This fall I took on a bit more than usual by way of duties. I'm coaching the school's first-ever cross country team and the 12-15 kids who signed up for it. On day 1, we started with 4 kids total, so to fill out scoring boys' and girls' teams was actually pretty exciting. We're young and inexperienced, and I've been thrilled to see them all running healthy and improving tremendously throughout the season. While all of that has been good, I'm realizing just how hard it is to work, coach 5-6 days/week and fit in my own training. I've been running here and there, but at maybe 30% the volume of years past. Lingering viruses and the ilk have also kept my running a bit subdued.
Team Whirlaway ran at the Wayland XC festival this weekend and I definitely didn't feel ready to toe the line and run anywhere close to sub-6 minute pace, so I didn't join them. But then on Saturday night I had a ridiculously good run which has me surprisingly thinking about racing. It was one of those once-a-year,-I-feel-amazing,-just-shrug-and-go-with-it kinds of runs. The temperature was an ideal 50 degrees and the rail trail heading northwest out of Keene was in better shape than I've ever seen it. The trail gradually climbs all the way out of town so the farther you run, the more downhill you can count on for the return trip. I got to 5 miles out in around 31:30 and decided to try to keep a good ryhthm on the way back, rolling 5:42, 5:47 (decent hill and rougher footing), 5:17, which shocked me and at the time I decided the GPS was confused, 5:27 and 5:27 back to the car. Looking at it now, my last 5 miles were 27:40, or 12-ish seconds slower than I raced for 5 miles at the GP event in late summer. That's just silly! In any case, this run gave me hope that I haven't lost tons of fitness. It also helped me realize that I could probably race and have some fun with it even if I'm running only 3-4 days a week. Perhaps this was the glimmer that I need to get back on the horse? We'll see..
The daily meanderings of a New England runner
Monday, October 12, 2015
Thursday, August 13, 2015
Summer update
This summer has been a good one from most angles! I survived Mt. Washington, and we'll leave it at that. A competitive race up the cute little rock pile will have to wait for another year (hopefully next!) and I'm looking at this year as more of a learning experience. It was super hard, as I'm assuming it was for all mere mortals. I finished knowing I'd given it all I had and I was really hurting afterwards, and especially so after running back down. To recognize my hip/IT band managed that kind of 18 mile day showed me I can train about as hard as I want, although doing so still requires maintenance in the form of consistent hip and glute exercises. It was really fun to camp out the night before with the likes of Alex, Dan Princic and Pat Ard. The latter two had a lot of experience to share and their passion for the race is contagious. So even though I ran 1:28-and a lot of change, I know I want to go back for a second take.
Right after that race Lauren and I headed to Colorado for a week-long adventure through Denver, Boulder, Ft. Collins, Rocky Mountain National Park, and a couple days with friends in the Breckenridge area. I ran tempo on Magnolia Road outside of Boulder which was a check on the bucket list and had a bunch of generally good runs out there at elevations ranging from 5000 to 9000 feet. We caught up with distant, though incredibly welcoming family in Ft. Collins and reconnected with second-cousins who offered their homes to us on our next visit. We caught unbelievable views in the Rockies and I'm fighting the itch to book another trip back there over Christmas break to ski some of those bigger mountains. There's too much to say about this trip, but in word, it was incredible.
Our first day back east was moving day and I began shuttling boxes to our new home 5 miles north in S. Lawrence. A few days later the boys helped us move the larger stuff and like that, we were settled right in. I miss some of my favorite loops from Ballardvale but I don't miss the crazy traffic constantly buzzing by, among other minor inconveniences. A month into our stay at our new home we are definitely happy about the move. I've created some new loops and I can run a lot of familiar loops from different places. The track where I coach is 1.5 miles away and the Thursday night pub run is warm-up distance which works out perfectly.
My dad has made tremendous strides recovering from a rare and complicated ankle break and ensuing surgeries beginning last October. He and I agreed to enter a triathlon together and the Borderline Running Club offered a low-key race starting from the N. Andover Common. Did I mention it was FREE? Who does that? So I entered, and won the thing which earned me my choice of beverage and also got me hooked a little on cycling and swimming. I probably never ran more than 25 miles/week this summer but I kept busy on the bike and swam once or twice per week which kept me generally fit. Dad finished, and was even able to run the full 5k a bit over 30 minutes. Now he's down to 25 minutes which he's not impressed by, but I am, all considering.
