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Time: ~10 minutes
Distance: ~1 mile
I didn't get to recap much of the USATF Club XC meet in my Thunder Road Marathon entry and I won't really do so here. But, I can say that the ladies of CRC held their own against some firmly established club teams like the NYAC, BAA, and Atlanta Track Club. It was a great day for cross-country out at McAlpine and taking in the action was awesome. The men's race saw Dave Nightingale place 3rd overall and Queens' runner Mike Crouch one spot back in 4th. I struggled to get from the mile mark, to the base of the hill, to the backside of the hill on tired legs. At times I was so wrapped up in the running that I forgot about the stiffness in my quads.
The post-race awards banquet for the club race was at Whisky River (why is this place purposely misspelled?). I was in attendance with friends and got to mingle with some other buddies that I had completely forgotten to look out for in the race. It was good catching up with now Hansons-Brooks' runner Zac Hine (formerly of Cornell and was in Japan with me), Sam Luff now of the Georgetown Running Company (also went to Japan this year), Dave Burnham also of the Georgetown Running Company (attended Dartmouth but was on my recruiting trip to Brown when we were both seniors in high school), Lucas Meyer of the Boston Athletic Association (formerly of Yale and went to Japan two years ago) and of course Dave Nightingale who now runs for New Balance. The usual local suspects were in attendance including Caitlin, Meagan, Tanya, Mike and Sarah Porter (new local), Pezz, Paul, Compton, Thomas, Jenna and several more. I also met Ruth who helped Caitlin out at Twin Cities Marathon and her friend Addie Bracy. Lets also not forget Scott Simmons and Camille Herron (I know her from Oklahoma) who just won the Dallas White Rock Marathon.
Why all the name dropping? Well, with all the friends around things got a little out of hand. It was a fun time despite being in a terrible establishment. There is a definite reason as to why I don't patron the Epicenter. I was more surprised to see that people were paying the cover to actually attend a place like Whisky Dick. The whole night left me a world of hurt the next morning. I woke up feeling fine, just a little dehydrated. I didn't get to eat much of a dinner which was ultimately my downfall. I spent about an hour sitting in front of the tv drinking Nuun when things took a turn for the worse. I ended up driving the big white bus a couple of times before grabbing another hour of sleep. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal as I didn't have to run much today, but I did have to board a plane later in the afternoon.
I got my act together with enough time to shower, pack and get to the airport. I was destined for Philly where I would meet up with my boss and our rep from Chicago. We were all going to the GORE Running Wear and GORE Bike Wear sales meeting in Newark, Delaware. Delaware!? That's right the first state of the union. The night included a bite to eat at Geno's Steaks and a drop at the hotel. I got thoughts in my head that it would be good for me to shake out the legs on the treadmill and that's exactly what I did. While my boss was going to bed and the Canadian reps mingled by the fireplace, I hopped on the treadmill for an incredibly slow jog where I covered a mile in just over 10 minutes. By the end of it I was feeling a little less stiff and was able to stretch my tight calves.
Everybody loves a good cheesesteak.
Time: 72:20
Distance: 10.01 miles
Pace: 7:13
Map
Meagan and I met up with Tanya this morning for our run. We started from Boyce and ran 10 miles in McAlpine. The workout on Weds. has left Meagan achilles a little sore and I may have massaged it a bit too aggressively the other night. We turned back a few miles early and called it a day.
I had hoped to run again this morning with Caitlin, but when I got home that motivation was gone. I also hoped to run again this afternoon, but then it got windy and dark. The legs felt fine despite the big mileage yesterday so it's not the body telling me to pack it in. It's just me being a wuss.
