Week in Review

92 miles - 11 runs = 70 singles

I would rank this week as par. I really didn't recover from the race very well and the quality of the week was a little effected. I think part of the recovery issue was my lack of fitness background after the 9 months off and that will just take time. The other factor was probably the fact that I had nothing to eat for 3 hours after the race and what I did put down was a Mcdouble, McChicken and a small fry. I also think the hill repeats zaped the legs more than I thought and, because I wasn't exactly sore, I didn't realize it. In any case, I still feel I accomplished the purpose of the workouts and had a good long run. Keep adding up the training weeks and good things will happen.

Sun: 7/26/09
AM: 17 mile run (Watch malfunction)
Melanie and I slept in a little this morning and didn't get out until 9am. The weather was not kind to us for our laziness as the humidity and temps were both above 80. I did come up with a pretty nice route through Herring Run park that was a nice new place to run and kept us shaded for parts of the run. Getting to the park on a Sunday, because of the lack of traffic, is actually decent. We were running at a decent pace, 7min pace?, so I was happy with the quality. I dropped Melanie off at 11 miles and started to run a bit harder through Druid Hill. Going up the hill was tough going but once I flattened out I started to clip along pretty good and I flew down the downhills on the way back. The body was overheating by the finish and I would have been pretty roughed up with one more mile.

Melanie made some kick ass chocolate chip pancakes for my arrival and I downed two glasses of chocolate milk for good measure (once I too a shower of course). I am happy with the quality of the run as it was my first good long go since Zap I think.

Sat: 7/25/09
AM: 6 mile run (48:00)
Today is my super slow ultra recovery day. Last night Melanie and I went out with some of her Med School friends to a bar that was a $10 cover and free drinks till 9. Since we arrived at 7:45, I made the goal/game to finish a drink every 10mins in order to get our money's worth. at 8:45 Melanie and I were 6 drinks deep and we both ordered three more from the bar for good measure. With that story in mind there is no need to elaborate on how I felt during this run.

Can't win em all

Fri: 7/24/09
AM: 3 w/u, 6 mile tempo (5:30, 5:29, 5:29, 5:37, 5:36, 5:30) 2c/d
Total = 11 miles
This was a rough one out there today. Slept in a little because I didn't have to work this afternoon hoping the extra sleep would help. I decided to drive out the NCR trail because it's flat, marked and shaded. It was super humid and the 3 mile warm-up had me drenched before I even started. The intended goal was to run 5:15-20 the first mile and see if I couldn't cut it down. I hit the first 800 in 2:40 and was feeling easy and thought I was on the fast track to a good day. However, I hit the mile in 5:30 and was a little surprised. I picked up the effort and thought I was on my way to a 5:20 first mile. Again, I was a little surprised when the watch read 5:30 and at this point I got a little discouraged. The next mile was more of the same and I turned around hoping that I might have been running slightly uphill and the return trip would yield 5:20 miles. I felt the effort stayed the same but I was dissapointed to see 5:37 on the watch. I soldiered on and ran another 5:36 before kicking it home the last 800. I really didn't feel good once I got passed 2 or 3 miles. My legs felt tired and a little heavy and I felt like I was forcing things.

It's funny, I had this conversation with an athlete I coach the other day. As runners, we always want to set the world on fire each workout. We have prescribed paces on our schedules and we daydream on easy runs about how we're going to kick butt on the next workout. Sometimes, the body has different ideas and you can't beat yourself up over it. The thing to remember about training is that you're always (hopefully) out there with a goal. Ideally, you accomplish the intended goal despite what paces you are running. Today, the goal was to run 6 miles of threshold. While my recent 8k performance suggest this should be 5:20's, that just wasn't the case. Despite not running as fast as I had hoped, I still accomplished the goal. I'll take it and move on!

PM: 6 mile run (42:00)
Melanie and I ran up to Druid Hill, looped around the lake and returned home. She continued on to make it 8 miles and I gladly stopped back at home base. I felt terrible the whole run and really had to slog through this one. Pretty rough.

