16x300 (Moderate) Success

Noon: 3.5 miles easy
PM: 4k w/u
Target: 16x300m: first 4 in 60, next 4 in 59, next 4 in 58, next 4 in 57 all w/35-40 sec. jog (100m)
Actual: (58, 60, 60, 61); (59, 57, 59, 59); (57, 57, 56, 57); (55, 56, 56, 55) all w/33-36 sec. jog
2k c/d
Total: ~7.5 miles
Daily total: 11 miles

A mere 48 hours later, Jordan and I found ourselves back at the Beverly High track for another, shorter speed session. I've done variations of this workout before, and it's always the same: on paper it looks so simple--"80-second quarter pace with a nice recovery jog in between? Piece of cake!"--but inevitably I end up struggling. The kicker is that the "nice recovery jog" ends up feeling mercilessly short by halfway through the workout, while at the same time the interval pace is (supposed to be) gradually getting faster.

Fortunately, and due in no small part to a healthy tailwind on the back straightaway, this went fine. Jordan kept the recovery far more honest than I would've on my own, but aerobically I almost always felt recovered after 30 seconds. My legs didn't have enough pop to really pick it up on the last segment, but after Wednesday's mile repeats I wouldn't expect them to. Given my previous challenges with this type of workout, I'm satisfied with today's effort.

Read More

Back to the Track

AM: 8k easy
PM: 5k w/u
6xmile w/2 mins. jog in 5:40, 5:35, 5:33, 5:30, 5:28, 5:25
Actual: 5:40, 5:34, 5:32, 5:28, 5:29, 5:24
2 mile c/d
Total: 11 miles
Daily total: 16 miles

After a few days of stellar runs in DC, including a strong 15-miler on Monday, I returned home on Tuesday night after multiple delays to dreary, cold, rainy Boston weather. Plenty of other areas of the country seem to be celebrating spring, but New England clearly hasn't gotten the memo.

That said, thanks to the time change and clearing skies, I was able to hit the Beverly High track after work on Wednesday wearing shorts (and gloves...but I'll take baby steps) and with plenty of daylight. The plan was to start out conservatively, around 15k pace, then gradually work down to nearly 5k pace by the end. Jordan planned to tow me through each interval and then continue running while I jogged 200 meters before joining forces again. As we took off on our first lap, he mentioned that he "might" have me lead alternating laps "for the first few intervals." Little did I know this actually meant I would "definitely" be leading alternating laps "the entire time," which proved increasingly difficult as the workout progressed and the wind intensified on the backstretch. Still, we hit or exceeded all of the splits (while Jordan maintained the pace continuously--impressive!) and finished up near 7pm in relative daylight. In my book that constitutes a win on all counts.

Read More

Week in Review

77 miles
3 doubles
6x10 mins. core
4 runs on the YMCA treadmill
2 days in DC

A week that started off bitterly cold and snowy finished all sunshine and smiles in DC. I ran an 8k PR, walked about a million miles and spent some quality time with friends and family. I've got a few more days to play tourist before I reluctantly return to my normal life on Tuesday night. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to a rare treat tomorrow: the Monday morning long run! I plan to show Dad and Tim my favorite "secret" running spot, Teddy Roosevelt's Island, and then continue on for a loop that will likely retrace my steps from my last long run here. I can't wait!

MRN + JRB = best friends since 4th grade! Always great to see Julie when I'm in DC.

Nedlos on our tour of the Capitol, which did not get canceled. I cannot say the same about our planned tour of the White House. #sequestersucks

Mother-daughter pic. Coordinating colors = 1/2 coincidence, 1/2 intuition.

Read More

St. Patty's Day 8k Race Recap

4 mile w/u + strides
Target: 8k @27:45 or faster
Actual: 27:42; 2nd place female
Results
4 mile c/d
Total: 13 miles

I've widely stated my view that DC is the best urban running scene in the country, and this race is a great example of that point. For a few hours on a beautiful, crisp, clear Sunday morning, the most important street in the world was closed down just so I (and about 6,000 other people) could enjoy the privilege of toeing the line to a breathtaking view of our United States Capitol building at sunrise. 

