizero Aegis based on the description and fell in love. Here is a description of the shoe:

The adizero Aegis is a limited edition, go fast trainer. It controls moderate pronation without a traditional post. The result is a super smooth ride that works with your foot. It transmits a great feel for the road and thus is best suited for faster training. It does offer enough protection for everyday training as well.

I ran in two pairs of the Adizero Aegis over the summer of 2009 and got as high as 110 miles per week without any trouble. They seem like they were made just for my foot and are by far the most comfortable shoe I have ever run in. The only reason that I did not buy another pair before was the cost - the MSRP is $110, which is quite a bit more than what I like to spend on shoes. It gets pricey if you go through a pair of shoes each month. Right now RunningWarehouse has them for $99, but if you use the code cp15 you can get them for $85. Not bad since this includes free 2-day shipping and free return shipping (they include the shipping label in the box) if you don't like them for some reason.

The first pairs that I ran in were white with black and red details. The new ones, at the left, are white with blue and gold. I don't like the design as much, but they are a pretty sharp looking shoe. I like the out-sole and feel like they grip well on all surfaces, except trails. They do not slip in the rain like most Asics shoes.

I decided to get a second shoe as a backup and wanted to try a different model. I went with the Adizero Tempo, at the left. I like it because it is the same style shoe, a light-weight stability trainer, and it was only $65 ($55 with the code). My wife does not think much of the design - I guess that it is a little too flashy for her. I kind of like it. And yes, they are really as shinny as they appear in the picture. I am sure that will change after a couple of miles. They fit true to size, like the Aegis, but are slightly narrower than the Aegis. This is not really a problem, but I will have to wear thin socks when I run in them. They have a much more aggressive out-sole than the Aegis and will probably do better in the trails and rough terrain.

I will provide an updated review of the shoes as I use them. I am confident about the Aegis and hopeful about the Tempo.

9/27-10/2

2010-10-03T15:15:00.000-04:00

Monday: 8mi (58:30) Really easy. I felt like crap again today.
Tuesday: 10mi (71:19) Not great, but much better than the last two days.

Wednesday:

AM - 4mi (28:39) I felt much better this morning. Just a shake out.
PM - 10mi () 3 mile warm-up, 8x800m @ marathon time (about half marathon pace) w/ 400m rest. I think this is basically an aerobic power workout. I hit times of 2:42 (2:14), 2:42 (2:17), 2:44 (2:09), 2:40 (2:10), 2:42 (2:21), 2:43 (2:12), 2:40 (2:18), 2:36. I felt good on the workout and it was not too difficult but it was soooo humid tonight so I sweat a ton. It was a little bit challenging to get air. I only did a 1 mile cool-down in like 8:30 because I was pretty tired. I tried to do 4x100 barefoot strides on the grass but that did not go great either. I am currently taking an ice bath from my knees down and will take it really easy tomorrow.

Thursday: 6mi (46:39) Really slow today, but it was intentional. I need the rest. This humidity is ridiculous - I thought we were heading for fall. My feet felt much better after the ice bath last night so I will do that again tonight.
Friday: 0 - I moved my off day to today because the weather sucked and this weekend should be amazing running weather.

Saturday: 10mi (62:10) This was such a great run. I felt good from the get-go and just cruised along enjoying the great fall weather. I was supposed to be at 6:30 pace but I was running 6:15's without much effort and finished with a 5:40. Easy and long tomorrow.
Sunday: 14.5mi (1:43+) I felt better than last Sunday but I was pretty tired today and never really got into much of a groove. It is unfortunate because the weather was so nice - I really wanted to have a good run today. Oh well, I got the miles in.

Completed: 62.5mi
Plan Total: 60-65mi

9/20-9/26

2010-09-26T19:38:00.002-04:00

I ran 59.7 miles and nearly got my goal of 60-65 miles. I will shoot for the same this next week.

Monday: 8.1mi (58:10) Really easy. I felt really good except the last mile or so. I was planning on doing a second run today but punted because of how I felt.
Tuesday: 8.1mi (58..) Easy run again today. I felt a bit off.

Wednesday:

AM - 3mi (22:30) Easy run to shake out the legs.
PM - 9.5mi () 3mi warm-up (20:45), 4x1600m w/ 200m rest and 2.2mi cool down. My times were 5:35 (2:00), 5:35 (1:30), 5:37 (1:30), 5:39. I felt great on the first two but my fitness is not there right now so I slowed down a bit on the last two. Once I get a few more miles in my legs I will recover better. It was also quite warm and humid tonight.

Thursday: 6mi (46:00) Really easy run after last night's workout. I cut it short too because my soleus was a bit tight and tender. Felt alright later in the day.
Friday: 10mi (68:30) A slightly up-tempo run and it felt pretty good except for the humidity. This run is setting the framework for future threshold runs like I used to do on Fridays.

Saturday: Zippo
Sunday: 15mi (1:49:20) This was one bizarre-o run. My first mile split was 8:06 (holy crap!) and my last mile split was 6:12. I passed through 5 miles in 38:25 and my last 5 miles were in 33:51. I nearly stopped at 10 miles because I was feeling like garbage but things started loosening up and I felt much better the last 5 miles. One thing that I did was to do 4 20 second surges after 10 miles to recruit some fast twitch muscle fibers. I read that Ryan Hall does this on long runs and it seems to work. I'm glad I got in a long run but I hope I feel better in the coming days and weeks.

Completed: 59.7mi
Plan Total: 60-65mi

9/13-9/19

2010-09-19T20:25:00.000-04:00

This was a good week. I slightly exceeded my mileage goal (60.5 miles vs 55-60 miles) and I did my first track workout. I am starting out slow and the workout was pretty relaxed, but it was so nice to get back on the track and run fast again. Right now it seems like things are headed in the right direction and all the little aches and pains are clearing up. I think the icing, stretching, lifting and extra drills are starting to pay off as is running only 6 days per week. I will bump my mileage slightly next week to 65 miles but will have to miss the track workout because of parent-teacher conferences. I might do a short threshold run on the roads instead.

Monday: 7.3mi (50:36) I almost did not get to run today because things were busy at work and then I bailed once in the evening because of the storms that rolled in. I finally got out the door at about 6:30PM and had to cut the run short a bit because it was getting dark, but man, what great weather for running. I felt so much better than yesterday and was able to click off the miles with ease.

Tuesday: 10mi (68:54) Felt good again today and the weather was really nice. Pretty easy effort.

Wednesday:

AM 4mi (29:48) Real easy run to loosen up for this afternoon.
PM 10mi () 2.2 mile warm up (16:04), 5x1000m @ 5k pace and 2.2 mile cool down (17:52). Workout splits and rests were 3:21 (3:37), 3:21 (3:36), 3:25 (3:42), 3:15 (4:13), 3:10.

Thursday: 6mi (44+) Easy, short run to recover from yesterday.
Friday: 10.1mi (72:24) I wanted to go a bit longer than usual and take it easy. Nice easy run. Ran a bit faster at the end.

Saturday: Goose egg. I intentionally took today off but did some core and strengthening work.
Sunday: 13.1mi (92:45) I started out really slow and felt a few small twinges and aches but things settled down and I got rolling about 4-5 miles into the run. Over all I felt really good and my long runs are now respectable.

Completed: 60.5mi
Plan Total: 55-60mi

First Workout - 5x1000m

2010-09-15T20:39:00.004-04:00

2.2 mile warm up (16:04), 5x1000m @ 5k pace and 2.2 mile cool down (17:52). Workout splits and rests were 3:21 (3:37), 3:21 (3:36), 3:25 (3:42), 3:15 (4:13), 3:10.

I ran with Justin and Michael and was pretty was much hanging out for the first two and half repeats. I did not know what the body was capable of or it it would quit on me part way through the workout so I wanted to be cautious. The rests were long to start with and they started getting longer at the end so I tested myself a little and went solo at 400m of the 4th repeat and the entire 5th repeat. It felt good except my left shoe was tied too tight and my Achilles started bothering me. It really felt great to be working out again, especially since the weather is perfect for running.

9/6-9/12

2010-09-12T20:46:00.003-04:00

I came up a bit short of the goal for the week (51.5 miles vs. a goal of 55-60 miles) but I only ran 6 days and I started to feel better than I have been feeling the last couple of weeks. I also got my first double-digit run in, a whopping 12.2 miles today. I do not think that my long run will get much longer than this for the foreseeable future. With my recent track record of injuries I am planning on limiting my long run to 15 miles, total miles to 70 and I will only run 6 days per week. If I need any more base work I can always jump on the bike and add it there. If I can stay healthy off this plan throughout the winter then I may have a shot at running some fast times on the track and roads in the spring. Here's the breakdown for the week:

Monday: 8.2mi (57:27) Easy run.

Tuesday: 7mi (49:30) Easy run.

Wednesday: 8.7mi (61:00) I went a bit longer than planned, but I felt good once I got going.
Thursday: 7.4mi (52:32) Meh ... Just getting in the miles.
Friday: 8mi (55:13) I actually felt pretty good today. I started out easy at about 7:30 pace and dropped it down to 6:30 pace by the end. Good day.

Saturday: 0 - intentionally took the day off.
Sunday: 12.2mi (87:06) Yay, I finally got in double digit run. I felt decent at the beginning but things went down hill after the mid-way. My lower legs felt sore and my lower back tightened up. What ever happened to those days when running felt good?

Completed: 51.5mi
Plan Total: 55-60mi

8/23-9/5

2010-09-05T22:27:00.002-04:00

I did not post last week because things were so busy. After work each day I drove an hour back to Nashua to spend 1.5 hours helping out with my oldest son's XC practice and then 2-3 hours at my second oldest son's football practice. I leave the house at 6:30AM and do not get home until 9:30PM, so this does not leave a lot of time for running. I had 32 miles of running, 30 miles of cycling and I ran 15 miles with the Nashua PAL XC preseason conditioning camp. I won't count those miles because it was 9-11 min/mi pace.

I ran 51 miles this week, although 6 of those miles were with my son at about 10 min/mi pace. My lower legs have been feeling like crap all week. I am not too sure what it is but I have a hard time running more than 5-6 miles at a time without discomfort. It is a dull, aching in my calves and back of my ankles (Achilles) and I had some pitting edema early in the week in both legs. Just to be on the safe side I got some blood/urine tests done and everything checked out so I am not really sure what is going on. Maybe it is just old age. Hopefully my body is just taking longer than normal to get into the groove and I can work out of this funk soon. The goal is to move up to 55-60 miles this coming week if the old body cooperates.

8/16/2010-8/22/2010

2010-08-23T07:19:00.000-04:00

38 miles in 6 runs.

6/14-6/20

2010-06-14T20:48:00.002-04:00

Monday: 8.2mi (58:00) This was pretty slow because my left hip was a little tender. I spent some time working on it with the foam roller, stretching and popping advil.

Plan

Tuesday: AM - 4mi, PM - 10mi

Wednesday: AM - 3mi, PM - 10mi
Thursday: AM - 4mi, PM - 8mi
Friday: AM - 4, PM - 10mi w/ ss run
Saturday: 8mi
Sunday: 16mi

Completed: 8.2mi

Plan Total: 75-85mi

6/7-6/13

2010-06-07T21:16:00.007-04:00

This was a pretty hard week because I ran 81 miles, did three hard workouts and did my first 20+ mile long run. I am not sure how often I will run that long, but I wanted to see if I could do it at this point in my training. The hard workouts were a 5km tempo run in 16:12, hill repeats and a 10km steady-state run in 34:33. I am going to shoot for 80-85 miles next week but limit myself to 2 hard workouts.

Monday: AM - 3mi (20:56) Easy run at work. PM - 10mi (66ish) On Wednesday we are going to run hills and I wanted to get something fast in so I did a 5k tempo run tonight. I got out of work late so I did not make it back to Nashua for the Mine Falls Park Trail Race tonight so I ran the tempo run on the track. This worked out well because I was not sure about pace and running it on the track allowed me to get splits. My goal was to hit 5:20 pace for the first two miles and then run what ever felt good for the last mile. I was still feeling pretty tired from my long run and my legs were heavy but I settled into 79 sec/400m pace after about the first mile and split 5:15, 10:29 (5:14), 15:34 (5:05), 16:12 (:37). The first two miles were very comfortable, although not really that smooth, but I was working pretty hard on the last mile. I feel like I could have held 5:10-5:15 pace for another mile or two but I did not want to over-do it tonight. I did a three mile warm up (20:47) and a four mile cool down (28:52).

Tuesday: AM - 8.2mi (59:49) Slow recovery run early in the morning, PM - 6mi (41:57) Easy run.

Wednesday: AM - 3.3mi (24:20) Easy run to loosen up the legs, PM - 11.9mi (1:20:24) I warmed up by running 4 miles to the school and then we went to a hill close to Nashua South to do repeats. I think that the hill is about 1/5th of a mile long. The workout was 5 sets of 1/3, 2/3, all the way up and then a 100 meter stride at the bottom of the hill. The total workout added up to about 3.5 miles. I cooled down by running 3.5 miles home. I did one of the miles at MP (actually, I only hit 5:55 and felt like crap) to flush out the legs. I felt really tired today and my legs are beat up a bit so I am going to go really easy and short tomorrow.
Thursday: 6mi (44:13) I bailed on doubles today and did a really easy run. I was feeling over tired today and I have a steady-state run tomorrow so hopefully this will help.
Friday: 12mi+ (80ish) Instead of doing my standard 10 mile steady-state run I decided to do a 10km stead-state run on the track to mix things up. The main reason I did this was that I wanted to run a bit faster than the road run, even if I cut the distance. I started out with a 3 mile warm up and some strides. After how tired I felt yesterday I was not sure how I would feel today but things went pretty well. I wore my heart-rate monitor and set my HR alarms to 165bpm and 176bpm (170bpm should be roughly MP for me with HRM = 205bpm). My splits and HR were:

Mile Split Mile Split Avg. HR
1 5:35 5:35 166
2 11:06 5:31 170
3 16:39 5:32 171
5k 17:20
4 22:07 5:28 173
5 27:38 5:30 174
6 33:12 5:33 175
10k 34:33

I guess that looking at the HR it was steadily increasing over the run, so it was a bit faster than "steady-state". I finished with a strong 3 mile cool-down. Rest tomorrow.
Saturday: 0 - I just did not get around to running.
Sunday: 21.1 (2:33:33.) This was a pretty tough run because I did not have anywhere to get fluids on the route that I ran and it was 4 miles longer than my longest run so far. I decided to just take it slow and steady and focus on just getting the miles in rather than worry about pace. I averaged 7:17 pace, which is not bad for this long of a run.

Completed: 81.5mi

Plan Total: 75-85mi

5/31-6/5

2010-05-31T19:05:00.005-04:00

I got back to business as I jumped my mileage up from 55 last week to a bit over 80 his week. I had good workouts on both Wednesday and Friday but felt pretty crappy the rest of the week. I am not sure why, but it bothers me when I run an 8 minute mile (I have the Forerunner set to give mile splits) and I have see several of those in the last week. I keep telling myself that it does not matter and that I should just listen to my body so that I recover and stay injury free. Looking back over the week, I will gladly take the slow miles on recovery runs if I can blast some good workouts (and races , in the future). It is only the first week of June and it feels like we are in the middle of August with all of this heat and humidity. I am hoping that it cools off and dries out a bit because I am rotating three pairs of running shoes right now and all three are always wet.

Monday: 11.7mi (?) My watch battery died just as I started the run. Grrrr! Anyway, I was planning on doing some hills today but after digging in the yard for 5 hours and considering the heat I just did a moderate run in Mine Falls Park.

Tuesday: AM - 6.5mi (50:25) This was a really slow recovery run. I was supposed to go 8 miles but it was so hot and humid and I felt like garbage so I cut it short. PM - 4mi (29:30) On the treadmill at work. I could not face the humidity again today.

Wednesday: 11.5mi () 3mi warm-up in 21:50 followed by 1600/800/400/400/800/1600 @ 5k pace with 400m rest for all (yeah, I know, that is a lot of rest). I hit 5:00 (2:30ish), 2:28 (3:03), 71 (2:49), 71 (2:47), 2:25 (2:56), 4:56. The heat and humidity really started to get to me (83 and the dew point=64 when we started). Cooled down for about 4 miles.
Thursday: AM - 8.1mi (61:26) Really slow recovery run again., PM 4mi (29:12) On the treadmill at work again. This heat and humidity is killing me!

Friday: 9.9mi (61:25) This was my "10 mile" stead-state run. I was a bit nervous about this one because it was 84 degrees and the dew point was 64 degrees (not good running weather). I did not wear the Garmin today so I did not get exact splits but here is a summary of how I did compared to last week's run when the weather was much more conducive to running. I was 20 seconds slower than last week at 1.5mi but had pulled even by 2.5mi. At the turn around (halfway) I was 5 seconds faster and by 8 miles I was ahead by about 20 seconds. I decided to shut things down at this point and just cool down the last two miles because I was getting really hot and figured that it was not wise to over-do things. I averaged about 6:00min/mi even for the first 8 miles.

Saturday: 8.1mi (60:23) A really slow recovery run in Mine Falls park.

Sunday: 17mi (2:01:30) I did what I should have done the last two long runs and I drove down to Mine Falls Park and ran from there. That allowed me to stop for fluids half way through. I did not think that I would have issues today since it was only about 66 degrees but it was quite humid and I still can not seem to deal with the humidity. I never really felt good on the run and never got into a groove, but I got in 17 decent miles at 7:08 pace. The heavy rain hit at about 14 miles and when I heard the thunder rolling in at about 16.5 miles I quickly changed my plans to try to hit 18 miles and headed for the car.

Completed: 80.8mi

Plan Total: 70-80mi

5/24-5/30

2010-05-26T20:34:00.005-04:00

This was a decent week, although it did not feel as restful as it was supposed to be. I think that was because of the extreme heat that we had (Wednesday hit about 95 in Nashua!). I ran 55.5 miles on 6 runs and I had two good workouts and even got in a real long run. Next week I get back to work and my mileage will pop back up to 75ish miles and I will probably try to throw in 2-3 doubles in the week.

Monday: 6mi (43:16) Easy run.
Tuesday: 7.5mi (57:16) Really easy run in the morning to beat the heat.

Wednesday: ~8mi () 2.5mi warm-up in 19:13 w/ an acceleration in last 200m, 10x400m @3k pace w/ about 150-200m rest (~90sec) followed by a 2.2mi cool-down (18:10) and 6x100m strides. It was about 93 degrees when we started and this is an easy week so I was not about to put too much into this workout and was fully prepared to pull the chute if the heat got to me. I finished all 10 repeats and hit pretty consistent splits except a couple where I let the wind on the back stretch get to me and I slowed by a second or two. Times and rests:

Bout	Split	Avg HR	Max HR	Rest
1	70	172	186	89
2	71	176	184	80
3	71	178	185	77
4	70	175	188	85
5	70	176	186	78
6	72	176	184	110
7	70	173	184	91
8	71	177	185	96
9	72	173	184	91
10	68	-	-	-

It is interesting to note that for the repeats where I slipped to 72sec my peak HR was around 184bpm while it was about 186-188bpm when I ran 70sec. This just shows it was a mental slip, not a physical limit. In the end I do not really see the point of this workout, especially since it was touted as a HR workout. We were supposed to run 3k pace and with pretty much equal time rest. I agree with Dan Hocking's rant about this type of workout.
Thursday: 8mi (58:21) Nice and easy today. A bit longer than I planned, but it was such a nice day and I could not resist.

Friday: 9.9mi (59:35) This was the same "10 mile" steady-state run that I ran last Friday, but I wore my Forerunner and it unfortunately came out 1/10th of a mile short. Oh, well. I was feeling a bit tired and was not sure if I was going to do this run, but once I got going I felt better and had a decent run. I averaged 6:02min/mi pace and my mile splits were: 6:20, 6:14, 6:03, 5:59, 5:51, 5:58, 6:02, 5:59, 5:52, 5:12 (for 0.9mi = 6:03 pace). If it had been a full 10 miles the time would have been ~60:20.

