Winter Weather Workout(s): Part One

AM: 2 mile w/u + strides
Target: 10k tempo @ 35:45-36:30
Actual: 36:21 (5:51 pace); 18:18/18:03
1 mile c/d
Total: 9 miles

Last year, two and a half weeks out from Philly, I executed arguably my most difficult (and most impressive) workout(s) ever, consisting of a morning 10k tempo followed by an evening 10-miler at MP. Jordan, fresh off an injury, joined me for both efforts--and I dropped him on both. Having never outrun Jordan once in my life, much less twice in one day, this workout served as a huge confidence booster and solidified my fitness for what would be a breakthrough marathon performance a few weeks later.

With only 14 days separating me from my next 26.2 endeavor, it was time to attempt this workout again. Unfortunately, the weather had other plans.
 

Picture perfect conditions on tap for Sunday morning

I saw this abysmal forecast less than 24 hours before the first part of this workout was to begin and promptly started freaking out. I called Jordan, who was on the road, and we started running through our options. Unfortunately, delaying the workout wasn't one of them, as we'd be flying out for Thanksgiving on Monday evening, and anything after that would be much too close to the race. Could we try a treadmill? Certainly more favorable, but I unequivocally suck at treadmills and highly doubted I could run sub-6 pace for more than three consecutive minutes. I floated the scenario by Carly and Terry, who came up with the perfect solution (at least for Part One): the Harvard indoor track! Why didn't I think of that?? Oh wait, maybe because it meant I would be running 50 laps?!? But still, it was by far my best option. The next step was trying to recruit someone crazy enough to do this with me. I put out some feelers to the BAA with no success, and by Saturday night I'd all but tucked myself in on Sarah's futon (she lives so close to Harvard!) and resigned myself to doing this solo. Then, around 9:30pm, I received an email from a GBTC member named Charly Allan who'd heard of my plight and offered to help as part of his long run. Needless to say, I jumped at the offer and prayed he would actually show up the next morning.

Sure enough, just before 8am, my new BFF arrived as I was in the midst of my warmup jog counterclockwise along the perimeter of the eerily quiet facility. The weather prediction had been spot on, and as the gusts of wind howled around the outside of the building I knew I'd made the right decision. Before long, Charly and I were toeing the imaginary start line. The plan was simply to take it out conservatively, tuck in behind him and gradually crank the pace down during the second half--all without losing count of our laps. I was just as intimidated by the mental challenge as I was the physical one, and was beyond relieved that someone else was there to do the heavy lifting for me. I just needed to relax, zone out, fall into a rhythm behind Charly and trust that the pace would come naturally.

The first few laps felt clunky and awkward, both of us adjusting as strangers in a strange land. After the first mile or so I settled in, feeling comfortable and eager and trying not to clip his heels. The pace seemed slow, a little too easy, and I was unsurprised when we came through 5k a touch off the target. "Let's hold this until four, then gradually pick it up for the last two miles," I requested. He was happy to oblige, and before I knew it the invisible lap counter was down to single digits. We dug deeper (or at least I did) for the final mile, and I felt like I was working for the first time in 30 minutes. As we crossed the finish line to the applause of exactly no one, I was ecstatic--not just that the workout had felt relatively easy, but that I hadn't allowed the adverse weather conditions to thwart my carefully laid plans.

Actual weather at go time. Meanwhile, inside was pleasant and wind-free!

 At least, not yet. There was still an afternoon tempo to contend with, and the frigid winds showed no signs of abating. Time to go home, recover, and plot my next move... 

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(Triple digit!) Week in Review

101 miles
12 runs
15-mile long run
3 runs in Pittsburgh
9 avocados

For the first time since October, I finally broke the century barrier this week--and actually felt good doing it! Maybe there's something to this whole "gradual progression" business. It helped that the weather was much milder, and that I found a great park and nice rail trail while traveling for work in Pittsburgh mid-week. I punctuated the week with an epic fall on the Lincoln trails at Walden Pond on Sunday, but it was still well worth the time spent with friends and a final run with Terry before he and Carly move later next week.

Speaking of next week, I decided today (possibly in a thirst-induced daze at the end of our challenging trail run) to sign up for the Yankee Homecoming 10 Miler in Newburyport on Tuesday night. I'm definitely not race ready, but the prize money goes four deep and I think/hope it's a bit out of the way for most of the metro area's heavy hitters. This wouldn't be an entirely big deal except for the fact that I'm also committed to the Beverly Yankee Homecoming 5k on Thursday night, a race I won last year which boasts exactly zero prize money but does come with hometown bragging rights. Considering how fatigued and wobbly my legs felt at the end of today's effort, I'll need a miraculous turnaround between now and Tuesday if I want to turn in any halfway respectable times. Either way, next week is sure to bring opportunities for future fitness gains!

