Showing posts with label shakeout. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shakeout. Show all posts

Sunday, April 21, 2013

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...

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Morning Shakeout

Time: 32:02
Distance: 6.47km
Pace: 4:57/km
Map

We got out the door a little later in the morning for a slow jog through Marblehead. This afternoon Meagan will be running some 800s to get her training back on track for a fast 10k later this month. After going over her workouts from this spring as compared to 2010 when she was finishing up at Queens University, I noticed a lack of 400s and 800s in her speed work. She was pretty consistent in running 300s, 400s, 800s and mile repeats when she was performing her best. I believe she is much stronger now with the marathon work and half marathons she run this spring, but not used to running 10km worth of volume at a pace slightly fast than race pace. Today will be that day to get back to running some 800s, 10-12 of them specifically with me playing queenmaker.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Shakeout for RaceFest

Time: 25:22
Distance: ~3 miles

Meagan and I visited a couple of the stores in south Charlotte today and I ended up gaining a free entry to tomorrow's RaceFest 10k. Meagan had already signed up earlier in the week and I entertained thoughts of running. After this morning's longer run I just used the 3 miles to shake out the legs. I ran three strides during the run to inject some speed into the legs but I could tell this week's mileage has the body a little tired. Tomorrow will simply be about running smart and trying to win some cash.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Morning Shakeout

Time: 27:59
Distance: ~3.5 miles

I ran with Meagan this morning around Myers Park. It was an easy loop to shake out the legs in preparation for her first workout back in about a month. It felt nice to run easy and not be concerned about the pace knowing the real work was to be done later in the day.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Travels in the Territory

Time: 23:40
Distance: 2.90 miles
Pace: 8:10
Map

So after the early morning workout with Spada and Chrisman, I packed up and headed off to South Carolina. I first stopped in Columbia to visit a few bike stores and the Fleet Feet in town. Things were shaping up to be a really productive day in terms of account visits. The purpose of the trip was to be at Fleet Feet North Augusta for a Balega sponsored Lesedi Pub Run. The Lesedi Project is a really cool community based initiative to help the underprivileged in South Africa. While Balega is based out of Hickory, NC the product is assembled in South Africa and being a part of both areas is important to the company.

Balega supports the Ethembeni school in South Africa which caters to the physically and visually disabled. A few years ago, Balega purchased a bus for the school and the funds tonight will be used to build a playground. In addition to the school, the event tonight raised money for Girls on the Run by selling pint glasses for $10. Half of the money went to the school and the other to the new chapter of GOTR in North Augusta.

I got to run a few shakeout miles with Fleet Feet's training group and speak a little about the socks, the company and The Lesedi Project. It was a fun way to end the evening at Nacho Mama's who had agreed to fill the pint glasses for $1. Who could pass up helping two great charities, getting a pint glass and $1 beer? Not me. I had a few pints of Sierra Nevada and some nachos while enjoying conversation with other runners. The owner Michael and his fiance Jen did a great job organizing the entire event.

Around 8:00 pm the group dispersed and I regained a bit of focus as I had to get close to Charleston, SC. I drove and drove through the night eventually finding some sketchy lodging about 20 minutes outside of Chucktown. I quickly passed out after having a really successful start to the trip.

Saturday, July 31, 2010

24 Hours of Booty Loop Shakeout

Time: 35:01
Distance: 4.40 miles
Pace: 7:57
Map

I could not wake up this morning. I was drowsy despite getting proper rest last night. The workout was not going to go well even with the cups of coffee consumed being increased. I decided to hold off considering the temps were much lower than any other day in recent memory. It was a shame because I kept reading status updates all morning about how good people were feeling out on the trails and greenways.

I opted for a slow, short run from the house to Queens University where 24 Hours of Booty was being held. I wanted to see what the buzz was all about. There were quite a few bikers out on Queens Road at 9:30 am, but it wasn't packed. Booty Village also seemed pretty tame at that hour. I would imagine that it gets pretty ragey on Friday night if alcohol is allowed, but I could see them outlawing beverages of choice. I chatted it up with Jason "High Rise" Fish of Pura Vida Fitness fame, who had already completed 119 miles on three separate stints out on the course. His goal was to reach 200 miles in those 24 hours. Intense!

There really wasn't much going on that was going to keep me at the event so I moseyed on home. I would return later in the afternoon to watch George start the Re-Boot which is a shorter 2:00 to 7:00 pm shift. He was hoping to get in 100 miles in those 5 hours.

