Hello, all. This week was marked early on by lethargy and frustration, got stressful towards the middle, then ended on a pretty darn promising note. Since I have no advice this week nor philosophy to natter about, here's what I did this week:
Monday- 3:30PM- 50 degrees out, downpour. Ran a very easy, regenerative 5mi with Madeleine, a miler on the women team and my roommate Sean's girlfriend, 40min. Good set of strides and a couple minutes of jogging to make it 6mi on the day.
Tuesday- AM- solo River Loop from the house, 4mi, felt good- it was 40deg and sunny out! 8PM- Long day of trying to figure out class schedule/degree requirements/class. 3 up, 3x(500, 400, 300) in (1:19, 62, 46) (1:19, 62, 47) (1:22, 64, 45) with about 90sec jog rest. Felt terrible, hit the times (barely) then couldn't maintain the pace at the requisite effort. Huge hit to the confidence for Saturday. 1mi down, too hungry and tired to care about doing more.
Wednesday- OFF- workouts weren't clicking, I wasn't sleeping well, and I was feverish for a couple days. I hadn't taken a day off in about 30 days, so I figured, ah, what the hell.
Thursday- 3:30PM- 3 up, 8x150 in victories with a minute jog rest. Felt good and ran fast! 19.9, 19.9, 19.1, 19.4, 19.5, 19.5, 19.4, 18.7- all hand timed, standing start, rounded up to the nearest tenth. 3mi down. It felt GREAT to run quick but easy. This made me think I was coming out of my funk, just in time to toe the line at Terrier.
10PM- 38min shakeout after work indoors, definitely feeling stronger/less feverish/excited to race.
Friday- 5mi easy indoors with a big group (ok, it was like 0 deg out and windy and we all wussed out. Sue us!) then a bunch of strides in victories, then a 10min cooldown for 7mi on the day.
Saturday- 12:45PM- 3 up, 1mi race- 4:08.61 PR by 1/100th of a second- which is the reasoning behind this entry's title- ~7mi down with the Gilmore twins. Bruce thought I was ready for the fast heat, which was encouraging, because he doesn't believe in putting runners way over their ability level and hoping for the best. I decided before the race that there was really only one way to approach a race like this: I was going to commit to the pace and just try to ride the train as long as possible, get dragged to a PR, and try my best to relax at a much faster clip than I was used to. Given that my workouts had gone very poorly (that 64 last 400 I ran on Tuesday was about as tough a 400 as I have run lately) I could have probably asked Bruce to move me down a heat, go through 1200 in 3:08 and kick to run 4:07 or so. However, I saw that as counterproductive. Terrier isn't a scored meet, I didn't have anything to lose by taking a risk, so I committed aggressively. My splits, courtesy of Eric, were 60.5, 2:01.4, 3:03.7, then 4:08.61- yes, that's a 64.9 second last 400.
However, I'm encouraged by the result instead of dissatisfied. I've never run quite that fast a pace in the mile before. I essentially just attached myself to the back of the pack and made several moves to go around fading runners and keep myself tethered to the group. Bruce had some encouraging observations as well- he said I displayed good instincts in making the moves to get around faders, that I made the most out of my last 400 even though I was clearly drained, and that while I went out a little too aggressively for my fitness at the moment, it was good to make the commitment, experience the pace, stay up as long as I could, and fight hard the last quarter without flailing and slowing myself down. I think I'm about 2-3 weeks away from the fitness to tolerate a 3:03 1200 and have enough left to close it down.
The race actually reminded me of one Eric ran last year. In the first mile he committed to a fast pace, he went through the 1200 in about 3:03-3:04 and ran 4:10. 6 days later, he went through 1200 in 3:03-3:04 and ran 59.x to set his PR of 4:03.0x. Obviously, not much changed in those 6 days in terms of his fitness- but the 2nd time around, he was better prepared to handle the pace. Eric and I tend to be fairly similar runners in terms of our racing results, and so I take encouragement from the fact that he was able to rebound from a rough last quarter off a 3:03 pace with a large PR not long after that. I'm confident I am physically capable of a 4:03ish mile in the next month or so. My task in the next month, then, is to stay on top of things like sleep and schoolwork so I can continue working hard and recovering.
Sunday- 12:30PM- 90min easy up around Fresh Pond with a huge group including guest star and BU alum Dave Proctor, fresh off his 8:03 PR in the 3k the night before. Always nice to have Dave visit!
Tot- 62
Adieu, for the week- there were a lot of great results from Terrier- check 'em out! I'm off to get started on the massive pile of homework I put off til after Terrier.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Reintroduction to Mile Pace
Hi, everyone. No rambling philosophy blog today. The plan for the week was to 1) reintroduce mile-paced stuff into the training mix and 2) cut down on volume by a little bit to accommodate my class schedule and keep the legs fresh for workouts and racing. I did both of those things, but forgot an important component of in-season training. During your base building periods, there's nothing wrong with running at a fairly moderate effort most days because there's nothing to recover from. In other words, because the aerobic fartleks and the like don't take too much out of me, I can run 6-6:30 pace and have that be a pretty easy run. However, in season, when the workouts are more specific and challenging, my easy days need to reflect that increase in intensity. Peter Snell, for example, has said that his weekly 22-miler over mountains might be 5:45-6:15 pace in the base building phase but that he would cover the exact same course a minute per mile or more slower when he was doing it during the hill and coordination phases.
This lengthy explanation is a long-winded way of saying I got caught up in a commonality of large group training, which is to say that due to a combination of cutting volume a little bit and a large group of guys to run I ran too fast on my rest days this week, and am paying for it now. I was able to run 6:20 pace or so on my "recovery days" (keep in mind the footing in Boston is pretty bad right now- on firm ground it was probably more like 6:00 pace) and hit the workouts fine, but the tank is empty now. I pushed my workout yesterday back to today and still had to cut the workout short. Bruce isn't overly concerned. With some extra sleep, a few good meals, and a couple days rest, I'll be fine for Terrier in 6 days.
