Easy run with Liam before driving to Atlanta. We checked Maple View Cemetery and stumbled upon Washington Duke's burial site. Who knew he was a Detroit Tigers fan (see the top)? Running through a graveyard could be creepy, but in the morning I kind of enjoyed the quiet.
I felt pretty much awful in the morning, so I pulled out of my workout with Liam just two laps in. Most of the work is done at this point. I did feel good enough for a shake-out run by the evening.
Just one run today. I'm contemplating racing this weekend or at some point next week...just gotta figure out where and when. I'm opting for one longer race or two shorter races.
Here's your daily dose in calculated risk-taking, courtesy of the Hawks' loss last night:
Morning run on the ATT with Liam, followed by an evening run on the WaDuke trail. The highlight of the morning was easily passing the group with the pit bull, smoking weed on the trail at 8:30 in the morning. Durham has some precocious drug users: I no place have I ever encountered so many random dudes smoking cannabis before 9:00 AM when the rest of the pot heads of the world are still fast asleep.
Other than that my legs felt stale all until about 2 miles into the evening run, at which point they felt super.
Evening thunderstorms gave way to rainforest conditions here in Durham this morning. It's only April, yet by the end of the run I looked like I'd been underwater. Valerie was with me for most of the run on the bike on the ATT, which made the time go by nicely, before I added a loop-plus around East Campus.
The good news today is that the GRC turned in some stellar performances at Pikes Peek in Rockville and the National Duathlon Championships.
This caps of a fairly high-volume week for me with 101 miles and two 30+ mile bike rides. I'm off to Atlanta next week, and if I can find a race to jump in next weekend, then I will.
You might be wondering why I'm running high mileage right now. Here's why:
1.) With classes winding down, I have more free time, so I'm happy to take advantage of that.
2.) I love the feeling when running high volume, and I'd even argue that based on past performances, I race well running high volume. It's what seems to work for me.
3.) Compared to what I'm shooting for during my Chicago build-up this summer (125 miles/week), it's really not that much.
AM: hard 3k, 11:00 jog recovery, 2 x 5 x 300m w/ 100m (:50) jog recovery and 500m jog between sets, 11 miles
PM: 33 miles easy bike
I was a little disappointed in the 3k this morning, as I was hoping to run better than 9:00. That wasn't meant to be this morning, but I still had a decent, faster workout with Liam.
AM: 6 x 1000m @ 5k pace w/ 400 jog recovery, 4 x 200 strides, 10 miles
PM: 6 miles easy
I met Joey and Liam for a track workout, and was happy to hit the times I was shooting for exactly, feeling smooth and relaxed. The three of us comfortably traded the lead for each rep.
Splits: 3:00, 3:04, 3:02, 3:00, 3:03, 2:57
After finishing my last day of classes for the semester (W00T!), I went out for an easy jog around the WaDuke trail from school. I'm day-to-day at this point as to where I'll be living this summer, which means that my racing schedule is still day-to-day as well. I'm chomping at the bit to race because I have a feeling that I'm getting into PR shape.
ATT run with Liam in the morning, and then a shake-out on the WaDuke trail in the evening. I didn't get to watch the race because of an exam, but the GRC had a great day in Boston with lots of PRs.
What a pleasant morning here in Durham. Blue skies and Valerie pacing me on the bike lead to me hammering a long run. Hard long runs are hands-down my favorite type of workout because it allows you to open up your stride and just roll. I unfortunately missed some splits after hitting the wrong button on my watch (my normal watch is broken), but the effort was definitely there throughout. After the first 8 miles averaged under 6:30 pace, I continued to pick up the pace on the way home on the ATT.
Miles 8-14 went 5:47, 5:27, 5:30 (slowed at a street crossing), 5:30 (est), 5:30 (est), 5:12 (note: I'm guessing again on the last mile, but I know for sure I came through the half in 2:38).
It's a shame to have technical problems in what appears to have been a good run, but today's run solidifies a productive training week nonetheless.
I had a presentation and brunch in the morning, so I waited until the afternoon to run with Joey, Liam, and a guy from the Duke team whose name escapes me. The dust and pollen were pretty oppressive: we really need rain in Durham.
Easy in the morning with Liam on the ATT, and then easier in the neighborhoods with Valerie in the evening. This is the first day all week I've felt tired, so I suppose that's a good sign.
I was a little pressed for time this morning, but I still had time to squeeze in a sound workout with Liam. As soon as I finalize my schedule for the summer, I need to find a race. The effort was really smooth, locked in, and even this morning. I left the track feeling like I could have done more.
The AM run was one of those cool (low humidity!) spring mornings where the legs feel fresh and you can't stop pressing your foot on the accelerator. Thanks to a little rain, Duke Forest isn't a fog of yellow-green, or at least not as much.
I took it easy in the evening. Classes are winding down here in Durham. I welcome this.
Ran with Liam from Old West Durham through West Campus and around the WaDuke trail. I'm still not nearly a worked over as I'd expect, and this after racing four weekends in a row. I'll just call it luck and move on without pressing it. My second run was after classes and school work through the neighborhoods, but nothing special other than a pretty horrible RIC at the end.
