Saturday morning intervals

We met at the Franklin park XC course this morning for an early morning run. We warmed up for 20 minutes then we all started together including Tom. We were to run 10k pace for a mile on the XC course, then turn around until we met up with Tom and when we made it back to the respective mile marker we were to begin again at the 10k pace. Tom was running between 730-8 min pace so this was our recovery pace. We ran 8k course twice so it was around 10 miles. I only did 4 of the mile intervals with paces of 550, 612,605 and 555. Others did less and some did all 10 mile intervals. That would have killed me to do that so I opted to have a semi hard work out. I did run the entire 16 k though.

It was a good saturday workout.

The stuff sub 250 marathons are made of

This is a half buffalo chicken half pepperoni sausage pizza. Sub 250
here we come.

TR, 10-29,

Ran to and around the arboretum this afternoon. Fall is upon us and the trails are covered with leave. This makes for semi-dangerous running conditions in the arboretum. Under every leaf pile is a potential trip hazard.
Todays run was 51 minutes at what felt like a pretty relaxed pace. This saturday we have a fartlek workout planned on the Franklin Park XC course, and the next week end is the New England XC mens open. It is at Franklin park and is a 10k course I'll probably run in this race. I am a bit reluctant because the field is really competitive and I am not fond of hanging on to the end of a fast field. If I can manage 550 pace then I'll be OK because I'll be mid-back of the pack, but If I run 615-630ish I'll certainly be at the back of the pack.
See results for the last few years here: http://www.usatfne.org/cross/

Tuesday track workout

Ran 3 miles to the track and another 2 on the track for warmup. Promptly began the workout that consisted of 2000m repeats with 200m recovery. I did 3 repeats. Some others did four but at the advice of others in the group I stopped after 3. These 2000's were run @ 6min, 555,555 pace respectively. This pace felt pretty easy. The first one felt very slow. I still don't feel like I am completely back from the marathon though, but I am on the road to recovery.

total miles = 12

Wet, damp, and tons of fun..

Well, maybe not tons of fun, but hundreds of pounds of fun. Tonight's track workout is going to be 5*2000m. Today was the perfect New England fall day. Cold, damp, misty, and grey. Everyone is complaining about it and in a terrible mood. Me, not so much. I kind of enjoy it.

Running the Charles

Running the Charles river is kind of like running Town Lake, you try to avoid it if possible but sometimes you can't avoid it. Today, I ran for 55 min and 35 minutes of of it included the Charles river. I don't know why but their is always someone who tries to run with me when I catch and pass them on the river. It pains me to have to deal with this but I guess that's just the way it goes.

This isn't running, it's racing!

The weekend past was the BAA Mayors cup. It is one of the most competitive XC races in New England, people in New England say it is one of the best in the Nation. I don't know enough about it to say whether they are right or wrong.
All I know is these guys like to race watching cross country makes me want to race. The terrain is unpredictable and subject to the weather conditions but the race must go on.
The mens division was an 8k race and the winning time was 23:54. Last year the winning time was mid 23 min, but the course was much dryer. The course record is 22:53, from 1997. This year rain soaked the course the entire day before the race which some would say helped level the playing field for those with less raw speed.
One unique aspect of the Mayors cup is a time cut off. If you can't run 8k under 30 min you can't race. I think this is a great idea and it keeps the event short sweet and all about racing. Their is an earlier 5k for those just wanting to experience cross country racing, which is great because it exposes the sport of cross country racing to everyone, those who ran in school or even those who just like to kick around in the dust and rocks but it creates a separation between the levels of competition.
I am hoping to run in the Mayors cup next year. I am not sure I could have made the time cut off this year, that combined with only being 1 week out from the marathon. Just wasn't happening.

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A link to more Mayors Cup photos.

http://krissyk.smugmug.com/Other/Mayors-Cup-Franklin-Park-2009/10088625_ibmdT#P-1-28

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Complete race results

www.bostonmarathon.org/MayorsCup/RaceSummary2008.asp

Reg'd and ready to run

I figured their was no reason to put off the registration any longer. I am officially registered for Boston.

On the road again.

Ran for an hour today. The run was relatively easy and relaxed. I feel like I have my legs back for the most part, but I am not going to push it too much. Next week is going to be an active recovery week before I get into some higher level training.