Bad ass in the rain

Thur: 7/23/09
AM: 10 mile steady run (1:04:37)
Took the first three miles pretty easy just to get things warmed up a bit. Had to use the facilities and almost got myself killed. There was a man in the public bathroom whom I thought was the janitor. I said good morning and he picked up this metal road and told me "I've been killed in here before, I won't get killed again." Needless to say I peaced out pretty quick. The steady was a decent effort and I chose the pretty hilly Druid Hill course. I found myself losing focus after the uphills and not getting back to a good effort once I was downhill or flat and recovered. I did a much better job of recognizing this and picking up the effort. About half way in a light drizzle turned into an absolute downpour. I love running in the rain and it made the steady effort feel that much more bad ass. The only issue I had was that my orthotic kept slipping in my shoe because they were soaked and I had to stop a few times to readjust.

PM: 4 mile run (30:00)
Melanie and I were both a little tired from long days and were not looking forward to 6 miles in the heat. We compromised by slogging out 4 and calling it a day. I didn't feel all too bad and am hoping to have a good tempo tomorrow.

Golf courses are for runners too

Wed: 7/22/09
AM: 8 mile run (58:00)
Decided to try a new run today and see if I couldn't get myself on some softer surfaces for my recovery runs. I took a few ghetto streets to the Clifton Park golf course, which nicely only took 15 or 17 mins to get to. The golf course is a nice little public course that was pretty busy for 7:30 on a Wednesday morning. Luckily, I found some open holes that weren't busy and managed some nice soft running on the fairways and light roughs. The run was a pretty decent affair for an 8 mile jaunt and I might drive, as opposed to run, out here in the fall when it's a little less busy and I don't have to confine myself to a few holes. However, I know from experience you have to be cautious when running on golf courses. They are typically very undulating and really soft, which can make running a harder effort if you're trying to maintain a decent pace.

Hidden speedwork

Tue: 7/21/09
AM: 3 w/u, 9 x 400 meter hill repeats, 3 c/d (avg 78, fastest 74)
Total = 10 miles

Because of the race last Saturday I decided to change things up on the schedule. Because I was still relatively sore from Saturday I didn't think I would be able to put in a quality session on the track. In addition, I am somewhat up in the air about whether to sacrifice some long term gains for short term success (i.e. speedwork now vs long runs and thresholds). So, with all this in mind, I set out for what I like to call "hidden speedwork". The hill I used was the secnd big hill in Druid Hill park and man it's a doozy. I was very consistent with my splits and the effort gradually got more difficult as I progressed, which was the intended purpose. I jogged very easy down, 2min, and estimate the distance of the repeat to be 400 meters or so. By the last repeat I was wiped and I left the workout feeling like I really got some solid strength work in while keeping the "intense" volume shorter. The cool down home was a little long of 3 miles (28mins) and I had to walk up one of the last hills. It reminded me a lot of some pretty tough cool downs up Lloyd in college.

PM: 6 mile run (42:00)
Ran this one alone because my running partner had softball obligations tonight. I was pretty hungry and that made the run pretty rough. Overall not that great

Moooondays

Mon: 7/20/09
AM: 8 mile run (59:00)
Toured the Inner Harbor again today because I was still really sore and wanted to keep it slow and not feel bad about it. My calves and quads were very tight at the start but as the run went on they loosened up a bit. By the end of the run I didn't feel too bad until I stopped stretching and everything tightened back up.

PM: 6 mile run (41:30)
Melanie punished me on this one. PR for the course by 30 seconds. I was still pretty sore from Saturday's effort and even after I loosened up there wasn't much for the body to give. I figure it will only benefit my fitness at this point!

Sunday in DC

Sun: 7/19/09
AM: 11 mile run (1:20:00)
After a lame night out in DC, thanks to trying to hit up a terrible bar, Melanie and I suited up for a little joggy jog with Jilane. The first 5mins out the door I was shuffling old man style since last night was the first time in over a year I dawned flats. When we hit the DMZ we stopped to stretch and I felt much better. To my delight, Melanie wasn't hammering and Jilane was taking it easy so the run was rather pleasant. The hills sucked quite a bit but the nice weather and company made it all worth it. We decided to end our run through the zoo, which was awesome. I haven't been to a zoo in forever and it was a nice chance to run easy and take stretching stops. All in all it was a great run!

Week in Review

Week in Review:
84 miles - 63 singles
This was a very good week. I was able to get in a majority of my runs on soft surfaces, which drastically helped the legs and I had two really good efforts. The only drawback is that I missed another long run, which is more important to my long term fitness whereas the race and 300's are a quick solution. I will have to do some serious schedule adjusting both because of my new found fitness and the lingering soreness from the race. Pretty excited to be back into things!

