Closethegap

Coop is ready for the mountains.

2011-07-22T20:14:00.000-05:00

Great fun

2010-12-14T21:15:00.002-06:00

This skit is too funny.

18 weeks

2010-12-11T09:52:00.002-06:00

The countdown and the serious training begin for the 2011 marathon.
The goal is 245. If prep goes according to plan, believe this to be an attainable goal. Having gotten a few 18 plus mile runs in the past few weeks, I have shaken off the longer run cobwebs and I am ready to start getting some quality base runs logged.

Dark early

2010-11-23T20:28:00.002-06:00

We are now in the short day season. Dark by 430!
Monday ran to the pool22 min, swam reg warm up, drills, then 1000yds. 100 cool down. It was 1600yds total swimming. Ran home a different route 23 minutes.
The swimming is getting pretty easy, just a matter of relaxing and keeping good form.
Tuesday 90 minute run. The hamstrings were getting very tight towards the end of the run.

That old LR feeling

2010-11-22T20:59:00.002-06:00

2 hr 15 min on Sunday. Call it 18.

Feeling pretty good. Doing a turkey day 5k.

here we go

2010-11-16T15:58:00.002-06:00

Saturday - Fresh pond Tempo run - 45 min warm up, them 5 mile tempo (29 min)
Sunday - First 2 hour run in many months. Didn't feel too bad.

Monday - Swam at the Pool for 45 minutes. Did some drills then an 800yds. 100yds cool down. 1500yds total.

Tuesday - Easy hour in the morning.

Gotta know the rules if you want to play.

2010-11-08T19:02:00.001-06:00

Doh!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UIdI8khMkw&feature=player_embedded#!

Closed out XC

2010-11-07T21:29:00.003-06:00

New England xc championship was today. GBTC was 4 th in the open men.
Not a bad race for myself. I kind of feel like I have been going pretty easy the past few weeks, so the plan was to start out easy and see how I feel. During the first 4 miles nothing really felt forced. I was through 5 k in 18:09, which I thought was about right for where I am right now.

Had a decent close at the end.
Finished the 10k in 36:01

2011biggies

2010-11-01T17:00:00.002-05:00

Boston marathon, Spring 2011
Timberman Half Ironman, Summer 2011

In preparation for the events that 2011 has in store I have been spending the past 2 weeks doing some running 5 days a week, a long ride on the weekend about 3-4 hrs, then swimming on Monday and Wednesday.

This seems to workout well and I still get in pretty good running days. On the days I swim, I run 30 minutes to the pool, swim/swimming drills for 30 min then run home. It makes for a good 90 minute day.

I expect the long rides on the weekend to help out greatly with building my aerobic system for the longer runs that will come in the winter.

Reg'd

2010-10-18T14:25:00.002-05:00

Regretfully I will be running the Boston Marathon in April. I have been on and off about running it, but I have spent the dough now, so I am committed.
I think I will have a different frame of mind after a few weeks of good training, just not looking forward to the long runs.

Last race was Topsfield GBTC XC festival,
8k, wicked brutal course, rocks, hills, wind etc. 30:08.

Next and last XC race for the year is Mayors cup. Always a fast field!. I will certainly be at the back, but hoping I can run under 29 minutes. Those not able to run under 30 are highly discouraged from running, to avoind getting lapped.

injured

2010-10-07T19:11:00.002-05:00

80 minutes on monday
tuesday Track. 24 min warmup - [1000m(3:20) 200m rest 400m(76) 400m rest ]* 5
Wed - off
TR - 90 minutes, then I did 20 walking lunges (10 each leg) then 10 slow easy squats, all with no weights. Now I think I have a groin injury because I had a hard time walking after the squats.

2 hr run

2010-10-03T18:15:00.000-05:00

Bout 16 miles

61 for the week

5k weekend

2010-10-02T15:42:00.004-05:00

Friday - Home loop a, 72 min.
I ran in the mission hill 5k on Sat morning. I wasn't sure what to think when I saw some of the guys from the Northeastern University track team getting ready to race. SO I went ahead and ran the course for a warm up, then we were off. I was glad to see that they didn't completely blast off during the first mile. I kept them in range for the most part. Only one of them was at the front with some other guy, and the rest of them fell off after about 800m. Caught the lead 2 at the mile mark, then ran with them for a while. It turned out that they were pretty weak on the hills. So I thought I would test em out on a couple of the uphills, and they both fell off. Finished the last mole about 15 sec ahead of the kid from NEU. He looked young, and it turned out he was a freshman. He will probably smoke me next year.

5k PR - 16:54.

Been a while

2010-09-30T21:40:00.004-05:00

As I walked out the door for my run this evening I decided to revisit he loop a, at faster pace. 30 min in the run began to require a bit of focus to stay on the effort. Pretty good run for the eve though.

65 min.

Day after run

2010-09-29T20:33:00.002-05:00

Home loop b, 90 minutes. The last 20 min wasn't too pleasant, but I think that part of running solo sometimes.
Run complete for the day. On Sayurday I am going to return to run the Mission Hill5k. Got 2nd last year. Am I due for a podium finish?

10k

2010-09-28T23:14:00.003-05:00

Tonites workout was a 10 followed by 400's.