Saturday: 0 - I spent the day digging in the yard. Yay!
Sunday: 16.25 (1:51:21) I felt alright, although a bit sore from yesterday's digging, and began the run hitting 7min/mi pace for the first 6 mile. Just after 6 miles I stopped to stretch and did most of the rest of the run at around 6:30 pace until I started to get dehydrated and slow down. I am not sure which was the worst part of the run, the dehydration or the chaffing that I endured for the last 8 miles of the run. I think that I have to get some compression shorts to run in from now on.

Completed: ~55.5mi

Plan Total: 50-60mi

5/17/2010-5/23/2010

2010-05-17T22:18:00.009-04:00

I am going to start updating this daily so that I do not have to remember all my runs at the end of the week.

Monday: 11.75mi (80:20) Easy run to shake out the legs from yesterday's long run.
Tuesday: 10mi (69:42) Felt really easy and I was just resting up for tomorrow's workout.

Wednesday: 11.5mi - 4mi warm-up followed by 1 mile @ 5k pace on the track, 5km @ MP on the trails and finish with 1 mile @ 5k pace back on the track. There was no rest between each segment and it turns out that the 5k on the trails that we did was actually only 2.5 miles. It was pretty cool (55F) and rainy but I felt decent. I did not really know what pace to do for the "5k" section so I used my heart rate monitor and set an upper limit of 176bpm, which is about 87-88% of my HRM (pretty much marathon pace from what I know). I hit the first mile in 5:15 w/ an average HR of 183 (only 90% of HRM), I did the 2.5mi stretch in 14:55 w/ an average HR of 177 (sadly enough, it was only 6:00 pace), and then closed out the last mile on the track in 5:14 w/ an average HR of 185. I felt really comfortable the whole way, rightly so since I ran so stinking slow, and the hardest part of the whole run was switching up the pace for the last mile. I ended with a 3mi cool-down and 6x100m strides. Rest up tomorrow.

Thursday: 11.75mi (83:05) Same route as Monday. I felt great the first 8 or so miles because it was sunny, warm and I just felt good. However, as the run went on I sweat so much that chaffing became an issue and the run went down hill. Overall it was a great run because I am starting to feel like a runner again but I really need to cut my weight.

Friday: 10mi (62:15) I felt really good from the start today and let out the reins a little bit to get the legs going. I covered the first 5 miles in 31:47 and covered the second half in 30:28. The pace was pretty quick but I was not pushing too hard - it was much slower than LT pace.

Saturday: 8.2mi (60:09) This was a really easy run and my first run with my new Forerunner 305. It seems pretty good, although it is A LOT bigger than my Suunto T6. I like the idea of being able to set up workouts based on any combination of time and distance (intervals and rests) and do them on the road.
Sunday: 17.1mi (1:59:07) I felt really good on this run other than the fact that I had some hydration issues. I usually drive somewhere to run and take fluids with me but today I ran from home and did not have access to any fluids on the run. It was not that warm out but it was pretty humid and I felt dehydrated by 9 miles. I started out at 7:30 pace for the first 2-3 miles, did most of the run at 6:55-7:05 pace and then finished the last 4 miles at 6:30-6:40 pace

This week was pretty good. I hit my highest mileage yet (80 miles on singles), I had two good workouts and my longest long run yet. Next week is going to be a really easy week with one or two easy workouts and I will only do 50-60 miles.

Completed: 80mi
Plan Total: 80mi

5/16/2010

2010-05-16T21:12:00.002-04:00

I got 74 miles this week with one good workout, a decent tempo and my longest long run since coming back. Next week I will shoot for 75-80 miles and then take a rest week and cut my mileage to 50-60.

Monday: 10.6mi (1:14:56) Easy run. I thought it was slower than it really was.
Tuesday: 10.6mi (?) Standard 10 miler at work.
Wednesday: 11mi - 3 mile warm-up, 5x1600 @ 10k pace w/ 400m rest and 2 mile cool-down.

Thursday: 10mi (73:11) Really easy run at work to shake out the legs.
Friday: 10.6mi (71:03) Really easy the first half and then pushed hard for 6-8 miles. Averaged 6:40 pace overall and near 6:00 pace for the hard parts.
Saturday: 5.2mi (40:13) I really needed an easy run.
Sunday: 16mi (1:50:04) I wanted to do 3-4 miles at MP but after the first 6-7 miles I realized that I was not feeling great and just focused on getting the run done. It was beautiful weather so I was a bit bummed that I could not run the run I wanted to do. Oh well. I also had to cut it a little short because I had to take one of the kids to a birthday party (I was planning on 18 miles).

5x1600

2010-05-12T21:47:00.004-04:00

I really like this workout, 5x1600m @ 10k pace w/ 400m rest, so I was psyched for tonight. There must be something in the air because, from what I can tell, a lot of people did this workout tonight. We had great weather but I felt awful for some reason. I kept getting a stitch at the top of my stomach and never felt like I got into any kind of flow or rhythm. I got in a 3 mile warm-up with a couple strides and hit:

5:20
5:15
5:17
5:23 (I paced Joe Rogers at 83 for the first lap and I got a bad stitch when I jumped to 80s pace)
5:15

The rests were all 2:20-2:40, which is not bad but I would like to work on cutting that down to the 60-90 second range. I wrapped it up with a long 2 mile cool down and 4 strides on the track. Total miles covered ~ 11mi.

5/9/2010

2010-05-10T20:38:00.002-04:00

Again, I am posting late, but I always seem to run out of time on Sundays with the kids, the long run, yada, yada, yada ... I hit what will probably be my peak weekly mileage until I am 100% confident in my recovery and I start the ramp for Bay State in the fall. I hit 73 miles off singles and I did not ride at all. For sanity's sake, I am going to stick with singles for now because work is a bit crazy right now and I don't mentally feel up to doubles at this point. I am just enjoying being able to run 10 miles/day without pain.

I do not like to talk of work on my running blog because I try to keep those two worlds separate, but I will make a small exception here because of how much my job has impacted the last two years of my family's lives. I am really happy that I was able to get in all of my runs this week because the chip that we have been designing at work for the last two years came back on Tuesday and I had to spend 3-4 very long days in the lab testing all the blocks that I designed. I have a lot invested in this chip (lots of long days and countless nights working until 2-3AM after the kids went to bed) and my family sacrificed a lot (we have not had a vacation in over 2 years) in order for me to get my work done. In the end it was all worth it because all of my stuff works! I am hoping that the next year will be much less hectic and I may be able to get some decent running in.

I did not get too many times for runs this week because my watch battery died and then the wrist strap broke right after I replaced the battery. Maybe it is time for a new watch ...

Monday: 8.2mi (?) Easy run
Tuesday: 10mi (?) Standard 10 miler at work.
Wednesday: 13mi - 4 mile warm-up, cut-down based on time (7m/6m/5m/4m/3m/2m) at 10k pace with 3 mile cool-down.

Thursday: 8.2mi (61:30) Really easy run at work to shake out the legs.
Friday: 10mi (?) Again, no idea on time but I took the first half really easy and then picked it up a bit for the second half.
Saturday: 8.5mi () Easy run in the cold rain.
Sunday: 15mi (1:39:48) I did a similar thing to last week and ran fairly easy for the first 10-12 miles and then I threw in 3 miles at MP. That felt pretty good but the wind beat me up a bit. I also tried something new on the run based on some videos that I watched by Ryan Hall on YouTube. At about 8 miles I did some really short, full speed accelerations on the flat and on hills (3-4 total for 30-50m each) to recruit different muscle fibers later in the run. I am not sure if it made too much difference but I did feel a little better. I am hoping that there will be a long term benefit to doing this.

3/25/2010

2010-05-05T21:10:00.002-04:00

I went to the Wednesday workout tonight and thought I would give an update. We were supposed to do a 2000/1600/1200/800/400/200 cut-down with about 1/3 the distance rest at 10k pace but the Nashua South track was overrun with high school kids tonight. Instead, we headed into Mine Falls Park and did a similar workout on the trails based on time. The workout consisted of efforts of 7min/6min/5min/4min/3min/2min with rests of 3min/2min/2min/1min/1min at roughly 10k pace. It was actually a nice change of pace to be in the trails and not running in circles on the track. Our group actually started out about 6-7 strong, the largest that I have seen it in a long time which made for a more interesting run. I am not sure what pace we were running but I covered a little over 6 miles total (I turned back after each bout so we could all start together) in 36:17 and I was probably running 5:20-5:30 for the efforts. Not too bad. I should get a GPS sensor for my watch so I know exactly how far I have run on workouts like this. I started the workout with 3 miles of warm-up alone and a mile of warm-up with the group and then ended with a 3 mile cool-down for a total of 13 miles on the night.

5/2/2010

2010-05-03T21:03:00.002-04:00

I am a bit late posting my blog this week because I am was so tired yesterday. After getting in my first real long run (15 miles) I worked in the yard all day edging flower beds in 93 degree heat. Not smart. I am just about to hit the hay tonight too because today's run was a bit torturous - I am not used to running in 85 degree weather with a 65 degree dew point yet. I got in 63 miles in 6 days of running. I wanted to run on Saturday but decided to give myself a day of rest. I should hit 70 miles next week. Oh yeah, I did not even sit on the bike this week ...

Monday: 8.2mi (59:10)
Tuesday: 10mi (69:24) Standard 10 miler at work.
Wednesday: (9.5mi tot) 3mi warmup (22:47) 3 x (400, 400, 800) with half the distance rest + 2.2 mile cool down. I thought that we took way to much rest last week so I was glad to see the rest was cut in half. I still decided to do the rest at a much quicker pace: last week we did the 400m rest in 2:30ish and this time the 200m rests were in about 50s and the 400m rest was in 1:45ish. Joe Rogers stuck with me for this workout which was great. I usually do not have any one to work with so it was nice to have company. My watch battery died part way through but the first 400 was in 76, the remaining work was all done at 78 pace and the last 800m was in 2:41 because I let Joe lead the first half. Joe had a great workout, especially considering how short the rests were.

Thursday: 10mi+ (74:14) Really easy from home to shake out the legs.
Friday: 10mi+ (69:10) Same run as yesterday but I felt so much better.
Saturday: Off
Sunday: 15mi (1:41:48) I ran the first half of the run pretty easy and then progressively cranked down the pace the second half. I was going to do two miles at marathon pace on the track at the end but I opted for this in the end. I am not sure of pace but I would bet I hit 5:40-5:50 pace for 3 miles or so based on how it felt. Pretty good for where I am now.

4/25/2009

2010-04-25T22:23:00.002-04:00

I think that watching the Boston Marathon on Monday started me thinking about my current route and got me thinking about what I really want out of my training. I have been spending a lot of time on the bike lately and not that much time running and I am not really loving it. When ever I get up to ride I really dread it and feel like I am doing work rather than something that I truly love. Anyway, that is probably why I completely fell off the wagon this week and did not even come close to my original goal of 300 miles. I am having very strong reservations about the cycling/triathlon training and think that I am going to turn the emphasis back to pure running. In fact, I just listed the Kueen K bike on Craigslist and will hopefully unload that this week.

Since I did not ride that much this week I was able to bump my running mileage and even did my first track workout of the season. I ran 58.5 miles and biked a measly 70 miles (I said that I fell of the wagon ...).

Monday: 8mi (58:02), bike (30)
Tuesday: 6mi (45:32)
Wednesday: 9mi total. 2.2 mile warm-up, 10x400 w/ 400 rest (way too long), 2.2 mile cool-down. Splits were 80 (2:19), 79 (2:19), 76 (2:20), 74 (2:20), 73 (2:17), 71 (2:17), 72 (2:23), 74 (2:30), 74 (2:34), 71. We started out really slowly and ramped down gradually. I felt decent but had to back off a bit at the end for my achilles.
Thursday: 6mi (44:57), bike (20)
Friday: 10mi (71:55) Easy run, bike (20)
Saturday: 7mi (52:36) Really easy run at Mine Falls. I felt like absolute crap.
Sunday: 12.5mi (1:26:56) I was planning on running 2 miles at MP near the end of the run but my achilles was a little tender so I bailed and just finished up.

4/18/2010

2010-04-18T11:25:00.003-04:00

I am going to keep this short so that I can get to bed. I am beat. This week I rode 280 miles and ran 48 miles and I was also able to increase my long run to 12 miles. Not bad overall. Unfortunately, all of my rides were inside on the trainer but, on a positive note, I am starting to feel much better on my runs. I was really concerned that all the riding would make my legs feel thick and heavy but when I balance the riding and running they feel pretty good. They are not as fresh as they used to be, like even last spring, but I am finally able to do all of my running in the 6:30-7:30 min/mi pace range so I am back to where I should be.

Monday: bike - 30, run - 8mi+ (56:08)
Tuesday: bike - 40 (AM), 30 (PM), run - 8+mi (54:06)
Wednesday: bike - 30
Thursday: bike - 40 (AM), 30 (PM)
Friday: run - 11.5mi+ (79:44)
Saturday: bike - 40, run - 8.5mi (58:35)
Sunday: bike - 40, run - 12mi (80:21)

Next week I am planning on bumping up to 300 miles on the bike and 50+ miles of running. We will see though because Wednesday is the first of the GCS track workouts and I have not decided if I am ready for that yet. I think that I am ahead of last year at this point and I had a great spring season, but this is an Achilles injury and I do not want to press my luck.

4/11/2010

2010-04-11T21:37:00.000-04:00

This week was supposed to be an easy week and I was hoping to feel well rested by the end. Well, that was not the case. It started out alright but I commuted to work on my bike on Tuesday (36 miles each way because of a detour) and that pretty much killed me for the week. I think that the problem was that I did not have enough calories and fluids on the ride home and I totally bonked. I did not really slow down but I was in a trance just cranking along in the cold (it was 45 and damp) and only made it home because I have ridden or run that stretch of road so many times before. I was really tired the rest of the week and I had a hard time getting psyched to get out the door for a ride or a run. By the weekend things began to turn around and I had a really good workout on Sunday morning - I rode 40 miles and ran 10 miles before 8:30AM.

For the week I got in 182 miles on the bike and 40 miles of running. Quite a drop off from last week, but hopefully I can build next week. The plan for next week is to get 250 miles on the bike and close to 50 miles running.

Monday: bike - 0, run - 8mi+ (59:02)
Tuesday: bike - 36 (AM) 1:50:21, 36 (PM) 1:45:05 -- today just killed me!
Wednesday: bike - 0, run - 10mi+ (73:17)
Thursday: bike - 30, run - 8mi+ (57:58)
Friday: nada!
Saturday: bike - 40, run - 4mi (26:08)
Sunday: bike - 40, run - 10mi+ (69:32)

I did get the Kuota Kueen K back from the shop this week and really wanted to ride it but discovered something that I did not know about the bike. It has what is called an integrated seat mast. Instead of a seat post that can be adjusted to fit your inseam there is a very short seat post and the frame has to be cut to fit your position. I guess that this improves rigidity, but it just seems stupid. If I cut the mast too short the bike is scrap and if I want to sell the bike down the road I can only sell to someone with a shorter inseam than me. The previous owner of the bike claimed to be 5'-11" with a 33 inch inseam (I am 5'-10.5" with a 32" inseam) so I was hopeful that it would fit me fine. I can barely touch the pedals on tippy-toe when sitting on the bike. He had to have a 35"+ inseam I bet. This leaves me with cutting the frame, which I am a little scared to do, or selling the bike. I played with the shifting a bit too (it has SRAM Red) and I would have to say that it does not seem nearly as smooth as the Campy Record on the other bike. I double checked with the shop to see if it was dialed in correctly (it was) and they said this was normal and that SRAM Red is a bit noisy, but overall very nice. Weird.

4/4/2010

2010-04-04T21:30:00.001-04:00

It is hard to believe that it is Easter already. Time is flying this year. This was a pretty hard week because of the total miles that I covered and the number of workouts. I was able to trim it down to only 2 triples, but those were long days. I met my goals for both running and biking by hitting 41 miles on foot in 6 runs and 303.7 miles on the bike in 9 rides. That is an almost 44 mile increase over last week on 2 fewer rides in the week (a 23.6 mile/ride average versus a 33.8 mile/ride average). Thankfully the weather cooperated this week and I was able to get out of the basement and out on the roads. I was not sure it would make that much of a difference, but I have a much easier time handling time on the bike when I am outside, both mentally and physically. My achilles seems to be hanging in there too as I can do a full 8 miler without stopping to stretch my calves and hamstrings. Here is a breakdown of the week's training:

Monday: bike - 30 (AM), 30 (PM), run - 6 (42:xx)
Tuesday: bike - 40, run - 6 (44:40)
Wednesday: bike - 30, run - 8 (58:33)
Thursday: bike - 40 (AM), 30 (PM), run - 6 (?)
Friday: bike - 28.5 (1:21:29), run - 4 (25:46) -- Actually biked outside!
Saturday: bike - 46.7 (2:12:00), run - 0 -- biked outside again. I meant to run today but I was beat after the ride. It was longer than I expected and I only had one bottle of fluids for the entire ride. Not good since this was the first 80 degree day we have had since last summer.
Sunday: bike - 28.5 (1:24:33), run - 9+ (1:04 and change) This was a nice easy ride to let the legs relax. After the ride I hung out for an hour with the kids while my wife worked out and then I went to down to Mine Falls Park to run. I thought my legs would feel better than just going into the run after the ride but my legs were like lead weights and it took me 2-3 miles to work out the stiffness.

I am going to take next week on the bike by feel. I have been ramping mileage for about 4 weeks now at about 20%/week so I will probably drop back a bit to somewhere around 200-250 and get some rest. I feel pretty good but do not want to push my luck. I should be able to hit mid to high 40's for running and I will work on adding a mile or two to my long run if it feels good. If everything goes well I should be able to level off at 50-60 miles of running and 300 miles on the bike by the middle of April.

O.M.G.

2010-04-02T21:26:00.002-04:00

The title of the post says it all. I was so excited that the rain had finally stopped (we got 15+ inches in New England in March!), the sun was shining and it was 70 degrees. This was also the first day outside on the Kalibur and I really wanted to see how it felt on the roads. I was not disappointed. To borrow a line from my kids, the bike is sick! I am amazed at how much nicer a ride it is than my old bike. It rolls much smoother and farther and there is just this swooshing when I coast. Very cool. Also, on my old bike when I really pushed the pedals it did not respond but on this bike when I push I have to hang on because it feels like the bike is going to shoot out from under me. All I can say is incredible.

I stayed off the roads and rode the Nashua River Trail only because I had never ridden with aero bars and did not know how well they handled. I did alright, although the bike is a bit harder to control. On a positive note, I had no problem keeping in the aero position for almost 30 miles and I also did not have any problems with the saddle. I had an easy day scheduled because I rode 70 miles and ran 6 miles yesterday but once I got going I went a little harder than I should have. I did 28.5 miles and averaged 21 mph (20 out and 22 back) and then jumped off the bike and ran 4 miles in 25:45 (my first run averaging sub-7 minute pace since last fall). Very good day overall.

3/28/2010

2010-03-28T20:56:00.004-04:00

Not a bad week overall. My goal going into the week was to run 30-40 miles and cycle 225-250 miles and I ended the week with 32 running miles, in 5 runs, and 260 cycling miles, in 11 rides. That sounds like a lot of rides but I can not sit on the bike for more than 90 minutes at a time or I go crazy (I'm on the trainer) and my backside starts to hurt. I am still getting used to the saddle. Even though my running miles were a bit on the low side, I am pleased with the progress I have been making because I got my longest run up to 8 miles for the first time since November. I feel like I need to get my run up faster though because my legs are definitely starting to change from all the cycling and they are not really feeling like running legs any more. It is helping on the bike because my legs do not hurt all the time while riding, but they are feeling a bit bulky for running now and I did not start out with small legs.