Time: 112:18
Distance: 16.03 miles
Pace: 7:00
Map
Meagan, Tanya, Jenna and I all ran around the famed Salem Lake loop this morning. In fact we ran it twice. Since moving to Charlotte I've kept hearing great things about the trail from local runners and those in Winston-Salem. I know Caitlin and John who think highly of the lake as they used to do long runs there while at Wake Forest. Jenna has also hyped Salem Lake now that she's an assistant at High Point University. She will drive her athletes to the lake on weekends for a change of scenery. I also know that Aaron and Theoden have raced out there in a couple longer distance events. I, on the other hand, am not completely sold. It was a good run and I enjoyed the softer surface, but every part of the loop looked the same. You never really got to head back into the woods and instead ran along the water's edge. Also, the footing wasn't the best but that could have been because the leaves have fallen to hide the rocks and roots. I could see how in summer the trail would be great.
The run was good, but the brunch was even better this morning. After finishing we all hit up a local cafe that Jenna found or read about. We put down some omelets, pancakes, coffee and more. What's also key is that the new Fleet Feet Winston-Salem (if you're ever in W-S and want to check out/compare another well merchandised specialty running store, this is a good one to visit) location is right next to the cafe. I can see myself visiting these parts again soon.
Meagan also recaps the run pretty well so just read her post.
Time: 59:24
Distance: ~8 miles
I ran out at McAlpine this morning from the Boyce parking lot with Meagan and Tanya. After yesterday's long run I was in need of a good recovery run. I never felt great, but was content to jog along with the girls. Near the end I started to get more relaxed with the activity. The cool weather has disappeared as it was humid and overcast out on the crushed gravel. So much for it being fall.
Time: 97:05
Distance: 14.21 miles
Pace: 6:49
Map
Last night Jeff Gaudette made his return to Charlotte in order to collect some of his belongings out of our apartment. We had a fun time at Mac's with a good group of friends. In the morning a bunch of us met at the Boyce entrance to McAlpine and started our long run. I didn't feel great most of the way, but I was still able to manage 5 x 90 sec. pickups.
Splits:
1:31.77 for .31 miles @ 4:53 pace, (4:01 rest)
1:31.98 for .32 @ 4:50, (4:03)
1:31.42 for .33 @ 4:41, (4:01)
1:32.30 for .31 @ 4:55, (4:01)
1:31.52 for .33 @ 4:37.
I didn't feel great, but could definitely tell which intervals I ran faster than others. The pickups are a good way of breaking up the long run.
Total Time: 54:21
Total Distance: 8.29 miles
Part I: 19:01 for 2.70 miles
Part II: 35:20 for ~5.59 miles
Tonight I was planning on doing some sort of track workout, but opted to stay on my weekly schedule. The idea of running with some Queens athletes appealed to me early in the day, but once I got to the track my ambitions gradually deflated. It wasn't the fact that a youth track meet was being held either. Instead of getting on the track at 7:30 pm our warm up was pushed back to 7:50 pm. The meet concluded around 8:20 and that's when the workouts began. Mike started so quick as to maximize the lights, I was still lacing up my shoes. He was doing 25 x 400 and I was going to tag along with 25 x 300. I took that as a clue to just do my own thing.
I ran a mile backwards in lane 8. Ran a mile jogging the turns and striding the straights in lane 5. Jogged another mile backwards in lane 8. It was truly backwards, rather clockwise around the track. I did 4 x 200 untimed in lane 5 before cooling down a mile clockwise.
My legs felt good to get in a little turnover. I was okay with keeping my weekly schedule the same because the lights went black about 3/4 of the way through the intervals. We also didn't leave the track until nearly 10:00 pm which meant dinner still had to be made and consumed. I've worked out late, late at night before while living in Oklahoma and sleeping afterward is always an issue.
On the plus side, Meagan and Tanya killed it tonight. Mike look strong and Simon ran tough. DII Nationals are only a few weeks away for these guys.
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.
Time: 65:45
Distance: ~9 miles
Pace: ~7:14
Map
My recovery weekend continued when I went out to McAlpine for the Sunday long run. My schedule had me running 5 miles so naturally I ran 9 with Tanya, Jenna and Meagan. Five solo and my pace = 9 easy with the girls, right? Probably not but I'll take it. Surprisingly, I didn't feel great on the run and I'm not sure why. It might be because I haven't run under 7 minute pace in a few days and I'm starting to feel stale.
