Monday, December 31, 2012

Sunday and Monday

Sunday: 65+ minutes with Steve Dowsett on snowy trails around Winnekenni in Haverhill. Slipping and sliding a good amount, but kept a steady pace and had fun out there.

Monday: 66:13 / 10.2 in Westford from the in-laws'. Ran my favorite road loop with a 1.5 mile add-on in the woods. Really slow through the snowy portion but otherwise I was movin' out there... couple 5:50s near the end.

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Catching up! 12/21 - 12/29

Friday: 11.2 fast with Alex
Saturday: 10 miles fast trail running in Harold Parker with Alex
Sunday: 8 easy. Sick and just logging miles.
Monday: 7 easy. Still sick. Slogged it.
Tuesday: 9.4 steady. Feeling better, but not 100%. Merry Christmas!
Wednesday: off. Exhausted from several days of travel.
Thursday: 95 minutes on trails around Andover. Great run!
Friday: Off. Worked a shift at the store and skied for 5 hours at Crotched Mtn by night.
Saturday: 10 miles, 72 minutes

Friday, December 21, 2012

Thursday, 12/20

7.5 miles / 45 minutes with Alex McGrath! Picked up Alex at Logan Airport and headed out once we got home. A solid "hammerful" run! It felt good to run fast, but man, I am HEAVY. Finally found the courage to weigh in and I am a solid 162 lbs. At at a generous 5'9", that is pretty dense! I've been spoiled by Christmas gifts from my students like chocolate, cookies and DD gift cards. I'll try to practice a little discipline over the holidays... Mostly, I'm looking forward to chasing some real miles next week!

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Wednesday, 12/19

8 miles / 61 minutes. No workout. Out the door by 4:20 to chase some miles. Tired, but had a nice cruise through some AVIS system trails to the Phillips Bird Sanctuary and back. Rocked the headlamp for the first time in a while. I thought I'd have a tougher time moving around on trails in the dark, but the headlamp really did the trick. Hoping for snow soon so I can bust out the snowshoes!

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Monday 12/17 and Tuesday 12/18

Monday:

8 miles nice and easy on a treadmill at the gym.

Tuesday:

10.2 miles / 64 minutes. Slow to start but rolling after 3 miles. Workout tomorrow!

Monday, December 17, 2012

Friday - Sunday

Friday:

I had just enough time to run about 9 miles if I made it quick, and I was pleasantly surprised to feel great from the start. Guess I took it easy enough yesterday... Garmin took about .25 to connect, but I had 4 miles sub 6 in there and simply felt fantastic.

 http://connect.garmin.com/splits/252326415 1 mi cool down not included on Garmin

Saturday:

Jose woke me up with a phone call at 7:15 telling me he was outside of my apartment... Oh %$!@! I let Jose in and then proceeded to slam a mug of coffee, eat an english muffin, throw on the running clothes and out the door a little after 7:30. We warmed up 5 miles progressing to about 6:30 pace and then I went 5:43, 5:37, 5:29, 5:34, 5:28 for miles 6-10. 4 miles cool down feeling awesome! Great run and somehow these workouts are always easier with company. Many thanks to Jose for keeping me honest.

Sunday:

Off. Planned rest day and fine with it after several solid days of running this week.

Weekly total: 51 miles on 5 days.

Feels like I'm starting to get back in the groove. Gunning for at least 6 days running this week with two harder days. The tempo running I've been doing has made running 5:30s drastically more fun than it was a month ago. This week I'll probably keep with the tempos and maybe add a few cruise intervals at a slightly faster pace. (5:10ish)



Friday, December 14, 2012

Thursday

Drained... I was running on fumes today. After about 3 slow miles I was so tired I honestly thought about trying to hitch a ride home. I was home early from work and excited to finally get in some daytime running. I geared up and headed straight out the door by 3:50. Ran into Verrington and Dunham in the first few minutes which was cool. Looking back I wish I joined up with them and just ran an easy 4-5 instead of the 8 grueling miles I managed. Last few miles in the dark. Only positive thing about this run is it wasn't a 0 and it was on trails which made everything just a little bit better.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Wednesday

Home by 4:30 and running by 4:45, just in time to witness the last glimmer of daylight slip beyond the horizon. I clicked on my headlamp only to find it had less than 3 minutes of battery life, so I headed for the track. Both tracks I ran to were occupied by large groups, so my options were to either hit the roads with rush hour traffic or to run home, drive to the gym, and take a ride on the dreadmill. I opted for the former, and chose roads I know to be super smooth and generally clear of debris.

At this point I was just looking for any kind of harder effort. I ran 4 x mile with 800m of cruising recovery (7 min pace). My miles were 5:25, 5:21, 5:34 (hilly) and 5:25. Short cooldown for 9.5 on the day.

