Day |
Round Up |
Miles |
| Week 13
11/16-11/22 |
Bad way to end off a pretty solid season. Had a lot of high hopes and big expectations that didn't pan out, but I don't feel like it was a complete waste. Sure, I feel bad about how I ran. I made the All America team last year and couldn't repeat this year, I'm sure that disappointment won't go away soon. But on the other hand, I made big strides in confidence and my whole mental game, even just in the few days before Nationals. I think I was reluctant to look past Regionals too much and ignored prepping for Nationals for too long. Jogging the course on Thursday and Friday I knew where I wanted to be during the race, but at times I couldn't see myself there, it just wasn't coming. Finally Friday in the hotel it came around, I was picturing myself making my moves and running my race and doing the things I wanted to do. Unfortunately that vision didn't come to fruition, but at the same time, that confidence isn't going anywhere. Time to get in better shape for indoors. November Miles : 202 |
48 |
| Saturday: |
Nationals. 38th place in 25:55. Feeling pretty good on the warmup, strange to get going without my team behind me, maybe I didn't bring the same amount of excitement/adrenaline to the start. Anyways, it's no excuse, I should have been up for the race and ready to run regardless. Nobody's fault but my own. Disappointing race, got into good position, right where I wanted to be, tried to move and then the legs left me. Didn't have anything at all over the last 3km, only half fighting to keep position. Mental game went south, definitely my weakest race from that standpoint all season. Glad I only dropped to 38th, could have folded up shop over the last k, but after Winkler came blowing past me I managed to pretty much hold onto my spot. Running in 37th until a kid from UW-L came flying past with 100m to go, I tried to respond but my legs almost folded underneath me, I just rocked steady across the finish line. Good to see Hoying, Yuval and Nolan come out, along with a sizeable portion of my extended family, feel bad I couldn't have let them seen me run better. Strangely I'm not too broken up about this, it's just one of those things that happend and you've got to come back at it the same next time. Only managed a mile cooldown because blisters were making my feet hurt and I didn't feel like running more anyways. |
8 |
| Friday: |
Last 3M of the course. Got to see all the parts of the course, since it repeats a loop twice. Ground's a little firmer, not supposed to rain today, so I don't think it'll be a big problem, only one spot where I could see somebody bailing. Feeling good today, legs not tired like yesterday. Focused on the tangents, got a good idea of how I want the race to play out, just need to work it over a little more then put it to bed until tomorrow. Had some good pop in the legs during strides, not entirely explosive but there's enough speed there. |
3 |
| Thursday: |
Fligt at 9AM to Detroit, then flew into Louisville. Delayed about an hour in Detroit when they found water in the wheelwell and had to dry it out. Drove to the hotel and put on shorts then drove over to Hanover. Jogged the course, a little wet in places and hillier than it appeared to be, I like the course, think it'll be really fast. Unclear about one part, asked Fitzgerald for directions (which I found a bit ironic) and ran with him about a mile. Strides felt pretty good afterwards, legs a bit tired, I'll chalk that up to travelling. Stretched out and headed back to the hotel. Coach reminded me to hammer the downhills and focus on running the tangents, two good ideas. |
5 |
| Wednesday: |
Grass Loops. Ran with Khatch today, it was a good time. Nice to have company, didn't think about the race at all, just talked about running in general, what it takes, etc. Got rolling pretty solid, about 5:30s per, went 6+ loops, then hit the strides upstairs. Feeling pretty good there. Watched the track guys run the obstacle course as I stretched, then headed down to the trainers, where I sat in the whirlpool one last time. For some reason they made me keep it at 60+, so I sat for about 15 minutes. Headed home to catch The West Wing and get packed. |
6 |
| Tuesday: |
4x400 70, 69, 68, 67 (window 67-8); 8x200 31, 1, 1, 0, 1, 2, 1, 1 (window 31-2). Feeling good, solid workout, never started to hurt at all. Being a little conservative on the 4s then running solid and easy on the deuces. Never really deviated from the even pace, just kept clipping them off. Had 100m between the 4s and the diagonal across the football field back to the other turn. Cooled down with a BU Loop. Great workout, confidence is up, one more day of classes before heading to Logan Thursday AM. No ill effects from axing the morning runs, slept 9 hours last night with the HR at 44BPM. |
7 |
| Monday PM: |
Almost Fresh Pond. Feeling pretty good, clipping along at a good pace. Coach warned about going off the deep end since I'd be feeling good, definitely kept it under control. Weather in low 40s, but didn't really need the hat or gloves today. Felt pretty good on the strides, not at all flat like I was last week. Lunges for half the distance and lifting too. |
6 |
| Monday AM: |
Orange Line. Running through the concrete jungle again, feeling really good this morning, rested and the legs were pretty snappy. Weather's in the high 30s, haven't gotten the cold stuff yet. Slept 7.5 last night, HR at 43BPM. Got a little bit of work to finish off, but it all ends on Wednesday. |
3 |
| Sunday: |
Walden. Headed straight over to the Mount Misery area. Explored that most of the time, I can say for certain that Mount Misery is a misnomer, as I went everywhere without finding a miserious hill. Added on a bit in the Lincoln Conservation, just taking a long way back to the pond. Solid day, feeling really good still. Legs nice and fresh still, not hauling but hitting a good clip. Rolled my ankle about 10 minutes into it, hurt a bit at first but that dissapated fairly quickly, no lasting effects. Otherwise footing was good. Lots of leaves around, but that wasn't a detriment. Probably the last time at Walden for awhile. |
10 |
Day |
Round Up |
Miles |
| Week 12
11/09-11/15 |
What a week. I love tapering, the runs feel are over before you ever get into them, the workouts go beautifully even when you're holding back, and the races are just so much fun. This week went really well, nothing to complain about. Recovered from the fall at Walden fairly quickly, that wasn't much of anything at all. Got in some short AM runs and short runs with the guys. I miss running with a group, it's got a completely different feel to it. Tuesday's workout went exactly to plan, and got the legs feeling springy, after they were pretty rundown on Monday. Rest of the week was just maintenace, up until Saturday. Race went pretty much to plan, in that I moved up as I was planning to, took the lead where I was planning to and hammered the last 1.5M as I was planning to. I guess the only thing that didn't go according to plan was how easily I got the lead, since the cart took a wrong turn. I expect a lot of people won't give me credit for the win, say I snuck into it, etc. Doesn't really bother me what people say, it's not like anybody's ever given me too much credit before. Just wouldn't be the same if I wasn't the underdog. I will say this though, and then leave it alone: Knowing the course is part of running the race. I was running right next to Fitzgerald and he took a wrong turn, I easily could have as well. It's your own responsibility to know the course, the Gator tried to lead me the wrong way at the start of the last mile too. I don't feel like I got anything underhandedly, I don't feel like there's an asterisk next to my win, and I sure as hell don't feel sorry for the guys who took a wrong turn. Anyways, that's behind us now, and there's only one week left to the season, gotta get ready to do big things. November Miles : 154 |
64 |
| Saturday: |
25:45 for 1st at the NCAA D3 New England Regional. Pretty solid run, was feeling good and moving up from 2M on. Took the lead when the cart turned the wrong way and Brigham, Bridgewater and Fitzgerald all followed. I was running next to Fitzgerald, about 7m behind the top two, and I turned the right way, ran around the rope they had blocking the real course and got a gap on the rest of the guys. From then on it was purely academic, I pushed the next 1.5M, but I knew if anybody was going to catch me, they were going to have to work to do it, and I'd be able to run away from them fairly easily. Feeling pretty good on the warmup, loose and focused. It was pretty chilly just standing around, especially with the wind blowing. Put some Atomic Balm on the quads, that didn't really kick in too much, but I wasn't really thinking about the temp at all, completely focused in on the race. Was pretty warm for a few minutes after the race. Cooled down 2M then did strides while waiting around for the team results. We came up 3 points shy of 4th place, so it's just going to be me and Coach next weekend. Feel bad for the rest of the guys, they all worked they're asses off the whole year, nobody gave us any respect, and we fell just short of our season goal. |
9 |
| Friday PM: |
Jogged the last 3M of the USM course. Got a good look at it, the grass fields were a bit soggy but the wood trails were pretty good, only a couple soft spots. Hopefully the temps will drop below freezing tonight and the ground will harden up, then the girls race before ours might loosen it up a bit. Ran through the plan in my head one more time as I was running the course, everything is set and ready to go. Legs felt really good during strides. Temps were kind of cool, the wind was pretty strong today. That's supposed to die down though, which will be helpful. |
3 |
| Friday AM: |
Common Loop. Planned on hitting Orange Line again, changed my mind as I went out the door though. Running easy, feeling really solid. Slept about 7 hours last night, no knee pain at all. |
3 |
| Thursday PM: |
Ran home to get the van keys for Coach, then added on with 3 Grass Loops. Didn't really feel like I ran at all, never got into a flow, just counting down the minutes until the run was over. That's how it goes though, I enjoy that part of the taper. Legs felt great, especially during strides. Got into the whirlpool, nothing ridiculous though, 12 minutes at 58. Felt good when I got out though. Heading up to Maine at noon tomorrow, just have to finish off an 046 PSet tonight and I'll be ready to roll. |
5 |
| Thursday AM: |
Orange Line. I really like this route, except for the concrete. The knee was feeling much better this morning, couldn't feel it going downstairs or at all during the run. Hurt a little bit afterwards, not too concerned about it. I'll keep chasing my EPO with some Ibuprofen and keep ice it again today, it'll be fine. Everything's in good, working order. A little more work to finish up, nothing major. |
3 |
| Wednesday PM: |
Headed out on a Docks Loop, turned back towards downtown past the Fleet Center, wound my way along the edge of the North End, past Faneuil Hall, around Government Center and hit the edge of Downtown Crossing before cutting through the Common and back down the Comm Ave Mall, again. Feeling pretty good today, running a comfortable pace, moving well, probably a bit slower than usual but not worried about that. Knee loosened right up, it ached a bit up and down stairs, but that's about it. Nice to get a bit of a different route in today, have to improvise a bit because I don't really know any short loops. Too much concrete and too many stoplights, but that's a function of running in the city. Had I known there was a Celtics game tonight I may have tried to avoid the Fleet Center, but I unwittingly ran into a mass of people getting off buses and hawking tickets. Hit some pretty solid strides afterwards, getting that pop back in my legs again. |
6 |
| Wednesday AM: |
Boston Common. Ran down the Comm Ave Mall, through the Public Garden and did a loop around the Common. Throwback to the 3M AM runs of freshman year. Feeling pretty good, except for my knee. Feels like I bruised it when I took that spill on Sunday, but it didn't start hurting until last night. Loosened up pretty quickly, but it aches when I'm going up and down stairs. Don't think it's anything serious, doesn't really matter at this point anyways. These are my legs, gotta run with what I've got. |
