Capital City Classic 10K

The 10K is a standard distance in running. It's used in major championships around the world. Yet for some reason, local/low-key road racing seems to completely ignore it. There's so many road 5Ks across the country every single weekend, but it has become difficult to find a road 10K and even harder to find a fast one. There's plenty of fast 4 and 5 milers here and there, but the 10K is forgotten, a rare race among non-pros.

The Search
For this reason, I've never really had the opportunity to run a fast 10K. There's always a plethora of fast, local 5Ks, 4-Milers, 5-Milers, and 10-Milers around but to find a good 10K during my offseason I have to go somewhere far and do something I'm not even vaguely familiar with. My desire to run a fast 10K time has been building over the years, and this summer I decided I was going to take care of it. I looked at a few options, including the B.A.A. 10K and the USATF-NE track 10K championship, Friday Night Lights 10K. For both, the field would incredibly talented and fast but race logistics were difficult. The Capital City Classic was a little farther but fit better in the schedule one day after a college visit and was much easier to get to. As for competition, I wasn't sure what to expect. At first I thought I'd take it easily with 2016's winning time being 34:55. After looking closer, I saw that it was only the second annual this year and there was a $150 prize for the winner. Either way, the course looked flat and fast so if I felt good, I should be able to get a fast time in.

My 10K History
With the rarity of the race distance, I've only broke 40 twice. Back in 2013, I had a really good race at the Niantic Bay 10K and ran 39:59. Two years later on a vacation in Vermont, I bettered that PR with a 38:32 in the Race for the Cure 10K. That was a hilly course and a humid day, so even then I probably could taken at least a minute off that. In 2016, I almost had a perfect opportunity to run a fast 10K in Iceland, but for some reason we missed it.

Thoughts/Goals
This year, I was going to have the opportunity. To summarize my summer racing schedule, I'm cutting down the number of races this year and in road racing, just seeking a few really hard efforts to update a few PRs. Given that I only had two planned road races, I really wanted to excel at this one. It was pretty much right after track ended so I didn't have much time to train. In the weeks before, my running had been up and down with many weak/fatigued legs days but feeling very strong on others, including a 12-second fun run PR of 16:34. I had run a 5-miler at 5:20 pace back in November and felt that I was in better shape now than I was than, but wasn't sure how coming right off track and not training much would play in, so I really didn't have a specific time I wanted to hit, but rather a range I felt that I should be in. I figured a great race feeling good the whole time might be near 32:30 (5:14) while a more tired or out-of-shape race would come near 33:30 (5:23). I decided to attempt something in the middle, shoot for 5:20 the whole time. If I had an extra gear in the last couple, I could maybe get it down to the lower end of the range and if I was really struggling, I could hang in there and possibly drop to the higher end of the range. Either way, I definitely wanted to hit the first 4 miles or so at the pace before making any big decisions.

Main Street start was pretty cool

Finishing by the New Hampshire State House.

Pre-Race
I was really tired that morning. The hotel bed was strangely uncomfortable. With a start of 8AM, I got the advantages of better weather and getting it done quickly, but with my eating routine of having 150 carbs 3 hours before race start, I had to wake up at 5AM which would be a challenge. I set alarms to get me up at 5, but was too tired and waited half an hour to eat, which may have had an impact. Even then, I had to force everything down and wasn't feeling too great.

The forecast was not looking good- about 75 degrees and high humidity. I was surprised to see rain when I got there. Warmed up about a mile of the course, which was a little concerning to see no markings at all. I remember being worried that I'd have to remember every turn, but was later reassured when I saw course marshals with flags walking out to a turn. Warmed-up at little early and was back with 25 minutes to go, but it was nice to have a little extra time to de-stress. Got final bathroom breaks out of the way (which as usual, I couldn't get anything out) before changing to my flats, singlet, putting on my bib and getting ready.

