Well, I'm getting deeper into the swing of the summer now. It was hot out earlier in the week, which made all the Ashford residents lazier than usual (except for those who work at 6am. . .). I didn't get too much quality in during the hottest days, but I got in a pretty good hill session one night after work. The week ended with Ken leaving for South America for two months and my first epic bonk of the summer. Other than that, not much is going on here. I should try to get into more trouble next week, so I have something to write about!
Monday 6-21: 1:30PM- 4mi easy solo, hot out again. A bird DIVE BOMBED me between the bridges on the river, though! Was it the same bird as the one that tried to get Peter yesterday?! Or is a sparrow conspiracy?! 10PM- After work, slums to Mass Ave on the river, mile barefoot on Nickerson, drills, 6x(100 stride, 300 jog). Felt pretty darn good on the drills and strides.
Tuesday 6-22: 10AM- 4 easy solo, decided to skip my planned tempo today because I was just plum tuckered out. Sparrow dove for me again! 3:30PM- 8.5 around Fresh Pond once from the house with Ken, Jeff, and James. Tired still.
Wednesday 6-23- 9AM: Fresh Pond once from the house with Eric, Ruben Sanca, and Ahmed + a short, solo add-on to make it 9. 3:30PM- 4mi shakeout with Ken and Joe + strength.
Thursday 6-24- 10AM- Heat index of 90deg at 10am. Double you tee eph, mate? And I got dive bombed AGAIN. 10PM- 3.5 up to Heartbreak Hill, 6x Hydrant to Hydrant (82, 82, 80, 79, 79, 77), 3.5 down. Felt pretty good- ran at a good, honest effort with Ken and Eric. The usual standard for the hill is 80 seconds, so this was a good workout. Jeez, though, it was still pretty hot at 10pm!
Friday 6-25- 10:30AM- Late start with Ken today, 4mi easy. Senor Sparrow had no response to my bringing Ken for backup. 6:30PM- 9 miles easy from the house, going west on the river with a huge-ass group. Tired again.
Saturday 6-26- 10AM- 4mi easy from the house with Trethewey and Peter. Eric came with us for the first 3, then did 10. 7:30PM- 8+mi on the river with Peter from the house, then an add-on at Nickerson to make it 9, then drills, then 4x(100 stride, 300 jog) for 10 on the evening. Felt pretty good.
Sunday 6-26- 9AM- First Bonk of the summer. 12 miles with Ruben, Peter, Eric, and Rob- we were about 6:30s through 6mi, then the lads took off and I bonked. Rob had worked out the day before, so he stayed back with me. I was still 77:30 for 12, so whatever. . . just annoying to get dropped.
Tot- 91 mi
2 drill sessions
1 strength session
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
More Money in the Bank
Whether it's all the economic textbooks I'm reading in preparation for the fall or just good, old-fashioned American preoccupation with dough, but I could never get the "money in the bank" metaphor out of my head when thinking about base mileage.
I think it was Salazar (but don't quote me on it) who said "Every steady mile [an athlete] runs is like putting a dollar in the bank. Every mile [an athlete] races is like making a $10 withdrawal."
I like summer training, except for the "summer" part, haha. I'll admit I am a HUGE wimp about running in the heat. Usually I can plan accordingly to do my primary run either before it gets hot or after it cools down, but even then- I'll bitch about 80 degrees. Ken and James don't seem to mind so much when I complain, and since Eric's been working like a madman lately, he hasn't had to deal with my whining too much. In all seriousness, though, summer training is always a fun part of the year because no particular run has any great significance.
By that, I mean that if I happen to feeling good, or get caught up in a good running daydream, or get drawn into another teammate's feeling good, I can hammer all I'd like and there's nothing to worry about, because there's never anything tomorrow that's too important to jog through. I appreciate the freedom, even though I'll be missing racing by July.
Anyway, here's the log for the week:
Monday 6/14- 10AM- Out the Riverway with Ken, James, and Eric, around Jamaica Pond, and back, then barefoot drills and 4x(100 stride, 300 jog) with Eric on Nickerson for 10. 9:30PM- 4mi after work with Joe, James, and Ken.
Tuesday 6/15- 1:30PM- 79 deg, low humidity, slight wind. With Eric- 2+ up to the BC Res workout spot, 10k (4lap) tempo in 34:38, 2+ down.
Distance---------- Time---------- Split
2.5k ---------- 8:42 ---------- 8:42
5k ---------- 17:30----------- 8:49
7.5k ---------- 26:09---------- 8:38
10k ---------- 34:38---------- 8:29
Good, solid progression under a very strong sun. We were planning on 15k going 6:00, 5:45, 5:30 pace per mile for each 5k segment, but I screwed up the pacing and took us out the first lap 40 seconds too fast, so we figured 10k was good for today. (11mi tot)
Wednesday 6/16- 10AM- Morning 4mi loop with James, plus a stop on Nickerson to do the strength circuit I skipped last night (blaming the Celtics for the this one). 9:30PM- 8.5 on the river with Ken after work, tired, but glad we beat the heat.