3 |
| Tuesday PM: |
4x800, 4x400. 2:22, 22, 22, 22 (window 2:22-23), 66, 66, 66, 66 (window 66-7). 200m between the halves, 100m between quarters and 400m between distances. Feeling great today, speed came back to my legs sometime during the warmup. Was afraid it was going to be a long day, not feeling that loose or that juiced for this workout. Got a hint of some pop in my legs during the strides, and the intervals turned out to be remarkably easy. Didn't feel strained at all, had to hold myself back a bit during the 800s. Didn't run the 800s as even as I would have liked, came through in 70-72 for all of them, but the 200s weren't that even. The quarters though, 16 point at the 100, 33 point at 2 and 49-50 entering the homestretch. Cooled down 2M with Group B as the rain started falling. Hit some solid strides then stretched and jogged home another mile in the rain. Real good workout today, helped get the pop back in my legs that I was missing yesterday. |
8 |
| Tuesday AM: |
Orange Line. Wasn't too excited about getting out of bed this morning. Felt good on the run though, loose and moving easy. Slept about 7 hours after the Packers' devastating loss on Monday Night Football, HR was at 44BPM. Weather's cool, not overly cold yet though. |
3 |
| Monday PM: |
Bunker Hill. Ran to the monument with the rest of the guys, picked it up a bit on the way back and added on part of a Grass Loop to get the mileage up a bit. Feeling pretty good, things are starting to come together and my legs were nice and rested during the run. Felt really tight and really slow during strides though. Did my best to stay calm and loose, but just couldn't get it flowing. Need to focus on stretching out a bit more, I suppose. Lunges and lifting afterwards. |
6 |
| Monday AM: |
Orange Line. Got up about 8AM to do this one, since we're practicing early today. Pretty nice weather outside, mid 30s, warm in shorts, jacket, hat and gloves. Probably didn't even need the hat. Feeling pretty good this morning, got about 7 hours last night, plus an hour nap during the second quarter of the Baltimore-St. Louis game, which was an accident. |
3 |
| Sunday: |
Walden Pond. Just Brewer and I today, some nice weather today, temps in the low 30s, warmed up to about 40 by the end of the run though. Pulled a Wildman crossing over the railroad tracks into the Lincoln Conservation, luckily only a couple scratches. Shortly after that Brewer rolled his ankle on a rock hidden under the leaves, which were plentiful today. After that though, the run picked up. Didn't get hauling too much, running cautiously because of the leaves and just wanted to keep it easy today. After about 20 minutes I took a new trail, one I used to think was a private trail, but it just goes through private lands. It connects to a new area, around Mount Misery with a bunch of new trails. Only got to explore a little bit of it, but don't think I found Mt. Misery. If I did, there's not much misery associated with it. First day in hat and gloves, stayed pretty warm though, need to get used to this cold stuff again. |
12 |
Day |
Round Up |
Miles |
| Week 11
11/02-11/08 |
Pretty good week. Picked up the intensity on some of the runs this week, the legs were a bit sluggish on Saturday's workout. I'll be that's a combo of both the previous runs and the weather, hard to get warm on Saturday. Wednesday was a great day, one of those workouts that stays with you. Running 4:29 in the rain to win the Pizza Relay then going on to hammer out 6 solid 800s as the rain poured down from the sky. Got the plan set up in my mind, time to start formalizing and etching it. November Miles : 90 |
80 |
| Saturday: |
6xWilderness at Franklin Park. 2:29, 27, 27, 27, 28, 30 (window 2:24-26). Feeling pretty good, unable to get rolling too well today. Colder than it has been of late, low 40s and pretty windy, hands pretty cold by the end of the workout. Coach read the wrong watch on the first one, called out "2:12." Didn't feel like I had a lot of turnover, at least I wasn't able to sustain it too long. About 1:30-1:45 into each interval my legs started to get pretty tired. The last one I was falling apart on, but able to maintain the integrity of my stride, didn't completely cave as I normally would have. Cooled down 3M, did some downhill strides and jumped in the van. |
8 |
| Friday PM: |
Almost Fresh. Feeling pretty good today, legs a little sore from stuff, but nothing big. Hitting a solid pace, definitely not pushing it, just running comfortably. Nothing of note out on the roads today, weather's getting cold, but still TShirt-able. Popped a couple good strides afterwards, still feels a bit weird to be flying around the indoor oval, but not nearly as foreign as last week. Don't know if that's a good thing. |
6 |
| Friday AM: |
Science. Nothing big going down this morning, just more mileage. Slept 7+ hours last night, HR at 41BPM, feeling good this morning, not nearly as tired as yesterday. A little soreness in the left calf area, typical, but not nearly as bad as it once was, and nothing to worry about. |
4 |
| Thursday PM: |
Grass Loops. Started out at 6:00, dropped into the 5:30s, then Brewer ran with me for a lap, which was 5:10, then he dropped off and I ran 5:15-25s for the rest of the laps, with Driver hanging on over the last few. Felt pretty good today, opening up and moving fast, legs responding well, not sore from the workout. Cool out but good weather for running. Despite the massive amount of sleep I was still falling asleep in classes today. Lunges and lifting afterwards. |
8 |
| Thursday AM: |
Science. Slept for a grand total of 9 hours last night (1 hour nap + 8 hours) and woke up pretty tired. Got out the door and the legs were feeling pretty solid, a little soreness in the calves but that's it. Not much of note today, HR at 41BPM last night. |
4 |
| Wednesday PM: |
Pizza Relay then 6x800 (200m rest). Relay went exactly according to plan, Verbal dusted the first leg, running 4:19, then Nelson took over and held the lead for 1400m before fading down the homestretch but stayed close. I got the "baton" in third place, with Brulois leading by 30+m. I was in 2nd after 500m, came through the half in 2:12 and passed Brulois with 600m to go. Threw in a quick acceleration as I went past him, to make sure he didn't try to latch on. Just controlled the race after that, ran away from everybody and hit a 4:29. Had about a 5 minute break, put the trainers back on and hit the halves in 2:25, 22, 23, 24, 22, 22 (window 2:22-23.) Feeling strong through the halves, the last 2 got pretty tough, but managed to gut it out. Stomach was feeling weird, thought I was going to throw up, but didn't. It was kind of cold and pouring down rain, really sweet weather, in my opinion. By the second lap of the mile I was soaked through, really didn't notice too much though. On #5 I realized my shoes were getting soaked and heavier, my quads started getting tired too. Think maybe my legs were getting colder over the last couple. They had the portable lights still up in lanes 1-3, so we ran from the 1600m stagger, and had Nolan telling us when the previous leg crossed the finish line. Not ideal, but not a big deal. Actually pretty convienent that we were in lane 4, because lanes 1-3 were flooded pretty well on turn 2. Cooled down 2M indoors afterwards, switching up direction every half mile. Stretched out and then grabbed shower to warm up before heading over to Coach's for our victory pizza. Wound up taking down a whole pepperoni pizza, guess my stomach was hurting from hunger. Imagine that. Solid day, good workout. |
8 |
| Wednesday AM: |
Science. Only got about 5 hours last night, woke up pretty tired in the morning. Able to drive the HR down to 34-35BPM last night, it averaged out at 39BPM overnight. Legs feeling good again, no soreness or stiffness anymore. |
4 |
| Tuesday PM:
| Ocean. Felt good to hit a different route, haven't run this since the end of Outdoor. Holding a solid pace the whole way, got in a really good effort. Getting colder out, not a big deal, except for over the bridge and by the ocean, with the wind coming off the water. The only really bad part about this route is that it's completely urban, and hits way too many stoplights for my taste. Felt strong climbing up the hill, brought it home along Newbury at a controlled pace, didn't get out of hand. After practice I wolfed down a LaVerde's sub at the Kendall T-Stop before heading over to catch a sneak preview of Matrix Revolutions. Pretty solid movie, much better than Reloaded. |
9 |
| Tuesday AM: |
Science. Feeling really good today, no soreness to speak of. Moving at a pretty good clip, legs turning over well. Can hardly feel the hamstrings anymore. Weather was pretty cool, a little rainy, high 40s. Slept about 5.5 hours with the HR at 45BPM, and took an hour long nap last night. |
4 |
| Monday PM: |
Fresh Pond around the Pond. Feeling good, hitting a really solid pace today. Getting good turnover, legs pretty snappy today. Hamstrings didn't bother me too much. Hit the Sunoco again, that place continues to save me. Not much exciting happening on the roads today. Came back and did strides as the track team was doing their conditioning work, getting ready for another season. Feeling really snappy on the strides, almost a little too fast, too easy. Once or twice I was concerned about the hamstrings, but nothing happened. Think they're just on my mind a little too much. Lunges and lifting afterwards. |
10 |
| Monday AM: |
Science. Got about 5.5 hours last night, HR at 41BPM. Feeling pretty good out there this morning, weather's staying warm for us. The hamstrings started to loosen up a lot last night as I watched the Pack pull out the must win, and was pounding down about a gallon and a half of water. Wonder if there's a connection? |
4 |
| Sunday: |
BC Reservoir. Poor communication about heading out to Walden, I got up at 7 and ate a little but went back to bed. Finally out the door about 2PM. Cold and raining at the start, but the rain ended quickly and it warmed up a bit. Hamstrings still unbelievably sore, felt like they were going to cramp a time or two during the run. Loosened up eventually, but still sore when I was slowing down and cutting stride. Everything else was feeling good, no ill effects from yesterday's race. Solid pace, nothing blazing but covering ground well. Cutting mileage a little this week, nothing substantial though. |
11 |
Day |
Round Up |
Miles |
| Week 10
10/26-11/01 |
Good week with a disappointing ending. Feeling strong, dominated the workout on Wednesday. Thought I was ready on Saturday, race went exactly as I had envisioned it would, except for the fourth mile, didn't push enough. Needed to run with Pyle and couldn't get my head on straight and my legs under me. Focus now is on the next two weeks and being prepared when we toe the line in Maine. November Miles : 10 |
85 |
| Saturday: |
NEWMACs. Ran 25:22 to take second behind Stan Pyle. Feeling strong through the first 2.5M. I was taking it to Pyle up every hill, broke away on the long hill that makes up the backside of the loop. During the fourth mile my hamstrings started to tighten up and couldn't really open it up heading downhill, Pyle caught and gapped me. Tried to relax hitting the last mile, knew I was a lot stronger than Pyle climbing the hills, but couldn't get my legs under me enough. The last half mile I finally relaxed and got my form together but it was too little too late and I couldn't run him down. Cooled down 3M on the roads with two sore hamstrings. Don't really know why the hamstrings got so sore, may have slowed up too much after pushing up the hill. Team got the win, which was the focus of the day. Gotta figure some stuff out in the next two weeks. |
10 |
| Friday PM: |
Fake Fresh. Beautiful weather out today, got rolling and was feeling good. Kept it under control, legs not screaming too much, calves had been a bit sore all day though. Felt good on the pick up down Vassar Street though, running fast with almost no effort. Not quite as quick on the strides, or as effortless, but I'm not too worried. October Miles : 379 |
5 |
| Friday AM: |
Science. Feeling pretty good, took a block or two to get the legs completely under me, but otherwise was feeling good and running easy. Beautiful weather outside, in the 60s, forecast in the 70s tomorrow. Definitely doesn't feel like the end of October, but a gorgeous fall day nonetheless. Calves a little sore by the end of the run. Slept a solid 7 hours, HR at 42BPM. |