The log:
Monday- 3:30PM- 8 miles easy indoors, forgot my winter gear and wasn't too sad that I got to stay wahm and dry.
Tuesday- 7AM- 4 easy before class. 3:30PM 58:34 easy/moderate with a big group through Cambridge. Added on a little indoors for insurance, but probably covered 9mi in about 56 minutes. Didn't feel too good doing it, either.
Wednesday- 5pm Long day of class, then to the track for a solo workout. 3 up, then 2x600 4 min rest, 2x400 with 2 and 3min rest, 2x500 with 3min rest, 2x200 with 2min rest.
600 1:31.7
600 1:29.6
400 59.7
400 61.0
500 1:18
500 1:18
200 29.5
200 28.0
3+ cooldown. Pretty tough workout to do solo! I felt ok, relaxed a little too much on the 500s but it's better to be slightly conservative, I think. Bruce said I looked pretty good, so that's something. It was nice to feel that acidy burn in the arms again.
Thursday AM- overslept til noon (went to bed at 12:30). 3:30PM- 60:22 easy, Marky Mark loop plus add on. Didn't feel so hot. 9:30PM- 31min easy with James indoors after work. Felt good to run slow- wish I had been as disciplined on Tuesday and Friday.
Friday- 3:30PM- 10 easy/moderate downtown, 65min total for what was likely, again, 10.1-10.2. I had planned on running a slow 90 min, but after running pretty hard from 40min to 65min, I just gave up on adding on.
Saturday- 11am- Slept 10 hours, warmed up 20min and had no legs for a workout. Just felt terrible- kind of achy, sluggish, sore all over. Talked to Bruce, who told me to push it back a day, then jogged a few minutes for 4mi.
Sunday- 9:30AM- slept 9 hours, felt pretty decent when I woke up. Warmed up and didn't feel good or bad, did some strides, didn't feel fast or slow. The planned workout was 1200 at mile pace + 2 seconds/400, 800 at mile pace, then 1000 with the first 800 at 2 seconds slower /400 then close the last lap in the 29-30 range. Bruce gave me conservative targets for "mile pace" based on how I felt and I still felt like I was pressed too hard through the 600, so I stopped and jogged a little. Then I asked Bruce if I could run some 600s at 34/200 with the longer distance guys. I did 2 of them and even those felt too tough for appropriate workout effort, so I just stopped. 5 tot
Week tot 63
So, basically, if I were to email myself with this week's log, I would fire myself back an email scolding me for getting caught up in my teammates' "feeling good days" and running too steady during recovery, especially given the increase in intensity of the workouts. I think the hole I dug for myself isn't very deep- my last two days have been very light. Tomorrow afternoon, I'll decide whether complete rest or a slow 45min shakeout will benefit me more, then do a nice easy day Tuesday afternoon after student teaching, then try a lighter workout on Wednesday. I'm not particularly concerned because unlike my past reactions to this crap, I'm listening to my body this time and playing it safe. I'm definitely going to lose the "most impressive log" this indoor season, but I'm hoping some good races are the consolation prize ;)
Good luck to everyone who's racing this and next weekend! If you're going to be at Terrier, say hi!
-Craig
This lengthy explanation is a long-winded way of saying I got caught up in a commonality of large group training, which is to say that due to a combination of cutting volume a little bit and a large group of guys to run I ran too fast on my rest days this week, and am paying for it now. I was able to run 6:20 pace or so on my "recovery days" (keep in mind the footing in Boston is pretty bad right now- on firm ground it was probably more like 6:00 pace) and hit the workouts fine, but the tank is empty now. I pushed my workout yesterday back to today and still had to cut the workout short. Bruce isn't overly concerned. With some extra sleep, a few good meals, and a couple days rest, I'll be fine for Terrier in 6 days.
The log:
Monday- 3:30PM- 8 miles easy indoors, forgot my winter gear and wasn't too sad that I got to stay wahm and dry.
Tuesday- 7AM- 4 easy before class. 3:30PM 58:34 easy/moderate with a big group through Cambridge. Added on a little indoors for insurance, but probably covered 9mi in about 56 minutes. Didn't feel too good doing it, either.
Wednesday- 5pm Long day of class, then to the track for a solo workout. 3 up, then 2x600 4 min rest, 2x400 with 2 and 3min rest, 2x500 with 3min rest, 2x200 with 2min rest.
600 1:31.7
600 1:29.6
400 59.7
400 61.0
500 1:18
500 1:18
200 29.5
200 28.0
3+ cooldown. Pretty tough workout to do solo! I felt ok, relaxed a little too much on the 500s but it's better to be slightly conservative, I think. Bruce said I looked pretty good, so that's something. It was nice to feel that acidy burn in the arms again.
Thursday AM- overslept til noon (went to bed at 12:30). 3:30PM- 60:22 easy, Marky Mark loop plus add on. Didn't feel so hot. 9:30PM- 31min easy with James indoors after work. Felt good to run slow- wish I had been as disciplined on Tuesday and Friday.
Friday- 3:30PM- 10 easy/moderate downtown, 65min total for what was likely, again, 10.1-10.2. I had planned on running a slow 90 min, but after running pretty hard from 40min to 65min, I just gave up on adding on.
Saturday- 11am- Slept 10 hours, warmed up 20min and had no legs for a workout. Just felt terrible- kind of achy, sluggish, sore all over. Talked to Bruce, who told me to push it back a day, then jogged a few minutes for 4mi.