Up until about 10 minutes to the race, I wasn't excited. The weather was terrible, everything was getting soaked quickly (which is why I waited to put on race gear) and I wasn't feeling great. Also, it seemed like I would be running alone as I had spotted zero fast-looking people. Suddenly when I moved to the front, there were plenty of fast guys. I didn't even line up in the first row because the field looked so good. People had singlets, racing shorts, and great-looking flats. A few even had matching brands for each. I tried to loosen up and relax before the race went. We listened to a few people talk, did final strides, and listened to the National Anthem (which I like to hear before a race- it adds a minute between me and a race I'm nervous about and has a peaceful vibe which relaxes me a little).

Race

First 5K
It was time to go off. They shot off the gun and it was a typical mad dash. I pulled up to the second row to the front and felt like it was a good place to stay. When I saw 5:23 pace on my watch, I figured I was good to stay there. After a quarter mile or so I maintained a position close to front. The two fastest looking guys were both in front. A runner with a red Runner's Alley red singlet opened up 20 meters or so on everyone, while another guy with all nike-outfit including a USA singlet led our massive crowd. I was a little tempted to just stay with these guys, but when I saw 5:03 pace on my watch I knew if I didn't back off soon I might be in trouble later. I slowly let the pace drop, allowing myself to be passed by 5 to 6 people. Even when I was back in about 12th, I was still in the low 5:10s and didn't feel like giving up more ground. I didn't care about place but didn't want to keep slowing and would rather latch onto some guys. I followed in the footsteps of a CMS runner, but had to let him go when my pace started to pick up again. Went through the mile in 5:14 outside of the top 10. I'm guessing the top guys including Runner's Alley and Nike were about 10-15 seconds ahead. There were all sorts of fast guys and I wasn't sure who I'd end up ahead of.

The pace started to even out in the second mile as average pace inched towards 5:20. I was feeling decent beside a little leg heaviness but was also worried I was letting up too much. A little downhill helped me coast at a nice pace and get back with the CMS guy but the uphill immediately after tired and slowed me back down. It was little worrying when the average pace ticked over 5:20 despite no major elevation changes. I suddenly wasn't feeling strong anymore and didn't feel like put a surge in the pace, instead preferring to settle near the CMS guy. Everyone except the 2-3 leaders way up front were coming back to me and I got back in the top 10. Mile 2 was already pretty slow in 5:29, but I missed the split instead looking at the average pace of 5:23.

The third mile was less than enjoyable. I was really starting to feel it from the humidity and it only got worse. I told myself 5:25 pace was okay but the average pace just went further and further down without me responding. Despite starting to fade, I was only passing guys. The runner's alley guy was fading quick and suddenly was part of my pack instead of the leaders, who had a good 30 seconds on us. My race thoughts and enjoyment didn't get much worse than at mile 2.5. The pace was pretty bad at that point and I was completely feeling it. It was that weak feeling I got in many summer races and I knew that my goals weren't happening. As the average pace inched closer to 5:30, I got more and more miserable and even the idea of finishing wasn't set in stone. I came very close to dropping out during the mile span from 2.5 to 3.5. I was definitely giving in. It was pathetic but I felt so tired at that point I just wanted it to end. My dad had told me he'd be at 2.8 and I was thinking about dropping when I saw him and walking back him. I didn't and actually moved up a few spots there, including passing the runner's alley guy and CMS. The waterstop just before 5K had a nice field and it looked like a very nice spot to rest. I imagined myself pulling myself to the side and collapsing on the field. It was so hard not to. I managed to keep going but then considered it again as the runner's alley guy dropped out. I got past it, but the next half mile I was only thinking about dropping out and where I should do it. Mile 3 was a 5:34 split.

5K split was about 16:52 and I wasn't sure if I was even going to break 35. It was Bobby Doyle all over again.

Second 5K
Somehow, the exact same thing happened to everyone- go out fast then fade badly. I was in a pretty good position- about 5th place going through 5K. Mile 4 was another weak slog in 5:41. I don't remember much of it. Somewhere near the end of the mile I was feeling slightly better and decided dropping out wasn't happening even if my time was going to be terrible and the rest of the race would be brutal. I was thinking about the course in my head and was just waiting for the next turns. We turned on Langley parkway and I kept myself going as I knew the next road was the last long one. Langley was scenic and nice. I don't remember exact positioning and events in the middle miles- it was a back and forth game. I was passed, but I passed some people.