Today I spent some time getting the Kuota Kalibur set up to ride, adjusting the cables and putting on new tires and brake pads so that I could start using it. I did my first ride on it tonight and man, what a difference from my old bike. I am still getting used to the aero position and have to do some tweaking to my position, but the difference between the Campy Record and my 15 year old Shimano Ultegra is like night and day. The Campy is sooo smooth and I can ride much faster with less effort. The last thing I have to do is get some new pedals like the Looks. I have the old Shimano SPD pedals that are very narrow and I always feel like I am falling off the sides of them.

Monday: bike - 30 (AM), 20 (PM), run - 6
Tuesday: bike - 25 (AM), 20 (PM), run - 6
Wednesday: bike - 30 (AM), 20 (PM)
Thursday: bike - 20, run - 6 (44:05)
Friday: bike - 20 (AM), 30 (PM)
Saturday: bike - 20, run - 6 (44:33)
Sunday: bike - 20, run - 8 (56:59)

The goal for next week is to hit close to 40 miles for running and 250-300 for cycling. I would like to level off at 50-60 for running and 300ish for cycling and hold that for 2-3 months to build a solid base. I will then look at adding speed work and hills to both.

A New Beginning

2010-03-21T20:48:00.006-04:00

This past winter really sucked for me. Last fall, after my racing season ended, I took 2 weeks off from running to let everything heal. On my very first day back I went out for a really easy 8 miler and half way through my achilles felt a little off. This was weird because it was my left achilles that was bothering me and I had never had any trouble with it before. I have had a lot of trouble with my right achilles, but this was new. I ended the run, iced, took some advil and did not think much of it. The next day I was barely able to walk and ended up taking more than two and a half months off, completely. That's right, no running at all for two and a half months. On top of that it was the holiday season, I was working a ton and our son Noah was born. In the end, I think I gained about 15 pounds. Yikes!

Around the new year I decided to get my act together and start working out again. I could not run so I started out walking 4-5 miles each day on the treadmill. I felt like such an old fart but I knew that this was the only way I was going to get back running. After time I started adding in a some running, alternating 1/4 mile run with 1/2 mile walking. Eventually, I increased the run portion and by the first of March I was able to run 3-4 miles straight. None of this was fast, mind you. Most of my mileage has been at 8:00 minute pace and sometimes I can work down to 7:30ish pace for a mile or so. Most days I begin each run with 20-30 minutes on the bike and some easy stretching. This whole ordeal is making me really appreciate running and also realize that I can not do it as much as I would like going forward.

This is where the new beginning part comes in. I dabbled in cycling last summer a bit but did not really do it consistently, or for a long time. I decided that I need to add cycling back into my game plan and have decided to give the whole triathlon thing a try. Winters in New Hampshire are a bit rough for cycling so I started by buying an indoor trainer and also went as far as buying a new triathlon bike. I am going to put swimming off a little bit and get my running and cycling miles up. I am only running about 25-30 miles per week right now so I have a lot of work to do.

Based on reviews I read I bought the Kurt Kinetic Rock and Roll Pro trainer. I have put a decent amount of time in on it and like it so far. The only thing the Pro model adds is a larger flywheel (12lb add on to 6lb flywheel). I have been riding by feel because I have not switched the speed sensor to the rear wheel yet and the battery in my HR monitor is dead. I figure that it does not matter too much at this point because I am just putting in the hours and getting used to the bike. Right now I have a crappy, 15 year old cycling computer but I would like to find one that has gps (would be nice), cadence, speed, HR and power when I move outdoors. I am leaning towards the Garmin Edge 305, although that lacks the power option. I need to look around a bit more.

Now for the really exciting part - the bike. I have been riding a 1996 Trek 5000 with an 8-speed Ultegra groupo for a number of years. Not that this is a bad bike, but it was called an antique when I took it to the bike shop. After lots of research and reading about the new component groups, the different frame materials and brands I bought a used 2009 Kuota Kueen K with full SRAM Red groupo on Ebay, shown in the picture below. It came with Easton Circuit training wheels, but these will have to do for the first year. If I spend any more money my wife will not be too happy. I have not been able to ride it because it came completely disassembled and it is at the bike shop until April 8th getting built.

While buying this bike I discovered that I am not a very good Ebayer, if that is a word. I did not really get the hang of how the auctions ended and got a bit frustrated when I lost a bike to people 'snipping' at the end of the auction. I really wanted the Kueen K but bid on a Kuota Kalibur at the same time and ended up winning both bikes. Oops. The other bike is a 2008 Kuota Kalibur with the Campy Record groupo and Reynold MV32 wheels. Oddly enough, the bike did not come with tires, rim strips or brake pads, so I have to buy those. There is no way I can convince the wife to keep both so I am going to ride them both to see how they feel, compare the component groups and wheels and then sell one of the bikes.

Well, that's it for now. I am glad to be back to training and posting on my blog and actually pretty excited that I have something new to work at. I will try to do both the Tuesday rides from Goodales Bike shop (40-60 miles at 23-24 mph, or so they say) and the Wednesday track sessions with the Gate City Striders and post those workouts when they start in 3-4 weeks. Here is a summary of the last two weeks of training:

Monday: b(20), r(5.0)
Tuesday: b(30), r(4.0)
Wednesday: b(30), r(5.2)
Thursday: b(40), r(6.0)
Friday: b(33.3), r(0) <-- Actually rode outside
Saturday: b(23.2), r(5.8) <-- Outside again, a brick
Sunday: b(30), r(0)

Bike total: 205.5 miles
Run total: 26 miles

I am still getting used to the riding and my running is still not where it should be. I am shooting for 225-250 miles on the bike next week and 30-40 miles of running. Last week I rode 150 miles and ran about 25-30 miles.

10/4/2009

2009-10-04T21:15:00.002-04:00

Excellent week with one hard workout and a moderate/threshold effort. I hit 78+ miles and feel pretty good, if not a bit tired. I think that I may be getting sick so I have to get in more sleep.

Monday - 10 mi (67:00) This was a pretty easy run to make sure my legs are fresh for Wednesday's workout.

Tuesday - 11+ mi (78:00) Really easy run to shake out the legs. It felt nice to run in the 50 degree weather.

Wednesday - 10 mi () Posted here. 2.2 mi w/up, 8x800 @ marathon time w/ equal time rest [2:21 (2:22), 2:23 (2:23), 2:21 (2:34), 2:23 (2:36), 2:23 (2:38), 2:23 (2:31), 2:24 (2:35), 2:21], 2.2 mi c/dwn. It was perfect weather and this was a solid workout.

Thursday - 9 mi () This was a very easy run to shake out the legs.

Friday

AM - 12.5 mi (74:24) I wanted to do something that was up-tempo, but not threshold pace, today. This felt really good and I just cruised most of it.
PM - 5k (20ish) I rabbited Jacob's and Samuel's races again (2km and 3km).

Saturday - 8.5 mi (59:30) I was so tired today so I did a short, slow run.

Sunday - 14.25 mi (96:37) I was really tired again today so I did a steady long run. I was originally planning on doing a 5 mile threshold in the middle or end of run but I bagged it. I may be getting sick.

Yasso 800s

2009-09-30T20:36:00.003-04:00

We did a "Yasso 800s" workout tonight - 8x800m with a 400m rest in between, which I did pretty close to the same time as the repeat, at goal marathon time. Goal marathon time means that you run in minutes and seconds your goal in hours and minutes (a 3 hour marathoner runs them in 3 minutes, a 2:30 marathoner runs them in 2 minutes, 30 seconds as so on). Since I have never run a marathon and am not really training for one I kind of pulled a goal out of the air. I shot for 2:20-2:25, hopefully starting out at the high end and working my way down by the end. I hit the window but slowed down throughout the workout. Oh well. It was ideal weather for running as it was about 50 degrees with almost no wind. My times and rests:

800s Rest
2:21 2:22
2:23 2:23
2:21 2:34
2:23 2:36
2:23 2:38
2:23 2:31
2:24 2:35
2:21

I had a hard time recovering, as you can see from the rest interval getting longer and the times creeping up as the workout progressed, and just felt like I could not get air into my lungs or expand my diaphragm. I have felt like this since my little incident, so I am hoping that by next week it should pass and things will get back to normal.

My expectations for this workout are based on my past experiences with it. In college (I know, it was 15 years and 10 pounds ago) we used to do this workout near the end of the season with 200m rest (rest was about half the repeat time) in about 2:20 and it felt very easy. Just before setting my 5000m PR 10 years ago I did several similar workouts of 10x800m with 400m rest but I was hitting 2:12-2:15 with the same perceived effort as tonight. This just tells me I am a long way from touching any of my PRs right now.

10/27/2009

2009-09-29T21:34:00.003-04:00

This week was full of excitement. I got in 53.5 miles of running in 5 days and only had to go to the ER once. Because of my little episode on Friday I took the weekend off to recover and rest up. I will pick up next week at the same level and try to hit mid-70's before going over 80 miles the following week.

Monday - 11+ mi (77:13) Easy run.

Tuesday - 8+ mi (56:32)

Wednesday - 10 mi () Posted here. 2.2 mi w/up, 5xmile [5:14 (90), 5:16 (95), 5:15 (101), 5:17 (94), 5:15], 2.2 mi c/dwn. It was a bit warm and humid and I kept the rests short.

Thursday - 11+ mi (78:17) Another easy run to recover from yesterday.

Friday - 13.5 mi (93:17) A very exciting day. Worthy of its own post.

Saturday - Rest

Sunday - Rest

Scary Shit

2009-09-25T21:49:00.005-04:00

Today was such a beautiful day for a run I thought that I would post about it. It was nearly perfect weather, about 61 degrees with a dew point of 37 degrees - perfect fall running weather. I ran about 13 miles, mostly on trails in Hollis off Rideout Road and Nashua in Yudicky Farm. I know, this is not very interesting but I have a good closer. About a half mile from my house something nailed me in the back of the head and I immediately determined I was stung by either a wasp or a hornet. This would be no big deal, other than the fact that it hurt like hell, if I were not severely allergic to hornet and wasp stings. I high-tailed it home, got my epi-pens ready and waited for the onset of the symptoms. In about 5 minutes I was in full anaphylactic shock so I used one of the epi-pens and called 911. I was wearing jeans and did not feel anything when I used the epi pen and saw no hole so, to be on the safe side, I pulled my pants down and administered another epi-pen (in my thigh, not my ass). Later, the doctors and EMTs said the first one was successful, so I got two 0.3mg doses of epinephrine. Right about this time my neighbors came to the door and I am sure they were a bit surprised to see me laying on the floor in my underwear with a bunch of spent epi-pens on the floor around me. My wife had called them and asked them to help out because the last time this happened my tongue swelled up and blocked my esophagus. They stuck around until the ambulance arrived and helped me get my pants back on. Thanks Kirk and Kelly.

Anyway, in the ambulance the EMTs gave me 50mg of benadryl through an IV, took all my vital stats and hauled ass to the hospital. Luckily, this time I did not have any trouble breathing, probably because I used the epi-pens, and my O2 saturation never dropped below 98%. Epinephrine does crazy stuff to your body, especially when you take as much as I had. My heart felt like it was going to pop right out of my chest and it was racing at about 120-130bpm. Also, my hands were shaking like crazy and I felt extremely light-headed. The worst part of the entire experience happened, coincidentally I think, when they started to administer the corticosteroids through the IV. Both my heart rate and blood-pressure started dropping and hit 40 and 80/40, respectively, I started sweating profusely and I became extremely nauseous. The doctors said that this was most likely caused by the epi wearing off and I was going through withdrawal. If this is what drug addicts or cigarette smokers go through when they try to quit I am shocked that anyone could quit. This was probably the most unpleasant experience of my life and for about 30 minutes I seriously thought that I was going to die today.

I am fine now and controlling the hives with benadryl. I guess that they will continue for a couple more hours. They told me to lay low a couple of days because they gave me another corticosteroid shot into the muscle which will last for about 5 days and it could mask any pain when running. I probably should not mention this because I will probably be accused of taking PEDS, but I can live with that because it probably saved my life. I guess that I need to start carrying my epi pen with me, but it is such a pain in the ass to carry stuff while running. I find it shocking that a sting from a tiny insect can cause this kind of reaction in a full-grown person and it takes as much time, money and drugs as it does to help the body counteract the effects.

Mile Repeats

2009-09-23T22:31:00.002-04:00

Tonight we did 5xmile @ half-marathon pace and we were supposed to take 400m rest. I decided to cut the rest in half and do only 200m, or roughly 90 seconds. I don't think that the workout would have been that hard except that it was pretty humid and I don't do well in the humidity (temp was 74 degrees and dew point was 66 degrees). The workout started out really easy, but by the end my shoes felt like they weighed 5 pounds each from all the sweat and I was working harder than I wanted to hit the same times. My times and rests were:

Split Rest
5:14 1:30
5:16 1:35
5:15 1:41
5:17 1:34
5:15

10/20/2009

2009-09-21T22:00:00.001-04:00

This was a decent week. I got in roughly 70.5 miles of running (yes, all of it was running) but I was not able to do the track workout because of my calf - it was pretty much a cautionary measure, but I punted the workout after the first repeat because I did not want to be set back another month. I was able to get in 3 runs of 10 miles or more averaging better than 6:30 pace and the tail end of these runs were at between 5:40 and 6:00 pace.

Monday - 8 mi (55:46) Easy run.

Tuesday - 10.5 mi (72:49)

Wednesday - 7 mi : I was supposed to do 5x1k @5k pace with 600m rest and then a couple full speed 200m repeats but after the first 1k I felt a little something in my calf so I punted the rest of the workout. The one I did do I did in 3:02 (72, 2:24, 3:02). 3 mile warm-up, 3 mile cool down.

Thursday - 10 mi (63:39) I felt good so I went with it. It was an out and back route and I passed the first half in 33:00, so the last 5 miles were covered in 30:39.

Friday - 13.5 mi (88:26) + 5km rabbiting elementary school XC races. Easy pace for the first 8-10 miles and then I gradually picked things up. The last three miles passed in 17:36 and the last two miles in 11:12. Take things easy tomorrow. I also rabbited my sons' first cross country races (so no one got lost) today. I thought it would be easy work but those kids are quick! The 2k race was in 8 minutes and the 3k race was in 11:30. Not too bad, but less than an hour after the long run, I was not feeling great.

Saturday - 5.2 mi (37:00) Easy run.

Sunday - 13.5 mi (86:00) This was the same exact route that I ran on Friday for no other reason than I was being lazy. I started out slow again (6:45ish pace) for the first 5 miles and then started cranking it down. I hit 10.5 miles in 69:03 and then ran 5:40 pace for the last three miles home (16:57 for the last three miles).

Nashua Elementary School XC Race I

2009-09-20T21:55:00.012-04:00

Since this blog is called runCrain, it can be about any Crain who runs. In that light, I am very proud to announce that Jacob and Samuel had their first cross-country race of the season on Friday, September 18th in the Nashua Elementary School PAL (Police Athletic League) Cross Country series. Third graders run a 2km course, which Samuel ran, and fourth and fifth graders run a 3km course, which Jacob ran. The two course are very similar, with the 3km course adding on a 1km loop around the Nashua North High school, and are pretty flat with the exception of one fairly long hill about 1km from the finish. I was not sure what to expect from the guys because they had only been running for about a week and a half and most of their runs were done at between 10 and 11 minute pace. Also, Jacob was racing about as far as he had ever run. I had no idea what kind of finishing times to expect from them but hoped that they would have fun.

Samuel (in the orange shirt, crouched and ready to roll) was up first in the 2km race. We warmed up together by jogging about a half mile and doing some light stretching prior to the start. When the gun went off all the kids took off like they were shot out of a cannon. I was tasked with rabbiting both races to make sure that none of the kids got lost so I did not get to see how Samuel got off. At about the half-way mark I looked back and could see that Samuel was near the front, probably in about 10th place and moving very well. He was able to hold form and he finished 9th out of 64 boys in 9:56 (8:17 pace). That was far more than I expected and much faster than I thought he would run.

Video of Samuel finishing

Jacob was next. I did not get to warm up with Jacob but his team did a warm up jog and a bunch of stretches and drills together prior to the start. I think Jacob was caught off guard a bit at the start and started out slow. Again, I did not get to see his race due to my rabbiting duties, but afterward Jacob told me he gradually sped up through out the race and picked people off as they died due to the fast early pace. Jacob finished 40th out of 137 boys in 15:38 (8:42 pace), much faster than he had ever run before. I love this picture below because it looks like he is truly enjoying himself.

Video of Jacob finishing

I am so proud of these guys. They ran great and had a ton of fun while doing it. I firmly believe that they will make dramatic improvements in their times over the next two races (October 2nd and 17th) simply because they are so new to the sport. The kids that won have been running 4-5 days/week, year round for 2-3 years (check out the training schedule for the bantam boys and girls, 10 and under, PAL team). I am a little weary of them taking running too seriously at this stage of their lives so I am glad that they do not want to continue XC with the USATF races. There is plenty of time later to get serious about running and there are way too many risks at their age with jumping in too deep too early.

The Student Becomes the Teacher

2009-09-13T21:33:00.003-04:00

This was a pretty good week for running, partly because I was actually able to do it. I got in just shy of 60 miles (59.5 including 7 equivalent miles on the bike) and one strong workout. However, the main reason that this week was so good is that the next generation of Crains began running. My sons Jacob, who is 9, and Samuel, who is 8, joined their elementary school cross-country team last week and we went for two runs together this week. So exciting! It was pretty fun buying them their running shoes and shorts and teaching them about stretching and drills. When I got back from my long run today we went out and ran a little more than 1.5 miles together. They did pretty well, especially considering that this was only their fourth run. Soon enough I will not be able to keep up with them ...

I originally planned on running the Ollie 5 mile race that took place yesterday morning, but was not able to. I was a little shocked at how fast everyone ran (3 people went sub 24 and 22 went sub 25 minutes) and a little bummed that I did not run. I was not going to race this weekend at the Lone Gull 10k, just to play it safe, but I may change my mind. I heard that it is a fast, flat course and I do not want to miss out on the fast times

Monday - 10 mi+ (67:35) The same long ten miler that I have gotten in the habit of running. Started easy and finished up with a decent 6:20-6:30 pace for the last 3 miles or so.

Tuesday - 6 mi (42+) Easy run to make sure my legs are fresh for the workout tomorrow.

Wednesday - 3 mile warm-up, 8k tempo run in 26:18, 1+ mile cool down. I posted about this workout here.

Thursday - 1 hour on the bike to make sure that I am well rested.

Friday - 5 mi (35:18) Really easy run in Mine Falls Park. I did not feel like running much today so I cut it short and just ran easy.

Saturday - 10 mi+ (68:38) Went really easy in the beginning (6:50 pace) and then cranked it down a bit for the last couple miles.

Sunday - 12.5 mi (80:52) This was my first run over 10 miles in almost 3-4 months. So sad. I started out pretty easy and then finished up by cranking things down for the last 8 miles or so. Good run.

Yes, I am still alive...

2009-09-09T21:53:00.004-04:00

I have not posted in a long time because, you guessed it, the little niggle in my calf turned into a full blown injury. I was out of commission for about a month, did a lot of cycling, yada, yada, yada.

Anyway, I am running again and I am up to about 50-60 miles/week right now. I raced in the MIT alumni cross-country race (8km) on 9/5 at Franklin Park and got sixth place in 27:32. Not a great time but it was about 80 degrees and humid so, whatever. Also, I did a workout tonight with the Gate City Striders Marathon group and it went much better than my race. We did a 5 mile (8km actually) tempo run on the track and we were supposed to do it at marathon pace. I had a little something to prove to myself so I did it at about 10 mile race pace and finished in 26:18, far better than my race. The splits were: 5:16, 10:35 (5:19), 15:52 (5:17), 21:09 (5:17), 26:18 (5:09) and I split 5km in 16:31. I was just cruising for the first 4.5 miles and I pushed the last half mile, which I covered in 2:29.