4 |
| Thursday PM: |
Grass Loops. Feeling pretty solid, but definitely nothing amazing. Hitting a little below 6:00 per, but felt like I was running faster than that, kind of weird today. Had to ditch after 6 laps to hit the bathroom, then came back for the last 2. Just running comfortably today, planning the race, running it through in my head. Strides felt a bit out of whack, but just relaxed and let it flow and things came together after a few. Lunges and lifting, then climbed into the cold whirpool for 12 minutes at a nice 54 degrees today. |
7 |
| Thursday AM: |
Science. Calves screaming the whole way, probably due to the influx of speed work yesterday. Otherwise I'm feeling pretty good, legs fairly rested, mind relaxed. Slept about 5 hours, but took a nice 40 minute nap too, HR at 42BPM. |
4 |
| Wednesday PM: |
8x800 2:24, 22, 24, 23, 23, 22, 22, 22 (window 2:22-23.) Feeling pretty lethargic on the warmup, but the 200m acceleration at the end of the 2M jog was easy and my legs felt fast and quick, always a good thing. Got rolling and was being cautious the first few, didn't want to make the workout harder than it was supposed to be. Went through in 68 seconds on #2 following Group B, after which I jumped ahead of them to avoid getting sucked into anything stupid. Typically would roll through in 70-72, and hit 700m in 2:05-08. Feeling really strong through the first six, just rolling. Coach said I looked a bit flat on the first three, I loosened it up a bit once I had the pace ingrained. Numbers 7 and 8 stung a little bit, had to focus on running relaxed and letting myself run fast, instead of just trying to push through. Tying up a little bit down the final straight, but nothing horribly devastating. We were running in lane four to avoid the portable lights they had set up around the field, which took up lanes 1-3. Weather was beautiful, the rain and wind had both subsided, and it was warm enough to run without a shirt and stay warm. Cooled down with a Harvard Loop (aka Short Fake Fresh) to round out the mileage. Was probably a little over 10M today, but yesterday was probably a little under 9, so it all comes out in the wash. |
10 |
| Wednesday AM: |
Science. Nice weather this morning, 50 degrees and raining. One of those mornings where the Esplanade is essentially deserted. Right knee a little funky this morning, but the calves are feeling much better, which is encouraging. Feeling good, looking forward to today's workout. |
4 |
| Tuesday PM: |
Jamaica, with a little extra on the grass. Wound up running blind most of the way today. Good old daylight savings time is gone, and without any lights along the way to help out. On the way back I stuck to the grass next to the road, and cut over across the bridge the we typically run under, meeting up with the typical path at the T stop. Running relaxed and fairly slowly, taking it easy on legs that were a bit tired today. Surprised, since I've been sleeping well lately. Calves were screaming all day long, so I stood in the whirlpool for 12 minutes after the run. Feeling good on the strides though, we'll see how they handle the workout tomorrow. |
9 |
| Tuesday AM: |
Science. Calves were ridiculously sore/tired this morning, screaming since I woke up. Feeling pretty good otherwise, nothing spectacular. Got a little over 6 hours of shuteye last night, with the HR at 44BPM. |
4 |
| Monday PM: |
Fresh Pond, around the Pond. Feeling pretty loose today, hitting a good clip. Driver showed up on my shoulder about 4 minutes in and stayed about 5m behind the whole way. Nice weather for running, pretty warm with a bit of rain to keep things cool enough. Did strides and lunges up on the Shobrys Indoor Track, way too soon to be running up there. Lifted afterwards. |
10 |
| Monday AM: |
Science. Same old stuff, a little ache in the left calf and a little in the right knee. Warm weather, with a little bit of a drizzle this morning, nice to run in. Got about 6+ hours of sleep last night, HR holding at 43BPM still. |
4 |
| Sunday: |
Walden Pond. Just Driver and me this morning. Feeling good from the start, winding my way around in the Lincoln Conservation, took a few new paths. Saw a bunch of bluejays and for the first time ever, saw a train use the tracks. Worked my way back to the Pond and used the bathroom at the parking lot, about an hour into it. After that I went around on some of the paths next to the Pond that I've never used before, where, for just the second time I can remember, I saw a train go past. Much better than last week's run at Walden. Slept 9-10 hours last night, that felt really good. Don't understand why I still feel tired, need to kick the legs up or something, maybe that'll do the trick. |
14 |
Day |
Round Up |
Miles |
| Week 09
10/19-10/25 |
Solid week, kind of dying in the middle but pulled it out by the end, when I was able to get enough sleep. Two pretty solid workouts, felt that I nailed Summit really well, but would have liked to have been a bit quicker on the 1000s, but everybody was off a beat, so maybe it was something else. Saturday was another good workout, hard to quantify it though, I was just out there whupping my own ass. Sunday's run was pretty horrible though, really dragging and feeling like shit. Things happen. October Miles : 304 |
85 |
| Saturday: |
Hill Fartlek. Drove out to the NEWMAC course in Boylston, MA to get a look at it. It's just 2 and a half laps around a big old field. Really up and down at parts, the ground is kind of uneven and slanted too. Most of the guys didn't like the course, neither did Coach, but I didn't mind it too much. It's not much good for running slow on, but felt alright during the workout. Did a 2M warmup, then commenced the workout, which was running at 1:00 slower than race pace, and at each hill, about halfway up, hit race pace and hold it for 400-600m (1:20-30). Since the 2M mark is right at the start, I just did the workout over the whole 8k course to get a better feel for it. There's a long, drawn out hill on the backside of the course that was kicking my ass the 2nd and 3rd times through. But on the whole I was moving well and this was an awesome workout. Hit 28:00 for the 5M, but Coach said they're moving the finish line a little bit, so it'd be more like 27:30. Came through 2M in 10:30, 3M in 15:50 and 4M in 21:20. I had been getting slightly slower, but those times lead me to believe I was either using slightly incorrect mile marks, or the last mile is long. Really got my legs burning today, breathing hard, a solid workout. Very happy with today. |
10 |
| Friday PM: |
Fake Fresh. Was thinking about going longer, about 8M, but Coach wanted us to keep it short, because that's the normal routine. Headed out down the river and was keeping it under control, but moving at a pretty quick clip. Not much of interest happening today, strides felt a little sluggish, no pop in my legs. Hard to tell whether or not I'm on the way out of this downswing. It'll happen soon enough though. |
5 |
| Friday AM: |
Science. Slept about 8+ (HR 44BPM) after watching the Marlins win last night. Starting to feel more rested, but the legs are still aching a bit. Felt pretty loose on the run, calves were screaming a bit though. The whole thing seemed a bit long today. |
4 |
| Thursday PM: |
Grass Loops. Feeling a little weird today, legs weren't clicking that well, a little wasted/empty. Still able to hold pace (5:45-50) for all of them. Not quite recouperated I guess, but that'll come soon enough. Legs still aching during the day, but looking at another 8+ tonight and then the weekend, so things are looking up. Another cold one today, probably mid-40s, but still nice enough for a TShirt and shorts. Lunges and lifting afterwards, not a spectacular day, but a solid one, just another piece in the puzzle. Been thinking about a line from O.A.R., for awhile now, finally got around to digging it up: "These questions had been considered a long time ago, decisions were made, answers recorded, and the book closed. If it had to be re-opened everytime the going got rough, he would spend more time rationalizing than training." |
7 |
| Thursday AM: |
Science. Feeling a little better today, slept almost 8 hours with the HR at 43BPM still. Woke up to rain/snow falling from the sky, pulled on my shorts and new jacket and hit it. Legs feeling marginally more rested, but actually not expecting as much improvement in their condition as I am in my mental state (my legs were never that rundown in the first place.) Just gonna rock and fire and get through this "breakdown training" (the O.A.R. term for downswings.) Gotta love the way my boys performed last night. |
4 |
| Wednesday PM: |
Summit Ave with 3 Grass Loop thousands. Headed out to Summit Ave. and got the fun started. A little cool out, but only a problem when standing around. Right at that temperature where you feel comfortable when you're working hard but don't start to sweat. Heading up the long way I got to the front of the pack and started pushing. Brewer stuck with me stride for stride and I just focused on staying relaxed and climbing the hill. Don't think my legs were completely there, but I didn't notice at the time. Wasted as usual at the top, actually thought I might not recover enough to hit the rest of the workout solidly. Did 4 times up the short side, running really strong up the steep part and then blasting away to the finish. Had to figure out a different way to get myself psyched for each time up the hill - First one: gotta get the workout started off right, Second one: this is the meat of the workout, have to nail it, Third one: anybody can run a good last one, get the work in on this one, Fourth one: you HAVE to nail the last one. One of the difficulties of training alone is that you can't rely on anyone but yourself, which is also one of the benefits. Hit a hard mile plus effort along Commonwealth back to Bob Smith's Adventure Store, about 6:30 worth. Jogged back to the practice field and was putting myself into a race mentality to make sure I nailed the first one, instead of botching it like last time. Hit 2:59, 56, 58 (window 2:50-52,) but felt like I was running a bit better than that. Don't really know where I was falling off pace, never felt like I was dogging any part of it. Cooled down about 2M around the grass, hit a couple lousy strides, stretched out and got into 55 degree water for 12 minutes. Looking back on the workout, I don't think I had my legs completely today. I wasn't pushing up the long side as strongly as I was trying to, and I didn't have the strength/speed on the 1000s either. I'm caught in this downswing, I've been feeling ridiculously rundown, wanting to stay in bed. I fell asleep in 2 different classes today for 15-20 minutes each time, that hasn't happened in a LONG while. Just need to stay calm in the pack, keep my head down and it'll work itself out. It's just gotta work itself out soon. Thankfully the rest of the week is pain- and workfree. |
13 |
| Wednesday AM: |
Science. Weather's getting cold again, rumour is we may get snow tomorrow. Woke up at 6 after nearly 5 hours sleep (HR=42BPM) to write up a final copy of my homework. Barely got that done in time (good thing I'm not smart enough to figure out all the answers!) to get me out the door a little after 7:45. Dragging a little bit this morning, can't say I was too ecstatic about doing the run, but it's got to get done. |
4 |
| Tuesday PM: |
Docks. After 4 straight hours of class I was in no mood for a long run, hit Docks at a respectable pace and called it a day. Weather was still nice, probably could have/should have ditched the shirt. Noticed that there are about 20-30 posters of Antoine Walker still up around the Fleet Center, if not more. Legs are still there, that's about the best I can say. When a downswing matches up with a rough patch of work, things don't feel good. Thankfully, the week is over tomorrow afternoon. Went home and downed nearly a pound of carrots and a bunch of water, attempting to clean out my system. I'll try anything to get out of this funk. I'm pretty sure the key is going to be more sleep though. |
8 |
| Tuesday AM: |
Science. Weather was a lot nicer today, went without a shirt, probably one of the last times I'll be able to do that in 2003. Legs feeling a little rundown, definitely not chipper like last week. Typical AM run, not crawling but not blazing either. Getting in the miles. Stomach was pretty sore this morning on account of starting Midnight Abs last night. Another 5 hours, HR remains at 43. |
