AM - 20 minutes easy, Swellesley. Moving just a bit better than yesterday morning. Piriformis has been less troublesome than usual the past two days, not that I've done anything in particular to cause that to be. Raining and cool when I woke up, showers had already passed by the time I started though.
PM - 45 minutes, Weston Aqueduct. Out to Elm St., south to the other aqueduct and along the Getchell trail for a bit before heading back. Having driven past this spot countless times I was interested to see it on foot, didn't disappoint. Very nice spot for an easy jog. I had every intention of revisiting the lake on the way back but got hit with a tired stick, hard. Barely moving by the end of the run in fact.
8/22/14
Thu 8/21 - double, 60 minutes total plus 20 minutes in Lake Cochituate
AM - 20 minutes easy, Swellesley. After the day earlier this week where I was zipping along relatively speaking, more of a return to reality since then in terms of feeling creaky.
PM - 40 minutes plus 20 minutes in Lake Cochituate. First day of the return to coaching routine, many more runs in Wayland coming up in the near future. Moving surprisingly well on the trip out which is a net uphill. The dip in the lake was refreshing as such things always are, temps slightly cooler but still quite sticky out. The perspective is a bit different with the traffic on the Pike rolling by in the distance instead of the occasional train at Walden. Picked it up just a bit on the return trip. Not the most overwhelming double but after a long day incl. first day of kiddies' practice I'll take it.
PM - 40 minutes plus 20 minutes in Lake Cochituate. First day of the return to coaching routine, many more runs in Wayland coming up in the near future. Moving surprisingly well on the trip out which is a net uphill. The dip in the lake was refreshing as such things always are, temps slightly cooler but still quite sticky out. The perspective is a bit different with the traffic on the Pike rolling by in the distance instead of the occasional train at Walden. Picked it up just a bit on the return trip. Not the most overwhelming double but after a long day incl. first day of kiddies' practice I'll take it.
8/21/14
Wed 8/20 - double, 75 minutes total plus 20 minutes in Walden
AM - 20 minutes easy, Swellesley. Not quite as spry as yesterday, alas. Still, right leg has felt worse for sure. Cool morning.
PM - 55 minutes, Lincoln woods plus 20 minutes in Walden. Running at a decent pace for much of this run and picked it up some more on the way in as well. Right piriformis remains stuck just enough to be an annoyance but it didn't slow me down that much. Another splendid day for being outside.
PM - 55 minutes, Lincoln woods plus 20 minutes in Walden. Running at a decent pace for much of this run and picked it up some more on the way in as well. Right piriformis remains stuck just enough to be an annoyance but it didn't slow me down that much. Another splendid day for being outside.
8/20/14
Tue 8/19 - double, 85 minutes total plus 20 minutes in Walden
AM - 20 minutes easy, Swellesley. The pace on this pre-breakfast jaunt was noticeably quicker than usual, and as a result I went a bit further. Perhaps all the rolling on the hamstring and calf last night had an actual lasting effect, but much less stiff at the outset. Being back from altitude and getting something approximating a decent night's sleep didn't hurt either.
PM - 65 minutes, Lincoln woods plus 20 minutes in Walden and drills on Pine Hill. Some mild underlying level twinges from the right hamstring, likely due to tight piriformis, but otherwise moving well for much of this run. Pickups on the way in after the dip in the pond. Glorious day for being outside, sunny and warm with very little humidity.
PM - 65 minutes, Lincoln woods plus 20 minutes in Walden and drills on Pine Hill. Some mild underlying level twinges from the right hamstring, likely due to tight piriformis, but otherwise moving well for much of this run. Pickups on the way in after the dip in the pond. Glorious day for being outside, sunny and warm with very little humidity.
8/19/14
Mon 8/18 - PM 45 minutes plus 20 minutes in Walden
Walden woods. Desperately tired after landing back in Boston just before midnight last night and not getting to sleep for another hour after that. After a requisite midafternoon nap, spent the next 90 minutes or so running errands and unpacking. Getting late enough that I was thinking of bagging the trip to the pond or even taking another zero, but a dip in the pond on such a nice day was too difficult to resist. Pace of the run was relatively uptempo, in all likelihood due to being back at sea level of course. Soreness in right leg is deep and abiding after the race and all the travel. Much rolling and direct pressure after the run, felt like it was quite productive esp. in the calf which was more tweaked than I had initially realized.
Sun 8/17 - 2 hour hike
Taking a day off from seemed like the thing to do after yesterday. Continued where yesterday left off with a hike uphill, Mt. Falcon in this case. Nice views but it sure takes longer than running the same trail as I've done in the past. Right hamstring and piriformis quite stuck when I first woke up, much better though after rolling on it.