Sunday- 9:30AM- slept 9 hours, felt pretty decent when I woke up. Warmed up and didn't feel good or bad, did some strides, didn't feel fast or slow. The planned workout was 1200 at mile pace + 2 seconds/400, 800 at mile pace, then 1000 with the first 800 at 2 seconds slower /400 then close the last lap in the 29-30 range. Bruce gave me conservative targets for "mile pace" based on how I felt and I still felt like I was pressed too hard through the 600, so I stopped and jogged a little. Then I asked Bruce if I could run some 600s at 34/200 with the longer distance guys. I did 2 of them and even those felt too tough for appropriate workout effort, so I just stopped. 5 tot
Week tot 63
So, basically, if I were to email myself with this week's log, I would fire myself back an email scolding me for getting caught up in my teammates' "feeling good days" and running too steady during recovery, especially given the increase in intensity of the workouts. I think the hole I dug for myself isn't very deep- my last two days have been very light. Tomorrow afternoon, I'll decide whether complete rest or a slow 45min shakeout will benefit me more, then do a nice easy day Tuesday afternoon after student teaching, then try a lighter workout on Wednesday. I'm not particularly concerned because unlike my past reactions to this crap, I'm listening to my body this time and playing it safe. I'm definitely going to lose the "most impressive log" this indoor season, but I'm hoping some good races are the consolation prize ;)
Good luck to everyone who's racing this and next weekend! If you're going to be at Terrier, say hi!
-Craig
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Rust Buster
Well hello there, internet. Has it been a week already? Between classes starting, a rust buster race, and a unexpected taste of spring, I hadn't noticed.
In light of my attempt to be more interesting, here are some thoughts that may or may not digress from running. But hey, come on- I'm not a running machine, tiny audience!
Please excuse, then, this brief digression. Much like Derek Zoolander, I'm not much of a philosophizer, especially when it comes to running. I'm not much one for analysis and I generally avoid questioning things too deeply. I think Kenny Moore and John Parker said most of what there was to say about motivation and analysis, but occasionally, something (usually outside the realm of running) strikes me as related to this hobby of mine. With your patience, I continue:
I came across this quote at the beginning of an MGMT video and it didn't take long for me to connect it to running and runners. Mistakenly attributed to Mark Twain, it was written by Friedrich Nietzsche, who isn't one of my favorite thinkers because he's so damn smug about his atheism. Generally, I don't have a problem with people whose religious views differ from mine, but I dislike evangelicals- whether they're baptists or ardent atheists. Anyway. . . the quote runs thus: "He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster, and if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you."
This might be the long-winded English major in me, but this struck a chord with me. Readers of Parker might make the connection between the monsters in Nietzsche's quote and the demons from which Parker's Quenton flees. There's a measure of fear and mortality in distance training, I think. Tom Derderian wrote an article years ago about the connection between death and runners. It does seem strange that the kinship should exist, especially when so much of being a good runner is control, relaxation, and acceptance. I think if you had to pinpoint the connection, it would be in the acceptance both attributes require. It's easy to see how becoming too preoccupied with the demons that impel us to train like we do would be disastrous. It's why I've always said the existential angst put forth by many of our number should be reserved for high school sophomores and musicians. I certainly don't consider it daily or even monthly, unless something like Nietzsche's quote makes me confront it.
However, it is the second part of Nietzsche's sentence that got me going. ". . . if you gaze for long into an abyss, the aybss gazes also into you." I think the solitary nature of training changes us. As others have noted, we devote huge amounts of time and energy (mental, physical, and emotional) to improving fractionally. We stare into the abyss of infinity more often than most citizens of this republic of ours, and we're confronted with our limits whenever we give forth a truly maximum effort. I think the annealing or the callousing of distance runners occurs during this unblinking gaze into infinity.
What, pray tell, does all these mean? I'd be bullshitting everyone if I said anything other than "I haven't a goddamned clue." So, for honesty's sake, I haven't a goddamned clue what all this means. It was just something that occurred to me as I was walking home from the dining hall. I don't have the capacity for greater insight that any reasonably serious runner doesn't have, save perhaps a certain shamelessness in wondering out loud. I should stop, I think, before I give the impression that I'm a cerebral nutcase. The 99.99% of the time I am not writing here, I think very little about my running. When I'm actually running, I don't think I think about it at all.
You know what? Here's the log for the week:
Monday- Noon- 3 up, 8x400 indoors with a huge group, trading the lead, avg about 63.6, with 1:40 jog rest, 3 down. Bruce gave us the option to do up to 10, but with my workout two days ago then a decent long run, I decided caution was the better part of valor. Wore my milers, did hurdle mobility with Eric and Peter after. Very easy workout, felt really good.
7PM- 36min indoors solo, a conservative 5mi.
Tuesday- 3PM- 10mi River Loop in 69, first 7 with James. 9PM- 36 minutes easy indoors with James, probably closer to 5.5 but whatever. Insurance mileage!
Wednesday- Classes started today and of course I didn't wake up early enough to run before my first class. 1PM- Misjudged the loop I was doing from the house, 58min solo, pretty easy pace, meant to do 45-50min. 9PM- A pizza-stuffed 46min post work run + 4x150 buildups indoors in milers and a less-than-smooth 200 in 29.7. A cautious 15 on the day.
