Week in Review

101 miles 5 doubles 20-mile long run 3 successful workouts 14 days until CIM Wow, what a week. Though it wasn't originally intended as such, this was by far my most intense, high-quality block of the training cycle...and I crushed it! Balancing and adapting to the weather proved to be the most challenging hurdle, but I think I did a pretty good job of rolling with it and maintaining my equanimity. From here there is little left to do but rest up,...

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Winter Weather Workout(s): Part Two

See Part One here PM: 1/2 mile w/u Target: 10 miles @6-6:10 pace Actual: 15k @58:30 (6:15 pace) My route 1/2 mile c/d Total: 11 miles Daily total: 20 miles When I last left you, I was eating a donut and drinking chocolate milk in bed with my cat whilst wearing compression socks, all in an effort to recover from Part One of today's workout. Part Two, a 10-mile steady tempo, would take place later in the afternoon...but where? It was still sub-freezing with ridiculous gusting winds outside and no improvement on the horizon. Upon returning home...

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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,...

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Beverly High School Benchmark, v3.0

3 mile w/u + strides Target: 10x3 mins. @3:23-3:25/k pace w/2 mins. rest Actual: Above 2 mile c/d Total: 11 miles As all my devoted readers know, this is a core benchmark workout that I'm fond of doing sporadically throughout the course of every training cycle regardless of what specific distance I'm training for. Most recently, I've done this twice during my buildup for CIM. The second session, done almost exactly one month ago, was a breakthrough for me as I ran two more intervals than ever before and with shorter rest. Today, running without...

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Solo 20-Mile Success...Which Is Weird

This long run can best be summarized by the email I sent to my friend Brett shortly after finishing it. Brett is a Boston expat (now living out west) and accomplished marathoner who also has the good fortune of being my upcoming roomie at CIM. We've been keeping each other abreast of our recent training, by which I mean commiserating about how out of shape we feel and how frustrated we are that things aren't going as smoothly as we'd hoped. But recently we both seem to have rounded a metaphorical corner, an unexpected phenomenon no better exemplified...

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Week in Review

100 miles 5 doubles 3x20 minute workout 2xmedium long run (12 and 13) 4 AFDs Things are finally starting to come together. The only missing piece this week was a true long run, but I aspire to knock that out tomorrow morning. I could've/should've done it today, but my legs were just too fatigued from yesterday afternoon's lengthy workout. Instead I did an easy 13 with my boss and devoted the rest of the day to recovery (read: eating pizza in my underwear). I'm nervous and excited to tackle 20 tomorrow--SOLO, no less--and I think the way I feel...

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3x20 Minute Success

AM: 5k shakeout PM: 5k w/u + strides Target: 3x20 mins. (10 mins. hard, 10 mins. @6:00 pace) w/4 mins. rest Actual: 20 mins @5:53 pace (3k @10:58, 5k @18:20), 20 mins @5:54 pace (3k @11:00, 5k @18:23), 20 mins @5:53 pace (3k @11:00, 5k @18:22) 2k c/d Garmin splits Total: 15 miles Daily total: 18 miles There may be hope for me yet. As a reference, I did this exact workout at the exact same time (three weeks out) in December '11 prior to the January '12 Trials. At the time, I would say I was objectively in 2:40-low shape, but ended up running...

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Week in Review

92 miles 4 doubles 4 AFDs Despite today's disastrous race, I'm actually feeling relatively encouraged about my training. I've felt consistently better on runs and workouts the past few weeks than in the months prior, and other than some hamstring tightness and general body fatigue I'm healthy and strong. With four weeks to go, it's critical that I hit a handful of big workouts and longer runs, but I'm confident I can get it do...

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Seacoast Half Marathon: A Lucrative Disaster

3 mile w/u Target: win, run marathon pace-ish (1:18:30-1:19:30) Actual: 1st place female; 1:23:11, $300 Results 1 mile c/d Total: 17 miles To be honest, I don't want to dwell on this race because I know it's not indicative of my fitness and I refuse to let it get me down. The Seacoast Half Marathon was a great local event, very well-run and with excellent crowd support given the small coastal community, and despite the race being long closed the event director was gracious enough to allow me a spot. Regretfully, I wasn't able to capitalize on...

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Fast K's

2.5 mile w/u + strides Target: 5x1k @3:25 (5:30 pace) w/2:30 rest; 5x1 min. faster Actual: 3:25, 3:25, 3:25, 3:22, 3:23; 5x1 min. @5:07-5:17 pace 1 mile c/d Total: 9 miles Yesterday morning I did a light fartlek of 5x(30, 45, 60) to limber up the legs and prepare to run fast today. It must've worked, because I hit the necessary splits just fine despite the cold temps and early hour. Hopefully this workout will benefit me in a few weeks when I try to avenge my second place finish from the 2011 Cincinnati turkey trot!   ...

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Week in Review

99-100 miles 4 doubles 1 night in NJ 1 night in PA 2 nights in NYC I can't be certain that I actually cleared triple digits this week--in reality, 99 is probably more accurate--but regardless I'm darn impressed with myself. Despite a majority of the week spent on the road, a hectic work schedule and far more socializing than usual, I still managed to hit two solid workouts and otherwise squeeze in the miles. I doubt every week of my 31st year will be this eventful, but it's certainly a good one to start with....

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NYCM Birthday Weekend (Oh, and a Workout)

Sunday AM: 3 mile w/u + strides Target: 4-5x3k @11:00 or faster (5:52 pace) w/2 min. jog/rest Actual: 11:18 (into wind), 10:55, 10:57, 10:53 1 mile c/d Total: 12 miles Sunday AM #2: ~4 miles to/from/around marathon course Daily total: 16 miles Wow, what a weekend! It's hard to summarize it all into one cohesive blog post, but since I'm far too lazy to write a handful of separate entries I'm going to attempt just that. So, let's go back to the beginning....

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