12/12-12/18

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Monday:

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

Tuesday:

• AM:
  
• PM:
  

Wednesday:

• AM:
  
• PM:
  

Thursday:

• AM:
  
• PM:
  

Friday:

Saturday:

• AM:
  
• PM:
  

Sunday:

Completed: 20 miles on the bike

7/18-7/24

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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