Thursday- 4:30PM- 3 up, mile race in a Multi-Team meet vs Umass Amherst and Sacred Heart. I ran 4:12.94 to just barely eke out my teammate Rob Gibson for the win in a very good rust buster. They started the clock by the track late (the timing clock was correct) and while I usually don't look at the clock when I'm racing, I snuck a peek as we went through the 400 and was surprised to see 60-61 since the pace felt very easy. I figured if I stayed smooth and didn't press, I'd stroll through the half about 2:03-2:04 and have myself a pretty decent race. Unfortunately, the reason the "61" felt so easy was that it was really a 65. After a half-mile in 2:11 (which I of course didn't know after the race) a Umass guy took over and drastically stepped up the pace. I waited until we were through 1200 then took the lead and moved hard. I paid for it a little in the last 150, but actually felt really, really strong until about 50m to go when the rig set in. Rob came up on me in the stretch but I was able to barely hold him off, with Rob getting a nice 4:13.00 PR for his efforts. Rough splits (gotten after the fact): 65.5, 2:11.5 (66.0- taken at 805m) 3:14.0 (62.5) 4:12.94 (~59.0) last 805m was 2:01.5, which is a pretty solid close. Last year around this time I ran a 4:11.7, but went through the 800 around 2:04 and rigged. 3 down. 9PM- 4 easy with Peter, Elliot, and Terence, who all set PRs in the 3k (8:25.7, 8:46.9, and 9:05, respectively). Peter looked real good winning from the front.
Friday- 3PM- 8mi River Loop with the whole team for the first time in forever, 53min. 9PM- 4mi River Loop with James, forgot to bring my watch, calves sore near the end.
Saturday- 13 easy with Eric and James through Brookline and Chesnut Hill, mostly, 87:40. Plenty of solid 6:20-6:30 miling here, felt good. 45 DEGREES OUT! That's t-shirt and shorts weather for the first time in a long time!
Sunday- 2pm- Indoor track workout with the middle distance guys. 3 up, 2x(600, 400,800) then 400, 600, 400 with 2:20 jog after the 600s and 400s and 3:20 jog after the 800s.
600 1:34
400 62
800 2:09
600 1:36
400 61
800 2:11
400 61
600 1:32
400 60.5 (Note: Bruce told me to make sure I "stayed well in control" for these last 3 intervals, to which I responded by promising not to go a tenth faster than 60.5. True to form, I hit a controlled 60.50, so there.) 3mi down.
Tot 90
All in all, a great week of training. Before the mile race, running under 33/200 didn't feel hard, necessarily, but it felt both fast and awkward. It was nice to open up just a little today and run a little faster than I have been, and it was equally nice to have that faster running be as easy and in control as it was. I think my next race will be a mile at the Terrier Invitational on the 30th. The rust buster was quite good in that I recovered from it very quickly and closing in 2:01.5 for ~805m didn't feel like anything out of the ordinary.
Well, congratulations! You've made it to the bottom of an obscenely long post! I apologize for any eye strains reading this much on the computer might have caused. I hope everybody is having fun out there!
In light of my attempt to be more interesting, here are some thoughts that may or may not digress from running. But hey, come on- I'm not a running machine, tiny audience!
Please excuse, then, this brief digression. Much like Derek Zoolander, I'm not much of a philosophizer, especially when it comes to running. I'm not much one for analysis and I generally avoid questioning things too deeply. I think Kenny Moore and John Parker said most of what there was to say about motivation and analysis, but occasionally, something (usually outside the realm of running) strikes me as related to this hobby of mine. With your patience, I continue:
I came across this quote at the beginning of an MGMT video and it didn't take long for me to connect it to running and runners. Mistakenly attributed to Mark Twain, it was written by Friedrich Nietzsche, who isn't one of my favorite thinkers because he's so damn smug about his atheism. Generally, I don't have a problem with people whose religious views differ from mine, but I dislike evangelicals- whether they're baptists or ardent atheists. Anyway. . . the quote runs thus: "He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster, and if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you."
This might be the long-winded English major in me, but this struck a chord with me. Readers of Parker might make the connection between the monsters in Nietzsche's quote and the demons from which Parker's Quenton flees. There's a measure of fear and mortality in distance training, I think. Tom Derderian wrote an article years ago about the connection between death and runners. It does seem strange that the kinship should exist, especially when so much of being a good runner is control, relaxation, and acceptance. I think if you had to pinpoint the connection, it would be in the acceptance both attributes require. It's easy to see how becoming too preoccupied with the demons that impel us to train like we do would be disastrous. It's why I've always said the existential angst put forth by many of our number should be reserved for high school sophomores and musicians. I certainly don't consider it daily or even monthly, unless something like Nietzsche's quote makes me confront it.
However, it is the second part of Nietzsche's sentence that got me going. ". . . if you gaze for long into an abyss, the aybss gazes also into you." I think the solitary nature of training changes us. As others have noted, we devote huge amounts of time and energy (mental, physical, and emotional) to improving fractionally. We stare into the abyss of infinity more often than most citizens of this republic of ours, and we're confronted with our limits whenever we give forth a truly maximum effort. I think the annealing or the callousing of distance runners occurs during this unblinking gaze into infinity.
What, pray tell, does all these mean? I'd be bullshitting everyone if I said anything other than "I haven't a goddamned clue." So, for honesty's sake, I haven't a goddamned clue what all this means. It was just something that occurred to me as I was walking home from the dining hall. I don't have the capacity for greater insight that any reasonably serious runner doesn't have, save perhaps a certain shamelessness in wondering out loud. I should stop, I think, before I give the impression that I'm a cerebral nutcase. The 99.99% of the time I am not writing here, I think very little about my running. When I'm actually running, I don't think I think about it at all.
You know what? Here's the log for the week:
Monday- Noon- 3 up, 8x400 indoors with a huge group, trading the lead, avg about 63.6, with 1:40 jog rest, 3 down. Bruce gave us the option to do up to 10, but with my workout two days ago then a decent long run, I decided caution was the better part of valor. Wore my milers, did hurdle mobility with Eric and Peter after. Very easy workout, felt really good.
7PM- 36min indoors solo, a conservative 5mi.
Tuesday- 3PM- 10mi River Loop in 69, first 7 with James. 9PM- 36 minutes easy indoors with James, probably closer to 5.5 but whatever. Insurance mileage!