After that it was on to the Cape with Lauren's family which was punctuated by good food, good wine, and too little exercise of any kind. It was wonderful, if not in the spirit of athletic pursuit. At one point in the summer Alex and I remarked that we had tons of time to prepare for the next race on the NEGP, the Bobby Doyle 5 Miler down in Narraganset. Somehow that time passed really quickly and I realized I had like... 6 days to remind my legs how to run. I did that by jogging a couple of days and running 3 x mile the Wednesday before the race with an average of 5:13 on 400m jogging rest. I knew that was faster than 5M race pace, and that I was probably toast for Saturday.
So, I was toast for last Saturday! I warned my teammates that I better not be 5th man like I managed at Hollis. I ran like a hero for my fitness through 5k and dug deep to run a couple of 5:40s to finish in 27:27. I think I was 8th man but I'm not positive. Upon finishing I came the closest to collapsing after a race as I ever have, but I didn't. I guess I must have run hard? But then I'm reminded of guys who bring that level of pain to nearly every race, and I'm further inspired by those few.
So that's the summer of 2015 in a nutshell. 4th year teaching, my first year as head coach of a HS team, beginning to prepare MVS club runners for Fall racing are but a few days away. Summer isn't over, but it's high time for more structure to my days and with that generally comes greater focus on my part to make the time for real training. I'll be on the bike less and on the track more. I look at it all like hitting the refresh button and, to be honest, 27:30 5M shape is a fine place to start from. I can do a lot with that. I'm looking forward to the challenges ahead and to the friendships and encounters I'll enjoy along the way.
Onward! Always onward.
Right after that race Lauren and I headed to Colorado for a week-long adventure through Denver, Boulder, Ft. Collins, Rocky Mountain National Park, and a couple days with friends in the Breckenridge area. I ran tempo on Magnolia Road outside of Boulder which was a check on the bucket list and had a bunch of generally good runs out there at elevations ranging from 5000 to 9000 feet. We caught up with distant, though incredibly welcoming family in Ft. Collins and reconnected with second-cousins who offered their homes to us on our next visit. We caught unbelievable views in the Rockies and I'm fighting the itch to book another trip back there over Christmas break to ski some of those bigger mountains. There's too much to say about this trip, but in word, it was incredible.
Our first day back east was moving day and I began shuttling boxes to our new home 5 miles north in S. Lawrence. A few days later the boys helped us move the larger stuff and like that, we were settled right in. I miss some of my favorite loops from Ballardvale but I don't miss the crazy traffic constantly buzzing by, among other minor inconveniences. A month into our stay at our new home we are definitely happy about the move. I've created some new loops and I can run a lot of familiar loops from different places. The track where I coach is 1.5 miles away and the Thursday night pub run is warm-up distance which works out perfectly.
My dad has made tremendous strides recovering from a rare and complicated ankle break and ensuing surgeries beginning last October. He and I agreed to enter a triathlon together and the Borderline Running Club offered a low-key race starting from the N. Andover Common. Did I mention it was FREE? Who does that? So I entered, and won the thing which earned me my choice of beverage and also got me hooked a little on cycling and swimming. I probably never ran more than 25 miles/week this summer but I kept busy on the bike and swam once or twice per week which kept me generally fit. Dad finished, and was even able to run the full 5k a bit over 30 minutes. Now he's down to 25 minutes which he's not impressed by, but I am, all considering.
After that it was on to the Cape with Lauren's family which was punctuated by good food, good wine, and too little exercise of any kind. It was wonderful, if not in the spirit of athletic pursuit. At one point in the summer Alex and I remarked that we had tons of time to prepare for the next race on the NEGP, the Bobby Doyle 5 Miler down in Narraganset. Somehow that time passed really quickly and I realized I had like... 6 days to remind my legs how to run. I did that by jogging a couple of days and running 3 x mile the Wednesday before the race with an average of 5:13 on 400m jogging rest. I knew that was faster than 5M race pace, and that I was probably toast for Saturday.