Time: 94:54
Distance: 14.03 miles
Pace: 6:46
Map
Today's long run went really well. It's probably the best long run I've had in several weeks excluding the Tobacco Road Marathon. The pace started off nice and easy and gradually progressed after many miles. I've consciously been trying to run more upright in the couple of weeks after the marathon. I always find it easier to correct minor issues during the regeneration or recovery phase of training.
Splits:
7:29, 7:18, 7:03, 7:08, 6:57, 6:50, 7:03, 6:51, 6:37, 6:26, 6:06, 6:02, 5:56, 6:54 (ran back with Jenna and Meagan last 1200m).
Time: 68:28
Distance: 10.14 miles
W/u: 23:23 for 3.06 miles
W/o: 5 mile predator rabbit
C/d: 16:28 for 2.07 miles
While some of the Queens team was racing at the Duke Invite, others were at McAlpine for some weekend miles. However, there was a core group of females who would be running a pretty legit workout. Pezz, Tanya, Meagan and Jenna were all gearing up for their respective workouts. Pezz was running a 4 mile predator run, Meagan and Tanya were doing 5 miles and Jenna, who is just getting back the training buzz, was hoping to go 4 miles.
Since this week has been pretty light in terms of total miles, I decided to play Queen Maker by pace setting the ladies. The goal was to start at 6:00 pace and drop down each mile. Tanya had ambitions of running 5:20 for the last mile. Meagan was hoping to hang on to the pace for as long as possible.
It was up to me to keep things controlled early on and gradually increase the effort as smoothly as possible. I've helped out Meagan many times, but wasn't sure how Pezz or Tanya would respond.
Splits:
5:57, 5:47, 5:36, 5:34, 5:37 for 28:37 total and 5.01 miles.
Early on I could tell Meagan was feeling good because she was running up on my shoulder. Over the second mile, I dropped the pace about 10 seconds, which is what the ladies agreed to before the workout. Pezz and Tanya ran with me during mile three and Meagan was a bit off the pace. Tanya's breathing sounded good until about 1.5 miles to go when her recent wheezing troubles started on a much lesser scale.
At four miles, Sean jumped in to help out during the final mile. I dropped off to see how Meagan was doing and was going to run with her to finish out the workout. However, just as I was starting to make my way back she stopped at the start of the Footlocker course (4 miles). I quickly jumped back around and chased down Tanya and Sean. She was running tough, but struggling. Her form slowly started to deteriorate as she arched her back and began to over-stride. Tanya still managed to hang on to the pace and finished well, but still about 100 meters from 5:20 pace.
Meagan's workout wasn't anything special as a week prior she ran faster at the Shamrock 4 Miler. See her recap for more.
I felt fine throughout. Hopefully I helped a bit.
Time: 65:15
Distance: 10.15 miles
Pace: 6:25
Map
I started my run at McAlpine with Tanya and Meagan for the first two miles. The legs were feeling good and I could tell that I was going to have a solid run. I eventually dropped the ladies and ran the Footlocker course twice before heading back to Old Bell. I clicked off splits of: 7:35, 7:19, 6:47, 6:32, 6:23, 6:13, 6:12, 5:58, 5:49, 5:38. Meagan was only going for 6 miles so I was instructed not to take that long. The Queens boys are going to run long tomorrow so I will probably go long then.
Time: 43:47
Distance: 6.00 miles
Map
I scooped up Tanya this morning and we drove out to Wingate, NC where the DII regional meet was being held. The women would kick off the day at 9:30 which left Tanya and I just enough time to get in a run. We set out on the course and did the men's 10k loops. Our run gave us a chance to preview the best spectating locations along the course and it built excitement for the races. The race course wasn't too challenging with a few rollers on the back portion of the race, but nothing that would make or break a performance.