8/17/14
Sat 8/16 - AM 3+ hours, Pikes Peak
A demoralizing physiological experiment. While there are people who can come from sea level directly to altitude and do an event like this that ends at 14k before the body knows what's happened, it appears I'm not one of those people. That being said, it also can't be ignored that I wasn't adequately prepared for an event of this duration, and I was further sabotaged by an ongoing inability to get a sufficient amount of rest, something that has always been an issue but has crept up on me a bit more recently. As for the race itself, I ran with the split numbers from the past two years--last year's disappointing 2:50 performance and 2012's 2:32:30 time which will most certainly stand as my PR for this event. Checked the numbers at each split, trying to fall somewhere between them. Really though I was just trying to stay under last year's numbers and run even a tiny bit faster than that dud. Looking at the numbers, it's fairly apparent where things went sideways:
miles to go - split (2012 split, 2013 split)
11 - 14:04 (15:00, 20:51) surprising and a little disturbing, backed off a bit after this
10 - 28:51 (25:20, 33:08) 4:17 up on last year
9 - 40:06 (37:10, 44:25) 4:19 up
8 - 52:21 (48:00, 55:34) 3:13 up
7 - 61:31 (56:33, 64:51) 3:20 up, in hindsight the final effort
6 - 73:04 (64:54, 74:46) 1:42 up uh oh
5 - 85:00 (75:45, 86:52) 1:52 up
4 - 1:41:32 (89:00, 1:41:15) caught by last year's version of myself
3 - 1:58:22 (1:46:18, 1:56:43) the walking begins in earnest
2 - 2:19:07 (2:01:28, 2:13:46)
1 - 2:39:06 (2:14:57, 2:30:19)
3:05:22 (2:32:31, 2:50:26)
Walked 99% of the last 2 miles and 95% of the last 3. Easy to say that I gave up once it became clear that I wasn't going to match even last year's time, but it might be more truthful to say I didn't have a choice. Soon after passing A-frame I had a moment of dizziness where it felt like my legs were wobbling and I might fall off the trail. Even in race mode I realized I might be carried off on a stretcher if I didn't back off immediately. At that point backing off meant walking and walk I did while the entire world passed by. As for the right leg, I rolled out the piriformis beforehand which felt like it worked out some of the kinks, but eventually the hamstring became quite sore and the right thigh and hip were a locked up mess afterward. Disappointing of course but I did have a good pair of races here in '11 and '12. Given that I won't be able to spend two solid weeks in August acclimating to the altitude and I'm not about to sleep in an altitude tent, it looks like this particular race is beyond my reach.
miles to go - split (2012 split, 2013 split)
11 - 14:04 (15:00, 20:51) surprising and a little disturbing, backed off a bit after this
10 - 28:51 (25:20, 33:08) 4:17 up on last year
9 - 40:06 (37:10, 44:25) 4:19 up
8 - 52:21 (48:00, 55:34) 3:13 up
7 - 61:31 (56:33, 64:51) 3:20 up, in hindsight the final effort
6 - 73:04 (64:54, 74:46) 1:42 up uh oh
5 - 85:00 (75:45, 86:52) 1:52 up
4 - 1:41:32 (89:00, 1:41:15) caught by last year's version of myself
3 - 1:58:22 (1:46:18, 1:56:43) the walking begins in earnest
2 - 2:19:07 (2:01:28, 2:13:46)
1 - 2:39:06 (2:14:57, 2:30:19)
3:05:22 (2:32:31, 2:50:26)
Walked 99% of the last 2 miles and 95% of the last 3. Easy to say that I gave up once it became clear that I wasn't going to match even last year's time, but it might be more truthful to say I didn't have a choice. Soon after passing A-frame I had a moment of dizziness where it felt like my legs were wobbling and I might fall off the trail. Even in race mode I realized I might be carried off on a stretcher if I didn't back off immediately. At that point backing off meant walking and walk I did while the entire world passed by. As for the right leg, I rolled out the piriformis beforehand which felt like it worked out some of the kinks, but eventually the hamstring became quite sore and the right thigh and hip were a locked up mess afterward. Disappointing of course but I did have a good pair of races here in '11 and '12. Given that I won't be able to spend two solid weeks in August acclimating to the altitude and I'm not about to sleep in an altitude tent, it looks like this particular race is beyond my reach.
Fri 8/15 - PM 30 minutes
Cheesman Park, Denver. Shakeout before tomorrow. Fairly strung out after a day of travel following a somewhat unsettled night's sleep. This hasn't been a good week for that, generalized anxiety making winding down at night much harder than it should be. That being said the run felt good overall, with the pace picking up on the second of two laps around the park. Right hammie stuck but less so after rolling the piriformis on the lax ball afterward. Something I should have done beforehand as well.
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