The 10k was supposed to be controlled, but not slow. I figured the pace qould be between 550 and 6 min pace and that is pretty much how it turned out. We had a group of 5 and alternated the lead each lap. At times i felt like we should have been running faster, but for a tempo work out there is no need to go to that place, saving that for race day. The 10k was 36:36, then the 400's, 78,75,78. 400'a were not much fun ;....(

Bout 11 for the day

mile by mile

2010-09-26T20:37:00.003-05:00

PIcs are first 2--,
SO this is how cod fish went down.
Pics first 2 are first 200m. Then mile marker. mile 1.96, mile 3, and finish.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gbtc_snapper

Cod fish bowl xc race, 8k

2010-09-26T18:26:00.004-05:00

Fri- 30 min easy

Sat- 29.23 for the 8k. I was hoping for faster, but hotter than normal temps slowed everyone's times. 85 deg.
Nontheless I'm content with where I am althea point in the fall xc season. The plan going fwd is to keep mileage in the 75-80 range, but start including a 3-4 mile tempo run into the TR schedule.

Sunday- ome loop A, with a bit of a diversion at 45 min, to a local soccer field for some drills. Then continued on to finish the run. 72 min. After a few weeks of running home loop b, loop a is a breeze.

66 miles for the week.

Next race September 16, the GBTC topsfield cross country festival, 8k.

Home loop B, in reverse

2010-09-23T22:14:00.002-05:00

Yesterday and today I did the home loop the opposite direction in which I normally run it. G Maps says this is a 12.6 mile route, and that feels about right. I lost my gremlin at the Ollie 5 miler, so I have to rely on the interwebs for my run distances these days. I guess I could drive the route, but who has time for that.

Wed 90 minutes
TR 84 minutes.

Tuesday in south boston

2010-09-21T21:38:00.002-05:00

We have moved to the south Boston track for the rest of the outdoor training season.
Warm up 24 minutes

800, 1200, 1600. With 400m recovery.
Did this twice. I felt like this was a good workout for the upcoming race on Sat.
Times were 240,401,533,240,401,527.
20min cool down.

Lifting weights is hard..

2010-09-20T18:04:00.003-05:00

I know I should do a weekly weight training workout, but lifting weights is hard,and I get enough hard in my running workouts. After reading this article, I think it is time to get back into that once a week routine.

http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=11025

Race week

2010-09-20T16:07:00.002-05:00

The real first XC race of the season is this Saturday. CodFish 8k. It will be a mix of local running clubs, some small local college teams, and those who just want to relive the excitement of XC racing. I am not planning on straying too far from the training playbook this week, but I will likely not to 70 miles.

Monday easy 60 minutes.

Sunday XC course intervals.

2010-09-19T13:20:00.002-05:00

Saturday 90 minutes

Sunday: ran the XC course with a group of GBTCers ant Tom. The workout was to run a fast mile, then turn around and find Tom, who was running the same course. Once we met Tom we would run to the mile mark then start the next mile. Did this for 8k, then started the course again for a second 8k. It was lots of running. 86 minutes for me, including the recovery jogging.

I guess it was about 11 miles or so.

77 for the week, so far if I don't go out for an evening run.

Nonrace week

2010-09-17T22:48:00.000-05:00

85 minutes on tr, 60 min Friday...

Fall is upon us

2010-09-15T20:35:00.002-05:00

Hit the usual 1 hr mark 3 min early for the home loop B. This had more to so with the 68 degree temp at 430pm. Yes I am bragging about the weather. Added on 5 min to make it an even 90 min.

Tuesday, running drills

2010-09-15T14:35:00.002-05:00

Wu then we were supposed to do running drills with the sprinters. I was a bit concerned at how this would workout, and I ended up being right. I am all for running drills, just not on Tuesday evenings when time is limited and so is lighting on the track.
The drills ended up taking about 30 minutes and I was pretty much cooled down by then. So I just ran some laps around the track, to WU again, then did a couple 200's, then 2 1200's. Afterwards did some more laps. Haven't felt like I wasted my time at a track workout like that in a while.

Drills are valuable in my opinion. I can do them at home though.

Know when to stop

2010-09-13T18:35:00.002-05:00

Started today's lunch time run much faster than I planned, but that happens sometimes. I knew that if I continued to make it a 90 that I would feel pretty shorty at the end. So I decided to break it up a bit.
60 for lunch, 30 for dinner. That's still 90. I didn't feel too hot during the 30, but better than I would hve had I tried to run through.

1200's on the track mañana.

Sunday fartlek

2010-09-12T13:43:00.002-05:00

Met up with some GBTCers for a fartlek on the cross country course at Franklin park. 25im wu, then we ram the 8k course with 4 min on and 2 min off. Not a bad workout. Finished with an easy 8k cool down.
75 for the week.

The 4.4mile 5 miler

2010-09-12T07:53:00.002-05:00

After 30 minutes into Friday's run, I could feel some life return to my legs. This is a good thing. I was getting a bit concerned, but considering I haven't done the things I should have to help speed the recovery process (good strectching/ice), I am not surprised that took as long as it did.

The Ollie five miler didn't go too bad. I didn't run my goal time, but I was happy with the performance overall. It was kind of a disappointment that the course was incorrectly marked, making the course abour 4.4 miles instead of the intended 5. My splits were something like, 536,541,605 (thank you G Street Hill, 550, 541(last .4 miles. This wasthe first race where I wore the Gremlin in a while and it was nice to have the knowledge of my distance and pace during the race.