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Week in Review

95 miles
5 doubles
1 road race disaster
16-mile long run success
4 AFDs

This week was the ultimate test of mental and physical fortitude, as the relentless heat wave continued to grip the Northeast with absolutely no mercy. The weather finally broke late Saturday night, but until that point every run felt like a death march. 

No more acutely was this emphasized than at Saturday's Seacoast Seven, a road race in Gloucester that I'd scouted online because it was less than 30 minutes from our house and promised prize money (though how much was uncertain, apparently not worth mention on the race web site). But even as Jordan and I warmed up at Stage Fort Park early Saturday morning, I knew it was a bad idea. The mercury was already well past 80 with humidity to match, and the course that was billed online as "challenging" proved to be "hilly as sh@#" within the first 400 meters. I found myself in a comfortable lead that began to grow increasingly less comfortable as the race progressed--sure enough, as I came to a complete standstill at the 4-mile water stop to douse myself, I began to see spots. I had no choice but to take a break for a few minutes and regain my composure, watching helplessly as two other women (one wearing Nike Tempo shorts?!?--shoot me) trotted past. I asked a nearby race official if there were a shortcut back to the finish, having already thrown in the proverbial towel, and was assured there was not. So I started jogging, deciding a few miles later to cross the finish line only because there might be prize money for third place and I might be able to at least win back my entry fee. Fortunately this proved to be true, and though I hardly deserved it I've already deposited the $50 check.

In sharp contrast, Sunday's group long run was an absolute delight. Jordan and I drove to Harvard and met Terry, Emily, Hilary Dionne (2:39 at this year's Boston), Irish Kevin and several other BAA runners for a relaxed jaunt along the river, across the Emerald Necklace, around the Arboretum and back. With the temperature "only" in the upper 70s at midday we were quite comfortable, and despite this being my longest run in months there were only a few sections where I found myself struggling. I may not be getting fit just yet, but I'm slowly getting stronger. For now that's enough.

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Half-Marathon Boot Camp: Workout #3, or "30k For Emily's 30th"

Target: 30 min. easy, 30 min. tempo, 30 min. steady, 10x30 secs. hard for 30k total
Actual: 35 min. easy, 30 min. tempo @6 min. pace, 30 min. jogging around looking for Terry, 30 min. steady @~6:20 pace, 5 min. easy for 30k total

For her 30th birthday, Emily wanted to do something epic. Or, at minimum, epically symbolic. So after her initial plan of running the entire Boston course was scrapped due to, well, common sense, we enlisted Jordan to come up with something long and challenging but still fun and manageable, all in honor of the milestone of entering one's 30th year of life on this earth. He came up with the target workout above, which looked daunting enough on paper (especially considering it would be my longest run since Philly and my third workout in six days). Fortunately, Emily recruited others to join and help dissipate the suffering, including her former college teammate Christina and a rare joint appearance of Carly and Terry (made possible by Emily's mom, in town for the b-day celebration, virtually leaping at the chance to play surrogate grandmother for a few hours).

The group assembled at Emily's just after 9am, eager to get the run underway and even more eager to finish it up so we could return to a brunch feast that Emily's husband Matt had been slaving away over all morning. In fact, the toughest part of the run was forcing ourselves out the door with the tantalizing scent of fresh coffee and rising frittata wafting down the hallway behind us. Once out the door, however, we fell into a relaxed rhythm on the bike path in the direction of the arboretum. I'd never run there before, and in hindsight I'm glad that was the case, because if I'd known in advance how hilly it was I probably never would've agreed to run the entire tempo portion there. But from a logistical perspective it made perfect sense, since we could all work out at our own appropriate paces and still start and finish together. We prepared to pick it up, agreeing to meet back at our starting point 30 minutes later, and then set off to tackle what would be the toughest part of the run (even more difficult than leaving the kitchen behind, as it turned out). Almost immediately our group split into three natural pairings: myself and Jordan, Emily and Carly, Terry and Christina. As the two most unfamiliar with the territory, Jordan and I made a few wrong turns and came to a few dead ends before settling into a reliable loop, and as a result somehow ended up running the opposite direction as everyone else. This actually ended up being helpful for me, as I knew that every few minutes I would pass Carly and Emily, then Terry and Christina, and no matter how badly I was hurting I couldn't allow myself to get completely dropped at the risk of embarrassing myself in front of them. (That said, my increasingly pained facial expressions couldn't have done much in the way of making a good impression). Our pace fluctuated wildly, dictated by the undulating terrain, and every time we trudged up one particularly grueling hill I felt sure that  mile couldn't be faster than eight minutes. These are the times when I'm glad I don't wear a Garmin. Sometimes it's better not to know.

