Cherry Blossom 10 miler: 50:06, 16th place

This one falls easily into my general running philosophy to always be happy, never be satisfied.  I wanted to run faster, but I'm pleased with how I battled to salvage a decent performance.  I went out exactly how I wanted (4:56) but found myself without anyone around.  I'm too slow to go with the leaders and my ideal pace was a little ahead of the chase pack.  It was windy and sunny and I hated having nobody to help with the pacing / breaking the wind.  I slowed a great bit in the next couple of miles, having a few guys catch me and even surge ahead of me later on, as I was taxed from the early difficulties.  I was hoping to have some GRC guys to run with at this point but found out later there were just a few meters back.  I did have Bert to catch as he gapped me as I was struggling, having let a few negative thoughts in there as my pace slowed.  I was determined to salvage the race though and from 6 miles on I manned up, clicking off miles in the 4:53-4:57 range along Hains Point.  I caught Bert and was in battle mode as I reached the 9 mile point in 45:04.  I thought I had sub-50 in the bag at this point, and despite keeping my foot on the gas, the slight uphill in the last mile did me in, and I managed a 50:06.

I fell short of my goal but was happy to run a decent pace after that looked like it might fade away from me in the middle of the race.  My prep for the race was good but I know I can go a great deal faster, and I'm still very confident I can hit the trials qualifier in the half when I attempt a sub-1:05 at Grandma's Half in mid-June.  I am ready to put in some more work, with high mileage / solid intensity weeks coming up.  The guys did so well at CB that it would take too long to mention everyone that ran well.  I'm very happy to be a part of this team and I know I have a great crew (and coach!) to work with to reach my goals. 

I ran 81 miles in 8 runs last week.

2 days until Cherry Blossom

Cherry Blossom is a big race for me and I’m excited / nervous for it. Although it doesn’t qualify me for anything, it’s a big race for a couple of reasons. This is a team race and I really owe GRC a big performance for all the great things this club has done for me. This race also represents an opportunity for me to show I’m on the right track to make it back to the Olympic Marathon Trials. If the conditions are favorable I’d like run 49:30 and would be happy with anything sub-50. 49:30 is the pace I’d need to run to hit the qualifying mark in the half marathon and running that pace now would give me some confidence that I could hit the time when I run the Grandma’s Half in June. I have never run that fast for that long, but my volume and quality have been solid and I’m ready for a jump.

Besides the camaraderie of being on a team like this, getting back to the Trials is what keeps me going right now. I haven’t talked about this much, but before the trials in November 2007, I had to choke back tears. To those that know how emotional I can be (e.g. wedding and HEPS), that may not come as that big of a surprise, but I was overwhelmed as I stepped out from the staging area onto Rockefeller Center. The bright lights shone down as I found Em and my family and just kinda lost it. I was so thankful for their support. There is a quote I heard from (I believe) Prefontaine that says, “To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.” I think that quote applies here but not a gift of talent but of support and opportunity from my loved ones. I want to make the most of what my parents, wife, extended family, teammates, and coaches have given me from day 1 in this sport. For every competitive runner, their individual goals vary based on ability, but they just as important to the individual as long as he / she works as hard for it. I want to feel good about what I have done with this opportunity that was so generously given to me. The fun starts two days from now!

Training has gone well. Last week I ran 92 in singles including a 6 x mile workout where I closed the last lap in 58 for a 4:29 (BTW, Sam looked great out there!). This week I continued the run up to CB with a lighter week and nice tune up workout of 2x1K and 4x500m. Can’t wait!



103 miles and a 24:03 5-mile

Tuesday was another long double going 7 and 13 on the CJ trails.  It was so nice to run on those trails.  I was still tired and a bit sore from less sleep though. 

Wednesday was a track workout.  I did a long warm-up and then did a 2K-1600-1200-800-400 workout with Sam and Burnham in 75s, 74s, 73s, 71s, and 68.  We were a couple seconds fast on most stuff and it felt extremely easy. Closed in 64 and it felt like we were jogging.  Nice and easy tune-up workout for the race that weekend.

Thursday was a short double totaling 12.  Felt tired but relaxed.  Had a great St. Patrick's Day dinner afterwards at the Irish Inn in Glen Echo with Lily, Em, and Em's parents.  Ate corned beef and cabbage and had a couple Guinness at the place where we had our rehearsal dinner!

Friday was a longer double getting in around 15 or 16 for the day including some real nice miles around Old Angler's Inn in Potomac.  Amazing trails and the best part of the towpath!

Saturday was the Van Metre 5-miler.  Despite feeling a little tired, I ran pretty well.  It was windy out and I ran behind the leaders for the most part.  I tried to lead my share but the others found my lead a bit too slow.  I lost contact at points but ran tough to get back in it.  I ran 4:37 for the last mile to finish in 24:03 for second place behind Nightingale (http://results.active.com/pages/displayNonGru.jsp?rsID=106019&orgID=234639&pubID=2), ending my undefeated 2011.  I was really happy with the time as this was the best race I've had yet for GRC, but bigger and better things to come soon I hope.

Sunday was a point-to-point 18-miler on the towpath.  Great team run and we got moving well at times.  It was fun and my legs felt good besides feeling tired from not enough sleep.  I was a little sore afterwards but nothing too bad.  This gave me 103 for the week on 10 runs with a decent race in there.  I'm pleased with the work but need to try to get better sleep.  I usually do a down week now but I have Cherry Blossom in two weeks so I'll adjust the mileage a bit to run well there.  I'm really excited about racing soon.  (BTW, Emily ran an "easy and fun" 1:33 half in NYC, running with her sister Beth, very impressive for both).