Mile 5 began the hilly portion of the race. CMS got ahead of me and two leaders- Nike and a Blue Singlet were far ahead. I was in a battle for 4th with two other teenagers. The hills were super slow and tiring but once I got through them coasting on the downhills kept the pace from plummeting into HMP territory/disaster and caught me up to 4th. At one point, I went past another high school runner and he asked me my age. I replied that I was 17. Interestingly enough he seemed to be more competitive and challenge me after that, soon pulling ahead and opening a little gap(I guess concerned about AG win). Mile 5 was a slow 5:54.

I was pretty sure there was just one hill in the course, but suddenly a massive-looking climb awaited me. I kept the pace from going over 5:35 (average) with the down, but was not looking forward to what looked like a 100ft climb. I could see the entire race ahead- USA was in first maybe a minute ahead, there was a blue shirt guy 10 seconds back from him, CMS was another 20 back and then there were the three of us. I gutted out the hill as best I could, which was actually much less steep than expected. A blue singlet runner went by me and gave me encouragement but I let a few meters form. On the following downhill, I got back in the race a little bit and passed the blue singlet runner back. I kept a faster pace from there although really just wanted to finish. On the second to last street I was just searching for the final turn and it never seemed like it would come. I kept picking it up more, slowing gaining on the runner who passed me earlier but not having enough room to get him. The guy behind me had a similar scenario closing on me but the gap was too big. Placed 5th in 34:42, meaning second 5K was 17:52.

Thoughts
I have mixed feeling towards this race. The time was not good at all and I certainly faded but given the conditions and where I was training-wise, perhaps my range of expectations needed to be a little bit wider. I thought it was okay. I definitely was surprised how early the wheels came off, but the humidity was about 90%. I think I could have run the last two miles a lot harder, but at that point I expected to feel worse in the last two miles not better (than the previous two) though that wasn't the case. Had I started to go the minute I decided not to DNF I probably could have finished low 34s, but when at the point of contemplating a DNF I wasn't really thinking about picking it up. The race was okay. I didn't fade as bad as Bobby Doyle last year or Beavers and had a little something at the end, so I going to blame most of this on bad conditions. I think the only major improvement to save time would be in the final miles. I'll have to take this mediocre time for now, but at least it's still a huge improvement over the old PR. I guess next will also have to be a 10K summer. I want to race big events next year, hopefully B.A.A.10K and/or Beach to Beacon 10K.

What's Next?
Loon Mountain is on Sunday. Not sure what kind of shape I'm in but hoping to shave a couple minutes off my performance from last year. The course is changed slightly, about half a mile longer and with a downhill finish instead of uphill so I guess I'd like to run faster than whatever the equivalent of my time last year was. After that, a couple fun, maybe easy efforts at Alaska destination races then July will be used for training (long runs). August I'll likely do a half, the fun run hard shortly after, before transitioning back into cross country. This miserable race has reminded me how brutal road racing can be in the summer and gets rid of any temptations I have to jump into any possible extra races.

Start of Summer- Weekly Logs: June 12 to 18, June 19 to 25

Week: June 12 to 18
First week since end of track. Finishing up my week off, then starting up summer running.

Monday-Thursday: 0. Felt nice being able to go home and nap when tired, but at the same time fat and lazy.

Friday: 8 Miles. Ran woody with Dad and Muddy. Felt very good at first, but legs tired along the way. Absolutely soaker as it poured from start to finish. Very light on pace, which made this an easy transition to begin again.

Saturday: 10 Miles. Wanted to run in Jamestown for a while, and looking at the 6 mile Beavertail segment, I thought it may benefit me to get into some Tempo miles as I would be racing a 10K in one week. It happened to be a super humid but I never expected to feel as awful as I actually did. Plan was: 2 mi WU, 6 mi tempo @6:00-6:10 pace, 2 mi cool-down. First couple were way too fast, about 6:30. Legs weren't great but pace didn't feel too hard. Got down to the low 6s which felt okay at first but suddenly at mile 4 (2 miles of tempo) I started to feel super weak and after another I was feeling so terrible I decided to stop at Beavertail park and take a moment to recover. Considering running a mile easy then finishing up with 2 more at tempo, but just felt so completely drained that the rest of it was a brutal survival back to the car. Barely managed to keep it sub-7 and the last two were about 7:30. Not enjoyable or encouraging, but perhaps I went too hard after the 5 days off and didn't properly acclimate to the humidity.