Somehow, I kept it together for 30 minutes, and shortly after finishing we were rejoined by Carly and Emily. Certain that Terry and Christina were close behind--after all, I'd just seen them less than 10 minutes prior--we dawdled around a bit near our meeting point, finally starting to jog in the direction from which we'd come after standing around became unbearably cold. Fully expecting to see them approaching at any minute, none of us were initially alarmed, but as the minutes ticked by it became clear that they simply weren't there. While I wasn't necessarily worried, I was definitely perplexed. If I know one truth to be constant, it is that Terry never, ever deviates from a plan. If we said to meet back in 30 minutes, he'd be there at 29:55 with a detailed mile-by-mile itinerary for the rest of our run. And yet, inexplicably, he wasn't there.

After another few miles of jogging around the arboretum, we agreed that the only logical explanation was that they'd somehow, for some reason, decided to forego the meeting and head back to Emily's. (Perhaps they were hoping to get a jump on the brunch buffet.) We'd already been on our feet for over 90 minutes and were growing more chilled with each step, so the only logical course of action was for us to do the same. Carly, clearly worried, began to pick up the pace. ("I hope he didn't have a heart attack," she said at one point, only half joking. I resisted the urge to respond with, "Don't worry; we would've heard the ambulance." Somehow I doubted that would provide much comfort.) Before I knew it, we'd crested the two-hour mark and were running uncomfortably close to my previous tempo pace--fortunately on a flat bike path this time, but my legs didn't seem to register much appreciation of this nuance.

Finally, mercifully, the run came to an end, and with it the discovery of nothing but good news: 30k was surpassed, Terry was fine (and somehow hadn't even heard the original "meet back in 30 minutes" plan), none of us received a parking ticket and at long last it was time to eat our collective body weight in brunch. Happy birthday, Emily!  

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Week in Review, or "That Time I Ate a Donut in the Middle of a Long Run"

85 miles
3 doubles
3 runs in Boston
3 runs with Emily

This post could've just as easily been titled "That Time I Ran 386 Laps Around the Harvard Parking Lot with the BAA," or "That Time Emily and I Found Out We Aren't As Out of Shape as We Thought." All three of these monikers are equally accurate, and all three effectively comprise the main takeaways from this week's key runs:

Sunday morning: 15-15.5 miles easy on the Boston Marathon course from Cleveland Circle with the BAA ladies (plus Jordan). About an hour into the run, the group had splintered into a handful of different groups, leaving Jordan and Emily and I standing in front of a Dunkin' Donuts somewhere in Newton. What can I say? Nature took its course, and the next thing I know the three of us were passing around a dense, gooey, double chocolatey frostedy donut while still running. It may have gotten a little messy, but no worse than when I clumsily try to rip open a gel packet during a race (and far tastier). Heartbreak Hill didn't stand a chance thanks to the ensuing sugar rush.

Saturday morning: ~13 mile progression run with a huge BAA crew around...the Harvard parking lot. Or, technically, the "Sheatock loop," so named for (or by, or both) the BAA's fearless leaders Carly and Terry. Given that the river path wasn't remotely frozen I'm still unclear as to why we insisted on spinning like an army of deranged hamsters around a 1200-meter loop, but at any rate the company was worth it.

Wednesday night:   
2 mile w/u
Target: 6x1000 w/1:30 jog @3:35 (5:45/mile pace); 4x500 @faster w/1:30 jog
Actual: 6x1000 @3:33, 3:31, 3:25, 3:26, 3:24, 3:21; 4x500 @1:39, 1:41, 1:38, 1:39
1.5 mile c/d
Total: 8.5 miles

Jordan pulled Emily and I through this workout on the Sheatock loop, and I think it's safe to say all of us were pleasantly surprised at how well it went considering we were basically dodging cars in the dark in the middle of a glorified parking lot. Excluding a baby fartlek last week I haven't worked out in over a month, and as per usual Emily claimed to be "terribly out of shape" after an extended trip home for the holidays. Fortunately we were able to average 5:30-5:40 pace on the 1000's with relative ease; only when I transitioned into the 500's at the end did I feel the telltale ragged breathing and burning legs that signify a dip into uncomfortably difficult territory. During one of our recovery jogs, Emily made me vow to hold her accountable and guilt her into working out for the remainder of the winter. It's always worth it once we're out here, she added. Tonight was a great start.     

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Week in Review

32 miles
3 days off
14 miles at Battle Road
1 AFD (new record!)

Autumn at Battle Road

I probably shouldn't have run 14 miles today, but there was great company (Jordan, Terry, Jenn and a BAA crew) and a great venue (the always pleasing Battle Road) and, well, the loop is 14 miles. I could've turned around by myself at the five-mile mark before the Great Meadow section, but what's the fun in that? However, by the final 30 minutes my legs were screaming righteous indignation and my hamstrings felt tighter than at any point during last Sunday's marathon. I need a day off and a massage, both of which are in the plan for tomorrow. And hey, if these are my biggest gripes one week removed from Philly, I can't really complain.

