TR track

It is good to be flexible. This is the moto for this week. This week is going to turn out to be a week focused on speed workouts rather that getting a big mileage week. With my expectation to run a 9.50 3k on Saturday I thought it best to go to the track and get in some "fast" intervals that way my pace on Saturday feels "slow". At least that is the theory, stay tuned to see how it pans out.

4* 400m. Times 76,74,73,73.. 200m recovery between
then
4*200M. Times 3,34,33,32....400m recovery between


26 minutes WU and 20 min WD.

Faster

Met some of the guys for a run this evening. We did the short vervion Charles river loop which usually takes about 80 min. Ran it in 71 minutes this evening. Wheew

Buncha track runners

Well we had a small showing for today's track workout. As a result myself and a couple of other guys in my fitness range ended running a bunch of 800', because they are working on imporving their 3k times. This meand we ran 800's at 3k-5k pace depending one how we felt. The 800's ranged from 235-238. I did 9 of them, Dan did 10 because he is a soldier. Max did less than 9 becasue he went hard at the Casino last weekend. The workout ended with a couple of 200'sat 34 and 32 respectively.

The BU mini meet is this coming Saturday and I am registered for the 3k again. Hopefully I can run in the 950 range. I think that is doable based on today's workout.

A new week

Started with a Monday rest day! I have ambitious plans to make it up later in the week and end in the 80 mile range.

Christmas week

76 miles.
Included a quality Christmas day workout of 4*1mile at 550 pace, with 3 miles wu 3 miles wd. Sunday was a good 17.8 mile run in Austin.

Warm welcome

Landed in Austin to a balmy 73 deg. The plan was to get in a run at the Bastrop State Park. I did the red and purple trail the. Ran to my moms which was 1.5 miles away. That trail is a wonderful mix of packed sandy loam covered with pine straw and leaves. It was the perfect surface for a nice low impact recovery run. Ran for 91 minutes.
Total miss today ~ 11.23865

Run.

Monday, easy 11 that involved the last big hill of the newton hills . Tuesday track workout went like this. 5k on the track at 10k pace(18.30). Then the fun continued with two sets of 400, 600, 800, at 74sec, 120sec, and 160sec respectively. 200m recovery between intervals and 400m recovery between sets.
The first 400 was very uncomfortable, not used to moving at that rate I guess.

In all, it was a successful workout. 12 miles with wu and wd.

Sunday hill repeats

Got a nice snow last night and all day. So we went to the Lars Anderson park and ran up the hills and sled down. This lasted for an hour. It was a blast.
I was at 60 miles after saturday's run. So with today's little venture I'll call it 65 miles on 5 days. Not too shabby. Now I'm ready to hit it big the rest of the week.

Here is some footage of our snow day. Even the dogs got in on the fun.

http://gallery.me.com/sfajess/100432

20

Today I got in the first of many 20+ mile runs of the marathon preparation. All was pretty relaxed and comfortable for the most part. The temperature stayed around 25 degrees so that made it easy enough to get in the run without the need for fuel or water. The route included the hills of Newton which don't seem to be to heartbreaking.
The Gremlin tells me the average pace was 713. Total distance 20.5. Onward thru the fog!

2nd double

Didn't happen. I guess it was wishful thinking though. I have learned that is it possible to get in 2 good runs in a day and stil survive to run the next morning. I hope this becomes a twice a week event and not just a one time fluke thing. Because after all, it is just running right?

Soooo early

Getting up and out is not easy, especially when it is 15 degrees outside. But, the feeling of accomplishment upon returning home with a 65 minute run in the bag, the sun up and shining, and a frozen hat almost makes it worth it. I am debating a second run at 530p but things are not looking good for the second friday run. We'll see. Maybe I should just take the dogs on a long walk instead.

20 deg, 8 with wind chill

Rolled out of bed determined to get in the run this morning. I met a GBTCer at the river for a morning stroll. I didn't have much in my legs for the first 45 minutes but when we turned back and had the wind at our back I felt much better, still a little dull though coming off of Wed's am/pm run.

80 minutes and done for the day. I would go for another this evening but I have a work Christmas/"Holiday" Dinner.

NORUNMONDAYTUESDAYNORUN

Wednesday: 60 minutes in the am and 90 minutes in the pm and feelin' fine.

A civilized pace

As most of the GBTCers were laying low or racing at the USATF XC in Kentucky, I decided to get out for an easy long run. I did meet with one other GBTCer who ran with me for 75 minutes before he headed home.
I made sure to take it easy during this run, and much to my amazement running over 2 hours isn't so bad when done at a pace that is reasonable for current fitness levels. I could have easily continued for more time, but I didn't see the need for that just yet. Once I got to 2 hours I did pick up the pace for the last 20 minutes with relative ease. I was thirsty at the end of the run. Running these 2hr plus runs without fuel and fluids is certainly new for me, but I don't plan to make a habit of it.

not so easy easy run

The air was cold and thin today. I have never had trouble breathing like I did today. The plan was simply to get out and do the run and that was successful. I made it to the arboretum for an easy 75 minute run.

Last day of work before my first day of work..

Funny how things workout. I am counting down the hours until my exit interview
(11:30am), so I hopefully get home and get in an arboretum run befoe it gets dark at 4:15pm.
I start my new job on Monday, as an Account Manager with GE water and infrastructure techology in the greater Boston area. Working from home will be kinda new, but I am no doubt looking forward to it and no worries of commuting in the snow!
I just wish I had more room in my one bedroom apt for an actual office. Oh well, the kitchen table will suffice for now.
Upon moving to Boston I just assumed that I would never have a real job again, not sure why, but I was OK with that? I guess it was not in the cards for me, so here we go. Time to become a productive member of society again. No matter the work schedule I carry, I still don't think I will be able to get on a morning running schedule until after winter is over. It is way too cold in the morning for that nonsense!

?

It is times like this when I really wish dogs could talk! What is he
thinking? My guess is he was looking at me wondering, the same thing.

Right where I am supposed to be..

Wednesday was an easy 65 minute run which went very well. Eventhough I was tight the morning after the track I felt quite well that evening during the run adn only cut it short from 85 minutes down to 65 because of lightning, cold and rain. Or maybe I was subconciously telling myself to take it easy.

Thursday I had this mid-morinng idea to do a 25-30 minute steady-state effort run. I thought this would be a great opportunity to get the gremlin off the shelf on which it so patiently reset and charges. It just sits there and gives me evil looks every time I leave it at home when I go out and run. So, after work I headed home and then ran to the Chestnut Hill reservoir, which is a 1.5 mile loop around, what else, but a reservoir near Boston College. The run there was 3.39 miles, I met one of the other GBTCers there who was just going to tag along as I did my SS effort, as this was meerly and LR pace for him. Nonetheless, I did 3 loops, at 620 pace. The effort was pretty even for all 3 laps, but I had to push to maintain the last lap. In all it was a good workout, and a break from the traditional TR mosey around town.

With the run home I'll call it 11 miles.

roundandroundandroundwego

The warm up was brisk and over in 24 minutes, then a couple of easy laps around the track before we began the mile repeats. We were to do 4-5 mile repeats. We ended up doing 4. The paces were 538,536,528,526. We backed off of the last 600m of the last mile in an effort to stay under control, otherwise we were on pace for a 520 mile. We ran 400 m recovery for the first then 600m recovery for the rest. The intervals were challenging but we stayed under control for the most part and I felt like I had another gear at all times. We probably could have done a 5th but I was happy with the workout and like the idea of ending a workout feeling like I could do the workout again if I had to.
The intervals were followed by a not so slow cool down that lasted about 22 minutes.