Trying out a second pair of NB Vazee Pace v2.

Sunday: 8 Miles. Run for Sam Luzzi XC 5K Fun Run @Bradford Preserve. Treated it like a Westerly fun run: run it moderately but not all out and get the miles in during warm-ups and cool-down. Wanted to run with teammates, but all were lazy and didn't want to do anything fast. Huge group for an easy first mile about 6:30 then I ran in the front with Tom 10-20 meters back for the rest. Kept it about 6:30 pace, felt much harder than expected. Legs felt horrible with knee and thigh stiffness/tight and the cool-down was exhausting. Super sore after.

I packed too much in just a couple of days back and suffered for it. I was planning on doing a easy workout, some fast 400s on Tuesday but after this set-back/tiredness I decided to take Monday off, skip the workout and instead do the fun run Wednesday at 10K pace.

Weekly Total: 26 Miles
YTD Total: 918 Miles

Week: June 19 to 25
Full week of training. Racing a 10K for time Saturday, but not exactly sure what to expect. With only a week to prepare, I won't be able to get in much specific training for it.

Monday: 0. Totally feeling it from the weekend and extreme soreness convinced me I needed a rest day.

Tuesday: 9 Miles. Made a decent looking route in Groton. Got out of school at 10:30 post-exam and after eating, I wanted to get a run done as soon as possible, even it meant running in the hottest time of the day. Plan was a Jupiter point out and back from Bluff Point (a parking lot just outside there). It was 85 and my entire route was sun-exposed but somehow I felt decent to keep going without a problem. There was some wind, which helped me not overheat but at the same time made it pretty tough to push through. I planned 7, but forgot some of the road names on my turnaround (added a small loop to get 7) and headed in the wrong direction. Had no idea where I was for a while, but looked for Groton-New London signs and eventually got back to where I needed to go (after a 2 mile detour). Super hot in the last few, but surprisingly walking around after in shade really helped cool me down. Glad I felt good on this longer run. Legs were heavy but a huge improvement from the weekend/Monday and no soreness at all.

Wednesday: 9 Miles. Got in a lot of warm-up miles pre fun run. I had about 4 before actually going for it. I wanted to do about 5:20 pace as that would be my actual race pace Saturday. I took preparations seriously, hydrating well and taking pre-race routines as I wanted to feel smooth doing 10K pace and get some confidence before Saturday. Just being a fun run/mild workout for me, I was pretty relaxed until about 5 minutes before. It was a little hot and I wasn't sure how it would feel. After a while, we were off. As usual, I did a terrible job at controlling pace and went out way too fast. I can never get the first mile what I want it to be at the fun run and usually screw the whole pacing up. My watch showed about 5 flat for the first half mile. There was a kid a few meters back from me and it was surprising that he never dropped off. It was little annoying when he used me to block wind on Atlantic and was trying to pass me on the narrow inside on the next road, but after a mile a gap opened. By bayberry, I was alone. I went through the mile in 5:08, feeling decent but not really wanting to settle. Mile 2 was definitely kinda tiring as those few hills are in there, but I kept the effort up without making it all-out. Second mile was 5:19. In the third mile, I stayed smooth on Crandall, feeling okay- not great and ready to go, but not ready to give up either. I saw that I had about 5:13, 5:14 average pace and was thinking I would be around a course PR. I didn't want to make this last mile all-out as that wasn't the intention of the run, but at the same time I felt that if I had gone this far at a faster pace I figured I might as well not let up and get a course PR under 16:46. I felt pretty tired in the last half mile with wind and many turns, but managed to pick it up a little. I wasn't really thinking about the CR of 16:30, and finished just outside of that in 16:34. Had I known I was going to be so close I probably would really hit the Crandall portion to try to take it.

