Weekly Log: February 14 to 20

Week off from racing before Conference where I'll run a 5K. Would have liked to do the 5K/3K as it may be my last chance to PR in the 3K before I graduate college. I don't know whether I'll have any 3K races in outdoor, they do exist but are rare. As for the 5K, I think 15:10 is a reasonable mark/goal. I would be really happy to break-15:10 as that definitely puts me on track for sub-15 outdoors. Even just over would still be solid and at the very least I should be able to PR (15:21). I don't think sub-15 is realistic but I wouldn't say it's impossible either. I probably need more mileage, workouts and confidence to crack 15 which I'm just a little short on right on. I certainly think another 6 weeks or so can get me into sub 15 shape, if not sub-14:50 shape for outdoor regardless of what happens in this next race.

Monday: 7 Miles- Dover, NH

Easy around town with Andrew in some very cold wind.

Tuesday: 11 Miles- Durham, NH

Long snell with Forest + Earl, felt good. Back a little sore but got it all out the next day.

Wednesday: 9 Miles- Durham, NH 

Hard workout- 4x1K + 400 with splits of 3:00, 2:59, 2:49, 2:51, 68. Grinding out the last two, totally dead. The big cutdown in pace for the 1Ks was really hard and unexpected. Too tired to do more for cooldown. Difficulty: 4/5

Thursday: 10 Miles- Durham, NH

Followed Will and Earl into the woods as they wanted to do trails, wiped out on the ice and cut up my arm a bit (that hurt). We switched to roads and I ran until I got 10 but felt tired on this one.

Friday: 10 Miles- Durham, NH

Ran with people for 4 miles then added on random roads until I hit 10. Cold wind. Around this time I developed minor cold symptoms which lasted around a week, but I never felt all that bad from it. 

Saturday: 13 Miles

AM 7- Portsmouth, NH

Easy Portsmouth-Newcastle with Matt Adams.

PM 6- Durham, NH

Evening workout with Jeff post-home meet. 1 mile tempo into a bunch of 160s + 200s at varying paces, not too difficult. Difficulty: 2/5

Sunday: 11 Miles- Durham, NH

Bennett+ at practice. Legs tired towards end.

Weekly Total: 72 Miles

Movies Watched: *Triple Frontier, *Uncut Gems, *The Revenant, *Kung Fu Panda, *Kung Fu Panda 2, *Kung Fu Panda 3

*Rewatch

Vermont- Weekly Log: February 7 to 13

 Last race of the season before Conference. Get to check out another new track and drop down in distance for the Mile. A little bit nervous about the latter given lack of speed recently.

Monday: 9 Miles- Durham, NH

Stadium Loops, felt super tight and decided to get dropped rather than go with the guys running 6:20s towards the end.

Tuesday: 11 Miles- Durham, NH

Indooor workout, 3x(600,600,400) with 1:45/66 targets. First pretty hard race pace workout we've done, so this felt hard and only got harder. Felt decent the first set, working the second, and absolutely gassed the third. Got pulled from the last 400. Led a lot of these. 1:45, 1:45, 66, 1:44, 1:42, 65, 1:44, 1:44. Difficulty: 4/5.

My private notes from strava (I rarely use these): Both Freshman and Sophomore year we did 1200 repeats in 3:30 (same pace as the 600s, but double the distance). While that sounds really hard now given I was struggling just to hit the 600s, my times now are on par with my season bests from those year despite doing significantly easier workouts. 

Freshman bests (3K, 5K): 8:51, 15:28

Sophomore best (3K): 8:52

Senior best (3K, 5K): 8:53, 15:31

Wednesday: 13 Miles- Newington, NH 

Off day from practice, so made a new route in Newington. Seemed like a good day to get in a longer run. Solid route and felt good running with Andrew, some busy sections but also some pretty quiet sections (most routes in Seacoast NH seem to be this way). Got lost towards the end, was expecting a left turn but there was a dead end so I continued straight and had to think for a bit (turns out I was supposed to go through the dead end sign). Newington running>Dover running.

Thursday: 10 Miles- Durham, NH

Was surprised but pleased to get another workout when Coach told me I wasn't working out again after Tuesday's workout. 4 mile progressive tempo, coach wanted us to hit 6:00-5:50-5:40-5:30 which didn't seem especially hard given that's only 5:45 average and I've done much faster and longer ones in the past. We got going a bit quick and ended up with 5:51-5:36-5:26-5:20 for 22:14/5:33 average. Back on 12/30, I did 3 @5:33 and it felt very strained/difficult. This felt much better, working but controlled. Difficulty: 2/5.

