Weekly Log: April 18 to 24

Solid week for training, as there are no interruptions with racing. Resume racing on Tuesday (26).

Monday: 8 Miles. 7 Mile East Ave run. Was feeling great going out, really considering going for a 6-flat pace. When I felt good at 6:15, I settled around there. A little hot but pretty easy. It was time to return, but suddenly the heavy and tight thighs came, and it got really hard. Weird run, as usually I feel good coming back but not going out.

Tuesday: 5 Miles, track workout. I felt horrible going in, eating way too close to practice time and the heat (nothing horrible, but I'd run in high 40s over high 60s any day) didn't help either. We received our workout, and only the end seemed bad. 75 (per lap) pace for 1200, then 800, then 400, break, then 5x400 at descending pace (start at 80 and drop 5 secs off each 400). The first 3 didn't feel great as I had a full stomach, but weren't hard either. Recovery was about 2 mins, then 1 min. Splits: 3:41/2:27/71. 6-Minute recovery before the 400s. The first three 400s weren't bad (I hate 400 repeats but they weren't especially fast) but the last 2 hurt a little. Started out too fast, then was right on. About 1 minute recovery for the first, then up to 3 minutes for the later ones. Splits: 71/75/69/63/61. Wasn't feeling too bad during the workout, but felt terrible on the cool-down. Difficulty: 4/5 (probably would've been a 3 with good weather and proper eating).

Wednesday: 8 Miles. Woke up at 11, which was very late. I didn't want to wait around for my run, so I went at 12:30 after planning a route. I would do the moonlight loop. I used this run to try out my Fresh Foam Zante for the first time. These were a cousin of the Fresh Foam, except with slightly less cushioning to allow more speed. And the first mile, all I felt was speed. I felt uncontrollably fast. The next three miles were terrible as they felt tight and were hurting. I adjusted them and they felt fine after that. Last few miles were tough with hills and heat.

Not a photo I took, but this is the same color I have.

Thursday: 5 Miles, a track-hill combo workout. I like the track-hill combo as it's interesting doing two workouts in one, but less of each. We did a set of fingers and one Narragansett hard. I felt great, but my Zante's were weird again. When I put them on they felt loose, yet only a quarter mile later (without adjustment) they felt so tight they were hurting. I don't think these are made for sprints. I may use them for blessing as they feel better for longer distances. Anyway, my hill workout was merely okay as my foot pain slowed me down. We went to the track, and had 3x400 @ 70, a 90% effort 300, and then an all-out 200. We had about a minute recovery between each, a little more for the last ones. This was actually a little fun. As I said before, I'm not a huge fan of 400 repeats, but it was only 3. The 300 was fun. I think I PR'd in the 200. My splits: 69/68/67/44/26. Difficulty: 3/5.

Friday: 10 Miles. Awesome Mystic loop with great locations. My 2nd fastest 10 miler ever (around 1:05), and it didn't feel very tiring. This was a huge strava success, as I went 5 for 5 on segments. Perhaps the first time I've gotten every segment I ran in a run, and I don't know that I've gotten that many in one run before. Definitely enjoy the road running in Mystic. I made two additional segments, taking the top spot on one, and coming in second on another (behind a speedy mystic runner who was the CR holder on I few I took that run).

Saturday: 5 Miles, track workout. I showed up late as I got the times wrong, but I just ended up shortening my warm-up by half a mile. I didn't eat breakfast, so wasn't looking forward to the workout in the humid and wet conditions. We started with 3x400 @70 pace. I ran them a little fast, but none were that tiring. 60 seconds recovery in between each. 69/68/67. Next was an all-out 1200, something I wasn't looking forward. It was slightly better than expected because I got to catch slower runners instead of running by myself. This made it go by quicker, and I finished faster than I expected 3:25. Pretty good practice, around a 4:13 for 1500 and 4:32 mile, just off my best. We concluded with 8x200 @38 seconds each, 20 seconds recovery in-between. It felt easy running them, but became a little tiring immediately after. This was certainly only because of the 1200 before.