4 |
| Monday PM: |
Fresh Pond, around the Pond. Took off at a good pace, nothing too horrible, but clipping along. Picked this route today for the Sunoco station and timed it perfectly. After a quick pit-stop I was back on the Parkway and headed home, just over 60 minutes of running. Legs are starting to feel better today, strides were pretty solid, but nothing blazing. No aches or pains during the run, which is always good. Lunges and lifting, after which I spent 12 minutes in the cold whirlpool, 58-degrees today, almost like taking a bath. Coach suggested that I had focused so intently and raced so hard at All New Englands that my body probably was unable to get focused/psyched/prepared for the meet on Saturday. Sounds reasonable, because I was feeling pretty hollow that day, but doesn't change the fact that I ran poorly. |
10 |
| Monday AM: |
Science. A nice, cool morning greeted me, but nothing too horrible. The temps are definitely on their way down and will stay there. Typical AM run, a little pain in the right knee and left calf. About 5 hours sleep, HR at 43BPM. |
4 |
| Sunday: |
Walden Pond. Legs felt like absolute crap today. About 20 minutes in I was considering whether or not to just pack it in. Started out around the Pond with Nolan, then he stopped to tie his shoes and told me to just take off. Tried to pick it up and hit a good pace, but the legs wouldn't respond. The first 40 minutes or so were pretty painful, trying to make my legs move when they didn't want to. Had to just keep telling myself that things would pick up, my legs would loosen up and I'd get into the swing of it. That happened a bit, but was pretty slow in coming. Don't have an explanation for why my legs were feeling like trash, guess I'm just stuck in a downswing right now. Quite a bit of work due on Wednesday, need to get on top of that. Mileage should be more consistent day to day this week, because no meet on Saturday means no low mileage day on Friday killing the week. |
12 |
Day |
Round Up |
Miles |
| Week 08
10/12-10/18 |
Disappointing week. Nothing really went well at all, tired the whole week, a crappy workout in the wind and then didn't have my legs on Saturday and Pyle whupped up on me. The mileage got done though, still working, and every week can't be a good one. Just have to work it out so that you're getting the good ones at the right time. In the big picture, this race doesn't mean too much, no use getting worked up about it, especially now that it's over and done with. Just gotta move on to the next one. October Miles : 219 |
85 |
| Saturday: |
Meet at USM, 27:07 for third place. Got embarassed by Stan Pyle of Wheaton today, he took the race at about 800m and I never saw him again. Legs feeling pretty crappy, got to about 2.5M and they felt empty, I was just covering ground and not being agressive at all. Cooled down for 3M around the course, not too happy about how today turned out. |
10 |
| Friday PM: |
Fake Fresh. Got rolling today around 5:20, overcast and cool. Legs feeling pretty crappy, got them turning over slightly but definitely not feeling light and quick. Not too worried about that though. Having some GI pains and had to hit the bathroom when I got back to campus. Felt good on the strides afterwards, starting to get some speed back. The energy was pretty high among the guys today, everybody seems upbeat and ready to go for tomorrow. Went to team dinner afterwards, where Brewer and Khatch royally screwed up the drink. |
5 |
| Friday AM: |
Science. Got in a solid 7.5 hours last night, went to bed after the Sox lost. Got up to study German for a little before hitting the roads. Feeling pretty good again this morning, the nagging injuries have been subsiding of late. Need to stay on top of that stuff though. |
4 |
| Thursday PM: |
Grass Loops. Did 8 circuits, feeling really good today, pretty pumped up and that carried over into the Grass Loops. Started out at 6:00 for the first two because we had to climb past a batting cage leaving the turf. Coach moves that out of the way and we were able to just roll. Dropped down to 5:30 on the next one without pushing at all. Goal pace was 5:52, so I proceeded to decelerate the rest of the way, got down to 5:40s consistently on the last 3 or 4. Not really working hard at all, just letting the legs roll. Lunges and lifting afterwards. |
7 |
| Thursday AM: |
Science. Accidentaly fell asleep last night, slept for 6 hours before waking up to write a German essay. Not a big deal, just wasn't able to check the HR. Calf was pretty tight again, other than that no big problems. |
4 |
| Wednesday PM: |
3x1600 4:51, 4:49, 4:56 (window 4:45-47), 3x1000 3:01, 02, 00 (2:50-52.) 2M warm-up and 3M cooldown. Not a very enjoyable day at all. Head wasn't in the first one and a half miles on the track, woke up during the second and ran fairly well, but crapped out on #3 again. Legs weren't extremely tired, but couldn't get myself going. Weather.com was right and two fronts hit each other generating some ridiculous winds, which made running none too fun. Headed over to Grass Loops for the thousands, where the wind had blown over the 2 Port-A-Johns onto our path, making for a smelly inconvience. Luckily they weren't blocking anything. Able to hammer a little bit better on those, kept getting sucked into just covering ground while running into the wind (on 3 sides of the loop) and managed to open it up pretty well with the wind at my back, as it were (it was more diagonal across the field and not much help.) Everybody was a little off today, but nobody was as off as I was, wasn't too focused on this one, just assumed I'd be able to hit it like all the others. Hopefully it'll swing back around by this weekend. One more night of work, then I should be able to hit a fair amount of sleep on Thursday and Friday nights. Realized after the fact that doing a BU Loop for a cooldown wasn't the best idea, because if the Sox happened to win as I was going through Kenmore, well that would have been a big mess, and coming back over the bridge had me running slanted because of the wind. Quote of the day (overheard while cooling down along Beacon) :: "It's really windy." |
10
|
| Wednesday AM: |
Science. Legs weren't as solid as they've been the past few days. Calf was pretty tight and took a fair bit to loosen up. The hip was aching from when I woke up, but that wasn't such a big problem, because the knee wasn't all that tight. Just a long run, seemed to take forever. One more night of getting dumped on, then I should be able to relax into the weekend. HR was 43BPM for 5 hours. |
4 |
| Tuesday PM: |
Docks. Feeling pretty good from the start, holding a good pace the whole way. Hoped I'd be able to follow the BoSox game during the run, but there really aren't as many taxis with sportstickers as I thought there were. Didn't miss much though. Feeling alright during strides, left calf was pretty sore though. Rushed through stuff in order to go take my 003 test, that wasn't too enjoyable. |
8 |
| Tuesday AM: |
Science. Again, went after a few hours work this morning. Again, feeling really good and moving at a fast pace. I've got a couple pretty tough days staring me down this week, but the work should be done by Thursday. |
4 |
| Monday PM: |
Arboretum. Drove out around 2PM, really nice weather, warm and sunny. Feeling good the whole time, headed over to the other side of the street and did a quick perimeter, then came back and knocked around the main part of the Arboretum. Found a new part, just a gravel trail to the Forest Hills T-Stop, pretty boring and a lot of bugs. Messed around on Mount Wu-Shu a bit before heading back across the street. 2 more perimeters and once up the Big Green Hill, which got me breathing pretty hard. A good, quick run and a solid 10 miler. Lunges afterwards and lifted back on campus. Nearly killed the season by stepping in a hole jogging around after strides. Luckily nothing happened, dodged a bullet there. |
10 |
| Monday AM: |
Science. Slept for 6 hours, didn't sleep very well though. Got up and did some work before running. Felt really good, moving pretty fast this morning. Got a lot of work to do, thankfully it's a holiday and we don't have school. |
4 |
| Sunday: |
Walden Pond. Feeling pretty good today, took off down the first steeple trail and kept hammering the whole run. Nice weather, cool and overcast and the skies opened up about 30 minutes in. The legs really enjoyed running getting mileage in on the soft surfaces, hardly felt the knee at all and the calf was pretty loose too. Will hit both with The Stick today, should be good. Otherwise I was fresh after 8 hours of sleep, didn't bother with the HR. Got slightly lost near the end of the run, went onto some new trails. Eventually found myself, it was going to wind up in that region between 14 and 15M, so I tacked on a little extra to bump the mileage up. Plan for the week is the same as the past few, fast mileage at 85M, workout Wednesday and racing Saturday on the Regional course again. |
15 |
Day |
Round Up |
Miles |
| Week 07
10/05-10/11 |
Another good week, with an amazing workout on the track on Tuesday. Looking forward to when that one hits in legs in a few more days. Race didn't pan out quite as I would have hoped, but it showed that I can tuck in and endure the races when the legs aren't completely there, instead of buckling as I have in the past. Just buckle down and ride it out. The workload slackened off near the end of the week, need to make sure I get on top of the next wave of work. Entering the homestretch now, only a few more weeks to get the work in. October Miles : 134 |
85 |
| Saturday: |
BC Reservoir plus a Summit Ave. Left calf was insanely tight for the first 10 minutes. It was like running with a brick instead of a muscle, absolutely no give. Thankfully it loosened up eventually, but I'll hit it up with The Stick regardless. I tried to stretch it out once at a stoplight but it wasn't responding to the typical calf stretch, I'm not too worried though, it's just one of those things. Otherwise I was feeling pretty good today. Typical post-race run, unable to truly hammer but still stretched the legs out a fair amount. Had to tack on down the Commonwealth Mall a little to bump the mileage up, nothing big. Slept about 7 last night, HR at 46BPM, can't really explain that. Maybe I'll get around to napping today. |
12 |
| Friday: |
All New Englands, 13th in 24:56. Not quite the race I had wanted, legs pretty tired from the start, just got up to about 15th and held on to the pack. Bridgewater took a wrong turn, so I wound up the top Div3 guy, think I would have caught him regardless though. Got some work to do, that's for sure, and luckily we've got a little more time until Regionals. 2M warmup and 3M cooldown to round out the day. Lunges and lifting afterwards, I hate the post-race lift, but today wasn't as bad as others have been. |
10 |
| Thursday PM: |
Fake Fresh. Pretty light day today, just getting in miles at an easy pace. Still some weakness in my right knee, doesn't really feel like my IT Band, but that was really tight while stretching in the trainers afterwards. Foam roller and ice too. Felt fast during the strides, almost too good when I picked it up down Vassar at the end of the run. I kind of prefer my legs to feel trashy the day before, there's nowhere to go but up from there. Laid out the plan in full, getting ready to roll tomorrow afternoon. Just need to relax and trust the legs. |
5 |
| Thursday AM: |
Down the Commonwealth Mall and a loop around Boston Common with Verbal, then messed around on the mall some more to get another mile in. Slept about 9 last night, HR at 43BPM, feeling a lot better this morning. Still some soreness, mainly right knee and left calf. Sticking on the grass seemed to help. All the muscle soreness from yesterday was gone. |
4 |
| Wednesday PM: |
Grass Loops. Really needed these today. Had been sitting all day and not thinking about the knee, and then walking to practice I remembered it was sore. So I popped some Ibuprofen which I think started kicking in during the run. Spent a few minutes in the trainers on the foam roller and stretched out the knee. Nothing horrible during the run, which is encouraging. Legs pretty sore in general though, both quads and my left calf. Jumped into the cold whirlpool again, 12 minutes at 54 degrees. Pretty difficult to keep pace today, not really sure why. All over the place for the first few laps, eventually settled into 5:50-55 for the last 3 or 4 circuits. Feeling pretty quick during strides and sprint drills. Just another maintenance day. |