Rockville 8k

Sat: 7/18/09
AM: 5 mile run (40:00)
Ran with the client I was coaching for the week on the canal trail in DC. Just ran slow and easy as a shakeout for the race tonight.

PM: 3 w/u, 8k race (24:51), 2 c/d (4:50, 4:55, 5:08, 5:12, 4:44)
Total = 10 miles
This race far exceeded my fitness expectations. The weather was absolutely perfect for the middle of July in DC. high 70's with little to no humidity and no wind. I was invited as an elite athlete and I was a little apprehensive to show up in the suite considering I thought breaking 26 would be a solid outing. Luckily, Melanie came along with me and having a beautiful girl attached to your arm justifies most things.

During the warm-up I contemplated race strategy with Melanie. Should I be smart and go out in 5:05-10, a pace I know I could handle? Or, do I bust out the first mile, stick my nose in it and see what happens. I had settled on the former and was ready to run a smart, even race...and then the gun went off. About 800 meters in the kenyans took to the lead and as I looked around, I could see no one else was gonna go with them. This pissed me off pretty good. I am tired of everyone thinking "oh, the kenyans are so good, blah blah blah. While I will admit they are rather talented, to let them take a race just because is senseless. So, I made the decision to run with them. We hit the first mile in 4:50 and I had to laugh at myself for knowing I was over my head. I slowed a bit and they picked it up and it was the end of the Mazango hanging with the Kenyans but I feel I proved my point. As we approached two miles I had to laugh inside because I knew that's where Melanie was and I had told her that if I came through faster than 10:10 shit was gonna hit the fan. When I split 9:45 I chuckled. The next mile is the one I lost focus on the most. I was starting to hurt and I let a guy come up on me as I slowed drastically. This was maybe the one fault I had in the race where I lost concentration a bit. The next mile was slow because it was uphill for the majority of the mile. Luckily, the guy in front of me was bigger than Ozzie right now and, although he was like a bowling ball on the downhill, I made up the 50m lead he had on me with somehwhat ease. The last mile was a ton of fun, tour de france style race. When I caught the guy at 4 I surged to see what he had left. He easily covered and made a move of his own. I stuck on the back wheel for about 200 meters and when he eased up I threw in a surge of my own. I opened a 5m gap and I knew if I wanted to win I had to break him now. Unfortunatly, I was pushing my fitness as it was and mentally I was talking myself down. He made up the gap at 1k to go, I hung strong until 800 meters. He looked at his watch, threw it down and I knew I was done. At this point I knew I was in the money and with no one behind I decided to ease it home, delighted with a sub 25min clocking. The last mile was so much fun to race and I had a great time overall. Great effort but, as I was telling Melanie after the race, this means I have to start working out harder. Shit

Easy Friday

Fri: 7/17/09
PM: 6 mile run (39:00)After a somewhat long day at work Melanie and I opted for a spin around the Inner Harbor. We debated the pace of our run, a hotly contested subject, and opted to turn around at 20:45. I thought we were going 7:15 pace but the fact that we came back sub 20 leads me to believe I was wrong. No matter, we showered mighty quick and walked down the street to the Artscape festival. The best part was of course the food and we both devoured a gyro, steak and cheese and funnel cake. To say it was delicious would be an understatement.

Canal Trail

Thur: 7/16/09
AM: 10 miles (3 miles easy, 6:33, 6:32, 6:37, 6:35, 6:23, 2 easy)
If that's steady pace, I'm in trouble! Woke up early again to get to DC to run on soft surface and the canal trail before meeting my client on the track. My legs were still stiff and I am glad I gave myself 3 easy days between the workout and the race (what a great coach, huh). I felt like I was moving at a good clip but when I saw the first split I was embarrassed. My breathing was easy but my legs just felt heavy and lethargic. No biggie, it just woulda been nice to rip one I guess. It was great to run on the soft surface again although it seemed the run was a little boring since it was just flat and straight. Reminded me a little of McAlpine, aka the most boring place to train in the world.

PM: 4 mile run (30:00)
It was pretty dog gone hot out today so Melanie and I made the executive decision to cut our run down from 6 to 4. We ran out to the water fountain but it was still broken and I contemplated jumping in the kiddie pool next door but opted against getting shot at.