The women's race started and it was time to become spectator/cheerleader for the Royals who had never qualified a team to nationals. The squad is lead by Jessica Neville, Maraya Slatter, Holly Annas and a newcomer to the xc scene, Meagan Nedlo. Ms. Nedlo was running her first and potentially last collegiate cross country race if things didn't work out for nationals. Just after the mile mark Jessica was running in 5th, Maraya and Holly in a chase group around 9th-12th and Meagan was in the second chase group around 14th-17th. The all important fifth girl, Katie Snow, loomed around 50th.
I made a mad dash from the back section to just beyond 2.25 miles where a spectator could easily cheer for the runners three times. At this point Jessica remained in 5th, Maraya now in 7th, Holly in 9th, Meagan in 14th, Katie in 39th. With about a mile to go the team battle was shaping up, but not with the expected team. It always seems that when you are focused on one school's jersey, another team goes unnoticed and they are the squad that is going to make it close.
I stood at the final turn where there is about 180 meters to run. The girls continued to move up the final mile but it was going to come down to Katie. Maraya caught Jess at the line to take 5th and 6th. Meagan was battling for 8th but wound up 9th (remember that) and Holly struggled but finished 14th. Katie has now running in the mid-30s with a group in front, she finished 35th.
The boy's race was fun to watch but not nearly as exciting until the final stretch. Oscar battled a Kenyan from Columbus State to the tape. He was given the win, but the picture raises some questions. The fellas were favored to win and that's exactly what they did placing six runners in the top 15.
After the races, results were slow to emerge because the host school took it back to '99 with tag scoring. No chip timing for the DII ranks, too fancy. Too modern. Too much like DI. There was a promise that two cameras would serve as backup to the pull-tag system, but of course, neither camera was actually used. The Queens women placed second with 69 points while Columbus State took home first with 68 points. There was no way to actually check if the scores had been tallied correctly or if the tags had been pulled in the right order. Way to go DII! Despite the fact that Meagan had a Columbus State girl pass her at the tape, nobody decided to give her a hard time. She was, more or less, the reason why the team placed second with the 9th place finish.
I had planned on running in the afternoon, but opted not to because of the distance I covered during the races. In the women's 6k race I covered 2.01 miles and in the men's 10k I ran 2.31 miles.
Time: 61:33
Distance: 10.01 miles
W/u: 14:51 for 1.95 miles
W/o: 31:39 for 6.04 miles
C/d: 15:02 for 2.02 miles
Sean, Tanya and I met up at Queens to drive out to McAlpine for a workout. Tanya was running a 6-mile predator run while Sean and I were going to run a 6-mile threshold run. The difference is that Tanya's splits would decrease as the run goes on while Sean and my splits would stay relatively the same.
We warmed up and stretched a bit from the Old Bell parking lot. Sean wanted to run three miles out and three back for the course. It was his workout so I was just tagging along with pace, route and distance. He was hoping to run between 5:10 and 5:20 pace controlled.
Our splits were:
5:11, 5:10, 5:18, 5:20, 5:16, 5:14
I felt very relaxed running the opening two miles. The turn-around mile was okay but I could tell that I was starting to feel the pace. I never went to the well but definitely had thoughts of stopping at five today. Leaving the Footlocker course quickly gets you to the 1.75 marker and soon you're at 1.50. I started playing games with myself in order to reach 1.00 and every quarter mile split after that. The workout today was based on effort so I guess we achieved our goals, definitely nothing to write home about.
Time: 52:xx
Distance: 8.00 miles
I ran with Sean and Tanya this afternoon out at McAlpine. Sean and I did the same loop as the one earlier this week. I felt pretty good with the pace. I've started running in a pair of Fast_Ride Karhus. I like them but they definitely weren't broken in as there was slight forefoot discomfort with the underside of my foot. I think after 20 miles they will be good to go.
Time: 51:45
Distance: 8.01 miles
Pace: 6:27
Map
Meagan and I met up with Sean and Tanya at the Boyce lost of McAlpine. The girls did their own thing while Sean and I ran an eight mile loop. Sean is a miler who is now living in Eugene, OR but may make a move to the Bay Area. He nearly broke the 4-minute mile this summer while racing in Europe. Sean knows a great deal about the sport and it's fun being able to talk all things running. Today's run was relaxed and quiet out on the trail. I'm feeling refreshed and ready to start a new cycle.