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Eight By Mile By Moonlight

2.5 mile w/u
Target: 8xmile w/1 min. rest: 2x5:50, 2x5:40,2x5:35, 2x5:30
Actual: 5:47, 5:48, 5:38, 5:39, 5:37, 5:36, 5:34, 5:32
0.5 mile c/d
Total: 11 miles

Actually, there wasn't much moonlight. I just liked the alliteration. In reality, this evening was just as drizzly and cloudy and gloomy as the handful that have preceded it. The only bright spot was a metaphorical one, the opportunity to work out with a strong contingent of BAA ladies. For the first time in many months, I made the trek down to Harvard for the Wednesday night workout and ended up being incredibly glad I did. This lengthy but not particularly fast workout, which looked benign enough on paper, ended up being a bit of a grind. I suppose that mentally I was flashing back to the last time I did mile repeats on this track, a cool spring evening almost six months ago when I'd clicked off six repeats with two minutes rest and averaged around 5:20. Never mind that I'd been at the peak of my spring fitness and running significantly less weekly volume; in my mind, running just two more intervals at a significantly slower pace should be a breeze.

In summary: it wasn't. But with a little help from my friends, I got through it.

For the first two intervals, I jumped in with a group that was running 1200 repeats. Unsure of what 5:50 pace was supposed to feel like, I tucked in at the back of the pack and hoped we would settle into a rhythm. Instead our first few laps were all over the place, resulting in me overcompensating and inadvertently splitting an 81 last lap to ultimately finish ahead of schedule in 5:47. That may not have been the smartest move on my part, but I reasoned that I'd rather be a few seconds ahead than a few seconds behind. (Easy to say at that point.) Emily and Hilary--the girl who gave me a good throttling at 13.1 Boston a few weeks ago--entered the workout at the start of the third interval and immediately picked up the pace. For the next several repeats I found myself a good 20 meters behind Emily with Hilary equidistant between us, but fortunately there were plenty of other girls around to help me settle in and not get discouraged. I was quickly learning that the term "one minute recovery" was somewhat of an oxymoron, and as we progressed through the workout like clockwork my legs grew increasingly heavy.

By this point, the track was almost completely dark save for the ambient light spilling over from the adjacent soccer fields. (Apparently one of the richest institutions in the country does not have an endowment dedicated to lighting its outdoor track facilities, or at the very least its track alums are not as beneficent as its soccer alums.) Most of the other girls had departed for their cooldown, leaving just Emily, Hilary and myself with the always trusty Terry holding the stopwatch. Unlike the previous intervals, I actually led off for the first lap of this one and stuck close to the girls until they pulled away on the final straightaway. Hilary, less than two weeks removed from her goal marathon, was finished at this point--as were my legs. Had Emily suggested bagging the final repeat I would've struggled to find a reason to demur, but instead I found myself to agreeing to trade off leading each lap. Both of us were obviously laboring--myself clearly more so--but when your training partner is putting forth such a team effort there's really no justification for giving up. 

Overall, I'm pleased with completing the workout but a bit disappointed that I wasn't able to achieve the desired progression. My average was probably right on, but instead of overachieving on the first half it would've been nice to feel strong clicking off low- or sub-5:30s through the second half. Regardless, I have no doubt I'll reap tangible fitness gains from both the pace and volume of this workout.

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Second Verse, Same As the First

2 mile w/u
Target: 5.5 miles @6:00-5:55 pace; 6 min. jog/rest; 5.5 miles @5:55-5:50 pace
Actual: 5.5 miles @32:30ish; 6 min. jog/rest; 2.5 miles @14:40ish
3+ mile c/d
Total: 14 miles

Two weekends ago, fresh off an extended trip to the left coast and a restless redeye flight, I dragged Jordan down to the Charles to join Jenn, Emily and some BAA dudes for what was intended to be a 12-mile tempo effort. Due to my general state of exhaustion and a gravely necessary bathroom break, that workout ended up morphing into something slightly less intense and significantly less impressive. This morning, with Jenn already planning to maintain a faster pace (5:50 was advertised as opposed to 6:00 like the previous run), I knew that even without a built-in jet lag excuse I wouldn't be able to hang on for 12 miles faster than my half-marathon PR. Instead, I planned to stop at essentially the same location where I made my bathroom detour last time, as this was almost exactly at 5.5 miles and would thus allow for a delightfully long recovery segment before the group turned around and caught back up with me. Hopefully by that time I'd feel refreshed enough to tuck in and tough it out for the remainder of the workout.

Within a few minutes of starting the warmup, however, I could tell the conditions would be adversarial. Unlike the cool, calm, overcast morning that greeted us several weekends ago, today the already-prominent sun radiated a dense, sticky heat. A warm wind whipped off the water, making it immediately obvious that we'd have to battle its gusts for several miles of both halves of the u-shaped run route. Don't get me wrong; things could've been much worse. In fact, for any purpose other than attempting a hard workout it was by all measures a beautiful morning. But these were hardly the weather conditions I'd pick to race a half-marathon, which is essentially what we'd be doing. 