I was pretty happy this. Obviously went out too fast but the effort was there and it felt good. Probably more like 4-mile effort than 10K, but close enough and a definite sign that I could take that CR. The only downside of this was that I did go too fast and will have to restrain myself in the actual race. Nice breeze on a short cool-down with Sam to make 9. Overall, a very good day.

Also debuted a new pair of racing flats, the NB 1400v4. Other than initial lack of traction and overheating (that may be any shoe), they were excellent.

Thursday: 7 Miles. Charlestown roads. Once again hot, not as bad as the previous days but not ideal either. Once again headed off after finishing exams at school (last day for me). This time I didn't eat/drink much as I wanted to be done ASAP and I suffered for it. First couple were okay, but after that I felt super weak and wondered if I could even make 7. Took a long break at 4 and decided to run back, get a drink then go back again. Skipped the drink and instead did a few out and backs to the get the 7, but I was tired and it was unpleasant. Pretty much running on empty, but glad I finished it.

Always enjoyable to take trips to the Granite State.

Friday: 4 Miles. Left Thursday evening for Southern NH. This was for a UNH visit, as well as the 10K race in Concord. Woke up pretty early and ran in Henderson-Swasey town forest in Exeter near our hotel. Ran pretty easy on trashed legs. Confusing at the end, but a short run before the tour.

Debuted a new trail shoe for me, NB Vazee Summit. I loved my old Saucony Peregrines but it was time for a replacement and they were almost double the price.

Saturday: 8 Miles, Capital City Classic 10K. Another brutal summer racing where I fell victim to the conditions, this time at 90% humidity. Wheels came off at about mile 1.5 and the rest of the race was a struggle as my pace dropped and dropped. Still got a 4 minute PR, but time of 34:42 wasn't what I was hoping for. Basically the same happened to everyone (go out fast around 5:10 then die and run 5:40 for the rest) so it would have been hard to do much better. Full write-up coming soon.

Sunday: 5 Miles. Late B-game recovery. Really fun trails, but kept mileage low as I was still tight from the race.

Weekly Total: 42 Miles
YTD Total: 960 Miles

Seeing as it's the halfway point, only now have I started to actually look at mileage total. I'm a little worried and haven't really put any thought to this before, but will hit about 1000 miles at the halfway point while last year I got a total of 2300. Am I really this far back at matching the total? Or does it even out in the summer running?

Summer Racing Preview

As outdoor track has ended once again, it's time for the unofficial summer season of racing. While many times undesirably hot, the summer provides an opportunity for me to choose my races. I'm able to do all sorts of unique events rather than doing similar track/cross country races every single week. I've thought about what races I want to do this summer and have come up with the following tentative schedule:

This schedule includes seven possible races with an interesting variety of location. Last year I basically raced every weekend but this year I'll just race enough to make my four summer racing goals:

Goal 1: Run a fast 10K

While it may seem the easiest to attempt the usual 4 Mile, 5 Mile and 10 Mile PRs this summer as each is conveniently located within half an hour of home as well as having great competition at each race (Kerri, Doyle, Blessing), each of those PRs is decent enough that I can be satisfied with it. However, my 10K PR stands at a slow 38:32, run at a very humid Race for the Cure 10K in Manchester, Vermont two years ago. This is much slower than what I am capable and want to run a 10K as fast as I can. I want to run about 5:15-5:20 pace, around a time of 33:00. Two races popped up. Neither are local or convenient, but for some reason 10Ks are very hard to find.

Capital City Classic- June 24th. This road 10K looks like an attractive, well-designed course. The competition wouldn't be great and there's a chance I might run alone, but with such few options available, I may end up racing this.

BAA 10K- June 25th. The BAA 10K would serve up incredible competition, where I'd likely not even crack top 50. The course is flat and fast and I could just latch onto a group without having to constantly worry about pace. The problem with this one is race logistics. It would be difficult to get to boston common by 8AM for the race, but expensive to spend the night there. Additionally, the entry fee is an insane $65.

