7/12/2009

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

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

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

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

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

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!