As 8:00 approached, so did a trickle of runners to our meeting point from virtually every direction. By go time there were almost a dozen of us, mostly the usual suspects and including our favorite baby daddy Terry Shea. On his suggestion, I joined him and Emily for a 15-second head start on the group. Quite simply, neither she nor I wanted (or really needed) to hit 5:50 pace right out of the gate on a run of this length, especially since she was contemplating extending even farther beyond 12 miles. Instead Terry led us out in a calm, comfortable 6:05-6:10 (not sure the exact split as I intentionally avoided glancing at my watch) at which point we were absorbed by the chase group as planned. From that point onward I focused on settling in and locking my eyes on Jordan's back just as I've done countless times before. Jenn was situated at my left and seemed quite comfortable, but I could hear Emily breathing harder than normal just behind me. It clearly wasn't a fitness issue, seeing as she crushed me in the original workout two weeks ago, but for whatever reason I could tell that she was struggling to find her rhythm. The miles clicked by, and before I knew it we rounded the bridge that signaled the approach of the 5.5 marker. I slowed and trotted to the side as planned and was not entirely surprised when Em did the same. It wasn't her day and she knew it, so rather than force the issue she was content to jog with me for a few minutes and then shut things down. Emily is smarter about listening to her body than almost any runner I know, so I didn't question her decision. (Though I would definitely miss her company on the second half!) 

I shuffled along for a few more minutes until I could see the group approaching in the distance. At that point it was time for me to refocus and, unlike in the first segment, commit to pushing past my comfort zone. My breathing to that point had been surprisingly calm and relaxed but my legs were heavy. (As well they should have been, as I'd already logged over 90 miles since Monday.) I felt sure of my ability to lock into 6-minute pace or even 5:55, but if Jordan stepped on the gas like last time I'd be toast. Steady as clockwork, the group materialized around the bend behind me and I seamlessly fell in line. This time it was Jenn whose breathing sounded increasingly ragged, and every step we took into the wind seemed to sap a bit more of her strength. I, too, began to fall off the boys but was still maintaining some semblance of the intended pace, so when Jenn and a few others decided to stop at eight miles I continued onward for a few more uncomfortable minutes. I tried to stay focused on the backs of the guys in front of me (even as those backs grew increasingly more distant), but after one more mile I knew I was almost in the red. The heat, the wind, the dead legs--it was all too much to allow me to finish the entire distance feeling as strong and confident as I'd hoped. Instead I waited for Jenn to approach so we could commiserate and cool down side by side. It wasn't our best workout ever, but that certainly doesn't discount the effort or the fitness gains attained.

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(Down) Week in Review

81-82 miles
10 runs
14-mile long run
0 Frappuccinos (saddest stat of the week)
5 pieces of new furniture (happiest stat of the week) 

Q: How do you make 80 miles feel like a walk in the park?
A: Do 100 first.

Seriously, I've done plenty of 80-mile weeks in my life, but none of them have felt as relaxed or, well, easy as this one. Maintaining a high-mileage mindset for a month involves seeking out every opportunity to tack on an extra warm-up mile here or a stride there; in contrast, every day this week I found myself forcing self-control. "How far do I think I should run today?" I'd ask myself as I stepped outside. "Now, do less." As I was enjoying a relaxed long run today at Battle Road with Terry Shea and another BAA guy, Alex, I commented that it really is quite amazing how quickly one's body can adapt to a routine. In my case, that routine has been running (or at least striving to run) triple digits every week. In his case, the recent birth of his new son (who, much to my relief and his, is legit adorable and does not in any way resemble an alien), has made 30-40 miles feel pretty darn respectable. For obviously different reasons, both of us have found breaking out of that newfound mold to be a bit of a challenge.

In my case, however, I was determined to make the most of the decreased mileage and actually take some time to do all the things I simply can't squeeze in when trying to run a ton and work a full-time job. I stretched, did core, got a massage and even took a yoga class. (To be fair, the latter took very little initiative on my part as an instructor from a local studio came and taught a class in our office one day. But still, I attended and I downward dogged my little heart out.) I made sure to get plenty of sleep and even took a nap (on our new couch!) on Saturday. As far as down weeks go, I'd say this was one of the most successful and purposeful ones I've ever undertaken.

That said, it's time to get back to business. With my parents visiting next weekend and plenty of Olympic viewing on tap, I'll need to frontload this week in a serious way. I hope to get a good start on this by kicking things off with a two-hour run tomorrow morning before work. (Because if I type it on this blog and hit "publish," the statistical chances of this goal coming to fruition instantly increase by a good 50%. True story.) If I can double Monday through Thursday I'll definitely be on track to hit my goal--though not necessarily setting myself up for a noteworthy 5k performance on Thursday night--and will then be able to approach the weekend with a significantly decreased sense of urgency. So Dad, if you're reading this, no worries--I don't plan on ambushing you with a 20+ miler on Saturday! (But bring a few gels just in case.)