Thursday 6/17- 11AM- 4mi easy, then travel to Derry, NH. 5PM- 10 miles at a good, hard pace through steady rain on one of my favorite rolling loops back home. 31:28 at 5mi, 27:40 for the back 5, 59:08 total- great run, I felt very refreshed afterward.
Friday 6/18- AM- Watched my younger sister graduate from high school. 5:30PM- 5mi nice and easy on the railroad beds, then I turned around and did 1min hard, 1min medium until I covered 4 miles, then ran the last mile nice and easy. I was tired from sitting in the sun all day, and it was 88 degrees for my workout, but the railroad beds offer a little shade and I just ran at an honest but not excessive effort.
Saturday 6/19- 11AM- 8mi out and back on the railroad beds with Trethewey, nice and easy, no watch as usual. Hot out again, decided to take a nice recovery day today and skip doubling.
Sunday 6/20- AM- travel back to Boston. 3PM- 9 miles in brutal heat and humidity (94 deg, according to the thermometer on the porch). Peter was up, and so was a HS buddy of Ken's, so the pace was pretty fast. I had planned on doing 14-15 in one go, but I was just flat out toast by 7mi in the heat. 9:30PM- 5mi barefoot on Nickerson, plus the strength circuit I should have done Friday or Saturday (I let graduation festivities interfere, I admit it).
Total- 83.5
1 session of drills/strides
2 strength/core sessions
All in all, a very solid week. I'm starting to see a little improvement in my general strength stuff and I recovered from the tempo and then the hard run/fartlek combo very well. Also, Saturday afternoon marked a very crucial Meeting of the Minds.
I think it was Salazar (but don't quote me on it) who said "Every steady mile [an athlete] runs is like putting a dollar in the bank. Every mile [an athlete] races is like making a $10 withdrawal."
I like summer training, except for the "summer" part, haha. I'll admit I am a HUGE wimp about running in the heat. Usually I can plan accordingly to do my primary run either before it gets hot or after it cools down, but even then- I'll bitch about 80 degrees. Ken and James don't seem to mind so much when I complain, and since Eric's been working like a madman lately, he hasn't had to deal with my whining too much. In all seriousness, though, summer training is always a fun part of the year because no particular run has any great significance.
By that, I mean that if I happen to feeling good, or get caught up in a good running daydream, or get drawn into another teammate's feeling good, I can hammer all I'd like and there's nothing to worry about, because there's never anything tomorrow that's too important to jog through. I appreciate the freedom, even though I'll be missing racing by July.
Anyway, here's the log for the week:
Monday 6/14- 10AM- Out the Riverway with Ken, James, and Eric, around Jamaica Pond, and back, then barefoot drills and 4x(100 stride, 300 jog) with Eric on Nickerson for 10. 9:30PM- 4mi after work with Joe, James, and Ken.
Tuesday 6/15- 1:30PM- 79 deg, low humidity, slight wind. With Eric- 2+ up to the BC Res workout spot, 10k (4lap) tempo in 34:38, 2+ down.
Distance---------- Time---------- Split
2.5k ---------- 8:42 ---------- 8:42
5k ---------- 17:30----------- 8:49
7.5k ---------- 26:09---------- 8:38
10k ---------- 34:38---------- 8:29
Good, solid progression under a very strong sun. We were planning on 15k going 6:00, 5:45, 5:30 pace per mile for each 5k segment, but I screwed up the pacing and took us out the first lap 40 seconds too fast, so we figured 10k was good for today. (11mi tot)
Wednesday 6/16- 10AM- Morning 4mi loop with James, plus a stop on Nickerson to do the strength circuit I skipped last night (blaming the Celtics for the this one). 9:30PM- 8.5 on the river with Ken after work, tired, but glad we beat the heat.
Thursday 6/17- 11AM- 4mi easy, then travel to Derry, NH. 5PM- 10 miles at a good, hard pace through steady rain on one of my favorite rolling loops back home. 31:28 at 5mi, 27:40 for the back 5, 59:08 total- great run, I felt very refreshed afterward.
Friday 6/18- AM- Watched my younger sister graduate from high school. 5:30PM- 5mi nice and easy on the railroad beds, then I turned around and did 1min hard, 1min medium until I covered 4 miles, then ran the last mile nice and easy. I was tired from sitting in the sun all day, and it was 88 degrees for my workout, but the railroad beds offer a little shade and I just ran at an honest but not excessive effort.