Time: 74:44
Distance: 12.00 miles
Pace: 6:14
Map
What a great morning! Meb Keflezghi became the first American to win the NYC Marathon in 27 years. Great race and the move he made with two miles to run was truly inspirational.
Meagan and I got up early to watch the marathon and then realized that the races didn't start until after 9 am. That gave me some time to figure out how to connect the computer to the tv so we could watch with a bigger screen and better sound. I overcame my frustration and conquered Mr. Technology with several minutes to spare. We invited over Jenna, Tanya and Sean to watch the race unfold like the running geeks that we are.
The living room became my running HQ for the duration of the race. Meagan's mini-computer was hooked up to the big screen playing the live universalsports.com feed of the race. On my MacBook I had multiple tabs open so that I could soak up as much info about the race as possible. I watched the men's only feed in one tab, chatted with Owen about the race in another, and tracked multiple competitors in another. I was also texting Mike DeCoste with updates because he wasn't getting any from the NYC Marathon website.
My interest was split between the lead pack and Pat Tarpy. I loved watching how the runners up front eyed each other constantly as they waited to make moves. Tarpy could only be tracked online and seeing his splits was really exciting. Before the race he hinted at running alongside Brian Sell who always seems to run even and smart. According the the splits, Tarpy decided to do just that as both went through half-way at the same time.
The excitement increased as several Americans maintained contact in the front while Tarpy hung tough through miles 18, 19 and 20. Owen and I chose horses at mile five of the race which meant he was cheering for Ryan Hall and James Kwambai. I settled on Meb to as the top US finisher and Robert Cheruiyot to win the race. I had little true confidence in my picks but both looked very relaxed running out of the lead early on. I believe their experience with the course and their bodies brought them to finish 1-2 at the end of the day. It was a great race heading into Central Park and one that brought a lot of energy to our living room.
Owen and I assumed Tarpy would be finishing around 2:14 or 2:15 according to his 35k split of 1:51:xx. We waited, and waited, and waited for the tracker page to update. Nothing. Maybe there was a glitch or there was too much traffic on the site. Tarpy had to be near the finish but the live feed on universalsports.com was failing us now. Probably around the 2:17 or 2:18 finishing time mark, Owen forwarded me a message from his friend Elliot who I assume was watching live at the race: "just saw Tarpy walking then he started running again." Nooo. I was upset/disappointed/sad that the marathon had taken another one. I don't mean to ridicule Tarpy when I post his splits because I know he reads this blog. I was emotionally invested in the splits because I could see the development of an a brilliant run. Here they are:
Half Marathon Split - 66:44
Second Half Split - 73:59
Split from mile 14 to 15 - 5:10
Split from mile 15 to 16 - 5:12
Split from mile 16 to 17 - 4:59
Split from mile 17 to 18 - 5:04
Split from mile 18 to 19 - 5:08
Split from mile 19 to 20 - 5:26
Split from mile 20 to 21 - 5:34
Last 7.2k of the race - 28:47 (~6:05/mile* pace) *includes walking
I got one of the best texts I've ever received from Tarpy after the race. I had just returned from my 12 miler with Sean Brosnan out at McAlpine. He writes:
"Tough day for this guy, thought 2:14 was happening. Back first to go, then hips, then feet, then heart. If you want applause in a marathon take a walk break and then start running again. Crowd loves it. Also I passed one of the elite women at 25 and she then out kicked me. Not my finest moment."
Tarpy ran 2:20:43 in his marathon debut on a tough course in NYC. He finished as the 13th overall American in the race. There aren't too many people who can say they ran 2:20 after taking three 30 second walk breaks in the last 5k.
Having the technology to follow a race so closely today was great fun. The efforts today brought many highs and lows to our living room. Even though I was hours away from the live action it felt like I was experiencing the race first hand. Meb's performance will always be remembered. Tarpy's performance will be too.
