Clamdigger- Weekly Log: April 10 to 16

 Clamdigger week. First one since 2014 I believe. Targeting it as a workout and try to hit HMP consistently. 

Monday: 2 Miles- Westerly, RI

Easy Newbury loop. Didn't feel bad but just slow so went slow. Definitely needed a "off" day instead of 4-6. 

Tuesday: 12 Miles

AM 8 Miles- Westerly, RI

Avondale-browning loop, felt pretty good overall. Had to use bathroom and I started a little later (6:19AM) which meant all the construction crews were out so I couldn't use their port a potties. Ended up going in the bush in Avondale preserve. Good run otherwise. 

PM 4 Miles- Preston, CT

Warm (71 degrees) but also very windy. Felt kind of flat, but not as bad as I have in the past on these doubles. 

Wednesday: 9 Miles- Charlestown, RI

Attempted workout on the first hot day of the year (74 degrees at 1PM). Felt fine on the warm-up, was going to do a last campground loop before it opened but it clearly opened early as the gate was open and there were plenty of campers out. Bright side of the opening was that the bathrooms were finally open, although there were mosquitoes in the bathroom. Weird feeling trying to kill mosquitoes when it was just 28 degrees last week. Hate New England weather swings. 

Anyway, was going to do 3x4 mins on/3 mins off + 3x 2mins on/2 mins off starting at tempo and working it down a little quicker. On the klondike/ross hill loop. Right off the bat I felt flat and heavy- only got the first 4 minutes to barely sub 6. Second one was rough and I ended up averaging about 6:20. Felt really off so I took a break then after a mile or so, did 6x30s on/1 min off. These felt really forced as well. Felt gassed and dehydrated by the time I got to the start, planned 10-11 but just didn't have it. Felt tired the rest of the day and bailed on potentially doing 2-3 later. 

Thursday: 12 Miles

8 AM Miles- Westerly, RI

Did a "new" (just hadn't done this specific variation before) route- neighborhood roads parallel to shore out to Dunn Corner school and back (with a loop turnaround + loop add-ons). Typical Tom Harvey-Links Passage-Rockridge-Wildflower quiet roads. Started at 5:50AM and it was light out enough that I didn't have to wear a headlamp. Hopefully no more early headlamp runs or at least not any until the next job/school. 47 degree morning, felt very comfortable in a long sleeve and shorts. Felt pretty good aside from some mild shin discomfort, guess that isn't fully resolved. Suddenly had to use the bathroom (seems to happen often in the early morning- little time to digest) around Mile 6, fortunately there was a port-a-potty right off the Winnapaug Golf Course on Tom Harvey. Was going to run the dirt path on the golf course back but saw a few golfers out there. Wish I took advantage of running on golf courses a few months ago, too late now. 

PM 4 Miles- Preston, CT

Heat wave day 2- 85 degrees on this one. Was expecting a miserable run, but actually felt completely fine otherwise than some usual heaviness. Probably because I only did 4 miles. Last year's hottest run for me was 83 degrees in Edinburgh (during a heat wave), funny to already surpass that in April. Some nice wind blasts to cool off. 

Friday: 13 Miles

AM 8 Miles- Westerly, RI

Felt good for a mile then suddenly had to use the bathroom badly on Shore Road. Had to go in kind of a public area and cover it up the best I could. Got to a port-a-potty on Ice Pond a quarter mile later and wiped, but the damage was done as I was chafing badly the rest of the run. Not only that, but I had several more bathroom stops at port-a-potties, not sure what was going on in my digestive system. Ended up feeling really heavy in the second half, not my favorite run. 

PM 5 Miles- Groton, CT

Another hot afternoon, strava showed 83 degrees but I'm pretty sure it was around 75 degrees or so (the high in Groton was supposed to be 81 and this was just before 5PM). Classic bluff loop with Andrew. I noted mid-run that I generally feel really flat on the post-work double but haven't when running with Andrew. Unsure whether I just happened to feel good those days or if running with someone else is a distraction from discomfort. Felt actually pretty comfortable despite the heat, strange as I remember really struggling on some low 70s days last year (and struggling on Wednesday at 74 degrees). Maybe it's just the short distance. Hopefully this brief heat blast helps me acclimate for the inevitable hot May days. Just really hoping it's not a hot day for Pittsburgh and Pinelands. 

Saturday: 8 Miles- Charlestown, RI

Typical pre-race at Ninigret. We took it easy and I felt pretty good. Strides decent but certainly not effortless. Not warm at 55 degrees, but felt very humid/sweaty. 

Sunday: 16 Miles- Westerly, RI

Clamdigger 5 Mile. First time since 2014. Probably one of the first races I did given the proximity and being run by the Westerly Track Club. Past results:

2014- 33:02, 11th

2013- 19:56, 8th (5K)

2012- 36:03, 12th

2011- 40:43, 41st

Last time I did this race

So the goal was to run a course PR and run better than 33:02. I was treating this was as a hard workout and to get in half marathon goal effort (5:20 for 1:10) as I'd likely be solo in an all out effort/struggle. Also not a very hilly course, not great prep for pittsburgh which has some rollers. 