                                         

Goal 2: Run a fast Half-Marathon

The half marathon is another PR that is need of an update. I have not raced the distance in 3 years and my PR stands at 1:26:14, 6:35 pace. Considering I ran 5:46 pace at Blessing, I think I could be possibly run 5:40 for the half and take off up to 13 minutes off my PR. Blessing is a great race and I'll be sad to miss it, but it's worth it to get a fast half marathon in. I'm hoping for a time around 1:14. After plenty of searching, there's really only one good option:

John and Jessie Kelley Half Marathon- August 5th. Not only is the race the most conveniently located, but its also completely free and is the only New England half marathon in July or August that consistently draws in very fast runners.  The race was changed from 11.6 to half for this summer and it seems like the perfect opportunity to run a fast half.

Goal 3: Run fun trail/destination races

Racing trails is something I am not experienced in, yet almost always thoroughly enjoy. The 10K and Half will serve as my two road races and after that, I'd like to spend my remaining races on the trails. I've come up with a few I'd like to do.

Loon Mountain- July 2nd. This was one of the most fun events I've ever done and I'm excited to return in 2017. Mountain running is something that is brutal, yet more enjoyable than any other type of running and I'd like to get a few more on my plate every year.

Alaska Men's Run- July 8th. While in Alaska this summer, this local road 5 miler is conveniently in Anchorage when we are staying there. I'll likely make this an easy effort and not run any faster than 5:40 pace, but either way it should be an enjoyable run.

Pioneer Ridge Vertical Mile- July 9th. Pioneer Ridge is another mountain race located near Anchorage and climbs about 4,500 feet. Any new trails usually brings a fun experience, and in a place like Alaska this seems like a fun race.

Wahaneeta Trail 5K- August 19th. I missed out on this event in 2016 as it was during XC season, but since it was moved two weeks earlier, I'm hoping to race it this year. I don't know if I'll go hard at this, but hoping to be there.

Goal 4: Race Less

I completely overdid it last summer, running over 10 races. I'm cutting many of the usual races out of the schedule this year to make room for new ones and specific races to target big PRs. This year, I won't have more than 4 all-out efforts and no road 5Ks. I am hoping to race one of the fun runs to break the CR, hopefully against Chris Garvin, but have no idea when I plan to do that.

This summer schedule is much less packed than usual, but hopefully each individual race will be more meaningful. Hopefully my two hard road efforts will turn out well and at the rest I can either run easy or just be out there for fun.

New Englands/End of Season- Weekly Log: June 5 to 11

Final week of the season, hopefully run a fast 3200 at New Englands but overall looking forward to getting away from school running and onto the summer.

Monday: 6 Miles, Hill Workout. 5xNarragansett. Legs felt wobbly/heavy and never really could get going on any of them. Not smooth at all. Splits were slow. Difficulty: 4/5.

Tuesday: 7 Miles. Local loop. Went to bed with a sore throat Monday night and woke up with a cold Tuesday. Sniffling and congested all day which made for a pretty awful run. Running cleared nothing instead making all sorts of new symptoms- aches (everywhere), chills and extreme weakness. Only did two pickups as I was feeling so awful. Fortunately, I never felt anywhere near as bad as Tuesday for the rest of the week. Unfortunately, it still hasn't fully cleared up writing this a week later.

Wednesday: 5 Miles, Track Workout. 6x400 @68 w/30s recovery. Really tough as I was once again congested making it very difficult breath and the short recoveries weren't doing me any favors. Since it was only 6 and the pace wasn't blistering, I got through it but it was unpleasant. Difficulty: 4/5.

Thursday: 4 Miles, Track Workout. 6x200 @34 before a "smooth" 400 @60. 200s felt okay, not hard but not smooth either. 400 was much easier than expected. Overall, this was much easier than the previous day and did not have any difficulty this time, a promising sign before New Englands. Difficulty: 2/5.

Friday: 6 Miles, Final track practice of the season, an easy 5-miler shakeout. Local flat roads at about 7 pace, but strangely just a few miles started to feel extremely weak and struggled the rest of the run. I seem to have one random weak/feel awful run once every few and it's somehow more unpleasant than many other symptoms.

