AM - 25 minutes on the treadmill. The usual 6-10 mph progression, definitely the hair of the dog after yesterday's workout. Temperature dropped about 30 degrees overnight with a coating of snow, yippee.
PM - 50 minutes very easy, Area 51. A bit pressed for time thanks to another evening social commitment. Should have cut the run shorter but wanted to reach Otter Alley which I did. Right leg felt like straight garbage, lack of stretching lately has left it in something of a state.
4/16/14
Tue 4/15 - double, 75 minutes total incl. 6x800
AM - 25 minutes easy, Brook Path. Mild temps continue, although with spitting drizzle. Right leg more stiff than I'd like.
PM - 50 minutes incl. 6x800. Had a thought to try running repeats in a fashion that forces progression, i.e. picking up speed with each 200. The concept is certainly appealing, although a wind-driven rainstorm is perhaps not the ideal setting for it. Kept the pace goals very modest going in, along the lines of 45-43-41-39. Initially thought about taking a 2 minute break but in the end went with 200m jogs that took the typical just under a minute. Finding the range took a couple of reps, and it became clear that the starting and ending paces weren't really within my grasp--unable to control myself sufficiently at the outset and pick it up that extra bit at the end. In fact the average spread between first and last 200 was closer to 3.5 seconds than 6. It became clear by the third rep that the 40 second barrier would be increasingly difficult to surmount. Splits in all their excruciating detail:
43.8/41.0/40.0/39.1 - 2:43.9
(56.5)
43.6/41.1/40.2/39.7 - 2:44.6
(55.9)
42.9/41.5/41.0/40.3 - 2:45.4
(59.3)
43.9/42.3/40.8/40.6 - 2:47.6
(58.6)
43.4/42.1/40.6/40.0 - 2:46.1
(59.1)
42.7/41.7/40.7/40.0 - 2:45.1
Worth noting that the wind was such that it affected the first and third sections of the odd numbered reps and the second and last sections of the evens. I'd like to try this type of thing more in the future, but with more recovery and of course better weather. By the time I was done with the warmup jog the short recovery was a no-brainer just to minimize the time spent running in the rain. Right leg held up better than I would have thought given how stiff and locked up it was in the morning, and how tight the calf was right up until finishing drills and strides.
PM - 50 minutes incl. 6x800. Had a thought to try running repeats in a fashion that forces progression, i.e. picking up speed with each 200. The concept is certainly appealing, although a wind-driven rainstorm is perhaps not the ideal setting for it. Kept the pace goals very modest going in, along the lines of 45-43-41-39. Initially thought about taking a 2 minute break but in the end went with 200m jogs that took the typical just under a minute. Finding the range took a couple of reps, and it became clear that the starting and ending paces weren't really within my grasp--unable to control myself sufficiently at the outset and pick it up that extra bit at the end. In fact the average spread between first and last 200 was closer to 3.5 seconds than 6. It became clear by the third rep that the 40 second barrier would be increasingly difficult to surmount. Splits in all their excruciating detail:
43.8/41.0/40.0/39.1 - 2:43.9
(56.5)
43.6/41.1/40.2/39.7 - 2:44.6
(55.9)
42.9/41.5/41.0/40.3 - 2:45.4
(59.3)
43.9/42.3/40.8/40.6 - 2:47.6
(58.6)
43.4/42.1/40.6/40.0 - 2:46.1
(59.1)
42.7/41.7/40.7/40.0 - 2:45.1
Worth noting that the wind was such that it affected the first and third sections of the odd numbered reps and the second and last sections of the evens. I'd like to try this type of thing more in the future, but with more recovery and of course better weather. By the time I was done with the warmup jog the short recovery was a no-brainer just to minimize the time spent running in the rain. Right leg held up better than I would have thought given how stiff and locked up it was in the morning, and how tight the calf was right up until finishing drills and strides.