Hurtin'

2010-09-09T20:56:00.003-05:00

Felt pretty rough again today, so I turned towards home after 30 min. 45Min for the day. I just home I didn't give Tuesday what I should have saved for Saturday. I am planning on either 30 min or 60 min in the morning depending how I feel.
Going for it on Sat, Looking for under 28 min.

Right where I am supposed to be..

2010-09-08T20:41:00.002-05:00

I am staying pretty consistent with 90 min plan with the exception of a day off, a 60 min day and 105 min day.
The Tuesday workout was a good one. The plan is below. The intervals with the asteric were optional, we opted out, and skipped one of the 1600's.
8x100, 100 jog
4x200, 200 jog
4x400, 200 jog rest
2x800, 400 jog
2x1600, 400 jog
2x800
*4x400
*2x200
*8x100
paces were about 17 for the 100's, 34's for the 200's, 72-75 for 400's, blanked out for the 800's, but I recall a 2:40. Then 542 for the 1600.

Today's 90 min run was brutal from start to finish.

Up next is the Ollie 5 miler on Saturday.

90 min program

2010-09-02T20:34:00.002-05:00

I have been experimenting with the 90 min run. The 10 miler is too short, because I always felt like I had so much left at the end of the run. Then when I would attempt a longer run I would be ready to stop at the 75 min point. This caused me to establich a bit linger base run, 90 min. I am tryling to do this daily except for easy/ recovery days that are 60 min,track wlorkout days, and LR days that are 2hr plus. Unfortunately LR' s are few and far between, but it is just a matter of time.
Mon 90 min
Tue bonkerific track workout. Wu, 10, 40m, grass hill repeat, only did 3 of the planned 10, 1000m grass/ track route. - a very frustrating workout. Just didn't have it. Hopefully just due to heat and dehydration.
Wed 90 min
Tr 90 min

Faster that last year

2010-08-28T13:41:00.001-05:00

thomas chamberas race "6k" race.
Last year was 21:o5 and very painful, this year was just as painful, but for less time. 19:55 this year.

About 13 for the day.

Lunar racer 2 not a technical trail shoe

2010-08-25T20:10:00.002-05:00

Stopped at a Penn state park on my way home today to get in my run for the day. The first 2 miles were basic lakeside trail, the I ventured off onto some hiking trail, which ended up being ridiculously rocky at times which make a decent pace impossible. It was also raining which made the rocks that much more dangerous. I turned around 2 miles in, because it was just too much for my liking at the time, and I didn't plan to run over 90 minutes. So I think I had ~ 4 miles of today's run at ~ 9 min pace. No biggie, because it was still a nice run. I finished with 90 min on the dot, but I am reluctant to call in more than 11 for the day.

The Poconos

2010-08-24T20:39:00.002-05:00

Work trip to Lake Harmony PA inthe Poconos! It is almost a 6 hr drive to lake harmony from Boston, so o decided to stop in Matamoras Pa, along the Delaware river for a runduring my drive. I knew it would be dark when I arrives so I figured a midway run would be best. 67 minutes, lovely scenery of the Delaware river valley.
Today I manages to get up and get in 30 min in the morning, then snuck out at 445 to get in an hour before dinner. Not too bad for a business trip so far!

6k XC race

2010-08-22T14:52:00.004-05:00

The next race on the agenda is the Chamberas 6k in Carlisle MA, at the Great Brook Farm State Park. I ran this one last year and I am pretty sure I can run a PR this year. Time will tell.

Last run of the week was an hour 52 minutes. Almost hit the 2 hr mark, but I wasn't going to run laps around my apt to hit a time. Not today at least. I could feel the hill workout in my legs during this run, but it didn't hold me back too much. 15 miles for the day, 75 for the week.

Deer island hills

2010-08-21T20:22:00.003-05:00

We had a good suEd group meet for the deerisland hill routine this morning. The workout consisted of a perimeter loop 2.5 mi for wu and wd, and 5 interior loops~ 1.5 miles(where the hills are). This workout was much easier the second time around. We basically pushed it up the hills and recovered on the way down.

82 minutes of running. 12 miles, more or less.

Home loop B

2010-08-20T21:02:00.002-05:00

I figure I should start adding a couple of longer runs during mid week to the regimen. So now I have a good 90 minute loop that I can adjust at the end to make it either a 13 r a 12.5 mile run. Not that it really matters, just makes the math easier. Either way, 90 minutes for the day. call it 12.5!

Brookline track.

2010-08-19T21:44:00.002-05:00

Missing the Tuesday track workout kind of threw me off for the week. So, i decided to mix things up a bit. I was planning to meet jess in Boston for dinner after she got off of work, but I am very against driving into town then us driving 2 Cara back after dinner. So, I made the run into Brookline to the community track. It was about 63 minutes. Then I did an easy lap before starting the mile repeats. First one was 536, and felt pretty good. Sometimes I feel best after getting am hour of running, which really allows me to stretch things out on the faster stuff. I did an easy lap then did another, 529. That didn't feel too bad either, I am sure I had another good one in me, but was time to meet Jess at this point, and I jogged over to JP where she was running.

Calling it a day at 11 miles.

The streak continues?

2010-08-18T19:05:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I ran 10 minutes before the impact of my very large lunch kicked in and I decided it would be best to call it quits. It was a rest day. 1.5 miles.

