Week in Review

90 miles 4 doubles 15-mile long run 6x10 mins. core 4 AFDs This was a solid week, with two decent workouts, a fun group long run at Battle Road (thanks for the Easter stickers, Jenn!) and a respectable mileage total. Looking ahead, I've got two road races coming up with no prize money on the line and no pressure or expectation to win--but, if executed correctly, with the chance to run two much-needed, long-awaited road PRs. Next Sunday I'll be in Austin at the prestigious Capitol 10k, then I'll return home to take part in the excitement of Boston...

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Saturday Track Action

AM: 6 miles easy PM: 2.5 mile w/u + strides Target: 5x1k @3:20, 3:20, 3:19, 3:18, 3:17 w/2 mins. jog; 5x300 @58, 57, 56, 55, 54 Actual: 3:22, 3:20, 3:19, 3:17, 3:18; 53, 55, 54, 54, 52 2.5 mile c/d Total: 9-9.5 miles Daily Total: 16-16.5 miles After feeling surprisingly fresh on an easy morning run with our boss, Eric--who himself knocked out a 15-miler well below his goal marathon pace--I got the go-ahead from Coach Jordan to tackle my second workout of the week this afternoon. Dropping out of Wednesday's session and pushing it to Thursday meant...

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Botched Workout Redemption

2.75 mile w/u Target: 3x2 miles @11:20, 11:15, 11:10 w/4 mins. jog; 4x400 @82, 81, 80, 79 w/1 min. jog Actual: 11:20, 11:18, 2k @6:59; 4x400 @79, 81, 79, 78 1.5 mile c/d Total: 12 miles I planned to do this workout on the Topsfield bike path after work on Wednesday, but for one reason or another it simply didn't happen. I made it through a whopping 1k, relatively on pace but breathing like I'd just raced a 5k, before bagging it. I was frustrated, disappointed and not exactly filled with confidence about my ability to fare any better 12 hours later,...

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Ciao!

Last Tuesday night, I received a somewhat cryptic Facebook message from David Monti asking me to send him an email so he could share an "unusual race opportunity" with me. I met David, who among other specialties is the elite athlete director for NYC Marathon, at Kim Smith and Pat Tarpy's wedding this past Labor Day, but beyond that and a perfunctory Facebook friendship we've never really had much interaction. So, needless to say, I was more than a little intrigued. I sent him a quick note, and within minutes received one of the most amazing emails...

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Week in Review

85 miles 3 doubles 4 days in Raleigh 15-mile long run 6x10 mins. core Without question, the highlights of this week were the Saturday and Sunday long(er) runs with friends. On Saturday I covered 15 miles in Raleigh's Umstead Park with Michelle (and Thomas, although he could only hang with us ladies for a five-mile loop before heading back home for ambiguous reasons). Umstead is one of the hilliest, toughest places I've ever run (the fact that they...

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Post-Snowstorm Pre-Race Workout

2.5 mile w/u + strides Target: 4x4 mins. @3:35/k; 4x1 min. hard; 4x30 secs. harder Actual: 4x4 mins. (through 1k in 3:34, 3:30, 3:33, 3:33); 4x1 min.; 4x 30 secs. 2 mile c/d Total: 10-10.5 miles Another day, another snowstorm. This alleged "first day of spring" found us braving sub-freezing temps, slick and slushy streets, and 20mph winds--all for a pre-race fartlek. Or, technically, the workout formerly known as the pre-race fartlek. Originally I'd planned to travel down to NYC and defend my 13.1 title and course record from last year, but a...

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Week in Review

90 miles 3 doubles 2 days in DC 3 medium-long runs (15, 14+, 13+) 6x10 mins. core This week was bookended by several long-ish runs, beginning with a solid 15-miler in DC and culminating with a 1-2 medium-long punch over the weekend. On Saturday, Jordan and I joined our boss, who's training for his first marathon, for one of his early long runs. Despite plenty of hills and wind, he cruised at an 8-minute pace average for over 14 miles (during which...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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