110 miles in 9 runs

Friday was a 13 mile run and I was feeling pretty tired. Em and I have been trying some different things to get Lily sleeping better at night but it hasn't been working too well. Not getting good sleep makes me feel tired and sore. We will be doing some more sleep training soon and I really hope it works well. I'm sure Emily feels even stronger about that since it affects her more.

Saturday was a 10 mile tempo during the St. Pat's run in Margate while visiting my parents in Wildwood Crest. It turned out to be a pretty good workout despite a few mishaps. I went out with some of the 5K guys since I just wanted to run with some people. I continued with the on part of the broken tempo for a couple more miles and felt pretty good with the wind at my back. I then backed off for the next couple miles stopping once to pick up a glove I dropped while getting water from a station. At the turn around, I needed to stop to tie my shoe which had become mostly undone. It took way too long to completely untie and retie the mangled laces and when I looked up a few guys from the race were closing in on me down the boardwalk. I took off hard into the wind for another 3 miles of on section. I was happy to slow down for the last couple miles because the wind was vicious. The total time was 53:47 (http://www.aksts.com/results2011/StPats10mi2011all.pdf) and I was happy with the workout and glad the wardrobe malfunctions didn't happen in a tight race. It was nice to get this in mostly on the soft boardwalk surface but the wind affected my form and left me a little sore. BTW, Emily won again - taking the 5K in 19:27!

Sunday was a 20+ mile run in windy conditions - again! Started out with a nice 50 mins with Emily running 7-min pace which was great. I picked it up a bit for the last 1:30. I got a lot of beach in there and some boardwalk too which was really nice. I got in 110 miles on 9 runs and was happy with the work I got in this week. Next week I'll still get in around 100 but I'll probably run some more doubles since I am racing a 5 miler next week and want to run a fast one.

Started off the week with a 13 mile run with the NBDP. Felt tired from the clock change but the legs are holding up well.

Good Start to a Big Week

I ran 15 on Monday AM, most of which with Luff and Hanson. Felt good running on the Trolley Trail and around NB.

Tuesday was a double totaling 18 and some hard strides afterward. I just can’t seem to get rid of my sore throat but besides that I’m feeling great. I caught myself running a bit too fast a few times though.

Wednesday AM was a 5 mile shakeout before we hit the track at night. We had 4 by mile scheduled in 4:50, 4:45, 4:40, and 4:35. We were dead on except the last one where I kicked in the last 600m to finish in 4:27 after being taken through 800m in 2:20. The whole workout felt pretty east expect for the wind picked up and knocked the momentum out of me as I was trying to kick it in hard. The forecasted rain held off though which was great.

Ran 16+ miles in the rain. The legs are feeling great. I had a side stitch that was bothering me for the first 30 minutes or so but I guess I picked it up quite a bit after I shook that off because I came back a lot quicker. I honestly have never felt this fresh while running this type of mileage. The sore throat seems to be leaving too.  I am really excited for the spring racing season for myself and the team. I eager to see Little Jerry get things started for us in the 15K this weekend. The guys should have a good one in Baltimore too.

102 for the week

Thursday I did a double totaling 18 miles instead of my usual medium distance run due to schedule reasons. On my second run I was tired but still found myself running too fast a couple times. Health-wise I was experiencing a sore throat and some congestion which seem to be the lingering form of the cold.

Friday was a nice and easy 13, doing 10 with Joe, who is coming back smart from a bout with the flu. Besides the same health issues affecting me, I felt great.

Saturday was a long workout. 3 miles up, 4 miles on the track @ 5:05, 5 miles easy (did 6:15 pace or so), 3 miles on the track @ 5 min, and 3 miles down. We hit a couple seconds fast for the tempos although I don't remember the exact times. I was still feeling some remnants of the cold, but settled in and felt good by the second tempo segment. I ended up feeling like I could have gone quite a bit further at that pace, although it still felt good to finish. Ivy legend and Princeton alum David Nightingale was on-hand to jog the workout as Luff (who looked great by the way) and I worked hard to stay with him. It was a rare but fun Saturday at the track.

I capped off the week with 15 miles from the line with the guys to give me 102 miles for the week on 8 runs with 2 solid workouts. It was warm and rainy and it felt really good to out there. I still have a sore throat and some congestion but I was happy with how the week went given how terrible I felt at the beginning of it. I'll feel really happy with where I am fitness-wise as soon as I kick the rest of this cold. I'll stick to the fluids, smoothies, and sinus rinses to get me through it. I am feeling ready to start racing soon. This past month and a half has been good for me as I've gained a lot of fitness and my legs feel great. I haven't had to do much ice therapy at all. Coincidentally I haven't done any strength training at all during this time either. I'll add that in sometime soon but for now I've gotten by well without it. I'm looking forward to another solid week of training.

Running Through a Cold

All day Monday I felt terrible from this cold and tried to take some medicine to get me through the day.  It didn't make me feel any better but it did prevent me from taking a nap.  I decided to drag myself out for a run anyway and ended up feeling really good out there.  I put in 13 but then came home and felt the worse I felt all day.  When I was running was literally the best I felt all day. 

Tuesday I was feeling better but quite congested still.  I put in another 13 plus some strides and felt fine.

Wednesday night was the usual track workout and I was feeling better but nowhere near 100%.  We had a planned for 3200m (74 secs per quarter), 2400 (73s), 1600 (70s), and 800 (68s) with solid rest.  I was feeling nervous about it after warming up and not feeling that well.  Once we got started though I was pretty sure I'd make it through.  I didn't feel great out there but nothing was too difficult and we got through the reps a few seconds fast on everything.  Jerry told us not to take off on the last 800 and I knew that was a good idea given the cold.  It turned out to be another good one with the guys, but we missed having Joe out there since he got the flu on his birthday.  Happy belated birthday Joe, feel better soon!