Wednesday:
Had a pretty good run today. 94 minutes, I'll call it 13 miles for the day.

day 15

2010-08-16T19:47:00.002-05:00

Not likely that I'll be able to make it 16 because I'm going to the Ray LaMontagne concert at 7pm. So if I don't run in the morning I am likely to call it Tuesday a rest day.

Home loop today, 73 minutes.

Next up, XC racing,

2010-08-15T20:16:00.004-05:00

ran 69 miles this week. My longest mileage day was the day of the 10k race, with 2.5 warm up, 10k, then 4.5 down.

This picture may put the hill at mile 3 into perspective. Thank goodness there are no picture of me running up the hill though. Would not have been pretty. This snap shot of the hill is at the start and it pretty much stays that way for a mile, with a couple of steeper sections.
The pics of me are at mile 1.5, leaving the brigde. Then during the last mile, both feet off the groung.

Bridge Flowers

2010-08-14T18:13:00.002-05:00

time 37.16, pace for mile 3 was 7.37

felt like I would have run a nice PR had this been a normal course. Nontheless it was a good race in a beautiful town.

Tracking the results

2010-08-11T15:32:00.002-05:00

Tuesday brings a quality workout again. Mile repeats in preparation for Saturday's 10k. 6 repeats with 400m recovery.
3 up then 555,549,552,550,545,544 then 1 down.

Not a bad workout. I think I should be doing these a bit faster, but I am not going to lose sleep over the paces of mile repeat workouts yet. We purposly took these a bit easy to ensure we were able to get in all 6 intervals.

11 miles for the day.

2010-08-09T18:53:00.002-05:00

‎"Somewhere in the world someone is training when you are not. When you race him, he will win."-Tom Fleming

and to prove this point with some recent running news, The fastest man in the world was recently beat by Tyson Gay, and Usain made it very clear why he was beat.
--"Dear Fans, I got beat today by an athlete who was in better form and shape than I was. ..."
-Usain Bolt on his facebook page....
No excuses there.

Well, on my training front, I hit ran 70 miles last week. Nothing really spectacular about the week of training, I pretty much just ran 10 miles a day, with the exception of 12 on Tuesday, and 8 on Sunday. This is probably the easiest way to get in a 70 mile week. Sunday was probably the hardest run. Planned to run at Walden pond while Jess was swimming, but I wasn't feeling it. I was almost on the verge of calling it a no run day, but I told Jessica to drop me off 8 miles from the house on the way home. THis was I was forced to get in a run, that or a really long walk home. It worked out. I hope to start getting back in the habit of doing a weekend long run, but I am not sure when this will happen.

Thought I'd post a picture of the Stowe 8 miler. Not because I am in the pic, but more so for the lovely Green Mountains in the background.

What's next?

2010-08-04T21:10:00.006-05:00

Registered for the Bridge of flowers 10k. Not a given PR course, but who knows I may suprise myself. Or I may die after mile 4.2.

The link below gives a pretty good exmple of the hill from mile 3 to 4.1. Other that that it should be an easy course.

http://www.bridgeofflowers10k.com/description.html

faster than last year

2010-07-27T21:09:00.003-05:00

Ran in the Newburyport 10 mile race today. This was the first race I ran after moving to New England. My time last year was 66 minutes. I improved my 4 minutes this year. I was hoping for better, but I just didn't have anything left the last 2 miles. Maybe I needed GU, maybe I was dehydrated, or maybe just went out too fast. Either way, I didn't have any race left in me the last couple of miles. I guess it is still improvement.
So, I averaged 637 pace last year, then I think that was my avg pace in my marathon. Maybe if I decide to run a marathon this year I can average 613 per mile, same as my newburyport race this year. Hmmmmmm..

Still going...

2010-07-22T18:08:00.002-05:00

The Nikes are hanging in there nicely. I started wearing the blue
ones 2-3 weeks ago, but I still wear the greens now and again.The greens do have a very intimate relationship with the ground when I run, but they are going to be my rainy day shoes. Or when the others are still sweaty from the prevous run.

345pm I ran to the dealership to pick up the car, 30min. Then I picked
up jess at work at 530 pm and ran home. 70 min, I took the shorter
route this time. 13.5 for the day

The quads are back in proper working order today. I guess they just
needed a good talkin to and some active recovery. The ibuprofen I took
last night prob didn't hurt either.

Latest wizard wisdom

2010-07-21T20:57:00.000-05:00

When you hear top runners say that their plan is to, "run my own race," they are lying. They really are too polite to say that their strategy is none of your business. They really mean something like, "I will run with the pack and when I sense a weakness, I will crush them with a surge or a kick and win."

T.I.-red

2010-07-21T20:06:00.003-05:00

8 am - Dropped off the car at the dealership for some service work, then ran home. 31 minutes, calling that 4 miles.

6 pm - Picked up Jess from work, let her drive home while I ran home. During this run my quads continuously asked me if they were going to get the day off tomorrow. I told them to hang in there, finish this run and we'd talk about it tomorrow.
78 minutes. calling that 10

14 for the day

No track no home loop.

2010-07-20T20:21:00.002-05:00

My legs are still sore from the race. Quads mostly.
I had to pick up jess from work this eve, so I decided to let her drive home and I'd run home. Making the most of my time during the day. The run went well. Nice and easy for the first 50 minutes then I dis some pick ups and held a tempoish pace for about 2 minutes. I only did this 3 times then continued home. 75 minutes for the day.