Saturday 6/19- 11AM- 8mi out and back on the railroad beds with Trethewey, nice and easy, no watch as usual. Hot out again, decided to take a nice recovery day today and skip doubling.
Sunday 6/20- AM- travel back to Boston. 3PM- 9 miles in brutal heat and humidity (94 deg, according to the thermometer on the porch). Peter was up, and so was a HS buddy of Ken's, so the pace was pretty fast. I had planned on doing 14-15 in one go, but I was just flat out toast by 7mi in the heat. 9:30PM- 5mi barefoot on Nickerson, plus the strength circuit I should have done Friday or Saturday (I let graduation festivities interfere, I admit it).
Total- 83.5
1 session of drills/strides
2 strength/core sessions
All in all, a very solid week. I'm starting to see a little improvement in my general strength stuff and I recovered from the tempo and then the hard run/fartlek combo very well. Also, Saturday afternoon marked a very crucial Meeting of the Minds.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Back to Basics
No word yet on my bloodwork. Not sure what the delay is, but it's getting annoying. It'd be unbearable if I was still feeling terrible, but my running has taken a turn for the better. My "empty well" issues fortunately don't affect my normal base running, since normal base running requires no dipping into the well. Now if only I can get my "normal base running" down to 4:30/mile. . .
Anyway, nothing really special to report on this week. I'm waiting on my blood work, done with my Census work, making a killing on Telefund commissions, and enjoying the beginnings of the conditioning period. I'm also trying to eat healthier and less. I know "eat less" sounds stupid, but by that, I mean eating healthy, good food when I'm hungry, as opposed to eating half a bag of sour gummy worms at 1am because I'm bored. Thus far, though, I'm still less-than-svelte.
The log:
Monday- 9PM- 3miles easy, got back to Boston late and ran with Joe and James on the infield of Nickerson sans shoes.
Tuesday- 10AM- standard 4mi morning loop with a stop at Nickerson for a 30min core/body strength routine. It included a laughably small amount of pushups, lunges, dips, squats, and various core exercises. 4PM- Pretty quick run with James- ~6:20s for the 3mi out to Fresh Pond, did the lap at a good surge (13:32, ~5:25 pace), then went home at ~6:20 pace again, adding on a little at Harvard to make it 9 instead of 8.5.
Wednesday- 10AM- 4mi on the river with Ken. 4PM- Mayor's Run with Ken and James (and Joe for the first 15min), 8mi.
Thursday- 10AM- Maintenance run on the river, by myself. I spent the first 5mi waking up, then got into a really good gear for the back half. The last mile is measured and except for having to sprint through an intersection to make a walk light, I kept the pace as similar as I could to get a gauge on my effort. I was 5:37 for the last mile, so I think I can safely say I was 5:45s or so for most of the last 4mi. 61:44 tot, good strong run in rainy, cool weather. 4PM- 4mi easy on the river, partway with Ken and James, who were doing their primary run. 20min of running drills on Nickerson afterward with 4x100m flat out.
Friday- 5PM- 10mi easy on the river with Ken and the Born-Again Kevin DTP Cordaro, 67:40. Strength routine at the indoor track afterward. Legs very tired today.
Saturday- 5PM- 12 miles down Comm Ave, through the Common, past Faneuil Hall, into the North End for a while, then we wound around the waterfront, through the Financial District, and back home via Comm Ave. Got that? 79 minutes a decent clip through rainy, cool weather.
Sunday- 10AM- 14mi at a decent clip with James, 92:07. We did the first ten on the river in 66:27, then ran from the house to the BC Res and back in 25:40 for the last 4. We were 7:23 at the mile and 14:25 at 2. . . that's all I got for intermediate marks.
Tot- 78 miles, 10 runs, one day basically off, 2 sessions of strength/core, 1 session of drills/leg speed. A solid start to summer!
Lastly, thanks to the couple people who emailed/facebooked me with well wishes. It helped!
Anyway, nothing really special to report on this week. I'm waiting on my blood work, done with my Census work, making a killing on Telefund commissions, and enjoying the beginnings of the conditioning period. I'm also trying to eat healthier and less. I know "eat less" sounds stupid, but by that, I mean eating healthy, good food when I'm hungry, as opposed to eating half a bag of sour gummy worms at 1am because I'm bored. Thus far, though, I'm still less-than-svelte.
The log:
Monday- 9PM- 3miles easy, got back to Boston late and ran with Joe and James on the infield of Nickerson sans shoes.
Tuesday- 10AM- standard 4mi morning loop with a stop at Nickerson for a 30min core/body strength routine. It included a laughably small amount of pushups, lunges, dips, squats, and various core exercises. 4PM- Pretty quick run with James- ~6:20s for the 3mi out to Fresh Pond, did the lap at a good surge (13:32, ~5:25 pace), then went home at ~6:20 pace again, adding on a little at Harvard to make it 9 instead of 8.5.