Time to rest up and get ready for another busy week ahead!

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Harvard Track Mile Repeats

2.5 mile w/u + strides
Target: 6xmile @5:20 avg. w/2 mins. rest
Actual: 5:23, 5:24, 5:19, 5:19, 5:21, 5:21
2.5 mile c/d
Total: 11-11.5 miles

Just as Jordan and I were debating several undesirable options for our Wednesday track workout--Crack of dawn at the Village track? Push our limits with a two-hour lunch break? Wait until after work and race the sunset?--my inbox pinged with an email from Terry. Turns out one of the BAA workout groups would be doing 5xmile, which was almost identical to the 6xmile that Jordan had suggested for me. The decision was simple. Less than 24 hours later we hit the road from Beverly into Boston, Jordan's newly arrived mom in tow, hoping we could avoid rush hour traffic and drop her off at a coffee shop or some other pleasant diversion while still making it to the workout on time. Miraculously, all of the above happened relatively smoothly, and at 6am on the dot we were ready to rock and roll.

After a leisurely warmup and costume change, the group assembled on the track. It quickly became apparent that while there were several dozen other athletes preparing to work out, very few of them would actually be doing the exact same regimen as me. Specifically, Jordan would be assuming his standard role of queenmaker for me and Emily while Melissa jumped in and out for several 400-meter repeats, but other than that we were on our own. To be honest, that didn't make things all that much different than if we'd hung back and done the workout at home, but just feeling the group energy and positive buzz was enough to convince us we'd made the right decision by coming down.

For the first two intervals, everything felt ridiculously easy as Emily and I naturally fell into a single file line behind Jordan. Even from the early stages I could tell her breathing was labored--turns out she preferred to spend her recent European vacation frolicking around exotic locales and eating exotic pastries instead of slaving away at the banality of hitting mileage goals--but talent like hers doesn't go away overnight. Sticking close to my side, she and I both tucked in behind Jordan and let him set the metronomic pace. Once the splits dropped to sub-5:20 on interval #3, my comfort level immediately dissipated. As crazy as it sounds, 5:24 felt like an absolute jog while 5:19 immediately felt like a sprint. Emily, too, was tiring quickly, but gamely stuck around through interval #4 even after initially planning to drop after #3. She's so tough, and I know the time will come sooner than later when I'll be seeing nothing but her back during sessions like these.


With two intervals to go, it was down to Jordan and myself with Terry at the watch. The wind began to gain strength as the rain that had threatened finally began to fall in sharp, angry droplets. This was the point in the workout when I'd envisioned triumphantly surging ahead and powering away to sub-5:15 splits...instead, I struggled to hang on to something resembling 5:20. The final few laps were particularly ugly, and though those splits were nothing impressive I can assure you that I gave it everything I had.

Putting things in perspective, tonight's 5:21 average was identical to three weeks ago when Jordan led me through mile repeats on the Beverly High track, only tonight I did two more intervals and took a minute less rest between each. Though I was disappointed in my inability to close out today's workout with some faster splits, overall this effort was clearly superior to the previous one and indicative of my ever-increasing fitness. I hope this translates into a respectable performance at the New Balance Twilight 10k next weekend.

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Charles River Tempo Run with the BAA

2.5 mile w/u
Target: 6-7 miles uptempo; first 4 easy with group then pick it up
Actual: 6:35ish, 6:20ish, 6:08, 6:08, 5:52, 5:56, 5:36
3 mile c/d + strides
Total: ~13 miles

As is becoming fairly routine for Saturday morning when I'm not out of town, I met up with Terry and Carly and a solid BAA contingent at the Harvard track. I was pleasantly surprised to also see Teresa for the first time since her kick-ass 10k at Stanford, and was also glad to finally be formally introduced to Caitlin's good friend Liz. After a relaxed warmup filled with stories and conversation, the morning was already off to a great start.

Trotting back over to the starting point of our familiar 4.2-mile loop, I'd already decided to tuck in for the first few miles since I knew some girls wanted a conservative pace. (As a side note, multiple people have told me that this is the "slow" tempo loop on the river as opposed to a different, faster course that the BAA also sometimes uses. All I know is I've joined them at least a dozen times and we've never once worked out on the "fast" loop. Terry, I know you're reading this--stop holding out on me!) Teresa felt the same, seeing as she's fighting a troublesome hip and attempting her first workout since Stanford, so we just settled in at the rear and spent the first few miles chatting. I could already tell that all of us felt worlds better than when we'd done a similar tempo two weekends ago (which was so abysmal I didn't even bother to blog about it), and just knowing that gave me the confidence to hold back early and save up for a strong finish.


