Feeling like a real runner again

The week and the year are off to a great start: after three days I'm on pace for 4400 miles. Just got to maintain.

Monday it was really cold again, so I bundled up for an 8 mile loop into Hamilton just for some variety. My regular loop is mostly in Wenham. I discovered that the Wenham sidewalks are much better, but I was so tunnel vision with my hood up and paying careful attention to every footfall on the snow and ice that I missed my turn and ended up running an extra mile or so.

Yesterday was also right around zero in the morning, so I decided to go short twice. I did a little under 5 miles in the morning, staying mostly in the neighborhoods. At lunch, I met Alex at his office and we did our almost-six-mile loop at 7:40/mi. or so.

Today was the Great Warmup and I had an idea of doing a long run before we get another big snowfall tomorrow. I didn't get out when I had anticipated because Grace was home sick from school and Heather had to work at the church, so it was almost 11:30 when I left the house. It was in the mid-20's by then, which is the warmest it has been in over a week. The sun was shining and there wasn't much wind. I laced up my new Mizunos (Wave Riders) and headed out of the grove. I mapped out a route that would allow me to take another crack at Colton Gale's "Larch Row Bump" Strava CR about 2 miles into a 16-mile loop. I looked on the map a little more closely at where it was, since I had only a vague idea when I tried for it last week. It's a short enough segment that I had to hammer pretty hard and I worked too much to not get it last time.

I was right around 12:30 for the two-mile split, and then I roared up the Larch Row Bump with confidence. I ended up running it in 59 seconds, and the old mark was 65, so hopefully if Colton ever comes back to the North Shore he can give it another go. :) Then I tried to settle back in to the pace I had been running and carry on like it was no big deal. I was running barely above 6:00 pace and feeling ok, so I just kept letting it happen.

I was able to let my mind wander a little more than I have been lately - today was the first day that I didn't feel like I owed every driver a "thanks for not running me over" wave - but I was pretty focused just to keep the pace up. I was a little overdressed, probably because I had forgotten what sunny and 25 feels like, but I was working, too.

I headed down Larch Row into Hamilton where it becomes Essex St. and then Route 22 all the way into Essex. I hopped onto the Essex Turkey Trot course for a brief climb and then angled my way into Ipswich. There were some ok hills, and even through 12 miles I was keeping the pace at or just under 6. The last four were a bit more work, I slowed a little, but it was really good to test things out and feel depleted.

Did a little snowshoe training this afternoon with Grace and Emma to hopefully get them ready for the snowshoe shuffle in Wolfeboro in a couple weeks.

2017 recap/2018 goals

2017 shaped up to be a hopeful year and I'm grateful that I'm motivated to post a recap, which hasn't happened since 2014.

I didn't run a ton (913.63 miles), but that was up from even less (353.5) in 2016.

I had fun being a part of some team events at the Lynn Woods relay and Reach the Beach.

I raced a few times (actually 9 times, if you count each of my rtb legs as a separate race, or 7 if you count it all as one race).

There were some signs of improvement in the last months of the year, including two wins at the Chatham in the Fall 10k (35:49) and the Reindeer Run 5k in Beverly (16:42).

December was the first month since March 2015 that I reached 200 miles for the month (219.84). That's a trend I'd like to continue as I head into the frigid New Year.

My 'C' goal for mileage this year would be to get back to 2000 miles (or 2018 for 2018). And I would be pleased with a C based on the last three years. Some 'C' time goals are 27:59 for 5m and 34:59 for 10k, sub 1:17 half in March.

My 'B' goals are: 2500 miles (basically 200 miles per month, which seems sustainable now), low 16's for 5k, low 27's for 5 miles, sub-34 for 10k, sub 1:15 half in March.

I'll stay away from the A goals for now, since these are all still pretty ambitious.

I'm looking forward to finally making my snowshoe debut this winter, and then following up with some road and mountain races in the spring and summer.

And seeing those familiar, long-lost but not forgotten faces at races and continuing to take advantage of the chances I have to train and race with family and friends close to home.

Yeah!

Since Wednesday

It's been really cold the last few days, with highs barely getting into the teens and windchills regularly below zero.

Wednesday I ran my new 8 mile loop at 6:49 pace, which was working pretty good with snowy roads and sidewalks. I discovered that I could run in the tracks that the sidewalk plows (bobcats) left and even where it was icy, there was enough tread to get a decent grip.

Thursday, I opted for a hooded shell (jacket) which I have run in every day since. There is this crazy snow globe going on inside the hood, because I sweat and breathe inside and it condenses on the inside and then freezes and then snows back down inside anytime I turn my head or bump the hood. I also have run in sunglasses the last four days and that has prevented the icy eyelashes that can plague runners in this type of weather. I ran four and a half in the morning and 6 at lunchtime.