Calling it 10

9 min pace

2010-07-19T20:29:00.002-05:00

I felt good for the first bot of the run, then the dayafters set in pretty hard. I didn't plan for a full home loop, but I was hoping for at least 60 minutes. I tried my best to slow down for the last couple of miles to make the run a 60 minute run, but I was too close to home. I thinky last 2 mules were in the 17-18 min range. Nice and easy, African warmup style.

48 min for the day.

Stowe 8

2010-07-19T06:36:00.002-05:00

Didn't get around to running Saturday.
Sunday was the Stowe 8m race. What a beautiful town and area of the country.
Time 47:56. Got in about 13 miles on Sunday, ending the week with about 56 miles.

I missed the early bus

2010-07-16T21:53:00.002-05:00

This morning I crawled out of bed at 515 had a cup of coffee, but decided to kiss Jess good bye instead of joining her on her way to work. Then I proceeded to give in to the call o the bed and slept till 830. AhHh that was nice! The early morning weakness is not something that I overcome well.
Once I got home after work it was shoes on and hit the street. Little did I know that the weakness was right there with me. At the 31 minute mark I caught myself trying to take the short route home. I was justifying it by saying it will still be a 45 min run, and you are racing on Sunday so you will need the rest. I had to stop for a second, wring the sweat out of my shirt and get my mind right for the rest of the run. There will be none of that just yet. Granted I am over the 3 weeks of getting back into doing some decent mileage and the new is wearing off, but now is the key to getting a good base. Staying on top of it and running as much as I can. If ICANN manage that the rest will fall into place.
Another home loop in the books.

Sudden heat

2010-07-15T20:27:00.002-05:00

Most of the day the weather was overcast and 70s. Then when I got home to run the sky cleared and the heat and humidity were very real. Oh well, gotta get in the run right. I added a couple off route loops to the home loop tohelp insure I hit 80 minutes for the day.
I am debating wether I want to get up at 430 to ride to work with Jess then run home. All I have to do is make it to the car, then I'll have to run the 10 miles to get home. I'll probably just sleep till 0730 as usual though.

Mid week

2010-07-14T19:38:00.002-05:00

Tuesday track practice didn't happen for me. I guess work takes precedence over running sometimes.

Wednesday home loop 73 minutes. Felt a bit rusty, but pretty easy for the most part.

Due to the missed day on Tuesday I guess not going to go short the day before Stowe.

Monday daily run

2010-07-12T21:05:00.002-05:00

I was on the fence about only doing 10 or adding another 15 min on towards the end of the run. I didn't feel too bad at the 52 min mark, which is where I usually make the left and hit the home stretch. Today I decided to head to the trails for a 15 minute add.

90min for the day... 12 ish.

74%

2010-07-11T19:59:00.001-05:00

Finished the week with 74 miles on 7 days.

Feeling pretty good. Not really over run, and hoping to turn out another good week.

Friday 10

2010-07-09T22:03:00.002-05:00

I decided to push it for today's run. Home loop, 65 min.

Hmlr

2010-07-08T19:30:00.002-05:00

H is for Hot. Today I tried to embrace the heat and enjoy the run. I stopped at the 49 min mark for some juice and cold water. After that it was back on the road.

100 minutes for the day, I think it is safe to call it 13.5 miles. To reach 80 miles this week is going to require some fancy foot work though.

At peace with my daily route

2010-07-07T20:30:00.002-05:00

The most important part of my training is consistency. For me the easiest way to be consistent is to have a good daily route. My route is a 10ish mile loop. I know the loop, and as a result I can focus on running and my thoughts instead of where I am going to turn or am I going the right direction. When I am having a tough day of running I can just block out the heavy legs and focus on getting to the next turn and moving on.
Today's run was one of those heavy legs days.The run was a good aerobic effort, but I could feel that my legs were working harder than a usual on a daily easy run. This was probably due to the track workout the previous day. Since I wasn't feeling too great, I just took the run one land mark at a time. The first hill, then the long straight away thatleads to another pain in the ass hill. Once to the top of that hill I am at the mansion that has the weekly concert in the back yard. Today the yard was filled with children running around the yard like mad. I swear there were about 45 small children in the yard. Kinda odd. After this I pass the Dedham track/highschool, at this point I am usually at the 38 min mark. By the time I am here, I know I have the run in the bag regardless of how I feel. Only a few more turns and hills. My favorite part of the run is at the 52 minute mark. At this point I have about 20 miutes left. I can make the last part of the run as easy or hard as I like. Like many races the last 20 minutes can make or break a person. So I try to stay focused and relax, while pushing the pace if I can do so with out sacrificing my form or stride. I wasn't realy able to push today so I just cruised it the rest of the way home.

Home loop, 73 minutes with a 2 minute add to make it 75 min for the day.

Heat wave?

2010-07-06T21:50:00.002-05:00

100 degrees is all people could talk about today. " we hit the century mark" is what the weather guy continuously repeated. It was hot, but I didn't find it to new too uncomfortable. My shoes were soaked after 40 minutes of running due to the excessive perspiration. That is the first that has happened in a while. After the warm up it was on to the track for the 12k relay. Teams of 2. 400m, then rest/ jog around while the partner ran 400m. Good workout. Most of the 400s were 76-78. There was one 80, 78, 74, 75, and we finished with the last 2 in 71 and 68 respectively. I didn't have much for a cool down, 17 minutes.
Safe to call it 10 for the day.

