Well, I had a pretty good week. On Saturday, thanks in large part to the ACC meet being this weekend and Riley Masters chasing a fast mile time in New York, I was able to win the New England title in the mile over a still pretty darn good field (just not quite as excellent as it might have been had Masters and Tim Ritchie from BC been there). Still, though- you can only race the people who show up.
The race was a pretty good competitive effort- I tucked in and just tried to stay out of trouble. The pace wasn't anything particularly hot- 63.8, 2:07.0, 3:08.8, 4:08.57- a .04 PR and my second little shave of the season. I had to make one defensive move in lane 2 just after 800 to tuck into a good spot, then waited until about 150 to go to kick for home. I ended up winning by a handful yards, about .6 up on Pat Fullerton, who hopefully got his mark for DII nationals with his 4:09.19.
I watched the race on flotrack afterward, and the commentators mentioned this blog. It's nice to know I'm not just shouting into cyberspace :p It was a relief to finally win a damn race-- I was 3rd in the NE mile two years in a row. Besides, after a season of running backwards in the last half of the race, it was satisfying to run a significant negative split PR (2:07.0-2:01.5). Next week is the IC4A mile, and I'm hoping to PR again- maybe even by more than fractions of an eyeblink!
Unfortunately, non-running stuff isn't going quite as well. My easy fall semester has reared its karmic fangs and bit me firmly where my butt would be if I didn't run as much as I did. I swear, too, that professors plan to make their papers and projects due on the same day. Bah, who am I kidding- I procrastinate like I work for the government. Right now I have a paper on Plato's philosophy of learning I need to write for 9am tomorrow. What am I doing? Writing this blog and watching Family Guy.
I guess it goes to show you can't take a college kid's complaint at face value. Well, screw it. I didn't do any homework this week, but I got to win a race, set a PR, and my mom and siblings got to see it!
Here's the race:
http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/236628/310046
Here's the interview flotrack did after the race:
http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/236628/310053-craig-macpherson-1st-mile-new-enland-championships
Log-
Monday- Noon- 4mi solo shakeout in between classes, right hamstring pretty sore, decided not to double.
Tuesday- 10mi easy with Ken, big group for the first 3mi, Eric for 7. Felt much better today.
Wednesday- 7:30PM- Busy day student teaching and afternoon class. Downpoured all day. 30 minute walks to and from class sucked. 25min up, 3-2-1, 1-2-3 with 300 jog rest, then 6min jog, and 4x150.
300 45 (target 45)
200 30 (target 29)
100 14 (target 14)
100 14 (target 14)
200 29 (target 29)
300 43.3 (target 45)
4x150- 20.2-20.9 (target 21)
3mi down. Felt good, ran with James, who also had class.
Thursday- 3:30PM- 9mi easy in a cold, windy downpour with Ken and some of the freshmen. Not the funnest run I've had in a while. 9:30PM- 30min solo shakeout indoors. Sick of being perpetually damp all day.
Friday- 11AM- 5 miles, some with Erin, strides, two miles with Peter and Andrea. 7 tot. Watched my self-appointed press secretary, Kevin Gilmore (Peter's twin brother) ran an 8 second PR in the 5k- 15:20 with a 29.x last lap. Then he hacked my dyestat account. Then he spilled maple syrup all over his pants like an ass. Who gets in the way of maple syrup? It spills in slow motion!
Saturday- All Division New England Championships- 3mi up, mile race 4:08.57 PR, win, 4mi down with Ken. Later that afternoon- 4mi shakeout with Ellie, who lied and ran fast.
Sunday- 7 easy with Ken before work. I thought about going longer, but my season has one more week, then I'm getting back into mileage. I think at this point staying fresh and sharp is the name of the game.
Tot- 63 miles.