Wednesday- 10AM- 4mi on the river with Ken. 4PM- Mayor's Run with Ken and James (and Joe for the first 15min), 8mi.
Thursday- 10AM- Maintenance run on the river, by myself. I spent the first 5mi waking up, then got into a really good gear for the back half. The last mile is measured and except for having to sprint through an intersection to make a walk light, I kept the pace as similar as I could to get a gauge on my effort. I was 5:37 for the last mile, so I think I can safely say I was 5:45s or so for most of the last 4mi. 61:44 tot, good strong run in rainy, cool weather. 4PM- 4mi easy on the river, partway with Ken and James, who were doing their primary run. 20min of running drills on Nickerson afterward with 4x100m flat out.
Friday- 5PM- 10mi easy on the river with Ken and the Born-Again Kevin DTP Cordaro, 67:40. Strength routine at the indoor track afterward. Legs very tired today.
Saturday- 5PM- 12 miles down Comm Ave, through the Common, past Faneuil Hall, into the North End for a while, then we wound around the waterfront, through the Financial District, and back home via Comm Ave. Got that? 79 minutes a decent clip through rainy, cool weather.
Sunday- 10AM- 14mi at a decent clip with James, 92:07. We did the first ten on the river in 66:27, then ran from the house to the BC Res and back in 25:40 for the last 4. We were 7:23 at the mile and 14:25 at 2. . . that's all I got for intermediate marks.
Tot- 78 miles, 10 runs, one day basically off, 2 sessions of strength/core, 1 session of drills/leg speed. A solid start to summer!
Lastly, thanks to the couple people who emailed/facebooked me with well wishes. It helped!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
The Hiatus Is Over
I'm sure my hypothetical readers were wondering what I've been up to. You know that saying "no news is good news?" Well, it doesn't apply to a blog. I haven't written in a couple weeks because I've been too demoralized to rehash how crappy running has been going. Getting through the last two weeks was bad enough, typing it up again was nothing I wanted to deal with.
I'm not sure what's up with me, but my tank, so to speak, is empty. You know when you're about 2/3rds of the way through a race and things start to suck and you can either dig down or slow down? I get to that point, and it's like I'm stuck in neutral. I can hit the gas all I want, but I'm not going anyway. I dropped out of my last two races- a 5k and a 3k. I was running slow as death in each of them, and worse, felt more than maxed out doing it.
Bruce and I talked things over and both agreed I should get back to basics. I also need to get a little leaner and stronger- I've joked before about being a soft miler, but seriously, it's time to do some pushups and situps. I've got probably 7-8 pounds of fat on me that I don't need, despite decent mileage and a good diet.
My mileage for the two weeks I didn't blog were 69 and 61, respectively, with a day off this past Sunday. To spare a little redundancy, here's how most of those runs went: "9 miles slow, felt terrible."
I got blood work done a week ago, so hopefully, I'll be hearing from my doctor today or tomorrow. He tested me for just about everything from ferritin reserves to abnormal hormonal activity. If nothing else, knowing that I don't have any chemical problems will be a huge relief.
Anyway, I hope the end of everyone's seasons was much better than mine. I'm very frustrated, but trying to keep my chin up. At the very least, I can send a congratulations to my younger brother, who just finished his junior year of high school with a 9:36 3200, which was a 13 or 14 second PR.
I'm not sure what's up with me, but my tank, so to speak, is empty. You know when you're about 2/3rds of the way through a race and things start to suck and you can either dig down or slow down? I get to that point, and it's like I'm stuck in neutral. I can hit the gas all I want, but I'm not going anyway. I dropped out of my last two races- a 5k and a 3k. I was running slow as death in each of them, and worse, felt more than maxed out doing it.
Bruce and I talked things over and both agreed I should get back to basics. I also need to get a little leaner and stronger- I've joked before about being a soft miler, but seriously, it's time to do some pushups and situps. I've got probably 7-8 pounds of fat on me that I don't need, despite decent mileage and a good diet.
My mileage for the two weeks I didn't blog were 69 and 61, respectively, with a day off this past Sunday. To spare a little redundancy, here's how most of those runs went: "9 miles slow, felt terrible."
I got blood work done a week ago, so hopefully, I'll be hearing from my doctor today or tomorrow. He tested me for just about everything from ferritin reserves to abnormal hormonal activity. If nothing else, knowing that I don't have any chemical problems will be a huge relief.
Anyway, I hope the end of everyone's seasons was much better than mine. I'm very frustrated, but trying to keep my chin up. At the very least, I can send a congratulations to my younger brother, who just finished his junior year of high school with a 9:36 3200, which was a 13 or 14 second PR.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