Wednesday- Classes started today and of course I didn't wake up early enough to run before my first class. 1PM- Misjudged the loop I was doing from the house, 58min solo, pretty easy pace, meant to do 45-50min. 9PM- A pizza-stuffed 46min post work run + 4x150 buildups indoors in milers and a less-than-smooth 200 in 29.7. A cautious 15 on the day.
Thursday- 4:30PM- 3 up, mile race in a Multi-Team meet vs Umass Amherst and Sacred Heart. I ran 4:12.94 to just barely eke out my teammate Rob Gibson for the win in a very good rust buster. They started the clock by the track late (the timing clock was correct) and while I usually don't look at the clock when I'm racing, I snuck a peek as we went through the 400 and was surprised to see 60-61 since the pace felt very easy. I figured if I stayed smooth and didn't press, I'd stroll through the half about 2:03-2:04 and have myself a pretty decent race. Unfortunately, the reason the "61" felt so easy was that it was really a 65. After a half-mile in 2:11 (which I of course didn't know after the race) a Umass guy took over and drastically stepped up the pace. I waited until we were through 1200 then took the lead and moved hard. I paid for it a little in the last 150, but actually felt really, really strong until about 50m to go when the rig set in. Rob came up on me in the stretch but I was able to barely hold him off, with Rob getting a nice 4:13.00 PR for his efforts. Rough splits (gotten after the fact): 65.5, 2:11.5 (66.0- taken at 805m) 3:14.0 (62.5) 4:12.94 (~59.0) last 805m was 2:01.5, which is a pretty solid close. Last year around this time I ran a 4:11.7, but went through the 800 around 2:04 and rigged. 3 down. 9PM- 4 easy with Peter, Elliot, and Terence, who all set PRs in the 3k (8:25.7, 8:46.9, and 9:05, respectively). Peter looked real good winning from the front.
Friday- 3PM- 8mi River Loop with the whole team for the first time in forever, 53min. 9PM- 4mi River Loop with James, forgot to bring my watch, calves sore near the end.
Saturday- 13 easy with Eric and James through Brookline and Chesnut Hill, mostly, 87:40. Plenty of solid 6:20-6:30 miling here, felt good. 45 DEGREES OUT! That's t-shirt and shorts weather for the first time in a long time!
Sunday- 2pm- Indoor track workout with the middle distance guys. 3 up, 2x(600, 400,800) then 400, 600, 400 with 2:20 jog after the 600s and 400s and 3:20 jog after the 800s.
600 1:34
400 62
800 2:09
600 1:36
400 61
800 2:11
400 61
600 1:32
400 60.5 (Note: Bruce told me to make sure I "stayed well in control" for these last 3 intervals, to which I responded by promising not to go a tenth faster than 60.5. True to form, I hit a controlled 60.50, so there.) 3mi down.
Tot 90
All in all, a great week of training. Before the mile race, running under 33/200 didn't feel hard, necessarily, but it felt both fast and awkward. It was nice to open up just a little today and run a little faster than I have been, and it was equally nice to have that faster running be as easy and in control as it was. I think my next race will be a mile at the Terrier Invitational on the 30th. The rust buster was quite good in that I recovered from it very quickly and closing in 2:01.5 for ~805m didn't feel like anything out of the ordinary.
Well, congratulations! You've made it to the bottom of an obscenely long post! I apologize for any eye strains reading this much on the computer might have caused. I hope everybody is having fun out there!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Change of Plans (Or: Blogs Multiplying like Rabbits)
Hmm, well, before the log, I think some notes are in order. In the last couple weeks or so, there's been an explosion of runner blogs on the interwebs. A few of my teammates and a bunch of the Cortland guys have given into the temptation of the digital age and started blogging.
First, like the xkcd author noted in a comic, the word "blog" is itself ridiculous. I keep expecting it to grow on me, but I don't think I'll ever be able to take something called a "blog" too seriously.
Second, a common complaint I've heard about these online logs is that they serve only to satisfy the ego of the writers. Keeping in mind that my opinion is a little biased, I think that runner blogs aren't inherently self-serving. The cool thing about runners is that we might try our damnedest to smash each other into the tartan during a race, but most runners are happy to cool down with guys from other teams, invite them to functions, train with them in the off-season, etc. I think blogs are a way not only to keep in touch with these friend/rivals but to spread information.
I've never understood the idea that training should be some kind of secret. I'm certainly not foolish enough to think that the workouts that took me to 4:08 are these magical, secret rituals that, if revealed to the world, would result in every 4:20 miler out there dropping down to 4:05 and relegating me to sad anonymity. I don't want to get all John Parker here, but there aren't any secrets to running faster. There are, however, as many specific ways to improve as there are people trying to improve. I've said to questioners from the beginning that if one kid reads something on here, applies it to his or her own running and sees a positive result, then the year of blogging I've done would be entirely worth it. While there might not be "secrets" to improving, there are a lot of passionate, dedicated kids out there who think hammering 30mi a week with 4 interval workouts is the way to the top.
Likewise, I've learned a lot from the running blogosphere over the years. On one hand, we oftentimes tend to view the elite athletes as talented, inhuman freaks. The few elite athletes out there who keep a blog get points in my eyes when they dare to be vulnerable and complain about how they feel. On the other hand, the blogs that I've always found the most useful blogs are the ones kept by the athletes that have clawed their way to respectability. I might not take a specific workout from Ruben Sanca or Shamus Nally, but seeing what they have to say about running or getting to look at a six month block of their training is extremely useful to a guy like me.