8 |
| Wednesday AM: |
Science. Not feeling too bad today, given the workout. No fatigue, just some soreness in the knee. I don't know what to expect from this thing. It feels like it just takes a little while to get loosened up. HR at 43BPM, about 5 hours of sleep last night. 2 tests today, then downhill the rest of the week. |
4 |
| Tuesday PM: |
5x1600m. 4:48, 47, 47, 46, 43 (window 4:48-50) with 2:45 rest, wound up being 300-400m per. Feeling extremely solid today, a very good workout. Hit just about dead even splits, usually 71-73, 2:23-25, 3:34-36. Don't think I dropped under 70 for a 400 the whole time. I'd get out feeling comfortable, come through the 400 and keep the pace up, stay calm mentally. Come through the 800 and occasionally have to pick it up a little more, drop a 71 or so, convering ground, and then keep the stride together for the last quarter. Didn't ever break apart, feeling really solid out there today. Running alone, but the other groups were on the track so occasionally I'd have a few guys to chase down. On the last one I went out after Stoddard and came through in low 71, then picked off Brulois and Group C. In the final lap I went around the rest of B with 300m to go and just cruised home. Didn't hammer at all, didn't really even feel that tired at the end. Grabbed 3M cooldown on the grass because my knee was a little worrisome today, but no pain at all during the workout. Able to focus really well today, this workout gave me a lot of confidence because I was gliding through so much of it. Finally during cooldown strides my legs got a little wobbly, but nothing horrendous. Did the foam roller before and after, and iced the knee afterwards too. |
10 |
| Tuesday AM: |
Science again. Nice, cool weather again, right about 50 degrees. Legs feeling alright, nothing too amazing though. Right knee was feeling weak by the end of the run again. Need to take care of that, so it doesn't develop into anything. Slept about 6 hours and HR was at 41BPM. The Athletics let me down yesterday. How does Long watch that third strike? Able to catch an exciting end to the Monday Night Football game though, that was pretty crazy. Should only have one more tough night this week. |
4 |
| Monday PM: |
Castle to Bunker Hill to Beacon Hill and back along the Comm Ave Mall. Idea for today was to run some easy hills, and focus on topping them really well. Got in a solid run, perhaps a hair under 10 but I'll give myself the benefit of the doubt. Took a little while to get up to speed, and wound up running at a comfortable pace, I think I was clipping along alright, but not sure of the speed. Feeling really strong and comfortable up the hills, worked on hammering the tops of the hills. Once past Bunker Hill I followed the Freedom Trail back to the North End, a route lauded by Brewer, but only marginally better in my opinion. The neighborhood is pretty sweet, but that only lasts a few blocks and then you're back on the Docks route. Messed around a bit in the Beacon Hill area, not the optimal place to run, all pavement and a lot of cars and people around. Managed to stretch out the IT Band well enough that there wasn't any pain during the run, chasing the EPO with Ibuprofen probably helped out a bit too. Forgot to record the vitals this morning, 6 hours of sleep and HR at 40BPM. |
10 |
| Monday AM: |
Grass Loops. Got up an hour later than planned to finish up homework, resulted in missing the AM run at 7:30. Luckily, the professor didn't show up and I ditched instead of listening to the TAs read out of the book. Went over the locerroom and changed, about to head out on a Harvard Loop and thought how sweet it would be if there were trails nearby I could run on instead of crappy pavement. Wound up getting on the grass for 4+ circuits as the PE Golf students chipped golf balls onto the baseball diamond. Good thing too, because the right knee started feeling pretty weak, not injured just weak, at the end. Took some extra time to stretch it out, definitely going full bore on the foam roller for awhile now. |
4 |
| Sunday: |
Back at Walden. Parked in the lot this time, so we got to use the trails I know pretty well. Hit up the steeple trails a couple times, that was good. Still need to work on getting the knee on my trail leg out wider, tucking it under me too much. Stopped at 30 mins in to loosen up my right knee/IT Band, looks like it's back to the foam roller this coming week. Legs feeling pretty good, not too tired, but not as solid as yesterday. Didn't get as much sleep as I would have liked, which needs to change, but the work doesn't seem to be letting up for awhile still. The run started getting long at about an hour, managed to get through it though. Coming back along the Pond I stumbled a bit and my right knee hit my left leg and I nearly bailed into the Pond. Holding steady at 85M this week, big, big race on Friday. |
14 |
Day |
Round Up |
Miles |
| Week 06
9/28-10/04 |
Great week of work, two really solid workouts and a bunch of good runs. School was kind of kicking my butt this week though, which made sleep hard to come by. Looks like it'll stay that way for at least a few more days. I handled the workout on Tuesday really well, I'm starting to get used to pushing myself in these workouts now. And Friday was another good one, and a long one at that. The mileage is still there, a little lower than normal, but I've picked up the pace during my runs, so it should work out. Looking ahead a little, All New Englands is coming 'round, and then the big meets are a little over a month away. Started working on the mental game a little, will continue to ramp that up in the coming weeks. October Miles : 49 |
88 |
| Saturday: |
BC Reservoir. Got out the door a little after 11AM, it was a little cold and raining. Knew it was going to be a good run though, I was feeling it. Slept 9 hours last night and the HR was at 45BPM, a little high but I chalk that up to the workout yesterday. Legs feeling good from the start, gave myself a little time to loosen up, then started trucking. Not pushing at all, kept it completely under control, but focused on lifting the heels and the legs kept snapping around. Feeling good going around the Reservoir and then followed the Boston Marathon course back from Cleveland Circle (i.e. Beacon to Kenmore, then onto Commonwealth.) No aches or pains, which was a little surprising, I was expecting to be somewhat sore from yesterday. Figure I held right around 6 minute miles today, a solid 10 miler. |
10 |
| Friday PM: |
Summit Ave and Grass Loop 1000s. Jogged over to Summit as a group, hammered the long side once then did four times up the short side. Took a hard mile plus (6:00) along Commonwealth, then jogged the rest of the way back to the practice fields. Went 4x1030yd in 2:57, 54, 51, 50 (window 2:52-54). Started a bit back in the group at the start of the long side, got up to the front and put the hammer down. The four up the short side weren't too hard, recovered by the time I got back down to the bottom. The hard mile was more to blow out the pipes than for improvement, really helped to get me feeling good on the thousands. Wasn't quite back in gear for the first thousand, fell asleep slightly down the backstretch, hammered through the line. Took 1:45 rest between them. On number two I got out stronger, right into the wind and held strong down the backstretch. Number three was pretty much the same, but number four got more lactic acid into the legs, but Group D was ahead of me and I ran them down, which made it considerably easier. Solid workout, nothing devastating though, but there's no doubts about my ability to handle fatigue, able to hold it off until the very late stages of the workout, even then the legs didn't go to crap, able to hold form and run hard without straining. Feeling really, really excited about my conditioning. It was 56 minutes roundtrip from MIT and back to the start of the grass loops, plus a 2M cooldown and the thousands made for a pretty solid day mileage-wise. Afterwards, I hit up the foam roller and then sat down in the cold whirlpool for 12 minutes, which was at a balmy 52 degrees today. |
13 |
| Friday AM: |
science. Went with Verbal and James, a prefrosh. Feeling pretty good, kept the pace easy the whole time, just getting in miles. Slept about six last night, HR at 43BPM. Weather was pretty cool, about 45 degrees at the start, nice for running though. |
4 |
| Thursday PM: |
Grass Loops. Feeling pretty good, started off at 5:52, dropped the rest of them down to 5:39-45. Not even pushing today, just keeping the stride comfortable and lifting the heels up. Pretty cool weather today, actually raining a little bit at the start of practice. Big workout tomorrow, hopefully I can get some sleep and feel this good tomorrow. I think the semester's starting to get to me, really dragging today during classes. |
6 |
| Thursday AM: |
Science. About 6 hours last night, tried to stay up to watch the A's-RedSox, but gave up. HR at 42BPM. A little over 50 degrees this morning, really nice weather. Nothing's too sore, but have little aches here and there. |
4 |
| Wednesday PM: |
Docks. Feeling pretty good today, just getting in miles today, nothing exciting. Trying to hold about 6:15s, pretty solid day. Almost got hit by a car, naturally, other than that though, extremely boring day. |
8 |
| Wednesday AM: |
Science. Another 5 hour night, HR remains at 42BPM. I don't know why I'm unable to finish this work. Anyways, legs not at all tired, despite the lack of sleep and the workout yesterday. Progressively getting colder out, about 50 degrees this morning, nice weather for running though. |
4 |
| Tuesday PM: |
Franklin Park. First and second miles, 3xWilderness and final mile. 3:00 after miles and 1:30 after Wilderness Loops (~800m). 4:48 (window 4:48-50), 5:03 (5:08-10), 2:30, 2:30, 2:29 (2:30-32), 4:38 (4:43-45). Wasn't sure how I'd feel today, falling asleep in class and on the drive to Franklin, strides didn't feel too fast through the long grass on the field. Feeling really solid on the first mile, relaxed a bit too much around the stadium and had to hammer from the finish line around the turn to the mile mark. On the second mile I was feeling good up Bearcage and held it through the mile mark well. On the Wilderness the legs were getting a little more fatigued but managed to hold on and push through well. Wound up having to press from the downhill during each loop, but that wasn't a big deal. Got through number three without the legs being shocked too much and jogged over to the 4M mark for the last interval. Got out pretty well and the legs were starting to get pretty fatigued. Managed to push through, really pressed up Bearcage, especially topping it, then opened it up coming down the back. Kept it under control but the stride was strong around the field. On the whole a solid workout, but not devastating at all. Managed to cool down 3M and get in strides and sprint drills without lactic acid building up or feeling like I was going to fall over. Guess that means I'm in pretty good shape, but it'd be nice to get a real devastating workout in this week, given we don't have a meet on Saturday. Maybe that'll be Summit on Friday. September Miles : 382 |
10 |
| Tuesday AM: |
Science. Another 5-6 hour night, HR at 42BPM, but wasn't as tired as yesterday monring. Almost screwed it up by going back to sleep, but thankfully I woke up just 10 mins later. Did a little German homework before heading out the door. Cool morning again, right around 55. Feeling strong, moving easily over the ground. No real aches or pains. Need to get this work out of the way so I can sleep more. I've just been spinning my wheels without accomplishing anything for the past few days. |
4 |
| Monday PM: |
BC, no Reservoir. Ran with Ethan today, legs feeling really good, nice and fresh. Didn't hammer down completely, but got moving. Ethan was feeling a little sore and I didn't want to just leave him, so I think we probably missed the 6:15 goal pace, but got moving well enough. Strides felt good, fast and got the legs burning. Did lunges and lifted as well. Pretty low key day, just logging mileage. |
8 |
| Monday AM: |
