Monday, April 22, 2013

A Week Since Tragedy

Time: 71:25
Distance: 16.28 km
Pace: 4:23/km
Map

It's been a week since the Boston Marathon bombing tragedy took place. It sure has been a week to reflect and see all of the New England running stores come together. It was actually been a more widespread connection than just in New England, but the bombing particularly hits close to home. Meagan and I headed out to start the week off with an easy run along the trail in Marblehead. We are both recovery from the race yesterday and wanted to start off the week on a positive note.

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Ring Around the Neck 5 Miler

Time: 46:06
Distance: 12.15 km

W/u: 19:07 for 4.01 km
Race: 26:59 for 5 miles

This was the second race of the YMCA North Shore Race Series that Karhu and Craft is sponsoring. If you are finding this blog and have interest in running the series, feel free to hit me up and I can provide some entries. I will only require that you head on over to the New England Running Company and purchase a pair of Karhu shoes. If you're in CLT or OKC and want to run a race this year, I'll be more than happy to host your and have you race in one of our events. Really... don't hesitate to ask. Salem is great during the summer.

Meagan and I set up our booth and hung out for a couple hours before heading off for a light warm up. The wind was going to be a slight factor during the race, but I didn't foresee there being too much competition. Going into the race I wanted to see how the drums were beating to use a term coined by Gabe Jennings. If the rhythm of the race felt right, I would run fast and hard. If not, then I would just run what felt like a good effort and see what the pace would be.

Splits:
Split
Time
Distance
Avg Pace
Summary27:02.68.143:19
13:14.11.003:14
23:22.11.003:22
33:24.51.003:24
43:25.41.003:25
53:18.81.003:19
63:18.81.003:19
73:18.11.003:18
83:16.21.003:16
9:24.70.143:00

I took the race out and had a lead from the start. My legs felt pretty good running into the wind but I never felt the effort really squeeze on the lungs. I was running hard and let the race come to me with the terrain dictating the pace. I would have liked to have run faster, but the effort was what it was.

After the race Meagan and I headed over to Scott Freedson-Crosby's new house and enjoyed a great spread of food. We were celebrating he and his fiancé's new home and her birthday. Great times on the weekend.

Long Morning Shakeout

Time: 36:07
Distance: 8.01 km
Pace: 4:30/km
Map

Meagan and I headed out the door for a run around Salem to shakeout the legs. We are both running the Ring Around the Neck later this afternoon in Marblehead which is the second race of the YMCA North Shore Race Series that Karhu and Craft sponsor. My legs felt pretty decent which usually is a bad sign for racing later in the afternoon. For whatever reason, when I feel bad in the morning I race well and when I feel good, I race poorly. Time will tell...

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Saturday Evening Salem Run

Time: 36:24
Distance: 8.01 km
Pace: 4:32/km
Map

After I spent the day at the "Castle on the Hill" which is what the Marblehead YMCA is affectionately known as, Meagan and I headed out for a light run around Salem to end the day of running. We ran a standard loop to make sure we knew the distance and chatted about what we did during the day. She ran earlier in the day with Emily Kroshus and I ran a with a throbbing headache this AM. Nothing too crazy to report.

Solo Hungover Run

Time: 44:48
Distance: 10.04 km
Pace: 4:28/km
Map

Just like the title suggests, I headed out the door after Meagan headed on to Boston to run with friends. I groggily shuffled out the door to put in a 10km run before heading off to the Marblehead YMCA to help out with a race packet pick up. I didn't feel too fantastic for the first 4-5km, but then I was able to run with some fluidity. Meh... pretty much sums up this effort. It also doesn't help that I have a bit of a cold.

Friday, April 19, 2013

Double Run in Beverly with Meagan

Time: 56:44
Distance: 13.05 km
Pace: 4:21/km
Map

I ran with Meagan after work and we ran a long modified loop around Beverly. I was a little tired from the run this morning and the fact that I'm a bit sick didn't help my cause. The pace was pretty easy for the first 10km of the run and then I started to pick things up just a bit. Meagan hasn't been sounding too great on easy runs lately which is a bit concerning. As a result, I've been holding back a bit on sections to keep from dropping her in one light move to a quicker pace.

