My 3 readers will have noticed I haven't posted for a while. Basically I've been busy at work and in my down time have frankly not been motivated to post anything. Gets a bit boring just regurgitating my runs and races, especially when I log my runs on an accessible log anyway. So bear with me but I've decided I'm only going to post when I feel any inspiration come on from now on and not just post for the sake of it. Hopefully that will make the blog more enjoyable to write on my side and interesting to read on yours.
So I am still alive and am (of course) still running. More soon....
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
Week in review
Another solid week of training in the books. I hit 65 miles but managed to snag a day off yesterday as I doubled three times. The workouts were solid and I got nearly two hours on my feet Saturday. Lisa and I even managed to get a night out on Saturday so all in all it was a good week! This one will be sad though as it will mark Jay's last week in Charlotte before he heads off to NYC- another good friend/training partner leaving me!
M- 9.6
T- 5 am (strides)/7 pm inc. 3200m in 9:50, 2ks in 3:06/3:12
W- 6.6
Th- 4.5 am (strides)/4.1 pm
F- 11.2 inc. 8 tempo (5:55 pace)
S- 15 @7:20 am/3.75 pm (strides)
S- OFF (spent the whole day walking round Carowinds though!)
M- 9.6
T- 5 am (strides)/7 pm inc. 3200m in 9:50, 2ks in 3:06/3:12
W- 6.6
Th- 4.5 am (strides)/4.1 pm
F- 11.2 inc. 8 tempo (5:55 pace)
S- 15 @7:20 am/3.75 pm (strides)
S- OFF (spent the whole day walking round Carowinds though!)
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
My least favourite run of the week
Is always the Wednesday morning run following a hard night on the track on Tuesday. This morning was no exception. I got up, procrastinated, contemplated heading out at lunch time in the 95 degree heat, considered taking a day off and doubling tomorrow, you name it I tried to find an excuse not to run! However, common sense prevailed and I gingerly headed out. The first mile was 8:34 and I eventually slogged through 52 minutes at about an 8:00 pace average. Normally I can lessen the misery of these runs by heading to the Dowd and finding solace in company, but as I didn’t get back from the track till late last night and barely got to see the girls before they went to sleep I promised them I would be at home when they woke up in the morning so no Dowd for me.
Anyhow, glad to get it done and feeling much better for it! Tuesday night went well with victory in the 3200 in 9:50 followed by 2 kms in 3:06 and 3:12 pretty much straight after. The trading laps with Aaron and Jay went well and left me with plenty of gas in the tank for the last 800 when the ‘gloves were off’. This probably converts to about a 15:45 5k so pretty happy where I’m at right now. Onwards….
Anyhow, glad to get it done and feeling much better for it! Tuesday night went well with victory in the 3200 in 9:50 followed by 2 kms in 3:06 and 3:12 pretty much straight after. The trading laps with Aaron and Jay went well and left me with plenty of gas in the tank for the last 800 when the ‘gloves were off’. This probably converts to about a 15:45 5k so pretty happy where I’m at right now. Onwards….
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Back to the grind
Last week saw the commencement of my latest training block heading towards the USATF Masters track 10k at the end of July. I was able to get all my workouts in which is as much as you can ask with the current oppressive weather conditions we’re facing. The weather isn’t going anywhere for a few months now most likely so I’ll try not to mention it again! Hat’s off to Meagan though who won the latest 13.1 race in Chicago in the face of ridiculously hot and humid conditions.
Monday I did my long run for the week. It was 15 miles and I felt really good, consciously having to hold myself back even though I was running 6:20s towards the end. I think there is something about the greenway at McMullen that just makes you run fast!
Tuesday that pretty hard run came back to bite me in the mile at the track series where I was handed a spanking by track speedster Aaron. I was feeling awful in the warm up, really heavy legged and an insect bite I had received the night before while cutting the yard had swollen my ankle up to the point where I could barely fit it into my spike! I stumbled out of the blocks trying to get into a good early pace but never really felt comfortable and after three laps of 71-72 seconds Aaron came tearing past me with 150 to go to take the race in 4:41 to my 4:46. I am hoping that that time is good enough to qualify me for the final in a couple of weeks I’ll just have to check the next few races. I definitely want to run faster than that next time! Literally straight after the mile I changed into my flats and jogged the half mile to the other track in the area and did a few 400m intervals to turn the evening into a productive workout.
Wednesday am I was able to get 7 very sore recovery miles in, definitely helped by running with a huge group from the Dowd (I would never have got 7 in solo!)