RCP

Wed: 7/15/09
AM: 8 mile run (58:00)
Woke up god awful early this morning in order to get to DC to coach a client of mine. Took the opportunity to hit up Ms. Rodgers in her neck of the woods on some softer surfaces. The late night workout left my legs feeling pretty thrashed and I was more than content to let Jilane believe she was holding me back. The soft surface really helped the legs and I know I need to get better about getting on them more as I increase the training. Waking up early sucks but getting done early and enjoying good company kicks ass.

Three Hundos

Tue: 7/14/09
AM: 6 mile run (43:00)
Had to do the easier run this morning since I had a lot going on today and I didn't want to be trashed all day by getting up at 5am and subjecting myself to a track workout.

PM: 3 w/u, 16 x 300 w/100 jog in 30 sec (57, 55, 54, 53, 53, 53, 54, 54, 52, 52, 53, 52, 51, 51, 51, 48) 3 c/d
Total = 10 miles
I have to give my coach props for the good call on workouts lately. This one was exactly what I needed (*pats self on back). I wanted to have a workout where I was able to get a little speed work in, defined at sub 4:50 pace for the moment, but still have a focus on increasing the threshold. 53's are like 4:44 pace per mile so to average that on 30 sec rest was a success for my fitness at the moment. I started out conservatively as some very grueling past experiences with this workout have taught me that going out over my head hurts. I was still surprised at how easy the 53's felt and mid way through I was hoping to run 51-52 for 8-12 and 49-50 for 12-16. However, in this workout you tend to roll along fine, feeling great and thinking life is grand and then all of a sudden King Kong jumps on your back in the span of 30 seconds (good to remember for anyone I prescribe this to later). Getting below that 53-52 range just wasn't happening as easy as I thought it would. On the "last one fast one" I took an extra 5 seconds to collect myself and braced for the pain and skulled the last 100 to dip under 5o seconds. Yes, I know it's only a 65 sec 400 but for my current form, that's blazin! I am happy with the workout and excited to race this weekend to test out the fitness for real.

p.s. I'm calling out Ben and George in this post. They have both dropped out of the Rockville Twilight 8k, reasons unannounced but presumably in fear of my lethal 65 quarter speed. It's still exciting to take Princeton and Dartmouth scalps and I am dissapointed. Don't worry you guys (and Jilane - you wussed out too) I'll drink your beer and eat your pizza and donuts!

Nothing cool

Mon: 7/13/09
AM: 8 mile run (1:01:00)
5 x 10 sec hill sprints
After finishing the run later yesterday I thought I would feel a little tired for this workout. However, I guess I didn't run very hard yesterday because I felt pretty good considering. I took another spin of the Inner Harbor and Patterson Park. There was a nice breeze this morning and the weather was quite comfy. It was an enjoyable morning to be running!

PM: 6 mile run (42:15)
Ran the standard Hopkins trail loop with Melanie. The weather was mercifully cool and I felt pretty good overall. We had a great go at the lights coming back down Charles today and almost made every single one, it was quite the show.

Week in Review

Week in review:
79 miles (9 runs)
Another solid week to build upon and more progression. I know I need to work on a few things but it's still early and I know it's still going to take some time before I get back into the competitive training groove. I decided that I am going to try and run the US 5k Championships in Ptown on Sept 20th as the "return" to racing goal and see what happens. It's a still a long way away but a short time when it comes to training.

I'm in Tent, everybody look at me cause I'm sleepin in a tent

Sun: 7/12/09
PM: 14 mile run (1:30:00)
Sheehan's wedding was at saint Francis University, which is smack dab in the middle of nowhere. Being the ultimate planner, I was far too late on booking the available and cheap dorm rooms, which left Melanie and i the task of locating the nearest hotel. Unfortunately, that nearest hotel was 20 plus miles away. While I think I am the best drunk driver this side of the Mississippi, I decided to come up with a better plan. Sleep in a tent! Melanie and I enjoyed the task of setting up a tent while smashed at 2am. Passing out was rather easy and comfortable but waking up on hard ground was less inviting. After the nights activities and a looming three hour drive Melanie and I passed on running in the morning.