Science. Woke up after 5 hours of sleep, HR at 41BPM. Incredibly hard to get out of bed this morning, much more tired than normal. Evenutally got up and got going, run was pretty uneventful. Left ankle started hurting the last 800m or so, just one of those things. |
4 |
| Sunday: |
Walden. Ethan drove and parked on some road away from the Pond so we wouldn't have to drop $5 on parking. Started off well on some bike trails, wide and soft, without too many rocks or roots or turns. Ran with the guys for about 10 minutes before taking off on my own. Wanted to be hitting 6:00-:15 and was feeling pretty good, so I thought it would be a good day. Wound up trying to head back to the Pond proper and run those trails, but swung too wide, I suppose, and wound up cutting through some backyards and open fields before finding myself in the town of Lincoln, MA. Ran along those streets for awhile, actually wound up getting to within 400m of where the van was parked (I realized this later) before turning around in frustration. Took me quite awhile to find my way back, I got myself pretty well lost, but wound up finding the original path with about 5 minutes left, and took a shortcut back to the van. It was an alright day, don't especially like running when I'm lost though, I like to know where I'm going, so it wasn't such a great day, but it all worked out. Coach's plan for the rest of the season is to keep the mileage about where it is now, but drop our pace a little, so I'm holding at 85M, but running at 6:00-6:10 pace. And without a race this weekend there's no dropping mileage at the end of the week, so day-to-day totals will stay a little more even. |
13 |
Day |
Round Up |
Miles |
| Week 05
9/21-9/27 |
Good week of training. Been solid just about every week this season, hopefully it'll start to pay off on Saturdays now. Franklin Park workout was solid, would have been a lot better had the first mile been at pace though. Nothing too remarkable about any of the other runs, Sunday was a good long day at Walden though. Got some time now to regroup and refocus, figure out where I am and where I'm going.September Miles : 343 |
85 |
| Saturday: |
USM Invite in 26:32. Did a 2M warm up, legs still not feeling too great, really stiff and sore still. Got in a couple strides and was feeling better, knew I was going to be okay. Got off to a slow start, waiting for somebody to make the race happen. Put on a move between 2 and 3, wound up burning off everybody but Holtschulte and a guy from Wesleyan. Couldn't make it happen in the end though, that's 2 sophomores in 2 weeks that have beaten me. Need to get tougher, faster. Cooled down 3M. The course is really nice, lots of ups and downs, but wide and solid footing the whole way. Feeling pretty good afterwards, not devastated, but the legs were still sore. Looking forward to sleeping. |
10 |
| Friday PM: |
Harvard Loop. Feeling pretty good, but nothing amazing. Shortest PM run in a long time, nice to get away from the grind every once in awhile I guess. Hopefully I'll be feeling good tomorrow because of it. Going over strategy and everything in my head, a little visualization, not sure of everyone who will be there, but I know Williams and Amherst will be. Felt alright during strides, had a decent pop in my legs. Still overcast, pretty cool, nice weather for running, but summer is definitely gone. |
4 |
| Friday AM: |
Science. Got a solid 7+ hours last night, HR down at 42BPM again, but the legs were still a bit sore/tired out on the loop today. Wish that whirlpool was colder yesterday. Pretty cool out, you can feel fall coming on. |
4 |
| Thursday PM: |
Grass Loops. Shortest afternoon run in quite awhile. Only 7 circuits today. Took the first one easy, then dropped to about 5:55s and held that, except #5, where I slowed for no good reason. Feeling pretty good, calves still pretty sore though. Quads really sore during lunges, didn't feel especially fast on strides either. Wonder if I'm hitting a downswing, haven't been there in a while now. After lifting I headed down for my weekly ice bath, but the trainers were refusing to let us lower the temp, so I sat in 60+ degree water, pretty pointless if you ask me, but it's probably better than nothing. It was unbelievably tepid, compared to the mid-50s I'm accustomed to. If nothing else, if got my legs a little cleaner. |
6 |
| Thursday AM: |
Science. Calves sore as heck the first few minutes, eventually loosened up. Not feeling horrible, but not feeling great. Surprising, because the workout yesterday wasn't that rough. Slept 7+ hours, HR at 42BPM, and even managed a nap last night. |
4 |
| Wednesday PM: |
5xMile over the Franklin Park 8k course, with 3:00 recovery between. 5:03 (window 4:48-4:50), 5:04 (5:08-10), 4:58 (4:58-5:00), 5:02 (5:08-10), 4:41 (4:43-45). Botched the first mile, not running nearly hard enough, too concerned about being conservative and messed up the workout. Workout became more like 4xMile, and went a little too hard on number two. Eventually got it under control, but had to work the back half of mile three to come through on time. Mile four I felt that I was running slow and lost focus, so I picked it up through the woods, and wound up coming through a tad under. On the last mile Coach told me to run how I felt, and it was okay to drop below the window, as long as I hammered the hill and didn't come sprinting down the stretch. Got a really good run up Bearcage and held pace over the top and down the backside. Finished strong and didn't feel that fatigued. After the 3M cooldown though, my legs were swimming in lactic acid, just like after a race. It surprised me that the workout didn't hit me until 20 minutes afterwards. Felt like I was recovering quickly, probably could have gone with 2:00 or 2:30 rest. Rest of the week should be pretty nice, short days, lots of recovery. |
10 |
| Wednesday AM: |
Science. Amazingly, I was feeling pretty decent today. Slept only 4 hours last night, but HR was at 42BPM. Got in bed at it was at 34BPM, which may have been some sort of aberration, because it climbed up to 37 fairly quickly. Either way, legs weren't too tired, hopefully the same will be true this afternoon. |
4 |
| Tuesday PM: |
Fresh Pond. After a short lesson from Coach about taking easy days easy, but not too easy, headed off on the loop. Had been raining hard but stopped before practice, so that only the ground was wet. Feeling pretty good the whole way, my left knee freaked out and had some sharp pains for two minutes, about 15 minutes in, which earned it some ice afterwards. Taking it easy the whole way, legs actually a little tired, which was surprising. Sprint drills afterwards, felt pretty quick. Got a fair amount of work to take care of tonight. |
10 |
| Tuesday AM: |
Science. Feeling really good today, just floating along but running fast and strong at the same time. Coming across the brige, a helicopter flew overhead, about 50 feet up. Good thing Nolan wasn't with me. Slept about 6 hours last night with HR at 42BPM. HOpefully I'll be feeling like this tomorrow. |
4 |
| Monday PM: |
Arboretum. Feeling pretty good today, at least in the legs. Stomach-wise, today was a Steve Stoddard day, 2 trips to the Port-A-John, which was thankfully installed in the Arboretum since last week. Running alone for the first 7 minutes or so, then Ethan caught up and we ran together for awhile. Sticking on the trails, stayed in the main Arboretum for 20 minutes, then crossed over and did the perimeter, started up the Big Green Hill at 30 minutes, but Ethan decided to back off a bit and jumped in with Group B again. Today was a moderate pace with a focus on working the hills well. Wound up doing 2 perimeters and 1 Big Green Hill before heading back to the main Arboretum and topping off. Did lunges and lifted today as well. Legs feeling solid, refreshed. Hopefully they'll stay that way. |
10 |
| Monday AM: |
Science. No school this morning, but I got up after 7 hours to get the run done and start working. HR was at 43BPM overnight, slept pretty well. Feeling good this morning, looking forward to a solid week and hopefully can have a good race on Saturday. |
4 |
| Sunday: |
Walden Pond with some of the guys. Feeling good, makes me think the race yesterday didn't take too much out of me. Brulois, Brewer, Berberian and Dudley all showed up this morning, made for a nice group. Brewer stopped to adjust his shoe without telling us about 25 minutes in, the rest of the time I ran next to Brulois, with Sam and Spencer trailing us by a few meters. Nice trails, soft and wide, love running around out there. No aches or pains, which is a really good thing, because I was a little stiff in the morning. Took the freshman back to the Pond so they'd hit 12M, then went back into the Conservation to add-on. Finally found the steeple trail, it was so late I was afraid that I went too far astray, but found my way back to the Pond just in time. Slept about 8 hours with HR down at 43BPM, still could use some more sleep, but that's the way things go. Coach cut the mileage down to 85 for this week, wants the legs feeling good when we run at USM, to get a better feel for the course. That means I get short days on Thursday and Friday. |
15 |
Day |
Round Up |
Miles |
| Week 04
9/14-9/20 |
Good workout made it a pretty good week, but that was the only bright spot. Had a solid long run on Sunday, and felt amazing during Wednesday's workout, but that killed my legs for the next few days. Felt like total crap on Friday and made a costly mistake during Saturday's race. But you get up days and down days, up weeks and down weeks, and it all focuses on November, so you can't let mediocre week in September affect your confidence. September Miles : 258 |
90 |
| Saturday: |
UMass-Dartmouth Invite. Ran 25:29 for 3rd place, behind Abdi and Jim Emord, who was running unattached. Warming up I felt a little tired, and the legs weren't popping during strides. Got out quick and felt good the first two miles, made my move too soon and got eaten up with 1.5M to go and had nothing left in the tank. Disappointing race today, was too impatient and it bit me in the end. 2M warm up and 3M cool down to round out the miles. Temps in the 80s and pretty humid, but don't feel like that affected me at all. |
10 |
| Friday PM: |
Fake Fresh. Legs felt like crap today, just absolutely wasted. Wasn't ever running fast or easy, it was slow and tiring the whole time. Went a little early, weather was damn humid too. Came back to the track for a yoga session, that was pretty interesting. After that I headed out for strides where I had no speed whatsoever. Doesn't bother me too much though, I've proven that how I feel the day before a race is a lousy indicator of how I'll run. Got plenty of sleep, I'm rested up and ready to go. |
5 |
| Friday AM: |
Science. Weater was overcast and a little rainy at the start, pretty humid and hot out on the whole though. Legs feeling pretty good, HR was at 43BPM overnight. |
4 |
| Thursday PM: |
Grass Loops with Ethan. Couldn't go onto the turf today, field hockey game, so we were stuck to just the grass, about 1000y per loop. Ran for 55 minutes, keeping it easy the whole time, legs felt good but didn't have any desire to push today, nor the need to. Just clipping off miles in the 6:50-7:00 range and talking with Ethan. Lunges and lifting afterwards, felt pretty quick during the strides, but lunges got the legs burning. Nothing too exciting happening today, no aches or pains. |
8 |
| Thursday AM: |
Science. Got up after nearly 7 hours of sleep, HR at 44BPM. Probably high due to the workout, didn't feel too tired. Wasn't too difficult to get out of bed. Legs feeling good, no residual effects from yesterday's workout, which is good. |
4 |
| Wednesday PM: |
6x1600m 4:51, 52, 51, 51, 51, 52 (window 4:52-54) with 400m jog in between. 2M warmup, feeling alright, legs pretty lose. Got in some fast strides and was feeling good, primed for the workout. Didn't know exactly what to expect, running all alone for the first time since Sr. year at SHS, and even then I had company at the start of nearly every interval. Hit the first 200m in 35 seconds for each mile, maybe a little faster on the first one. Feeling loose and in control on the first one, came through without hurting at all. Coach told me to maybe pull back on the reins a little. Coming through a bit slower on the second one, but there was a group ahead on the track that I started to pull in on the last lap, making me speed up a bit. Didn't start to hurt until the last 300m of the third mile, and that was just a dull ache. Fighting a bit of a wind down the homestretch, but nothing formidable. Fourth I started feeling it about 4-600m out, fifth and sixth my legs were a bit tired from the start. Never got to the point where I thought I couldn't hang, never got to the point where my legs were screaming at me. Got out in 70 for the first quarter of #6 because I caught on with the end of Group B's 5th mile, then got stranded alone for the next 3 laps. Typical splits went 72-3, 2:26-8, 3:38-40. Cooled down with a BU Loop. Really feeling in control today, wish I could feel this good everyday. |