Thursday the legs were still tired but I got a good solid fartlek workout in on the cross country course in my trainers
Friday was a short recovery/pre race shakeout and Saturday I took advantage of John Compton’s absence to record a long awaited GP victory. I ran a solid race taking it out and running pretty much solo after the first mile taking the race in 16:08 which again was a big improvement on previous times on this course. It was great to see Jay back out there racing (he placed second) and Chad, Billy and Spada had a great race for third too! We did catch a nice break with the weather actually on Saturday morning so that helped. Similar conditions at the Summer Breeze race in a couple of weeks should see me dipping under the 16 minute barrier again on a course I have run 15:51 on before
I had a shakeout run on Saturday afternoon and then just another easy 5 on the Sunday to get to the planned 60 for the week and a good first week in the books
Tonight should be fun as Jay, Aaron and I are heading to the second week of the track series to race in the 3200 meters. We’re hoping to share the workload for the first 6 laps in 75s and then see what we have in the tank for the last two laps. I definitely feel more suited to this distance than the mile! Straight after the race we are going to head to the other track again to try and bash out 2 1k repeats so I’ll be a tired man tonight! Tim has designed my mid week workouts around the summer track series so hopefully that will work out nicely.
I’ll let you know how it goes!
Monday I did my long run for the week. It was 15 miles and I felt really good, consciously having to hold myself back even though I was running 6:20s towards the end. I think there is something about the greenway at McMullen that just makes you run fast!
Tuesday that pretty hard run came back to bite me in the mile at the track series where I was handed a spanking by track speedster Aaron. I was feeling awful in the warm up, really heavy legged and an insect bite I had received the night before while cutting the yard had swollen my ankle up to the point where I could barely fit it into my spike! I stumbled out of the blocks trying to get into a good early pace but never really felt comfortable and after three laps of 71-72 seconds Aaron came tearing past me with 150 to go to take the race in 4:41 to my 4:46. I am hoping that that time is good enough to qualify me for the final in a couple of weeks I’ll just have to check the next few races. I definitely want to run faster than that next time! Literally straight after the mile I changed into my flats and jogged the half mile to the other track in the area and did a few 400m intervals to turn the evening into a productive workout.
Wednesday am I was able to get 7 very sore recovery miles in, definitely helped by running with a huge group from the Dowd (I would never have got 7 in solo!)
Thursday the legs were still tired but I got a good solid fartlek workout in on the cross country course in my trainers
Friday was a short recovery/pre race shakeout and Saturday I took advantage of John Compton’s absence to record a long awaited GP victory. I ran a solid race taking it out and running pretty much solo after the first mile taking the race in 16:08 which again was a big improvement on previous times on this course. It was great to see Jay back out there racing (he placed second) and Chad, Billy and Spada had a great race for third too! We did catch a nice break with the weather actually on Saturday morning so that helped. Similar conditions at the Summer Breeze race in a couple of weeks should see me dipping under the 16 minute barrier again on a course I have run 15:51 on before
I had a shakeout run on Saturday afternoon and then just another easy 5 on the Sunday to get to the planned 60 for the week and a good first week in the books
Tonight should be fun as Jay, Aaron and I are heading to the second week of the track series to race in the 3200 meters. We’re hoping to share the workload for the first 6 laps in 75s and then see what we have in the tank for the last two laps. I definitely feel more suited to this distance than the mile! Straight after the race we are going to head to the other track again to try and bash out 2 1k repeats so I’ll be a tired man tonight! Tim has designed my mid week workouts around the summer track series so hopefully that will work out nicely.
I’ll let you know how it goes!
Monday, May 30, 2011
The hard work restarts today
With a 6am start looming for my Memorial Day run I was just about to hit the sack early when a message popped up in my inbox. It was from Tim and yes it contained the new schedules taking me through to the Masters 10k in July. Early night plans were scuppered as I excitedly scanned down what was in store for me for the next couple of months. I've enjoyed being 'rudderless' and doing whatever seems appropriate week to week since the Richmond 10k but it was definitely time to get some focus back in my training and 'get back on the horse'. Thanks Tim! 15 mile 'long run' to get me kickstarted this morning followed by a mile race and some kilometer repeats on Tuesday evening...
M- Off
T- 11
W- 7 (strides)
Th- 10
F- 7.5 (including 1k at 5k pace)
S- 11 (including 5k xc race in 16:31)
Su- 5
A second successive 'down week' with the mileage and workouts light. I enjoyed running all these runs apart from Sunday's with different friends each day. Saturday's race was a 5k in Mcalpine that I jumped in hoping I could win without killing myself with the added bonus that I could jog to and from the start line. All boxes were ticked and as a bonus I picked up a new pair of shoes. A bride this week.
The only 'down' part of the week was watching my beloved Man U getting absolutely murdered by Barcelona in the Champions League Final. What a team Guardiola has, Man U light years behind and plenty to ponder over the Summer.