I suppose, in short, I've never much worried that someone I race would read what I have to say on here and "figure out how to beat me." It's not tough to "figure out" how to beat someone. Get in the best shape you can, race to the best of your abilities and in accordance with your strengths, and the rest will fall into place. I am a 20 year old running nerd. I don't pretend to have all the answers, or even most of them. In distance running, I've read a lot, figured out some on my own, and been lucky to have some truly great minds to pick. Whether this blog will someday be an early look at elite runner's development, a detailing of a guy who had the tools but crashed and burned, or of just another running nerd whose dreams exceeded his talents is impossible to say now. But thus far, it's been great fun to figure out how fast I can run in circles. I've met some really cool people, done some cool things, and I'm committed to see this thing through for a while. I hope that no matter what my lifetime PRs end up being, the journey I detail helps a couple people.
I guess what all this rambling means (I'm shuddering to think of the email I'll get from Kevin about being long-winded) is that I want to be better about blogging and not just recording what I did for the week. So, in one eensy bit of news, I'm not redshirting indoor track. Bruce and I had a chat and we agreed this was better- and I'm pumped! After my cross country season, I was a little disappointed that it would be April before I could put on a Boston singlet and contribute directly to the team. I mean, I wasn't upset about getting the chance to train hard through the winter, race a couple times, and come out swingin' in the spring, but I'm much happier to be racing in a Boston uniform.
Anyway, FINALLY, here's the log:
Monday- AM- Easy River Loop with James, 4mi, 30min- slippery. PM- 65:38 moderate, calling it 10 but it's likely that it was a little longer. Ran the 9th-ish mile on the outdoor track in 5:55, closed down with a comfortable 5:31 on the indoor track. Felt great- 6x150 buildups in spikes afterwards.
Tuesday- 12pm- Indoor track with Eric, Elliot, and Peter for a workout. Elliot's been having a little knee trouble, so he did something else. Eric, Peter, and I did 3k, 1500, 1500, with 5min jog after each interval. Our targets were 9:00 and 4:20s, we went 9:04, 4:21, 4:15. 3 miles easy, then did hurdle mobility with Eric and Peter. Great workout- felt easy, wore spikes the whole time and had no trouble at all just coasting through the workout. 6PM- 28min easy indoors with James, felt great.
Wednesday- AM- River Loop + a mile on Nickerson with James. PM- 34min out on Comm Ave away from the City with James, back in 33 to make it ten. Can't seem to get tired this week.
Thursday- AM- 11miles downtown via Comm Ave with James, 74min. PM- Took a bus back to Derry, then some friends and I drove to Farmington, Maine, to visit our friend Dave. I tell you. . . why anyone would want to live that remotely is beyond me.
Friday- 4PM- 50min around a basketball court in Farmington, then about an hour's worth of pickup basketball. As if I needed to be reminded, I'm not very good at basketball. We were playing half-court, which sucked for me, because I couldn't put any endurance to use. My best moment was when my friend Matt (who was on the other team) bumped into me and my bony knee gave him a charlie horse, hobbling his jump shot. Sigh. . .
Saturday- AM- Back to Boston. PM- 3 up, solo workout indoors. Workout was 1200, 600, 600, 1000, 500, 500, 800, 400, 400 with 3min jog after odd-reps and 2min jog after even reps. I hit the targeted splits but felt pretty crappy from travel. Ran 3:29, 1:43, 1:42, 2:52, 1:24, 1:22, 2:13, 66, 62. I felt kind of "stuck" at about 34.5 a lap, but I didn't strain.
Sunday- 2:30PM- 14 easy, solo, 95min. Cold, windy, bad footing- so decent pace. 4x150 buildups in spikes indoors after- the first one was 5:00 pace, maybe, but after that one I loosened up and ran 21-22s comfortably.
Tot 87 miles, 10 runs with one 7mi day. All in all, a very good week with two good workouts. My first race is a mile this Thursday- the meet is low-key, but the competition should actually be pretty good. I'm not sure about what kind of shape I'm in, so my goal is to just put on the spikes and race hard.
Have a good week, everyone!
First, like the xkcd author noted in a comic, the word "blog" is itself ridiculous. I keep expecting it to grow on me, but I don't think I'll ever be able to take something called a "blog" too seriously.
Second, a common complaint I've heard about these online logs is that they serve only to satisfy the ego of the writers. Keeping in mind that my opinion is a little biased, I think that runner blogs aren't inherently self-serving. The cool thing about runners is that we might try our damnedest to smash each other into the tartan during a race, but most runners are happy to cool down with guys from other teams, invite them to functions, train with them in the off-season, etc. I think blogs are a way not only to keep in touch with these friend/rivals but to spread information.
I've never understood the idea that training should be some kind of secret. I'm certainly not foolish enough to think that the workouts that took me to 4:08 are these magical, secret rituals that, if revealed to the world, would result in every 4:20 miler out there dropping down to 4:05 and relegating me to sad anonymity. I don't want to get all John Parker here, but there aren't any secrets to running faster. There are, however, as many specific ways to improve as there are people trying to improve. I've said to questioners from the beginning that if one kid reads something on here, applies it to his or her own running and sees a positive result, then the year of blogging I've done would be entirely worth it. While there might not be "secrets" to improving, there are a lot of passionate, dedicated kids out there who think hammering 30mi a week with 4 interval workouts is the way to the top.
Likewise, I've learned a lot from the running blogosphere over the years. On one hand, we oftentimes tend to view the elite athletes as talented, inhuman freaks. The few elite athletes out there who keep a blog get points in my eyes when they dare to be vulnerable and complain about how they feel. On the other hand, the blogs that I've always found the most useful blogs are the ones kept by the athletes that have clawed their way to respectability. I might not take a specific workout from Ruben Sanca or Shamus Nally, but seeing what they have to say about running or getting to look at a six month block of their training is extremely useful to a guy like me.