I will post again to bring things up to date but I just wanted to get back into the swing of things.

7/12/2009

2009-07-12T19:58:00.000-04:00

I hit 109.7 equivalent miles composed of 62.7 miles of running and 141 miles of biking (47 equivalent miles) to a plan of 115 miles. I had one great workout and then the week went to crap. That is not exactly how I planned the week, but I had what I think was a close call with an injury this week and I took a very conservative approach. On my Thursday morning run, the first run after my workout, I felt a tightening of my soleus muscle about 5 miles in. I think that it was the beginning of a "Grade 1" calf strain according to this web site. I can feel some tenderness where the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles meet on the anterior side of the back of the leg when I push on it but there is no pain to speak of when I run on it. I do not want to lose a month or more like last summer so I replaced all my runs with rides for three days and I am going to split my mileage 50/50 for the next week to let my leg rest up. I was planning on taking an easy recovery week after this upcoming week but I will move it up a week. I was able to run 7 miles on Sunday with no pain (although, I was aware that my calf was not 100%) but did not push my luck by going further. I have been doing a lot of light stretching and calf raises, I wrap my lower leg in an ACE bandage at night (I find this speeds the recovery process quite a bit) and take some Advil. I should be icing but have a hard time finding the time. I am also doing some massage with the Stick and a foam roller. Hopefully I caught it early and have it contained. Overall, it may be a blessing in disguise - I had planned on supplementing my running with a lot of riding to prevent injuries like this and I have not been doing any cycling at all. I have blamed that on the weather and time, but it is really because I hate cycling and I think that I was getting over confident with my running because things have been going so well for a couple months now. This was a good wake-up call to get me back to basics and smarten up. For the remainder of the summer I am going to continue base building split between running and cycling (max out at 80 miles/week of running). I do not race again for almost 2 months so I don't think it matters how I get the miles in.

Monday:

AM - 10 mi (70:34) Easy run at work.
PM - 6 mi (42:09) Stopped by the Groton Town Forest again. Easy run.

Tuesday:

AM - 10.5 mi (71:25) This was supposed to be an easy run but turned out to be a fast run and one of the scariest runs I have ever had. When I headed out it was a little overcast, but sunny. About 5 miles into the run the sky started turning dark and the rain started. About 5 minutes later I heard the thunder and could see the lightning. Then there was a huge boom and a bright flash right next to me and the rain turned from a light drizzle to a torrential downpour. I was scared for my life so I ducked into a barn that I was passing by and hid in there with the ducks and chickens for about 20 minutes until the lightning passed by. I could not believe how hard the rain was coming down and how ferocious the thunder and lightning was. When there was a break I headed out and hauled my ass back to work at about 5:30 pace (so much for the easy run) and just beat the next wave of the storm as it swept through. Not a fun time!
PM - 5 mi - I was a little gun-shy tonight so I went to the gym and rode on the indoor bike. I rode 15 miles in 43:33 (~20.7mph average).

Wednesday:

AM - 5.2 mi (39:01) Easy run before workout - very slow.
PM - 14 mi () 5 mi w/up, 400m, 800m, 1200m, 1600m, 1600m, 1200m, 800m, 400m @ 10k pace w/ 200m rest after the first 400 and the 800's and 400m after the other repeats. followed by a 3 mile cool down. I was really tired from the last couple days so I just eased into the workout very slowly. My splits were: 80 (81), 2:35 (76), 3:57 (1:54), 5:13 (2:08), 5:08 (2:18), 3:50 (2:11), 2:26 (1:27), 68. The total workout was 6.375 miles and took 38:18 which is almost exactly 6:00 min/mile pace. Get lots of rest.

Thursday:

AM - 10 mi (73:09) I slept for 11 hours last night! I felt rested but my legs still felt a bit tired so I took it really easy on this run. I felt good for the first 5 miles and then I felt a pain in my right soleus that reminded me of the calf strains I got 3 times last summer. I finished the run and tried not to push off too hard on my right foot so that I did not aggravate it. I think that this is probably a minor strain so I am going to do more cycling for the next couple of days and see how it goes.
PM - 7 equivalent miles - I cycled 21 miles in 62:45 on the stationary bike at the gym. Just knocking out the second workout. My calf did not bother me at all.

Friday:

AM: 39 miles on the bike in 1:56 and change (20.3 mph average). This was a pretty long ride and gives me about 13 equivalent miles. I felt good riding but my neck and butt are feeling a bit sore.
PM: 12 mile ride in 34ish minutes (20.7 mph average) - I needed to get in a couple more miles so this give me 4 equivalent miles.

Saturday: 30 mile ride in 1:32ish (18.4mph average) for 10 equivalent miles. This ride sucked big time. I had to start at 6:30AM and I did a pretty hilly coarse. My legs were just fried and I am really surprised that I made the entire ride. I almost cut it short at 20 miles.

Sunday: 7 mi (50:56) + 24 miles on bike in 69:02 (total of 15 equivalent miles) - I wanted to test out my leg and see how things were progressing after 3 days off from running. I did not feel any pain, per se, but I could feel something in my calf. I think I may have averted disaster and just need to be cautious coming back so that it does not develop into a full blown injury.

7/5/2009

2009-07-03T22:26:00.005-04:00

I had to get back into the swing of things so I went back to doubles all week and really pumped up the mileage. I had to skip my run on Monday but was still able to hit 91.4 miles in 6 days of running with 2 workouts and one long run. I am actually feeling really good and do not feel tired. I am getting a good amount of sleep (8-10 hours/night), taking multivitamins, glucosamine and chondroitin and using Accelerade before hard runs and long runs and Endurox R4 after these runs. I bit the bullet and paid the money for this stuff even though I am not 100% sure that it does anything. Actually, the glucosamine and chondroitin definitely makes a difference with my knee. I have not had any pain in my knee (torn medial meniscus) but forgot to take my glucosamine and chondroitin with me on my trip to DC. After 5 days without it my knee was starting to act up. I immediately started taking it again when I got home and after just 5 days my knee is better again. I think that the Endurox helps me recover faster after hard runs and long runs, but the verdict is still out.

Monday: Off because I was driving home from DC.

Tuesday:

AM - 10 mi (72:09) Easy run at work.
PM - 6 mi (42:16) I stopped at the Groton Town Forest for an easy run. I have to get back there because it is awesome. I did not explore much because it was late and I did not have a map.

Wednesday:

AM - 5.2 mi (37:21) Easy run before workout.
PM - 11 mi (74ish) 3 mi w/up, 3.5 mi run w/ 5xhill repeat, 2mi @ 5k pace and then 2.5 mi cool down. The hills, about 250-300m, were not that hard but I had a tough time with the 2 mile on the track. I split the first mile in 5:00.6 and then started to slow a bit on the second mile and finished in 10:06.4 (5:05.8). The air was really thick and the track was like a sponge from all the rain. Easy cool down at the end.

Thursday:

AM - 5.2 mi (40:08) Really easy run this morning. I am really beat.
PM - 12 mi (1:24:29) I got back to the Groton Town Forest but had a map so I was a little more secure exploring even though I started late again. I felt much better than this morning but still took it pretty easy.

Friday: 10 mi (64:16) I started this run out pretty easy and progressively built it up to threshold pace near the end. I felt pretty good but it was really humid again. It was the first day without rain in about 2 weeks.

Saturday: 17 equivalent miles - I did a super-workout because I did not want to run twice today. I rode 21+ miles up through the Hollis Half Marathon course and then ran 10 miles when I got home. The ride showed that I have not been on the bike in a while and it was by far my worst ride this year. I could only manage 18.8 mph for an average (1:06:50) and the hills completely hammered my legs. The run went much better - I did the same course (10mi in 67:15) as yesterday with a little bit added on and averaged close to 6:45 pace.

Sunday: 15 mi (1:42:37) An easy long run. I did not want to go more than 15 miles because I have to have something to build to and I have been putting a lot of miles on my legs this past week. I started out slow but I ended the run at 6:30-6:40 min/mile pace and it still felt easy. Good week.

6/28/2009

2009-07-03T22:01:00.004-04:00

I was really beat about posting last weeks training but I was on vacation with the family in DC and had a hard time getting caught back up with things, actually training and posting about it. The week was very tiring and included over 1000 miles or driving, 68 miles or running and no biking.

Monday: 8 mi (56:17) Really easy run. Nothing special.

Tuesday: 9 mi (62:05) Moderately easy run at work.

Wednesday:

AM - 5.2 mi (36:43) Easy morning run to shake out the legs.
PM - 14 mi () This was a very interesting workout. I was supposed to do 4x1600m @ 5k pace so I did a 7.5 mile threshold (3x2.5mi loop) run before the workout so that I would be tired when I started. It was pretty humid, but I felt good the whole way - loop 1 in 15:26, (6:10 pace) loop 2 in 14:19 (5:44 pace) and loop 3 in 14:22 (5:44 pace). When I got back to the track Nate Jenkins, Ruben Sanca and Rex (a UML runner) were at the track getting ready to do a 10k tempo run @ marathon pace (3:20/km). I am not sure how it happened, but I ended up running the workout with them. The pace was no problem and I just tagged along at the back, but I was getting pretty dehydrated and my calves started to cramp up. I stuck it out for 5km splitting 5:21, 10:41 (5:20), 16:00 (5:19), 16:40 and then dropped out. I wish that I had not done the threshold run before because I could have run that easily, but it was still a good workout. Finished with a 3.5 mi cooldown.

Thursday: Off because I was driving to DC all day.

Friday: 12 mi (85ish) I was lucky to find a greenbelt in Fairfax, VA to run on. It was really hot and humid and I had to run early in the morning, but at least I got to run.

Saturday: 10 mi (72:24) My feet and legs are killing me because of all the walking through DC so I slogged through this run in the heat and humidity. It is like 90 degrees and 90+ % humidity.

Sunday: 10 mi (70:33) I felt a little better today but my feet and legs are getting tired. This will be the last run in VA before heading home.

06/21/2009

2009-06-21T20:53:00.004-04:00

I had every intention of taking this week easy so that I could recover, but still run most days. It did not work out that way. I ended the week with 28.5 miles over just 3 days of running because I got a pretty bad cold on Tuesday that kept me from running from Thursday to Sunday. I suppose that I could not have planned the timing of the cold any better - one week earlier and it would have killed my race last Saturday and one week later and it would impact my ramp back up. I suppose I needed the rest but I am very anxious to get back to training this coming week.

Monday: 8 mi (56:17) Really easy run. Nothing special.

Tuesday: 8 mi (56:18) Easy run again but I am feeling a bit off.

Wednesday: 12.5 mi () I should not have run today because I came down with a cold (I was really achy and had a head ache all morning) but I decided to against my best judgment because I am feeling good, besides the cold, and wanted to run the workout tonight. The workout was cycle 4 miles to workout, 3mi w/up, 800m, 800m, 1600m, 1600m, 800m, 800m @5k-8k pace with 1/4 the distance rest between 2.2mi c/down and cycle 4 miles home. I did not want to strain too hard so I just went out and did what felt comfortable. My splits were 2:26 (1:35), 2:28 (1:40), 4:58 (2:47), 4:57 (2:46), 2:26 (1:22), 2:25. The whole workout felt really easy and I was pretty much just cruising the whole way but by the time I got home I was feeling awful. I crashed hard and slept for about 10 hours.

Thursday: Off because I am sick.

Friday: Off because I am still sick.

Saturday: Same as last two days.

Sunday: Off again but I am coming around and I am looking forward to getting back in the saddle tomorrow. I plan on getting most of my mileage on the bike this coming week but still probably hitting 50-60 running miles.

New Balance Twilight Series, Meet 3

2009-06-14T21:43:00.001-04:00

Full results here.

This was the final meet of the New Balance Twilight Series sponsored by, appropriately enough, New Balance and New Balance Boston. I would like to start out by saying how much I enjoyed this series and how much I appreciate them sponsoring such an event. I may have been a little out of place, a slow, old man trying to regain part of his youth, but the series provide great opportunities to run fast times and sharpen your racing skills. I had the best race of my spring season and managed to run faster than I thought possible at this point in my come back.

I had a really easy week of training this week (only about 40 miles or running and one pace workout on Wednesday night) so I was feeling pretty rested and hopeful about running fast tonight. I was not sure how things were going to go today though because I spent three hours out in the sun coaching my sons' baseball game from 10:30AM to 1:30PM and sweat a lot. When I got back to the house I had a quick lunch of rice and started hitting the water to make sure I was properly hydrated for the evening's race. When I got down to Waltham the weather was nearly ideal - it had cooled down to about 70 degrees and there was a very light breeze. I borrowed a page from the CMS group's warm up and did a nice easy 3 miles capped off by a quick 150m-200m acceleration. I have been a bit surprised by how well my speed has come around lately. I have been doing a lot of accelerations at the end of runs and strides after run and just in the last 2 weeks or so I have noticed that I feel much more fluid and natural. Tonight was no exception and I was able to gradually accelerate to top speed without straining. My only concern was that my left leg and hip were feeling a bit tight and I could not loosen them up no matter what I did.

Similar to last weekend's race, I used McMillan's Running Calculator to determine my seed time for tonight and entered a very optimistic 15:10 (a whole 29 seconds faster than 2 weeks ago). I figured that I ran a 4:06 1500m, which is equivalent to a 15:18 5000m, last weekend on tired legs so I should be able to go faster this week. With this in mind my race plan was to go out in 4:50ish pace but be flexible enough to adapt to what was going on in the race so that I had a group of guys to work with. Two weeks ago I made the mistake of sticking to my plan too well and running the whole race alone. I did not want that to happen tonight. As the gun went off all 25 racers and 2 rabbits went off and I fought to get out well but not get boxed into the first lane. I figured that there were far too many people in the race to get trapped like that. I felt great coming through 400m in 71 seconds and started to see the group of guys that I was going to work with - I think that they were Giovanni Signoretti, Carl Dambkowski, Barry Britt and Matt Terry. We continued on the pace nearly perfectly and hit 2:22 (71), 3:33 (71) and 4:44 (71) for the next three laps. I was a bit shocked by the first mile split since it was 18 seconds faster than I got out two weeks ago, but I felt really comfortable, I was not breathing hard at all and I had a good group of guys to work with. All of my other 5ks this year have been almost exactly evenly split and I never felt a lot of pain but this race would be different. The fast first mile would come back to kick my ass later in the race.

I kind of zoned out on the splits and really tried to focus on racing the guys was with, or at least sticking with the crowd and going to the front when I felt like the pace was dropping off, but I think that we started to drop off to 72's for the next mile. I remember going through 3000m in about 8:56 -8:57 and I am pretty sure that we went through 3200m in 9:34 (4:50 second mile) together as a group of 4-5 of us. I was feeling alright at this point, although a bit tired and my breathing was starting to get a little labored. The final mile was pure agony. I don't know exactly when I started to slow down but I think I was going between holding back and not running faster so that I would have a great kick and thinking this was the last race of the season and I had to lay it all down. I truly believe that I ran as fast as I could but could not maintain contact with the other guys I was running with for the last mile and I am pretty sure that I went through 4600m (1 lap to go) sub-14 minutes and 4800m in 14:34 (5:00 third mile). The last 200m on the track seemed to never end and my lungs were about to implode but I was able to close in roughly 36 seconds, not that spectacular of a sprint, and cross the line in 15:10.3. That is only 0.3 seconds off the seed time I gave and my 1500m from last week was only 0.87 seconds off the seed time I gave. I guess that I should have given a 14:59 seed time! I think that the last picture below was taken as I was running the last 100m of the race. The pain is obvious by the expression on my face and I do not look nearly as fluid as I do in the pictures above. The guys I had been running with finished in 15:07, 15:02 and Barry Britt actually went 14:58. I wish I could have stuck with them, but I am ecstatic with the race that I did run so I will have to wait until next year to get my first legitimate sub-15 5000m.

Entering this season I was not so sure what to expect because I struggled with an injury all winter and spent a large percentage of my training time on the elliptical trainer and the bike. I have accepted that cycling is a permanent part of my training but am very hopeful about what the future will bring based on my last month of racing. My first 5k this season was a dreadful 16:28 5k on the roads that had me doubting the training I was doing. My main goal this spring season was to get some speed into my legs and I really wanted to run sub-15:30 for the 5k. In the last month I have shown a lot of improvement and tonight I ran much faster than I ever expected to this season. I used to believe that all of my PR's were behind me but after tonight I think that my PR's for distances 3000m and up lie in the future. I have a lot of work ahead of me in the next couple of months and years but I finally feel like a runner again and am finally seeing progress.

Again, thanks to Tom Derderian for the photos. He has more photos of the meet posted here.

6/14/2009

2009-06-14T21:09:00.000-04:00

This was an incredibly easy week. I almost did not know what to do with myself since I cut my mileage again to a measly 39.25 miles over 6 days and had one easy pace workout on Wednesday. All of my runs were very easy because there is nothing I could do this week to help my race on Saturday other than get enough rest and water. I finished off all of my runs with a set of 5-6 100m strides to work on my speed and form. Everything seemed to come together as my speed was coming into form, I was feeling rested and weather seemed to cooperate, especially on Saturday night. I could probably put together a list of statistics for the season but I don't really feel like it right now. The only stat that I am concerned with is the 15:10.3 5000m that I ran last night. That was the perfect cap to the spring racing season and I took a well deserved day off today, the first in over 6 months I believe. Next week I will be taking an easy week to recoup from the season and plan out the next training cycle that will be focused on the Bay State Marathon (despite Tom Derderian's warning about running the marathon). I will run this one marathon and decide my running future after that. I am actually planning on changing the name of my blog from 26.2 to runcrain so that it is less specific to marathon running and more appropriate for any race plans I have.

Monday: 6 mi (45:05) Easy run, nothing special. I did an easy acceleration at the end and did 5x100m strides.

Tuesday: 6 mi (42:31) Easy run to rest up for tomorrow's workout. Easy acceleration and 5x100m strides at end of run.

Wednesday: ~8.75 mi (60ish) 3 mi w/up, 10x400m @ 5k pace w/ 200m rest and 2+ mi cool down. I just wanted to do a pace workout tonight and feel good running the splits I want to run on Saturday night. I planned on starting out at 72's and working my way down as I warmed up. Splits: 72.1 (80), 72.2 (85), 69.8 (83), 71.2 (83), 69.7 (102), 70.1 (83), 69.1 (86), 69.4 (83), 70.1 (87), 67.3. I felt great doing these and the only difference on the last one was that I accelerated the last 150m or so. We took about 85 seconds rest on each one but I took one deep breath after crossing the line on each one and was fully recovered and ready to go again. This was a very easy workout (as it should be). I finished up the cool down with 6x100m barefoot strides on the track infield.

Thursday: 6 mi (44:15) Easy run with a 2oom acceleration at the end and 5x100m strides. I feel good today but I definitely need more rest. A tad tired from yesterday's workout. Work on stretching my hip.

Friday: 4.5 mi (31:56) I did a really easy run at home and finished with a 200m acceleration. At the end I did 5x100m strides and these felt incredible - I was able to accelerate with ease and stay relaxed. Rest as much as possible for tomorrow. Work on the hip with the foam roller.

Saturday: 8 mi (50ish) 3 mi w/up, 5k race in 15:10.3 (see my full post on this), 2 mi cool down. I was feeling a bit tired today and my hip would not loosen up. I had a spectacular race and ran so much faster than I thought possible this season.

Sunday: A very well deserved day off!

Rhody 5k

2009-06-07T21:59:00.007-04:00

Full results here.