11 |
| Wednesday AM: |
Science. Feeling good this morning. A little cool out, nice to run in. Legs feeling good, slept about 7 hours last night, HR at 42BPM. This afternoon should be a good one. |
4 |
| Tuesday PM: |
Fresh around the Pond. Feeling pretty good, following the theme from this morning and keeping the pace relaxed. Moving at a decent clip, definitely not shuffling through, but keeping it well below anything crazy. Legs didn't get tired at all, no fatigue or lactic acid. Nothing too exciting today, sprint drills afterwards. Feeling pretty quick during strides, always a good thing. Had a good goal setting meeting with Coach today before practice. Hip was nagging a bit during the run, went at it on the foam roller, think it's time to break out the drugs again. |
10 |
| Tuesday AM: |
Science. Feeling alright, tired at the start, but loosened up as the run progressed. Cool and overcast, threatening to sprinkle. Slept about 8 hours, HR at 44BPM again. Keeping everything relaxed today, focus is on tomorrow. |
4 |
| Monday PM: |
Arboretum. Taking it pretty easy today, focused on topping the hills though, that was the only quick part of the day. Winding around the main part of the Arboretum for the first half an hour, headed over to the second part right as it started raining. Did the perimeter, then up the Big Green Hill, then another perimeter, before heading back to the van. Pretty sweet to be climbing the big hill in the pouring rain with nobody else around. Rising above the sounds of the city, working against myself. Legs feeling really good, especially over the last few miles, definitely no lingering lactic acid from Saturday's race. Looking for a Port-A-John, had to cut the last trip up the Big Green Hill to stave off disaster. Did lunges and lifted afterwards. |
9 |
| Monday AM: |
Got up and was feeling really tired. Took me a few minutes to get out of bed, but eventually got out of bed, onto the road and started rolling. Right hip a little fired up still, hopefully that'll move on soon enough, going to keep up with the treatment. HR up at 44BPM, need to focus on getting into bed earlier and getting on the ball. |
4 |
| Sunday: |
Science Museum to Watertown. Good old standby route. Up at 6:15 for a bowl of Corn Chex, then back to bed. Out the door by 8:30AM. Feeling good from the start, legs a little fatigued from yesterday, but not as bad as they were last week. Held a pretty steady pace the whole way, didn't pick it up too much over the last few miles. Crossed over the bridge at Watertown in 66, knew it wasn't going to be a fast day. Hip was a little aggravated for a few miles, eventually loosened up and went away completely. Hopefully the new kicks I bought just for walking around, instead of wearing my old trainers, will help out. Had been raining a bit when I started out, but the sun came out and it got pretty muggy. Wound up sweating a fair amount. Wound up at 110 for the loop, averages out to around 6:30s per. Looking to hit in the 90M range again this week, with a big workout coming on Wednesday. |
17 |
Day |
Round Up |
Miles |
| Week 03
9/07-9/13 |
Solid week, a little scare halfway through, otherwise no problems. Didn't get in a really solid long run on Sunday, but got the miles in regardless. Fighting a cold the majority of the week, HR up by a beat or two. Hit a strong hill workout on Summit on Wednesday, then kept it easy leading into Engineer's Cup. Made sure I was getting the complex carbohydrates in, and getting enough sleep too. Everything paid off on Saturday, feeling really strong, really fit. Need a little more sharpness, and a little more competition. All in due time. September Miles :: 168 |
90 |
| Saturday: |
Engineer's Cup in 25:33. Got in a 2M warm-up and was feeling really good. Slept about 7-7.5 hours, HR down at 42BPM, I think this cold is pretty much gone. Feeling really good at the start of the race, kept hammering down, had a bad third mile before recovering for a solid fourth and fifth. Legs pretty fatigued over the last mile, but feeling good on the 3M cooldown. Brewer was second in the mid-26s, still a bit of a gap. Feet feeling good, no blisters this time. |
10 |
| Friday PM: |
Fresh Pond. Again, the legs are feeling good. A little tired, but definitely no pains. The foam roller was feeling a lot better, not nearly as much pain. Hopefully I hit this thing at the right time. Wanted to keep it chill today, acheived that on this run. Definitely not moving quick or running hard, stayed in control the whole way. Nice weather out, cool and sunny, that'd be nice to race in tomorrow. Finalized the plan, should be interesting tomorrow. Got some work I need to stay on top of, looks like I'll be going it alone in 6.046, which will be extremely tough. |
7 |
| Friday AM: |
Science Museum. Got 8 hours last night, but the HR was at 45BPM, I chalk that up to this lingering cold. Feeling good on the run this morning, no aches or pains, I think I was maybe just freaking out a bit yesterday. Putting the plan together for Engineer's Cup. |
4 |
| Thursday PM: |
Grass Loops. Went to see Tom today, I'm afraid the IT problem from indoor is trying to resurface, wanted to get his opinion. He thinks I'm on top of it early enough, and with some sustained treatment and a cut back in volume it should work out fine. Accordingly, I kept it to 8M today, 9 loops. Went the first in about 6:20, then dropped down to 6:00 and stuck the rest in 5:50-6:00, goal pace was 5:56 per. My right hip had been sore below/behind the hip bone, basically my ass was hurting, and that took a mile or two to loosen up, but after that no problems. I went in to see Tom after strides, lunges and karaoke, and he said it hadn't tightened up any, which is a good thing. Lifted for awhile, then hit up the foam roller before jumping in the cold whirlpool. About 57 degrees today, for 12 minutes. |
8 |
| Thursday AM: |
Science Museum. Feeling pretty good this morning, slept 6 hours, HR at 44BPM, but it took a little motivation to get out of bed today. Need to make a point of getting plenty of rest tonight. |
4 |
| Wednesday PM: |
Workout on Summit Ave. Jogged as a team down Beacon to Summit Ave, then turned and headed up the long way fast. Separated from the group and was really moving up the hill. About 400m in the arms got ridiculously heavy, but managed to get all the way up. Then went on to 5 times up the Commonwealth side, about 2-300m from the first stop light to the top, then jog back down, turn around and attack it again. Running alone the whole way, feeling pretty good, attacking hard and moving pretty quick. Never got any times for the climb, but I was pushing the whole way. Did an extra last half with group B and C as they finished up, then we jogged down to Commonwealth and booked it back to the site of the old BU Armory for a fast mile. Thought I hit lap to catch the time but apparently I didn't. Got moving pretty well though, capped off a good workout. First really hard, sustained workout in a few months, not too much rest. Jogged back home and added on a Grass Loop to bump the mileage up. Feeling pretty good on the strides afterwards. The IT Band/knee was freaking me out the whole day, but didn't feel any pain while running. Used the foam roller before and after, will hit it up with The Stick tonight, and Tom is going to look at it tomorrow, just to make sure there's nothing wrong. |
10 |
| Wednesday AM: |
Out and back down Beacon. Went at 1:30AM after finishing up some work, so I could sleep in in the morning. Headed out past Cheers and the State House, hung a right at the Irish Famine memorial and went into Downtown Crossing a bit before heading home. Feeling alright, a little tired and looking forward to sleeping. Unfortunately, when I got home my right IT Band and knee were both a little fired up, which freaked me out. Hopefully I stretched it out well enough, I need to start working on it in the trainer's. |
4 |
| Tuesday PM: |
Franklin Park. Went the 8k course forwards and then the last 4M of the course backwards. Feeling really run-down and tired, jogging just what my body felt like running. Hit mile 2 in 7:30, decided that was a bit too slow, so I picked it up a bit, but held pretty steady at 7:00 pace the whole way. Good to get the miles in on grass, hopefully my legs will feel good for the workout tomorrow. Big one at Summit Ave. Quads pretty sore, wanted to get in the cold whirlpool but ran out of time. Going to put the legs up and take a nap tonight, hopefully that'll help out some. |
9 |
| Tuesday AM: |
Science Museum. Only 4.5 hours last night, due to a lot of work I've gotten behind on. I'm relatively caught up, but tonight looks to be tough too. Need to buckle down on the weekends more. HR at 45BPM and the throat is still a little agitated. Otherwise things felt pretty good, unfortunately my body is somewhat acclimated to being treated like this. |
4 |
| Monday PM: |
Fresh Pond around the Pond. Coach wanted a moderately paced run if our HR was normal, which mine was. Feeling really good, leg-wise, but I think this bug is messing up my stomach, because it hasn't been completely normal for a few days. Slowed down a bit going around the pond and had to stop at the Sunoco again. Afterwards I got back at it and was feeling great. Hit about 58-59 minutes for the loop, about 15 seconds a mile slower than the hard run last week. Hips still feeling pretty sore during strides, don't have any idea why that is. Did lunges and karaoke, along with a little lifting afterwards. |
10 |
| Monday AM: |
Science Museum. Cool, overcast day, good running weather. Slept about 7 hours, the homework started to hit me yesterday, and woke up pretty tired. Legs feeling good on the run though, pretty standard AM deal. HR at 42BPM for a couple hours last night. Throat is still a little sore, but the glands aren't swollen, hopefully more water and OJ will keep this thing on the run. |
4 |
| Sunday PM: |
Orange Line. Went about 6 o'clock, after a depressing Packers loss. Feeling ok for a little while, then the legs started to get really tired and I was getting a little lightheaded. Almost like the feeling after a race. Hopefully this junk in my throat isn't affecting me, because it isn't going away yet. Otherwise a wholly unexciting run, just tacking on miles. |
3 |
| Sunday AM: |
Middlesex Fells with Brewer and Driver. Feeling pretty good for the first 45 minutes, then the stomach started getting upset. I cut the run short to avoid any problems, will add on later in the day. Legs were pretty tired today, not incredibly motivated to be running, but able to move pretty well on the open parts of the trails. Mainly ran around the Town of Winchester Water Supply. Nice weather, sunny and cool. I have to say though, the Fells is not my favorite place to run, too many rocky and slow parts to the trails. I like to be able to just clip off Sunday miles, not pick my way along hiking trails. Woke up with junk in the back of my throat, trying to get a lot of water and orange juice in my system, hopefully it won't develop into anything serious. |
13 |
Day |
Round Up |
Miles |
| Week 02
8/31-9/06 |
Good week, managed to cope with the start of the term fairly well, so far no disruptions. The mileage is feeling pretty easy, will hold steady 90-95M the next few weeks. "Hard" day on Wednesday went well, nothing too remarkable though. Haven't gotten to the quality work yet. Still, feeling strong and in control on Saturday. In a good mood and excited about the coming season, things are looking good. September Miles :: 78 |
95 |
| Saturday PM: |
Alumni in 25:53, 2M warm up and 3M cooldown. Feeling like crap during the warm up, legs really, really tired. Hips were sore during strides, but managed to loosen them up well enough before the start of the race. Satisfied with the results, managed to push pretty well throughout, would have like someone to run with over the last 2M. Cooled down with Ethan, feeling alright, but tired. I'd forgotten how it feels to be running on legs that are so wasted. |