I should also mention one other factor that led to me restraining myself today. After several weeks of waiting, I found out yesterday that I was accepted into the 10k field at the Penn Relays next Thursday (yes, five days from now). Jordan and I will already be there on Karhu business, so I reached out to the meet director with the mindset that I had nothing to lose by using this as a rustbuster in preparation for next month's BAA Twilight meet. Now that I'm officially in, I'll need to strike a careful balance over the next few days of still striving for fitness gains while not overdoing it so I can be fresh come Thursday night.


Back to the tempo and the start of the second loop: at this point our group began to string out a bit, with Teresa and I naturally taking up the charge. I felt a little strained but overall still comfortable opening up my legs a bit with Teresa. Considering that she just ran 32:50 for 10k a few weeks ago, I fully understand that I wouldn't have any hopes of staying with her on a normal workout, but today I had a lot of fun trying (and failing miserably) to emulate her form and match her long, loping strides. Opting for only six miles, she pulled away from me midway through the second mile of this loop and powered to the finish. At this point I was surprised to see Melissa Nash, another BAA girl, sticking close and then sprinting around me to finish her own six miles quite strong. I was definitely hurting now, but I also knew the third mile of the loop was the fastest and would offer me a gentle tailwind. I pushed as hard as I could for the next five minutes and was rewarded with a 5:36 final mile. I'll take it.


The hard part over, I continued jogging the loop until I met up with Carly and we finished up the run together. A few more laps on the track with Terry, a few strides and then it was time to enjoy breakfast and the beginning of a relaxing weekend at home.

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Harvard Track with the BAA

2+ mile w/u + strides
Target: 6-8x1k starting @3:25 and working down w/1:45 rest
Actual: 3:24, 3:23, 3:22, 3:21, 3:18, 3:17; 4x200m @~33
2+ mile c/d
Total: 10 miles

In a rare case of the stars aligning, I was able to leave work a few minutes early and join in on a BAA track practice. Last weekend Terry and I had floated the idea of trying to sync up a workout with Brett, and we were able to peer pressure Emily into joining us with relative ease. All day long I found my body humming with that familiar feeling of nervous excitement usually only experienced leading up to a late-night race; this time I attributed it to being both apprehensive about stepping onto the track, which I rarely do, and giddy over the prospect of doing so with other women, which probably hasn't happened since the last time Caitlin and I took to the oval at least a year ago. As the afternoon wore on, however, my nervousness morphed into being less about the task at hand and more about the impending weather. Sure enough, by the time I pulled up to the Harvard track a few minutes before 6:00, the wind had picked up to a brisk 20 mph and ominous clouds were beginning to block the sun.

As our group embarked on a slow warmup loop, it became apparent that despite my fervent hopes to the contrary the wind was going to be a significant factor. The Harvard track is completely exposed and breezy even on the calmest of days; this evening, the home stretch was so gusty it was almost comical. Fortunately, running a 1000-meter interval meant that we could intentionally stage the start and finish to have three straights with the wind at our backs and two with it in our faces; unfortunately both curves were windy enough that it was pretty much a wash. With three of us running together, the plan was to alternate leading one entire interval at a time, ideally limiting (and spacing out) the number of laps when each of us would have to face the gusts head-on. Even if this wouldn't make a huge difference physically, the mental reprieve was almost more important.

From the start, Brett got us settled in perfectly on pace. She's just a few weeks back into workouts after taking down time due to a hip injury, but from tonight's effort you would hardly know it. Similarly, Emily was attempting sub-6 minute pace for the first time since a mini-retirement last month, but of course fell into step seamlessly. We came through the finish line in 3:24, then had just enough time to jog the remaining 200 and shed our long sleeve layers before assembling for the start of interval two. This time it was my turn to lead, and I was blown away (pun acknowledged) by how much more noticeable the wind was from this vantage point. Emily took us through the third rep significantly quicker thanks to a 77-second first lap (during which she apparently construed my "settle down, Em" comment to actually mean quite the opposite), and we continued to hit the desired splits for our target progression. All the while the sky continued to darken and the winds swirled ever stronger, making it hard to hear Terry calling out our 800 splits despite passing within only a few meters of him. By the start of the sixth interval I think each of us were convinced this would be our last repeat at this distance, though none of us said so. Emily solidified it by taking things out hard and distancing herself by at least five meters on the second lap, by the end of which we were all simply tired of battling the weather.

Looking to Terry for guidance, he suggested we do some on/off 200s to get in a bit more speed and distance while letting the wind help us along for a change. I expected each "on" split to be somewhere around 36, but instead the tailwind propelled me forward at a much quicker pace. I surprised myself by feeling faster and stronger during these short segments than any time in recent memory--and, honestly, I could've gone faster had the goal been to run all out as opposed to just opening up the legs. Physically and mentally, this was undoubtedly a more encouraging way to close the workout than battling through two more 1000s.

