AM - 30 minutes easy. More snow yesterday afternoon, a dusting this time but enough to negatively impact footing on roads that weren't plowed and/or heavily trafficked. Which in Maynard is most of them of course. Hopefully it will warm up enough to melt it off eventually. Right thigh somewhat stiff from yesterday but better after rolling it out post-run.
PM - 45 minutes, Levittown. Held back on both length and intensity of the run this evening in anticipation of working out tomorrow. Mellow run as a result, footing improved for the most part over the morning. Warmer than it has been but still not exactly balmy. Ran around all afternoon doing various errands, old hat for most but after a couple of delightfully languorous days previously I found the running about to be an annoyance. Boo hoo.
12/27/13
Thu 12/26 - AM 75 minutes incl. 6x1200, 4x100
Harvard. Indoor track not yet open so this was done outside. Despite the chilly temps and snow shower that lasted for the middle three reps I preferred to do this on the outdoor oval given the number of laps involved. Glorified tempo run with 200m jogs between each rep. Locked in right away to the modest pace that I maintained throughout, as the first five reps were all within a half second of each other clustered around 4:23. Last rep in 4:21 thanks entirely to a rousing final 100 meters. Worried that I might be overextending myself around the 4th rep but those worries were unfounded. More spread in the recovery intervals than in the actual reps, still less than two seconds spread clustered around a minute apiece. This was fairly tiring despite the unimpressive pace, or more like I'm still not fit at all. Also feeling a bit the effort from last night's run. After jogging three laps very slowly, tried to get a little turnover in running the straightaway with the wind at my back followed by 300m jog recovery. The first one was nothing but awkward as the right hammie had begun to stiffen up after all the laps I had just done at threshold pace. The rest of them were smoother at least. I knew better than to time any of them.
12/26/13
Wed 12/25 - double, 85 minutes total
AM - 30 minutes easy. Took longer than I would have liked to get out the door, making this the shorter of the two runs today. I had planned on things being the other way around so as to maximize time spent in the daylight. Took the briefest of detours into the very outskirts of Area 51 (Maynard TF) incl. the path up and over the bluff overlooking Crowe Park. Predictably awful footing and snowpack conditions with the rain followed by subfreezing temps. Makes for cement-hard snowpack that eventually gives at pushoff. Perfect for snowshoe running I'm guessing.
PM - 55 minutes, Tiger Drive to Longfellow loop. Started to press the pace a bit after the first 15 minutes, mainly because I could. Right leg feeling fine, for a while at least. Realized around 40 minutes or so that I was ever so gently aggravating it, slowed down somewhat after that. Still moving relatively well for much of the run. No more frozen fingers despite the cold temps thanks to hand warmers, but the toes on my right foot got quite cold by the end. From inadequately insulated shoes I suppose.
PM - 55 minutes, Tiger Drive to Longfellow loop. Started to press the pace a bit after the first 15 minutes, mainly because I could. Right leg feeling fine, for a while at least. Realized around 40 minutes or so that I was ever so gently aggravating it, slowed down somewhat after that. Still moving relatively well for much of the run. No more frozen fingers despite the cold temps thanks to hand warmers, but the toes on my right foot got quite cold by the end. From inadequately insulated shoes I suppose.
12/25/13
Tue 12/24 - double, 85 minutes total
AM - 30 minutes easy. Easy putter around the neighborhood. Right leg feels better than I would have expected given all the track stuff of late. Still overcast but the weather is starting to turn.
PM - 55 minutes easy, Levittown. More active recovery after a long afternoon nap. The standard loop back here hasn't yet become old hat but I'm sure it will fairly soon. No chance the trails will be anything resembling clear anytime soon alas. Colder weather arrived but not that windy at least.
PM - 55 minutes easy, Levittown. More active recovery after a long afternoon nap. The standard loop back here hasn't yet become old hat but I'm sure it will fairly soon. No chance the trails will be anything resembling clear anytime soon alas. Colder weather arrived but not that windy at least.
12/24/13
Mon 12/23 - double, 85 minutes total incl. 6x600
AM - 30 minutes very easy. Pre-breakfast shakeout, somewhat stiff and creaky. Cold and rainy conditions.
PM - 55 minutes incl. 6x600. Not originally planning to this type of workout or workout today (as opposed to tomorrow) however the opportunity presented itself. A bit leery of getting back on the track with just the one recovery day but the legs felt okay throughout. Morning shakeout and an afternoon nap probably had something to do with this. Workout was written as 5 reps at mile pace with twice the time spent in recovery between each. Since the person I was running them with was supposed to go just a bit slower than my date pace I tacked on a sixth. This is precisely the kind of training I've eschewed for the most part but thinking maybe I should reintegrate it once a week for the next month or so. The long recovery intervals made for a unique experience in fact. As I should have known, the pace ended up being just a bit faster than the 37 seconds/lap that was laid out. Until the last two reps which were even quicker than that. For the most part the split pattern was a slightly faster first lap followed by two roughly equivalent laps (i.e. 36/37/37 or thereabouts). While working hard towards the end, overall it felt under control. Splits:
1:50.1 (3:38)
1:50.0 (3:37)
1:50.3 (3:30)
1:50.4 (3:34)
1:48.6 (3:33)
1:47.7
With the rain having intensified over the course of the day, the warmup and cooldown were both inside, cooldown very short.