4/15/14
Mon 4/14 - double, 90 minutes total
AM - 25 minutes easy with 6x100m strides. Realized on the early morning drive to work that with warm air blowing in from the south I could skip the treadmill and run in the great outdoors. A pleasant realization if ever there was one. Down the brook path to the east, doubling back on Washington and finishing up with 3 laps of ins and outs on the track. The only thing bringing down the mood was the right calf feeling like garbage, the day off yesterday not apparently helping much in terms of recovery.
PM - 65 minutes, Lincoln woods with drills on Pine Hill. Warm and very windy, with gusts in the 40 mph range. Calf not quite as bothersome on this run as the morning but the hamstring made up for it. Two peas in the same rotten pod of course. Stretching out the calf helps some, the hill drills as well. However the hammie got stiff again on the run in after the drills. Still, a nice day to spend an afternoon.
PM - 65 minutes, Lincoln woods with drills on Pine Hill. Warm and very windy, with gusts in the 40 mph range. Calf not quite as bothersome on this run as the morning but the hamstring made up for it. Two peas in the same rotten pod of course. Stretching out the calf helps some, the hill drills as well. However the hammie got stiff again on the run in after the drills. Still, a nice day to spend an afternoon.
4/14/14
Sun 4/13 - off
A day of spring cleaning after returning from NH in the late morning. I could have squeezed in some kind of run around 5 PM or so but wasn't feeling it at all. Wrung out emotionally if not physically, and I'm surely wrung out physically right now as well.
4/13/14
Sat 4/12 - AM 50 minutes incl. 5k road race
Another dud in what's become a long string of them. It appears I've found my level for now, and it's a good minute or so slower than what I would expect/like/hope to run for 5k. Not that I had particularly high hopes for this one but I thought it would go better than it did. However, felt flat from the moment I woke up. The late bedtime Thursday didn't help of course. Leg felt like it held up reasonably well but by now it's so fucked up I'm sure my perception of it is skewed. Regardless of the contributing factors, the first mile went in 5:26 soon after which it became clear I had bitten off more than I could chew. Trying to run with a chase pack at what I thought was sustainable but got dropped instead. Second and third miles in the 5:45-50 range. Overall feeling quite frazzled at the moment, plenty of things going on outside of the ongoing training woes contributing to that. Course was mostly flat with the hills being mainly to get up to or down from bridges and overpasses. Short and a bit steep in other words. Nice morning, one I should have spent going for a jog or hike instead.
Fri 4/11 - PM 70 minutes very easy
Area 51. Despite having the day off from work, found myself running out of time to get the run in before making another trip to NH. Staying up far too late last night didn't help matters. Finally got moving (barely) after lunch. Listless and flat from the get go. On top of that, while running errands just beforehand tweaked the TFL/Iliac crest and it was twinging like crazy. Took me until 45 minutes into the run to realize that direct pressure would help matters, which it did. Felt a little better the rest of the way but the leg is still something of a mess after yesterday. While on the road did some more drect pressure, on the hamstring this time which was much needed. Warm springlike conditions, not nearly as windy as yesterday.
Thu 4/10 - PM 70 minutes incl. 10k threshold run
Longfellow loop. Extended the distance from the last visit, with the pace remaining roughly the same. Overall nothing to write home about but worthwhile nonetheless, and I'm glad to be doing this kind of thing again after getting away from it for too long. Wind machine cranked up over the course of the day, getting raked by it every time down Longfellow. Splits reflect this. Also had to take a 12 second break just before 2k to tie a shoelace that had come loose. Incredibly annoying. Splits:
5:56/6:09/2:55 with the shoe break in the second mile
5:58/5:55/2:50
3:32/2:50 - Longfellow to Harvard Ave to the 3200m mark of the measured course
Right leg got stiff eventually but I was pleased in general with how it held up. Better than the last threshold run for sure from start to finish.
5:56/6:09/2:55 with the shoe break in the second mile
5:58/5:55/2:50
3:32/2:50 - Longfellow to Harvard Ave to the 3200m mark of the measured course
Right leg got stiff eventually but I was pleased in general with how it held up. Better than the last threshold run for sure from start to finish.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)