Salem Friday Run

Time: 56:09
Distance: 13.41 km
Pace: 4:11/km
Map

Meagan and I headed out together on this run around Salem on a familiar loop. We talked about last night and how it was cool to see the North Shore scene come together for a good cause. She headed back to the house to get 10km in and I hit the Salem Common for an additional 3km. I looped the gravel triangle a number of times and had a young family comment that I looked fast. Thanks!

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Week in Review

Time: 821:04
Distance: 171.17 km

That was a big week of running for me. It definitely took a little more out of me than I expected, but the work was there. I had some solid efforts playing queenmaker for Meagan in a tempo and on the track and I helped out my buddy Matt with a fartlek midweek. The warm weather just has to be right around the corner and maybe I'll hit the track for a little injection of speed.

Battle Road Long Run

Time: 110:04
Distance: 24.01 km
Pace: 4:35/km
Map

Meagan and I met up with Jenn, Justin, Carly, Emily and a few others out at Fiske Hill. We planned to do our long run on the crushed gravel path with a slight detour near the Great Meadow. The last time we were out here the meadow was flooded and we had to sprint through standing water in hopes of not getting our feet wet. Justin found a route that would be the same distance and bring us into Concord. In the summer, I can see us making a longer run by running the Great Meadow Loop and then heading into Concord which would probably be around 30km total.

I never felt great on this run and the legs were a bit banged up from yesterday's track workout. Aerobically I felt good, but the last 5km or so I was wishing to be done.

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Meagan's MHD Track Workout

Time: 79:19
Distance: ~15.3 km

W/u: 20:24 for 4.01 km
W/o: 5 x 1k (2:00 rest), 5 x 300m (90 sec rest)
C/d: 20:55 for ~4 km

I was in Marblehead this afternoon getting some items out of the Karhu Airstream and waiting for Meagan to get done with her hair appointment. We planned to head over to the Village track and run a workout, but I was a little hesitant given her relatively recent effort a couple of days prior. Her goals this spring are to run some big PRs on the road and we need to get her dialed in to clicking of 80 secs per 400m. Today's workout called for just that with some faster intervals at the end to run fast on tired legs.

Splits:
Split
Time
Distance
Avg Pace
Summary38:10.60.00--:--
13:22.41k0
22:00.80.000
33:21.11k0
42:00.20.000
53:19.41k0
62:00.60.000
73:17.01k0
82:00.50.000
93:18.61k0
103:00.20.000
11:53.7300m0
121:29.20.000
13:55.2300m0
141:30.20.000
15:54.0300m0
161:30.50.000
17:54.4300m0
181:30.30.000
19:52.4300m0

I would say the workout went well and Meagan handled the opening kilometers with a little bit of strain. We ended up averaging right about where we needed to be and then ran faster than expected on the 300s. Overall, it was a good workout and will set her up to run fast in a couple of weeks in Texas and Boston.

Craft GM's Long Run

Time: 45:26
Distance: 9.04 km
Pace: 5:02/km
Map

The Craft GM has been training for the Vermont City Marathon at the end of May and today's run called for 15 miles. He came up with the plan to run from his home in Hamilton and meet Meagan and I at the Salem Common around 9 miles. It was apparent his diet in observation of Passover was hindering his ability to run to a maximum level, but nevertheless he hung tough. We took him on a loop from the Common through a familiar loop around the Salem Willows and Winter Island. The pace stayed pretty consistent around 5:00/km and we finished up his final 8-9 km right on his goal effort.

Friday, March 29, 2013

Beverly Lunch Loop

Time: 48:34
Distance: 10.01 km
Pace: 4:51/km
Map

A group of me, Meagan, the Karhu CEO and Craft GM headed out for a lunch loop around Beverly. The pace was very much in control for the first 8km and then picked up ever so slightly once we dropped them off back at the office. Meagan and I added on to boost the weekly totals a bit. I think we were both happy to be finished with our weekly runs by 1 PM and would have the rest of the afternoon to relax. We could even partake in the Friday afternoon beer/wine office session that may or may not occur at the Karhu North America offices.