So, I was toast for last Saturday! I warned my teammates that I better not be 5th man like I managed at Hollis. I ran like a hero for my fitness through 5k and dug deep to run a couple of 5:40s to finish in 27:27. I think I was 8th man but I'm not positive. Upon finishing I came the closest to collapsing after a race as I ever have, but I didn't. I guess I must have run hard? But then I'm reminded of guys who bring that level of pain to nearly every race, and I'm further inspired by those few.
So that's the summer of 2015 in a nutshell. 4th year teaching, my first year as head coach of a HS team, beginning to prepare MVS club runners for Fall racing are but a few days away. Summer isn't over, but it's high time for more structure to my days and with that generally comes greater focus on my part to make the time for real training. I'll be on the bike less and on the track more. I look at it all like hitting the refresh button and, to be honest, 27:30 5M shape is a fine place to start from. I can do a lot with that. I'm looking forward to the challenges ahead and to the friendships and encounters I'll enjoy along the way.
Onward! Always onward.
Friday, June 12, 2015
Hollis Fast 5k Report
There I was, on day 1 of summer recess and the way I chose to relax after a long year with the tykes was to stick my nose in a pretty darn competitive 5k in Hollis, NH.
My goals heading into the race were pretty broad; compete well, go out hard but.. not too hard, and (as always) finish the day healthy. In terms of goal time I really had no idea what to guess at. The course drops over 200 feet which is awesome yet the temperature was in the high-80s. I tend not to enjoy the heat but I'm not sure it matters much over the course of 15-16 minutes. However those factors line up must be different for each individual as afterwards I heard some people estimating the course at 30 seconds fast and others claiming it closer to 50 seconds or more. I've even heard some sarcasm regarding the "Hollis not-so-fast 5k", so who really knows!? I guessed my 5k fitness was somewhere around 16-minutes, so I hoped a time in the low-to-mid 15s was possible. And I hoped I wouldn't be among the scoring runners on the team (top 5) unless I ran exceptionally well. Soon before the race started I learned Ruben wasn't racing and my odds of scoring improved just a smidge.
The first 400m was pretty frantic. I wanted to get out hard but I didn't want it to feel hard. Well, it felt basically awful and matters were made worse by the 50-or-so other runners near me who had the same idea in mind. One guy straight-up leaped across me, causing me to slam on the brakes and I made sure he knew exactly how stupid his move was as I passed him a minute later. Normally I'm a happy, friendly guy at the start of a race, as it helps me to relax and take some pressure off by joking around and making comments. Not this Thursday, though. Bambi and his huge loping legs almost taking me and a few others out before we'd even run 60 seconds ruined it.
Moving forward though I was through mile 1 without additional crisis and as I passed the mile I began wishing I'd had another 4 weeks to prepare for the leg speed and strength required to roll 4:40s. 4:51 was the number and it would be the fastest on the day for me. During mile 2 I fell asleep for a while and gave up my chance at a time in the very low 15s. The final mile was run in what felt like slow motion... A group had crept up on me and teammate Jefferson Welch had gapped me but gradually he lost ground as the swarm moved up. We caught him and I realized suddenly how soon the race would be over. Less than 400m. To the right Dave Kaz was yelling at Jefferson and I to kick like I mean it and I remembered that in these races every second truly does count. I finished believing I was 6th man and out of the scoring but later learned I was 5th in a time of 15:21.8 (chip time).
And that was that. When I finished I was a little disappointed with myself, not from a competitive standpoint but more from a rock-solid indication that my fitness is pretty average for me. I genuinely hoped my 165 lb frame would carry better on the downhill, but maybe that concept applies better to cycling.
The team placed second to Greater Boston by a mere 13 seconds. I'm happy about the overall finish but I lament the chance at a rare victory in the competitive open field. I asked the pressing question to myself: Did I have an extra 13 seconds in me today? And the answer was almost definitely not! I was happy for many of my teammates as most of us competed well. Shout out to Sam Fazioli for nearly cracking 15 coming off of Boston and also to my bro Alex who is back home permanently from an 18-month stint in Siberia and who took the team honors for us in 14:43. Also shout to Dan Princic and Pat Ard who raced well despite finishing VCM a mere few weeks ago.
