Ending the indoor season with a 3K at Harvard this Sunday at USATF-NE and then either a 3K or 5K at BU the following Sunday depending on how this one goes. Goal this week is to to break 8:40. Unsure what the fields will be like.
Monday: 5 Miles- Westerly, RI
Normal AM run. Didn't want to go really short again but didn't feel like doing a full 7 miles so went in between. Warmer (37 degrees) but windy mornings this Monday and Tuesday. Ran through Tom harvey and newbury, nice how quiet it is this time of the day (not that it's usually busy in winter, but shore road is much quieter in the early hours). Getting some light at the end of these runs which is nice, haven't had that in a while.
Tuesday: 11 Miles
AM 7 Miles- Westerly, RI
Moonlight loop.
PM 4 Miles- Norwich, CT
Mohegan park loop. I've run in the 860s in the past but recently they've just been stiff and uncomfortable. Maybe I'll try them again but the 680s feel great so I'm not sure.
Wednesday: 10 Miles- South Kingstown, RI
Last URI workout. Got there too late for the open hours, but as I suspected the open hours mean nothing given I did my workout roughly from 8:55-9:30 and the track was supposed to close at 9 (plus I've been basically kicked off during the open hours anyway other times). My goal was 5x1K in 3:07-3:10 on 90s rest + the usual 4x200m. Felt aerobically decent today but legs locked up early and I was a little off the pace. Went 3:09, 3:12, 3:14, 3:13, 3:13, 32, 33, 32, 30. Not stellar but fine with it. Never really felt comfortable here at URI for some reason which was strange. Possibly bad air quality that takes a while to get used to given the UNH 160m can't be much slower and I did much harder workouts there. When I finished the last 200m (last 2 in spikes) I had a sharp pain in my ankle. Felt it a few times on the cooldown but haven't since so probably nothing. Difficulty: 3/5.
Thursday: 11 Miles
AM 7 Miles- Westerly, RI
Very warm morning at 50 degrees (at 5:30AM), strange weather recently. Legs did not feel fresh. Bathroom break in Avondale.
PM 4 Miles- Ledyard, CT
Got out of work late which was a shame since I had committed to exploring a new trail route and would now be finishing in the dark. I was pretty sure the route was in Preston but turns out the dirt parking lot is on the town line and I was several feet into Ledyard. Most of the trail system was in Ledyard anyway. I think the system was called Tri Town trail- Preston. I thought this would be a primitive and confusing trail system that doesn't see a lot of visitors and was surprised that it was very well marked not only with blazes, but many maps and even mileage markers. The trails were quite difficult with a lot of rocks, twists and steep sections- ended up averaging around 10 minute pace which is definitely too slow/hard for an easy double. It did get dark towards the end and I rolled my ankle pretty hard. Trails and darkness don't really mix well. There were a lot of construction wooden boards down (that were a pain to run on/cross), apparently there is a 14 mile (?) bike path in the works from Preston to Groton. Overall fun to explore new routes but won't be coming back given the difficulty.
Friday: 11 Miles
AM 7 Miles- Westerly, RI
Another very warm morning. Ran down Atlantic avenue/Misquamicut beach parking lot. Like yesterday I again suddenly had to use the bathroom, not sure what's up with that.
PM 4 Miles- Groton, CT
Typical Bluff/Haley double I've been doing.
Saturday: 8 Miles- Charlestown, RI
Usual Ninigret pre-race. Unlike last weekend, the strides felt heavy and forced. Not really concerning though as they probably feel that way more often than not and I felt good otherwise.
Sunday: 13 Miles- Boston, MA
Usual trip to Boston I've been doing. Up to Quincy Adams and then take the subway in. Was able to relax and sleep in with my race at 2:45- I think I woke up around 8:30. Not sure which approach I prefer- on one hand I don't have to get up early and will definitely get a quality night's sleep, on the other hand I have to drive home in the dark and go to bed pretty soon post race. For a local race, I'd definitely prefer to race in the morning but not sure when taking several hours to get there.
This time the subway was very slow, taking a full hour and 5 minutes when it should be 45 minutes. Kind of frustrating. I wasn't late but after checking in and using the bathroom, I had to get going on my warm up. I like having a 15-20 minute buffer to relax. The meet felt less frantic and busy than last time in 2020. Despite that being 3 years ago, that was actually the last edition of the meet at Harvard due to COVID.