Scorcher

2010-07-05T19:48:00.001-05:00

So we are having a heat wave apparently. It was pretty hot during today's run at 10-11am. I took gremlin with me for the first time in a while and found my route to be exactaly 10 miles, funny how that works. Anyway it was a good run, but kinda hot though. 74 min.

4th

2010-07-04T23:24:00.002-05:00

Call it 70 miles for the week. My plan was to get in 80, but I didn't run sunday. instead I decided to go for a mt bike ride. The ride was 3 hrs so I don't feel too bad about not running. I still got in a long aerobic workout, just not running. I felt great all week with mileage. Hope it stays that way.

Shady Saturday run

2010-07-03T11:06:00.002-05:00

Spent an hour 51 minutes on the trails of Walden Pond and surrounding lands. The best part of this run was the 100% shaded trails. The run was nice and didn't feel forced. If I had to guess i'd say it was a 15 mile run at the very least.
I ended the run with a dip in Walden Pond, which was a great way to end a run.

Friday, new England summer

2010-07-02T17:05:00.003-05:00

Weather was nice again. 78-75 deg and clear. I ran the home loop today. 72 minutes. The run didn't feel forced, a good aerobic effort run

Walden Pond part II

2010-07-01T16:31:00.002-05:00

On my way home from visiting a customer in Lowell Ma, I couldn't resist stopping by Walden pond for some more trail therapy. THese are by far the softest trails I have found in the state. Mostly pine needls and packed leaves. I passed from Walden Pond reservation to the Concord conservatoin forest to extend my runtime. I wasn't planning to run over 10 miles. but due to uncertainty of direction I extended the run for a total run time of 80 minutes. I felt great during the run. All credit for this one goes to the soft soft running surface.

Walden pond

2010-06-30T19:18:00.002-05:00

Jess was meeting a group in Concord for a ride, so I decided to go along. My plan was ru run to walden pond then just kind of run around. I got in 2 loops around the pond then headed back to run on the trails of concord reservation.
Ran for 90 minutes and felt god the whole time. Didn't hurt that it was 58-60 deg.

A Tuesday workout, 16's and 4's

2010-06-29T21:12:00.002-05:00

I decided to warmup before the warmup today, and got in a 20 minutes before our standard warmup. So I had a bit over 5 miles before the workout.
Then we did 1600, 400 rest, 400m, 400 rest. Do that 4 times. The 1600's were 541, 537,540,533, 400's were in the 76-73 neighborhood, I don't remember those so well. The 400's really sucked.
I cooled down with a little over a mile .

I'll call it 12 for the day.

Sweatin in the 80's

2010-06-28T18:43:00.002-05:00

This weekend I put in an 84 minute run on Saturday and an easy 30 min on Sunday.
Ended the week with 70 miles.

Monday back on the road, in the thick humidity. I learned today that the loop I have been running is 10.5 miles. I guess that's nice to know. Today I did the same loop, 72 minutes.

Koda and his favorite toy

2010-06-26T06:28:00.000-05:00

Look at those long toenails.

Early morning chew-off

2010-06-26T06:27:00.000-05:00

Friday was nice

2010-06-25T20:07:00.001-05:00

Simply a lovely day. Finished work early and took the pups to the park. After 40 minutes of playin they were done, so I took them home. Whe they slept I ran. 73 minutes.

A full recovery!

2010-06-25T15:26:00.000-05:00

Thunderstorms

2010-06-24T22:05:00.002-05:00

For the first 20 minutes of my run I was questioning wether this was safe weather for running. Luckily the storm blew through and the sky cleared for the last hour of my run.

95 minutes for the evening. I think that qualifies for a mlr.

A look back

2010-06-23T22:07:00.002-05:00

The best part of keeping his blog is being able to look back at my running logs. I looked at where I was this time last year and noticed some considerable differences. Don't have the time to go I to detail, but it was Fu to read back a year from now.

I think I have found my 10ish mile loop. I haven't gremlined it to see the exact distance, but it has taken me 77-78 minutes both times I ran it so I think it is safe to say it is at least 10. 77 minutes for the day today. I hope tomorrow has a mlr in store or at least a double.

Solo Tuesday

2010-06-22T19:44:00.002-05:00

This was about 3 miles in. Speaks for itself.

Today I decided to do my Tuesday workout at a track about 2.5 miles from my place. It turned out to be the best quality workout I've had in a while.
I did 5 * 1600, 555, 550, 550, 543,544. I felt pretty good during all of these. Doing this workout alone allowed me to stay on a good sustainable pace during the whole workout.

11 miles for the day.

Merely bumps in the road

2010-06-21T20:08:00.002-05:00

All hills on today's run were merely bumps in the road relative to this weekends race. I think the memory of this race will stick I'm my mind for a long time.

77 minutes for the day. I hope to start including a mlr into my weekly routine starting this week.

Man vs mountain

2010-06-19T18:40:00.003-05:00

The mountain was still standing unphased at the end. I on the otherhabd was phased, barely standing, and begging for it to be over. So all-in-all it was a good day. This was to date the most challenging race I have ever run. Hills are supposed to have a top, I used to getting to the top and being able to recover. Not the case today, it just kept coming. Unbelievably hard. Simple as that. After mile 2 I was into a runwalk. I could never find a decent slow run pace that was Sustainable. Months less I maintained position with the runwalk strategy. I was def unprepared for this event.