PM - 55 minutes incl. 6x600. Not originally planning to this type of workout or workout today (as opposed to tomorrow) however the opportunity presented itself. A bit leery of getting back on the track with just the one recovery day but the legs felt okay throughout. Morning shakeout and an afternoon nap probably had something to do with this. Workout was written as 5 reps at mile pace with twice the time spent in recovery between each. Since the person I was running them with was supposed to go just a bit slower than my date pace I tacked on a sixth. This is precisely the kind of training I've eschewed for the most part but thinking maybe I should reintegrate it once a week for the next month or so. The long recovery intervals made for a unique experience in fact. As I should have known, the pace ended up being just a bit faster than the 37 seconds/lap that was laid out. Until the last two reps which were even quicker than that. For the most part the split pattern was a slightly faster first lap followed by two roughly equivalent laps (i.e. 36/37/37 or thereabouts). While working hard towards the end, overall it felt under control. Splits:
1:50.1 (3:38)
1:50.0 (3:37)
1:50.3 (3:30)
1:50.4 (3:34)
1:48.6 (3:33)
1:47.7
With the rain having intensified over the course of the day, the warmup and cooldown were both inside, cooldown very short.
12/23/13
Sun 12/22 - AM 80 minutes easy
Lincoln woods. Strapped on the yaktrax and slogged my way on the trails. Slippery footing a given, but not enough to keep me out of the woods. Wanted to see what the recent warm spell had done to the snowpack. Unsurprisingly, lots of slushy conditions with the well-trodden trails serving as a catchbasin for the rain that's fallen. Thought about truncating the loop I had in mind originally for a quicker way back on the plowed sidewalk but thought better of it and stayed on the trail throughout. Not the best footing for the day after racing on the track but the intensity level was suitably relaxed. Hip flexors feeling quite sore totally from dealing with the footing.
12/22/13
Sat 12/21 - double, 75 minutes total
AM - 45 minutes incl. mile track race. Ran reasonably well for 7 laps, cratered on the 8th. Splits:
69 (just under 34 for first lap)
72
73
76 (last lap 39)
4:50 total
No idea what to expect coming in, but something along these lines was definitely a possibility. All I knew for sure was that I'm not as fit now as I was a year ago for my season opener then. After a warmup that was nothing if not thorough, started out well if a little bit too fast. Felt things starting to slow by halfway and I knew my laughably optimistic seed time of 4:40 would be a bridge too far. Still thought I could control the deceleration such that the final time would be in the mid 4:40s. Made a move approaching 1000m that in hindsight was massively ill-advised, should have stayed put and tried to continue following the person I was behind at that time. Even at the 3/4 mark, I figured I'd be able to hang on and nip under the time of the last mile race I did back in July. However the bill came due the last 300 and especially the last lap and the wheels fell off. A couple of awkward stumbles in fact as I nearly lost my balance on the turns. I'm hopeful that I can improve my fitness level from where it is now to where I think it has to be for the old fart olympics in February. The hamstring only indirectly to blame for all this, in that it prevented me from doing the kind of threshold work I had done in the fall of 2012. That type of base fitness, impossible to acquire through merely jogging in the woods, is sorely lacking right now. Whatever fancy physiological term is used for it what's needed now is the ability to be more economical at faster speeds. The first lap felt surprisingly controlled for being a bit on the quick side, so it's not like the turnover is non-existent. Cooldown was minimal as I went directly from the meet to the game afterward. Right leg feeling as good as it has for a while.
PM - 30 minutes very easy, Fresh Pond. Continuation of the cooldown in effect. Leg stiffened up after sitting and walking around downtown Boston the bulk of the afternoon. The run itself a dreary sloppy mess, with warmer temps the snowpack is wasting away and puddles everywhere including some stretching the entire width of the path.
69 (just under 34 for first lap)
72
73
76 (last lap 39)
4:50 total
No idea what to expect coming in, but something along these lines was definitely a possibility. All I knew for sure was that I'm not as fit now as I was a year ago for my season opener then. After a warmup that was nothing if not thorough, started out well if a little bit too fast. Felt things starting to slow by halfway and I knew my laughably optimistic seed time of 4:40 would be a bridge too far. Still thought I could control the deceleration such that the final time would be in the mid 4:40s. Made a move approaching 1000m that in hindsight was massively ill-advised, should have stayed put and tried to continue following the person I was behind at that time. Even at the 3/4 mark, I figured I'd be able to hang on and nip under the time of the last mile race I did back in July. However the bill came due the last 300 and especially the last lap and the wheels fell off. A couple of awkward stumbles in fact as I nearly lost my balance on the turns. I'm hopeful that I can improve my fitness level from where it is now to where I think it has to be for the old fart olympics in February. The hamstring only indirectly to blame for all this, in that it prevented me from doing the kind of threshold work I had done in the fall of 2012. That type of base fitness, impossible to acquire through merely jogging in the woods, is sorely lacking right now. Whatever fancy physiological term is used for it what's needed now is the ability to be more economical at faster speeds. The first lap felt surprisingly controlled for being a bit on the quick side, so it's not like the turnover is non-existent. Cooldown was minimal as I went directly from the meet to the game afterward. Right leg feeling as good as it has for a while.
PM - 30 minutes very easy, Fresh Pond. Continuation of the cooldown in effect. Leg stiffened up after sitting and walking around downtown Boston the bulk of the afternoon. The run itself a dreary sloppy mess, with warmer temps the snowpack is wasting away and puddles everywhere including some stretching the entire width of the path.
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