Can feel a serious fitness difference between now and starting workouts in December, but also on workouts like Tuesday and races like New Englands I feel my fitness isn't good enough to do well on longer aerobic work. I feel I'm halfway between being in poor shape starting up again and being in peak/breakthrough shape (sub 15). 

Friday: 10 Miles- Durham, NH

Short Snell into Gables, don't remember much about this.

Saturday: 7 Miles- Durham, NH

Typical pre-meet + strides.

Sunday: 10 Miles- Burlington, VT

Dual meet @ UVM. 3 hour bus ride like Maine, but seemed to go by much quicker and overall a much shorter day (Maine we left at 7am, got back at 10pm whereas this was 8:30am-6pm). Very crowded and uncomfortable bus however. Warmed up reasonably soon off the bus, but didn't have to rush. 

OAB on the bike path for warm-up, felt tight/heavy being so bundled up (8 degrees outside). Back in for final bathroom stops, water break, spiking up. I got out well off the line but felt I had cut off Will a bit. Immediately got into second behind Earl. From one lap in, I had a very difficult time maintaining the pace. Rather than tucking in and getting right behind the guy in front of me, I let a small gap form simply because I found it so difficult on my legs to stay on him. Really just felt like a flat sprinting pace. Eventually Jeff and others noticed the gap I was allowing to form and went by me. Went through 800m in 2:10, great pace but I had worked very hard to hit that and had nothing in the tank/zero strength to continuing holding that. Plummeted the second half to get passed by pretty much everyone and finish in 4:37.

Immediately after the race, my chest really hurt. I normally pack up my stuff relatively quickly after catching my breath and head out for a cooldown after a drink, but I probably hung around on the infield for 15 minutes or so because my entire respiratory system just felt destroyed. Haven't had this feeling all season and probably not since high school, guessing that's from the 2:10 first half.

Surprising result, felt I was racing confidently and putting myself in it all season and this is not what happened here. The quick pace was simply too much. It's a disappointing step backwards. I wasn't expecting to crush it and be able to maintain 4:20 pace, but I certainly thought I could at least run low 4:30s and not fall apart quite so badly. Probably a career worst Mile/1500m. Also possibly the worst my speed has been relative to other events ever. I don't think I did anything wrong here, I either didn't have it on the day or I'm in really bad mile shape. While ultimately I never cared about the mile this season, two points of concern/disappointment I had were 1) I ran faster at the Bottone Mile on roads when I was probably even less confident in my speed, and 2) the final result today is my goal 3K pace, holding that for nearly double the distance. I wonder if I could have run close to 4:30 going out 5-6 seconds slower through 800m.

Pretty bad track overall being a 160m with a worn out surface and only 3 lanes, but still marginally better than UNH track as the turns aren't quite as tight.

Long cooldown, partly with Jeff to Lake Champlain. Didn't really know the route and got semi lost. Massive hill heading away from the Lake.

Weekly Total: 71 Miles

Mixed feeling this week, happy with the workouts and to hit 71 miles, all of this will contribute to outdoor fitness which I'm really confident about. The Mile result and Tuesday's workout being so rough also just show how much work I'm missing before true fitness comes around though. 

Movies watched: *Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, My Cousin Vinny, *Madagascar: Europe's Most Wanted, *Penguins of Madagascar

New Englands- Weekly Log: January 31 to February 6

5K season debut this weekend, first indoor 5K since February 2019. Good opportunity for it at Reggie Lewis, possibly my last time ever racing there.

Monday: 0 Miles. First off day since 1/3, felt earned.

Tuesday: 8 Miles- Durham, NH

Indoor workout, 3 sets of 600,200,200 with targets of 2:00 and 30. Most of us agreed 2:00 was a bit slow for any of our race paces and tried to go quicker. Paced/led a good amount of this. 600s felt really comfortable and smooth, 200s felt fast and uncontrolled. People went really hard on the last one and I got dropped.

Difficulty: 3/5. Splits: 1:51, 30, 30, 1:47, 30, 30, 1:43, 30, 30.

Opted for a shorter cooldown due to some lower calf discomfort coming from the race Sunday.

