Week in Review

87 miles 3 doubles 5 states (MA, NY, NJ, CT, PA)  20+ mile long run 5 AFDs Despite a lackluster race and hectic week of traveling, I still managed to salvage my mileage thanks to an epic Nahant run with Jordan on Sunday. Last time I traversed this loop was on Easter with Jordan and Emily, and I was so beat afterwards I swore I was sticking to two-hour long runs for the foreseeable future. At the time I didn't realize the foreseeable future would involve punishing myself for a craptastic 10k performance, so away I went! Fortunately it was...

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Penn Relay 10k Race Recap

Best case scenario goal: sub-34:00 Additional best case scenario goal: Victory Next best goal: sub-34:20 Acceptable goal: PR (sub-34:37) Worst case scenario goal: sub-35 Actual: 35:05, 4th place Results (Should be combined with collegiate results) As it turns out, there was quite a bit of rust to be busted. I'm not sure why this race went so poorly. My legs felt light and springy in the days leading up, and despite working somewhat of a full day I managed to spend plenty of time off my feet. I even dusted off ye olde spikes for the first time...

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Penn Relays Pre-Race Workout

2 mile w/u Target: 2x1200 @4:06, 2x600 @2:00, 2x300 @55 Actual: 4:06, 4:07, 1:59, 1:59, 53, 52 2 mile c/d Total: 6.5-7 miles Not a whole lot to say about this workout, which was quickly done on lunch at Beverly High. Similar to a few weeks ago, Jordan and I were joined by a few intrepid coworkers who he once again led in a modified version of our workout. Conditions were incredibly windy, gusting at nearly 20 mph, and I was relieved I wasn't really trying to nail any arduous paces or lengthy distances. One of the main objectives today was to throw...

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Week in Review

83 miles 3 doubles 3 nights with friends over 3 AFDs All in all, not a bad week of training. I held back on the weekend miles once I found out I'd be racing Penn on Thursday; otherwise I could've easily topped 90+. Hoping that self-restraint will pay off next week in Philly!...

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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...

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Mile Repeats With JSK

2.5 mile w/u + strides Target: 4x1600 starting @5:22-25 and getting faster, 3 mins. jog Actual: 5:25, 5:22, 5:20, 5:15 2 mile c/d Total: 9 miles After several days of uncharacteristically warm weather (an understatement for all the marathon runners), Wednesday seemed to take a turn in the opposite direction. A day that started off sunny and breezy turned overcast and blustery by late afternoon, just in time for me to take to the Beverly High oval with Jordan. He'd agreed to play queenmaker and pull me through some quick mile repeats, and though...

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Marathon Monday

From the moment I awoke on Monday morning and glanced out the window, I knew the prognosticators had been right. It was going to be a hot one, perhaps even record-breaking. It may seem a bit paradoxical to say I was filled with equal parts excitement and dread, but that's exactly how I felt about spectating the race. On the one hand I was thrilled to be experiencing Marathon Monday as a fan of the sport and friend of many of the race participants. On the other hand, it was almost a certainty that every single person I knew, regardless of fitness...

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Week in Review

70 miles 2 doubles 4 days in Boston 3 AFDs  But enough about me...Marathon Monday tomorrow!...

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BAA 5k Race Recap

2.5 mile w/u + stridesTarget: 5k @16:50-59 and/or top 15Actual: 17:10, 15th placeResults3 mile c/dTotal: ~9 milesWhen Emily and I originally decided to run the BAA 5k a few weeks ago, we decided to approach it both as a hard, painful rustbuster and also as an opportunity to participate in marathon weekend without actually running the whole silly marathon. (This was a decision made long before the Marathon Monday weather forecast took on the life of its own that will now live in infamy, but as the weekend progressed that would only further reinforce...

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BAA 5k Pre-Race Workout

PM: 2 mile w/u + stridesTarget: 1600 @5:22-25, 2x800 @2:40, 2x400 @75 all w/2 mins. jogActual: 5:21, 2:37, 2:36, 72, 702 mile c/dTotal: 7 milesYes, I'm behind on my blog. Yes, I have multiple entries to catch up on. (Though I'm back-dating this entry for the sake of consistency, I'm actually writing it a full week later. Shhhh, don't tell.) I'll do my best to accomplish this in the next few days, but for the entire past week I've been caught up in Boston Marathon fervor. The agony, the ecstasy, the heat stroke...none of those words describe my...

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Week in Review

95 miles4 doubles20+ mile long run2 runs in Boston4 AFDsHappy Easter and Passover and whatever else you may be celebrating! Today Jordan and I observed Easter by running long (too long!) around Nahant and back with Emily, eating a delicious brunch, taking a nap, then later being treated to a traditional Korean BBQ dinner at our friend/coworker ST's place. It was a fun way to cap off a solid week of training, though Sunday's looooong run combined with a lackluster tempo on Saturday left me fatigued enough to realize that I need to take it a bit...

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A Breakthrough Performance

With the spring/summer racing season kicking off in earnest, this is what I'm hoping for. It's timely that I was pondering the topic on this morning's run, seeing as tonight's Stanford Invitational marks two years since I experienced one of two such performances in my own brief racing career. For the better part of nine months I've been running healthy and strong, and especially of late have been hitting tough (for me) workouts and long runs with relative ease. I feel like my body has been absorbing all the training and mileage I've thrown at it,...

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Harvard Track with the BAA

2+ mile w/u + stridesTarget: 6-8x1k starting @3:25 and working down w/1:45 restActual: 3:24, 3:23, 3:22, 3:21, 3:18, 3:17; 4x200m @~332+ mile c/dTotal: 10 milesIn 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...

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Week in Review/Weekend Review

90 miles4 doubles7 days at home (!!)16 miles with Jay4 AFDsAll 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...

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