After two naps we embarked on the run around 6pm in upper 80 temps. At this point I was regretting not having not run in the morning. Remarkably, despite it being hot and the Druid Hill park fountain being broke, I felt decent. Melanie actually keeps a pretty decent pace, which is kinda funny because I know she's pushing hard. Maybe she's still trying to impress me or maybe she's just maximizing the small amount of miles she can run but I appreciate in on the long runs. I know I need to start having a little more structure to these long runs and I think it will come in the next few weeks. The best part of the night was grabbing some sushi and about 23 glasses of water afterward.

Sheehan's wedding

Sat: 7/11/09
AM: 6 mile run (NT)
Ran early this morning with the Baltimore Marathon Training group. Took it really slow the first 25mins, 9min miles, and had a good long break to wait in order to wait for people and show them the route. Felt good to be very very easy and just chill out. Off to Sheehan's wedding tonight, I am excited to see a lot of old friends!

Tempo action

Fri: 7/10/09
AM: 3 w/u, 4.5 mile tempo (1.5 splits were 7:59, 7:59, 7:33), 5min rest, 4 x 400 (7oish) w/1min rest.

First, I have to say that I don't really know if this loop is exactly 1.5 miles. While it's all good right now, judging pace will be important at some point so I need to get it measured better. The thing with measuring is that it doesn't take much to really be off. If this loop is 100 meters short, which isn't a whole lot in the grand scheme of things, it actually means at least a 20sec addition to the times. That would make this workout not so great. However, what I don't know won't hurt me.

The first loop went great and I felt very relaxed and ready to go the full distance. However, sometime in the first half of the second loop I went to sleep and my mind went out for a donut. I came through half way 7 seconds slow and was feeling pretty bullshit about my frame of mind. I contemplated bagging it at 3 miles because I was convincing myself I felt bad. Luckily, I tried picking it up and I surprisingly came through in the exact time as the first loop. This perked me up and I started actually running the last loop. I cam through half at 3:55 and knew I could do some damage the last half. I was surprised when I saw 7:33, as it is a 15 sec improvement from my previous best time after only running two loops. The 400's weren't that great, especially since I was wearing the new infinity 2's, which are not a flat and not as sweet as their predecessors. Overall, I was content with the effort but once again know I need to work on maintaining focus.

PM: 6 mile run (43:00)
Hopkins trail route today again but I felt like ass. I even asked Melanie to slow up for me today, which she was kind enough to do. Glad I got the run in and had lots of freeze pops afterward.

An almost Steady Run

Thur: 7/9/09
AM: 10 mile run (64:46)
Ran three miles as an easy warm-up and did the hills of druid lake with a lake loop in 24:36 and cooled down for 3 miles. This was my first attempt at running a more up paced run on this route so I just wanted to get a time check for future endeavors. As I get more fit I will hopefully begin running the timed loop faster and eventually increasing the distance at which I run hard.

I felt pretty good but I don't think the effort was anything spectacular. I still have to work at being more focused when I am out for hard efforts and not letting my mind wander.

PM: 6 mile run (41:34)
Ran the same trail loop as yesterday with Melanie. The temps were moderate and I actually felt pretty good. I am currently schooling Melanie on the intricacies of the Tour De France and keeping her up to date with all the latest racing results. I once attempted to act out a race tactic, she didn't laugh.

Easy 8

Wed: 7/8/09
AM: 8 mile run (1:01:01)
I wanted to make sure I took it easy today and follow the schedule I set out for myself so I opted for a spin around the inner harbor and patterson park. This run, while taking you around the harbor, can sometimes be visually nice but there is a lot of stopping and going because of the traffic and running fast is near impossible. I felt good today, although I would have enjoyed some sweet Eugene wood chips as my legs were feeling a little beat up from the pavement. I started and ended at my new place and walked across the street to the grocery store for some fresh donuts. At only 56 cents a piece I can see this becoming a bad habit!

The Inner Harbor

Cutting Play Doh Shapes

Tue: 7/7/09
AM: 3 w/u, 8 x 1k w/30 sec rest (3:12, 3:14, 3:12, 3:13, 3:13, 3:15, 3:14, 3:05), 3 c/d
Total - 11 miles
Today was the perfect prescription. It was the perfect distance, pace and rest to accomplish a good threshold workout at a faster pace then I can run a tempo right now. I wanted to be right around 5:10 pace (3:13) and I hit the pace pretty good and each interval was right about what I thought I could "comfortably" complete. The track at Hopkins is really nice as it has a very soft surface and sits in a nice little outskirt. The only issues I have are that the turns are pretty tight and there is no shade.