Friday, July 9, 2010

Medium Loop as a Shakeout

Time: 64:43
Distance: 8.64 miles
Pace: 7:29
Map

I have a workout this evening, but it doesn't scare me. It's 12 x 300m in 54 seconds w/ 100m jog in 30 seconds. That's basically 3 miles constant, switching gears between 4:48 mile pace and 8:00 mile pace. If done well the total time would equal about 16:48 total. The workout isn't designed to be taxing, but as a way to feel comfortable changing pace and recovery quickly.

Despite the workout on the schedule, I ran with Meagan for a pretty good morning jog of 8+ miles. It was our standard medium loop that took us through Freedom Park and around the Booty Loop. The pace was comfortable and will set me up nice for a good workout.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Night Shakeout and Strides

Time: 45:48
Distance: 6.50 miles

W/u: 24:46 for 3.40 miles
Strides: 2 laps hot/cold, drills 2 laps hot/cold
C/d: 15:07 for 2.10 miles

This evening, after taking a mini-nap, I threw on my running costume and jogged over to the AG track. I did 2 laps of jogging the turns, striding the straights before going through my drills. I did 2 more laps of alternating 100m strides before jogging home. The legs felt good to get in some turnover work about 12 hours prior to race time.

Splits of strides:
3:01, 2:54

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Shakeout Miles

Time: 26:58
Distance: 3.59 miles
Pace: 7:30
Map

A few miles before tonight's workout on the track. Legs felt fine, weather still good.

Friday, May 7, 2010

Morning of the Race

Time: 26:43
Distance: 3.59 miles
Pace: 7:26
Map

I'm not sure of the science behind shakeout runs and why most professionals, collegiate teams and serious runners do them, but they do. I would guess it's a way for the body to wake up, loosen up and ensure it knows that it's race day. Shakeout runs also keep a routine for the athlete prior to competition. I think most importantly, the shakeout run allows the runner to see if there are any tight spots in the legs that should be stretched before the race.

I started doing shakeout runs as a freshman in college and found it a little intimidating to run 20-25 minutes several hours before the race and warm up. During the warm up, as as team, we would get another 20-25 minutes. All totaled the team would have 5-6 miles on the legs before the start of the 8k or 10k in cross country.

I continue to do shakeout runs before races for several of the reasons I mentioned above. I feel like I'm in a routine. I think about race strategy. I stretch whatever muscles didn't feel quite right. However, I'm not sure if I would race any better or worse if I started forgoing the extra few miles. There might be a bigger psychological or physiological reason that I'm missing, but that's for someone else to answer.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

JCSU Track Fun

Time: 23:30
Distance: 3.04 miles
Map

Tonight I went over to JCSU with some Queens runners to watch their workout. Everyone was doing 4 x mile with 4 minutes rest. Mike and Futsum were hitting 4:30-4:35, Tanya hovered around 5:05 and Meagan and Jenna were at 5:20. Meagan had a miserable workout that wasn't fun to watch and less fun to run.

Mike hammered the last half of his final mile in 2:01-2:03 which put him at 4:16-4:17. Very fast.

I ended up running two laps of jogging the turns and sprinting the straights. I also did some drills before the strides. The goal was to loosen up the legs and get ready to roll tomorrow night in Uptown.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Shakeout Miles

Time: 22:21
Distance: 3.08 miles
Pace: 7:15
Map

Just some easy miles on the legs to wake them up.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Shakeout Miles

Time: 25:30
Distance: 3.51 miles
Pace: 7:16
Map

I originally wasn't going to run this morning, but decided to put in a few miles around 11:00 am. I found a break from work and laced up the kicks for a jog along the greenway. I mainly did this to allow myself to stretch out prior to this evening's workout at JCSU.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Shakeout Miles

Time: 23:23
Distance: 3.10 miles
Pace: 7:32
Map

This afternoon I watched the Penn Relays on FloTrack. There was some good action at Franklin Field and the Jamaican crowd was in a frenzy. Usain Bolt was running the anchor leg of the 4 x 100 in USA vs. The World. Unfortunately, I would have to wait until 8 pm to watch the coverage as FloTrack only had the rights to air all of the non-USA vs. The World events.

Meagan got off work early and we decided to get some extra miles. I hobbled along but felt better by the end of the run.