Sunday: 10 Miles in Narragansett, before the RISP 5K. This was a good opportunity to explore new roads, but overall I wasn't impressed. Maybe I just picked the wrong route, but I liked very few of the roads I ran on unlike the Friday mystic runs. It didn't feel terrible, but didn't feel great either. My thighs felt tired early on and my entire legs were also feeling it in the last few. I broke my 2nd fastest ten-miler (from Friday), bringing a 6:32 pace down to 6:21. Happy with the run, but it wasn't much fun during.

Weekly Total: 51 Miles (2nd highest week ever)
YTD Mileage: 675 Miles

Two Easy Meets- Weekly Log: April 11 to 17

Double meet week, starting with a dual against NK on Monday then the Injury Fund relays on Thursday.

Monday: 4 Miles.

Started off the week with a dual meet against North Kingstown @the NK track. I had heard it was really hard, so I brought my racing flats, despite the fact that they weren't meant for shorter distances like the 1500, and certainly not the 800. Before the 1500, I tried both spikes and flats on the track. I decided immediately on wearing my spikes, as my flats were much heavier and slower, meant for longer road racing. Didn't feel great during warm-ups, and was genuinely concerned about the nasty stretch of wind on one part of the track.

1500
Unlike the Chariho meet, it didn't take long to get to the 1500. We were off quicker. I thought I would have two competitors, but one dropped out to run the 800. So, it was me vs. an NK runner. I wanted to beat him, of course, but he had the better PR and he had a much better kick than I did. We started. Another NK runner sprinted out and led the first lap. Every time we hit the stretch with wind, it was brutal. I became tired quickly. After a lap, it was just us two. Soon, it became clear he was just pacing off me until the end, and it was confirmed when his coach told him to "wait" to pass me with 300 meters to go. He blew by me easy in the final stretch, finishing 3-4 seconds ahead. I was disappointed both that I lost and that I ran the same time as I did at Chariho, 4:19. I was looking for 4:15 this time, but my slower time made sense with the harsh winds.

800
Next was the 800. I was still tired, and I knew I had no chance of winning. Their top freshmen were racing, and one could beat me easy in any distance, but the other was more of a mid-distance guy. They both ran it for the win, passing me after a lap as I grew tired. They seemed to be running more casually than I was, as it seemed like they were talking. I barely held off a third NK runner in the final stretch. I thought my time wasn't great, but it was actually pretty good. I ran 2:09, which is my fastest time for an open 800 (my PR is in the 4x800 relay), and not too far off my actual PR.

4x400
I was surprised to be in the 4x400, and I was on Westerly's "B team", even though we were slower than the "C team". Our first leg would be about neck and neck with the C team, and we were slightly behind (1-2 seconds). I grabbed the baton (I was 2nd leg) and started to run hard. I felt good as I passed my teammate (2nd leg for C team) easily, but I grew tired quickly and after only 150 meters, I was slowing down. He caught up to me and passed me with 150 meters to go, finishing about a second ahead. My split ended up being .1 seconds faster than his, 58.4 seconds.

Overall, disappointing to be beaten so easily in a Dual meet, but my times weren't bad. Hopefully, I can be right around my PR (4:12) in my next 1500, which won't be until late April.

Tuesday: 8 Miles. I wanted to run a little easier. I forgot my watch, so I had to run with my phone, which is hard to stop, but cool to see the map. I ran a little in moore woods, a nice but extremely small place off East Ave that doesn't allow "jogging". I was a little nervous when walkers gave me some funny looks. I created a segment to hopefully attract more runners in there, but few were on it, possibly because there's so many different paths. Didn't feel great.

Wednesday: 9 Miles, I ran a little in Westerly, then a little in Pawcatuck. Decent run, but I didn't feel that great and took more breaks than I wanted to. I didn't run it hard because of the meet the next day, but I wished I had run it a little easier.

Thursday: 4 Miles, Injury Fund Relays. Wasn't feeling great going into it. I was surprised at the lack of teams there, there were only 6-7 teams. We were the ones that didn't belong, as we were the only ones not coming from an area near providence. There were only two teams with decent distance runners, each with one runner who was around my speed.