Thank you to everyone who reads this! Hope everyone has a great end to their season!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Conference Championships
Well, it wasn't difficult for this week to be better than last. We had the America East Conference meet, which ended up being pretty fun. I took part in a very nervous, jostle-y, fartlek-y kind of mile- everyone and their dad was making moves at random times and I would bounce to the front of the chase pack to the back without feeling like I had changed pace at all. The mile field was quite good- there a sub-4 miler in Erik Van Ingen (whose beard impressed this facial hair aficionado almost as much as his seemingly-effortless 4:04 victory), two jumped 800 meter runners from Albany who had run in the 1:49-1:50 range for 800 and in the 4:06 range for the mile, and Alex Felce, a former English Schools 1500m champion, who Eric tells me has run 8:53 in the steeple at one point. I actually felt terrible from the gun and had one of those "grit your teeth and grind it out one lap at a time" races. It was a very good effort on my part- but, unfortunately, the best I could do was 5th place, behind all the very talented gentlemen I just mentioned. My time was 4:09.8, which was disappointing, but I was glad I "hung in there" mentally when I felt terrible, especially after the way I folded like a bad poker hand like week. I actually believe the race played out fairly close to the on-paper seedings, which is neither good nor bad. On one hand, I would liked to beat some of the guys who on paper were faster runners. On the other hand, at least I didn't run worse than "expected." Bruce keeps telling me (because I seem to have trouble getting it through my thick skull) that the only thing you can control on race day is your own effort. Even though the time wasn't quite what I hoped for and my place less than what I wanted, my effort was good, so I'm taking this as a positive step.
The real money of the weekend, though, was the 4x800. I ran 2nd leg and surprised myself with a 1:53.6 split, significantly faster than my open PR of 1:54.11. My legs felt pretty awful after the mile, but as soon as that baton hit my hand, I knew it would be a solid leg. My opening quarter of 56.4 was the fastest 400 I've run in over a year, haha. Also, the splits are from Bruce, so they're more accurate than F.A.T. timing. Since I won't be doing any open 800s for a good while, I'm counting it as an asterisk'd PR! That we won the relay in 7:38 made my PR leg all the sweeter. Relays are always fun, especially at meets like a conference championship.
Anyway, the log-
Monday- 70' easy with Ken and James, more than 10mi but eh, who wants to measure things.
Tuesday- 5PM- Solo workout after class- 3 up, 2x(800, 600, 400) then 4x200, all with about 300 jog (90 seconds or so).
800- 2:14 (target 2:16)
600- 1:38.5 (target 1:39)
400- 63 (target 63)
800- 2:14 (target 2:16)
600 1:39.0 (target 1:39)
400- 62 (target 63)
4x200- 29s (target 29s)
All in all, a good workout- somewhat shorter rest than normal, but the paces were much less aggressive. I love doing this type of work, it makes me feel strong and easy. 3mi down, mostly with Fish. ~10mi tot
Wednesday- 11AM- No student teaching today because Mass has winter break! 9mi easy, first 7 or so with Eric. Nice weather, felt good. 9PM- 31' shakeout indoors, definitely more than 4 but who cares.
Thursday- 9PM- 56' easy indoors, really busy day! I signed some forms to pursue two degrees simultaneously (Secondary Education and English Literature) so that was fun. Felt pretty good.
Friday- 7mi easy before Day 1 of the meet. Felt ok.
Saturday- America East Day 2- 3 up, mile race 5th place 4:09.8 (2:04.9 at the half, but that doesn't do the very uneven, pace changey nature of the race justice). Decent last quarter to avoid getting too buried. 2mi down. 1 hr rest. 2mi up, 4x800 leg 2- 1:53.6 (56.4/57.2) lost contact with the guy I was racing, but came back a bit in the last 50m. Good competitive effort, nice PR. 3.5 down, 12 tot.
Sunday- 13 easy with Eric, some with Ken, James, Peter, and Tom Osbourne. Felt ok, but my quads were really heavy by the end.
tot 73
Next on the horizon is the mile at the All-Division New England Championships- I'm still optimistic about a good mile in these legs!