The first interval found me right on pace and feeling pretty decent. I was a little surprised at how fast 30 seconds came around and I almost wanted to change to a minute but knew I wanted to keep the threshold down. I thought about stopping at 3, 5 and 6 but I knew I needed to sack up mentally and get it done. I will say that I felt worst once I stopped for 30 seconds and I even contemplated just banging out miles to get it over with quicker. In the end, I am very glad I stuck with it. When I finished I was over heating big time and luckily the facilities guys were out and left a hose sitting by the side of the track. Without that I am not sure I would have made it back.

Overall, another solid baby step in the right direction.

PM: 6 mile run (42:00)
FOUND A TRAIL!!! So, it isn't Moses Cone or anything but there is a little single track trail that runs behind the Hopkins undergrad campus I discovered today. How Melanie has lived here for three years and not found any good places to run is beyond me. It was exciting to get a change of scenery from the typical streets. While only a mile long, it provided some much needed nature respite from the asphalt. Some more exploring is in order to make sure there are no secret add-ons anywhere. The first 15 minutes felt like trash but the middle part in the trail was nice.

Day off

Mon: 7/6/09
Day Off
If I am going to coach myself I need to make sure that I take a long hard look at my training and make intelligent and objective decisions. After a pretty big week, I knew it was prudent to take the day off and let myself recover and guard against any niggles.

Almost triple digits

Week in Review:
98 miles (10 runs - 79 singles)
This week was a huge jump, both in terms of mileage and intensity. I did two workouts, one of which was a huge increase to 6 miles, and almost hit 100. I know I need to dial it back a notch and this week I am going to be much smarter and more tactical about my approach to getting in shape. I am actually going to take the day off tomorrow as a safety measure, try to get on the track once and bring down the threshold pace. Things are going well and I need to be smart, life is grand!

Fool's gold

Sun: 7/5/09
PM: 16 mile run (1:42:00)
After a fun night in DC with the Ivy League contingent, highlighted by me having to run a lap around George's house naked after Melanie and I got skunked at Pong at 6:15pm. (side note: this was my first time playing the Dartmouth version. Since, Melanie was a Dartmouth Grad I was counting on her to help me out a little in my virgin attempt. Alas, she was useless and failed to hit a cup in not just our first game but our second game as well. Luckily my vast athletic prowess allowed me to quickly adapt to the game and come up big in the second game. I will also side note that this is a much more fun version of beer pong)

Since waking up in the morning left Melanie and I feeling a bit hungover, and the Brown crew still being in bed at 10am, we opted to get breakfast and drive back to Baltimore before running. We stopped at the Original House of Pancakes in Bethesda and gorged on coconut chocolate chip pancakes, whipped cream, strawberry Belgian waffles, omelets and coffee (yes, it was just Mel and I) like we had already completed the long run. To say it was delicious would be committing an injustice.

Oh yeah, the run...Melanie and I ran down the Inner Harbor, which was crazy busy and ran through Fells Point to Patterson park, which was similarly busy. I actually felt better than I thought I would yesterday although any minor hill did a number on my legs. I dropped Melanie off back at her place at 10 miles and proceeded to hammer our another 33mins in Druid hill park to hit 16. I wanted to go 18 (to hit 100 for the week) but I knew Melanie was waiting and I also knew it wasn't a smart idea (see, I'm learning). 16 still put me ahead of what the Weeman did and that's all anyone can ask. I felt way better than I thought I would on the add on and at parts I was running rather quick and feeling good, although I did have my rough spots. I am happy with the run, distance and how I felt!

Sat: 7/4/09
AM: 3 w/u, 10k road race (34:04) (5:31, 5:19, 5:14, 5:23, 5:27, 6:00, 66) 3c/d
Total = 12 miles
First off let me say that i don't think the splits were accurate. The course was monster hilly and I don't think I was running 5:20's in the middle of the race. I also do not think I threw down a 6min last mile. However, I do think the course was overall accurate.