On a weather note, we are supposed to get another snow tonight. I probably won't go to work if it is snowing and icy in the morning. What are they going to do, fire me?

82 minutes

38 degrees and dry. Easy run.

Reality checks in!

A legendary New England runner unexpectedly dies while running, at the age of 63!
I think I'll go for a run this evening in memory of those who can't.

http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=18305&PageNum=1

Snow and Ice run

Got our first winter snow Saturday night. This didn't really impact my sunday run that much.
I met up with a group of GBTC'ers for a 2hr plus run.
Some broke off after 45 minutes, leaving me to continue my run with group of fella's who do their sunday jogs in the 630-6 min pace range. Not a biggie until about 105 minutes in at which point it was time for me to fall off the back and continue to shuffle home. At which point they turned right and I continued on the route which was a B-line straight home. The side walk was snow covered and kinda fun for final trek, certainly a new experience.
I am not sure what the distance was but time spent running was 135 minutes. These runs are hard with out water or fuel. I was day dreaming of pizza and water for the last 20 minutes of the run.

Most impressive track performance

I give this award to Nate Jenkins. I had no idea who he was when people were picking him to win the mile last night.
He was very unassuming. I don't think he is in the best shape at the moment, but he turned out a great performance to win the mens mile in 4.17. This guy is really a marathoner 2:14 and olympic trials qualifier but he showed up last night to win the mile, and did so.
He lead after the first 400m and held off a young college kid easily for the last 200m. It was very apparent, watching him run that he was a strong marathon runner and the college kid didn't have the strength of such a long distance runner. Maybe the young chap learned something. I know I did and I was just watching.

Track meets make me very nervous!

We had the indoor Northeastern University invitational (name of meet unsure)meet today at the Reggie Lewis athletic complex. It really did remind me of the old days of track running. The butterflies! The track complex was crowded and space was sparse, very unlike an outdoor meet. It didn't help matters that it was cold and raining outside. So, I couldn't just go sit outside in a corner and keep to myself which is my preferred method of preparation before a track race.

Track meets are interesting because, during the race competitors have nowhere to hide. You are either in or you are out, and when a competitor runs out of gas it is completely exposed and they must live with their decision to race the way they did.

I was in the slowest of 3, 3k heats. The first mile was 524, then I started running like I was scared! Well not exactly scared, but I certainly picked up and began passing those who went out a little too fast. I ran the first 2 laps dead last. but finished somewhere middle to front of the field.

Final time 9.59.

McMillan says that equates to a 2:49.43 marathon. McMillan is a smart man!

!

Took off Thursday because I didn't want to get out of bed in the morning and had my last class in the evening. I did however get up friday morning for an easy 68 minute run.

Just like I remembered it

The soreness from yesterday was an in-your-face type discomfort that allowed me to go for a run but didn't allow me to do much more. I still count it as a very important run, because I just kept it easy and ran for 80 minutes. I'm glad that is over.

First indoor workout

Since this track is less that .5 miles from my place I don't get the long warm-up, which I don't mind all that much. We did a 26 minute warmup, then started on the track shortly after. My workout was 200m in 39 sec with a relaxed pace jog around the outside of the track. My 200's were between 36 and 39 with a few at 35-34 range. I estimated that the interval plus the jog took 2min45 sec to 3min.
We did this for an hour straight.
No koolaid breaks or stopping, the way it should be done.
the workout wasn't too tough until the last 10 when hte fatigue and monotony set in. I don't, however, see myself breaking 10 min on Saturday.

running guidance of the day

I was running with the group last week and one of our members mentioned that someone once asked Tom what type of lifting he should do to help him with running. Tom's response:

"the only muscles you need to workout to imporve your running are the muscles that propel you forward while running and the muscles that push you away from the dinner table."

I love it! I am still working on the, "pushing away from the dinner table muscles.".

Holidaze

Suprisingly I ran more that expected over the holidays. I got in an hour 10 minutes on Wed,no run on Turkey day, Hour 20 arboretum run on Friday and rested on Sat and Sun.
I am officially on the winter trianing train. Monday included a hour 8 easy run and today I am going to attend the first indoor workout of the season. It will include a warm up and 200m repeats at no slower that 39 sec for an hour with 200m recovery (ugh!) then a cooldown.
I will be running in an indoor 3000m race on Saturday afternoon. The aggressive goal is to run under 10minutes, which will still put me at the back of the slow heat, but I need to put the ego aside and run knowing this is all part of the grand master plan. After the race I will add on some miles, then get in a good run on Sunday.

Wed.

Ran the rboretum route today. I found an additional tral that allowed me to add an extra 8 minutes to the arboretum portion of the run.

Time 1 hr 13 min. I could feel the soreness from yesterday. I hope to get in am hour or so on thxgvng mng.

The outdoor track work of the year

And it was a good workout. We ran 3 miles to warmup. Then we broke in to groups of 5 and Tom said that we were going to have our 10k team time trial. It ended up being a nice controlled 10k on the track. No one went too crazy or went out of their way to push to an uncontrollable pace which was a relief. I tried to cut loose with a mile left but was called out and put back in my place. I was very thankful for this. It wasn't that I was trying to race the last mile I just wanted to get it over as fast as possible.
10k was 38 minutes and I felt good at the end. Did an easy mile and a half cool down.

Miles today 10.5

Sundayfifteenandahalfmiles

Had a 2 mile warm up to meet the group on the Cambridge side of the mass ave bridge, fifteen minutes. Then we jumped right into the run. The pace was consistently 7:0x ish with several high 645-650 miles. Total mileage for the day, 15.5. Avg pace 710. The pegs felt unresponsive today.

Love pecan pie!

I thought it would be funny to attempt to duplicate the picture from
my blog, 2 years and 15 lbs later.

Today I ran for an hour 5 min. I went to and around the increadibly
soft and leaf covered trails in the arboretum. Tomorrow is the regular
Sunday 2 hr run.

7's for 10

I had to get out and run today. The sabbatical is over. Met a fellow GBTCer for a evening run. We got in 10.5. The pace didn't feel too fast but after the run, The Gremlin (new name for my Garmin) said we ran an avg of 705 pace. Good run overall.

Bosotn race prep.

The votes are in and the 2010 NEW ENGLAND grand prix races have been selected. This will include 2 races before Boston. I am also planning to join the same team I ran with last year in the Texas Independence Relay on March 6&7. All of which should provide high quality opportunities to get ready for Boston.



-New Bedford Half Marathon, 13.1M, New Bedford MA, Sun., Mar 21, 11:00 AM

-Bedford Rotary Memorial 12K,12K , Bedford NH, Sat., May 22, 9:00 AM

-Rhody 5K (MEN ONLY) ,5K ,Lincoln RI , Sun., June 6, 9:30 AM

-Stowe 8 Miler, 8M, Stowe VT, Sun., July 18, 9:00 AM

-Bridge of Flowers 10K , 10K , Shelburne Falls MA, Sat., August 14, 9:00 AM

-Providence Ronald McDonald House Women's Classic (WOMEN ONLY), 5K, Providence RI, Sun, Oct. 3, 10:00 AM

2. The Marathon selected was the BayState Marathon, Lowell MA, Sun., Oct. 17, 8:00

4 days in a row

Managed to not run all week. Not planned and I don't really have any excuses. I think it is probably for the best because I never got in a good rest week after the marathon. So I'll call this part of my resting and plan to get in a Friday morning fun run.