Didn't take the race too seriously, ate unhealthy the day before and got up around 8AM given the 11AM start and only 5 minute drive. Ended up getting there around 9:50 and went for a 3 mile warm-up with Andrew at 10:15. Felt out of it and not very good as well as noting the humidity was quite high and I was drenched despite it being mid-50s. Legs were also noticeably tired, likely from recent higher mileage/workout blocks. Strides felt alright but certainly not sustainable for a race length. 

Lined up and were off on time. Went out at what felt like a comfortable, relaxed effort only to check my watch and see sub-5 pace. Relaxed a bit. A younger guy (13) went out quick but was fading and I passed him at half a mile in. Felt comfortable through the mile in 5:12, with Andrew already a few seconds back. Having a clock at the mile this year was a nice touch. 

Photo by Jeff Huckle

It felt smooth albeit did get noticeably harder to get to the bridge segment. I grabbed water in a spontaneous decision given I wasn't racing all out and could practice for Pittsburgh. Shortly after turning off the bridge onto Wawaloam, the effort felt much harder and more forced while my legs seemed heavy. Still hit Mile in 5:21 on track, but a significantly harder effort than Mile 1. Mile 3 felt really hard with the slight inclines and tight turns. I didn't even notice the spray rock ocean view as I was trying to run the tangents and it was in the opposite direction. The middle of the mile was a grind as I felt really slow up any incline and was sure my pace for this one would be way off. So it was a pleasant surprise to run 5:24 for that mile. Finished out the loop and headed back towards Atlantic. Lonely middle loop section as I was all alone and only spectator was Shara and some others at the Spray Point section. 

Photo by Jeff Huckle

I did not feel quite as bad in the last two miles and surprisingly picked it up a lot while keeping the same effort. The last mile felt long on one road having to constantly go by the 5K runners (not in the way, but passing a lot of people). Also a decent amount of cars passing through. Was disappointed that the clock didn't get flipped around for a 4 mile split. Tried to do some mental calculations and thought I'd be good to hit my goal of 5:20 pace (26:40) but wasn't sure how far under that I'd be. I didn't really care about PR'ing so while I was hurting, I did have another gear that I opted not to use. I accelerated a bit in the last third of a mile because I suddenly thought Andrew was right behind me (based on people cheering, only a brief pause between cheers) when I actually had plenty of room. Finished up on the dirt, didn't try to kick. 5:09 for the last two miles. 

26:23 for 1st, 18 second PR.  I initially was disappointed crossing the line as this was supposed to be a half-marathon simulator but it felt very hard and I think at most I could only run another 2 miles at that pace. But looking back, I was actually 5:15-5:17 pace, a little faster than the target and never dropped the pace even when I was hurting. Certainly would have been more worrying if it had felt just as bad but I had run 5:25 average pace. I can feel the mileage/training starting to get to me so I think I will fare much better off a taper. I'll probably need to run 5:17-5:18 pace on my watch given the likely extra distance to break 1:10 at Pittsburgh. This looks unreasonable given the 26:23 just felt like a 95% effort and I'd have 8.1 miles left after, but tapering and adding in a loaded field makes a big difference. At the very least I feel confident I could break 1:11 which I would be happy with. Running the last two miles at 5:09 pace is definitely encouraging as I don't have to hit any miles at that pace in the half to have a good race. 

Shortly after went on an 8 mile cooldown with Andrew. I could feel some muscle strain in my quads going down the stairs which was a little disappointing given I didn't run all out. Makes sense though given I hadn't raced or run sustained sub-5:30 pace in 5 weeks. The point of this race and next week's 5K is really just to tune up for the half and make sure I'm used to racing. Once I started running my legs didn't feel too bad, just heavy. 

Bonked super hard 3 miles into the cooldown, felt truly terrible. Fortunately I took my gel (The Tastefully Nude GU- feels so much lighter/easier to get down than Chocolate outrage, plus no aftertaste) and after another mile or two feeling a bit weak I felt good for the rest. Definitely a hard workout and overall exhausting day. Felt wiped later on that day. 

Weekly Total: 73 Miles

Weekly Highlight: Putting in the work on Sunday. Definitely a really good workout as I approach my last few weeks of training before Pittsburgh. Not thrilled with how hard it felt, but hit the splits I wanted to and got my 2nd win of the year (after 0 last year). 

Weekly Lowlight: Feeling like absolute garbage on Wednesday's attempted workout. I guess I can't be disappointed about struggling to hit 5:20 pace at Clamdigger when I was struggling (and failed) to hit 6:00 pace on Wednesday. 

Movies Watched: Beast, *Whiplash

*Rewatch

TV Watched: Mandalorian S3, Severance S1