Salem Willows 200s

Time: 67:18
Distance: 15.91 km

W/u: 22:30 for 5.06 km
W/o: 16 x 210m with 210m jog
C/d: 19:42 for 4.13 km

This evening I headed off to the Salem Willows to put in some faster work. I recently watched a Flotrack video of Brie Felnagle running 16x200m around an 800m loop in Seattle with Danny Mackey holding the watch. I set up my watch to beep at 210m intervals and got to work after some light stretching. It took me one interval to figure out how the watch works on such efforts so I may have actually run 17x200m.

Splits:

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	25:06.8	6.72	3:44
1	:39.8	0.21	3:10
2	:57.4	0.21	4:34
3	:37.1	0.21	2:57
4	:53.3	0.21	4:14
5	:39.4	0.21	3:08
6	:57.5	0.21	4:34
7	:38.3	0.21	3:02
8	:56.3	0.21	4:28
9	:36.1	0.21	2:52
10	:58.2	0.21	4:37
11	:38.0	0.21	3:01
12	:54.5	0.21	4:20
13	:36.5	0.21	2:54
14	:55.6	0.21	4:25
15	:35.8	0.21	2:50
16	:55.0	0.21	4:22
17	:37.4	0.21	2:58
18	:54.3	0.21	4:19
19	:36.6	0.21	2:54
20	:59.4	0.21	4:43
21	:36.4	0.21	2:53
22	:56.9	0.21	4:31
23	:39.5	0.21	3:08
24	:53.2	0.21	4:13
25	:37.3	0.21	2:57
26	:58.1	0.21	4:37
27	:38.9	0.21	3:05
28	:59.9	0.21	4:45
29	:36.8	0.21	2:55
30	:57.4	0.21	4:34
31	:36.9	0.21	2:56
32	:58.8	0.21	4:40

I wanted to keep the pace under 3:00/km which most were. There were a couple hills that slowed the efforts down, but overall I'm happy. I felt good opening up the legs and increasing the turnover for the first time in quite a while. It also felt like I was running a little faster due to the darkness and running by a headlamp.

New Week

Time: 45:45
Distance: 10.35 km
Pace: 4:25/km
Map

Started off the week with an easy run through the Salem Willows. Nothing too crazy to report other than putting some time on the feet before attempting a workout this evening.

Week in Review

Time: 570:38
Distance: 136.21 km

A decent week of training for being on the road most of the week and dealing with cold/rainy weather. There wasn't too much intensity but I made the most of a couple efforts by finishing the run relatively hard. I can tell the legs are in a good place to increase the training in the next few weeks.

Tired Sunday Effort

Time: 73:34
Distance: 17.35 km
Pace: 4:12/km
Map

You know you're Garmin is acting a little funny when it claims you set the world record for 1000m less than 5k into a run. I think the rain had a bit of an effect on my run early on before stabilizing around 30 minutes. I was able to manually make the adjustments as I ran this loop on Monday and know the distance.

3	3:55.9	1.00	3:56
4	2:05.2	1.00	2:05
5	2:05.4	1.00	2:05
6	2:54.4	1.00	2:54
7	3:08.2	1.00	3:08
8	2:04.1	1.00	2:04

The cold rain made getting out the door a bit of a struggle, but I was able to keep the spirits high throughout the run and finish strong.

Saturday Morning Long Run

Time: 95:10
Distance: 24.33 km
Pace: 3:55/km
Map

I must have been feeling pretty good on this Saturday morning as the pace and distance are pretty solid. I ended up taking a loop around the Marblehead Neck and then looped through town before coming back along West Shore Dr. I think I was trying to protect myself from the wind and this route provided the most neighborhood coverage.

Ithaca Run with Cole

Time: 72:23
Distance: 17.01 km
Pace: 4:15/km
Map

I met up with Cole Crosby who I know from my days in Oklahoma. He's become a pretty good mountain runner and snow shoe competitor the last couple of years. We met up at the Finger Lakes Running Company and headed out for a loop along Cayuga Lake. It was good catching up with him and hearing about some of his recent adventures in some other endurance events.

We somehow were able to keep the run relatively flat considering Ithaca is one of the hilliest places I know. The center of town is down in a valley but Cornell and Ithaca College are both up along the ridge lines. In the past I've spent the first half of the run flying downhill and then crawling back up at the end.

Lucky Sevens

Time: 49:50
Distance: 12.70 km
Pace: 3:55/km
Map

I spent most of the day at Fleet Feet Rochester's second location talking to staff about Karhu. Before taking off for the day, I laced up the shoes and headed out on a run from the store called "Lucky Sevens" as it is supposedly 7.77 miles. I kept the pace honest and thought the wind would be more of a factor in the neighborhoods. I ended up clipping along the second half of the run with splits under 3:44/km.

Treadmill in Rochester

Time: 35:37
Distance: 8.0 km
Pace: 4:27/km

I ran on the treadmill this morning as when I woke up the streets were covered with a thin layer of snow. It was slippery enough for me to not want to risk messing with my achilles so I opted to find a way onto a treadmill. I ended up sneaking into a Holiday Inn and using the fitness facility and sweated my ass off in the process.

Worst Route Ever

Time: 81:36
Distance: 19.41 km
Pace: 4:12/km
Map

When I'm in Syracuse I usually run along the Erie Canal or on the roads near Fleet Feet Syracuse. I wanted to save a little time and didn't want to drive anywhere to run this morning so I opted to find a route on my iPad. It looked like I could make a loop in some neighborhoods or on roads near the airport which wasn't too far from my hotel. Somehow the map in my head didn't correlate to the actual roads because I ended up making the absolutely worst running route ever.

