Quest For Boston

First long day since the race.  The weather was anything but cooperative. Snow turning to sleet turning to rain. Temps right around 32 with 25 mph winds.  The 5 mile stretch along the coast was like having half my face sand-blasted. Luckily it was mostly sleet through here so I got the maximum abrasion factor. :)  I actual enjoyed the run.  I think it helped that Dave went out with me.  I have a feeling I wouldn't have enjoyed it quite as much solo.. It's true- misery does love company; at least when it comes to running.

Tempo run today.  The first mile felt O.K. but then I hit a wall.  A chest cold is slowing me down the past couple days.  Finished up the 5k in 21:20 which was a disapointment but at least I finished up the run. Hopefully my breathing clears up in the next couple of days.

An easy 5 miles today.  Still feeling the chest cold, which continues to slow me down.

An absolutely beautiful day today.  Temps in the upper 50's. It felt like spring.  I changed up the schedule a bit to take advantage of the weather and the fact that I'm feeling better. I could have gone longer but decided not to go too crazy as I'm coming off the cold. Plus, I'm supposed to run a 5k next Sunday before the South Boston Parade.

Started out my run in 33 degree rain and finished in 31 degree snow. Was it realy 60 degrees this weekend?  I good news is I felt great.  I've recovered well from the weekend long run whichis encouraging .  I'm finaly over my cold- unless I come back down with it after todays run.7:45's felt pretty easy.

recovery run.

Threw in some tempo in the middle of my run today.  Felt pretty good. Scheduling for Vermont marathon looks bad so I probably won't be doing a spring marathon this year. I'm not sure if that's good or bad.

recovery run today.  5k race on Sunday.

I typed this race report this morning, only to have it disappear. Hopefully I can recapture my earlier enthusiasm.

     Race conditions were pretty much perfect for early March in the north east.  Temps in the mid 40's and just a slight breeze.  The course was an out and back with very little flat land to speak of.  All rolling hills with the first half heading out to the water and sea level and then back up to the finish.  My expectations were not that high as I was comong off of a 20 mile race a month ago and I have only started to feel normal again the past week.  Plus there hasn't been much in the way of speed work except a couple fartlek workouts leading up to the 20 miler.

     My wife and I headed up to South Boston the day before the race.  The express purpose of this race was to go and enjoy the St. Patrick's Day Parade but I figured while I was there I might as well run the race.   I woke up later than usual- 8:00.  Race was a 10:00 start so I'm already feeling a little behind.  We grab a bite to eat and head out the door for the race.  I ran this race 2 years ago and there were less than 400 runners.  This year 1500 hundred people signed up so the number pick up was a mob scene.  Luckily I had pre-registered so there was no big wait.  Got my number and did a little warm up and it's time to go. 

     The start was chaotic to say the least.  Being a boys and girls club race all the kids felt they needed to be up front and I was seriously worried about someone getting hurt at the start.  I ended up standing behind a couple of young boys in dresses.  I'm happy to say they were pretty good sprinters and I had a clear path for the first couple hundred yards.  That's when the "leaders" all died and proceeded to plug up the roadway.  I was just about through the traffic when a runner in front of me dropped his car keys; don't ask; and stopped dead to pick them up.  I did a half hurdle, half side step, to get around him and continued on my way.

     The first mile was at 5:56 which was right where I was hoping to be.   As I neared the half way point I could count the runners coming back towards me and knew I was in 15th place.  I worked the final down-hill before the turn-around and then headed back up the hill.  Usually in a 5k I'll use the time between 1.6 to 2 miles to recover and then press the final mile.  I had talked strategy with my training partner and had decided to push the entire 2nd mile and see what happened.  I haven't been doing much for speed work but I have been doing some hill work and long runs.  I was hoping that although I'm not as fast as I've been in the past, maybe I was strong enough to make up for it.