Today I completed my trifecta of races for the week - the Hollis Fast 5k on Wednesday, the 1500m at the NB Twilight Series last night and the Rhody 5k today. The GCS crew met in Nashua at 6:45AM for the hour and a half drive down to Lincoln, RI. I think that we should have started out a little earlier because we cut it pretty close to the start of the race, but the lines were short and I was still able to get in my full warm-up. Anyway, I was feeling surprisingly good, albeit a bit tired. I was not really able to sleep at all last night and just tossed and turned until 5:30AM when I finally just got up. The same thing happened after the race on Wednesday too. I have never experienced that, but I do not think it hurt me too much today other than taking away a little sharpness.

I was pretty anxious for this race today because knew that a lot of the top guns in New England were going to show and I feel like I still have something to prove in my comeback - I ran crappy in my only other NE Grand Prix race (New Bedford 12k) and have not had any good road races. I was sure the race up front was going to go out fast when I saw Mark Carroll and Pat Tarpy (I guess he shut down his blog) warming up on the course. I knew that I could not go out in 4:45-4:50 and hold on so my plan was to go out in 4:55-5:00 for the first mile, which was slightly uphill, to assess how I felt and then move based on this. I felt pretty calm the whole warm-up and standing around at the starting line. I am not sure if this was a confident calm or if was a fatigue-induced calm but I was loose and ready to roll. As the gun went off people took off like a flash and I was running in the middle of a large pack. I hit the first mile in 5:00, pretty much on target, and probably in 30+ place. I felt good and saw several people ahead of me that I knew including Jim Johnson from CMS and the GBTC crew of Andrew Womack, Dan Smith and Kevin Somers so I pushed down one of the only small hills on the course just after the mile marker to get up with Dan and Kevin. I never really caught them but through out the second mile I saw 3 BAA guys blow up and drop out of the race and I passed upwards of 10 people, moving me into roughly 20th place. The end of the second mile had a slight uphill and I hit 2 miles in 10:03 (5:03) felling pretty good. Heading back down the slight uphill we run up in mile 1 I knew that the finish was getting close and I was continuing to pick off a couple people that I had never beaten before including Justin Fyffe (although I am sure he was pretty tired from VCM and Pack Manadnock) and Nick Wheeler. This is the point in the race where you either make it or break it - I knew that I had to keep pushing and there were lots of people to catch but both mentally and physically I could not dig any deeper or push any harder than I was going. Dan and Kevin started to pull away from me in the last half mile and I really tried to dig deep but found nothing there. I passed 1 or 2 guys in the last quarter mile before we entered the track passing through three miles in 15:02 (4:59) but pretty much cruised the finish on the track to cross the line in 15:35 (0:33) for 14th place.

Over all I am very pleased with this race, especially considering how many times I raced this week. It was my fastest 5k since getting back into running even though I was tired and it was somewhere between 75 and 80 degrees. I have one more race planned next weekend (the 5000m at the final NB Twilight Meet) where I hope to lower my 5k time to somewhere between 15:10 and 15:20. After this I will take a very small break and then start my ramp for the Bay State Marathon in October.

Photos are thanks to Tom Derderian and Jim Johnson.

6/7/2009

2009-06-07T19:24:00.003-04:00

Wow, what a week this was. I got in 66.5 miles or running this week (no cycling this week!) and ran three very good races. I ran 14:56.5 at the Hollis Fast 5k, 4:06.87 in the NB Twilight 1500m and 15:35 in the Rhody 5k (a NE Grand Prix race). I am a bit tired from the whole ordeal and probably will not attempt to do this type of thing again, but I very happy with the results. This coming week should be much easier because I have one pace workout (10x400 @ 5k pace) and a race on Saturday night. I am too tired to write any more so I will leave it at that.

Monday: 6 mi (45:07) This was a really easy run today because I feel completely fried from the workout on Saturday. I was supposed to do 2 runs today but I skipped the shorter run to take a nap when I got home from work.

Tuesday:

AM: 6 mi (43:58) Same route as yesterday's run and I felt a bit better but my legs are still really tired. I can not believe that it is taking me this long to recover. The Hollis Fast 5k is tomorrow so hopefully things improve. I ended the run with a long acceleration.
PM: 3 mi (20:51) I stopped in Groton and did an easy run on the trails. I felt much better this evening than this morning. I did 5x100m strides after the run.

Wednesday:

AM: 3 mi (22:01) This was a very easy run early in the morning to shake out the legs for the race tonight.
PM: 9+ mi (60ish) 3 mi w/up, 5k race in 14:56.5 and 3mi c/down. I was not so sure how this one was going to go down because I have been feeling really tired the last couple days but I was able to put together a pretty good race. I posted a full report here. This was the first time breaking 15 minutes in over 10 years (although it is not technically legal due to the elevation drop). 1 down, 2 more races to go this week. Really rest up.

Thursday:

AM: 8 mi (60:12) This was a really slow regeneration run. I got almost no sleep last night but I feel better today than I have all week. Maybe I was fighting off a bug or something earlier in the week. Ended the run with a long acceleration.
PM: 3 mi (21:54) Stopped at a new trail head in Groton to do an easy run. The horse flies are getting aweful! Ended the run with 5x100 meter strides.

Friday:

AM: 3 mi (21:39) Easy morning run. Ended the run with a 100-150m acceleration.
PM: 6 mi (no time) Easy run around Mine Falls Park. I finished the run with a long acceleration and then did 5x100m strides on the track.

Saturday:

AM: 3 mi (21:50) Easy morning run to shake my legs out for tonight.
PM: 7.5 mi (50ish) 3 mile w/up, 1500m in 4:06.87 and 3.5 mile c/down with the NB Boston crew around Bentley campus. See my full post on this race.

Sunday: 10 mi (75ish) 3 mile w/up, 5k race in 15:35, 3.75 mile c/down with the CMS crowd. This was a good race for me and I am very glad the week is over. See my full post on this race.

New Balance Twilight Series, Meet 2

2009-06-06T21:49:00.007-04:00

Full results here.

I took another drive down to Bentley College in Waltham, MA tonight to run the 1500m in the second of three New Balance Twilight Series track meets. The main goal tonight was to run as fast as possible and get some real speed in my tired, old legs. I had to come up with a seed time and based on my 5000m race at the first of the Twilight meets (15:39) I calculated my equivalent 1500m time to be 4:11.7 using McMillan's running calculator. The last time I ran a 1500m was 10 years ago and I ran 3:49.01 so I did not want to enter a seed time over 22 seconds slower. Call it pride, but I knew there was still some magic left in my hat and I could pull out a time faster than 4:11 (and change). I went out on a limb and entered 4:06 (equivalent to a 15:18 5k and roughly a 4:25 mile). It turns out that this was fortuitous because I was the slowest seed in the 2nd of three heats.

I recovered remarkably well from the Hollis Fast 5k on Wednesday night and did not feel any soreness or fatigue tonight. I had to wait around until 8:10PM to race and there was a slight breeze on the track, but conditions were otherwise perfect for running fast - about 63 degrees. There was a rabbit for our race and he was going to take it out in 62-63 seconds/400m for the first 800m. Again, this was a bit fast for me so when the gun went off I tucked in the back part of the pack. I was not prepared for how physical the race was - there was a lot of pushing and shoving and jockeying for the inside lane in the first lap. I am sure it used to be like this but it has been so long since I have run the 1500m I kind of forgot. I got out at a decent pace but had to come to a near dead stop when some guy cut in front of me at about 300m to get the inside lane. I passed through 400m in 66 seconds - not bad, not good. I tried to pick up the pace over the next two laps and split 2:12-2:13 (66-67 seconds) at 800m and 3:17 (64-65 seconds) at 1200m. At this point I felt really strong and was not tying up at all so I made a surge for home. The same guy that cut me off at 300m did it again here and anyone who has run a 1500m/mile race knows that if your momentum is interupted at this point it is very difficult to recover from it. I tried to get the legs going again and push the last 200m but I did not have another gear like I used to and I crossed the finish line in 4:06.87. I closed the last 300m in about 49-50 seconds which is not bad, but it was actually the slowest part of the race. I actually feel pretty good about the time since I hit my seed almost exactly, which was very optimistic, and that is the fastest mile/1500m I have run in a long while. This should make going out in 4:50-4:55 for the first mile tomorrow morning feel much easier.

I saw Tom Derderian, the head coach of the GBTC, taking pictures tonight so I will update the post with official times and pictures when they are posted. Now it is off to bed because I have to meet my team mates at 6:45AM for the drive down to Lincoln, RI for the Rhody 5k in the morning ...

Hollis Fast 5k

2009-06-03T21:31:00.010-04:00

Full results here (you can see where I got the picture - thanks coolrunning).

Tonight I made the long trip all the way over to Hollis, NH to run the Hollis Apple Country Fast 5k. Actually, the Alpine Grove Convention Center (where registration and the awards ceremony were held) is only about 2.5 miles from my house and I have run the route over Depot Rd. in Hollis at least a thousand times on my long runs, although usually in the other direction. Over the last couple days, since my workout on Saturday, my legs have felt really fried and I have been really tired. I actually skipped a run on Monday to take a nap I was so tired. I have felt incrementally better each day but, surprisingly, I have not fully recovered yet. My legs were feeling a lot better today but they were still a bit tired and felt flat. I did a 3 mile warm-up to try to shake the blah feeling out of my legs but it was not really working. The race started a couple minutes late and I felt like I my warm-up was wearing off and I was cooling down.

My plan for this race was to not hold back and cover any move anyone else made in the first couple of miles. I did not want to finish this race with regrets like I did my last race. As the gun went off I went right to the front to make sure that the race got off at a reasonable pace. I held the lead until about half a mile or so when Nick Karwoski, Eric Beauchesne and ? passed me. I was fine with this as long as they maintained a decent pace. Before the first mile marker Nick went to the front and really started to push the pace and I made the decision to stick to him. I don't think anyone else covered the move because we were pretty quickly running alone. Unfortunately, I did not wear a watch or get any splits, but my guess is that we passed through 1 mile in a little over 4:50. For the next half mile or so every time I tried to pass Nick he would drift to the side that I tried to pass on and speed up. I decided to stay behind him but use this to keep the pace honest - every time the pace slowed a bit I pulled up on his shoulder and he would pick up the pace. I wanted to really push mile 2 because it had the largest elevation drop and should be the fastest, by far. This is one of the first times I have run behind someone that is bigger (taller) than me and I was fine with Nick doing the work. At the half way point there was a water station and even though I did not take water and Nick did he some how managed to put about 2o meters on me. I started to think that this was it but I pulled up to him just before the 2 mile marker and it appeared that he was struggling. We passed through one of the only flat sections at the end of the second mile and as we entered a big drop I put in a big surge to go past Nick for the final time and opened a 20-30 meter lead on him in the next half mile. The last mile seemed to be twice as long as either of the first two miles, probably because I was running alone and it hurt like hell, but I was able to keep a pretty constant effort all the way to the finish. I crossed the line in first place in a time of 14:56.5 (they listed my finishing time as 14:56.5 in the results at the race but rounded up in the coolrunning results). My only complaint about the race is that they moved the finish line off the main road where it used to be and I was confused about where the finish was. I think I eased up a bit to look for the finish line, but not by much.

Over all I would say this was a good effort, although not as good as my race at the NB Twilight Meet. Based on a thread on Letsrun.com, the elevation drop on this race (224 feet, although I have seen 242 and 262 feet in other sources) is good for about 40 seconds compared to a flat 5k (224 feet * 1.8 seconds/10 feet = 40.32 seconds). So, this performance was equivalent to 15:36.82 on the track but I felt much worse tonight. I suppose that if I were more rested and if my legs were a bit fresher I could have taken another 5-10 seconds off. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining about running sub-15, but it is my nature to be critical of every race and find things that I can improve on for the next race. Well, I have to really rest up because I still have the 1500m at the 2nd NB Twilight Meet on Saturday night and the Rhody 5k on Sunday morning. When official results and pictures are posted I will add links and photos to the post. I have to get to bed now ...

5/31/2009

2009-05-31T16:45:00.001-04:00

This was an excellent week - I ran about 92 miles (81 running and 11 equivalent miles on the bike) and had two excellent workouts on the track. This is my peak mileage week and I will start to cut mileage to begin a taper with the 5000m at the June 13th NB Twilight Meet as the goal race. I think that my mileage is high enough that I can carry the taper an extra week or so if that race does not go well and I want to take another shot at a fast time, but I have to start thinking about starting the marathon training program for the Bay State Marathon on October 18th (the real goal race this year). This coming week should also be very interesting because I am racing three times. The first race is Wednesday night at the Hollis Fast 5k (appropriately named because there is a net 224 foot elevation drop good for 40-45 seconds), followed by the 1500m at the NB Twilight Meet 2 on Saturday night (looking to get some speed) and then the Rhody 5k in Lincoln, RI on Sunday Morning. The Rhody race is a NE Grand Prix event. I should be pretty spent by the end of next week but I will have a much better idea of how fast I am capable of running.

Monday: 13ish - (24mi on bike and 5+mi running) This was supposed to be a hill workout day but I had to cram everything in before noon so I did a combo run/bike day. I rode 12 miles out to Silver Lake to meet Brian and Trent and on the way I hammered up Depot Rd and stopped to do 4 hard repeats up Long Hill Rd. We ran a little over 5 miles and then I rode another 12 miles home.

Tuesday:

AM: 10 mi+ (75:38) Nice easy run to shake out the legs after the hard workout yesterday.
PM: 4 mi (30:03) Easy run in the woods in Groton. Just to get in the miles.

Wednesday:

AM: 4 mi (29:07) Easy run in the Yudicky Farm trails. It was raining and really muddy, but it was fun.
PM: 11 mi (73ish) 3 mi w/up, 4x1600m @5k pace w/ 800m rest + 2.5mi c/down. I have been looking forward to this workout since the race on Saturday night because I wanted to prove to myself that I can run 4:55 mile pace comfortably and have a shot at running 15:20 for the 5k this year. The weather was ideal because the rain held off and it was only 49 degrees with no wind. I eased into the workout and gradually dropped the times for the first three then let it out a bit on the 4th repeat to see how it felt. My splits and rests were 4:56 (4:22), 4:54 (4:39), 4:52 (4:43), 4:47. I pretty much ran even splits for each of the miles although my first quarter was probably 1-2 seconds quick for the first three repeats. I was well within myself for the first three and could easily have gone faster - exactly how it should be. I was pushing a bit on the fourth one but not too bad. I probably went a little too fast but I am not racing again until next Wednesday. Get lots of rest and run easy the next two days.

Thursday:

AM: 10 mi (74:47) This was a really slow run to just work out the legs. My legs were not sore but they were amazingly tired.
PM: 10.1 miles on the stationary bike (30 minutes). I also lifted at the gym.

Friday:

AM: 5.2 mi (38:) Easy morning run.
PM: 10 mi (66:40) I was feeling pretty good and wanted to stretch out the legs a bit so I did a slightly up-tempo run. It felt really good but hopefully did not make tomorrow's workout any harder.

Saturday: 10.5 mi (70+) 3 mi w/up, 2 x (4x400m) @ slightly faster than 5k pace + 8x200m @ full speed & 2.2 mi c/down. I took 200m rest between the 400's and 400m after each set and 200m rest after each 200. The intention of this workout was to do some overspeed work and improve my leg turn-over and efficiency. The first set of 400's was pretty easy but the second set got much harder. The 200's were slightly frustrating because I could not crack 30 seconds, but I should be happy because I never thought that I would be able to do full speed 200's ever again after tearing my achilles 10 years ago. My splits and rests were: 67. 7 (67), 67.5 (78), 68.2 (78), 67.8 (2:17) 67.6 (72), 68.3 (72), 67.9 (73), 67.7 (3:14), 30.2 (75), 31.5 (79), 30.9 (83), 30.7 (88), 31.2 (88), 30.4 (84), 31.0 (81), 30.1 - pretty consistent, especially on the 400's. Overall this was a good workout and will hopefully get some speed into my old legs.

Sunday: 12 mi (1:28:59) This was a nice, slow recovery run after yesterday's hard effort. I was surprised at how fried my legs were and how tired I feel today. It is a good thing that I do not race for another 3 days. I am sure that I will be recovered in time.

5/24/2009

2009-05-24T21:56:00.003-04:00

I would have to rate this week much higher than last week because I got in a lot more miles, I ran two good workouts and I ran my first good race of the year. I ended the week with 88.5 miles (78.5 running miles and 30 miles of riding = 10 equivalent miles) and should be able to top that this week since I am not racing again until next Wednesday night. Racing well this week means a lot because it means that all the time I am spending training is not for naught. I was starting to wonder. The 15:39 5k time equates to pretty much what I thought I should have run last week at the Bedford 12k. I am planning on doing a hard hill workout tomorrow and then hammer the workout on Wednesday night (4x1600m @ 5k pace).

Monday:

AM: 11 mi ride (36ish) Easy ride in place of the morning run.
PM: 8 mi (54:41) This was the first of the Monday hill workouts so I did not want to go too hard. I did a loop at work with some big hills - I started out on a long steady climb at about 1.5-2 miles and then did 4 hard repeats on a shorter, steeper climb. I finished by doing a hard mile down the long hill I came up at the start. Below is the altitude profile. I lifted when I got back to the gym.

Tuesday:

AM: 8 mi+ (57:59) Nice easy run to shake out the legs after the hard run yesterday.
PM: 5.5 mi+ (39:25) Easy run in the woods in Groton. I was not planning on going this far but I got lost again.

Wednesday:

AM: 19 mi ride - Easy 11+ mile ride in place of the morning run plus I rode to and from the workout in the evening and it was about 8.5 miles round trip.
PM: 10.25 mi (71:25) 4 x (2 x 400m + 800m) with 1/2 the distance of rest. My splits and rest intervals were 72 (82), 71 (83), 2:28 (2:40), 72 (82), 72 (81), 2:28 (2:53), 73 (85) 70 (87), 2:27 (3:02), 72 (77), 71 (87), 2:25. The 4's and the first two 8's were pretty easy but the last two 8's were a bit tough because it was pretty warm (81 degrees) a bit windy on one of the straights. Even though the ride there was only a little over 4 miles, my legs felt pretty flat for the first half of the workout. I may not do that again. I did not wear my HR monitor because the battery in the chest strap is dead. Go really easy tomorrow.

Thursday:

AM: 6.25 mi (47:49) I had a hard time getting myself out the door this morning and did not get out until almost 7:30AM. Once I got going I felt pretty good, but I was going really SLOOOOOOWWWW. I think that is just what I needed to recover from yesterday though.
PM: 4.5ish (31:30) I stopped in Groton to run on some trails near Cow Pond Brook (South of Massapoag Pond). There are a ton of trails out there and I just noticed that the Haystack Observatory is close by. Maybe I will try to find it one of these days.

Friday: 6.25 mi (45:09) This was the same run as yesterday morning at about the same time. I felt like I was going about the same pace but it ended up being roughly 30 seconds/mile faster. I was so tired today that I skipped my afternoon run and took a nap. Hopefully this will help me tomorrow in the race.

Saturday: 9+ mi (60:20) I ran the 5000m at the New Balance Twilight Series meet 1 and finished in a time of 15:39.49. I put in a seed time of 15:45 and felt like I could run somewhere between 15:30 and 15:45 if things went well. I did a 3 mile warm up and 3 mile cool down. See my post on the meet for more details and pictures.

Sunday: 17.5 mi (120:43) This was the same route as last weekend with a additional 0.5 mile loop added at the end. Even after last night's race I felt pretty good on this run and not too tired. It was 70 degrees and a bit humid. When I got back I weighed in at 160.0 pounds, a low for me in quite a long time. I am shooting to get my weight down to 155ish pounds before the fall.

New Balance Twilight Series, Meet 1

2009-05-24T18:37:00.014-04:00

I took a drive down to Bentley College in Waltham, MA Saturday night to run the 5000m in the first of three New Balance Twilight Series track meets. I really wanted to get some speed into my legs and I figured that this was a good opportunity to run fast since it was on the track, in the evening (I always run faster in the evening) and there was plenty of competition. The weather cooperated as the 90+ degree heat from the day before was replaced with cool, crisp 60 degree air. The wind was not too bad and eventually nearly completely died away by the time the gun went off at 7:10PM.