In an unprecedented turn of events, I was actually in DC not for work but for--dare I say it--a Nedlo family vacation. My parents, along with dad's running partner Tim and wife Pam, were touring the District for spring break, and it took little convincing to persuade me to join them for a few days. Given my affinity for and familiarity with the area, I was happy to act as the de facto tour guide and share some of my favorite sights/sites. The fact that the St. Patty's Day 8k would be taking place the same weekend was just an added bonus. As it happens, I was in town the same weekend two years ago and not only ran the 8k but also the Four Courts Four Miler the day before. (And, in a completely unrelated coincidence, developed a wicked case of ITBS the day after.) I briefly entertained the idea of pulling the double again this year, but luckily nature intervened in the form of another delightful spring snowstorm and postponed my Friday night flight to Saturday morning. Fortunately I arrived to DC at noon on Saturday and was greeted with perfectly clear blue skies and temperatures in the low 60s--perfect for soaking up the sun and touring around the Mall all afternoon. I capped off the night with a quick trip to Jilane's and a visit to Ted's Bulletin for a few of their homemade pop tarts before returning to my parents' hotel and settling in for the night.

Blueberry cheesecake, peanut butter bacon, Nutella mint...so many tasty options!

Like the previous day, race morning dawned with the promise of clear blue skies and perfectly crisp temperatures. I jogged down to Freedom Plaza, location of the start and finish area, and literally the first person I bumped into was fellow Charlotte expat and former CRC member Brian McMahon. We chatted for a few minutes before setting off on our respective warmup routines, and before I knew it the time had come to toe the line. I was more than a little nervous, having not raced anything this "short" in quite a while and with the bad taste of my Mercedes Half debacle still fresh in my mouth. To make matters worse, my secret hopes of surprising all the locals and charging triumphantly through the tape were dashed when I spotted Claire Hallissey, DC resident and 2:27 British Olympic marathoner, standing a few feet away. Clearly I would be striving for runner-up at best. 

In the beginning, however, the lead seemed somewhat within reach. Either Claire was starting off conservatively or I was going way, way too fast. Both scenarios would inevitably yield the same outcome, but the latter had the potential to hurt a hell of a lot more. As I passed the first mile marker in 5:28, just a few steps behind Claire, the answer was still unclear. This was slightly faster than I'd planned, but not so outrageous as to result in certain implosion. Once we reached the first 180-degree cone turn--of which there would be five throughout the race, barring this from being labeled a truly "fast" course despite its near pancake-flat topography--she no doubt saw that a stranger was relatively close behind and decided to hasten her jogging pace. She powered away decisively and I was never in contention again.

But if it turned out that the former scenario--Claire taking the race out at a relaxed effort--were true, so too might be the possibility that I was in over my head. After a first mile that was arguably a touch too quick, I summarily dispelled all debate by splitting 10:50 for miles two and three. For you mathematicians out there, this breakneck tempo had me careening through 5k somewhere in the neighborhood of 17:01. My 5k road PR is 17:05. On the one hand, this unexpected development could be considered a cause for rejoicing. On the other, more rational and realistic hand, the race was barely halfway over. Not unexpectedly, the fourth mile got pretty ugly. I'm embarrassed to say how close this mile was to six minutes, but shame is a powerful motivator--powerful enough, at least, to force me to somehow pull it together and cover the final .97 miles somewhere in the vicinity of 5:30. The final 10 minutes of this race were some of the more painful in recent memory, but with Claire out of sight and no other women threatening for second I was able to use the men nearby to drag me down Pennsylvania Avenue all the way  the finish line, which I crossed in just over 27:40. I hung around the finishing chute to see my dad and Tim come through in impressive fashion before setting off on a wonderful solo cooldown around the Mall. 

Objectively, despite a suicidal early pace I would consider this a solid effort. I bested my 8k PR by over 30 seconds and ran almost a full two minutes faster than at this race in 2011. (Although, in defense of past me, I was probably a little bit less fresh having raced the four miler on Saturday.) Incidentally, I credit my result almost entirely to the Ted's Bulletin pop tart, seeing as its pre-race consumption had the same positive effect at the Army 10 Miler, and I might just have to pay Jilane to overnight one to me before every race going forward. With the BAA 5k coming up in just over a month and a soft PR that I now have no excuse not to shatter, I may need to call in that favor sooner than later.

Read More

Harvard Indoor Workout

AM: 10k easy
PM: 3 mile w/u + strides
Target: 5x500m @1:40 (5:20 pace) w/75 sec. jog; 3x200m hard strides
Actual: 1:40, 1:39, 1:39, 1:37, 1:39; 36, 36, 36, 6x400m @78-80
2 mile c/d
Total: 9 miles
Daily total: 15+ miles

Despite having raced indoors a handful of times, I've never actually worked out on an indoor track--until tonight. Yes, I suppose you can consider me an official New Englander now. As depressing as it is to admit that I live somewhere still cold (and potentially snowy) enough to necessitate working out indoors in mid-March, I must also admit that it's great to have the resource of the Harvard indoor track available for laypeople like myself.

