Two good workouts and 102 miles on the week. My Achilles has been a little more sore than usual this week. It’s runnable but not getting better fast enough. Tuesday’s workout went well and it feels good to be doing shorter faster intervals (1k’s and 800′s).  Midweek we saw some pretty nasty weather with heavy rain and temps around 35. The type of days you just put your head down and grind it out. The 5 mile tempo on Saturday went very well. I can judge a tempo by how much I have left for the last mile. I ended up with a 5:23 and it felt good to be able to switch pace from 5:40ish. Somedays I’m totally flat I’m hoping this means my body has adjusted to the higher miles. Next week I plan on taking a day off , Tuesday workout and will finish around 65 -80 miles on the week. Sunday is the New England Championships XC 10k at Franklin Park. Looking forward to racing this fresh.

I came to the realization tonight that it’s usually better to run straight through puddles rather than trying to dodge them. This is especially true in heavy rain or when puddles dominate the path you’re on. It’s 1. more fun to go right through them with total disregard and 2. takes way too much effort to find a more dry path. The downside is sometimes you don’t know how deep these puddles are which can be a hazard. Sometimes they are much deeper than they first appear so be prepared to go ankle-deep. Even in icy puddles when it’s say 35 degrees outside the water in your shoe warms up pretty quickly. Overall in heavy rain, melting snow or just thereafter, it’s advantageous to take a direct route and to not delay the inevitable saturated shoe and soggy sock.

The first half of this week I was in rough form after the half marathon. I finshed the week with a decent workout and 101 miles on the week. No pain but my legs were very very tired. I started to come around on Thursday. The tempo on Saturday was ok but I was still pretty tired. I had about 18 miles under 6 minute pace which is a lot for me so it was natural that I was fatigued. The long run Sunday I felt great. I met up with a few guys from the team for a run around the river.

The plan for this next week is to load up on miles and a workout earlier in the week and take it easier later in the week before Mayors Cup on Sunday.

Surprised by the camera at the finish

Weekly Wrap Up 10/3 – 10/10

One good workout, one good race.

I ran my first half marathon today and had a blast. Lot’s of cheering spectators along a beautiful course highlighting Boston and Brookline’s Emerald Necklace park system. As with all BAA events this one was put on with the highest quality. Large clocks with a running time at every well marked mile, plenty of water stations and one engery gel station. There were three turnarounds in the race and it was very cool to see the elites battling it out a few minutes before hitting the turnaround myself. These turnaround also made it possible to see those behind you.

I warmed up with my teammate David B with a few loops of the wilderness loop of the Franklin Park XC course. I always get nostalgic racing at FP. This is where I raced many times in high school and a few other times over the past few years.

The first mile of this course is downhill. I knew this mile is fast going in but was still surprised by my 5:28. I mean that is my 10k pace!  I felt fine so I wasn’t overly alarmed. I made sure I didn’t try and keep this pace and relaxed through 5k in just under 18 minutes. I put in a surge to catch a group at mile 4 with a 5:42. I hit the 5 mile mark in 29 minutes. I felt really good at this point and just focused on running smoothly. I hit 10k in 36 flat which is exactly what I wanted. It was around this time when I started to feel some fatigue and I knew the real work was about to start. Also, mile 7 – 12 have all the hills so I was sure not to push it too hard early on.  Around mile 8 I started feeling strong again. The crowd was loud which helped push me to a 5:44 mile. Now, I’ve been running with the same guys from mile 4 – this point. Mile 9 was about the point when I started to feel depleted which coincides with the largest hills of the course. I went through ten miles in 58:30 and did some half brained runner’s math but still knew I was on a good pace. When going up hills I make sure 1. I don’t go into the “red zone” 2. focus on the reward of the downhill or flat after and 3. make sure no one is pulling away. I kept pace with the same guys through the Zoo loop around mile 12 and wow was I in pain. I knew I was running slower but no one was pulling away so that was ok.  Mile 12 – 13.1 were just about flat but so were my legs. It was getting increasingly warmer around 80 degrees and my back started to tie up making breathing difficult. The final half mile was excruciating(as it should be). The previous hills and heat was taking it’s toll. The race finished with a half lap of the track in White Stadium. I didn’t have much of a kick due to my back cramping up but it didn’t really matter. I was just thrilled to be done with my first half. Overall, I’m happy with my time given the tough course and temperature.  I ended up in 33rd and 8th in my age group. I’m looking forward to racing a flatter course and with my first half under my belt I can only get faster.