In short, despite the adverse conditions I'm really glad I made the trip into the city. I can't guarantee I'll be able to come every Wednesday, but I want to make a conscious effort to join at least a few times a month when my work and travel schedule permits. The teamwork and comradery of a group effort such as this is something I haven't been a part of in a long time. It definitely made what would've been a frustrating effort into something rewarding and enjoyable.

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Week in Review/Weekend Review

90 miles
4 doubles
7 days at home (!!)
16 miles with Jay
4 AFDs

All week long I'd been waffling about my plans for a Saturday workout. I briefly entertained the idea of doing a four-miler with prize money, but the relatively small purse in relation to the amount of driving required made my ambition wane with each passing day. Similarly, a solo hard effort on one of the same loops I do every single morning held little appeal. Then I received a passing message from Jay saying that he and Josh (two of the three J's, for those of you who remember my male escorts from last weekend's half-marathon) and another friend from NYC were contemplating a whirlwind trip to Boston to check out the race course. Naturally I jotted down a quick email to Terry, and naturally he wrote back with minute-by-minute bulletpoints of exactly how everything was going to go down. I'm learning to expect nothing less from this master logician--I'm not sure if that's a word, but in my mind it means a magician of logistics, which is precisely what he is--but he then proceeded to go above and beyond by not only planning their entire trip, but facilitating it. He offered to pick them up from the train station, drive them midway down the course, drop them off, park the car farther toward the city, run a few miles with them to talk race strategy, then pick them up at the finish line. With such an overwhelming outpouring of generosity from someone who didn't even know them, I felt like the least I could do was join in on the action. The fact that this offered me a convenient excuse for avoiding the previously outlined workout options was just a bonus.

That said, I still harbored some intentions of tempoing part of the run. In the end, that idea sort of fell to pieces thanks to the weather--drizzly, at times sleety and into a direct headwind--and the brisk pace established practically from the outset. Though Jay insisted that all three of the boys were looking for a "really easy run," I suppose the excitement and emotions of the course got the best of them. After an initial mile hovering around the 7-minute mark we immediately dropped into the 6:40s. It wasn't difficult, but I knew it wasn't exactly 7:30 pace either. After eight miles of this comfortably hard running I attempted to launch into an uptempo section, only to split a rather underwhelming 11:45 for two miles (one of which was considerably downhill). About 400 meters into my half-hearted third mile I encountered the one tricky interstate crossing on the entire marathon course, and several frustrating stop-and-go minutes were all I needed to pull the plug on the entire thing. Less than a minute later I ran into Terry coming from the other direction, so we turned around and jogged back to the rest of the guys before soldiering on together to the Newton hills. From this point onward I felt pretty horrendous and almost got dropped several times on Heartbreak--although it does make me feel better to subsequently learn that we split sub-6:30 on this extremely tough mile--and when I had the choice a mile later to either stop at the car with Terry or continue on to the finish line, I didn't hesitate. I'd covered almost 16.5 miles in 1:48, quick enough to count for something even if it wasn't quite the "workout" I'd envisioned. Even better, of course, was the chance to spend time with Terry and Jay and his friends and relish some of the exhilaration that is Boston in marathon month, even when it is a cold and soggy and entirely unromantic day.

Sunday, in contrast, dawned beautifully sunny and clear. After dropping Jordan at the airport for his weeklong trip to the Carolinas, I traveled back in the same direction I'd come from the previous day to meet some of my BAA friends for a group run starting at Brett's house in Natick. She and Matt live steps away from some great soft surface options that weave through Natick and Wellesley and the surrounding areas, and the miles fell away easily thanks to the easy chatter and group comradery. At the 90 minute mark Matt split back for the house with Jenn and Justin, which left Brett, Carly, Emily and I with a beautiful and scenic wooded loop around historic Wellesley College. As we passed within yards of where the marathon course will cross in just two weeks time, it was utterly impossible to imagine this quiet reverence shattered by hundreds of screaming voices and cacophonous shouts. I guess it's one of those things you can't truly imagine until you witness it. Today the only voices heard were ours as we trotted together back to Brett's house. For the next few hours we over-ate a delicious homemade breakfast (most of us), drank fancy beer (only some of us) and had a great time socializing (all of us). As per usual, this is my favorite part of the Sunday long run!

Looking back on this week as a whole, I only logged a few more miles than last week, this time on 11 runs instead of eight. There was no great strategy involved there--although I'd be interested in hearing the arguments from either side on why one approach is better than the other--rather, I was just following the mandates of my schedule. Last week I was traveling and working long hours but with later start times, while this week I was back in the typical office routine of early mornings and relatively early evenings. I had plenty of time to double at night, so I did. Next week promises more of the same uneventfulness (not that I'm complaining!), so I'll likely adopt a similar schedule. I continue to feel stronger and fitter every day, which means I just need to keep doing what I'm doing!

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