Oh, it was also Meagan's birthday today. She is now in her late 20s which is nearly 30.
Time: 57:57
Distance: 8.13 miles
Race: 15:43, 3rd
W/u: 26:23 for 3.16 miles
C/d: 15:51 for 1.87 miles
Tanya, Sean, Benny and I drove out to the airport this morning for the Runway 5k. The race takes place on the tarmac of the airport while there was planes taking off and landing. You are not in or near harms way, but there could be some worries for security. It was pretty cool being up close and personal with jets parked in side gates of US Airways.
The race itself was a little disorganized due to the overwhelming numbers. I think the race director predicted 1,000 participants and when the total approached 1,600, as you can expect, lines for parking, the bathroom and registration were really long. The race was scheduled to start at 8:00 am, but then it was pushed back to 8:15. The race didn't officially start until 8:28 am.
I felt terrible and all hope for winning the $500 flight vouchers went out the window in the first 300 meters. Since the course is completely flat there really is no reason to not go out hard. Sean took the pace and had about a 4 second lead at the half mile when he was joined by a runner wearing a Pacers uniform. Turns out this guy trains with Matt Centrowitz up in the Arlington/DC area and was here with his wife for the weekend. I didn't get the whole story about who lived where, but regardless the guy wanted those tickets.
Through the mile I was about 6 secs. behind Sean and Bert Rodriguez and thought there might be a chance to make a move in the next mile. I hung tough but the gap wasn't getting any smaller and by 2 miles I was packing it in. Sean ran alongside Bert for a good ways but was eventually broken. It was a bit humbling to show up knowing either Sean or I were going to take home the tickets, only to be outrun by someone else. That's how road whoring goes sometimes.
Tanya ran well to just miss breaking 17 mins. However, she was beaten by a dude running with a baby jogger.
Time: 58:45
Distance: 8.82 miles
Pace: 6:39
Map
Tanya and I went out to Boyce Park to get on the trails at McAlpine. I felt fine going into the run but quickly discovered that I wasn't fully recovered. I felt sluggish and couldn't relax on large stretches that I should have been most comfortable. Tanya is also sick and when I caught her with about 1.5 miles to go she was looking terrible. We ran the last 10 minutes together back to the parking lot.
Time: 52:26
Distance: 8.18 miles
W/u: 23:09 for 3.10
W/o: 2 x mile in 4:35, 2 x 400 in 60-61 with full recovery
C/d: 16:54 for 2.08 miles
I met up with Tanya and we drove over to Johnson C. Smith University for our pre-race workouts. She was meeting up with Pezz, who is also running CVS, to do 2 x 800, 2 x 400. Since Jailhouse is such the slave driver he had me run double the distance at the start. The goal is to run as relaxed as possible and today's weather was quite humid, so I was hoping not to blow up early.
I started with a couple of 200s in trainers because I wanted to feel especially light when I slipped on the flats. Splits:
33.73 (1:18), 32.83 (7:37),
4:34.25 (6:00), 4:34.93 (4:32),
60.83 (3:42), 59.76
The workout ended up going really well. I felt fairly relaxed clicking off 68s during the miles despite the humidity. I was drenched with sweat once the workout was over and just hope that the weather in Providence isn't so damp. I think that I'll be able to go out in 4:35 to 4:40 this weekend and feel comfortable doing so. The race starts with a big downhill so it will be a balancing act of getting out hard without going to the well before 2.5 miles.
I have a little bit of tendinitis in my left knee that I can only feel when I press on it. John Gregorek would say, "don't press on it then."
Time: 32:37
Distance: 4.57 miles
Pace: 7:08
Map
I wasn't sure if I was going to run this morning but then Tanya, who has been sleeping on our air mattress, told me she was going for a jog. I laced up the boots and got in a little over 4 miles this morning. I'm running a low key race tomorrow so while the Queens team is doing a "predator run" this afternoon I'll jog around McAlpine.
Everybody loves a good cheesesteak.
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