Mile Splits

1 5:28

2 5:59

3 5:57

17:59 5k

4 5:42

5 5:51 (29:00)

6 5:48

36:00 10k

7 6:05

8 5:44

9 5:53

10 5:58  58:30 10 mile

11 5:56

12 6:18

13.1 6:42 (1.1 miles)

1:17:26 (33rd overall, 8th in age group)

The hay is in the barn as far as this Sunday’s race is concerned. As a runner approaches a race they start to analyze the current condition of their body and what they might expect on race day. The past couple of days have been no different for myself. Today I really started to feel the freshness coming back into my legs. I wouldn’t say I tapered to use the popular term nor am I particularly race sharp. I’d say I’m more rested than anything else. I’ve taken the past couple of days easy while still running doubles totaling ~10 each day and I’m feeling recovered from Sunday’s/Tuesday’s workouts.  The past few months I’ve just been piling on the miles so it feels good to take it easy for a few days in a row. I’m feeling confident about the half marathon on Sunday. The higher mileage has definitely given me a new confidence to keep going even when exhausted. I think If I can keep a 5:48-5:55 mile pace I should be in a good place. I’m curious about what I can run as this is my first half marathon. My longest race prior to this is the Stowe 8 Miler(ran this twice) and Mt Washington (7.6 miles also ran this twice). I’m told this is a fun race and there are about 5000 people expected to run. It’s fun to line up near some of the top runners in the world and sure they are out of sight almost immediately. My plan for the morning is to get there around 7:30 for the 8:30 start. I’m meeting my teammate David there for a 20 minute warm up at 7:50. He was one of the top finishers last year so I’ll be sure to get some last-minute advice. Whether it goes well or poorly, a long run on a Sunday morning is a great way to start the day.

Tuesday’s Track workout started with the usual 3.5 mile warm up along the water over near the JFK Library and UMass Boston. The weather was chilly with a good breeze. For some reason about a dozen rats ran accross the path during the run. I’ve never has to dodge rats on a run so that was a first. Before the start of the workout we broke up in a few groups based on different speed. The workout was 2 x 3k with a 2 minute break then 2 x 2k with 75 second break. My legs were still a little tired from Sunday’s tempo. The second 3k was a faster but easier as I started to loosen up more. The 2k’s were easy and run at about 5:35 pace. It started to rain but and the stadium lights it created a pretty cool atmosphere for running.

I purposely took it easy in this workout with the half marathon this weekend. I want to start taking some workouts easier so that I can add in an extra quality day during the week. Something like a Tues, Thurs, Sat type of schedule. I’ve found when I go to the well in a workout it just takes too long to recover. So it would be more beneficial to take it easier and add in another workout.

This week started off as most have over the past couple of months with a 16 mile day. On Tuesday I did a workout with my team (The Greater Boston Track Club) in South Boston. The weather was refreshingly cool and there wasn’t a significant wind. I like doing workouts at night at this track because there is stadium lighting and it makes you feel like you’re on a stage so to speak. After a 3.5 mile warm up we started the workout of 5 x 2000 meters with 1 lap rest.  The first rep for some reason is always the hardest. Not in terms of difficulty but just finding a rhythm. I did the first 4 with the group then did the 5th one alone after some folks opted do run 4. I was overall happy with this workout. The splits ranged from 6:51-6:58 and the mile split ranged from 5:28-5:34 which was perfect.

5 x 2k 1 lap rest

6:55
6:58
6:53
6:51
6:53

 Wednesday was a recovery day but still got in some good miles. On Thursday I had an accident. I rolled my ankle in a rain water filled hold and swore I broke my foot when it happened. I had to take a cab home and went to the ER that night because I couldn’t walk on it. Thankfully an xray showed that it wasn’t broken. I took Friday off and was expecting to miss 3 days to a week. By the end of the day Friday I was walking around with only minor discomfort and ran on it Saturday with only a hint of soreness. Sunday I ran a 5 mile tempo with no problems. It’s still slightly sore but it’s getting better. I really can’t believe how fast this problem went away after not being able to walk. It’s funny sometimes you carry around a minor injury for months and other times like this you can’t walk one day and it’s gone the next.

 The tempo on Sunday went ok and honestly I hadn’t planned on a workout until that morning. I ran 5 miles solo  in 28:41 or 5:44 pace. It was humid out but cool at 64 degrees but with a 58 degree dew point and about a 12mph headwind for much of it. I’m a little frustrated that 5:45 doesn’t feel more comfortable as there were times today when I had to work for it mostly when heading into the wind.

Overall, it was a good week especially considering the bullet I dodged. I had planned on this being another 100+ miler but with the injury on Thursday I missed about 4 runs. I’m racing the BAA half next Sunday and plan on a Tuesday workout and I’ll take Friday and Saturday with lighter miles. I’m not exactly sharpening up for this race but it should be fun as it’s my first half marathon. I really have no idea what I will run. The course is a rolling out and back but I’m guessing I’ll average somewhere close to 5:50 per mile.

I just got another pair of Adidas Adios’  delivered today. These shoes are in my opinion the greatest shoes of all time. Yes, that is quite the claim.  These running shoes are fantastic they’re flexible, light, cushioned and have just enough of a heel and are fast enough for this guy. I do just about every type of run in these from shakeouts to races and everything in between.  I typically rotate 2 or 3 pairs at a time to let the shoes recover.

Adidas Adios