Friday, I did a 10 mile loop on the roads, pretty relaxed, except for a surge I put in to try to take a hill Strava segment on Larch Row that Colton Gale set last winter. I missed it by a few seconds so will have to take another crack at it another time.

Yesterday morning I did just under 10 miles from home down into Topsfield and back.

Today I ran the new 8-mile loop again with some pretty quick miles. Not really a progression, but I found that when my knee gets sore it helps to run faster. The fastest I've run this week - 6:26/mi. for the run.

52 miles for the week, which is three weeks straight over 50.

Looks like a couple more cold days before we get back into the twenties on Wednesday.

NJ and back again

Last Wednesday I got out for my new 7-8 mile loop from home, down to the center of Wenham, along Cedar Street on the back side of Wenham Lake, to Rte. 97 north to William Fairfield Dr, through the neighborhood there back to Cherry Street back to the center of Wenham and home.

I got up early on Thursday and did the same loop again before we left for New Jersey for an early Christmas celebration. Heather was able to get in a few miles on the treadmill at the same time.

We had planned a Saturday long run together on the rail trails down in Long Valley, but I wasn't sure if there would be any other opportunities to run while we there. To my delight, after we opened presents on Friday, and before dinner with extended family, I was able to sneak out for just under an hour on the hilly roads around Heather's parents' house. In particular, I was pleased to lower my Strava segment CR on the Drakestown Road climb (by 42 seconds, didn't realize until I got home to MA) in my efforts to not exceed my "40-45 minute run" by too much. Averaging under 6:40's for seven and a half miles around my inlaws took some concentration and co-operation from my legs and lungs. I was feeling really good by the end.

Saturday Heather's brother Andrew joined us for 13 miles out and back on the rail trail near their parents' house. It was cold and rainy, but based on what I was seeing, greatly to be preferred to the weather in New England that day. We averaged just over 7:30's, and I think Heather was pretty encouraged about her preparedness for a half marathon that's still over two months away.

I didn't get up early and run on Sunday (Christmas Eve) before we headed home, partly because I wanted to sleep in and partly because my body (my left knee in particular) was begging for a break. I ended up with 54 miles (in 6 days of running) for the week, so the trend continues to be upwards.

Christmas Day was another day off, with joyous reunion with my brother Adam and his family, who we haven't seen since last Christmas (they live outside Charlotte) and a few inches of unexpeccted snow. We did some sledding in the afternoon and I started ruminating on a snowshoe run,

which came to fruition yesterday - six miles on the snow-covered sidewalks and on the relatively untracked forest trails of Hamilton - right from my back porch, which is a rare and lovely thing, particularly in December on the north shore of Boston.

12.19.17

With the busy-ness of holiday travel ahead, I have been trying to frontload this week with some mileage and quality. Yesterday, was my first double in two years (maybe) and today I got the same guys who ran with me yesterday afternoon to join me for an impromptu track workout.

I consulted the Daniels Running Formula and grabbed one of Jack's staple early buildup (which I am in) R-workouts. Sets of 2 x 200 + 1 x 400. Based on my recent 5k time of 16:41, this called for 200's at 36 and 400's at 74. That seemed manageable and not all-out, but definitely still faster than anything I've done recently. I arrived at the Gordon College track a few minutes before noon. It was unseasonably mild (mid-40's) and as I turned into the driveway the sun came out from behind the clouds for the first time all day.

I hopped out of the car and jogged to the track. There was a really fast-looking college girl doing 150's in sprint spikes. I hoped I would look so fast. I started jogging an easy warmup and Nate showed up on the second or third one and we chatted while running easy. After two-miles, Al showed up and I ran to the bathroom while he got in a quick mile. Then we toed the line for the first 200. Because there was a little ice on the final curve, we decided to run our 200's from the finish to the start. The first one I felt like I was getting way up on my toes and using muscles I haven't in a while. We came through in 36 and jogged REAL easy back to the start. The second one I decided to run more normally, because I was nervous how sore I'd be if I ran two miles on my toes. It was a 38. We jogged another 200 and went into the first 400. I felt ok going through 200 and didn't check the watch, but never felt bad on the way to a 72-high. We jogged the corner and back and then did the sequence again.

Most of the 200's ended up 37.xx and the 400's were 74-flat or faster. We did 4 sets and then two miles for a cooldown. I think we all were glad to have it done and activate some muscles that hadn't been used in a while for any of us.

I'm pretty sure I felt so good because of the Rothlin workout I did a few years ago.

