Wrapping up the indoor track season this weekend with one more meet. I was originally looking at the BU Last Chance Meet but opted against it given the entries had possible strict cutoffs and were expected to be similar to last year's fast results. That's not to say I wouldn't have a chance of getting in but likely I would be one of the slowest seeds and the top of my heat would go out much faster than I wanted. I also had originally been looking at either a 5K or 3K depending on whether I felt I wanted another opportunity to run a good 3K. Being a little off my goals last weekend meant I did want another shot at it, so I opted for 3K. Mildly disappointed to miss a 5K opportunity but mostly fine with it as it means I don't have to run 25 laps.
Fortunately being located between two major metros meant there were several NYC meets to pick from rather than either dealing with being one of the slowest BU seeds or just calling it a season. I looked at two meets- Fastrack College invite at Ocean Breeze (Staten Island) and Twilight Indoor at the Armory (Manhattan). I liked the idea of racing on a new track and getting it done Friday, but the public transportation options were not good for Staten Island and a 3-3.5 hour drive in NYC traffic didn't seem like optimal conditions for a PR attempt, so I went for the Armory.
I recovered really poorly from the USATF-NE meet. Legs/energy came back right away, but I had allergy like symptoms throughout the week that didn't improve until Thursday and was concerning to race through. Fortunately, this coincided with a week off from work so I was able to fully rest and recover.
Monday: 8 Miles- Charlestown, RI
Easy Monday. Legs felt somewhat flat on the roads but felt better than expected aside from respiratory symptoms (sneezing, runny nose). Parked at Vin Gormley Buckeye brook road trailhead to get the road done with (Klondike to campground) then finish on Burlingame into VG trail in the familiar direction.
Tuesday: 10 Miles- Exeter, RI
Usual Arcadia 10 mile dirt road loop with a small amount of trail. With Brady. Saw no one. I love this loop- soft surfaces and some nice ups and downs without being a technical slog. Much of Rhode Island's forests are bare in the winter so the pine trees lining the roads at many points is really nice. And with the exception of crossing Route 165, it's so quiet and empty. More wintry conditions this week with mid 30s and 40s on runs I did around noon time (whereas last week it'd already be close to 50 at 5AM). Nice to sleep in this week although getting early will probably be tough when I get back to work soon.
Wednesday: 10 Miles- Richmond, RI
Carolina-Carter. I probably prefer the Carolina loop I do sometimes (out on switch road, back on the trails) but I wasn't sure if could follow it without navigation so opted for the Carter-Carolina. The road connectors are mediocre but I like the breakup into distinct sections: mile of road to Carter, 4 miles of trail in Carter preserve, 2.5 miles of road to Carolina and then 2.5 mile of trail in Carolina (finishing on the dirt road through the fields). With my respiratory/allergy issues of the week, I opted not to workout. I don't like to do too many easy efforts in a row so I opt for pickups on days where I would have worked out- I feel that it keeps the legs much fresher and faster pace is less of a shock in the next hard effort compared to just easy running. Plus, it requires so little effort. I don't think strides or pickups do much to increase fitness but I think they do a lot to keep the legs fresh and ready for a harder effort. I did 4x2 mins harder effort basically just a faster effort but completely controlled/comfortable with 2 minutes easy inbetween. This ended up being around 5:40-6:00 minute pace and felt very easy. The allergy symptoms were worrying but it was nice that running or running hard didn't seem to have any effect. This took up the entire road section which was nice and then finish in Carolina. Felt pretty good.
Thursday: 10 Miles- Charlestown, RI
Frustrating day as I was sneezing quite a bit before the run and contemplating whether it was worth it to race. Fortunately the run itself was much better with a lot less runny nose during it. I procrastinated a bit and ran at 1:30 instead of 12PM. I definitely get a bit lazy when I don't have to be up for something. Felt a bit weak as I probably didn't eat enough for running a little later but still strong. Burlingame lollipop, another trail/road mixer. Picnic area to VG, VG up to the dirt road loop north of buckeye brook, the dirt road loop and then return down Kings Factory all the way back which is a nice (and fast) section of road. I felt cold on this one as the conditions were wet. I may be starting to rely on doing specific routes rather than making it up as I go along. I feel I like used to go to certain areas like Burlingame and run in a certain direction then make it up as I go a long. Now I feel it is more comforting to have a familiar route that I've done before. I guess the most common one is probably Burlingame + Vin Gormley trail as it's a nice loop and comes out to 10 exactly. Also really liking the 680s. I've always liked the shoe but tried this newer fresh foam version and it's just really comfortable. Going to be my go to shoe for easy running which isn't a bad choice as it's very cheap (about $50 right now). I used to have several other shoes I'd like for general/easy mileage but it seems to be the only one available now.
Friday: 8 Miles- Charlestown, RI
Usual Ninigret pre race. Took the legs a few minutes to feel good, but felt good for the most part. Allergy symptoms generally better today, still a little sneezing but much less and runny nose completely gone. Felt a little flat on strides but that's typical. Huge wind gusts in the open areas.
Saturday: 10 Miles- New York, NY
Long commute to NYC but felt fairly comfortable not driving too much. Picked up Andrew in East Lyme, then drove to New Haven. Took the commuter rail to Harlem which is actually fairly comfortable/decent when it's not crowded (it's no amtrak, but also much cheaper). Then a few legs on the subway which is much worse than the Boston subway but went by quickly. Found it really confusing on where to go to switch lines. Arrived at the Armory at 4:00PM, 1.5 hours before my race. Weirdly I was not assigned a bib (just about everyone else got one). Tried to use the bathroom and relax the best I could before the race.