H1N1

Found out today that Jess is officially diagnosed with the Mexican Swine Flu. As a result I opted to stay home this evening. Missing an awesome workout doesn't bother me that much because I know the fitness is there, and believe I have plenty of opportunities to get in the workouts. Oh well. So much for the best laid plans....
I am now taking anti viral med. (Tamiflu) to avoid getting the " flu " myself.

19 mile track workout.

Well not exactly, but with a 6 mile warmup and 3 mile cooldown I will be close to 19miles for the day. A quality 19 at that.



As per Tom Derderian.....

"For our penultimate outdoor workout of 2009 at the South Boston Track at 7 pm we will run the warm up then all at exactly the same time we will start on the track with my new invention: Coyote Fartlek.

In this I am the quarry and the Alpha Coyote. We run on the track for an hour without stopping. No one runs slower than me, ever, or I will, as Alpha Coyote, nip you.

The rest of you as the Coyote pack chase either me as you lap me or each other for odd distances. So sometimes you are the quarry and sometimes you are the coyote. Once you catch whomever you are chasing you run with them for a while, then when rested, launch off in pursuit of the next quarry, the slowest and most restful of which will be me.

NO STOPPING.

NO JOGGING.

This simulates a race in that you won't know what effort is coming and cannot anticipate.

If you and your group want to time some parts, go ahead. But remember:

NO STOPPING.

NO JOGGING.

For one hour. Gold standard is to exceed 40 laps. I will be more like 33.

Within this whimsical framework there is something for everyone. This is a good way to learn how to read your limits."

If you are not in by now...

Just saw the posting on the BAA website that the Marathon registraiton is closed. That was fast!


http://baa.org/News.asp?NewsID=408

SundayRunday

The plan was to have a nice 90 min run. We started at a casual 740730ish pace for the first 4 and we ended up at a consistent 715 ish pace from 4to7 then we hit the newton hills and ran 720 ish up the hills.

After that it was like someone said go and the hammer dropped, the group of 10 went to 2 groups of 5. The first settled into a 550-6 min pace and we sat back at a 645 ish pace. At this point we were at mile 9 and basically maintained pace for the rest of the run. Fastest mile was 620 slowest was 650.

Total dist.13.13, avg pace 721.

Friday.

Wasn't sure I'd make out for a run today. I skipped out on the morning run and decided to do the evening thing again. It was a fair paced/effort run. Time: hour fifteen minutes.

Wed fun run

So hard to get out and run in the dark after work. My solution is to put on the head phones and just run. I am not a proponent of running with headphones unless I am doing it.
I ran for an hour and 5 min.

11-10-2009

The Tuesday track workout without the track. Myself and 5 others were told not to do a track workout tonite and do a 5 mile tempo run. So, that's what we did and yes it sucked. Not sure the pace because o don't wear garmin to the track but it was a brisk pace. Then I sid the 3 mile death march home.

6 mile wu, 5 mile tempo, 3 mile down.

Completely dark by 4:55 pm

As winter approaches so does the early night that New England is known for. It is tough to leave the office at 5pm in complete darkness and feel motivated to go for a run. So tonight I took the dogs on a 20 min stroll and then strapped on the head phones and headed out.
It ended up being a 45 minute steady state run. The pace wasn't slow by any means but it was still under control. In times like these I am trying to make the most of the time I have available. Besides, I figure that was better than shuffling around on the roads for an hour and 20 minutes.

The official results are in....

89th out of 103, sheesh that's weak sauce. Well, at least their is room for improvement.


http://www.coolrunning.com/results/09/ma/Nov8_USATFN_set1.shtml

2009 NE XC championship

http://krissyk.smugmug.com/Sports/New-England-Cross-Crounty/10250486_iMk2h#707014742_ntC4j

Above is a link to pics and results for the xc race. The results is one of the pictures at the back, "bootleg" results.
-- 3 divisions, mens masters, womens, and mens open. If you click through really fast you can kinda watch parts of the race unfold.

.and here comes our leader with, 400m to go.

I ran in the NE regional 10k XC race today. Personally I ran a PR for a 10k 37:42, so I'll take that. I don't think I am fully back from the marathon or at least i hope not considering the response I got from my legs.

The down side is as I was approaching the 8k mark which is the same place as the finish line, I heard the announcement that leader was coming around the corner. Their was no point in pushing it too much at this point. As he flew by me like I was walking I continued on. No one else lapped me though only the guy who won, if that is any consolation.
The results are not posted so I am not sure where I was in the overall standings.

I forgot how much short fast races hurt though and today was no exception. It may have been even worse because it was on an XC course.

TR morning fun run

Did the 5am thing. Took the pups around the block against their will. They are not enjoying the cold as much as I am, especially koda. I have to hunt him down in the morning to get him on the leash. After the dog walk I went on the human run. I ran for 58 minutes. It was a briskly paced run, not much of a choice when it is 40 deg outside.

Tuesday on the track.

Let the speed phase begin. Did 6 mi wu, 2 800's , 160 sec. Then 4 400's at 73-75 sec. The workout was supposed to be all 800's but that wasn't bapening for me so I edited it for my current ability. Then a brutal 3 mile coolsown.

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.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A link to more Mayors Cup photos.

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

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.......

W23d3.

Ran for am hour and 10 minutes. started nice and easy and picked it up after I warmed up. It was 55 deg this evening when I headed our. Brrrrrrr!! I took the gloves just in case but I didn't need them. This week should turn out to be a good one for running. It is amazing how after about 45 to 50 minutes I really start feeling good and the legs come to life.

w23 d 2

Tuesday track workout.

3 miles to the track, 3.5 miles with the group for warm up.

The track fun consisted of 1000's with 400m recovery. I was a little concerned about doing these but we kept them under control so it wasn't so bad. Paces ranged from 327-335 and we completed 6. Then I did the 3 miles back to the house.

Total miles = 15.

w23 d1

I felt a bit tight this morning, but not near what I expected. I went for a slow 55 minute run this evening 15 minutes of which was with the weenies.

W22,mpw.

67

D7w22

Nahant 30k. Started the first mile 650, second mile was 640 ish. Third was 635 then I decided to see what I coils do and ran on feel for about 6 miles. These were in the low 630 range with one or two 625-628's. By mile 8 my average pace was 635 and I planned to keep the pace in that range. With 3 miles left I decided to try to keep it in 625 range. This was tough and ended up running low 630 ish pace. At the end I hurt a bit but could have kept going at a 650 pace maybe even 640 ish. This helpede put my upcoming marathon in perspective. Probably going to plan to run 650 ish pace for the marathon.

d5, d6

D5 ended up being a rest day.
D6 I went to the Cod Fish Bowl, a local DIII cross country meet that allows open entry. It was an 8k for the men. I did the warmup with some of the GBTC guys that were racing in it. Got in about 5 miles today. Should be able to give a good effort tomorrow.