The real money of the weekend, though, was the 4x800. I ran 2nd leg and surprised myself with a 1:53.6 split, significantly faster than my open PR of 1:54.11. My legs felt pretty awful after the mile, but as soon as that baton hit my hand, I knew it would be a solid leg. My opening quarter of 56.4 was the fastest 400 I've run in over a year, haha. Also, the splits are from Bruce, so they're more accurate than F.A.T. timing. Since I won't be doing any open 800s for a good while, I'm counting it as an asterisk'd PR! That we won the relay in 7:38 made my PR leg all the sweeter. Relays are always fun, especially at meets like a conference championship.
Anyway, the log-
Monday- 70' easy with Ken and James, more than 10mi but eh, who wants to measure things.
Tuesday- 5PM- Solo workout after class- 3 up, 2x(800, 600, 400) then 4x200, all with about 300 jog (90 seconds or so).
800- 2:14 (target 2:16)
600- 1:38.5 (target 1:39)
400- 63 (target 63)
800- 2:14 (target 2:16)
600 1:39.0 (target 1:39)
400- 62 (target 63)
4x200- 29s (target 29s)
All in all, a good workout- somewhat shorter rest than normal, but the paces were much less aggressive. I love doing this type of work, it makes me feel strong and easy. 3mi down, mostly with Fish. ~10mi tot
Wednesday- 11AM- No student teaching today because Mass has winter break! 9mi easy, first 7 or so with Eric. Nice weather, felt good. 9PM- 31' shakeout indoors, definitely more than 4 but who cares.
Thursday- 9PM- 56' easy indoors, really busy day! I signed some forms to pursue two degrees simultaneously (Secondary Education and English Literature) so that was fun. Felt pretty good.
Friday- 7mi easy before Day 1 of the meet. Felt ok.
Saturday- America East Day 2- 3 up, mile race 5th place 4:09.8 (2:04.9 at the half, but that doesn't do the very uneven, pace changey nature of the race justice). Decent last quarter to avoid getting too buried. 2mi down. 1 hr rest. 2mi up, 4x800 leg 2- 1:53.6 (56.4/57.2) lost contact with the guy I was racing, but came back a bit in the last 50m. Good competitive effort, nice PR. 3.5 down, 12 tot.
Sunday- 13 easy with Eric, some with Ken, James, Peter, and Tom Osbourne. Felt ok, but my quads were really heavy by the end.
tot 73
Next on the horizon is the mile at the All-Division New England Championships- I'm still optimistic about a good mile in these legs!
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Valentine's
Well, I'll get right into it. I DNF'd the Valentine meet. I felt like crap from the gun, got gapped early, was out faster than I had hoped, questioned myself, got down on myself, and stopped. I don't have any excuses, explanations, or commentary beyond that. No amount of bitching or whining is going to undo it, so I might as well stop mewling and focus on making sure the rest of my season goes well.
Log-
Monday- AM- 4 easy with Eric. 5PM- 3 up, 2x500 76, 76, 2x1000 2:47, 2:47, 2x500, 76, 75 with a couple minutes jog in between. 3 down- felt pretty good.
Tuesday- AM 4 easy PM- 10 easy with Rob and Peter mostly, ran out to the Country Club and ran around the golf course for a while.
Wednesday- PM- 8 easy, solo. School got canceled because of an impending blizzard that turned into a sissy storm, so I got to sleep in.
Thursday- 3 up, 2x(5x150) untimed with Ken, 150 jog between each, 800 jog between the sets, 2miles down, 8 tot.
Friday- 7 miles easy, some with Eric.
Saturday- 3 up, Valentine Mile DNF, 2:01 at 800. 4 miles down.
Sunday- 9 miles easy around Fresh Pond with Eric, Peter, Elliot, and Tom Osbourne. Felt ok, nice weather out. Trying really hard not to get down on myself.
There you have it. An uninteresting blog entry. At the very least I've given some people in New Hampshire something to delight in.