12.18.17

Saturday, I ran at 9:30 in the morning, which is a time of day I don't run much, but a great time to run in the late fall almost winter. I did a little under 8 miles at 6:40 pace on the roads.

Sunday, I ran at 10:30 in the morning, also very nice, it was chilly and sunny in appleton farms. Five and a half at 7:15 pace on trails.

This morning, I (finally) got up when my alarm went off, after a few fails last week and got out for an easy 4 and a half miles in the dark on the roads. This afternoon, I met Nate Hausman and Alex Vlahos at the Gordon College track and we ran six and a half miles on the roads at 7:20 pace as a light snow fell.

12.15.17

The temps have stayed cold since Wednesday, with highs in the mid-20's, even at midday.

Yesterday, I met up with Alex Vlahos at his office in Beverly for our 5.8 mile loop on the roads through Wenham. Alex ran for me at Ipswich HS and then went to Providence and did a master's at Merrimack, where he ran one season. He's already out of my league as a professional businessman, but he still lets me run with him, which I appreciate.

It felt windier at his office than it did at my house, but the sun was out, so once we were out from under the trees it was pretty comfortable. We ran 7:45ish/mi. which is faster than the past few times we've run together. We're hoping to keep rolling together at least once a week through the winter to keep each other motivated to train. I will need to sprinkle in some racing to keep it interesting and make sure I remember how.

Today, I had in mind to do a long(er) run, and was thinking about a fourteen-mile loop that I used to run back when I used to run fourteen miles. It was cold and gray, but I dressed lighter, knowing I wanted to work the whole run. I figured 1:40 for 14 miles would be manageable and 1:38 would be 7:00/mi. and I wanted to be a bit quicker than that, but I didn't know how much. I set out feeling determined, and came through one mile in 6:31. The second mile opens with a long downhill and I cruised down, fast but relaxed for a 6:10 second mile. I felt like I was working pretty hard, but it felt good to be working hard, so I pressed on. The third and fourth miles had a couple rolling hills, they were 6:19 and 6:09.

Actually, true confession: I recently set my watch to take splits every two miles (instead of every mile), because I have to run farther to get it to beep at me. My plan is if I make it back to 50 mpw for a month, I'll move it up to 3 miles per lap. Somehow, this makes me think I'm prepping for an ultra, too.

JJ constantly loves to remind me of how long since I did the Rothlin workout, and I actually felt like during today's run I was finally reaping some of the benefits of that effort from almost three years ago. You could tell me that's physiologically impossible, but there was some mental stuff that happened to me on that 30-mile run that helped make 14 miles seem pretty short. Plus, today was a similar day weather-wise, cold and gray and calm.

Anyway, I came out on to route 1A in Ipswich at four miles and turned north, then took the first right onto Lakeman's Lane. This is one of my favorite stretches of the loop - there are never any cars, there's a couple horse farms and one good hill to power up. I split 12:16 for miles 5 and 6.

Just before Mile 7, I ran by the bottom of Sagamore (aka 'Sacrifice') Hill, a short, steep paved climb to the Native American chief Masconomet's grave. There's also some top-secret government observation station or something up there. I used to sometimes throw in a surge up the hill on my way by and then jog back down and finish the run, but today I decided that I'll do that next time. Miles 7 and 8 took 12:23. The halfway point of a run when you're working hard is always nice to get beyond. I always feel a little more secure that I'll be able to maintain pace when I've got less than 50% to go.

By mile 8 I was back out on familiar terrain on Essex Street, where I just ran with Nate and Nathan on Saturday morning. Before that, it had been a while. Miles 9 and 10 took 12:07 and I was right at the end of Miles River Road which is 4 miles back to my house. I ran up a little climb and was feeling the pace catching up with me as I neared four corners in Wenham. Courteous drivers let me cruise through onto Larch Row - another favorite stretch. Just before mile 12, I had to slow briefly for a train crossing - not nearly as bad as Reach the Beach, where I had to wait 40 seconds for a light to change - stopped my watch for five seconds, and picked back up. The two-mile split was 12:10.

Even that short pause caused me to stiffen a little, but I was so close to home I wasn't worried. I set on the fly goals of 3:10, 3:05, 3:00 and 2:55 for the last four half-miles. I think I was 3:06 for .5, and then I made the last right onto Arbor Street and headed for home. Mile was 6:00. Missed 1.5, but the mile was 5:55, and :28 for the last .08. Feeling really good about this and training in general lately. Unfortunately, races around here have just about dried up till spring, with a couple notable exceptions. I'm willing to travel for an opportunity to race, but gotta make sure it's a weekend that works for the whole clan.