W22,d3.d4

Ran for an hour both days. I'll call it 8.5 miles each day

d2, w22

Tuesday track workout consisted of 3 miles WU run to the track, 3*200 build to fast end of a race closing pace but not an all out sprint (37 sec) with 200 recovery. 7*1000 (3:30) with 600 recovery. Then 3 miles home. Workout was great and I ran the 3 miles home in under 21 minutes but it hurt. "As it is supposed to"

I was talking to my our running coach after practice about the 30 k that is coming up and he had some good advice. Go out to run the race, don't worry about the marathon in 4 weeks run the race you in that day for those conditions. Race to win, if you can't try to place as high as possible. Tom has run a 2:19 marathon, so I have a tendency do as much of what he suggests as I can with out putting my self in a place to get injured. Tom wrote the book, literally, he wrote the book -The Boston Marathon- and couple others he coauthored. He has trained and run with many of the olympians of his day.
He asked me what my mileage had been for the past 5 weeks.
I told him about 60-65/wk with one or two 70-75. I justified this by saying, but only on 6 days of running. He kind of looked at me and said "why are you only running 6 days".
I said "well I like to take one day of recovery/ rest during the week".
He basically said that" I can't possibly reach my full marathon or racing potential on that kind of mileage. It does take time/ years to be capable of running huge mileage weeks but that is what it takes to truly maximize racing potential. That in combination with running fast and practicing to run fast, with racing being the best practice".
He noted that when he was in his prime he was always tired, most of his training runs were hard. Some of them were uncomfortable for the entire 2 hours of the run. "This is how we are supposed to feel during training".
----------------------------

This morning he emailed me this column he wrote a few years ago which I found to really put things into perspective.

------The Medicalization of the Marathon


You don’t climb mountains for your health. Yes, you have to be healthy to climb mountains, but you climb them for the challenge, because it is hard, because it is dangerous, and, of course, because they are there. Why should it be different for marathons? Mountains, marathons — same thing: because they are there.

But every year we hear more jargon and medical terms applied to the marathon. I am afraid we have made the most simple of sports too complicated and frightening. It seems we have equated the marathon with a disease when we use the word “recover” to apply to the time a runner rests after a hard effort. Rest is a fine word. After a long, hard race, you rest, but after a disease, you recover.

Another obscure term to replace “rest” before a marathon has surfaced: taper. The jargon for resting on both sides of a marathon may be self-aggrandizing or may serve to intimidate those outside the sport. “Tapering” and “recovering” sound much more professional and serious than resting, which may be confused with laziness and goofing off. So regarding the terms “taper” and “recover,” let’s just let it rest.

In addition to resting, humans eat and drink. The new marathon lingo has elevated those historical human activities to “nutrition” and “hydration.” Michael Pollan, who wrote “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and “In Defense of Food,” keeps it simple as he sums up all the patter of nutritional counsel: “Eat food, mostly plants.” Other than in response to disease or deprivation, that advice is enough. Nutrition is an important field of study for scientific and health reasons, but the morbid need to fret about every vitamin, calorie, or electrolyte is unnecessary for people already healthy enough to be athletes. Yes, branded products proliferate: energy bars and energy drinks, for instance, are only over designed, overpriced food and somewhat salty, sugary water. The most important active ingredient in these sports drinks is water — the same stuff that flows from the tap at a tiny cost. The sugar and salt added are in your every bite of food. The advertising and promotion of such products does turn a profit, so the sellers keep pushing them, but you can get what you need in your own kitchen. Eat food. Drink water.

Gizmos make more profits than do specialty athlete foods. Beyond the silly sight of men with heart-rate monitors holding them tight to their chests with man-jog bras, they are expensive and unnecessary. It may be interesting to know your heart rate at a particular pace, but you can learn how to feel your heart rate with great accuracy and value by stopping while running a known pace and taking your pulse using a wristwatch. (I like wristwatches.) After doing this for a few runs and at different paces, you will be able to read your body and know your heart rate from the feel of it beating in your own chest and be able to correlate a number to it. That little biofeedback study can save you a lot of money with which you can buy food.
A runner I coach recently found that the beeping of a global positioning system strapped to a runner alongside indicating constant deviations from the programmed pace was annoying to almost homicidal limits. Do you really need to be attached to 24 orbiting satellites 12,000 miles up to tell you how to place your feet on planet earth?
From your feet to your nose — they want us to buy strips of tape to stick on our noses to flare our nostrils as we run. These may help old men who snore or make you look like a raging bull, but they won’t help you run faster. There seems to be no end to products or raging bull —.
There’s another way they want to tell you to get nutrition: without eating or drinking. A company sells a dual-layer strip that you place between your cheek and gum (like chewing tobacco?) to get electrolytes into your bloodstream faster so you can remain hydrated. It sounds good, but it is not necessary. Any well-trained athlete needs only water to produce sweat during a marathon (water being the active ingredient of sweat). Simplicity is the word: if you are thirsty, drink water. But don’t drink too much. The necessary electrolytes should already be stored in your body from previous meals.
The new emphasis of medicine and the marathon has produced hyponatremia, or water intoxication. Well-meaning nutritional and medical advisers told novice runners to drink lots of water during a marathon. But their poorly trained bodies sweat out too many electrolytes. Then the medical advice to drink diluted the electrolytes in their bodies and gained water weight as they ran. Medical advice was no replacement for training during which the body learns how to sweat. The excess water leaks into the brain. In the worst cases, their brains swell up, resulting in confusion, coma, and even death. Ironically, many of the people who suffer during a marathon run for a reason other than the challenge, such as to memorialize someone or to raise money for a cause, often of the medical variety, or to celebrate a personal recovery from a personal problem such as drug or alcohol abuse. Of course some just race to win.
But elite athletes have their own demons of the medical variety in the pharmacopeias of performance-enhancing drugs and medical industrial devices, from ice tubs, to gravity-reduction treadmills, to massage, physical therapy, chiropractic, oxygen-reduction rooms, altitude training, or other products or techniques that in some cases work or may be cheating or are quackery. Or as someone else said, some are good, some are bad, and some are bogus.
Our sport is simple. It is beautiful because it is simple. If you want to get good, run a lot, eat food, and drink water, and when you get tired, rest.

w22d1

After taking off Sunday and only going for a leisure bike ride I felt pretty fresh during the late morning run. The plan was to get in about 10 miles. I ran 2.5 miles to the arboretum then ran on the trails in the arboretum for 5.5 miles then back to the house. It was one of those perfect runs, body, weather everything. I could pick it up at will, wasn't uncomfortable, and felt as if I could have run all day.

Ended up getting in 10.5 miles 718 pace. It was more of a progressive pace run which they all seem to be these days.

D7

54 miles this week. Feeling fresh. Ready to see how things go next weekend.

D6 Last minute 5k race

I was planning to get in an easy 10 today and maybe do a long run Sunday but we had a 5k in the neighborhood that was a fund raiser for the local park. I decided that since I am a daily visitor of the park I could help support the cause. I ran the course as a warm up and it was a hilly one. So we toed the line at 10 am and began I was basically in 2nd place the entire race. The guy in first finished in 1620 and I finished in 1748. The 3rd place guy was about 45 seconds back of me. This ended up being a good effort run and I got in about 8 miles today with W/u and W/d.

My excuse for not winning this small and not very competitive race is the guy who won was a college student at Northeastern and I believe he runs for their team. I am pretty happy with the splits on the crazy hilly course though.

