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.