Next up... 7.6 miles of climbing at Mount Washington. I doubt my 165lbs will carry better up than down!!
My goals heading into the race were pretty broad; compete well, go out hard but.. not too hard, and (as always) finish the day healthy. In terms of goal time I really had no idea what to guess at. The course drops over 200 feet which is awesome yet the temperature was in the high-80s. I tend not to enjoy the heat but I'm not sure it matters much over the course of 15-16 minutes. However those factors line up must be different for each individual as afterwards I heard some people estimating the course at 30 seconds fast and others claiming it closer to 50 seconds or more. I've even heard some sarcasm regarding the "Hollis not-so-fast 5k", so who really knows!? I guessed my 5k fitness was somewhere around 16-minutes, so I hoped a time in the low-to-mid 15s was possible. And I hoped I wouldn't be among the scoring runners on the team (top 5) unless I ran exceptionally well. Soon before the race started I learned Ruben wasn't racing and my odds of scoring improved just a smidge.
The first 400m was pretty frantic. I wanted to get out hard but I didn't want it to feel hard. Well, it felt basically awful and matters were made worse by the 50-or-so other runners near me who had the same idea in mind. One guy straight-up leaped across me, causing me to slam on the brakes and I made sure he knew exactly how stupid his move was as I passed him a minute later. Normally I'm a happy, friendly guy at the start of a race, as it helps me to relax and take some pressure off by joking around and making comments. Not this Thursday, though. Bambi and his huge loping legs almost taking me and a few others out before we'd even run 60 seconds ruined it.
Moving forward though I was through mile 1 without additional crisis and as I passed the mile I began wishing I'd had another 4 weeks to prepare for the leg speed and strength required to roll 4:40s. 4:51 was the number and it would be the fastest on the day for me. During mile 2 I fell asleep for a while and gave up my chance at a time in the very low 15s. The final mile was run in what felt like slow motion... A group had crept up on me and teammate Jefferson Welch had gapped me but gradually he lost ground as the swarm moved up. We caught him and I realized suddenly how soon the race would be over. Less than 400m. To the right Dave Kaz was yelling at Jefferson and I to kick like I mean it and I remembered that in these races every second truly does count. I finished believing I was 6th man and out of the scoring but later learned I was 5th in a time of 15:21.8 (chip time).
And that was that. When I finished I was a little disappointed with myself, not from a competitive standpoint but more from a rock-solid indication that my fitness is pretty average for me. I genuinely hoped my 165 lb frame would carry better on the downhill, but maybe that concept applies better to cycling.
The team placed second to Greater Boston by a mere 13 seconds. I'm happy about the overall finish but I lament the chance at a rare victory in the competitive open field. I asked the pressing question to myself: Did I have an extra 13 seconds in me today? And the answer was almost definitely not! I was happy for many of my teammates as most of us competed well. Shout out to Sam Fazioli for nearly cracking 15 coming off of Boston and also to my bro Alex who is back home permanently from an 18-month stint in Siberia and who took the team honors for us in 14:43. Also shout to Dan Princic and Pat Ard who raced well despite finishing VCM a mere few weeks ago.
Next up... 7.6 miles of climbing at Mount Washington. I doubt my 165lbs will carry better up than down!!
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Choose your surface
Several days ago I ventured onto the trails near my home and was surprised to find the flooding had subsided and I would have access to what is normally my warm-up 1.5 mi of bouncy, winding and rooted trails along the Shawsheen river, running in the direction of Andover HS. Ambitiously I ventured about 8 minutes down the path, absentmindedly dreaming about a day when I might endlessly roll along golden pine needle laden paths. The trails were mostly still covered in a layer of 4-6 inches of snow and ice but I was making the best of it when suddenly *Crack!*.. *Oof!*.... "****it." and I returned home along the railroad tracks so to avoid further damage.
At the time I thought I'd actually sprained my ankle. It hurt as badly but didn't swell very much. My peroneals were sore, but 72 hours later I was ready to try again and this time with more dexterity (read: attention). I had a great run, albeit a slow one. The next day, I had another great run. My hips and lower back seemed to relax after months of tension, all because of a change of environment. Recently I ran 15 miles at an aerobic pace without pain. Since that run I've been confident about my durability enough to think about training for something.