The meet took a while to start, but once it did, it went by very quickly. I was running the 3rd leg on the 4x800 team, and anchoring the DMR. It was a quality track (Conley Stadium), and I was hoping my 800 would be good.

4x800
It was an odd meet, as it was only relays and it was so low-key. I wasn't very nervous, even when I was about to run. Our first runner did very well, putting us in second with a big PR of 2:15. We dropped to a close third, but the first team opened up a gap on the 2nd team with the second leg. Then I was up. I grabbed the baton and ran out hard. My thighs felt heavy, but other than that my first lap felt good. I passed the second runner early, then passed the next with 400 to go. I was getting tired and felt that I was slowing, but I ended up opening a 60 meter gap and running a huge PR of 2:04.8, much faster than I expected. We ended up finishing in 3rd because the anchor legs on the other teams were fast.

DMR
I only got about 20 minutes recovery between the 4x800 and DMR since the meet was moving quickly. The lead runner was the same, and he started us out well in third (I think) place. Our 400 runner was likely to be passed, as he was a distance runner, not a sprinter, but ended up running very well for himself and not giving up a place. Our 800 runner kept the third place, and then I got the baton. I wasn't feeling great, as the 800 took a lot out of me. I even threw up a little before the race. I noticed my tired legs early on. The anchor leg was a real race, as we were very close to the 2nd team. Both the first and second team put their top guys as anchor, from Classical and North Providence respectively. The Classical runner was capable of a 4:25 mile, while the North Providence was more a mid-distance guy, but still ran around a 4:35 mile. I ran about a second behind the North Providence runner for lap, who made up the gap on the Classical runner. After another lap, I closed the second gap between me and the North Providence runner. 800 to go, this was a real race now. I was tiring, but neither were pushing the pace, and I kept swinging outside, considering making a move. Every time I did, I became too tired to pass. With 400, it was a close race, but I never had the strength to make a move. The Classical runner kicked with 200 to go, taking the win. I stayed around a second behind the North Providence runner at the finish. I ran 4:35 for 1600, a one-second PR. I was a little disappointed I was unable to pass either, but was satisfied with my time, especially as I didn't get much recovery.

Overall, a fun day that brought me two new PR's. Neither race felt great, but it was nice to run a low-key, relays only meet.

Friday: 5 Miles. I wasn't feeling great, as my legs weren't recovered from the meet. I cut my run short, and still felt crappy in the little running I did do.

Saturday: 7 Miles. Hill and Track workout. We started with 2 sets of fingers, minus the last hill on Bellevue (for the 2nd one). We then concluded with 6x200 @ 33s each. Not too bad. Difficulty: 3/5. I got extra mileage with longer warmups and cooldowns.

Sunday: 0 Miles. I've been told to take the day off. I'll probably volunteer at Clamdigger.

Weekly Total: 37 Miles (lot less than usual)
YTD Mileage: 624 Miles

First Races of the Season- Weekly Log: April 4 to 10

Monday: 5 Miles. I was happy that the meet was postponed as I wasn't feeling it and I still had a minor cold. Unfortunately, we ended up having a nasty treadmill run because it was very cold and  wet outside. 10 minutes @ 9mph, before switching to a brutal 20 minutes @ 10.5 mph (5:42 pace). It was tough, and not fun at all. Dripping with sweat during that time.

Tuesday: 9 Miles. I was planning on running a little easier before the meet, but ran a little too hard and too far. Checked out some of the neighborhoods off canal. It was a just okay run. A little chilly at first, but fine once I got going.

Wednesday: 5 Miles. Meet @ Chariho HS vs. Chariho, Prout and Narragansett. I was running the 1500 and 3K, not sure how either would turn out, depending on what shape the top Chariho competitor was in. I thought I could win the 1500, but the 3K might be real race. Since it was the first meet, I was only looking for 4:15 and 9:15. I adjusted my goal when I got there and it was very windy. There was plenty of time before the 1500 went off. Got lots of strides, but wasn't feeling great. It was cold taking sweats off, and I was a little nervous lining up.