Time 92 min, 7.6 miles

Running funk

2010-06-16T20:42:00.002-05:00

First 20 min of today's run was ok, but after that couldn't wait for the run to be over. Ithink it was more to the fact that I knew I had other things to do when I got home. Well got in the run and all other things finished also.

Tuesday track workout

2010-06-15T21:15:00.001-05:00

22 minute warmup, then 10k on the track. We alternated 800m at 10k pace then 800m at hmgp-mgp.

Nice workout. 2.5 mile cool down.

11.5 miles for the day.

Blue hills on 2 wheels

2010-06-14T18:30:00.001-05:00

This is my new toy. I must say mt bikes have come a long way since the
days of the 1995 rock hopper I rode last.
The blue hills is a much more dangerous place on 2 wheels than on 2
feet. I really need to be more careful next time. The bike ride was a
blast, but I think I almost died during one of my 2 crashes, thank the
lord for helmets. A couple of things I learned onthis ride, 1. My
biking is as much fun as it used to be. And 1. Falling off of a bike
hurts more than it used to. I escaped with some scrapes, bumps, and
bruises. So I call it a successful day.

Now let's not get carried away and start thinking I have gone off on
some weirdo cycling craze, just something to break up the monotony,
and give me something to do on my rest says other than sit on my ass
and eat saturated fats.
Today's run was an easy 75 minutes to cutler park, around and back.
Cutler park is no arboretum. It really kind of sucks, low lying, muggy
and mosquito infested. I think I'll stick to the roads rather than
head back there on a regular basis.

What's next?

2010-06-07T21:20:00.003-05:00

My new surroundings are taking me some time to get used to. There are some good places to run, but I just haven't figured the best way to put them together for a good run yet. I managed an easy 74 minutes. Running less than 80 minutes just makes the run seem like it was cut short for some reason.

June 19th is MtWashington. I could lie and say I am excited about this race, but honestly it is going to be excruciating. Hopefully I can change my outlook on it but the fact of the matter is that it is 8 miiles up hill. Not bs hills either. So there is no way to even take it easy and enjoy the scenery.
After that I plan to run in another USATFNE grand prix. Stowe 8 mile race. Something to look forward to as it is a civilized course.

The 3.1 mile battle

2010-06-06T10:47:00.002-05:00

I came, I started, but I did not conquer. At least not on this day. Today's weather was the limiting factor for me. It was humid and hot. At least hot for New England, but definitely humid. I was thru mile one in 529, mile 2 11min and finished in 17:26. I just didn't have the last mile in me today. I pushed the way I wanted to thur the middle of the race, but when it came time to close the last mile, I was pretty much at the threshold and couldn't give any more.

Still a PR for the 5k. I guess I'll have to get that sub 17 min another time.

Friday the 4th

2010-06-04T19:32:00.002-05:00

The Tuesday workout let me know that I wasn't quite recovered from the Wachusetts race. it was a pretty good workout for an upcoming 5k, but my legs got tight early into the intervals.
Going into the workout my mind was right, but the legs weren't. We did the standard 3 mile warmup in about 22 minutes, then started the intervals. The first was 525, the second was 526, I decided to forgoe the 3rd because I could tell that I would have been falling off of the pace if I did attempt it. So I did a couple of 400's in stead. Then were comfortable at around 80-81 sec. then I called it a night. I was tight and sore all over. Hammies and calfs.

Rested Wed and TR. Not because I wanted to, just the way it goes sometimes. The rest was probably a good thing and hopefully it gave my legs a change to recover.

Friday easy 55 minutes.

Can't settle for anything over 17!

2010-05-31T13:23:00.003-05:00

I think it about time a had a serious self evaluation and go out and try to run a respectable 5k. This may actually be the first 5k I have ever raced on the road, or maybe even ever? Nontheless, the course is flat and perfect for a fast time. A sub 17 is 528's and I think I am very capable of that.
I plan to have a good speed workout on Tuesday, I hope. I am not sure what the Doc has in store. After Tuesday my plan is to do runs between 60-80 minutes from wed to Friday. Then an easy 30-45 min on Sat.

The new long run

2010-05-30T13:21:00.002-05:00

I guess Boston was the last time I ran longer than 2 hrs. That is still the case today. I headed out not expecting to run for any longer than two hrs. I didn't feel too bad, but at 90 minutes the run became a lot of work.

100 minutes for the day.

Hardest race in a long time, if not ever.

2010-05-29T13:19:00.002-05:00

I have never really really felt like I had to stop during a race. Though the thought has crossed my mind during a couple of races, I have never felt like my legs just couldn't go. That is until about 18min and 30 sec into the Wachusett Mt road/trail race.
The first 1.5 of the race was a climb up an auto road which wasn't so bad, then some technical dwn/flat trail until we came back to the second "hill". This part was all technical uphill trail, with roots, rocks and steep inclines. Kinda like a natural stair well, with out the consistant, even, clean steps. After fighting 3/4 of the way up this section, the real pain started to set in. Heavy breathing, but worst of all was the quads. They were on fire! At this point I had no choice but to start the power walk. Most of the people in my pack were doing the same, because the climd was getting pretty tough. Everyone except the group of 4 chicks that passed us at the 19 min mark, and they were doing a walk/run on and off type exercise during the real steep parts. SO after doing my walk/hop/skip/big step/very slow jog thing from 18:30min- 21:45min we made it out of the woods and onto the dwn hill dirt road to the finish. This is where I made up most of my time. We had a 2 mile section of nice gradual dwn hill with a couple of places with pretty steep dwn hill.