I'm still hopeful about the prospect of running the Vermont City Marathon, which I targeted way back in December. There isn't much room for error since the race is on Memorial Day weekend. My goals have changed and every long run really counts. I'm pretty sure I'll do most of my runs on trails, going for time rather than distance. I'll try to do something around marathon pace and below each week too. After that, I'll mostly focus on strength, balance and mobility. I ran 2:39 several 30 mile weeks so maybe a few years later I can run 2:40-45 on a bit more. Who knows?
At the time I thought I'd actually sprained my ankle. It hurt as badly but didn't swell very much. My peroneals were sore, but 72 hours later I was ready to try again and this time with more dexterity (read: attention). I had a great run, albeit a slow one. The next day, I had another great run. My hips and lower back seemed to relax after months of tension, all because of a change of environment. Recently I ran 15 miles at an aerobic pace without pain. Since that run I've been confident about my durability enough to think about training for something.
I'm still hopeful about the prospect of running the Vermont City Marathon, which I targeted way back in December. There isn't much room for error since the race is on Memorial Day weekend. My goals have changed and every long run really counts. I'm pretty sure I'll do most of my runs on trails, going for time rather than distance. I'll try to do something around marathon pace and below each week too. After that, I'll mostly focus on strength, balance and mobility. I ran 2:39 several 30 mile weeks so maybe a few years later I can run 2:40-45 on a bit more. Who knows?
Friday, March 6, 2015
Thursday, 3/5
10 miles / 65:13 - Too fast. I'm thrilled to be running again here and there but I need to remember that 7:00-7:30 pace is far more likely to keep me healthy.
Friday, January 16, 2015
11/14-16
Wednesday:
44 lengths / half mi swim took a hair over 20 minutes.
Thursday:
75 minutes on the bike at Breakaway computraining. Warmed up 18 minutes then cycled through four long threshold segments. The threshold test I did about a year ago has my threshold at 265 watts which felt very tough tonight. No pain in the injured leg during or after the ride, which was the best news of the night!
44 lengths / half mi swim took a hair over 20 minutes.
Thursday:
75 minutes on the bike at Breakaway computraining. Warmed up 18 minutes then cycled through four long threshold segments. The threshold test I did about a year ago has my threshold at 265 watts which felt very tough tonight. No pain in the injured leg during or after the ride, which was the best news of the night!
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
1/11-1/13
Sunday: Off
Monday: Off
Tuesday: I swam 88 lengths of the 20y pool for a total of exactly 1 mile. Almost all of it was freestyle. I took a few easy backstroke lengths to get the heart rate under control. The first 20 lengths felt pretty rough and I thought it was going to be a short workout but I felt better as things went on and I really got my breathing down which was the most difficult part for me. I'll probably time myself next time just to get a sense of how long I'm working for... I must have been doing something right because I had these infamous calf cramps upon getting out of the pool!
Monday: Off
Tuesday: I swam 88 lengths of the 20y pool for a total of exactly 1 mile. Almost all of it was freestyle. I took a few easy backstroke lengths to get the heart rate under control. The first 20 lengths felt pretty rough and I thought it was going to be a short workout but I felt better as things went on and I really got my breathing down which was the most difficult part for me. I'll probably time myself next time just to get a sense of how long I'm working for... I must have been doing something right because I had these infamous calf cramps upon getting out of the pool!
Saturday, January 10, 2015
1/10
First pool workout... I alternated using a kickboard and practicing getting long and breathing with laps of freestyle for half an hour. Very quickly lost track of how many laps. It was good to do something aerobic!
Also did about half an hour of yoga looking to lengthen my hamstrings, hips and lower back.
It's not running but it's not nothing. Knee remains swollen.
Also did about half an hour of yoga looking to lengthen my hamstrings, hips and lower back.
It's not running but it's not nothing. Knee remains swollen.
Friday, January 9, 2015
Boring update
No activity to report.
I got a few x-rays which came up with nothing. The doctor found swelling and some kind of lump behind my lower patella. Referred to orthopedics and PT, which confuses me because how can PT guess at how to treat it without information from ortho?