I was not so sure how I was going to do because I was extremely tired over the last couple days and I skipped a run on Friday afternoon, opting for a nap, and also skipped an early morning run on Saturday in favor of sleeping in. I also had heart burn or acid reflux all day long on Saturday - I should not have eaten fried clams the night before! Anyway, I usually do a 2 mile warm up before a race but decided to run a 3 mile warm up tonight to hopefully loosen things up and get the blood flowing. In the beginning of the warm up my legs felt heavy and my diaphragm felt very tight. By the end of the warm up, though, I started to feel pretty darn good. I stretched out well, did some strides and got ready for the start.

When the gun went off the rabbit took of at 68 seconds/400m pace - way too fast for me at this point. I did not get all of my splits, but I hit the 400m mark in 74 seconds and the 800m mark in 2:31. This is where I made my only (major) mistake in the race. I was unsure of my strength and did not want to blow up in the last mile so I let a group of guys in front of me (Matthew Haringa, Brian Lombardo, Andrew Erwin, Steven Kinney and Kevin Somers) go and I think they hit 800m in about 2:25ish. They opened up a 30m+ lead on me which remained for the rest of the race and I ended up running in no-mans land for most of the race. If I had gone with them in the first mile I probably would not have used up too much energy and I would have finished 5-10 seconds faster (presumably). Oh well, lesson learned. I hit the 1600m split in 5:01.7 and hit 74 second laps with the exception of the second lap. I continued this trend in mile 2 where I hit pretty even 75+ second laps and split 10:04 (5:02.7) for 3200m and passed one or two guys who dropped off the back of the group in front of me. This is when I started to feel confident and I started driving for the finish and to hopefully catch some the the guys in the group ahead of me. I did a pretty good job as I passed 4800m in 15:04 (4:59.6), my quickest mile of the race, and drove home the last 200m in 35 seconds to cross the line in 15:39.49. I came within 3 seconds of catching the back of the group in front of me. Finally, a good race!

I forgot how much I like racing on the track before this race. I am looking forward to doing the other two meets in this series and looking for a couple other smaller meets after that with the hope of getting my 5k time down to 15:20 (or better). Since the Rhody 5k (a NE Grand Prix race) is on June 7th and the second meet is on June 6th I will probably run the 1500m in that meet. I will run the 5000m in the 3rd meet.

I just noticed that it was almost exactly 10 years ago (10 years and 1 month) the last time I raced a 5000m on the track at the 1999 Penn Relays. On 4/22/1999 I ran my PR of 14:32.29, more than a minute faster than this race, as my first race of the spring track season. The scary thing is that I did that race off just mileage, no speed work yet, and my splits were 4:35, 9:15 (4:40), 14:00 (4:45), 14:32 (:32). The next two races I did that season were a 1500m (3:49:01) and 3000m (8:21.07, my PR) before I tore my achilles the following week during a speed workout. That was when I was forced into what I thought was permanent retirement. Memories ....

Photos by Tom Derderian of the GBTC. More can be found here.

5/17/2009

2009-05-17T21:16:00.009-04:00

I took an extra day to think about my race at the Bedford 12k before posting so that I could get the right perspective. I was really looking forward to the race and had really high hopes of finally nailing a good race that I was happy with. Going into the race my goal was to run sub-40 (5:22 pace) and score in the top 20. I cut my mileage from the mid 80-90 mile range down to 67.5 miles and felt well rested. I got to Bedford at about 7:30 AM to scope things out and it looked like we were going to have ideal racing weather. It was 55-60 degrees and there was barely any wind. Well, things did not pan out as I ran 41:07 (5:31 pace) for 33rd place.

I don't think that I necessarily had a bad race, but I just could not get rolling. I made a point of getting out conservatively because I know that at these Grand Prix races people tend to go out pretty aggresively. I was planning to go through the first mile in about 5:20 and I hit it in 5:11. After that I settled into a group of guys (Jim Pawlicki and I think Scott Anderson were in there) and we seemed to gradually slow down in miles 2-5: 10:35 (5:24), 16:12 (5:37), 21:50 (5:38) and 27:26 (5:35). I think that we went through 5k in about 16:45 and the 5 mile split was better than any 5 mile race that I have done in the last 2-3 years since getting back into running. At this point there was a group of guys in front of us (Craig Fram, Wayne Levy, John Fortescue and Jason Cakouros) who I was focusing on. I really thought that I could reel them in but was never able to make up any ground on them in the last 2.5 miles. We were able to pick it up a bit in mile 6, which passed in 32:56 (5:30), but gave back the time in mile 7 as we ran our slowest mile in 5:41. I had visions of having a really fast finish on the track but by the time I hit the track I was dead and just holding on. I covered the last 0.45 miles in 2:30 and was able to barely hold off a last second charge by Ed Breen of GBTC. Overall, not a great race.

The pictures are thanks to Steve Wolfe and Jim Johnson.

This week was 'alright'. I intentionally took this week easy so that I cold hopefully race well. I hit 67.5 miles and 59.5 of those miles were actually running miles. So, I got a lot of rest, had a decent workout and a mediocre race. Based on the race results this week I am going to step things up a bit starting next week by adding a hill workout on Mondays and getting my mileage back up to 80-100 mpw. I am also going to do several 5k races to get some speed in my legs in the near future - the NB Boston Twilight series on May 23rd and June 13th, the Hollis Apple Country Fast 5k on June 3rd and the Rhody 5k in Providence on June 7th.

Monday: 20.55 mi (60:00) on the stationary bike then 2 miles on the treadmill (15:11) to shake out the legs. I just wanted to get in a real easy workout after the hard run yesterday. Surprisingly, I feel pretty good today. This will be the only ride of the week.

Tuesday: 9 mi (60:45) I only did one run today again to give my body some rest. It was supposed to be a real easy run but went a bit quicker than I expected. I did 5 x 10 second hill repeats during the run at full speed with at least 2 minutes of rest in between. I have read that Nate Jenkins has had a lot of success doing these through out the week to maintain speed and power (based on Renato Canova training I believe).

Wednesday: ~9 mi () About 3.5 mi warm-up, 10x400m @ 5k pace w/ 200m rest and then 2 mile cool. This workout was just intended as a pace workout - I wanted to feel good running 5k pace but not blast my legs so that I can still run well this weekend. My splits and rests were:

74 (83), 75 (81), 74 (75), 75 (77), 72 (83), 71 (83), 72 (81), 74 (82), 75 (78), 72

It was extremely windy but I still had a hard time running slow enough. The goal was to run them all at 75 seconds but I started drifting down to 71/72 seconds before I dialed it back. My heart rate only got as high as 182bpm (~90% of HRM) during the repeats and recovered to about 150bpm during each rest period and I kept the rests pretty short. Hopefully this workout is a sign that things are starting to turn and that I will start racing well. The output of my heart rate monitor is shown below. Run easy tomorrow and Friday and get rested up for Saturday.

Thursday: 8+ mi (59:40) I took it really easy today and just got the run done. Finished with an acceleration and stretched.

Friday: 5.2 mi (37:48) A really easy run to shake out the legs.

Saturday: 11.5 mi - 2 mi w/up, 12k = 7.45 mi race (41:07) and 2 mi c/dwn.

Sunday: 17 mi (1:57:59) Easy long run. Nothing special.

5/10/2009

2009-05-10T21:05:00.028-04:00

I did not race this week but I got in 96.2 equivalent miles (63.8 miles of cycling, 4 miles on the elliptical trainer and 68.2 miles of running) and 2 good workouts. I really want to race well next weekend at the Bedford 12k, which is a New England Grand Prix race, so I thing that I am going to back off the mileage this coming week by cutting back on the riding.

Monday:

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

mapmyrun

Thursday: 20.5 mi (1hr) on the stationary bike. I was planning on going 90 minutes and doing a second run in the evening but my legs are pretty tired from yesterday's workout and I figured that I would be better off getting some rest and going long tomorrow.

Friday:

Saturday: 12.5 mi (1:30) I wanted to get in some decent mileage today but also wanted to give my hip a little rest so I did the old run to the gym, do 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer and run home bit. I got 8 miles of running and 4 equivalent miles on the elliptical trainer.

Sunday: 15.75 (1:37:09) Well, I was supposed to do the Medical Center 6k race today but I was just not feeling it. I had far more reasons not to run that I had to run (it is Mother's day and my wife would kill me, it was SUPER windy today, I would have had to get out of bed early, I wanted to drink a beer the night before, and the list goes on ...) so I decided to bag it and get in a good progressive long run at MP instead. Plus, next weekend is the Bedford 12k, which is a New England Grand Prix race, and I want to have a good race there. I was not sure how things would turn out, but I headed down to Mine Falls Park since I would get some shelter from the wind there.

I really wanted to get a good idea of pace and heart rate so I wanted to wear my Sunnto T6 with the foot pod for pacing information. Unfortunately, ever since the day I bought the foot pod it has not worked - any sudden impact will cause it to turn off so when I run it will turn off within the first 1/2 mile or so. I tried sending it back to Suunto last year to get it fixed but they said there was nothing wrong with it and that the tech who diagnosed it ran with it for a week with no problems. BS! Since the foot pod connected with no problems and only shut off when thumped, I figured it was a hardware issue (loose connection) rather than a software or wireless protocol issue. So, early Sunday morning I tore the footpod apart, re-soldered all of the connections, cleaned all of the contact surfaces and put it all back together again. Voila! It worked again without shutting off. I am sure the warranty is void, but what the hell. Anyway, I wore the foot pod and heart rate monitor on the run, although I did not calibrate the foot pod, and just went based on heart rate. LT pace for me is in the 170-175bpm range so I tried to work toward that and keep it there for 5-6 miles. I started out at an easy 7min/mi pace for the first 3 miles then eased into MP over the next three miles (~5:50-5:40 pace), which I held for 8 miles. I finished up with an easy 2 mile cool down. My mile splits were 7:11, 14:11 (6:59), 21:08 (6:57), 27:33 (6:25), 33:47 (6:14), 39:29 (5:42), 45:09 (5:40), 50:40 (5:30), 56:14 (5:33), 61:45 (5:31), 67:17 (5:31), 72:48 (5:31), 78:02 (5:13), 84:50 (6:48), 91:56 (7:05), 97:09 (5:13). I pushed the last mile pretty hard, but still felt comfortably near LT. The last 5 miles of MP work passed in 27:19, which is better than any 5 mile race I did last year, the last 10k probably passed in 33:55, based on my mile splits and the last 10 miles took 56:54. Even if the watch was optimistic by 2-3%, because it was not calibrated, then the workout was quite good. Below is a graph of HR, EPOC, VO2, pace and R-R (the time between heart beats). It looks like I pushed the workout a bit too much, based on the EPOC, but this was probably mainly due to the last mile being so much quicker than the others.

IE Fix (finally)

2009-05-05T23:32:00.003-04:00

I heard from several people that my blog does not work with IE but I did not know because I try not to use Microsoft products. I know that the site always works with Firefox and I have tested it with Chrome. Well, after quite a bit of time trying different templates, iteratively removing each widget and module on the blog and modifying the formatting, pictures and links I was finally able to get it to work with IE. I used the Developer Tools (hit F12 in IE) and first tried sending the page to W3.org for validation. There were 735 errors on the page so figured that I had to find a better way around the problem. The next thing I tried was disabling scripts in IE. When I loaded my blog in IE this time it did not hang but I noticed that my weekly mileage graph was not updating and when I enabled scripts the graph populated but IE hung. Bingo! This solved my dilemma about which graph style to use - I could not decide between the basic graph I had and the fancy Google widget that allows zooming and panning across different dates. I figured that the fancier plot with all the bells and whistles would cause problems but it was the other way around. So, issue closed.

5/3/2009

2009-05-03T20:55:00.023-04:00

It is hard to believe that it is May already. I got in a total of 86.5+ equivalent miles made up of 6 miles on the elliptical trainer, 51.4 miles on the bike and 63.5 miles of running. This was much better than the last couple of weeks and I also did my second track workout and first race of the season. The race was probably the low-light of the week, but I am working towards a larger goal so this is just another mile marker along the journey I guess.

Just before heading out the door for my run on Friday UPS showed up at the door with a package from New Balance. My wife gave me a look like 'oh no, not another pair of shoes..', but I had not ordered any new shoes so I was a bit confused. It turns out that I had signed up to be a wear tester for New Balance either last summer or the summer before and I guess that I had finally been selected to participate in a study. Not too shabby - free shoes! The shoes are a lite weight, neutral model for mid-foot strikers. My first impression is that they definitely got the aesthetics right and it is a nice ride too. I like a bit more support for longer runs, but the shoes is really lite. My only real complaint is that the toe-box is a tad tight.

Monday:

AM - 21.1 mi (1hr) On the stationary bike at work during lunch. I pushed pretty hard and kept my cadence at about 95+ rpm.
PM - ~4.25 mi (31:50) Hard to say how far it was exactly because I was running in the woods in Groton and/or Dunstable. The trails were a bit rough because of all the rocks and roots but it was so nice to just run through the woods and not feel any pain.

Tuesday: 12.5 mi (1:29:33) I ran to the gym, did 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer and then ran home and around the circle. It works out to about 4 equivalent miles on the elliptical and 8.5 miles of running. I was planning on running a short 3 mile shake-out in the evening but I got caught in a meeting at work and did not get home until almost 10PM.

Wednesday:

AM - 4 mi (28:10) This was just an easy run in the morning to shake out my legs and get ready for the workout this afternoon.
PM - 10 mi (69:38) Track workout tonight: 2.2 mi warm-up followed by 2x800 + 1x1600 twice w/ half the distance in rest and a 2.2 mile cool-down.

I wanted to get a better idea of where I am in my training so I wore my heart rate monitor for the first time in about 6 months. I use the Suunto t6 and like it a lot since it provides quite a bit of information about how my training is going in addition to the basic HR info. The weather was phenomenal tonight since it was about 65 degrees and the dew point was down around 10-15 degrees. It was actually so dry that I had a hard time getting my heart rate monitor to work correctly since I was not sweating. I felt just okay tonight, not great, but still wanted to hit some decent times. I set my heart rate upper limit to 190bpm (my max HR is about 200-205bpm) because I did not want to push it too hard and ended up bumping against it in the last four intervals. The following table is a summary of times and HRs:

Bout	Distance	Repeat Time	Recovery Time	Average HR
1	800m	2:27	2:41	179
2	800m	2:29	2:45	185
3	1600m	5:09	5:26	187
4	800m	2:30	2:49	183
5	800m	2:31	2:56	182
6	1600m	5:04	-	185

The first two 800's were not too bad but I had to focus for the mile repeats. I did doze off a bit on the last two 800's, which is evident from the heart rates. The rest intervals started creeping up at the end but we were trying to keep the whole group together at the start of each repeat.

In the plots below the top curve is heart rate, the middle curve is EPOC and the bottom curve is VO2. EPOC is Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption and measures the amount of oxygen that the body needs to recover from physical exertion. It describes the accumulating training load. Based on the EPOC this workout was just the right level where I should get a good training response. If I had gone much faster or longer things would have been much different. I need to take it easy tomorrow and make sure that I recover, especially since I am racing this weekend.

Thursday: 30.3 miles on the bike (1:30:00) - This was just a recovery ride. and gives me about 10 equivalent miles. I was a bit surprised that my heart rate only got as high as 125bpm and averaged around 117bpm. That is hardly as high as it gets when I go for a walk. Oh well. I was also supposed to do a short run this evening but got caught up at work again. If this keeps up I am going to have to quit my job!

Friday: 8.25 mi (59:42) I wanted to get in a decent run but not over work myself so I wore my HR monitor and set the upper HR limit to 150bpm. I bumped up against the limit a couple times but it allowed me to have a good run and averaged 142bpm (right at 70% HRM). I am a little surprised by my quads are quite sore from yesterday's ride. I went pretty easy yesterday and just did a recovery ride so I am hoping that this is not a sign that I am getting sick (every one else in the family has a cold, and no, it is not the Swine Flu ... or should I call it Influenza H1N1). I skipped the afternoon run again. I have to get out of this habit.

Saturday:

AM -9.1 mi () I ran the Derry Foothealth 5k and won in 16:28. I am glad that I ran this race to get the first race under my belt, but I felt like absolute garbage the whole day. The soreness in my legs from yesterday was much worse, probably because the race was early morning, and I felt like I had already raced a 5k at the start of the race. Before the start Michael Wade warned me about potential wrong turns so I ran the whole course as a warm up before hand. This paid off because I felt much more confident about where to start my kick at the end of the race. The race got off to a late start because they were waiting for a police detail who ended up doing nothing. This is pretty much par for the small races though. I thought he was going to lead the race but he just parked in the road and ate his donuts. From the graph of elevation below (from my watch - the absolute elevation is not correct but the relative number are) the first mile was pretty much flat or slightly down hill and we hit it in 5:17. There was someone right on my shoulder at 1 mile, probably Jason Porter, so I tried to push the second mile and drop him going up the hill. I think that he actually closed on me, although he never pulled even with me so I am still not absolutely sure who it was. As we crested the hill we hit the two mile mark in 10:55, a pathetic 5:38 second mile. Going into the race I had visions of running sub 16 minutes, but at this point I was starting to think that we were going to run over 17 minutes. I knew it was down hill the rest of the way and the breathing over my shoulder was very laboured so I put the hammer down and was able to run a 5:02 third mile to pass three miles in 15:58 and finally drop Jason. I finished in a modest 16:28. I did a cool down around the course a third time for good measure and was in agony the whole time. My legs were so sore. I am not sure if it was the work out on Wednesday, the ride on Thursday or that I am a big wuss, but this was not a good day. I am hoping that I got the bad race out of the way today and can have good races in the next two weekends.

PM - 4 (29:38) I really needed to work the soreness out of my legs so I did a really easy 4 mile run this afternoon. It really sucked but I think that it will pay off in the long run.

Sunday: 17.5 mi (2:07:31) I started the morning out on the elliptical trainer for 45 minutes (6 equivalent miles) because my quads were so sore I could hardly walk down the stairs in the morning. After the gym I headed over to Mine Falls Park to run 12 miles with Kevin and Brian. I think that going to the gym was a smart move because I felt "alright" on the run. I was surprised that we averaged about 7:15-7:30 pace but my heart rate only averaged 139bpm. Rest and try to recover this week.

4/26/2009

2009-04-26T21:02:00.008-04:00

This week was a big test because I did the first track workout of the year with the Gate City Striders group. Based on how my hip rehab was going I did not think that I would make it, despite my optimism just 3 weeks ago. However, I did the workout and was pleasantly surprised with how it turned out. I got in a total of 81+ equivalent miles made up of 10 miles on the elliptical trainer, 93.1 miles on the bike and 38 miles of running. Not bad, not good. Hopefully I can step it up next week if the hip continues to cooperate.

I was told that my blog locks up some computers so I did a little investigative work. I always use Firefox and it loads fine for me on any computer that I use. I am very leery of IE but tried it out on my main home PC, my laptop and my work PC. No dice. IE consumes 100% of the CPU and just starts hoarding RAM. I also tested Chrome, Google's browser, and it appears to work fine too. I will have to take a look at what IE does not like. There is some Java code (the Daniels' calculator) and some Google widgets (I think that they are flash based), but nothing real radical. Hopefully I can figure it out. Beware the Evil Empire!

Monday: 10 mi (75ish) I did 60 minutes on the elliptical trainer at a decent pace and then ran for 2 miles on the treadmill at the gym. My hip did not bother me and it felt good to workout.

Tuesday:

AM - 20.5 mi (1hr) On the stationary bike at work during lunch. This was not too bad and I just wanted to give my legs a rest.
PM - 4 mi (30:25) I ran an easy run on the treadmill at home while watching the Biggest Loser. I needed some motivation.