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| Huge, epic facility |
I felt good on the warm up and confident I'd have a good race but also a little nervous. Some guy in the warm-up hallway randomly said to me/anyone who was listening: "You better kick ass out there, or I'm going to kick your ass!". Weird. It wasn't long before I lined up. Crowded start line with 22 guys which was definitely worrying. Being more of a community/specialty meet, there were pacers for every heat with ours being paced for 8:40. This sounded great, given I went out too hard last week and didn't have it at the end. If I felt similar to last week, I think even pacing should lead to a PR. It was one of those things that sounds great in theory, but really just wasn't at all in the race. Something that was concerning just before we went off I heard the pacer saying he'd go through the 1600m in 4:40-4:42. Which if you do the math, is 8:45-8:50. Meaning I'd have to negative split to PR (8:44). This made me a little angry and I think I shook my head after hearing that.
Soon the gun went off and it was chaos. I had visualized the race over the last 48 hours and thought I'd slip into lane 1 close to the pacer and run in a string of guys somewhere in the top 5 in single file. Instead everyone converged in and I wasn't quick enough. I probably ended up in 15th to 20th place, way back from the leaders. I wasn't even able to settle in as lane 1 was completely occupied and no one was budging an inch. I ended up running the first 4 laps in the outside of lane 2 just trying not to fall. This was the race where you'd constantly have to put your arm as people would cut me off and there was all sorts of jostling and touching. I was finally able to take the rail after that but I was way back and could see the leaders a full turn ahead of me. 2:57 through 1K- already a bit off the pace and I'd need a good negative split for a PR. Couldn't really move up without risking getting stuck in lane 2 and being unable to move in, plus it would waste a lot of energy. I didn't feel very good either despite the conservative pace- heavy legs, difficulty breathing and stomach felt funny. Energy-wise I felt completely fine. Stayed where I was through 1600m through 4:44- about 8:52 pace. With how I felt, how far behind I was and the amount of people I'd have to pass just to maintain pace, the race was really over for me. I wasn't going to run a magical 4:34 2nd mile (really 1400m) mostly in lane 2. The PR wasn't happening and even sub-8:50 was out the window. I'm just going to drop out there- I've run in the 8:50s so many times and came here specifically just to go for a PR. But dropping out still isn't really something I want to do. I stayed in the same position through 2K- 5:57 which meant a 3:00 second 2K. Really not good at all. I definitely had something left but mentally checked out the last 1K and pretty much gave up the last 600m. I really didn't care at all whether I broke or 9 as it's not what I came here for. It wouldn't matter if I ran 8:50 or 9:30, it's a failure either way and I've run in the low 8:50s enough that it's meaningless to get another. Ran slower than I felt I was to finish in 9:07.
Normally, when I drop a dud of a race like that I'm pretty disappointed and sad. Today, I was really just angry. I spent the time to travel to NYC and back solely to go after a PR and 1) the "ideal PR conditions with pacing" was actually horrible PR conditions with the amount of people out there, 2) I didn't have it today. Even if I had got out with that group without issue, I doubt I would have been able to hold that. I was sneezing and congested maybe just 15 minutes after that so I clearly made the wrong call on deciding to do this one. Hard to know though beforehand. This race really means nothing to me- it was just a random last minute decision to go for a fast time here and didn't work out. I don't think of it as an ugly race in otherwise good season, I'd prefer to pretend it didn't happen. Normally I'd be disappointed to give up like that but I think I was the right call today. I have another race next weekend and not going to the well (to run a still mediocre/poor time) should help with recovery.
Went for a 5 mile cooldown with Andrew. The first mile was on busy streets but the rest was nice on bike paths or quieter roads. Cool view on a small beach of the GW bridge and Manhattan skyline. The subway trip back was not so fun- decided to walk about a mile instead of taking the 3 subway trips and Harlem seemed pretty sketchy at night. Got home okay but it was a late night going to bed at 12:30 feeling exhausted. Overall, really not a big deal to bomb here but of course I wish I didn't show up and save myself the journey and fatigue. End of indoor for me. I think it was still a decent season but I wish I could have gotten the 3K PR. May or may not find a 3K to do in outdoor as I'm not really sure how far I'll take the season.
Sunday: 12 Miles- Exeter, RI
Recovery dirt roads with Andrew. Pretty landscape with some light snow on the ground (much more winter-like week) although Frosty Hollow road was a bit slick. Felt quite tired in the legs the last third. No allergy symptoms- sneezing/runny nose today so I'm glad not to get that back.
Weekly Total: 69 Miles
Weekly Highlight: Being able to catch up on sleep/fully recharge. I'm really not a 5am/early morning and don't usually get a full 8 hours of sleep on workdays so it was good to reset a bit.
Weekly Lowlight: Deciding to go for another fast 3K attempt and coming up well short. It's not one that will sit with me and bother me, but I definitely wish I could hop into a time machine and skip the experience.
Movies Watched: Get Out, Inglourious Basterds, The King, The Banker, The Pianist
All Rewatches, All Good Movies
Gate River Run (US Championship) 15K next weekend in Jacksonville. I enjoy road racing quite a bit more than track so it'll be fun. Not sure where my fitness is for longer stuff with the track focus, but I think I should be able to put in something respectable.
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