No more pain.

I think the aches and pains are officially gone. I have spent the week just hanging with no running. I have done more riding that usual which I actually really do enjoy, but riding just doesn't to it for me the way running does. I do find that riding is a great way to get over severe soreness and still maintain a decent aerobic fitness level. I am tempted to get in an easy hour tomorrow but may put it off till this weekend.

The day...

The official time is 2:56.08. BQ and the sub 3 hr. Don't want to over simplify it but all it took was training hard and racing hard.

Fueling, 6 thermolytes and 4 gels.

The race . Ran pretty even 647's for the first half. I had to continually back off of the pace between mile 8-13. I hit the 620 630 range a couple times, but not forore than 100m before I conciously backed off. Then, by mile 16 I just kept telling my self to stay focused and keep the hammer down. At the 30k point I decided to make it hurt. I have run a hard 8 miles before and this would be no different. The ole coach was right. I used my experiences from racing in the past to my benefit and as others were trying to hold on I was cranking out the 630ish miles. My fastest mile was mile 23(618). Slowest was mile 25 (652). I was in serious pain for the last 2 miles but that is how it is supposed to feel, if you aren't you left time on the course. I don't think I left any time out there.
Now, it is time to recover. The plan is to have fun running over winter, run some indoor to work on speed then begin training for Boston. I don't have a true goal time yet. I'll let the training dictate.

Race day

Wind 10-20 mph NNE, rain, cold. No problem. Just run..

d2

did the regular 6 mile warm up for the Tuesday track workout. Today was 800's with 400 recovery. The plan was to do the 800's at mile pace with the second 400 being in an anaerobic state. Most groups were doing 6-8, people with a marathon on Sunday only did 3-5. I opted for 3. The first one was 245 and the second two were 239 and 238. I didn't feel like I was anaerobic till the last 200 of the 3rd 800. It was still a good moderate workout.

Total miles = 10.5

The final count down.....d1

Today I ran for 52 minutes and 32 seconds. Or something like that. I wore the Garmin to make sure it was still in working order for Sunday's race. The weather is sure to be plenty cool for sunday's marathon, may be a tad damp but not really sure yet but no biggie if it is. The 30 k was wet, cold, and so I'm not worried about weather.

d7

Today I ran for 2 hours. I felt good for the most part. I ended up taking off 3 days this week. Not part of the plan but it is what happened. That is 50 miles for the week. I Hope to get in about 40 miles next week before the marathon.

That is a baby head statue.

d4 d5

I rested on day 4. This was unplanned but I don't think any harm was done.
D5 I got up for the 530 morning run. This is always a treat to get the run in and usually ends up being a quality run as well. I ran for an hour and 25 minutes.

W23d3

Gotta love autumn weather. Rained all morning but cleared up by the evening. Ran for am hour fourteen minutes and 58 seconds.

w24d1,d2

I decided to rest on Monday because I don't think I'll lose my fitness by resting one day. Tuesday was a track workout. I had 6 miles of warmup. 4 mile repeats on the track with 400m recovery. Paces were 555,550,537,540. The first 2 felt very comfortable so we decided to pick it up for the next 2. Cooled down back to the house 3 miles.

Total miles = 14

d7 w23

Ran 16 miles this evening. It was hard. May have had something to do with the past week and all morning helping out with the XC race and doing a couple laps at the XC course this morning. I have had tough runs before.

w23d5

530am, 45 deg, ran for 83 minutes. 11.2 miles. Love getting those runs in during the morning before the day begins.

w23 d4

The plan was to get in 10 miles or run for an hour and a half. I did both. Ran to the arboretum and ran for 30 minutes on the trails then headed to the brookline reservoir.

Ran for 1hr 31 min ~ 12 miles

Nahant 30k Pics

It is 4 days after the 30k and my I feel pretty solid. No serious aches or pains the legs are if fairly decent shape and don't feel real dead or heavy. Above are some pics from the 30 k. Some of the other GBTC folks that ran. Two of which were in the 615-610 pace range. Notice the shirtless fella in the blue shorts. He went our runing 620-630's. I made sure to keep him in my sights. This picture was taken at the 5 mile point. He didn't stand a chance by this point and he knew it. I love running from the back.......