It was then time to clean up and head over to Matt Jaskot's going away party. The two highlights of the evening were watching the Penn Relays coverage on ESPN2 with a bunch of other track nerds, and making ice cream and margaritas with liquid nitrogen. Move over rock salt, cream and three hours of churning, liquid nitrogen produced results in minutes.

Caitlin & Matt brewing up some ice cream. (Photo lifted from Caitlin & Mark Zuckerberg)

Friday, January 15, 2010

I'll Count It

Time: 20:32
Distance: 2.76 miles
Map

I woke up this morning feeling dehydrated so I went to the kitchen to mix up some Gatorade Endurance Formula. It's great stuff. Tastes like traditional Gatorade with a hint of salt. As I was drinking my elixir I got to reading my RSS feed. My "running logs" folder had blown up with 32 new posts. Surely Owen, DeCoste or Da WeeMan hadn't got back on the training/blogging bandwagon. Turns out most of the posts were comments on Théoden's blog concerning the interview with Chris Lamperski. Actually, yesterday during my drive I chatted with Meagan who told me that Chris stopped by Run For Your Life to pick up some supplies. I won't go into my thoughts on posting anonymously and turning a personal blog into a critical forum, but let's just say that Chris is only doing good for Charlotte's active community.

I put in a little over 20 minutes this morning to shake out the legs. In a few minutes, I'm heading out to this park you may have heard of called McAlpine. I'm going to put myself through 2 x 4 miles in about 5:20 with 3-4 minutes rest. My coach, Jeff, calls for the workout to be at MP (marathon pace) or 10 seconds faster. I'm still unsure what part of McAlpine I will use, but I have a few routes that I'm considering.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Morning Shakeout

Time 31:34
Distance: 4.56 miles
Pace: 6:55
Map

I put in a few miles this morning in preparation for a session of mile repeats this afternoon. I felt great which I hope means that I feel the same out at McAlpine. I was trying to slow down but by the end I was hitting 6:30. Stay tuned for a post later today (or tomorrow) as I'll be getting after in 5 x mile with the Queens team.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

24 Hour Countdown

Time: 34:15
Distance: 5 miles

I came downstairs at 6:30 am to start my run and was greeted by a crew of long haired dudes setting up a stage for the Norman Music Festival. How come all those guys look the same wherever you go? I'm going to miss the music which kinda sucks because they got a pretty good lineup like Of Montreal, Tea Leaf Green and Sugar and Gold. They must be important because there has been some buzz about the bands playing this year.


The run was humid. I was wearing a long sleeve Brooks/Hanson's shirt though which didn't help things but tomorrow is going to be fun. The legs are feeling fresh and I think I'll be able to handle the pace. I'm hoping the cooling system is prepared to go late in the race when the sun comes out and warms the course to 70 around 8:30 am.

Oh, and speaking of countdowns...

...nevermind I can't find it.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Getting a Feel for It

Time: 19:37
Distance: ~2.5 miles

I got a few miles on my feet towards the end of the day at work. I wanted to go out and keep the legs loose after working during the day. We had lots of marathoners in the store asking silly questions about where to line up, what to eat and what to wear. The other purpose for my run was to test the air and to see how thick it really is. Pretty thick. If the weather report holds true and the mid 60s temps welcome us at the start, getting a deep breath is going to be tough.

OK Runner had the annual post-expo dinner at Chelino's this evening in Bricktown. We had a good crew of reps which included Jon from Adidas, Gabe and Mo from Brooks, Andrea and Len from New Balance, Cane from Mizuno and Marcus who is a director for White Rock in Dallas. I kept the streak alive with 3 Dos Equis Ambers with lime. I'm feeling ready to roll. Over/under is still Boston women's winning time.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Workout Shakeout

Time: 29:18
Distance: 4.16 miles
Pace: 7:03
Map

It was a lovely morning here in Nompton. I felt a little bad that I wasn't out cutting shapes on the track because the wind was completely absent form this morning's short jog. I got out the door a little bit later but I was only hoping to loosen up the legs for a workout this afternoon. I finished at the gym and stretched a little better than a few days ago. I made sure to do some eccentric calf loads and some other stretches to work on my hips. I'm looking to have a good one this afternoon on Norman High's track.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Shakeout for a Workout?

Time: 21:48
Distance: 3 miles

It is terribly windy out and I just went for a short run around campus. I was shaking the legs out for this afternoon's workout up in OKC. Scotty D and I will be banditing the Red Bud Classic.