It was cold, windy, dangerous and ugly. I found myself running on a three lane highway against traffic during the morning rush hour directly into a 20 mph wind. If the conditions weren't bad enough, I was running dangerously close to the traffic that was speeding by at over 60 mph. I wasn't going to turn around as I didn't want to deal with the traffic so I ventured on hoping to make a loop. The airport was a bigger obstacle than I initially thought and around the hour mark I was in a Holiday Inn Express asking how far it was back to Carrier Circle. It was a bit disheartening when the receptionist said 6 miles when I was already at 8 miles, the distance I wanted my entire run to be.

Fortunately, the wind was at my back the final 20-25 minutes and I was able to cut the pace down to finish under 3:44/km. My 13 km run turned into a 19 km run on roads that are definitely not runner friendly. Now I know to stick to the Erie Canal when visiting SYR.

Before Hitting the Road

Time: 57:46
Distance: 13.13 km
Pace: 4:24/km
Map

Out the door for a run around Salem before I hit the road destined for central NY. Nothing too exciting to report here. I was going to run again, but once I made it to Syracuse around 7:30 PM after driving in the snow, it was dark and windy as well. Instead I went to Ruby Tuesday's for the petite filet.

Easy Double Run

Time: 31:57
Distance: 7.01 km
Pace: 4:33/km
Map

I picked Meagan up from the airport as she's getting back from working the Mercedes Marathon expo and running the half marathon. Check out her blog to see how it went.

Our run took us to the Willows for a little shake out and nothing more.

New Week, New Loop

Time: 72:45
Distance: 17.28 km
Pace: 4:13/km
Map

After a day off and somewhat being a wimp, I laced up the shoes and headed out into the wind. The precipitation from the storm is gone, but the wind is still around to make finding a protected loop difficult. The Marblehead trail is still a mess so I opted to stay on the roads and figure the least windy area would be West Shore Dr.

My legs had a bit of pop in them today and the pace reflected a solid effort despite the breeze. I will certainly use the route many times in the future as it takes me back to when Meagan and I first moved to the northeast.

Week in Review

Time: 452:09
Distance: 108.54 km

The day off pretty much killed the possibility of having a respectable training week. The good is that I'm healthy and opted to play it safe rather than push the limits when the conditions wouldn't allow for a decent run. At this stage of the year, it's better to take a day off than risk slipping on ice or blowing up my Achilles. I did get in a light workout with Meagan and some hard minute efforts during NRFTW. I just need it to warm up for the real work to begin.

Snow Day

Time: none
Distance: none

The weatherman was right and it snowed enough to make running outside not worth it. It was also crazy windy and I had no interest in braving the weather. Oh well. I have to tell myself that taking a day off now and being a wimp is worth it to not be injured later this spring.

Late Run that Should Have Been Longer

Time: 63:57
Distance: 15.01 km
Pace: 4:16/km
Map

I got out the door late today after hanging around the house all morning and afternoon. That really good wine from last night left me with little interest of heading out the door to run in the wind. When I did finally leave the house I headed south to Marblehead for some distance in the neighborhoods. I never felt great and my stomach was in a bad place for much of the run.

Had I taken the weather forecast seriously and my stomach weren't feeling awful, I would have added on back in Salem to boost the weekly totals. That didn't happen.

Friday Night Lights

Time: 37:08
Distance: 8.14 km
Pace: 4:34/km
Map

I was able to fit in a run around Salem before heading to Marblehead to bring the Karhu and Craft CEO a new pair of Craft sunglasses. I stayed out way too late drinking really good wine and talking with friends of the family. The run was fine and the night with friends was great.

Morning Shuffle

Time: 42:40 

Distance: 10.01 km

Pace: 4:15/km

Map

I stuck around the NRFTW post run/race festivities at Engine House a little too long last night. As a result, I was feeling a little groggy this morning as I headed out the door for this run. I shuffled along and just put in some time on the feet. 

NRFTW 5k

Time: 50:22
Distance: 9.83 km

W/u: 16:05 for 3.34 km
NRFTW: 5k alternating 1 min on/off intervals
C/d: 17:13 for 3.24 km

I had a bit of a hard time motivating myself to put on the running clothes after coming home from work. It was cold, dark and I was tired. I ended up shuffling out the door and making my way to the Salem Common to meet up with the crew of 20 looking to run the No Rest for the Wicked 5k.

My plan was to alternate running hard/easy 1 minute intervals. I did this several weeks ago when the temps were just hovering above 10 degrees and found it was somewhat enjoyable and a decent workout. Tonight my hope was to keep the recovery interval in the sub-4:00/km range.

Splits:

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	17:04.6	5.01	3:25
1	1:02.6	0.33	3:10
2	1:02.2	0.28	3:45
3	1:02.4	0.34	3:02
4	1:02.1	0.27	3:54
5	1:02.8	0.34	3:04
6	1:02.2	0.26	4:03
7	1:02.2	0.35	3:00
8	1:01.6	0.26	3:58
9	1:02.6	0.34	3:06
10	1:01.5	0.25	4:03
11	1:02.9	0.34	3:03
12	1:02.5	0.27	3:54
13	1:01.9	0.35	2:59
14	1:01.9	0.25	4:11
15	1:01.6	0.35	2:57
16	:43.0	0.18	3:54
17	:48.4	0.27	3:02

I'll take it considering it's really only running half of a 5k.