Log-
Monday- AM- 4 easy with Eric. 5PM- 3 up, 2x500 76, 76, 2x1000 2:47, 2:47, 2x500, 76, 75 with a couple minutes jog in between. 3 down- felt pretty good.
Tuesday- AM 4 easy PM- 10 easy with Rob and Peter mostly, ran out to the Country Club and ran around the golf course for a while.
Wednesday- PM- 8 easy, solo. School got canceled because of an impending blizzard that turned into a sissy storm, so I got to sleep in.
Thursday- 3 up, 2x(5x150) untimed with Ken, 150 jog between each, 800 jog between the sets, 2miles down, 8 tot.
Friday- 7 miles easy, some with Eric.
Saturday- 3 up, Valentine Mile DNF, 2:01 at 800. 4 miles down.
Sunday- 9 miles easy around Fresh Pond with Eric, Peter, Elliot, and Tom Osbourne. Felt ok, nice weather out. Trying really hard not to get down on myself.
There you have it. An uninteresting blog entry. At the very least I've given some people in New Hampshire something to delight in.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Scritch, Scratch
I'm leaving for a Superbowl gathering with the lads soon, but I've got a fair bit to say this week, so pardon the rush in posting this:
Log-
Monday- 60min solo regeneration run after class, we can call it a healthy 8mi.
Tuesday- 3:30PM- 3 up, then into the milers for the "MacPherson Workout" which Bruce made up on the spot and named after me. Why? Who knows. 2min jog rest between everything.
"MacPherson"
500 1:18 (target 1:18-19)
300 45 (target 44-45)
300 44.7 (")
500 1:22 (target 1:22)
400 62 (target 63)
300 43.7 (target 44-45)
150 20.2 (no targets given)
150 19.4
150 19.7
150 19.0
(extra 2min jog)
500 1:16 (target: "run it without a care in the world, and marvel at how slow it feels after the 150s") 2min standing rest on this one to marvel sufficiently.
300 44.0 (target 44-45)
300 42.8 (target 43-44)
25min cooldown with Peter.
All in all, a pretty good workout. My gears are slowly coming back. 11 mi tot.
Wednesday- 58min easy River Loop at night with James, 8mi. Pretty nice out, not too windy and warm- about 25deg.
Thursday- AM- 4mi easy indoors, some with Kat, a grad student/volunteer. PM- 3 up, 10x150 in spikes with Ken and James, avg 21.5, took an easy 200 jog for rest. It was after this run that my lower left back, left hip, left groin, and left hamstring all started to crap out on me. They had been a little sore for a few days, but things really made themselves known when I was expending a little more energy to turn over with good form. 3 mi down.
Friday- 7 miles easy with a huge group, 47:30, left hip/back very bad until about 3mi in, then it felt ok until I did 8x100 strides w/100 jog after the run.
Saturday- Scratched from my planned 1000 and 4x800 double at the Battle of Beantown against Harvard, BC, and Northeastern. Team did really well- 2nd to Harvard and a thrilling 4x800 relay victory. Bruce said not to worry about my back and hip yet and just rest it.
Sunday- Ok, going this far might not have been the greatest idea I had, but I ran for an easy 90min with Eric (with a nice collection of teammates with us for varying lengths as well). I barely felt my back and didn't feel my hip at all- so I'm glad I didn't push things yesterday when Valentine and the America East Championships are in the next two weekends. I'm confident of my fitness and that my results will be very good in the coming weeks.
tot- 59 on the week.
Other stuff:
So on Saturday night, I got to attend the Boston Indoor Games with most of the BU guys and gals. It was awesome being about 10ft away from the pros. The 5000 was a truly impressive race, with Lagat leading early and Rupp trying to steal the show with a K left. Rupp tossed in like a 60-61 400 and really strung things out- for a guy who looked like he was about to throw up, I thought he made a really impressive bid to win the race. Lagat's last 400 was quite impressive as well- he just looks so damned effortless when he's running. What was especially awesome was that we just happened to be sitting next to marathon coach and US legend Bill Squires, who provided commentary for us the entire time. We even got to host a Kiwi miler (not Willis. . . but a friend of his!) at 15 Ashford St because he needed a couch on which to crash. All in all, it was a damn fun weekend that not even a bad back and a missed race could ruin.