I suppose, in short, I've never much worried that someone I race would read what I have to say on here and "figure out how to beat me." It's not tough to "figure out" how to beat someone. Get in the best shape you can, race to the best of your abilities and in accordance with your strengths, and the rest will fall into place. I am a 20 year old running nerd. I don't pretend to have all the answers, or even most of them. In distance running, I've read a lot, figured out some on my own, and been lucky to have some truly great minds to pick. Whether this blog will someday be an early look at elite runner's development, a detailing of a guy who had the tools but crashed and burned, or of just another running nerd whose dreams exceeded his talents is impossible to say now. But thus far, it's been great fun to figure out how fast I can run in circles. I've met some really cool people, done some cool things, and I'm committed to see this thing through for a while. I hope that no matter what my lifetime PRs end up being, the journey I detail helps a couple people.
I guess what all this rambling means (I'm shuddering to think of the email I'll get from Kevin about being long-winded) is that I want to be better about blogging and not just recording what I did for the week. So, in one eensy bit of news, I'm not redshirting indoor track. Bruce and I had a chat and we agreed this was better- and I'm pumped! After my cross country season, I was a little disappointed that it would be April before I could put on a Boston singlet and contribute directly to the team. I mean, I wasn't upset about getting the chance to train hard through the winter, race a couple times, and come out swingin' in the spring, but I'm much happier to be racing in a Boston uniform.
Anyway, FINALLY, here's the log:
Monday- AM- Easy River Loop with James, 4mi, 30min- slippery. PM- 65:38 moderate, calling it 10 but it's likely that it was a little longer. Ran the 9th-ish mile on the outdoor track in 5:55, closed down with a comfortable 5:31 on the indoor track. Felt great- 6x150 buildups in spikes afterwards.
Tuesday- 12pm- Indoor track with Eric, Elliot, and Peter for a workout. Elliot's been having a little knee trouble, so he did something else. Eric, Peter, and I did 3k, 1500, 1500, with 5min jog after each interval. Our targets were 9:00 and 4:20s, we went 9:04, 4:21, 4:15. 3 miles easy, then did hurdle mobility with Eric and Peter. Great workout- felt easy, wore spikes the whole time and had no trouble at all just coasting through the workout. 6PM- 28min easy indoors with James, felt great.
Wednesday- AM- River Loop + a mile on Nickerson with James. PM- 34min out on Comm Ave away from the City with James, back in 33 to make it ten. Can't seem to get tired this week.
Thursday- AM- 11miles downtown via Comm Ave with James, 74min. PM- Took a bus back to Derry, then some friends and I drove to Farmington, Maine, to visit our friend Dave. I tell you. . . why anyone would want to live that remotely is beyond me.
Friday- 4PM- 50min around a basketball court in Farmington, then about an hour's worth of pickup basketball. As if I needed to be reminded, I'm not very good at basketball. We were playing half-court, which sucked for me, because I couldn't put any endurance to use. My best moment was when my friend Matt (who was on the other team) bumped into me and my bony knee gave him a charlie horse, hobbling his jump shot. Sigh. . .
Saturday- AM- Back to Boston. PM- 3 up, solo workout indoors. Workout was 1200, 600, 600, 1000, 500, 500, 800, 400, 400 with 3min jog after odd-reps and 2min jog after even reps. I hit the targeted splits but felt pretty crappy from travel. Ran 3:29, 1:43, 1:42, 2:52, 1:24, 1:22, 2:13, 66, 62. I felt kind of "stuck" at about 34.5 a lap, but I didn't strain.
Sunday- 2:30PM- 14 easy, solo, 95min. Cold, windy, bad footing- so decent pace. 4x150 buildups in spikes indoors after- the first one was 5:00 pace, maybe, but after that one I loosened up and ran 21-22s comfortably.
Tot 87 miles, 10 runs with one 7mi day. All in all, a very good week with two good workouts. My first race is a mile this Thursday- the meet is low-key, but the competition should actually be pretty good. I'm not sure about what kind of shape I'm in, so my goal is to just put on the spikes and race hard.
Have a good week, everyone!
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Down Week and Yearly Totals
Down weeks are never fun to write about. To avoid the issue for a few paragraphs, here are some fun numbers from the year of 2009.
Total Miles:
~3590 in 365 days
An average of ~9.84 per day and ~68.9 miles in any given 7 day period. This includes 38 days of missed training, mostly due to illness and my much-needed vacation after running stopped being fun this spring.
~24 competitions ranging from 400m to 10mi, ~15 of which (I might be missing a few relay performances) occurred during Jan-March.
I set personal bests in the 600, 800, 1000, mile, and 3000 meters. This entry actually marks the one year of this blog. Ultimately, 2009 proved to be one of the most difficult and most rewarding years in my running career. I upended my life by changing schools and put in a great summer of training, the full benefits of which I don't think I've seen yet. I set personal records over almost all of my primary distances despite a variety of health setbacks. Anway, that's about all the stats I can handle- I've never been much of a numbers guy.
Unfortunately, the log this week isn't very noteworthy. I'm still adjusting to the idea of "down weeks" not brought on by illness or injury. However, my history as an athlete is marked by my feeling good, putting week upon week of hard training in, starting to feel crappy, continuing forward stubbornly with the hard training, and then getting sick and missing 4-10 days of running. I'm trying to make it through to June healthy, so when I woke up feeling crappy Monday morning, I resolved to just run by feel and accept the fact that I would likely not run as far or as fast as I would like to run. Even so, I felt guilty all week for doing less. I'm working on getting better about doing the optimum training, not the maximum.
Monday- Off
Tuesday- Had a workout scheduled- 3mi, 2mi, 1mi- but it was 0deg with 30mph winds in Derry and I figured getting in a quality workout would be tough. Did 10mi moderate on a hilly course instead and was disappointed to see 66min on the watch when I returned. Cold, dark, miserable out.
