HEPS weekend

Got up to NYC this weekend to watch the Columbia Lions take on the rest of the Ivy League at Indoor HEPS.  The meet had some great highlights and I'm really impressed with the state of our team and the league as a whole right now.  I had a great time seeing friends from Columbia and the MTC.  I consider myself very lucky to have had amazing teammates and coaches at every step along the way of my running career.

As far as my training goes, I got in runs of 10 and 13 during the weekend, but not much of a workout.  I loved being back in Central Park but the late nights and busy schedule weren't conducive to hard efforts.  On top of that I seemed to have picked up a nasty cold.  I still got in 78 miles and one good workout during my down week.  The next week should be a good one given I can kick this cold.

Track Workout Wednesday

Wednesday night we had 4 x 2400m planned in 74s, 73s, 72s, 71s.  I felt really good early on as we hit on or a few seconds fast for the first 3. On last one I was feeling good and ended up taking off with around 700m to go after coming through the 1600 mark at 4:43.  I ended up at 6:52, meaning the last 800m was 2:09 and the last 1600m was 4:30. The team looked great out there and I am really pleased with how my body and confidence has bounced back. I'm really enjoying everyday of training now.

Thursday was 13 and a few strides and Friday was an easy 10 in the AM with Scott K. Legs are only s little sore and mostly I feel great. I'm heading up to NYC this weekend for indoor HEPS and to see friends. Roar Lions Roar!

Easy 10s

The down week started with an easy 10 on Monday. I ran the Cabin John trails because there was snow in the forecast and I wanted to get on the soft stuff before it came. Em and Lily dropped me off and hung out around there until I finished. It was a pretty great run expect for some ruts from the mountain bikes and the pack of rogue pugs that I came across. It’s great that 10 miles feels really easy to me again.

On Tuesday, I ran another 10 on the sidewalks and roads of North Bethesda. There wasn’t too much snow and ice but enough to be annoying. Still feeling great! I want to add in some more strength training though to make sure the core strength is there when it’s time to race.

Down Week Earned

I ran 20 at the Line this morning, giving me 103 miles for the week on 9 runs.  It felt awesome.  I felt very smooth and it was nice to get back on the trails.  It was been a long while since I ran this much and I'm excited with where things are going for myself and the GRC team.  It was great to get out there on Saturday and roll with guys again too.  There is a lot of promise heading into this Spring.  I am going into a planned down mileage week because I know it's smart but I feel so good I almost don't want to.  My achilles feels almost 100% and my foot feels a lot better. 

Help out the Florence Family!

John and Natalie, the former fastest couple in NYC and collegiate stars for the Colorado Buffaloes, are great people and great friends.  Natalie's mother recently fell ill and needed emergency gallbladder surgery.  She is recovering well but could use help with the enormous medical bills associated with the surgery and recovery.  Please donate via this site if you have the means.  Thank you.

http://getbetterlisaflorence.blogspot.com/

By George 10K

Thursday was an easy 14. I felt a bit sluggish probably from wearing new shoes that I heavier than I'm used to. The weather was awesome though and I ran from Alexandria with Mike Smith, Outlaw, and Murph. Friday was another nice day and I did 8 in the AM with Chuck and 6 solo plus some strides in the evening. I kept stretching, icing, and massaging my foot and achilles and I think that's helping.

Saturday was the By George 10K at Hains Point. I ran with the guys and was excited to get out there and race with them again finally. The weather was ridiculously windy (way more than last week even) and we had to weave around some slower runners eliminating the chance of a fast tempo / race. We worked well together, trading off the lead and drafting when possible. I ran 31:57 (and won a cherry pie!) which I was happy with given the conditions. My foot and heel felt good too. All the therapy I've been doing seems to be paying off. We also had fun hanging out and grabbing some food post-race.

Scroll down for 10K (http://www.pvtc.org/20110219.html)

Moving Forward

I continued my recent progress with a decent track workout.  I got in a 5mi shakeout in the AM and then hit the track with the guys at night.  We had 2 x 1600 (5:00, 4:55), 2 x 800 (2:24, 2:22), and 4 x 400 (2@ 68, 2@ 66) scheduled.  We hit a couple seconds fast for most of the stuff and then closed in 60 for the last 400.  It went really smooth and I felt fast and controlled.  The only slight issue has some tightness in my achilles so I iced that and my foot at night.  The guys are looking great.  This Spring could be a great one for the team.  Jerry really has the boys training smart and making progress. 