Saturday: 4 Miles, New Englands.

The bus was a ridiculously early 6:45, but I didn't run until 2. I hydrated well the day before and during the day, but was not prepared for how hot it would actually be race day. We arrived at Norwell High School at about 9, got settled. It seemed okay at first as we had a shady spot, but I wasn't looking forward to the four hour wait before warming up. It was a long, awful wait. It's one thing waiting around when comfortable and ready to race, its another entirely when its near 85 degrees and I'm feeling extremely weak. Every time I went to go watch a race on the track, I went from shade to open sun and started to roast. It was eventually time to warm-up, and I was tired. After some more running, I felt a little better but there was a weakness I couldn't shake. I poured water all over, especially but my skin still felt very hot.

Headed over to the start much later than I would have liked. I only got in 2 or 3 strides and suddenly on the line. I was feeling about the race. Last year I did really well and I remembered similar (weak, tired, not wanting to race) at that race. I was in the slow heat, but unlike indoor, it was probably where I belonged and I was fine with it.

Gun went off. Plan was to run consecutive 71s and try to pick it up in the last 1200. As soon as we went off, my sticker (number) felt off from uniform, which was a little concerning as I believe that's what they use to time. I had another a hip, but was a little worried. Others had stickers falling off as well. It was a little jumbled at first, but eventually I was able to get near the front. Ben, Jackson and I (RI group) led (I was third, close behind) for the first 800 in 71, 2:23. I wasn't feeling great but not bad either. At the third lap, a Vermont runner went by us and picked it up a little. Jackson and I went with him, but Ben dropped off. It felt fast and wasn't at all comfortable. I actually started to feel weak at that point. That lap was a 69, and another 71 brought through 1600 in 4:43. The rest of the race was brutal. It was another of the races where the sudden weakness hit me and I had no energy, so the pace took a hit. The rest of the race was a combination of 73s and 74s. I was so tired and just counting down the laps. Vermont guy took off and Jackson and I ran together for while. I felt that I was just on him so I made a move to go around with 1200 to go, but it was very difficult and he passed me right back. I had nothing in the last lap and Jackson pulled away. I hadn't paid attention to the time and got hopeful when the clock came back into view. Then the hope was diminished as I saw 9:24, already slower than last year with still almost 100 meters to go. Crossed in a disappointing 9:40, placing me 14th overall.

At first, I was very unhappy to end the season that way. I had raced well in the heat many times, but this time totally bombed. Looking back, I think it was the waiting around for several hours (4+) that made me so weak during the race. I hydrated and prepared the same for Run 4 Kerri and Hendricken 2016 (two 80+ degree races), but in those I warmed up almost immediately after arriving and there was no long period of just waiting.

I'll have to take this result for now- even if it's not what I wanted. I won't hit the track again until December, something I'm happy about although that means not hitting satisfying times for 6 months. I'll hit a few races hard this summer with the focus being an August Half Marathon but still try to have fun with it before a big senior year of running. A week off before I resume again on  Friday 6/16.

Sunday: 0

Weekly Total: 32 Miles
YTD Total: 892 Miles

States- Weekly Log: May 29 to June 4

Week of states. Obviously not in the shape I expected to be coming in due to my back injury, but happy to make it this far. Doubling up: 4x800 at 2:10, then 3000 at 6:10. Glad to both as the 4x800 can serve as a warm-up and I'll have less waiting around.

Monday: 7 Miles. Early morning hills, 5xField Street, 1xPalmer. Wasn't feeling great as I didn't get much sleep but still gave a decent effort. Wasn't easy. Difficulty: 4/5. Watch glitched wheb uploading and run was somehow deleted.

Tuesday: 7 Miles. Local looping for a distance run. Started out okay but slowed the entire run as my legs got heavier and heavier.

Wednesday: 6 Miles. Track workout. 6x400 @68 w/45s recover. Was pretty much right on for each. Not too difficult but not super comfortable either. Followed with a fast 400 at 62, which wasn't too bad at 59. Difficulty: 2/5.