Ok, this is enough- I'm off, now, and I'm sure I'll regret saving a bunch of homework until after the Superbowl! A nap will be in order tomorrow after class.
Have a great week, everyone- run FAST!
-Craig
Log-
Monday- 60min solo regeneration run after class, we can call it a healthy 8mi.
Tuesday- 3:30PM- 3 up, then into the milers for the "MacPherson Workout" which Bruce made up on the spot and named after me. Why? Who knows. 2min jog rest between everything.
"MacPherson"
500 1:18 (target 1:18-19)
300 45 (target 44-45)
300 44.7 (")
500 1:22 (target 1:22)
400 62 (target 63)
300 43.7 (target 44-45)
150 20.2 (no targets given)
150 19.4
150 19.7
150 19.0
(extra 2min jog)
500 1:16 (target: "run it without a care in the world, and marvel at how slow it feels after the 150s") 2min standing rest on this one to marvel sufficiently.
300 44.0 (target 44-45)
300 42.8 (target 43-44)
25min cooldown with Peter.
All in all, a pretty good workout. My gears are slowly coming back. 11 mi tot.
Wednesday- 58min easy River Loop at night with James, 8mi. Pretty nice out, not too windy and warm- about 25deg.
Thursday- AM- 4mi easy indoors, some with Kat, a grad student/volunteer. PM- 3 up, 10x150 in spikes with Ken and James, avg 21.5, took an easy 200 jog for rest. It was after this run that my lower left back, left hip, left groin, and left hamstring all started to crap out on me. They had been a little sore for a few days, but things really made themselves known when I was expending a little more energy to turn over with good form. 3 mi down.
Friday- 7 miles easy with a huge group, 47:30, left hip/back very bad until about 3mi in, then it felt ok until I did 8x100 strides w/100 jog after the run.
Saturday- Scratched from my planned 1000 and 4x800 double at the Battle of Beantown against Harvard, BC, and Northeastern. Team did really well- 2nd to Harvard and a thrilling 4x800 relay victory. Bruce said not to worry about my back and hip yet and just rest it.
Sunday- Ok, going this far might not have been the greatest idea I had, but I ran for an easy 90min with Eric (with a nice collection of teammates with us for varying lengths as well). I barely felt my back and didn't feel my hip at all- so I'm glad I didn't push things yesterday when Valentine and the America East Championships are in the next two weekends. I'm confident of my fitness and that my results will be very good in the coming weeks.
tot- 59 on the week.
Other stuff:
So on Saturday night, I got to attend the Boston Indoor Games with most of the BU guys and gals. It was awesome being about 10ft away from the pros. The 5000 was a truly impressive race, with Lagat leading early and Rupp trying to steal the show with a K left. Rupp tossed in like a 60-61 400 and really strung things out- for a guy who looked like he was about to throw up, I thought he made a really impressive bid to win the race. Lagat's last 400 was quite impressive as well- he just looks so damned effortless when he's running. What was especially awesome was that we just happened to be sitting next to marathon coach and US legend Bill Squires, who provided commentary for us the entire time. We even got to host a Kiwi miler (not Willis. . . but a friend of his!) at 15 Ashford St because he needed a couch on which to crash. All in all, it was a damn fun weekend that not even a bad back and a missed race could ruin.
Ok, this is enough- I'm off, now, and I'm sure I'll regret saving a bunch of homework until after the Superbowl! A nap will be in order tomorrow after class.
Have a great week, everyone- run FAST!
-Craig
Sunday, January 31, 2010
By the Slimmest of Margins
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.
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 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!
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