Light Morning Run

Time: 48:58
Distance: 11.00 km
Pace: 4:27/km
Map

Meagan and I headed out for a light morning run around Salem. She is coming off her workout yesterday and I'm recovering from running some decent mileage the past few days. There isn't much to report other than getting out for some time on the feet.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

NRFTW Run

Time: 42:59
Distance: 10.02 km
Pace: 4:17/km
Map

I didn't have too many intentions to run this evening, but some wear test shoes arrived to the office while I was out visiting accounts in Boston. I arrived home to find two fresh new pairs of Karhus ready for some vigorous wear testing duties in the next weeks and months. I ended up jogging over to the Salem Common and met up with the No Rest For The Wicked group that meets every Thursday night. I put the shoes to the test on a slightly up tempo 5k that I did mostly with Billy Jackson. I sometimes run a light workout like 2 mins on, 1 min off, but tonight was just to put the shoes through an honest run on tired legs.

Meagan's Morning Redemption Workout

Time: 87:11
Distance: 19.34 km

W/u: 21:06 for 4.32 km
W/o Target: 3 x 2 miles at 3:32-3:33/km to start and getting faster (4 mins rest), 4 x 400m at sub-80 secs
W/o Actual: 2 x 2 miles, 2k, 4 x 400
C/d: 12:57 for 2.56 km

It was time to attempt this workout again after yesterday evenings lackluster performance. Meagan and I were out the door early for a warm up to the Hawthorne Hotel. She seemed ready to put forth a good workout with me playing queenmaker.

Splits:
3:30.4, 3:33.0, 3:30.8, 46.2, (4:01);
3:30.9, 3:30.2, 3:34.0, 44.7, (4:01);
3:31.1, 3:28.3, (4:01);
79.0 (2:02), 81.0 (2:02), 79.6 (2:01), 78.4

53:08 total for 12.46 km (4:16/km average)

The effort put forth by Meagan was strong, but we needed to make a slight adjustment after the second 2 mile repeat. She was running strong for the first 2-2.5 km, but I could tell that the final interval was more of a struggle. I opted to have her just run a 2 km on the final interval and hit the 400s at the right pace. We finished up with her showing a little closing speed and running hard, but relaxed.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Bagged Workout

Time: 48:02
Distance: 10.91 km

W/u: 19:39 for 4.18 km
W/o: 3 x 2 mile in 11:20, 11:15, 11:10 (w/ 4 min recovery); 4 x 400 in 80, 79, 78, 77 (w/ 1 min recovery)
C/d: 23:20 for 5.31 km

Tonight's workout with Meagan was going to be a tough one on the Topsfield crushed gravel path. It called fro 3 x 2 miles with some 400s to finish up. We discovered that the trail was in pretty good condition except for a few patches of leftover snow from the most recent snow storms. I made the decision to shorten the workout to 3 x 3k w/ 3 min recovery. The wind would be a factor on the way out and a boost on the second half of each interval.

Meagan seemed to be ready to put things in place for a strong effort, but we soon found out that it wasn't meant to be. She sounded really strained the first 1400m of the first interval and we called off the effort just as we were going to turn around. I had wanted her to hit splits of 3:32-3:33/km on the opening 3k and we can through in 3:34. It wasn't a terrible split considering the wind and softer surface, but Meagan just didn't sound right. I could tell she wasn't really in control and we opted to bag the workout for tomorrow morning.

Split

We cooled down and called it a day. Tomorrow will hopefully be a better representation of her fitness.

Sisu Project Fartlek

Time: 64:10
Distance: 15.20 km
Pace: 4:13/km
Map

My buddy Matt Germain from the Sisu Project came to Salem for a run this morning. We met up at my place and ran a nice warm up through the Salem Willows. He had a fartlek of 1-2-3-4-3-2-1 on tap with 2 minutes rest. I was there to provide some company and open the legs up for tonight's workout with Meagan.

Splits:
71:01.60.313:21
82:00.00.444:32
92:02.10.613:19
101:53.00.424:29
113:05.20.903:26
121:55.30.424:36
133:27.61.003:28
14:35.60.173:29
152:02.60.464:27
163:01.10.873:27
172:00.00.424:44
182:02.10.623:17
191:03.10.195:28
201:02.70.323:14

I felt good on the hard intervals and let the pace come based on feel. Matt has been struggling with his running as of late, but he ran tough today. It was nice helping his fitness and encouraging to be a part of the Sisu Project for a morning.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Evening Beverly Double

Time: 41:44
Distance: 10.02 km
Pace: 4:10/km
Map

I headed out from the office after work looking to put in a nice double run around Beverly. I was feeling pretty good early on, but never forced the pace down. The weather is finally starting to look a little like spring. There is still a definite chill in the air, but when the sun is out it feels almost like t-shirt and shorts weather.