D3d4d5

D3: rest

d4: ran for an hour, 6.5 miles total. FYI: don't eat pulled pork and potatoes 2 hrs before a run.

D5: 17 miles Prog Pace. Ending at 645 pace.

D2

South Boston track workout. Ran 3 miles to the track did 8*200 (37-39sec) with 200 recovery. Then 3 mile (530,540,530)repeats with 400 recovery. Was supposed to do 4 but kinda felt beat up and tight during the first lap of the 4th one. So I pulled out of the group and caught on to the back of a couple groups and did 2 800's. Then ran home on pretty tired legs until the last mile. I was able to pick up the pace and felt much better. Pretty sore this morning.

Total miles= 13

D1

Easy 10. Ran to and down the Dorchester bay. Our track practices are Noe in south Boston at a track that is exactly 3 miles from my apt. So, I can warmup and cool down from/ to home. I will save 30-40 minutes of my life each week doing this. It may not be such a benefit if I get mugged during the run home on the dark though.
In doing a recent crime search in the Boston area the majority of shootings and roberies are all along the road I take for the warmup cooldown. On the bright side their will be no stopping to walk during the cooldown. It may actually be faster than the track intervals.

One more race

I'm planning to get in one last race before the Bay State marathon. It will be in 2 weeks, about 3 weeks out from the marthon.
The race is a 30k in a very hilly course. With warm up and cool down it should be about 22-23 miles.

I expect this to be a great opportunity to test out a tenative goal pace.

d7

met up with a group this morning. The email said it was going to be a relaxed run and the pace wouldn't be faster that 7 min/mile. They were plannig to go for 15 so I figured I'd get in 10 of it then split off on my own.
We wasted no time settling right into the "relaxed" 7min pace. It felt fine until conversations began and before anyone knew it we were running 630's. I am the only one with a garmin so I didn't say anything and just kept on with the group to see what may happen. Well, what happened was after another mile we were clicking right along at 610's. At this point I decided to give in another half mile and let them have their fun. I was quite tired and the legs were beginning to feel the race the day before.
I headed home and called it a day at 8.5 miles.

Avg pace 7 min..

So the miles for the week are 60, not bad for 5 days

Race pics.,.,.,.,.,

running is relative..part II

As I celebrate another P.R., I continue to strive for more/better. Today was the Ollie 5 miler in South Boston. I placed 103rd. The field was quite competitive with 23:53 winning the event, but I still can't settle as I know that this is just the begining. I expect to be running much faster next year barring the unexpected.

Nonetheless, I am happy with my 28:48 finish, this is an average of 5:46min/mile. Which brings me to the Mc Millan calculator and my theory that you let your training determine your goal paces. I know the website has a disclaimer. It does have its benefits, but I am becoming convinced of the fact that if you want to get good at racing you have to race and running fast you have to race.

The Mc Millan calculator is as much of an enabler as anything else. Had I used it I would have gone out much slower and placed and run much slower. The result would have been less than what I was capable of.

Lesson learned.

Lets run......

D4

After 2 days in a row of hard running I decided to rest on day 3.

Today I procrastinated for 2 hrs before getting out of the door for the run. I got in an easy 10. Sometimes getting out of the door is the hardest part.

w 20 d2- Tuesday track workout

I really enjoy the track workouts. They are a nice break from pounding the pavement or running on the local trails. Today was a day of mile repeats with 400m recovery. It began with the standard progressive pace warm up that always seems to start easy enough but ends at a casual 645 pace.

The repeats began with a 540 mile. Then the next 3 were 537. I called it a day after 4 because I raced yesterday. These repeats are getting easier and easier. Finished the work out with a 2 mile warm down.


That's 10 miles if my math is correct.

What's in the shoes?

Well, the answer is feet?


But the real question I am asking is trainers or racing flats?

I guess the shoes are not near as important as the person wearing them. However, during the recent 25 k I wore my Mizuno Wave Ronin, it was something I had been debating but made the decision at the last moment. I have no way of knowing if the race would have turned out differently in my trainers.
I felt much more responsive in the lighter, less cushioned racing flat. The down side is the physical damage done by the impact. Is it worth the sacrafice? Not sure.
I haven't made a shoe decision for the upcoming marathon but I am leaning toward the racing flat. Regardless of which type of shoe I choose, it will be a Mizuno I love their running shoes.

D1week20......cape Ann 25k

Placed19th overall. Avg pace for the run was 637 pace. Same as the avg pace of the 10 mile race I ran a month ago. I ran 650's for the first 5 miles. Then dropped to 630 ish. At this point people were dropping like flies. This made me happy in a sick enjoying their pain kind of way. Thehen by mile 10, having only 5 miles left I cranked it down And ran 615's for a couple miles the. Ran 605ish to the finish.

It was a good run.

With warm up and cool down I had 22 miles for the day..

d6

Easy 10. I rested Friday because I planned to do a long run today but made the late afternoon decision to race Monday. I headed out and it is amazing how good I felt during this run. The day off yesterday made a big difference. I settled in to what seemed like a faster but seemingly easy pace after 3.5 miles. Ran a few 650's and then I made a conscious effort to slow down as to preserve my efforts until Monday.

Ran 10.5 miles at an avg of 714's.

Upcoming race

Just registered for the Race around Cape Ann on Monday 9-7. This is a 25k race, so I guess I'll forgo the planned weekend long run.

Based on the McMillan calculator I should be able to run around 648's for the 25k. I guess we will see about that as it is supposed to be a challenging course. The bright side is that the weather for race day is supposed to call for a high of 71 deg and a morning temp of 58 degrees. Love it!!

d4

Wasn't sure what kind of workout I wanted to do today. All I knew was I wanted to run around 14-15 miles. I was torn between a moderately paced run or some type of tempo workout. I decided to do a type of tempo workout. Ran an easy 2 for warmup. Then did a mile at tempo effort, ran a mile of recovery (730-715 pace), Then did 2 mile tempo effort and 1 mile recovery, then 3 mile tempo. By the end of the 3 mile tempo I was face to face with the Newton Hills so I recovered up heart break hill's then moseyed back to the house. I ran the last 2 miles of the run at tempo effort and had a half mile easy easy effort home.

Total miles 15.
Tempo efforts varied between 630 and 645 depending on hills. It was a good workout and now I need a nap.

d3

Took it easy today. Had a relaxing 10.5 mile run. Ran for 1 hr 20 min.

W19d2

The educational lesson from Tom today was, the important part of distance running is to teach your body to run a long way without getting tired.

Now that sounds silly, actually simple may be a better word. It is the truth though. Running is real simple, so simple that people often tend to over think it.

Today was 8 sprints on a 50 meter grass hill, then to the track for 4* 1200 and 2 * 1600. we did an 800m recovery ( under 4 min) between.
The intervals were run between 530-540/mile pace. I had a good workout. Never felt strained or out of breath during the workout. I could have done the workout again if I had to. It would have sucked but I could have done it, which was the idea.
Then 5 striders on the field ending at a sprint.

Total miles= 12

I guess it's all relative...

I started running with the GBTC group in June. I was in what I considered to be decent shape, 178 lbs, running 50-60 miles a week with the occasional 18-20 mile run every other saturday.

The first track workout with them was mile repeats. The first one I ran in 6 min and the other 2 were 615 and 630. Now it is 2 full months of training later and I am in what I would call better that decent shape but still at a place where great improvement is possible.