I also signed up at Cedardale, a gym about a quarter-mile from work. I have no excuse not to be in the pool there 3-4 x per week.
I got a few x-rays which came up with nothing. The doctor found swelling and some kind of lump behind my lower patella. Referred to orthopedics and PT, which confuses me because how can PT guess at how to treat it without information from ortho?
I also signed up at Cedardale, a gym about a quarter-mile from work. I have no excuse not to be in the pool there 3-4 x per week.
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
12/24 - 1/6
Wednesday: 4.5 mi... warmed up. Began a workout of repeat 200s with a modest goal of 34s and came up lame on the 5th one. About 1/4 mi into the cooldown home a shooting pain rocked my knee joint and I ended up hobbling / walking for a couple miles before finally flagging someone down and using their phone to call Lauren and get a ride. Not good...
Thursday 12/25 - Thursday 1/1 off - the pain behind my knee gradually subsided but serious muscular tightness throughout the left leg remained.
Friday 1/2 easy 3.3 mi jog on trails. Legs felt like Gumby out there but it was good to move!
Saturday 1/3 easy 7 mi very slow on trails before the storm. Felt okay.
Sunday 1/4 easy 5 mi again very slow, this time on roads by night. Left calf, quad, hamstring all rigged up pretty badly in the last mile.
Monday 1/5 easy 2.9 mi very easy. Leg spazzed out again and I had to walk the last half mile back home.
Some history... in 2007 I had stress a stress fracture in my L proximal fibula. It was hard to diagnose and didn't come up on x-ray or MRI until about a year later when I was scanned for something unrelated and my orthopedist found a lot of calcification a couple inches below the knee and asked me when I'd broken my leg. Another x-ray later showed stress fracture in my R proximal fibula. SO, I've had symmetrical stress fractures in this location. A blood test around that time showed my calcium was low and I started supplementing.
The symptoms I'm having are comparable to 8 years ago. Bouts of severe pain that come on suddenly after a few miles of running. Meanwhile a general feeling of instability/weakness and randomize muscle tension all around the weakened area... I'm skeptical of spending the time and money to do all the scans with predictably unclear outcomes... Game plan per moment is to get in the pool and to stay off my feet whenever possible. I can walk okay but going downstairs is a horror show. I'm hopeful I can find a sports medicine doctor through my new HMO at Lahey. Unfortunately I'll need to stay within the Lahey network. The recent dietary changes I've made probably necessitate blood work, at least.
Ugh!
Thursday 12/25 - Thursday 1/1 off - the pain behind my knee gradually subsided but serious muscular tightness throughout the left leg remained.
Friday 1/2 easy 3.3 mi jog on trails. Legs felt like Gumby out there but it was good to move!
Saturday 1/3 easy 7 mi very slow on trails before the storm. Felt okay.
Sunday 1/4 easy 5 mi again very slow, this time on roads by night. Left calf, quad, hamstring all rigged up pretty badly in the last mile.
Monday 1/5 easy 2.9 mi very easy. Leg spazzed out again and I had to walk the last half mile back home.
Some history... in 2007 I had stress a stress fracture in my L proximal fibula. It was hard to diagnose and didn't come up on x-ray or MRI until about a year later when I was scanned for something unrelated and my orthopedist found a lot of calcification a couple inches below the knee and asked me when I'd broken my leg. Another x-ray later showed stress fracture in my R proximal fibula. SO, I've had symmetrical stress fractures in this location. A blood test around that time showed my calcium was low and I started supplementing.
The symptoms I'm having are comparable to 8 years ago. Bouts of severe pain that come on suddenly after a few miles of running. Meanwhile a general feeling of instability/weakness and randomize muscle tension all around the weakened area... I'm skeptical of spending the time and money to do all the scans with predictably unclear outcomes... Game plan per moment is to get in the pool and to stay off my feet whenever possible. I can walk okay but going downstairs is a horror show. I'm hopeful I can find a sports medicine doctor through my new HMO at Lahey. Unfortunately I'll need to stay within the Lahey network. The recent dietary changes I've made probably necessitate blood work, at least.
Ugh!
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