I went for my usual 3 mile warm-up along the river paths. Harvard is a nice spot for this as you don't have to do much on sidewalks or cross many roads- unlike BU, The Track and Reggie Lewis as it's close to the river and their athletics facilities are so big. I felt sluggish on the warm-up but fine. I felt pretty nervous for this one as it was an important one. Probably every meet so far was more to compete and get used to hurting again- but today I wanted to finally beat my 6 year old 3K PR of 8:44. I think I had been to shape to do so at certain points but this was the first time in quite a while I was in shape and had a good race for it. I had been a little nervous that only a few fast guys were signed up on Wednesday but I guess everyone signed up last minute as the field was more competitive the next day. Just outside the indoor track is a bunch of a port-a-potties for Harvard's bubble (their field hockey unit on the football field) which is great given the long indoor lines.
Soon I was on the infield again putting on spikes and getting prepared to go. I wanted to go out in the 4:38-4:40 range to give myself a shot at a sub 8:40 and a PR. They lined us up about 10-15 meters ahead of the finish line which I thought was strange. I later realized that Harvard's track is actually 220 yards per lap and not 200m (this is about 201m) so that explains it. This was my third race here but I had never noticed that before as I had been in the stagger. The race was chaotic from the gun with plenty of jostling for position. Ben Drezek and Aaron Willingham went to the front quickly to race for the win while the rest of us would be racing for 3rd. I didn't realize that the winner of our pack would get third until later as I was in contact but somewhat far back. I found myself behind Aaron Lucci of Battle Road who had seeded himself at 8:31. I figured if an 8:31 guy was content to sit behind a bunch of guys, then I was fine as well.
The pace felt uncomfortable from the start. It made sense why when I saw 31 on the clock at 200 and 64 at 400. These split were actually slightly slower given the distance (we started a little ahead of the finish) but still way too fast. 1:39, 2:14 and 2:50. I was quite concerned about the pace but not much to do so I continued to sit in that position. Made small moves to stay with Lucci and pass any guys who were falling off. The pace had corrected itself by the 1600- about 4:38 but not a good way to run 4:38. The race hurt quite a bit at this point but I could tell that I had one more gear. I told myself to get through the 2K before even considering to make a move which we went through in 5:50- now slightly off the pace.
This last 1K hurt quite a bit- been a really long time since the 3K has been that hard. I stayed where I was for a bit, as it would be really difficult to hold a move for 4-5 laps. I ended up going into 3rd at 500m to go and made a good move. I possibly got separation before being lapped by Drezek going into my final lap. I think I went through 1 to go around 8:10-8:11. Normally I can hold these kinds of moves, but not today as I completely ran of steam and struggled my way into the finish, getting passed by 5 guys who were kicking hard. A disappointing finish for sure, easily my slowest last lap of any race this season. I saw Lucci cross the line in 8:42 but it seemed I was so far away and wouldn't make it under 8:50. Somehow my final time ended up being 8:46.97 which seemed like they cut a few seconds off.
Disappointing result- certainly put myself in it but I needed another 3-4 seconds somewhere and didn't have it, likely from the fast start. I'm surprised I had nothing the last 200m but that's again probably from the fast start. So 8th place- worse than 4th here in 2020 even though I ran 4.5 seconds faster. It was a little tough to leave without the PR. Not a bad result- this was the first time since Yale 2017 and only other time I broke 8:50 but I wanted more. I'll give the 3K another shot next weekend and hope for better pacing.
Did an 8 mile cooldown after to get 70 on the weekend. Felt wiped out, very tired from the race effort. Did 5.5 on the river- having to stop halfway as I got a side cramp and then 2.5 more on the Harvard athletics grounds after a short refueling break. Overall this was still a decent/respectable run but I really wanted a big performance and fell a bit short. I do think sub 8:40 should be doable in the right race, but this just went out too quickly.
Weekly Total: 70 Miles (on the dot)
Weekly Highlight: Overall, I still have to say this was a good week- consistent training, no injuries and finally breaking out of the 8:50s in the 3K when I've been stuck in the range for so long.
Weekly Lowlight: Not getting that 3K PR. Can't PR every time and this wasn't a bad race, but it was right there and I just missed it.
Movies Watched: Hacksaw Ridge, The Hateful Eight, Chef
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