It was a beautiful 4th of July day despite rolling out of bed at 6am. The race was your typical small town affair and arriving 1 hour before the race to sign-up and warm-up meant that I was one of three people present who were not volunteers. I knew a former Zap guy, Dave Berdan, would be running and I knew he would kick my ass since this was my 4th workout back. We did a nice easy warm-up together and at 8am it was go time. The starter yelled "bang" and we were off and up a very long and somewhat steep hill. Berdan, a local yocal and myself separated ourselves quickly through a slow 5:30 first mile and it was apparant from the get go the top 3 prize money was spoken for. At the mile mark berdan threw in a surge and I just knew I couldn't go with it. I figured I could have out raced the second guy but I really don't have an idea of what my threshold is right now and I didn't want to start putting the pace down and blow up the last 2 miles. I think that when you're fit you can take chances while racing and still be able to hold on or come back if it doesn't go as planned. When you're not fit, you have to be very controlled and smart because there is no coming back. Unfortunatly, I spotted second place 30 seconds from mile 2-4 and while I began to close a little in the lasy two miles, he was just too far away. My controlled effort meant I ran the entire race by myself, which was still better than working out alone. I would say my effort was a little above my current threshold as I never went to the well and a few times I had some ligh hearted convo with spectatures and volunteers.

Overall, I have to say I am pleased with effort. Every once in a while I think back to how far back I am when running 5:30's for 6 miles, slower than marathon pace. However, I do realize it's going to be a long road back and I have to fight a lot of small battles first. Solid effort and I even picked up 50 bucks. "We goin Sizzla, we goin Sizzla"

Goin' Cherry pickin

Fri: 7/3/09
AM: 9 mile run (1:00:00)
Went out later today as Melanie had the day off and we chose to sleep in. Luckily, the temperature was really mild (low 70's) and I wasn't punished for my lethargic decision. The holidays must have people in a good mood. Most of the people I passed today were very friendly, more than usual, and it kept me in good spirits. One homeless guy yelled across the street "sir, you have a happy holiday weekend", what a nice guy. I tried to keep it easy today as I might try and cherry pick a road race tomorrow. Yes, I know I am about as out of shape as I've ever been, but there's a 10k that offers 200 for the win and last year the winning time was 34mins. Under normal circumstances I would have already spent the money but 34mins is going to be a mighty effort for me. However, I wanted to get in a longer threshold workout this week and having the competition will help. Smart idea or dumbest idea ever, we'll see tomorrow!
PM: 5 mile run (32:00)
I told myself that I should take it easy today and not go for a second run but when was the last time I listened to my own body? Felt pretty terrible for this run. It is the first time I've felt that tired and exhausted feeling on a run in a long time. In a sick way it was welcomed. Melanie and I did have a good conversation about why I'm an idiot when I coach myself. After this week I am going to try and be more objective and coach myself like I would an athlete of mine.

Two time'n

Thur: 7/2/09
AM: 9 mile run (1:00:00)
3 x 10sec Hill Sprints
Tried a new route today that went down to the Inner Harbor and out to Patterson park. I like the route, minus the part on chase where I have to stop frequently for lights. It isn't bad on the way down because it gives me time to stretch and such but on the way back up I prefer to just get rolling. When I woke up I wasn't feeling all that great after the last two days but once I got rolling things loosened up and I decided to extend the run to 9 miles.
PM: 6 mile run (40:00)
This was a nice little double with Melanie. We've come up with a pretty perfect 40min run that goes through the JHU undergrad campus that is really nice. I felt pretty decent, a nice theme on the last few runs. Not really much of note happened on this run

Tempo

Wed: 7/1/09
AM: 3 w/u, 3 mile tempo (15:45) (8:00-7:45 for 1.5 loops), 4 c/d
Total = 10 miles
Despite banging out 18 miles yesterday I decided to give a workout a go this morning just to see where I was at. It was really humid but luckily the temps were in the low 70's. I was feeling a little tired and sluggish but overall not that bad. The first loop felt much better than last week and I came through about 3 seconds faster but, more importantly, feeling like I could hold it for the second loop. Felt like I maintained the pace pretty goo through the first half and then really tried to bring it home he last 1k or so. I was working really hard the last 800 meters and i am sure my legs were flailing all over the place. Pretty happy that I was able to run 15 seconds faster this week than last week in the same conditions but with 32 miles that last two days compared to 12. The progress continues!