Ode to My Wife

Monday was a nice 12 followed by some hard strides. It was very windy out again and I think that dried me out a bit and gave me somewhat of a sore throat. Tuesday was an easy 15 with the North Bethesda Distance Project. I'm feeling great except that pain in my right foot has been coming and going. I feel it most when I have to pivot to turn right or when walking around.

Although I'm posting the day after Valentine's Day, in the spirit of the holiday I wanted to thank Emily for making my comeback possible. She is an amazing mother and takes extra baby duty so I can run around trying to get back in shape. She makes my running a priority even though she could focus on her own training if she really wanted to. The girl has talent: she just won a 5K in 19:30 on limited training 5 months after giving birth. I have no doubt she'll get fast again even when she yields to my training. Thanks Emily! You're a great wife and a great mother!

Good Weekend and Good Week

Em and I did the Cupid’s Chase 5K in Stone Harbor on Saturday. The course was flat and the weather was good except for a hard wind but that’s par for the course for racing at the shore. My goal was to do it as a hard tempo and average 5min miles. I started out hard in order to keep from settling into too comfortable a pace. I ran faster than expected and stayed on sub-15 pace until the wind hit me hard in the third mile and I finished in 15:08. I was pretty happy with that. Also Em won her race in 19:30 5 months after giving birth – awesome! http://aksts.com/results2011/Cupid2011all.htm

Sunday was another 2 hour run. Flat and windy, just like the race. I actually got in some soft surface with some beach and boardwalk miles mixed in with the hard stuff. Solid run – much better running at the beach during the winter when you don’t have to worry about crowds or scorching sun. The run capped off a 93 mile week with 2 moderate workouts.

Hungry

The last few days went well. We did 6 x 1200m (2 in 74s, 2 in 72s, and 2 in 70s) with a lap rest on Wednesday. Despite flurries coming down which made the track progressively more slippery and also an increasing wind, we averaged exactly what we had planned. It felt pretty good to get moving again as Sam and I alternated the lead.


Thursday was a nice 15 and Friday was an easy 11. I felt pretty good out there even though my sleep hasn’t been great in the past 2 nights. I’ve had a little pain in my foot the last couple weeks, but I think it’s subsiding. I’m dying to get rid of all this ice on the ground so I can get back on the soft stuff. It’s been a good week so far and I’m hungry to get back.

A New Reason to Run

The blog is back! I think it’s time to start back up again now that I’m ready to start talking about progress, not setbacks (plus Charlie Ban has been giving me a hard time for the long layoff). Although I haven’t been running well lately, I’d be lying if I said life wasn’t good. Lily joined our family on September 17th and she’s been bringing us great joy ever since. Parenting an infant is hard work but the littlest things she does make me so happy. Well back to the running – I’ll briefly explain the last few months of training. Besides missing time around the birth, it turns out my breathing issues were a result of bad reflux and my asthma also getting worse. I skipped Chicago, barely got to the line at Club Nats (and the result wasn’t pretty), and just now feel like I’m actually improving.

I’ve had some help getting back on track. First of all, Em is doing everything humanly possible to allow me to get some sleep and keep training hard. Also, I’ve been working with a coach – Jerry Alexander – a fellow Columbia alum! And the team has had some great new additions and the guys are rolling. It has been a big motivator just to get back to be able to run / workout with these guys. Also, my doctors get some credit for diagnosing the reflux and getting my asthma under control.

Recently, despite getting a bad case of food poisoning a couple weeks ago, I feel like I’m back on track. I ran over 80 miles last week and am weighing in close to race weight (the food poisoning had a positive impact on that one). So far this week I ran 11 with some hard strides on Monday and got in a double of an hour each today. The goal is still getting back to the trials and having some fun racing along the way. I’ve got a long way to go so it feels weird to talk trials at this point, but I’m motivated to give my family a reason to be proud of my running again. I’ll be focusing on training hard for a few months before I plan my racing schedule out a little more. Right now family, running, school and job search are keeping me busy but treating me well. I’m hoping to deliver some more good news via this blog in the months to come.