Willows & Winter Island

Time: 57:09
Distance: 13.01 km
Pace: 4:24/km
Map

I got in a run this morning around Winter Island and the Salem Willows. Meagan and I had the chance to catch up on what we wanted to achieve at work today which is pretty standard as far as our morning run in concerned.

Monday, March 25, 2013

YMCA Treadmill Double

Time: 41:10
Distance: ~10 km
Pace: ~4:07/km

I wasn't feeling like layering up for a double run outside this evening so I headed across the street to the YMCA. I jumped on the treadmill and ran easy for the first 3 miles. I then went through a series of 2 min hard, 1 min easy messing around with the speed function. I'm always more entertained when I increase the pace and open up the stride while running in one place.

We are supposed to get snow tonight which is just terrible for this late in the month.

Winter Island Morning

Time: 58:25
Distance: 13.28 km
Pace: 4:24/km
Map

I ran this morning with Meagan from the house to the Salem Willows and a little extra through Winter Island. It was a decent morning to be out pounding the pavement. My legs are feeling pretty good right now but my right bicep is sore from carrying a Karhu tent up a couple flights of stairs. I clearly need to hit the weights.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Slacking on the Blogging

It's the end of another week and I'm crazy far behind on the blog updating. What else is new? I haven't been hurt, quite the opposite. I've been running a good amount and lots of doubles which only makes posting an even bigger task. My goal today is to dig out of the hole and get caught up starting with the most recent days first and going backwards. I can't promise the training updates will be anything remarkable, but the standard facts will be included. Let's go...

Week in Review

Time: 613:52
Distance: 144.15 km

This had to be one of my better weeks of training this spring. It wasn't so much the mileage that made it solid, but the intensity. I had a good effort with Meagan on Weds. morning before taking her to the airport and then came back on Thursday with a solid morning run and an uptempo NRFTW 5k workout. I was pretty sluggish the rest of the week, but the pace was still averaging around 4:00 when I was purposely slowing down.

All I need now is for the weather to cooperate and I think ripping a few bigger workouts on the track will put me in a good place.

Nahant Long Run

Time: 88:45
Distance: 19.38 km
Pace: 4:35/km
Map

Meagan and I met Emily Kroshus at the parking lot of the Nahant causeway for a nice run on a chilly spring morning day. The ocean was really calm except for a few rogue waves splashing over the sea wall when Meagan and I put in 10 minutes before Emily arrived. My legs have been really tired the last couple of days so running with the girls really forced me to slow down and relax. It was just what I needed to help the body recover. I could tell on a couple of the climbs in Nahant my quads and hamstrings didn't want to lift.

I should mention that before showing up to the run Meagan and I spent the morning watching the World Cross Country Championships. It was a great showing by Neely Spence for 13th overall and the men's squad claimed a silver. Read more about the race over on everyone's favorite website www.letsrun.com.

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Tri-Mania Double Run

Time: 45:59
Distance: 10.29 km
Pace: 10.29 km

After breaking down from the Tri-mania expo, I set out to kill an hour while waiting for Meagan's flight from Raleigh to arrive. I went back out on the river and fit in a loop that I probably should have run in the opposite direction. I wanted to finish with the wind at my back, but that meant running directly into the wind for a 5-6 km stretch on the Boston side of the Charles River. My legs were really beat up and terribly sluggish the entire way.

Before Tri-Mania

Time: 41:03
Distance: 10.21 km
Pace: 4:01/km
Map

I arrived early to the Tri-Mania expo and set up all the Karhu goods for the day. There wasn't a consensus on when the expo officially started, so I suited up in my running costume and snuck in 10 km along the Charles River. I finished up on the MIT track which is a nice Mondo service. If it's open to the public, not windy and I'm looking to run a fast workout, I'll consider it next time.

My legs still felt like muck from the last three days of running. I didn't intend to hit an average of 4:01 and was trying to slow down, but the aerobic fitness must be there.