I am still running 50-60-70 mile weeks but they seem to be faster and easier at times. The track workouts are certainly much easier. Nonetheless my improvements are only based on where I was in June. Everyone else in the group is maintaining or getting better/faster as well. So, in reality I still have an uphill battle.

The only reason I am getting better is because I am training with people who are better/ faster than I am so I can't settle for my current fitness level because I will simply get left behind. This is my motivation. Surround your self with people who are good or better that you and you will eventually reach that level. I literally have something to chase after...

When I look at some of my recent race times they are PR's, but that doesn't even put me close to age group contention for races in the area. That is the gap that needs to be closed. In due time....

W19d1

Easy 30 min shake out. Woke this morning to quads that were quite sore.
So I decided to stay on grass and other soft surfaces.

Cross country pics

Division results: http://www.coolrunning.com/results/09/ma/Aug29_7thAnn_1_set1.shtml
Overall Results: http://www.coolrunning.com/results/09/ma/Aug29_7thAnn_set1.shtml

Week 18 is history

Total miles for the week 69. It was certainly a training week like none I've ever done before. It consisted of what I would call 3 days of quality running with Tuesday's track workout, Saturday's cross country experiment, and today's unplanned 20. The most important part is that I don't feel too beat up. Well, kinda beat up. Still got in 69 miles.

d7

I met the 2hr run GBTC group this morning. Things went much better since I knew what to expect this time and I hadn't gone 17 the day before. I ran 2 miles to the boat house where we were going to start from. As usual the run started out at the casual 745-730 pace for the first 4 miles then I guess the group was warmed up things picked up. Mile 5 was 715 then from 6-14 we had one 730 mile but the rest ranged from 645-710 with the majority of them under 7's. This became quite challenging around mile 14.5 where I pulled off and finished the run with 3.5 miles back to the house. At the end of the run I had an avg. of 717 for the 18 miles.

with the 2 mile warmup total miles 20.

Race schwag.

Not bad for a $20 race entry.

6k results

Time 21:05. We ran the course for a warmup. The course was a solid XC course with about a mile thru open field before narrowing down into technical single track for another mile. It then opened back up for the last few of the course. I finished 31 overall. This was a small race but the competition was very respectable.

I thought it was pretty funny that the schwag shirts for the race were the 2009 Boston marathon long sleeve yellow shirts. Picture to come soon.

More on race to come later.

KENNEDY funeral..

So, I am a member of the Community Alliance of Mission Hill and I received this email today. Since, I live across the street from the church where the funeral will be held we can't stand or stop on our side walk, anywhere in the neighborhood. I agree that it is sad that the guy passed but Koda and Cooper don't really care and they will have their walk. We walk by that church every day and they love to pee on that bush in front of the church. Since the weather calls for rain I guess we won't spend a lot of time standing around anyway.
I don't have a car so I'm not worried about the parking restrictions. But as school is now in session I doubt that those lots will have a neighborhood's worth of spots available.
Maybe you will see me on the news walking the weenies!!!!! Or I can run by in my trash bag / racing top.
This is a picture of the steeple of the Church taken from the local park.


I wonder if they are going to support the local bars and stop for a scotch afterwards or if that will take place back on the Cape.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Community Alliance of Mission Hill



Save The Date !!

September 12, 2009

CAMH hosts a Neighbor-Hill Celebration at Sheehy Park !

PARKING RESTRICTIONS FOR KENNEDY FUNERAL ANNOUNCED

No Stopping or Standing will be allowed at the following locations on Saturday, August 29, 2009, beginning at 12:01 AM. The temporary parking restrictions will be in effect for the funeral of Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy. To accommodate the public safety plan, if necessary, law enforcement agencies may add further restrictions as late as Saturday morning. Please park accordingly as it will be necessary to ticket and tow vehicles parked in violation.

Burney Street, both sides, from Tremont Street to Delle Avenue
Carmel Street, both sides, from Tremont Street to Delle Avenue
Cornelia Court, both sides, from Smith Street to Horadan Way
Pontiac Street, both sides, from Tremont Street to Alleghany Street
Saint Alphonsus Street, both sides, from Calumet Street to Ward Street
Sewall Street, both sides, from Tremont Street to Delle Avenue
Smith Street, both sides, from Saint Alphonsus Street to Parker Street
Turquoise Way, both sides, from Smith Street to Horadan Way
Tremont Street, both sides, from Columbus Avenue to Huntington Avenue
Vehicles bearing Mission Hill Resident Parking Permits will be allowed to park free of charge at the following private off-street parking facilities.
Stanhope Parking, #690 Huntington Avenue (near Wigglesworth Street) - Vehicles may be parked anytime after 6 PM on Friday, August 28 and may stay for as long as necessary on Saturday
Wentworth Institute, two lots located on Halleck Street and Mindoro Street, both between Prentiss Street and Station Street - Vehicles may be parked anytime after 7 PM on Friday, August 28 and may stay through Saturday, August 29 until 9 PM
Massachusetts College of Art, parking lot on Ward Street - Vehicles may be parked anytime after 7 PM on Friday, August 28 and may stay through Saturday, August 29 until 9 PM


==============================================================================

d4

Woke this morning planning to get in an easy 10. I ran 1.75 miles and decided to turn around and go home. My quads were still quite jello. So I sat/laid around most of the day waiting for my body to tell me it was time to go for a run. After a day's worth of cleaning, laundry, and dog walking ( pups got 2 walks today ) I headed out around 530p. It was beautiful all day. The high was about 73 deg. Got in 8.5 miles this evening. Not going to count the 3.5 this morning.

Total miles 8.6...1 hr 4 min.

Tomorrow's weather is going to be even more glorious. Too bad it is supposed to be a rest day, I may skip the rest and get in an easy 6-8 miles.

Saturday is a race day. Their is a 6k cross country race about 30 miles north/west of Boston. The weather for Saturday calls for high of 65 degrees and rain. This is considered good weather to cross country runners, at least that is what they keep saying. Initially I planned to opt out of this cross country race due to fear of injury, but I think it will be a great race and lots of fun so I am going for it. I'll get in my long run next week.

D3

One hour run 8 mph.


So on Monday I decided to do a leg workout in the morning after work. I haven't done a leg workout in about 2 months. I did 1 set of 20 squats, bar plus 20 lbs. Then did 2 sets of lunges. As a result, the past two days my legs have felt ten pounds heavier. What have we learned from this? If you are going to do leg workouts do them regularly or not at all.

W18d2

Today's track workout was 2 mile repeats. Some did 4 some did 2 I did 2.5. The first one was on the road 1220. Socond on the track1205. The last one was pretty painful so I finished after 1 mile 606.
Had a 3 mile cool down.
Total miles, 11.

Some people just get it....

Dear US government,

You have proven incompetence in managing social retirement services, welfare programs, federal space programs, and many other government run programs. I'm just saying that when it comes to improving efficiency and cost cutting, your track record doesn't bode well.

When someone applies for a job they must submit a resume, CV, with letters of reference. When I compare your resume with that of other applicants you don't meet the skills and experience I am looking for but thank you for your interest.




http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204251404574342170072865070.html

w18d1

12.5 miles. That's pretty much it.

W17d7

6.5 miles. 47 min.

About 55 miles for the week.