When the race started, I wasn't ready to go out fast and let others take it. After 10 seconds, I was in second behind the top Chariho runner. I was planning on making my move at 600 meters to go, but with 900 to go he was slowing and passed for the lead. Someone went right with me. The pace didn't feeling extremely aggressive or tiring but my thighs were tights and I didn't feel great so I didn't pick it up. I waited until 300 to go to start kicking, but it wasn't until the last 100 when I went all out. I ran 4:19, 5 seconds ahead of the next runner (prout). The Chariho runner finished 5 seconds behind him.

I froze before the 3K, and wasn't looking forward to it. My coach said he wasn't expecting a fast time in the cold and just to pace off the others. I ran closely behind two Chariho guys, one being the fast runner who ran the 1500. After 1000 meters, one dropped off. I paced with the other one for another 600, before taking the lead. I picked it up and pushed the last few laps, taking the win easily in a slow 9:41, must slower than I expected. However, this wasn't too hard to do. This was the first meet where I noticed how hard Chariho's track is, as my feet were hurting in the 3K. Definitely a confidence booster for the rest of the season, as I know I could've run both much harder.

Thursday: 7 Miles. I was planning on going a little easier today pace-wise, but not cut much off the distance. The light rain felt good at first, but when it started down pouring it was not fun. The rain was stinging me. I wasn't sure whether to take my heavy shirt off to feel lighter or to keep it on for protecting against the stinging rain. I took it off, but the rain hurt a few times. I stopped a few times to get out of the brutal rain. One time the entire side of the street was basically a 2-inch stream, and I got soaked even more. Pick-ups were tough on the track.

Friday: 9 Miles. Broke my fastest training run PR again, as I ran 5:57 pace for 8.5 miles. It got very tough at the end, as my thighs were getting tired. Very happy with run. I also PR'd for 10K distance (Strava says 36:58).

Saturday: 4 Miles. Another brutal track workout. Increasingly fast 400s and 200s. 4 each, with increasing recovery, going from 15s to 45s to 105s, before a 5-minute recovery before the next set.
Target splits were: 75/70/65/60, 37/34/31/28. Ran about: 73/70/63/59, 35/31/30/29. Next was a hard 1200, and I wasn't feeling great. Target time was 3:36 (72 per lap). The first lap wasn't bad, but I felt horrible in the next two and felt like I was running 90s. Somehow I stayed on pace and ran 3:36 exactly. I was surprised and unhappy to find that we had an all-out 300 after. I was so tired, but pushed it and ran 43 seconds. Threw up and coughed a lot after. Difficulty: 5/5. Possibly one of the hardest workouts I've done.

Sunday: 11 Miles. First time really getting to explore Carolina management area. After the very disappointing Great Swamp, I was happy to be very satisfied with these trails. They were really fun. I was looking for 8, but since we got lost it was 11. Good for mileage, but bad for a shakeout. Hopefully, I'll be recovered for tomorrow's meet.

Weekly Total: 50 Miles
YTD Mileage: 587 Miles

Happy I got in my second fifty mile week ever, also my 2nd highest week ever. I went too long on a few runs, but I also went too short on a few too. I didn't expect this. I'll probably be high 40s-low 50s next week, then with no meets the week after, I might get in a high 50s.

Last Week without Races- Weekly Log: March 28 to April 3

These last five weeks have been really nice. Why? Because I wasn't doing track races. It started with a five days, two road races, a moderate week, and then track started. It's been somewhat fun since it's just training and no racing (track races are stressful), but the solo distance runs from the high school are not fun at all. Wednesday the 5th will mark my first outdoor track race since June 26th, my first track race since February 28th, and my first race since March 5th. The first two weeks were solid, but this one was by far the best.