Happy Memorial Day all. Remember to take a moment to thank and remember all those who have fought and continue to fight for us to protect our freedoms. Amen
M- Off
T- 11
W- 7 (strides)
Th- 10
F- 7.5 (including 1k at 5k pace)
S- 11 (including 5k xc race in 16:31)
Su- 5
A second successive 'down week' with the mileage and workouts light. I enjoyed running all these runs apart from Sunday's with different friends each day. Saturday's race was a 5k in Mcalpine that I jumped in hoping I could win without killing myself with the added bonus that I could jog to and from the start line. All boxes were ticked and as a bonus I picked up a new pair of shoes. A bride this week.
The only 'down' part of the week was watching my beloved Man U getting absolutely murdered by Barcelona in the Champions League Final. What a team Guardiola has, Man U light years behind and plenty to ponder over the Summer.
Happy Memorial Day all. Remember to take a moment to thank and remember all those who have fought and continue to fight for us to protect our freedoms. Amen
Monday, May 23, 2011
Week in review
M- off
T- 10.5 including 4*1600,4*200
W- 8
Th- 7.5
F- 5
S- 8.5 including 5k in 16:20 am/4 pm
Su- 6.5
Total- 50 miles
This week called for a down week and the legs appreciated it. I’m actually taking another very low key this week too. It is a long season and it is important not to just hammer it all summer as there is only one thing that is going to lead to! With my new Training Plan leading up to the Masters track 10k due to start next week Ithought it would be an ideal time to kick back for another week and be ready to hit it hard when I get the new schedules next week
T- 10.5 including 4*1600,4*200
W- 8
Th- 7.5
F- 5
S- 8.5 including 5k in 16:20 am/4 pm
Su- 6.5
Total- 50 miles
This week called for a down week and the legs appreciated it. I’m actually taking another very low key this week too. It is a long season and it is important not to just hammer it all summer as there is only one thing that is going to lead to! With my new Training Plan leading up to the Masters track 10k due to start next week Ithought it would be an ideal time to kick back for another week and be ready to hit it hard when I get the new schedules next week
Great Harvest Bread 5k
Another GP race, another runners up placing. After 4 events (3 2nds and a 3rd- could I have come second in that race had I not raced a 5k the night before? Probably) I am currently top of the standings (as John Compton kindly decided to forego the Skyline 5k) and running faster times than this time last year. This is promising as last year I was able to kick on and run a 2:35 marathon in the fall.
Having said all that I must admit that I felt kind of blah after Saturday’s race. I ended up being 50 seconds behind the winner and over 40 seconds in front of 3rd place- that’s a pretty lonely 5k! Most of the same protagonists were present for this race as at Twilight. There were two key differences at this race though. Firstly, it was clear from the outset that John was on a mission to run fast as he shot up the hill out of the gate at a sub 5 minute pace- at least at Twilight I had been able to keep him company for half a mile. Secondly at Twilight I felt Aaron was breathing down my neck the whole race and I was running scared, whereas on Saturday I looked around after 200 meters and no one was near me. Chad (who went on to finish another solid third place) had said to me as the gun went off, “have a good race”, I responded with a “you too” and that was that, I was in for just over 16 minutes of solo running!
I eventually finished in a time of 16:20 which on paper is a little disappointing but seeing as my Garmin had an average pace for me of 5:09 (compared to the official 5:14- for some reason the race organizers deem it necessary to finish this race with a sharp left uphill turn into a parking lot instead of finishing the race on the main straightaway) and that I ran solo on a hilly course, I’ll take it I guess.
Afterwards I had fun warming down and hanging out with friends and notching some nice bread and cookies as prizes. Nice start to the weekend!
Having said all that I must admit that I felt kind of blah after Saturday’s race. I ended up being 50 seconds behind the winner and over 40 seconds in front of 3rd place- that’s a pretty lonely 5k! Most of the same protagonists were present for this race as at Twilight. There were two key differences at this race though. Firstly, it was clear from the outset that John was on a mission to run fast as he shot up the hill out of the gate at a sub 5 minute pace- at least at Twilight I had been able to keep him company for half a mile. Secondly at Twilight I felt Aaron was breathing down my neck the whole race and I was running scared, whereas on Saturday I looked around after 200 meters and no one was near me. Chad (who went on to finish another solid third place) had said to me as the gun went off, “have a good race”, I responded with a “you too” and that was that, I was in for just over 16 minutes of solo running!
I eventually finished in a time of 16:20 which on paper is a little disappointing but seeing as my Garmin had an average pace for me of 5:09 (compared to the official 5:14- for some reason the race organizers deem it necessary to finish this race with a sharp left uphill turn into a parking lot instead of finishing the race on the main straightaway) and that I ran solo on a hilly course, I’ll take it I guess.
Afterwards I had fun warming down and hanging out with friends and notching some nice bread and cookies as prizes. Nice start to the weekend!
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