W17d6

8 hot and humid miles. 1 hr 3 min

W17d5

So looks like I got my days mixed up on the previous post. Today is day 5. Let me say that summer is here and I wish it would leave. Today was hot and humid. I made it 7.2 miles before nearly melting. Run took 1 hr 2min

Benchmarks

It is pretty obvious that their aren't any fat or even good distance runners. This is because it requires less energy to move something light around then something heavy. When I ran my past 3 marathons I was 180, 185 and 175. I was in considerably better shape during the last which is why I was 175 lbs. I don't have a real "goal" weight but I do have an ideal weight I should be if I am ready for Bay State around 165. I know my fitness is close to where it needs to be for the marathon I am in a fine tuning and maintaining stage now.
So, I have been observing my daily weights to see where I am. I was around 170 about 2 weeks ago. Then this week after about 4 days of responsible eating I noticed that my mid day and morning weight is 167lbs. This just shows the importance of diet when it comes to the details of training. Now, I don't follow a strict eating habit, but here forward I am going to make an effort to avoid excesses of crap food. Because the day is near and I don't want any excuses.

New additions to the plant family

You can go to your local store and buy fresh basil or rosemary for about $2.50 each if you are lucky. You can get dry herbs for about $4-5 for a can of dry herbs.

If you have cooked with both fresh and dried herbs, you know their is no comparison. The fresher the better. However, every time I buy fresh basil for $2.50 cents I think of how I am going to use 1/4 of the herbs and the rest is going to go bad on the counter.

I think I have found the solution. At the local Farmers Market today I located the herbs and got some Basil and Rosemary. They didn't have flat leaf parsley or cilantro, but plan to have some next week.

I hope they can live in the window during the winter.

w17d3 part2

Doubles. I clearly didn't succeed in running doubles last week. I wasn't sure how to work it out with my schedule. Now that I have figured out my schedule I think I can manage at least one or two doubles per week.
Today I got in a good 13.5 miles and felt good during the entire run. This evening I ran 1.5 miles to a local track and ran 3 2000's with 400m recovery I hoped to get in 4 2000's but it wasn't there. I had it in me, but the field and track became really crowded all of the sudden so I called it quits. Then ran home. Total miles for run 2 = 7

Miles for the day = 20.5.

Tomorrow is a single day.

w17d3

Went for the morning run today. Got in 13.5 miles. Thinking about doing another 10 this evening.

I got my new shoes on..

Well the nikes are gone.
These are the new racing flats. Good thing fashion isn't important in
my running world.

W17d2

After consecutive good track workouts I figured I was bound for a bad one. Sure enough here it was. I think it was due in part to the lack of organization more than anything else.
The workout. While the coach walked the track we aere to run at whatever pace we wished (10k-5k) until we lapped him twice( about 850m) then recover however we wished an do it again. Their were various groups doing different variations. I did this for about 30 minutes and I was done. This lack of structure combines with my dead legs resulted in me calling it a day early. I do feel rested today with only the half workout.
Time for a run.

The Great Shoe Conundrum

I clearly have an inability to throw away/donate or simply get rid of running shoes. The nike's on the right were worn in the Austin Marathon 2009 and I recently wore them for the Newbury port 10 miler.
So why do I keep these shoes? Well, the orange wave riders are my bad weather neutral shoe, the nike's are my bad weather support shoe. The matching pairs of wave riders were bought together simply because I got a sweet deal and scored each for $60. They are my main trainers but don't really like them. Now, I am planning to get a pair of racing flats but I refuse to get another pair until I can part with one of these pair first. I can't decide whether to get rid of the Nike's or the older of the two blue wave riders.

Mr. Cactus is enjoying the heatwave.

W17, d1.New England heatwave

Well, we have had 3 days in a row of temps above 90 degrees and the weatherman said he thinks our "heatwave" will likely come to an end on Thursday when a front comes through.

So this is a heat wave huh?


Yesterday I went our for an easy run at 3pm. It was pretty toasty but I stayed in the shade for most of the run making conditions quite nice.

Today's track workout will be 7-10 * 1000m

W16 report.

Ended the week with 69.5 miles. Not quite 70 but close. It didn't really feel like a long week because I have 60 mile weeks that felt much worse than this week did. I'm feeling well coming off of the 23 miler yesterday. So I am expecting to get in 10 today. The marathon is now two months out. I plan on having no more that 3 more hard/long weeks. I will have a 20+ run on sat or sun this week but after that one I am not planning to go over 20 until the marathon.
I hope the get in some really good quality steady state and tempo runs in the next 3 weeks. This will include a local 5 mile road race on September 12, Ollie 5 mile road race.

W16d7

23 miles. Avg pace 722. Ran the last 8 miles between 715 and 7 min pace.
Did 4 200m strides at the end.

W16d6

Woke this morning and decided to sleep for 3 more hours. Got in an easy 7. Now getting ready for tomorrow.

W16d4d5

D4
11miles.. No big hilights.
D5
rest for tomorrow's fun.

W16d3

Hard 7.5 in 1 hr 5 min.
This run SUCKED. Legs were dead. I guess the track workout took more put of me than I thought. This is a good thing though. Gotta run on tired legs to get ready for the big day. With a good taper I think I would be ready.

W16d2

W16 really, has it been 16 weeks. I keep losing track and forget which week I am on and have to revert back to ensure I put the right week #.
Today was the Tuesday meeting at the track. I considered running there but I wasn't sure how the 25 400's would go so I rode instead.
I love riding around this city. It is by far the most efficient mode of transportation and at 630 when the cars are stacked up I just fly by. It is very liberating. I am waiting for the day some jerk opens his/her door as I am riding by.
Back to the work out. Started with a 3 mile warm up. Was more like 3 miles at mgp though. The warm up over in 21 minutes then we were back on the rubber. The plan was to do 400m recover while someone else ran a 400 and continue when they finished. I'll just call it 400's with even recovery. This was to go on for an hour. My plan was to run 80-85 sec 400 for the first 15 then begin to speed up. All we t acording to plan. The majority of them were 83- 84, which was pretty easy. This was one of those workouts that you can make as hard as you wish. Looking back I should have been trying to run 80's. The last five were under 78 with the second to last one a 68 and the last one 72.
We ended the workout with a 7 min mile.
After running like that on the track it is hard to tell how fast you are going on the warm down.
I kind of wish I would have run to and home from the track to make he total miles higher.

Total 10.

w16d1

I started the day hoping to do a week of doubles. Something like 5 miles in the morning and 10 or so on days, but only that are not quality days. So this would be Monday Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. I got in my 5 this morning at 715 pace. This evening Jess came with me on her bike so this kind of caused me to run faster that normal so I ended up doing 6 miles at 7 min pace.

So to day Got in 11 miles.

We'll see how the doubles go with the work schedule and all.
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Tomorrow's track workout should be fun......................................................................

The Great" 20 kilometer" relay.

or 50x400.

A team comprises four runners of about the same ability. You know 'em
you pick 'em.

Match pairs of similar fitness because they will always run together.

Two runners start together and run all the way together and tag off
together, then wait, jog, stretch, while the next pair run their 400.

All teams do this for exactly one hour. Always running in pairs.

This way each runner always has someone to run with and can plan the
pace.

It will be like 25x 400 w/ 1 to 2 minutes rest. (the time it takes the
other pair to complete a lap.

You can vary the pace of the 400s.

This is not a race but a way to not have to deal with overheating.