Wednesday: 10 Miles- Durham, NH

Pudding hill with add-on, sore hamstrings from faster stuff.

Thursday: 9 Miles- Durham, NH

Not the distance I would have wanted for a pre meet, but the whole team got in trouble for a incident that only a few people were part of and we had to run stadium loops for an hour. I was pretty nervous we'd get pulled from the race so I'll take a few extra miles on a boring route over not racing.

Friday: 12 Miles- Boston, MA

I was in the first event, slow heat of the 5K meaning I immediately got off the bus with Forest and we had to start warming up. All the warmups were frantic and I was frustrated we didn't leave earlier to get more time. We didn't get the full warm-ups in, but I felt decent on what I did do and thought about when pros race, they need to be ready to go in any situation possible (no warm-up time, not feeling great, hot weather, etc.) and it shouldn't be any different for me. 

I got a really great start and found myself in the lead easily. I momentarily panicked a little as I didn't want to run a step in front unless the pace was really lagging, but fortunately the guys in the stagger cut in. A few laps in, I liked my position but a stonehill runner ran to the side and slightly in front of me. At first I held tight, not wanting to give up my spot but let him in after he stayed there, thinking there was little harm and I'd want to be allowed in if I was in his position. Went through 1K in 3:05, which I felt good about as I could go through 4K in 12:20 and then kick to PR. 

This race felt really long pretty much from the start and I was constantly bewildered at the amount of laps I had left and how slow time seemed to pass. While I was tucking in and running in a optimal position doing no leading, it simply didn't feel all that easy which wasn't a great feeling having so much to go. The leader changed around 2K in 6:15 (too slow), and Forest started to fall back to I surged to pass him and keep with the pack, which was a group of 4 at this point. The rest of the race became a waiting game for me, thinking about when I'd take the lead, which I figured 1K/800 to go would be a good idea. Laps 11-17 felt pretty smooth, just counted down the laps. It finally felt like we were almost there when it was less than 10. I knew the pace was too slow, but I didn't feel like I had a huge gear left to take the lead and sitting and waiting until the end was low risk where I could at least run decent. 3K in 9:24. 

A bryant guy made a move to the front with a mile left and I went with him, disappointed we had to start running hard this early. While he only picked it up slightly, it was enough for the laps go from being comfortable to feel like I was really pushing. Fortunately, I still had one more push. We hit 4K in 12:30 and I made a move past him on the following backstretch. In Maine, I had a big gear left that I shifted into well, felt strong and held it all the way until end. Here, I immediately felt gassed and knew he was still right on me. I feared I had gone too early and would fall apart in the last few. That last 1K really hurt and was tough, fortunately I timed it right and held on for the slow heat win in 15:31. 

Tactically, I did everything right and closed in a 3:01 but while that close is solid, it isn't stellar (2:52 at Maine), felt really hard and I was definitely hoping I'd have more after a relatively slow race. I was hoping to run faster and get a PR (15:21) but I have to remind myself that I pretty much had a full reset with the November knee injury and my fitness has a long way to go, 15:31 for a 5K now is a good starting point to build on for Conference and Outdoor track. Another thing I really felt out there is my lack of experience in a 5K. I've run probably over 40 3Ks on indoor and outdoor tracks, but I've run a total of 5 track 5Ks prior to this. The 3K has become a comfortable distance for me where I can tap into race pace and close hard, where the 5K still feels so long and daunting. The 3K is easy to break up for me- get out first 1K, hang on 2nd K, all out 3rd K. When there's 3K in the middle instead of 1K, the 5K feels mentally so much harder. 

This was my third fastest 5K ever which is fine but my PR isn't anything special so if I'm in shape a PR is the goal. 

Overall, this was a good race but I had some mixed feelings on it. I was disappointed I didn't run faster or feel better, but was happy with the way I ran tactically and stayed focused. A nice extra accomplishment was getting 8th place overall and All-New England status. I didn't really deserve it as this year's edition was especially weak and it usually takes a sub-15:10 for top 8. Goal is sub-15:10 at Conference which I think that would be a really good race.

Long series of cooldown with various people afterwards. Roads of boston were horrible and covered in slush + ice. Felt so depleted later in the day.

Saturday: 10 Miles- Rye, NH

OAB on NH 1A along the ocean coast, such a classic and enjoyable route. Forest for all of it, Will and Matt Adams for first 2.5 before they turned.