Wednesday- AM- Drove back to Boston with bad traffic. 6PM- Thought I was too tired to work out, then felt ok after 3mi of running indoors, then decided to try the workout anyway. 3mi tempo in 15:48, felt awful- after this I regretted even trying to work out and just walked back to my apartment. 6 tot
Thursday- 9AM- easy River Loop, solo 3PM- 10mi, 67:30- decent clip, considering I was running through 2-3inches of snow.
Friday- PM- 10mi easy with Peter, portions of it with James, Rob, and Peter's buddy Nick, 71min, very slippery out.
Saturday- AM- worked the Mini-Meet, got to watch Rob and James open up their indoor seasons with 8:26 and 8:51 3k performances, respectively. James won his heat in a PR and Rob cracked a 7month racing hiatus with a 3k that was only a second or so slower than his PR. Great stuff! PM- Another damn snowstorm rolled through, so Bruce nixed the hills we had planned and had Peter and I repeat the 668, 668, 66 workout we did a few weeks ago. He cut the rest from 1:40 to 1:30 after the 600s and 2:10 from 2:20 after the 800s and told us to stay consistent with 34sec laps as opposed to running the last two reps quicker. Targets were 1:42 and 2:16- we alternated leads and went 1:42, 1:42, 2:16, 1:41, 1:41, 2:15, 1:41, 1:38. I felt sluggish on the warmup and after leading the first 600, almost called the workout- but by the first 800, I was running really easily and just strode through the rest of the workout feeling great. Longer c/d to make it 12 on the day. With the rests, I was still averaging about 5:20 for 4-4.5 mi.
Sunday- ANOTHER snowstorm! Roads were awful, and this time, James and I decided we'd rather run 6:40 without slipping instead of more shuffly 7:20s and did our 13mi run in 88:17 entirely indoors. A boring run around the track, sure- but it was nice to run at a reasonable clip.
Tot- 65
I started to come out of my funk mid-way through the workout on Saturday and woke up today feeling like I hadn't worked out at all. My first race got pushed back to the GBTC Invite at Harvard on the 24th, and will probably a mile instead of a 3k.
Hope everybody is staying healthy and adjusting to the cold!
Total Miles:
~3590 in 365 days
An average of ~9.84 per day and ~68.9 miles in any given 7 day period. This includes 38 days of missed training, mostly due to illness and my much-needed vacation after running stopped being fun this spring.
~24 competitions ranging from 400m to 10mi, ~15 of which (I might be missing a few relay performances) occurred during Jan-March.
I set personal bests in the 600, 800, 1000, mile, and 3000 meters. This entry actually marks the one year of this blog. Ultimately, 2009 proved to be one of the most difficult and most rewarding years in my running career. I upended my life by changing schools and put in a great summer of training, the full benefits of which I don't think I've seen yet. I set personal records over almost all of my primary distances despite a variety of health setbacks. Anway, that's about all the stats I can handle- I've never been much of a numbers guy.
Unfortunately, the log this week isn't very noteworthy. I'm still adjusting to the idea of "down weeks" not brought on by illness or injury. However, my history as an athlete is marked by my feeling good, putting week upon week of hard training in, starting to feel crappy, continuing forward stubbornly with the hard training, and then getting sick and missing 4-10 days of running. I'm trying to make it through to June healthy, so when I woke up feeling crappy Monday morning, I resolved to just run by feel and accept the fact that I would likely not run as far or as fast as I would like to run. Even so, I felt guilty all week for doing less. I'm working on getting better about doing the optimum training, not the maximum.
Monday- Off
Tuesday- Had a workout scheduled- 3mi, 2mi, 1mi- but it was 0deg with 30mph winds in Derry and I figured getting in a quality workout would be tough. Did 10mi moderate on a hilly course instead and was disappointed to see 66min on the watch when I returned. Cold, dark, miserable out.
Wednesday- AM- Drove back to Boston with bad traffic. 6PM- Thought I was too tired to work out, then felt ok after 3mi of running indoors, then decided to try the workout anyway. 3mi tempo in 15:48, felt awful- after this I regretted even trying to work out and just walked back to my apartment. 6 tot
Thursday- 9AM- easy River Loop, solo 3PM- 10mi, 67:30- decent clip, considering I was running through 2-3inches of snow.
Friday- PM- 10mi easy with Peter, portions of it with James, Rob, and Peter's buddy Nick, 71min, very slippery out.
Saturday- AM- worked the Mini-Meet, got to watch Rob and James open up their indoor seasons with 8:26 and 8:51 3k performances, respectively. James won his heat in a PR and Rob cracked a 7month racing hiatus with a 3k that was only a second or so slower than his PR. Great stuff! PM- Another damn snowstorm rolled through, so Bruce nixed the hills we had planned and had Peter and I repeat the 668, 668, 66 workout we did a few weeks ago. He cut the rest from 1:40 to 1:30 after the 600s and 2:10 from 2:20 after the 800s and told us to stay consistent with 34sec laps as opposed to running the last two reps quicker. Targets were 1:42 and 2:16- we alternated leads and went 1:42, 1:42, 2:16, 1:41, 1:41, 2:15, 1:41, 1:38. I felt sluggish on the warmup and after leading the first 600, almost called the workout- but by the first 800, I was running really easily and just strode through the rest of the workout feeling great. Longer c/d to make it 12 on the day. With the rests, I was still averaging about 5:20 for 4-4.5 mi.
Sunday- ANOTHER snowstorm! Roads were awful, and this time, James and I decided we'd rather run 6:40 without slipping instead of more shuffly 7:20s and did our 13mi run in 88:17 entirely indoors. A boring run around the track, sure- but it was nice to run at a reasonable clip.
Tot- 65
I started to come out of my funk mid-way through the workout on Saturday and woke up today feeling like I hadn't worked out at all. My first race got pushed back to the GBTC Invite at Harvard on the 24th, and will probably a mile instead of a 3k.
Hope everybody is staying healthy and adjusting to the cold!
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