Rabbit, Run

First off, RIP to John Updike, who died recently. He was an author whom I have never read, because I'm not very well read.

Quick thing before the log- in the winter, we do our interval work on Baker Street, near campus. Essentially, giant rectangle that measures 880 yards around (exactly one-half mile, or about 805 meters). We have 220s, 330s, 440s, and 880s measured out.

Monday- AM- 3 easy w/Amy and Geoff
PM- 2 mi warmup, strides, 4xmile at Baker Street w/880y jog 4:35 (2:17/2:18), 4:39 (2:22/2:17) 4:37 (2:20, 2:17) 4:30 (2:16, 2:14). After that, we did 2x440 starting slow and gradually accelerating until the last 110 yards was really fast- I averaged 63s on those, which is great considering we were hitting 220 in about 35. Then we did 3x220 striding the first 110 and then switching gears and running the last 110 as fast as possible. I was pleased with these- I went 28s with the first 110 no faster than 15.0. 2miles c/d, hops/bounds.

Tuesday- 3 easy w/Najem
PM- 7 very slow, 52min, with Amy, Geoff, Westcott (girl's assistant coach)

Wednesday- AM- 3 easy w/Amy
PM- 2 mile warmup, Baker St- 4x220, (31s)220 jog rest, 3x440 (62s) 440 jog rest, 1x880 (2:16 (66/70- backstretch very windy)) 880 jog rest, 3x440 (63, 62, 59) 440 jog, 4x220 (1st 110 in 15-16, 2nd 110 fast) (28, 28, 27 (12.xx last 110 on this one! very gratifying)) 220 jog. Felt pretty crappy, shin sore. 2 mile c/d, abs, pullups

Thursday- 3pm- 5 easy with Wilson, 35:50.
8:30pm- 5+ easy indoors with Ben, lots of gear changes and striding. We ran 36 minutes upstairs on the jogging track but it was probably closer to 5.5 than 5.

Friday- 7 easy, felt sluggish.

Saturday- AM- Tufts Invite. I raced the 800 and for the first time in my career ran a race with a designated "rabbit" in it. I didn't really know what to expect from the 800 after ignoring the event for two years, but I followed the rabbit through laps of 27.5 and 27.3, then the rabbit stopped in lane one and I had to shove him out of the way. I ran the next lap alone in 28.9, then rigged hardcore and staggered to a 30.3 finish, which still left me with a 1.4 second PR of 1:54.12, a DIII national provisional qualifying time. It was kind of a strange race- usually in 800s, the 2nd 200 isn't the fastest 200 of the race. I think I have a 1:52 in me, provided I 1) race it on a banked track instead of a flat one, 2) go out in 55.5 or so, as opposed to a negative split 54.8, and 3) have competition and don't have to lead the entire second half. I doubt I'll get a chance to do it this season, but it's good to know it's there if I need it. Also, I pr'd in the 600- 1:23.8, a .93 improvement on the 600 time I ran at the same track three weeks ago.

My next race was the open 200- I just strode through it, not really knowing what to expect. I ran 25.8, which is slower than I usually split in the 4x4, but at the same time, some jackass from Umass Dartmouth (I know you guys read this, so do me a favor and mock this kid for me) thought it was ok to cut in from lane 2 to lane 1 and blocked me from passing him until the last 70 meters or so. Also, my Usain Bolt-esque celebration in the last 30 meters probably cost me a little time. I ended the day with a 53.4 relay split, which is pretty mediocre, but I was tired and sore and just not loving the anchor leg.

Total for the day with warmups, cooldowns, and an 8:30 pm run back at school was 14.

Sunday- 13 miles hilly course, very slow to start but strong effort by the end- Eric pushed the pace a lot going up the hills (and this being Keene, there were a lot of hills).

Total- 82, a solid week. I'll keep it 80-85 for a while. No need to do pack on the miles too heavily.

Shoutout of the Week- a teammate, this time- Pat Craven earned his way onto the Keene DMR team with a 1:24.74 600 PR, 2:34 1000 PR, and 51.7 PR relay split. Three races, three PRs, one ticket to BU on Friday to run a DMR. We'll be gunning for a DMR qualifier on Friday at Valentine, then heading to USM on Saturday to triple at our Conference meet for points. Which brings me to:

Thumbs Down of the Week: WHOEVER DECIDED TO HAVE OUR CONFERENCE MEET BE THE SAME DAY AS ONE OF THE BIGGEST INVITES IN THE NORTHEAST. Seriously, guys?

Thanks for reading, everyone- see you next week

Craig