Hard race. I am hoping that since mt washington is all auto road it will not be as tough, but it is still going to suck. After all it is 8 miles of climbing 4000', not two 500' sections. If nothing else this was a good test in prep for mt washington.

Time 37:57, distance 5.1 miles.

Wachusett Mountain road and trail race.

2010-05-28T19:35:00.002-05:00

Should be an interesting morning.

Blue HIlls Auto Road version 2

2010-05-28T15:43:00.002-05:00

Got in a good run from the apt on Wednesday 72 minutes.

TR was hill repeat day. NOt near as hard this time. Not sure why. Maybe it was a bit cooler or something.
4 repeats this time. 745.736.726.730.

Friday, not running. I am not 100% committed to my running at this time.

Saturday: Planning to run the Wachusett Mountain race in prep for Mt Washington.

10k relay

2010-05-25T21:48:00.002-05:00

Teams of 2. One runs a 400m, then rest the the other runs a 400. It works out to equal rest. it wasn't a true 10k, but it was 12 laps each. Most of the 400s were in the 72-75 range with one 68 (8th 400) and a 77.
This was a hard workout and I can feel the tight hammies and calfs, but I think it was a nice change from the milers. Next grand prix race is rhody 5k in Lincoln RI, on June 6.

56 min

2010-05-24T21:26:00.000-05:00

Slow hard run.

I am so so from runnin.

2010-05-23T20:09:00.002-05:00

Woke this morning and my legs were very soo. Hammies, quads, calfs, u name it. So I spent most of the day loading and unloading he Uhaul for our move to the burbs. After the move was finish I dropped off the uhaul and made the 10 mile run home. Nice and relaxed.

Bedford 12k

2010-05-22T18:02:00.001-05:00

NOt a bad race, although my legs did feel a bit lethargic from the hill repeats. Went out in 548 then 549, then i didn't feel so good. As we got into the rollers my pace dropped into the 60x is pace with one 615. at the 4 mile marker settled into pain preparation mode and started pushing it. I was heavy berathing and anaerobic for the last 3 miles it seems. Just keep running.

44:35. I anticipate major imporvement here forward.

Real Hill Repeats

2010-05-20T22:08:00.003-05:00

Wed: easy 10.

TR: Hill repeats.
This was a very strange workout. I went to the Blue Hills with a GBTCer to do some auto road hill repeats. The blue hills auto road is .95 miles up. It it is about a 450' climb. We ran 3 repeats. I initially hoped to do 4,but since I am racing on Saturday and as a result of the way I felt during #2 and #3 I settled on 3. This is probably the steepest consistent climb I have ever done and I don't know if it helped build my confidence for Mt Washington. At the 430 min mark of each climb my breathing was nearly out of control and I felt horrible. It was more of a cardiovascular exercise than anything else. I'm not saying my legs didn't feel heave, but the breathing was the limiting factor here. I did feel like things got better as the intervals went on, but they were still hard!!!!
Each climb was 8min, 730, 725. So they got faster, but were no easier as they continued.
The most unusual part of the workout was the end. I didn't feel bad afterwards. My legs didn't feel tired, I recovered easily from each one during the run down, and the cool down felt fine. I guess it was just the intense climbing that was a shock to the system.

8 miles

Finished and feelin fine

2010-05-18T20:26:00.002-05:00

Tuesday track workout with a little twist. We were to run 1600's at 10k pace with one lap at mile pace. Which lap and who led the fast lap was decided by Tom before each interval. The first mile didn't have a fast lap, 543. During the second interval the second lap was the fast lap, 537. For the 3rd interval the last lap was the fast lap. 532. The last and final interval the second lap was the fast lap, it was 534. After the 4th interval I felt pretty good, but I thought it would be nice to end the workout feeling good and just benefit from the intervals.
Next race is Saturday, Bedford 12k in Bedford NH.

Nothing more nothing less

2010-05-17T20:46:00.002-05:00

I have been consistently been hitting the 70-90 minute mark for the last several days. With the exception of the off day this saturday and the Tuesday workouts. These no pressure runs are quite enjoyable.

That old feelin'

2010-05-13T19:50:00.001-05:00

Today was a rough run. I never felt like I could control the run or the pace. It was just a run. 69 minutes of running.

89 minutes

2010-05-12T18:57:00.002-05:00

Met a couple folks at coolidge corner for an evening run. I guess the warm days of spring couldn't last forever. Today was about 45 deg all day with a slight drizzle here and there, but thankfully no precip during the run.
We didn't really have a plan for the run, just running. I ended up with 89 minutes for the day.
I was a little sore from the track practice, but felt pretty good after about 30 minutes.

Back on track

2010-05-11T21:03:00.000-05:00

Oh Tuesday how I missed thee. First outdoor track practice of the season for me. I rode the 5 miles to the track. This was new and my legs certainly aren't used to that. This was followed by the fresh pond warm up. 22 minutes. Then 5*1200. 4 min, 4 min, 4.10, 4 min, 3.55.
Then 15 min cool down followed by a hard 20 min ride home. I forgot how tough the ride home was.