Coming off of a period of so-so training, I wasn't sure what to expect out of this race. Considering that I finished just 13 seconds shy of what is my fastest effort at any distance on paper to date (at the 2009 Army 10-Mile), I'm actually OK with the effort. I said beforehand that anything in the 52s would have been fine, and I was on the upper end of that goal. I
I feel like if I had run more conservatively from the beginning, I could have run a PR, but I took some risks today. That's cool. The perfect racing conditions and fast course lent themselves to taking some risks.
I also ran faster than I did last year following PRs at 5k and 10k at the time. While I didn't get my 10k split, my 6-mile split would have put me close to my 10k PR. I said beforehand that anything under 53:00 would have been fine, so I at least accomplished what I set out to do, even if I didn't exceed my expectations. My 8k PR is still officially 25:57 from 2008, yet I came through 5 miles in 25:54, so that's another positive note.
As for the race itself, Murphy and I took the pace out hot through the first mile (as fast as the first mile of the 5k last week!), yet we were still a ways back from Klim and Bert and somehow already 2 miles away from the leaders.
I slowed slightly on the Memorial Bridge but picked up the pace again at the Kennedy Center, where I started reeling guys in. At mile 5, master's ace Ray Pugsley moved on me and started picking off yet more guys, and I tried to move with him the best I could. The only runner to pass me in the second half of the race was ex-Baltimorian Ben Ingram, who was clearly rolling and having a great day. The last mile saw me going back and forth with GRC teammate Wilson in the last mile, who I think really helped me rally and get under the 53-minute mark following a few suffering miles on Hains Point, even though he got me at the line.
There isn't a finer time to be in DC, and the Cherry Blossom 10-Mile is always the pinnacle of spring, much like the Masters or Opening Day. This race means it's time to race, and race fast. I'm not over the moon about my effort given that I was off my PR under essentially perfect racing conditions. However, I still consider today to be a step forward, and I couldn't have been happier running and racing with my GRC teammates again.
Valerie and I made it to the first GRC store run in quite some time. After a cool run around the waterfront, a small group of us did strides in the sun on Water Street. If we can get a break in the wind, we'll have perfect conditions for the Cherry Blossom 10-Mile tomorrow morning.
I got in a relaxed run on the ATT with Joey and (new dad!) Liam, feeling fairly sharp. After driving from NC to Alexandria in the afternoon, Valerie and I went out for an easy shake-out on the Mt. Vernon trail.
I took off in the morning to the track from my apartment, where I just wanted to get in some nice, long strides before Sunday's race. I didn't run in the evening because 1.) I'm backing off a little before Sunday and 2.) I went to see Al Gore give a lecture on campus.
Another solo run through Duke Forest in the morning before school. In the evening, I got in a solid ride in with Nic School friends Will and Caitlin. Cycling when it's 90+ degrees outside isn't quite as grueling as running can be.
AM: 6 x 3:00 on/1:00 off, 4 x :90 on/:90 off, 10 miles
PM: 4 miles easy
I ran a solo workout in the morning before class on the WaDuke trail, feeling OK. The pollen down here is absurd right now, but despite the ongoing tree orgy I have yet to suffer much other than having to swab yellow dust off of anything I own outdoors.
I made it out for another quick shake-out run in the evening to keep myself from going insane during a break working on an Excel modeling assignment.
I ran from the WaDuke parking lot through Duke Forest, picking up the pace toward the end. Hanging out with Valerie afterward, I could have stood there in the sun forever had I not been fighting the urge to...go. It's been a beautiful weekend in NC thus far.
Easter, Opening Day of baseball season, the Masters, and the Cherry Blossom 10-Mile all indicate that spring is here to stay.
Solid 2:19 long run in warm weather solo through Duke Forest. Today was a day of firsts for the season: the first run I've come back covered in salt, and my first snake I had to hurdle (a two-foot black snake on the WaDuke trail).
The rest of the day is going to be filled with minor/major league baseball (the TB Rays are playing their AAA team, the Bulls, in Durham today) and the Final Four. And resting.
PM: 5,000m track race, 15:33, 8th in heat, 10 miles
The short end of the story is, I was boxed in or blocked from the leaders until 2 laps to go, when it was about too late to put up a serious challenge for the win. I knew from 2 laps in (2:29) that I wasn't setting myself up to run a PR because I was stuck in a violent and slow race. For example, check out how often there are runners packed out in lane 2 in the video...this is partially due to having 32 guys are on the track for a 5k with a mere 30-second window of seed times. I constantly fought for space in what was one of the roughest track races I've ever been in; some nasty words were exchanged in a six-man near-pileup right behind me around 4 or 5 laps into the race.
Despite my efforts to stay out of trouble and stay on the leaders, I couldn't cover the last move with 600m to go, at least partially because I couldn't get out or around. Sure enough, the video shows that I spent a great deal of the race stuck on the rail.
The positive takeaways are that I ran OK in hot weather; the temperature was about 80 degrees at the start. Despite being stuck, I stuck on the leaders for 10 laps and finished in 8th, better than my seeded 16th. Had I been free to go at the end, I think I could have had a shot to PR (the winner ran my PR time). Most importantly, it felt refreshing to race on the track again and get in some more speed work before Cherry Blossom next week. There's something to be appreciate for track's simplicity and purity.
The verdict is: not a bad race, and not a great race, but OK given the circumstances. Considering that my PR last spring came in a friendly 5-man time trial in ideal weather and off of better training, today's race wasn't awful.
After the race, I jogged an easy 4 cooldown with Valerie on the WaDuke trail.