Monday: 10 Miles. This was one of the few times I had been instructed to run 55 minutes (8 miles) instead of 50 (7 miles). I wasn't happy with the change as I already hated the school runs, but decided this would be a good opportunity to a run a longer loop. And then I realized I don't know any 8 mile loops as I'm not used to running that. I chose a 6-mile loop which went up old Hopkinton road (I hadn't run there since Feb.), across potter hill, and down canal. I also added on a granite street loop first to make more mileage. My fastest run from the school previously (for 7+ miles) was 6:23 pace, on several equations. When I was running much faster than that, I didn't want to slow down and pushed the pace, despite the constant rolling hills. These hills were quite tiring, and I was out of breath a few times. I took a detour on autumn, and even took the CR on hardwood down (a super steep downhill). I ended up finishing in 6:14 average pace, but ran a little long (8.5 miles). So happy with this run.

Tuesday: 4 Miles. I know, it's a big switch from 10 miles daily to 4, but that how the distance to workout mileage usually will be. Fast vs. long. We had six park ave repeats, which I was not expecting. I was not feeling well as I had a full stomach, but I felt much better than expected. Even though it felt decent, I wasn't satisfied as I came nowhere near any of my best times, which seems to be a problem with recent hills workouts. Difficulty: 2/5.

Wednesday: 9 Miles. After the hilly 6:14 average pace run, I was ready to back off a little. I was shooting for 6:20-6:25 today, and planned to avoid the hills. I was starting to craft out a distance pace plan, something like Very Hard Monday (6:10-6:15), Hard Wednesday (6:20-6:30), moderate Friday (6:45-6:55), easy Sunday (7:10+). I noticed that I've been doing this for the last weeks, and would like to stick with it, adjusting for racing. So I went to river road to avoid the hills, and went out hard immediately. Early on, I was experiencing annoying blasts of wind and lots of pain at and below my ankles. I even had to stop a few times because of it. When I finally got going (after two breaks), it was not any easier, but felt slightly better and I cruised at a 6:08 average pace until the turnaround points. Took a final break before returning, which felt great, expecially with the wind. I ended up getting 6:03 average, marking a new fastest training run (although I took three breaks vs. zero breaks Monday). Obviously, I was thrilled with this run.

Thursday: 6 Miles. I figured it would be two easy workouts Thursday and Saturday. I was very wrong, as Thursday's workout was one of the hardest ever. I was shocked when I was given a target pace of 2:17 for two 800s, as that was around mile pace. I happened to be a little sick that day, which would make matters even harder. The first 400 felt great for the first one, but then I got tired on the second especially with a blast of wind in the face on the first straightaway. There was 2-minute rest before the next one, which was extremely tiring. Splits: 2:16/2:18. We had another rest before an all-out 400. I was worried the recovery was not enough and thought I would run around 62, but I ended up running 58, tying a second-best time ever. We concluded with 4x400 w/60s recovery, which were only tough since we were very tired. Target of 71s, splits: 71/70/71/69. Difficulty of Workout: 5/5.

Friday: 10 Miles. I was surprised that the 55 minutes had been moved up to 60 minutes, meaning an additional mile. I ran a rolling hills CT neighborhood loop, but it was not enough as I was at 5 when I needed 9. I didn't feel great at first but felt better as the run progressed. It was annoying I had to add on so much after completing a bigger loop, but I got it done. I wasn't thrilled about having to do so much, but at the same time I was happy I might have a PR in weekly mileage.

Saturday: 4 Miles. I didn't expect another 4. We ran 2 fingers in the rain, and they were tough, but partially because I was still sick. I got through them, but parts were tiring. It was fun running in the rain, though. We did some pointless and extremely tiring sprints in the gym after.

Sunday: 10 Miles. I wanted to back off the pace as I was supposed to have a meet the next day (later moved to Wednesday). I was looking for high 7s pace on trails, but suddenly I had to run roads, and I ended up going way too fast. It was also much colder than I would've liked, and extreme winds near the water didn't help.

Weekly Total: 53 Miles
YTD Mileage: 537 Miles

I don't usually write after the weekly total section, but I'd like to point out that this break my previous weekly mileage PR of 49, also marking the first time I've run 50 in a week. The fast paces at which I did this really boost my confidence for longer races like Blessing and even some 10Ks, but my difficulty with the workouts lately has hurt my confidence for track races.