Thursday: 5 Miles, more track. 200s are usually easy, but not here. 8x200 @33, break, then 2x200@29. Really struggled and did not feel smooth. Recovery was about 45s/90s. Difficulty: 3/5.

Friday: 7 Miles. Comfortable shakeout, but tight/sore calves. Ran on white rock fields which felt great but returning to asphalt wasnt easy.

Saturday: 6 Miles, States. 

Got there at a ridiculous early time of 11 even though the first event was at 2. Hydrated well and ate a little less as it was the shorter even first and I planned to refuel between races. Eventually the wait was over. I used the bathroom frequently before and was having to go after the warm-up. First warm-up was on the track and it didnt feel great. Felt fast and tiring. Second warm-up was a little better before a few strides. I became really nervous in the 10 minutes before. I really wanted to hit a PR (2:02.9), but wasn't sure how likely that was. I had only run 2:05 at Hendricken and had produced no PR's this season. At hendricken the problem was the second lap was too slow. I wanted to go out hard again in 58, but this time make sure I realy push the 3rd 200 so my second lap won't be too slow. 

4x800

I was really nervous waiting around. The field was really fast and both Jon and Aaron were in last before I got the baton. That was a little surprising. I went out hard and caught Prout and Burillville early before making my way towards the next group. At the homestretch there was some wind which was worrying but I told myself to relax and just hit the next 200. I pushed through and passed Scituate. With 200 to go, I was preparing to pass LaSalle. I knew it would be tough on the curve. When I went for the pass, I suddenly locked/tightened up and could do nothing through the end as I remained a few meters behind. Nick ran a strong last leg as he maintained position and was only passed by at strong Scituate runner at the end. I did not feel like I had run well, so I was surprised to hear 2:01.8. Felt good about it and went through in 57. 

After 30 minutes of leg pain, chest pain and some throw up, I started to eat and drink again to get ready for the 3000. Despite having a lot of time, it went by quickly and soon enough I was warming up again. I felt very weak on warm-ups and became nervous/dreading the race. My thoughts were not positive at all, as I imagined myself fading badly and not even breaking 9. I tried to relax but wasn't looking forward to the race.

Strides were rushed and I did not give myself enough time to do them. As soon as I took my sweats off we were called over to jog to the start. The weather had been strange all day, with some rain and clouds and at other times hot and sunny. It became hot and sunny right before the 3k so I went back quickly and splashed some water on my head. It was incredibly nervewracking until we started. The plan was to run 71s the whole time, try to get a time around 8:50 and make top 6.

3000

The race went out slow, but I wasn't agressive at the start and got boxed in. I knew this race and needed to be in the front so after letting myself go to the back, I worked my way up to the front. I stayed in 4th behind DJ, Ben and Jackson. They weren't going too fast, about 400 in 71 and 800 in 2:23. This was a little worrying as the pace might slow greatly, but I had no interest in taking the lead. I passed DJ to move into 3rd. My coach yelled that the pace wasn't fast enough and I would have to take the lead, but I wasn't comfortable, the track felt hard and passing was unusually difficult/exhausting. This would not be an easy race and I was really going to have to hang in there. We went through the mile in 4:46. At 3 to go, I got really tired. I did my best to keep the pace going but it wasn't really a race where I could fast. DJ took the lead and put a gap on the field shortly after. I moved into second at one point and tried to push. I slowly became more and more tired just wanting it to end. At the bell lap, the inevitable passes happened and I moved from 2nd to 5th. I tried hard to kick but knew I wasn't getting any places back and was in jeopardy of losing my spot. I managed to just hold on to 5th, running 8:54.04 (similar to last year where I ran 8:54.02). Two other guys also ran 8:54.Timewise, I wish I had been a little faster but was satisfied immensely with place. 

Was pretty happy with the meet overall, especially the PR in the 4x800.

Sunday: 7. Easy on Bluff Point and Haley Farm double track path. Enjoyable, scenic and felt good besides soreness yet it felt like it was taking forever. Good place to run.

Weekly Total: 45 Miles

YTD Total: 860 Miles

I will be the slow heat at New Englands which is not my preference but expected. Unfortunately, I've come down with a cold this week and am not sure how it will affect me race day.