Wednesday:

AM - 4 mi (?) I did not wear my watch on this run. I just wanted to see how my hip was feeling to gauge whether I would attempt the workout tonight or not. Felt good.
PM - ~8 mi: 2.1 mi warm up, 6x800m @ 5k pace w/ 400m active rest and about 1.5 mi cool down. I had no idea what my body was going to let me do and if my hip would last for the entire workout so I started out pretty relaxed and gradually cranked things down as the workout progressed. The battery in my watch died during the workout so I do not have exact splits, but from memory they were about 2:36, 2:35, 2:32, 2:31, 2:27, 2:24. The first 4 were pretty relaxed and the last two felt good. I actually got out in 70 seconds for the first 400m of the last repeat and had to pull things back a bit. The rest intervals were just crazy long (probably 2.5-3 minutes) so it was easy to negative split the workout. I was pretty much fully recovered at the start of each interval. Overall this workout was a good confidence boost and lets me know that all the time spent on the elliptical trainers and the bike were not for naught.

Thursday:

AM - 10 mi (75:00) I rode the stationary bike for an hour and got in 20.3 miles and then ran 2 miles on the treadmill at about 7:30 pace. Nice easy workout.
PM - 4 mi (30:58) This was a really slow run on the treadmill after the kids went to bed. It is soooo much harder to run after eating dinner. At least I got in the miles.

Friday: 14 mi (1:54) This was a long workout but it was one of the better workouts that I have had in a long time. I started out by riding 30.3 miles in 1:27:28 (averaged 20.7 mph) down the Nashua River Rail trail and back Rt 111. There were so many people on the bike path that it was pretty dangerous riding there. Lots of kids swerving all over the place and cutting in front of me just as I come up to them. This was a good ride because I actually felt good on the bike for the first time. I was able to power up the hills and the head wind did not bother me too much. When I got back to the house I threw on my running shoes and did what I thought was going to be an easy 4 miles. I averaged 6:40 pace though (26:40 for 4 miles) and it felt good. Get some rest and take it easy tomorrow.

Saturday: 22 miles on the bike in 1:06:28 (20mph average). I wanted to take it easy today to rest from yesterday and I did not want to run so that I could try to do a long run tomorrow. I rode the same route that I did my long runs on last summer and fall by heading out from my house to the Hollis Applefest Half Marathon route and back home. The route was much easier on the bike, although the hills still sucked big time.

Sunday: 12 mi (85:33) I did an easy 15 minutes on the elliptical trainer before heading over to Mine Falls Park and running 10 miles with Brian and Kevin. I never thought about my hip the entire run, which is excellent, and felt pretty good the whole run. This was a good cap to the whole week.

4/19/2009

2009-04-19T21:09:00.006-04:00

Man, I am totally slacking when it comes to posting my training. I am sure that my motivation to post is directly related to my ability to run. I have still been fighting this freaking hip thing and running only sporadically. I have been trying to do more running and get in as much cross training as possible but I never seem to make any progress with rehab. I am starting to think that the theme for the year will be cross training. Overall I can not be too disappointed with the way the week went - I was actually able to run. I got in about 77 equivalent miles and 37.2 miles of actual running. I spoke with Dan Moriarty about how the triathletes count cycling relative to running and I guess that according to Daniels you can count 2/3 the time. That pretty much jives with how I was counting the cycling (1/3 the distance) since you are basically traveling at twice the speed when cycling.

Monday:

AM - 8 mi (60:00) An hour on the elliptical trainer.
PM - 5 mi (37:50) I was not sure how far I would go since this was the first run in over a week, but it felt really good. I went really easy and kept the incline at 1%.

Tuesday: 8 mi (55:56) Really easy run today.

Wednesday:

AM - (8 mi) An hour on the elliptical trainer. 8 equivalent miles. I just wanted to give my legs a bit of a rest to be conservative.
PM - 5.2 mi (36:50) I went pretty easy today and felt good. My legs were a bit sore for some reason.

Thursday: 9 mi (64:00) Easy run through the woods into Sudbury from work. I felt a bit tired so I took it pretty easy. I decided to skip my afternoon run.

Friday: 12 mi - I ran 4 miles to the gym today, did 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer and then ran 4 miles home. Good run.

Saturday: 6 mi - I did an easy 6 miles around a loop at home to take it easy. I did yard work all day and just wanted to get in an easy run.

Sunday: 28.5 of cycling, 6 mi running - I wanted to get in a long workout but did not want to stress my hip at all so I decided to do my first ride/run workout. I rode about 28.5 miles on the Nashua River Rail Trail down to Ayer and back (I averaged exactly 20.0 mph). When I got back to the house I changed my shoes and ran about 6 miles. The ride was pretty decent even though I had to stop a lot to cross streets and for slow pokes on the path. The run sucked for the first 2-3 miles because my legs were so heavy and tight.

4/12/2009

2009-04-12T21:16:00.003-04:00

This week was pretty good considering that I took all of last week off from running. I got in about 82 equivalent miles and 35.4 miles of actual running. I am not sure how to count the cycling so I just counted it as 1/3 the cycling mileage. Whatever...

Monday:

AM - 8 mi (60:00) An hour on the elliptical trainer.
PM - 5 mi (37:50) I was not sure how far I would go since this was the first run in over a week, but it felt really good. I went really easy and kept the incline at 1%.

Tuesday:

AM - 6 mi (45:03) This was a really easy run on the treadmill with a 1.5% incline.
PM - 5.2 mi (37:53) Really easy run today.

Wednesday:

AM - (8 mi) An hour on the elliptical trainer. 8 equivalent miles. I just wanted to give my legs a bit of a rest to be conservative.
PM - 5.2 mi (36:50) I went pretty easy today and felt good. My legs were a bit sore for some reason.

Thursday:

AM - (8 mi) An hour on the elliptical trainer. 8 equivalent miles.
PM - 6 mi (48:00) Easy run.

Friday: 68 miles of cycling - I rode to work today and since I did not take a wrong turn it was a bit shorter than in the past. I averaged 18.6 mph there and 19.6 mph home in the evening. I always have a hard time getting things going in the morning and it was also in the lower 30's.

Saturday: Off

Sunday: 8 mi (57:20) Easy run before Easter Sunday dinner. Nothing too hard, just wanted to get the run in. Same route as yesterday.

4/5/2009

2009-04-05T21:07:00.000-04:00

I decided to take a break from running this week and just let my self recover, both mentally and physically. I was feeling really wiped out the last two weeks and unmotivated because of my hip so I need to do something to change things up and get back on track. I still worked out most days this week, but just spent an hour or so on the elliptical trainer. I will get back on track next week and take up running again.

The main exception to the week was on Thursday when I decided to commute to work on my bike. This does not seem like a big deal but I live 36 miles from work. I mainly just wanted to see if I could do it. In short, yes it is possible but it was not really that pleasant. The two biggest obstacles for me were the hills and the cold weather in the morning. I had to pass through Harvard, Massachusetts and anyone that has run the Apple Harvest Ramble 10 miler in Harvard knows how hilly it is there. I do not have cyclist's legs. I missed a turn on the way to work which cost me about 2 miles so it took me just a hair over 2 hours to get to work. I knew where I was going on the way home so it took me about 1:50 to get home. I was able to average about 22 miles per hour on the last 13 mile stretch up the Nashua River Rail Trail.

Next week I should be able to write about running ...

3/29/2009

2009-03-29T20:36:00.002-04:00

This week started off on the right foot but went down hill quickly after my Wednesday run. I actually felt good on Wednesday and after the workout I was feeling good. When I woke up on Thursday morning my hip was bothering me and the run did not go too well. I did not run at all in the last half of the week and hope to get back into it next week.

I got a total of 91.25 equivalent miles and 39 miles of running. Not nearly as good as last week but I have to listen to my body and just go with the flow.

Monday:

AM - (8 mi) An hour on the elliptical trainer.
PM - 10.5 mi (74:40) This was a bit further than I originally planned, especially after yesterday, but it felt good. The only down side was that it was about 25 degrees and the wind was blowing really hard. Get some rest.

Tuesday:

AM - (8 mi) Again, an hour on the elliptical trainer. 8 equivalent miles.
PM - 8.25 mi (57:49) This was a bit faster than yesterday and I felt good today. My hip did not bother me at all and it was also a bit warmer.

Wednesday: 16.25 mi (1:57:13) I have gotten into this habit of doing one long workout on Wednesdays for some reason. Today I ran a round-about route through Mine Falls Park to the gym and got there at about 8 miles (58+ minutes). I did 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer and then ran 4 miles home. The total running distance was a bit over 12.25 miles (1:27:13). I sweat a bunch on this run too and weighed 162 lbs when I got home.

Thursday: 8.25 mi (59:34) This was the same route as Tuesday but I did not feel as sharp today. I was really tired today for some reason and was not able to get up this morning to get in my early workout. I feel like a complete slob because I could not get myself to go to the gym tonight either. Oh well. Hopefully the rest will do me some good because I am feeling pretty beat right now. I am hoping that I did not push it too much yesterday because my hip was a bit tender today. Maybe the rest will help with that. I definitely do not want to set myself back again. If that happens I will probably just give up on running and take up knitting or something a little easier on the body.

Friday:

AM - (8 mi) On the elliptical
PM - (8 mi) On the elliptical again.

Saturday: I took today off because I my hip was not feeling good and I just needed the rest.

Sunday: 16 mi (2 hours) On the elliptical trainer. This really sucked because it was a straight shot on the elliptical trainer for 2 hours and I nearly lost my mind. My hip was a bit tender again today and I just wanted to give myself a rest.

3/22/2009

2009-03-22T20:12:00.003-04:00

I am getting near 100% now and should be able to start putting in some speed workouts soon. This week I got in 104.25 equivalent miles and 68.25 running miles, which is way more than I have done in the past 2 months or so. I am only planning on getting the run portion up to 80-90 miles/week at the peak, so I am getting close. My hip is definitely getting better with each passing day so I am beginning to get a little more confident about being able to add some quality in the next week or two. I will probably start out with some easy hills on my runs to ease into it. The GCS track workouts start up in about a month (April 22nd) and the Great Bay Half Marathon is on April 5th. I am not sure if I will be ready to race a half marathon in just two and a half weeks, but I will be able to start the track workouts in 5 weeks.

I am looking forward to the warmer weather and the longer days so that I can get back into my schedule of doing my long run early in the morning. All winter I have been stuck doing my second work out late at night and not getting home from the gym until 10-10:30PM because I had to use the elliptical trainer. That makes it really hard to get up at 6AM the next day and work out. Last summer, on days that I did not a track workout, I would get up at 5:30AM, get out the door by 6AM to do 10-14 miles and be home by 7:30AM. That only left the easy run for later in the day. I would usually stop somewhere on the way home from work and hit some new trails. That is when I discovered the trails in Groton and Dunstable (this one is actually on 2 miles from my house and connects to about 10+ miles of other trails heading south into Dunstable). On hard days I would get in an easy 5-8 miles early and then hit the track at Nashua South at 6PM. Since I was averaging 100 miles per week I was usually beat and would hang with the kids for an hour or two when I got home and then crash by 9PM, or 10PM at the latest. I suppose that life style does not seem too appealing to most people (sleep run, work, run, repeat and squeeze the family in there) but I like it. As long as I can make some time to spend with the fam it seems to work. Hopefully it will only be a couple more weeks before the weather cooperates and I can resume my summer schedule.

Monday:

AM - (8 mi) I went for an hour on the elliptical trainer.
PM - 8 mi (58:00) Easy run at work and it felt pretty good.

Tuesday:

AM - (8 mi) Again, an hour on the elliptical trainer. 8 equivalent miles.
PM - 8 mi (57:15) Same as yesterday.

Wednesday: 16 mi (1:58:30) I did not really feel like doing two workouts today so I just did one long ass workout. I ran 4 miles to the gym, did 60 minutes (8 equivalent miles) on the elliptical trainer and then ran 4 miles home. This was a pretty hard workout because I sweat a TON when I was on the elliptical trainer. When I got home I weighed in at 161 lbs. I was 165 lbs when I left, so that means I lost about a 1/2 gallon of sweat. No pain in my hip either.

Thursday: 16 mi (1:52:30) This was the same workout as yesterday, basically. I ran 6 miles to the gym, did 30 minutes (4 equivalent miles) on the elliptical trainer and then ran 6 miles home. I have a hard time believing that this was 12 miles of running, but that is what it measured. That means that I average 6:55/mi for the run. I weighed 162 lbs when I got home, which makes sense because I did not sweat as much when I was at the gym.

Friday:

AM - (8 mi) I could not stand to do another marathon day today and needed some rest so I got to the gym early and rode the stationary bike for 60 minutes at a pretty decent tempo.
PM - 8 mi (55:55) Got outside and ran at lunch. It was decent weather, but not great. I felt pretty good and got in a good 8 miles.

Saturday: 10 mi (71:15) This was the longest run that I have done in a long time. I did not want to risk anything so I drove down to Mine Falls Park and did it all on the trails. It was surprisingly dry but there are still some pretty slick spots were there is still snow pack. There are also a ton of downed trees from the ice storm in December of 2008. My hip did not really bother me and I was able to run a decent pace the entire way. Good run.

Sunday: 14.25 mi (1:41:15) Based on yesterday's successful run I went out on a limb and decided to run the entire long run (what a novel idea). I ran from home to Mine Falls Park to get a little trail running in and ended back home. It was much colder than I anticipated and there were even some snow squalls while I was out, but nothing that stuck. After this run I am convinced that the time spent on the elliptical trainer and the stationary bike was well worth it. My feet were a bit achy at the end since I this was my longest run by far in a while, but cardiovascularly I was fine. I even had to be conservative and hold back the pace to make sure that I would not have any issues later in the run. Very good run.

3/15/2009

2009-03-15T20:45:00.000-04:00

I made pretty good progress this week towards getting back to running. I ended the week with 99.5 equivalent miles (so close to triple digits ...) and 39.5 running miles. Not much of an improvement over last week in terms of running miles but considering that I spent three days in NJ at a wedding and drank more in those three days than I have in 15 years, not too bad.

On the leg-length discrepancy thing - I was not having much luck with the heel lift so I just ditched the inserts completely and went back to basics. I am now just using the standard inserts that come with the shoes and it feels pretty good. I am not having any issues with my hip or my knee (the torn meniscus) so I may just go this route. The original reason I got the inserts in the first place was that I strained my calf four times last summer while trying to ramp mileage. Once I got the inserts I was able to run injury free for a couple months. Maybe with the cross training that I am doing my body will be able to handle the mileage and I can run without the inserts.

Monday:

AM - (8 mi) I went for an hour on the elliptical trainer. Felt good. 8 equivalent miles.
PM - (8 mi) Easy 22:30, or 3 equivalent miles, on the bike and then ran 5 miles at about 7:30 pace. Felt decent, but I could still feel my hip.

Tuesday:

AM - (8 mi) Again, an hour on the elliptical trainer. 8 equivalent miles.
PM - (8 mi) Same as yesterday, I did an easy 22:30, or 3 equivalent miles, on the bike and then ran 5 miles at about 7:30 pace.

Wednesday:

AM - (8 mi) 8 equivalent miles on the elliptical trainer.
PM - 8 mi (58:00) I ran an easy 8 miles at work and it felt pretty good.

Thursday:

AM - (8 mi) 8 equivalent miles on the elliptical trainer.
PM - 8 mi (57:30) I ran a moderate 8 miles at work and it felt pretty good. No hip pain.

Friday: (12 mi) I had to get in the workout before we headed out for the wedding. I wanted to get in a bit more running so I ran 4 miles to the gym, did 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer and finished up by running the 4 miles home. My hip did not bother me and I felt good the whole way.

Saturday: (13.5 mi) I had to squeeze the workout in before the wedding but did 60 minutes on the elliptical trainer and roughly 40 minutes of running. I felt pretty good and ran a bit faster than I should have to get back in time.

Sunday: (10 mi) I was really hung over this morning so I did not really feel like doing much of anything. This was the best I could do. I did 60 minutes on the elliptical trainer and 15 minutes on the stationary bike.

3/8/2009

2009-03-08T22:12:00.003-04:00

My goal this week was to increase the number of miles that I run from 3mi/day in the beginning of the week to 4mi/day at the end of the week. I had a pretty good week and was able to achieve this with little or no pain in my hip. I was a little skeptical in the beginning of the week but by today I felt pretty confident that I am going to be back to 100% within 2 weeks. I did most of my time on the elliptical trainer and the stationary bike to get equivalent time. I was able to get in 32 actual miles run and a total of 96 equivalent miles.

The other thing that I am looking into this week is a possible leg-length discrepancy. Back in late 2000, when I was first starting to run again after tearing my achilles tendon, the orthopaedist that prescribed my orthodics mentioned that I may have a leg-length discrepancy but it was secondary to the over-pronation so we focused on that first. I have been using Sole inserts (specifically, these) for the last year with a lot of success instead of custom orthodics but I am looking at various heel lifts to see if they make a difference. In the words of the orthopaedist that I saw for my torn meniscus, it is all trial and error and I just have to find what works on my own.

Monday:

AM - I went for an hour on the elliptical trainer. Felt good. 8 equivalent miles.
PM - 30 minutes on the stationary bike and then 3 miles on the treadmill. It felt pretty good and, even though I was aware of my hip, it did not hurt. Pretty much 7:30/mi pace. 7 equivalent miles.

Tuesday:

AM - I went for an hour on the elliptical trainer again. 8 equivalent miles.
PM - 30 minutes on the stationary bike and then 3 miles on the treadmill. Pretty much 7:30/mi pace. 7 equivalent miles.

Wednesday:

AM - I went for an hour on the elliptical trainer again. 8 equivalent miles.
PM - 30 minutes on the stationary bike and then 3 miles on the treadmill. Pretty much 7:30/mi pace. 7 equivalent miles.

Thursday:

AM - I went for an hour on the elliptical trainer again. 8 equivalent miles.
PM - 30 minutes on the stationary bike and then 3 miles on the treadmill. Pretty much 7:30/mi pace. 7 equivalent miles. This was the first day that I tried a lift in my right shoe. It felt a bit weird so we will have to see how things go in the next couple of days.

Friday: I was a bit tired of doing the two-a-days this week so I just did one long workout today. I went for an hour on the elliptical trainer and then 4 miles on the treadmill (30 minutes). This was the first day at 4 miles and it felt good. This was a total of 12 equivalent miles. I ran with the lift again today and it felt alright. It was still a bit weird. The lift is only about 1/8th of an inch but it makes a big difference.

Saturday: It was 50+ degrees outside and I am sooooo tired of running on the treadmill so I decided to go out on a limb and run to the gym, which is about 4 miles away, go for 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer and then run home for a total of 12 equivalent miles. This was 8 miles of actual running and I felt pretty darn good. I am hoping that things keep going well.

Sunday: Another 50+ degree day and I decided to repeat yesterday's workout for a total of 12 equivalent miles and 8 actual miles. Again, this went well.

Overall, this was a good week. I am going to start up the week by running 4 miles/day and increase to 5 or 6 miles per day by the end of the week and increase the total equivalent miles to 100-110 miles for the week.

3/1/2009

2009-03-01T19:33:00.001-05:00

I have been pretty beat about posting in my blog lately and it is directly correlated to my ability to run. If I can not run I do not feel like posting, eating right, reading race results or even thinking about running. I guess that it is a defense mechanism to keep myself from getting depressed. I am slowly switching back to running and figured that I should start posting again too. I was planning on running the first New England USATF Grand Prix race, the Jones Town and Country 10 Mile race in Amherst, MA, last weekend but did not want to risk running on the injury too soon. Based on what I heard about the weather it was probably not a bad thing that I missed that one. Unfortunately, I have to miss the second Grand Prix race, The New Bedford Half Marathon, on March 15th because of a wedding. Hopefully all of my friends will be married soon so that I can stop missing races for weddings.