      I kept my eye on the runner in front of me and found myself making up ground.  Next thing I knew I was going by him and aiming for the next runner.  Mile 2 was 5:54 according to the Garmin.  I didn't bother looking at my watch for the whole race.  The idea was to run as hard and smart as I could and not worry about time.  Two solid splits and still feeling pretty good.  Back to the rolling hills and I'm making good headway.  We head into the final hill, about a quarte mile long and the runner in front of me has about 100 yards on me.  I doubt I'll be able toi catch him but I keep my eye on him as I climb that final hill.  The gap starts to close but I run out of time.  I take the final turn and cross the finish line.  I look down at my watch and see the number 18.  I can't believe it.  I've run a P.R. in the first race of the year.  Final time was 18:53.  I had run a 19 flat about a year and a half ago so the idea that I'd set a best at this race never crossed my mind.  Another surprise was finishing first inmy age group.  I'd done it before but never at a race this big.

     I have to say that I was thrilled with every aspect of my race this weekend.  I learned a few things that I hope I can remember and use in the future.  The biggest thing I've learned was that I don't necesarily have to be at my fastest to run my fastest.  I just have to be strong and smart.

recovery run.  I felt surprisingly good today.  Was planning on 4 miles but just kept going.

1.4 warmup followed by repeat .2 mile hills with a jog back to the bottom.

1st- 1:10  a bit quick

2nd- 1:16

3rd- 1:15

4th- 1:13

5th- 1:15

6th- 1:13

7th- 1:14

8th- 1:15

1.4 cool down run.

I ended up stepping in a slight hole on the cool down and strained my left achilles tendon. Lots of ice the next 2 days.

I've been horrible with posting to the blog of late. Next few enteries are all late.

I really didn't want to race this weekend but seeing as it was out here on the Island and I was race co-ordinator last year I felt compelled to participate. Schedule was for a long day so I went out early and did 7. Then I went home and showered and headed out for the race.  I didn't know what to expect so I was very happy with the results. Last year I was struggling to get under 20 minutes so this performance was exciting.  I worked the 2nd mile and it ended up being my fastest of the three so this strategy seems to be working so far this season.  I moved up on the second place runner with a half to go but I had no kick left and he easily out distanced me over the final stretch. I did manage to hold on to third as another 40+ runner was bearing down on me.  Luckily he started his kick a little late.

1- 6:18

2- 5:57

3- 6:08

An easy 5 miler. The wind was howling today with a steady 30 along the water; which was half my run.  When it gusted I was barely moving forwards. It was a lot of fun!!!

Long day at work today. By the time I got home I was tired.  Didn't realy feel like going out but figured a little something was better than nothing. I didn't even bring the Garmin with me.  Just let my body decide the pace. I probably crawled along at 8:30's.  Afterwards I was glad I ran.

It's called a race but it actualy is a chance for people to get together every week and do a hard tempo run.  I wanted to do a hard run but it can be kind of hard to do that by your self, so I took the boat over to the mainland and hooked up with a local running club for their weekly race. It's fairly flat with a beautiful water view. The goal going in was to do 6:45's for as long as I could.  About 30 people showed up and did the run.  I went out a little fast in 6:10 but felt good.  That's when I decided to see how far I could hold it.  Turns out I couldn't hold it for very long. :)

My second mile was a 6:18 followed by miles of 6:37 and 6:45. I'll be honest.; I found myself falling asleep a little through the last two miles. Maybe too many hard miles the past 2 weeks.  I finished up with a 6:30.  The legs felt pretty tired afterwards.  Still, I was very happy with the workout. It was only about 20 seconds off of a P.R.

The plan this week was to do my long run on Sunday but the weather report called for torrential downpours so I moved up the run a day.  Probably not the best of plans after a hard run yesterday but I figured I be as smart about it as I could be and did a double loop.  That way if I wasn't feeling it I could cut the run short. I did the run with Dave and for the first time incorporated a Gallowwalking type workout.  2 miles running followed by 1 minute walking.  I thought it would be kind of dumb but that minute sure did go by quick.  All th3e research seems to show that it doesn't take away fromthe workout but allows for a faster recovery.  We'll see.  I actually felt pretty good for the run after the first 3 miles.  It took that long to really loosen up and get into a rhythm.  I could have run longer but decided to end it at the 17.5.  With my deciding against the spring marathon there's no need to do too much milage right now.

Recovery run. Legs feel surprisingly good considering Saturdays long run. Will try to take it easy this week.

Did my 5 miles in 38.11 for an average pace of 7:38.  It didn't feel that fast. I take that as a good sign considering how hard I've been running of late with too many races.