Honesty: I'm a bit behind on blogging, so the details of this are a touch fuzzy. What I remember is that Coach Jordan prescribed a relatively light speed session in advance of this weekend's St. Patty's Day 8k in DC, so I actually ended up jumping in and out of some longer repeats that he was completing with two other BAA guys. This meant that my rest was almost uniformly less than 75 seconds due to the timing of their laps, but I felt comfortable enough throughout that it didn't really matter; so comfortable, in fact, that after my scheduled workout was completed I offered to accompany them for alternating 400s of their remaining mile repeats. At times this workout felt more like a game of Frogger due to the ridiculous amount of people who apparently had the same idea as us--including, but not limited to, a pack of New Balance Boston runners, a kids' track team, a group of gymnasts and/or cheerleaders and a group comprising virtually every female masters runner in the greater Boston area with apparently no spatial awareness or grasp of track etiquette--but overall it was a lot of fun, and the perfect amount of volume to undertake leading up to Sunday's race.

Read More

Week in Review

88 miles
4 doubles
6x10 mins. core
4 days in Texas
3 days with Brookelet

What a great week! It started with an early morning farewell run with Caitlin, progressed to absolutely gorgeous shorts-and-t-shirt morning runs with Allison in Austin, then culminated with my bestie Brooke coming to visit for her 30th birthday. Her rock star husband Lance earned huge brownie points by planning the entire thing as a surprise, including a dinner party in the North End on Saturday night that included Brooke's parents and brother and sis-in-law. Fortunately I did not spill the (Boston baked) beans in advance and everything went off without a hitch. Somehow I also found time during the weekend to participate in the Salem 10-mile race and an oceanfront 13-miler around Nahant with Emily. So many of my favorite people in such a short time frame--I love it!

Ready to hit the town--and stay up past 10pm!--with Brooke on Saturday night

 

 

Read More

Black Cat 10 Miler

3 mile w/u
Target: 10 mile tempo @60-61 mins.
Actual: 60:48; first place female
Results
3 mile c/d
Total: 16 miles

Late last week I discovered that a 10- and 20-mile race would be taking place today in Salem, with the same start/finish and most of the same course as the half-marathon I ran last fall. I wasn't necessarily looking for a true race-level effort, but I knew that lacing 'em up in a competitive environment would result in a much higher quality workout than I was likely to undertake on my own. Not only did Jordan feel the same way, but he apparently decided that he wouldn't truly get his money's worth without tackling the 20-miler. To each his own.

After running from my house to the race start (which is the best setup ever), I met my BAA friend Liz for the remainder of the warmup. As we stripped down our outer layers and tossed them in the back of her friend's car, she mentioned that there was a $150 purse for first place. While not a staggering amount (I won $300 at the half-marathon, which was put on by the same company), it was noteworthy information simply because I hadn't seen anything about cash prizes on the web site or race collateral. If my original game plan was to run a hard tempo, my new objective was to run a hard enough tempo to win the darn thing.

As we stood for a ridiculously long time on the starting line, I had a few minutes to catch up with running friends from the BAA and the Salem Wicked group. Kevin, an Irish BAA transplant and Craft aficionado, is training for Boston and was hoping for an honest but controlled workout today. From the gun, I took off with him and vowed to hang on as long as possible. The first few miles were comfortable and conversational as we ran through downtown Salem toward Marblehead, but even early on I could tell my legs were still tired from Thursday's 800s. The turnaround point came in the Devereux Beach parking lot around 4.5, and by that point I was already eager to be finished. I was pleased to see that Jordan wasn't too far in front of us (never mind the fact that he would be running twice as far), but I was a bit surprised to discover how seemingly close Liz and our friend Caroline were behind me. Liz was running the longest race of her life and Caroline had put in eight miles beforehand, and they were both crushing it! Meanwhile Kevin and I split five miles in 29:45, but I was faltering on the first noticeable uphill section and I could tell he was itching to drop the pace. I waved him onward, disappointed that my legs were so tired but resolving to maintain the same effort or risk getting caught. I was running scared. Fortunately, around mile 8 I found my second wind (possibly coinciding with cresting the final hill) and was able to finish strong, with Caroline and Liz not far behind despite accidentally missing a turn in the final mile. Jordan placed second in the 20-miler, an effort I will let him regale you with whenever he updates his blog. All in all, a solid day.

Oh, and my big prize? A pint glass.  

Just after the start: Jordan up front, Kevin in the yellow singlet next to me, with Caroline (yellow) and Liz (blue) at far right. Photo credit Thomas Cole.

 

Read More