Sunday: 13 Miles- Durham, NH

No practice due to cold weather (?) so ran at 11am with Andrew. Local but still something different. Ran across the bridge over the bay from Durham into Dover into Newington, did a quiet loop there and return. Solid run.

Weekly Total: 62 Miles

Movies Watched (Didn't watch any last week): The Power of the Dog, *What Women Want, *The Emperor's New Groove, Nobody, *Madagascar

*Rewatch 

Maine- Weekly Log: January 24 to 30

 Raced another 3K this week at UMaine's track.

Monday: 7 Miles- Rye, NH

Easy coastal roads with Andrew. Unfortunate bathroom stop a mile in but other than good, felt really good.

Tuesday: 11 Miles- Durham, NH

Long Snell with Forest and Earl. Felt smooth but stomach was bothering me throughout.

Wednesday: 10 Miles- Durham, NH

3x1200/1200 alternating 5:45 pace and 7:00 on the stadium loop. I was disappointed to get such an easy workout when guys I've run similar times to did more quality workout on the indoor track. Hit close to 5:35 and 6:35. Not a nothing workout, but not a whole lot either. Difficulty: 1/5. Cold out.

Thursday: 12 Miles- Durham, NH

Jenkins into Bennett with Forest and Jeff. Felt decent although a little tight for a while then legs got very tired the last few. 3x200m strides which felt forced.

Friday: 10 Miles- Durham, NH

Longmarsh with a group, felt pretty terrible all around.

Saturday: 7 Miles- Durham, NH

4 outside in the blizzard, felt comfortable outside of the sections where snow was blowing into my face/eyes. Wanted 6-7 outside but everyone else was going 4 and my hands were starting to get really cold. Finished up with a few miles inside + strides.

Sunday: 8 Miles- Orono, ME

First visit to UMaine, was excited to race somewhere else especially as I've always missed the races here. Very long day leading up to the race. Woke up at 4:45AM to eat breakfast/get prepared for the meet before walking a mile with Andrew to our cars at the Dover train station (had to move off street due to parking ban). 3.5 hour ride to UMaine where I found the seats to be really uncomfortable and had difficulty sleeping.

Got there at 10:30 before waiting 6.5 hours to race, the time went by quickly but I felt very sleepy and exhausted and my fears of running poorly only increased. Eventually we got through our warm-ups, strides and were on the line to race. Watched Jeff solo an 8:51 from the slow heat as he had no time to get in the faster section, then Andrew and I were in the faster heat.

From the gun, I got out in the perfect position, behind the top guys (this was a stacked heat) but ahead of people I would need to pass earlier on. Alec Troxell was going for sub-8:30 and there were a train of guys keeping pace with him. I didn't want to drop off so I just kept pace with the guy ahead of me hitting the same splits as the guys in front. This felt really fast (4:30 pace) for the first few laps, then the Maine guy ahead of me (Myles) let them go and the pace felt really comfortable. 2:56 through 1K.

The rest of the race I sat and counted laps on Myles, who began to tire and slow. We went from running 32s early on (191m track) to 36s. I told myself to be patient and a big move too early could be a mistake. 4:46 through the mile. I kept waiting and waiting. My plan shifted from going with 6 left to 4 left and just after 5 to go, I went for it and completely committed to the move. 3:05 for the second kilometer (6:01). 

Went for it the last 900m or so, hitting 32s/33s and somehow finding a 29 low on the last lap (about 30.5 for 200m). I believe I closed in a 64/65 for the last 400m which is one of the best kicks I've ever had. Breaking this race into each kilometer (hang on/sit/kick) made this feel mentally easier than a lot of 3Ks I've run that are just a grind. I feel I'm racing much more confidently this season/year. In the past, when it gets tough I start to think about dropping out or falling back. Now I think hanging on or making a move. 2:52 last 1K.

Ended up 6th in 8:53, which I was happy with and a step up from last week. After not breaking 9 since October 2020, it feels nice to get back there. Unfortunately, my 3Ks will be limited going forward although it feels like I'm finally on the path to sub-8:40. 

18th Time sub 9 minutes (#2, #6, and #15 converted from 3200)

3 mile cooldown on nice campus paths, wanted more but we had to leave for the long ride home. Right calf very tight just above achilles.

Weekly Total: 65 Miles

Good step forward and glad to maintain 60+ for mileage.