10 |
| Saturday AM: |
Got up around 8AM for an easy 3-miler. Wanted to shake out the legs since we're not racing until 5PM. Feeling ok, a little tired, especially the calves. Need to put my legs up today before the race. |
3 |
| Friday PM: |
Grass Loops. Did a couple before the team meeting and then finished them off afterwards, so I could get over and start cooking the team dinner. Ethan didn't show up today so I was running alone, not a big deal though. Feeling pretty good out there, just running comfortable, probably somewhere 6:40-7:00 pace. Hips were still tight during strides, don't know why. Otherwise, everything feels ready for a good one tomorrow. |
6 |
| Friday AM: |
Science Museum. HR down at 41BPM, but still feeling pretty tired after 8 hours of sleep. Nothing too memorable happening, legs feeling alright, thinking about tomorrow. |
4 |
| Thursday PM: |
Reservoir with Summit Ave add-on. Feeling a little tired, just a steady state easy distance run, logging miles today. Didn't feel too bad climbing Summit, just running how my body felt. Ethan went with Group B again, so I was running by myself. Miles slipped by today, legs didn't give me any problems. Didn't get a chance to jump in the cold whirlpool, not too confident in using it the day before a meet, so I think I'll just wait until Monday. Was wearing a BandAid to cover an open blister on my middle toe, which gave me an open blister on the toe next to it. Ain't that grand? |
10 |
| Thursday AM: |
Orange Line up through Boston Common alone in spitting rain. Woke up and was wasting time around the house before I realized I had class in 2 hours and needed to run. Got out the door a little after 10, still not adjusted to having classes. Slept a solid 10 hours last night, with the HR down at 41BPM. Still tired when I woke up though, maybe yesterday was a little harder than I thought. |
4 |
| Wednesday PM: |
Fresh Pond around the pond. Plan was to run the mileage at a fast pace, about 6:15s according to Coach. Ethan went with Group B to maintain order, so I was on my own. Feeling really strong the whole way, gradually picking it up and picking it up. Started really moving down Mt. Auburn, going around the Pond I was holding steady, then stopped at the Sunoco for a quick pit stop before taking off to Harvard Square. Booked it home in 9 minutes from Harvard Square, moving really quick and feeling great. Hip flexors were tight during strides, will stretch those out again tonight. Lifted afterwards, still pretty weak. First day of classes was relatively painless. |
10 |
| Wednesday AM: |
Science Museum. Up and out the door at 8AM because of my 9:30AM lecture. Wouldn't be as bad if I could have slept longer, only about 5 hours, not a good way to start the term. HR down at 39BPM but my legs were feeling really heavy and tired. Can't let that happen again when it doesn't have to. |
4 |
| Tuesday PM: |
Grass Loops with Ethan. Went 11x around, moved down from high 5:50s per loop to 5:30-40 for the last 6-7 loops. Feeling really good, if it were possible to fall asleep while running I think I would have during the first few loops. Coach said I was running the best he'd ever seen me, shoulders relaxed even when picking it up. Sprint drills afterwards. Each loop is 0.89M, Coach's assigned pace for me was 5:38 per. Hard day got moved back to tomorrow, which I found out 20 mins before practice. Got my class schedule today, looks pretty doable. |
10 |
| Tuesday AM: |
Orange Line with Verbal. Didn't bring a watch, so not sure about the distance, but I'm pretty sure it's only 3M. Feeling pretty fresh, HR down at 40BPM and got 8.5 hours of sleep. Left heel aching a little bit, hopefully it's just one of those things, but I'll ice it down today. Can't believe it's already Reg Day. |
3 |
| Monday PM: |
2x 8k course at Franklin Park. Beautiful, beautiful day for running, overcast and cool, a little off-and-on sprinkling. Running with Ethan again, averaging around 6:30s most of the way. Keeping it cool because the first hard day of the season is coming up tomorrow. Really felt good to be out on the grass, keeps the legs feeling better. What's more, August's mileage was just 1M behind January's, following which I found myself cross training for 6 weeks. Starting to formulate a plan for Saturday. |
10 |
| Monday AM: |
Longfellow with Brewer, then down the Commonwealth Mall to the Public Gardens and back for an add-on. Feeling pretty good, HR at 42BPM last night, slept a solid 8 hours but was still pretty tired when I woke up. Looks like today's a good day for a nap. |
4 |
| Sunday: |
Science Museum to Watertown Loop. Got up early to run today, but wound up waiting until a little after 10AM to get out the door. It's nice to have good weather to run in for this loop, the only other times I've run it has been in January. It was a little cool at the start but warmed up by the time the run was over. Started out at an easy pace and by the time I was 40 minutes in I was trucking along. Crossed Watertown brige at 62 minutes, hit a Port-A-John and got back on pace. Wasn't hammering again until after Elliot though, started flying down under the BU Bridge and ended up at 104:30 for the loop along the Esplanade, which is 2 minutes faster than I was during indoor. Started to visualize/plan Alumni. Trying to get in the habit of getting the long runs out of the way early on Sunday mornings. August Miles :: 451 |
17 |
Day |
Round Up |
Miles |
| Week 01
8/24-8/30 |
Fairly solid week, didn't feel quite as good as I have before, think I'm just going through another cycle. Got in the AM runs with the team the whole week, those'll continue through the year on my own now. Think I could have run better on Saturday at the time trial, as long as I have the legs come November though, that's the goal. Hopefully the adjustment phase is passing, we'll be starting to add workouts now, so I'll really get to add to my fitness. August Miles :: 434 |
97 |
| Saturday: |
2M warm-up, 5k time trial in 15:33, Fresh Pond around the Pond for a cooldown. Legs feeling a little tired going into the warm-up, but feeling really confident toeing the line. Wanted to drop a fast time, but had to go it alone after the first mile and wasn't able to force the pace enough. Went out in 73 behind Brulois, came through in 2:31 and 5:02 having taken the lead, trying to hammer down on mile 2 but only hit 4:56 and crapped out on the last mile. Kept the pace right around 5 minute and hit the 3M mark in 15:00, before dropping a 35 second deuce. Would have liked to hit the third mile 10-20 seconds faster, hoped to be running at least 15:15 today. The cool down afterwards was pretty tiring, running 6:40-7:00 the majority of the way. I think I need a little more sleep than I've been getting, need to capitalize on the next few days before the term starts up and screws me over. The team's looking really sharp, excited about the season. |
15 |
| Friday PM: |
Fresh Pond with one and a half Grass Loops. Wanted to go 10M around Fresh but Ethan wanted to go shorter, so I stuck with him. He started trucking through Central Square, really hammering, or so it felt. I stayed close but didn't match him, and the legs were really tired during the grass loops. Took a few strides to get up to full speed, but feeling pretty good overall. Nice weather, nothing too warm, hopefully it'll be set up pretty well tomorrow morning for the time trial. Really excited about throwing down. |
9 |
| Friday AM: |
BU plus Grass Loop. Last official AM practice, similar to all the others. Feeling good, but resisting the urge to hammer, especially because it's morning, but also because the 5k time trial is tomorrow. Nothing is new. |
4 |
| Thursday PM: |
Jamaica Pond Loop. Ran with Ethan, left Berberian, Khatch and Driver, who were going the same loop. Feeling pretty good again today, think my body is adjusting to being back at school and handling the new stresses. Ethan showed me a new way to come back, staying entirely on grass and gravel, which my body needs. Wasn't too sore from lifting this AM, happy with how I'm feeling, but want to test my fitness and run hard soon. Strides are starting to feel natural again, think some speed is coming back. Got in the ice bath for 10 minutes afterwards. |
8 |
| Thursday AM: |
Longfellow with a Grass Loop. Guys got rolling again this morning, nothing out of hand but I stayed behind and kept it easy. Lifted afterwards, still really sore. Got up to watch the World Champs steeple at 7AM, went back to sleep. HR was 39BPM last night. |
4 |
| Wednesday PM: |
Fresh Pond around the Pond. Running with Ethan, Driver, Sam and Khatch. Past the BU Bridge picked up the pace a bit and Ethan came with. Running nice and easy, really fast and strong the whole way, effortless really. Would have been interesting to hammer at it, but avoided going lights out. I think jumping into the cold whirlpool helped out a lot, legs feeling great the whole day. Coach had us doing lunges and sprint drills afterwards. Not nearly as horrible as the first time. Word is they show the entire steeple on ESPN2... |
10 |
| Wednesday AM: |
BU Loop plus Infinite with Khatch. Feeling pretty good, HR down at 40BPM last night. Legs starting to adjust to the strides, think I'm getting some fast twitch muscles back. ESPN2's coverage of the World Champs last night was horrendous. |
4 |
| Tuesday PM: |
Reservoir with Summit Ave add-on. Freshman weren't allowed to practice with the team today for Orientation reasons, so it was just the veterans. Nearly everybody headed out to BC, but Ethan and I were the only two to head up Summit Ave. Feeling a lot better than I was expecting to. Just walking dead today, legs really tired during the day, but it didn't interfere with the run. I figure it's the fast-twitch muscle fiber recruitment that's making me so sore, and the lifting. Jumped into the cold whirlpool for 9 minutes after the run, had been debating the move, didn't want my hamstring to tighten up more, but I really need my legs to start feeling better. Going to kick them up tonight, hopefully it'll help out. |
10 |
| Tuesday AM: |
BU Loop plus a Grass Loop. Guys were running a little fast on the BU Loop, nothing insane but I felt like chilling, so Eric Nelson and I hung back for the last mile or so. Left hamstring is a little tight, I think it's from the addition of strides recently. |
4 |
| Monday PM: |
Docks and part of a Grass Loop. Went with Ethan Crain, following a big group of guys going 7-8M. They got a head start, but Ethan and I managed to close the gap, but they were really hammering, Ethan's speed and distance watch said sub 6s. Got them to slow down, typical first day pissing contests, but by that time damage had been done, and although it didn't leave me wasted, the legs were tired the rest of the run. Could be influenced by the recent mileage along with work week and sub-par amounts of sleep. When I got back I headed out to the grass to bump the total up to 59 minutes. Afterwards I lifted for the first time since mid-May. |
9 |
| Monday AM: |
Longfellow Loop with the team, then added on a Grass Loop with Driver, Khatch and Berberian. Feeling pretty good, had an hour plus of meetings, then hit the streets. Feeling alright, a little early in the morning, but nothing to complain about. |
4 |
| Sunday: |
Ran over to campus, where Roach, Nolan, Verbal, Fivos, Imran, Brewer and Stoddard were. Except for Nolan and Roach we took off down to Castle, where Imran and Steve headed back. From there we added on Bunker Hill, and pissed off Brewer for coming back through Cambridge instead of Boston. Then Verbal called it quits and Fivos, Brewer and I added on a BU Loop, after which I ran 3.5 grass loops then headed for home. 104 minute run, confident in calling that 16M, definitely running no slower than 6:30s. Really good run, moving at a nice clip and in a big pack. Got caught up in some festival in Central Square, really crowded sidewalks, jumped off to a side street as soon as we could. Right knee and hip had been feeling tenuous all day today but didn't act up, which I'm thankful for. Got to get back on icing it, didn't have any supplies last night to take care of it. Rolling week climbs to an all-time high of 110M, plan on backing down as work week and then school will be demanding much of my time and energy. Season starts for real tomorrow, been a long time coming. |
16 |