I felt pretty good overall, but I definitely miss running in the daylight and having the option to hit the trails. I think running in the dark slows me down just a small amount because I'm constantly wary of injuring myself, especially when my headlamp isn't working. I can't wait for the days to start getting longer and to feel the approach of spring. More than anything, I want to feel fast again! Hopefully a hard effort over the weekend will get me one step closer. Although, to run at the level I'm aiming for, improving my consistency to at least 6 days a week of quality running is probably the most important determinant. Meanwhile... I'll try to respect and enjoy the process.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Monday and Tuesday

Monday: 0. I'm getting tired of these goose eggs, but here's another one! I was up at 4am to grade and plan, school until 3:00, faculty meeting until 4:15, Whirlaway 4:30-8, home by 8:30, one quarter of the Pat's game, and I was done. Possibly could have sneaked out for a couple miles somewhere in there, but just didn't make it happen.

Tuesday: 10.1 miles / 70 minutes in the dark around Andover. It took about 7 miles to get into a groove today. Just one of those grinds. Workout tomorrow!!

Monday, December 10, 2012

Thursday - Sunday

Thursday: 7 easy solo
Friday: 10 steady solo
Saturday: 10 easy solo
Sunday: 10 miles with 6 mi tempo in 33:40 at the Toy's race in Merrimac. 3 x 2 mile loops. Splits were super controlled. 5:45, 5:37, 5:42, 5:36, 5:30, 5:20. Totally in control and not feeling any worse for the wear on Monday morning, so I'm feeling really positive about the effort. A few more efforts like this one and a few more track sessions and I'll be excited to race!

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Wednesday

Met up with Steve at the Phillips Andover track for my first workout back from the marathon. We decided on 600m repeats aiming for 75s through the 400. Rest was 2:00 jogging. We discussed a 1:30 rest, but I wanted full recovery to make sure my mechanics stayed sound. The weather took a strong turn for the worse about as soon as we began warming up. It was cold and there was a strong headwind on the backstretch of the track. Warmed up 22 minutes in the sanctuary, 400m of light drills, and then straight into the workout. 1:54, 1:55, 1:52, 1:56, 1:55, 1:55, 1:56, 1:49. The headwind got worse as the workout progressed. It took me a few laps to get into a groove but things flowed smoothly afterwards. I didn't feel "fast" but my aerobic strength is still there. Next up, tempo on Saturday morning! Any takers? Probably running in Newburyport.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Monday and Tuesday

Monday: off - sick. Lymph nodes are blown up all around my neck and back. Running wouldn't have been a disaster, but if I'm fighting something I'd like to beat it early rather than have to go 9 rounds.

Tuesday: 10 miles / 72 minutes on a nice loop in Andover. Felt off from the start. Still fighting something but energy is better today.

Monday, December 3, 2012

Friday, Saturday, Sunday at Mill Cities

Friday: 30 minutes / 4 miles easy from the apartment. Exhausted from the week, happy to get something in!
Saturday: off. Nothing wrong, just slept in, worked at the store for 5 hours, got home and vegged before going to dinner at Angelica's. With Mill Cities in the morning I didn't see the point in running by the time the evening rolled around.
Sunday: Woke up tired but was pretty fired up by the time 6:30 rolled around and I met up with the Open team at Claddagh's in Lawrence. We got to Nashua and I almost fell getting out of the car. a thin layer of ice covered much of the roads as our number 1, Pat Ard, warmed up. Luckily, he completed his leg safely (and quickly) as the temperature improved just in time. I was leg #2 and lucky for me, the roads were reasonably safe by the time Pat handed off to me. Pat came flying in so fast I was barely ready to take the baton, so I headed out carrying my sweatshirt, tossed it to Jose as I rounded a turn about 200m in and immediately proceeded to drop the baton. It took me a second to realize I dropped it, but then I stopped on a dime, ran back and grabbed it, and got going again. I passed several guys early on but one guy in a green singlet (Lowell?) latched onto me for a couple miles. He and I dueled a bit for about 2 miles and then I pulled away on a gradual downhill. I covered the 4.75 mile leg in 25:05 (5:17 pace) ... factoring in the dropped baton, I'm pretty pleased with the race. I had a strong finish and then straight to the car to cheer on teammates Kevin Alliette, Jose Ortiz and Chris Hammel. We placed 2nd overall and it was a closer race than it looks on paper. Jose probably had the run of the day, averaging mid 5:20's for 9.5 miles along the river in Lowell. Overall it was a great time; hilarious banter, getting to know some of the guys better, and catching up with runners from all over the area at Claddagh's after the race. Wish I could have stayed for awards but I had brunch and tree cutting with family before visiting more friends in New Hampshire that evening... What a great weekend!