I am guessing that your pace would be your current fitness 5 km speed.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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W15d7

9 miles.

That makes 66 for the week.

w15d6

For the past few weeks I have been settling for LR's around 17-18 miles if not less. Well I left the house determined to do nothing less than 20 miles. The weather was great low humidity and lower temps than the past few weeks. I certainly could tell that I haven't been in the 20 mile range in a while. I recognized the old familiar feeling that occurs around the 18 20 mile mark. Today it was a pretty uncomfortable feeling but that is where I was hoping to get during the run. Notice how I feel and tell myself to relax and keep moving.
At 19.5 miles I was at an intersection where I could have either gone straight home and called it a day at 20 but I decided to head on and make it a 22 mile run. What's 2 miles right? It was great to be at the 20 mile run mark again and get used to what things are going to be like on race day. Hopefully I can have another good long run next weekend.

22 miles, 735 avg pace.

W15d3d4

Got in 7 miles on Wednesday and an easy 5.5 on Thursday.

w15d2

Tuesday workouts make me hurt and I like that. 3mi warmup at 734 pace. Then we ran 2.5mi to the Harvard track at 719 pace and ran a mile there 545 pace. then we ran , 3.7 miles the Tufts track did a mile there at 535 pace. Then we ran 2 miles back to Danehy track for the final mile at 517 pace. I would like to note that I was at the back of the slow pack for the first two track miles but I was at the front of the slow pack for the last mile. I may have been going too easy during the first two mile intervals but wasn't going to push it.
These workouts are dangerous because if you waste your self during the track intervals the run from one track the other can kill you. Because even though they are supposed to be recovery running if you can't recover during 630-720 pace you are screwed.

Total miles 13.

w15d1

10 miles 74 minutes. Decided to take off Sunday. I have been quite sore and tired, from the 10 mile race I think. I guess racing like that can take much more effort that a hard workout. As a result I ended with week with 57 miles.
Today is a Tuesday track workout. Should be fun.

W14d6

Met some GBTCers for a "2 hr run". I knew this could be a really brutal 2 hours but I figured what the hell. I was right. Itay not had been so bad if I had not gone 17 on d5. We started easy then settled into 730ish pace regardless of grade. Which just killed me. By mile 11 I was done, having had no water or fuel did me in and broke off the pack. We lost one other guy at mile 5, which is where I should have cut off also. Either way I got in a good 13 miles today.

W14d5

Thursday was a much needed rest. I did go to yoga though.
Went 17 today not sure if this is a LR or a MLR these days. It felt like a LR which makes me kinda nervous. I was hurting by 13 mainly due to heat and humidity. This was a 3 pm run. Luckily at mile 13 a storm rolled in, the wind picked up, temps dropped and the rain started pouring down. I know I would have finished the run regardless, but the storm sure helped me pick up the pace. I was already soaked before the storm so the cooler temps combined with the rain. Very nice.
Finished 17 miles 758 pace

W14d3

Pushing through the pain. This is my mantra for the next coue of weeks. As I realized in the past week of training, it is going to hurt. my body is going to feel like quitting, this is natural it isy job to realize this and learn to push through. No matter how good I feel on the first half or 3/4 of a run or race the point will come where I will become uncomfortable. I don't believe I reach this point enough in my trainng. The plan is to get to that point during 3 workouts a week an continue to run and relax in the midst of the discomfort.

Today's run. 9.5 miles 810 pace. Brutal humidity. Still not Texas though.

Words can't describe.....

I think these before and after pics say it all. In my own defense, this is the last 400m and I just ran up a short but inconveniently placed hill and one of my mates told me I had two guys behind me. Oxygen debt anyone?

Race report.

The course was great for banking time in the first 3 miles which I did with 621,623,637. Then the hills started which resulted in 638,636,642. Got a bit of a break but at this point it was moral inventory time. The run has felt pretty easy to mile 5 at which point a side cramp set in and thing got tough. So by mile 6 I knew it was going to be one of those runs where you just suffer through the last 4 miles and I was OK with that. Miles 6-9 had some long stretches of inclines as is apparent from the splits 635,659,643. The last mile was a slight down hill which I was thrilled to see, 621.
I didn't get passed in 2 miles by anyone who I didn't end up passing in return during the last mile.

I give the effort and A but the time a B-. At the end of the day I am happy with the result. I am glad to be out of my fantasy land which I was apparently in when I wrote my race strategy post and back to reality.

Total miles 14

Results

66 min 15 sec. I'll take it.

10 mile race plan

Newburyport Yankee 10 mile race. The race day is typically a hot and humid day. By hot I mean 88-90 degrees and by humid i mean 85%. So, even for Texas standards this is a hot setting for a longer race.

This will truly be my first "race" aside from high school track. Up to this point I haven't considered the events in which I have run as races. They have all been elements of training and even the marathons haven't been what I would consider a race. But, I am going to go out and race this event. As a result I thought I should have a well planned strategy or race plan. The ultimate goal is to run under 65 minutes regardless of weather conditions or unknown course challenges. As a result I am going to go out and run the first 5k in 645-655 pace. At the the end of the 5k I hope to get settled in to 630 pace for the next 5k. At the beginning of the 3rd 5 k I'll take an inventory of myself and if all is well I'll drop into 620 pace, and run the last 2 miles in 12 minutes.

So where does this put me? Around 62 minutes.

This race strategy is brought to you in part thanks to the following sources.


................
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-244--11426-0,00.html
.........
http://www.newburyportnews.com/pusports/local_story_207231502.html?keyword=secondarystory
.........

Inspiration

http://www.hulu.com/watch/85354/spirit-of-the-marathon

W14d1

Easy 30 min jog. Taking it easy before the race tomorrow.

W13d7

Easy 7.5.

Weekly total = 58.

Rest day.

1 hour north of Boston.

W13d5

3 mile w/u, 12 mi mgp.

15mi total,

W13d5

6mi,43min

W13d3

9.5 miles, 730. Very sore today.

Team gear

Got the new team tops yesterday. Red is the race day top. Black just a
training top.

w13d2

Tuesday hard workout. Even though this is formally called a track workout we have ventured out the past 2 weeks. Today we met at Danehy track. I ran the 5 miles there instead of riding my bike. This would turn out to be not such a good idea. The email sent out yesterday morning said, what is the "hilliest route we can do from the track". I guess some replied with this link:
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3024505

So we left the track and ran the 2 miles to Tufts University where we were supposed to run up the hills at a hard 10k effort. Once to Tufts we ran up and down the hills for 5 miles then headed back. It was a tough workout. The last 2 miles back to the track were run under 715 pace and pushed 630 at times.

Total miles 14.5.

Mrs. Flower plant

She almost died on the 3 day uhaul trip. She fell out of the uhaul and
lost her original pot. Once twice this size, she seems to be happy now.

Mr. Cactus

This guy was the size of a lime 2 years ago. It exploded from February
to June but from the looms of it it's growth has stalled if not
retracted with the New England weather.

W13d1

6 miles steady state. Pace 648.

w12d7

Rest day.

W12, 70 miles on 5 days.

Cooper making friends.

Water dogs

W12d6

I decided to do a mid day sun run to add a new element to my long run. I must say it was warm. 85 deg and humid. I went 19 miles and half mile worth of strides at the end. I have to remind my self that it is still early and my marathon is still 90 days away.
19.5 miles avg 745 pace.