So, about the injury. My hip flexor was bothering me on every run so I just bit the bullet and stopped running cold turkey to give it a rest. Since I did not want to lose all of my conditioning (I was up to 90 miles/week before I stopped running), I have been doing the equivalent time on both the stationary bike and the elliptical trainer. Over the last three weeks I generally spent between 30 and 40 minutes on the stationary bike in the morning and then about an hour on the elliptical trainer in the evening or at lunch each day. This has been REALLY boring, but I have to do it. Last week I started adding 1 mile of running each day at the end of the time on the elliptical trainer. At first I was not too hopeful because although it was not painful to run I was definitely aware of my hip. Since I did not seem to be going backwards I upped the run to 2 miles on Sunday (3/1) and that felt good too. I am not sure what to do about entering the equivalent miles in my log but I may just punt it and start fresh next week.

The plan going forward for this next week is to run about 3 miles/day after an hour on the elliptical and try to squeeze in 30 minutes on the stationary bike at lunch. That should give me about 15 equivalent miles per day, or 105 miles/week. I will probably go by feel but plan on upping the run portion by a mile/day every 3-5 days so that I can hopefully run a full 10 miler by the end of the month, just in time for the first NH Grand Prix race, the Great Bay Half Marathon in New Market, NH on April 5th.

2/8/2009

2009-02-08T19:58:00.005-05:00

This was a very good week overall: I hit 82 miles (although not all of it was running), I got in two decent workouts and I upped my long run to 13 miles. I am dealing with a bit of a hip issue though - my hip flexor has flared up and is a little tender, especially after hard runs. I can still run on it but decided to do most of my easy runs on the elliptical trainer to give my hip a rest. I still did all my hard workouts, my long run and a couple other runs outside or on the treadmill. It was fairly painful on Monday but was much better by the end of the week.

Based on this recent injury, yeah I get a lot of injuries now for some reason, I think that I am going to do a little experiment this spring racing season. The ultimate goal is not to see who can run the most miles. The real goal is to get to the starting line (actually, the finish line) healthy and run the fastest time. Since I am already running most of my easy days much easier than I have in the past I am going to go one step further and do all of my easy runs on either the elliptical trainer or the stationary bike. This will have a twofold benefit - first, it will cut down the pounding and two, it will provide for a little cross-training and work some of the support muscles that I do not regularly work when running high mileage. On my easy days I will do the long run on the elliptical and run the short run and on hard days I will do the short run on the elliptical and run the longer, harder run. This way I am running every day and will still get in almost 80 miles per week of running at my peak but will cut the abuse on my tired, old body by 40-50%. Hopefully this works out.

Monday: 8 mi (57) Slow, easy recovery run. My hip is a bit tender so I iced, took advil and used the foam roller to work it out. I am not sure if it is tendonitis or if I strained it by running on the ice last week. Hopefully if I attend to it this week I can get over it before I have to take any time off.

Tuesday:

AM - 4 mi (30) Real slow and easy on the treadmill.
PM - 9 mi (63:00) I did 56 minutes easy on the elliptical trainer since this was just an easy recovery run and I wanted to give my hip a rest and followed this up with just a mile on the treadmill. Felt good.

Wednesday:

AM - 4 mi (30min) Real slow and easy on the elliptical trainer to give my hip a rest.
PM - 10 mi (64:20) I did a slow 2mi warm up and 2 mi cool down along with a 6mi steady-state run. I started the workout at 10mph/1% incline and then increased the incline by 0.5% each mile. I was only able to do this for 3 miles (mile 3 was 10mph/2.0%). 2.0% incline seemed a bit too hard so I backed off to 1.5%. I did the 5th mile at 2% again and then did the last mile at 1% but gradually increased the speed from 10.2mph to 10.5mph. 10.5mph/1% seemed much easier than 10mph/2%. Easy tomorrow.

Thursday:

AM - 4 mi (30min) Real slow and easy on the stationary bike to give my hip a rest.
PM - 8 mi (60:00) On the elliptical trainer again just to work out the legs a bit.

Friday:

AM - 4 mi (30min) Real slow and easy on the elliptical to give my hip a rest.
PM - 9 mi (64:20) This was a "progressive hill fartlek" again. I did an easy 2 mile warm up and 1 mile cool down (should have done more but I was pressed for time) and 6 miles of hill work. I alternated 0.5mi on and 0.25mi rest, all at 8.6mph, with the hard parts at 5.5-7.0% incline and the rest was at 1% incline. The interesting thing about running hard runs this way is that you get the effective workout of running at a faster pace, but you also have to run for a long time. For example, in bouts 7 and 8 I ran at an effective pace of 5min/mi for 0.5 miles, but was only actually running 8.6mph. Therefore, I ran this effective pace for 3:30 while if I were doing this workout on the track I would cover the 0.5 mi in 2:30. So, not only are you running at a faster pace but you are doing it for longer. The 0.5 mi hard sections were more like 1120 meters (0.5*3:30/2:30 *1600m = 1120m). The following table shows the incline and effective pace for each section.

Bout	Incline	Effective Pace	Comment
1	5.5%	5:28	Good
2	5.5%	5:28	Good
3	6.0%	5:19	Moderate
4	6.0%	5:19	Moderate
5	6.5%	5:09	Hard
6	6.5%	5:09	Hard
7	7.0%	5:00	Really hard
8	7.0%	5:00	Nearly died

Saturday: 9.0 mi (70:00) This was on the elliptical trainer for the entire time. Really boring but part of the routine I guess.

Sunday: 13.0 mi (1:42:) I went up to Hollis and ran with Brian, Joe, Trent, Molly and Chris around parts of the Applefest Half Marathon course. The weather was awesome (if you were in New England this winter you would understand) - it was 45 degrees but really windy. We went at a pretty easy pace but I think this is what my body needed. I felt really good afterward and my hip did not bother me at all.

I am hoping to get into the high 80's next week and try to hit three workouts (hill fartleks on Monday and Friday and a steady-state run on Wednesday).

2/1/2009

2009-02-01T20:34:00.022-05:00

I came across the picture to the left when I was cleaning out my laptop. Man, that was a long time ago - it was the 1000m preliminaries of the 1995 indoor Division III New England Championships. I ran 2:38.15 to qualify and ran 2:29.95 (second place was 2:29.96) in the final to win by a hair. It was probably the closest race I have ever run. Man, I was thin back then.

Also, I finally figured out how to get a basic Java based calculator to work for the Daniels treadmill incline conversion for effective pace. You can find it in the right-hand column. I will enhance it when I get time to give more information, to allow pace as an input and provide pace as an additional output. I may also modify it so that it returns the effective pace for other treadmill inclines greater than and less than the desired input (basically a table output). Try it out and let me know what you think.

It is hard to believe that it is already February. Man, time flies. This was a much better week than last week since I hit about 74 miles and got in two good, hard efforts. I am getting really tired of the cold, ice and snow. We had maybe 2-3 days above freezing in the last 2-3 weeks, a couple feet of snow and 3 ice storms. The ice is the worst because it is so treacherous running outside that I have to do most of my running on the treadmill.

Monday:

AM - 7 mi (5:45) Yeah, it was really slow. I did not think that I could run this slow but I think that I am fighting something. I also only got 6 hours of sleep last night.
PM - 4 mi (30:25) Yeah, slow again. Just plugging along putting in the mileage.

Tuesday: 8+ mi (56ish) This was supposed to be an easy run but I think it was close to 8.5mi and probably closer to 55 minutes. Felt good but wanted to rest for tomorrow's workout.

Wednesday:

AM - 3 mi (22:50) Real slow and easy.
PM - 9 mi (63:00) I did a slow 2mi warm up and 2 mi cool down along with a 5mi steady-state run. I tried to do the SS run at 9.4mph/3% incline, which is equivalent to 5:58 pace, but it was just way too hard for me. I backed off to 9.1mph/3% incline, which is equivalent to 6:10 pace, and this was much better. Near the end I was starting to hurt so I ran the last 1.25 miles at 10mph/1% incline and this was the easiest, by far. I am not sure how to interpret this: either Daniels' charts are off or I suck at hills. I am going with the later and figure that this is an opportunity for me to work on a weakness. I will continue to run my SS runs at an incline between 3-5%.

Thursday: 9 mi (69:40) Yes, this was a really slow run, but I just wanted to make sure that I am recovered for the hill fartlek that I am going to run tomorrow. I started out at 8min/mi pace and worked down to 7:30 pace. My right hip flexor was a bit tender so I will have to keep an eye on that.

Friday:

AM - 3 mi (22:35) Real slow again just to make sure that I have a good workout this afternoon.
PM - 10 mi (72:30) I ran a 3 mile warm-up, 5 mile workout and 2 mile cool-down. The warm-up and cool-down were run at 7:00-8:00 min/mile pace. I did the hill fartlek at a constant pace (8.5 mph / 7:03 pace) and alternated 1/4 @ 1% incline and 1/4 mile at an increased incline. I started at 3.5% incline and increased 0.5% each time to finish at 8% incline for the final bout. The following table shows the incline and equivalent pace for each section along with a comment about how difficult each session was. I added the comment before I calculated the equivalent pace.

Bout	Incline	Effective Pace	Comment
1	3.5%	6:21	Easy
2	4.0%	6:08	Easy
3	4.5%	5:55	Easy
4	5.0%	5:43	Moderate
5	5.5%	5:32	Good
6	6.0%	5:22	Good
7	6.5%	5:12	Good
8	7.0%	5:04	Hard
9	7.5%	4:55	Hard
10	8.0%	4:47	Glad I only had to do one

This may be the last time I use tables - I can not figure out why there is a huge space before the table and it does not show up in the page preview or the HTML code. Hmmmm....

Update: As I said, I figured out a hack to get rid of the space but am not happy with it. I have to do a bit of post processing of the HTML code and I have higher expectations of Google.

Saturday: 8.5 mi (56ish) This was a nice and easy run just to recover from yesterday. I was trying to run really easy so I am surprised that it was sub 7min/mi pace.

Sunday: 12.4 mi (1:28ish) I was lazy and just ran the same route as last weekend. This winter is dragging on too long because it was 15 degrees and I did not think that it was too cold. Easy pace and I felt pretty good.

Next week should be pretty similar to this one - I will probably hit between 75 and 80 miles, get in a 7 mile steady-state run and probably try to fit in 1-2 hill fartleks.

1/25/2009

2009-01-25T22:50:00.011-05:00

This week sucked because I missed my goal of 65 miles and only got 48.6 miles because I was sick and had to skip two days. I was able to step up the quality some and did get in a 12+ mile long run though. I experimented with the treadmill incline during speed workouts.

Monday: 8 mi (58:51) - this was a fartlek run where I alternated 1/4 on and 1/4 off. Instead of increasing the pace for the workout I increased the incline on the treadmill from 1% to 6-7%. That does not seem like it would be tough, but 8.2mph (7:24 pace) @ a 6% incline is equivalent to approximately 5:35 pace and 8.2mph @ a 7% incline is roughly 5:20 pace according to the chart below from Daniels' book. A 7% incline was too much for me at this point, but 6% incline was pretty good.

I found it a bit frustrating to use this chart since it did not always have the desired speeds (effective or actual) and I wanted to run a workout at either a set speed or incline and vary the incline or speed, respectively, to change the work load. In that light, I spent a little time trying to fit a curve to this data so that I can plug the incline and actual speed on the treadmill into the formula and get the effective pace. The formula I came up with is:

Effective Speed = Speed * (-6.6e-4*slope^2 + 8.81e-2*slope + 0.81)

For example, I ran my workout this week at 8.5mph and a 4% incline, so the formula would look like:

Effective Speed = 8.5mph * (-6.6e-4*4^2 + 8.81e-2*4 + 0.81) = 9.79mph

9.79mph is close to 6:08 pace. Comparing this to Daniels' chart above, we see an entry in the 8.5mph column with a 3.8% incline that equates to 6:11 pace. The formula works pretty well but I felt like I was working much harder than 6:08 pace in my workout. Last week I ran 4 miles at 5:55 pace w/ a 1% incline and it felt easier than this workout. To further test this, I lowered the incline to 1% and increased the speed to 10mph at several points in the workout and it felt much easier. However, the power meter on the treadmill (calories/hr) indicated that 10mph/1% was about 7% harder than 8.5mph/4% (1350 cal/hr vs 1260 cal/hr). I was not wearing my heart rate monitor this time but will next time to quantify the difference in terms of heart rate.

As a last note on this, I am not a programmer, but if I can figure out how I would like to generate an HTML calculator that accepts the actual speed and incline as inputs and returns the effective pace. Add it to the list of things to do. Here is one that I found that pretty much does what I want. It is also based off the Daniels' chart but I think his formula is messed up because the values that the calculator returns do not match the chart. Here is a start (I stole it from the earlier link) but I have to figure out how to tie in the formula.

Running Calculator
Pace (mm:ss):
Convert pace to
Calculate equivalent paces at other inclines for the given pace from the

I am not sure why there is the big space between the text and the calculator or why the entry blank is two columns tall. The calculator does not do anything when you enter "Go", so don't expect anything.

Update: I figured out a hack to get rid of the space but am not really happy with the method. I will have to work on this.

Tuesday: 8 mi (1:00:51) This was a really slow run just to get some rest before tomorrow's tempo run.

Wednesday: 9.2 () I ran a three mile warm up at an easy pace and then did 30 minutes at 8.5mph/4% incline. I had to back off to 8.4mph a couple times because it seemed too hard at times and I changed the speed/incline to 10mph/1% a couple times to see how that felt. It was a pretty difficult workout and felt much more difficult than a 6:08 pace workout, but the pace is not all that important. I really need to rest up from this. I did a two mile cool down at the end.

Thursday: 0 - I was pretty sick today and decided to get rest instead of push. I won't hit my mileage for the week.

Friday: 0 - Sick again so I did not run.

Saturday: 11 () - No time for this run, but I just had to get out and run. It was pretty darn cold, especially when running into the wind. I felt a bit of a chill because I am not 100% over my cold, but it felt good to get out.

Sunday: 12.4 () - No watch again today. This was my longest run in quite some time, but it felt really good.

Next week I am probably going to hit somewhere between this weeks goal of 65 miles and what I was originally planning for next week, 75ish miles.

1/18/2009

2009-01-18T22:08:00.006-05:00

This week was a bit tough because of the weather - it was really cold (most mornings were below zero with the coldest being -14F) and we got almost a foot of snow. Since I am getting soft and less brazen in my old age I opted to run inside on the treadmill 4 or 5 times. On Wednesday I did my first steady-state run, although it was only 4 miles, and I did a quick run on Friday just to bring the average pace for the week down a bit. The other days were all pretty relaxed, starting out at 7:30-7:45 pace and working down to anywhere between 6:30-7:15 pace, depending on how I felt and the incline on the treadmill. Good week overall.

Monday: 8 mi (57:39) - easy
Tuesday: 8 mi (58:56) - easy
Wednesday: 9 mi (59:51) - 3 mile warm up, 4 mile steady-state/tempo run in 23:40 (averaged 5:55/mi) and 2 mile cool down. Felt pretty easy at this pace but I just wanted to feel good throughout the first one to build confidence going forward. The incline was at 1% for the entire run.
Thursday: 8 mi (58:28) - really easy to recover.
Friday: 8.5 mi (55:20) - Not blazing, but averaged about 6:30/mi and felt good.
Saturday: 8 mi (59:30)
Sunday: 8 mi (59:02)

If you noticed, I am wearing my watch again. I want to make sure I am going slow enough and am running much slower than I did last fall. I just want to make sure I stay injury free as I build mileage and I don't feel bad about the pace after reading Nate Jenkins' blog last year and seeing that he runs most of his mileage at 8:00 pace and has run 2:14 and change for the marathon. Given the time of the year up here in New England, it is appropriate that he has a discussion on treadmill training and the debate over incline on his blog.

Total for the week: 57.5mi
Should hit about 65 miles next week.

Keep on Truckin'

2009-01-11T23:01:00.000-05:00

Week two out of the way and I am feeling pretty good. My knee does not bother me and I am not having the IT band issues that I had last fall (knock on wood). Starting to get back into the swing of things. I did a total of 48 miles on 6 days of running, so starting to get back to a moderately respectable level.

Monday: 8 mi
Tuesday: 8 mi - I did a little fartlek work on this run to get the legs moving.
Wednesday: 6 mi
Thursday: 0 mi
Friday: 9 mi
Saturday: 9 mi
Sunday: 8 mi

Planning to bump to 55-60 miles next week and will probably do my first tempo/steady-state run.

A New Year...

2009-01-04T22:09:00.004-05:00

I have finally decided to stop being a sack and get back into training again. I have also decided to run through the meniscus tear and see how things go since I have no pain. I am only going to do weekly updates for a while since I am building from scratch right now.

I am not wearing a watch while running for a while.

Monday: 6mi
Tuesday: 6mi
Wednesday: 6mi
Thursday: 0mi
Friday: 8mi
Saturday: 8mi
Sunday: 6mi+

Weekly mileage = 40mi+
Not too bad for the first week. I will be adding between 5 and 10 miles per week on singles until I hit ~70mi/wk.

Ciao.

2008-11-25T00:02:00.003-05:00

I have not been posting because I got fed up with working out on the elliptical trainer and writing about how I can not run. I got the results of my MRI - not good. I have a tear in the medial meniscus on my right leg. I am not that impressed with the orthopaedist so I will not be letting him cut me open. I am trying to decide if I should get the knee scoped or not. I can run without pain (when my shin does not hurt) and I have heard so many horror stories about butcher doctors ending people's running careers. I would rather put up with a little tenderness and be able to run rather than get it fixed and never be able to run again.

I did run 3 miles today and did about 50 minutes on the elliptical trainer. Let's see how long this lasts...

2008-11-12T22:13:00.002-05:00

AM: 5 eq (35+) I did 4 miles on the elliptical and then ran 1 mile on the treadmill. Again, I could feel my shin but there was no pain.

PM: 4 eq (28:00) On the elliptical trainer. I did not have much time so I had to cut it short.

I had my MRI today, although I will not get the results for another week when I meet with the orthopaedist again. I did not realize that it took so long - almost 25 minutes in that tube. The worst part is that you have to stay completely still. I think that that magnetic fields were causing my muscles to contract or twitch because I had the weirdest feeling in my legs and stomach and my leg kept twitching. The technician had to redo at least 1 of the scans which made it take longer.

2008-11-11T22:11:00.003-05:00

AM: 5 eq (35:00) On the elliptical. Still no dice on running.

PM: 4.5 eq (33ish) I did 4 equivalent on the elliptical and ran 1/2 mile on the treadmill. There was no pain, but I could feel my shin so I backed off.

I lifted with both upper and lower body today.

2008-11-10T22:11:00.002-05:00

PM: 9 eq (63:00) On the elliptical

A new week and I started it off on the elliptical trainer. I just wanted to be cautious after feeling a bit of tenderness in my shin at the end of my long run yesterday. I also lifted with both upper and lower body tonight.

Bout	Split	Avg HR	Max HR	Rest
1	70	172	186	89
2	71	176	184	80
3	71	178	185	77
4	70	175	188	85
5	70	176	186	78
6	72	176	184	110
7	70	173	184	91
8	71	177	185	96
9	72	173	184	91
10	68	-	-	-

Bout	Split	Avg HR	Max HR	Rest
1	70	172	186	89
2	71	176	184	80
3	71	178	185	77
4	70	175	188	85
5	70	176	186	78
6	72	176	184	110
7	70	173	184	91
8	71	177	185	96
9	72	173	184	91
10	68	-	-	-

Bout	Split	Avg HR	Max HR	Rest
1	70	172	186	89
2	71	176	184	80
3	71	178	185	77
4	70	175	188	85
5	70	176	186	78
6	72	176	184	110
7	70	173	184	91
8	71	177	185	96
9	72	173	184	91
10	68	-	-	-