Back in Ventura County- Weekly Log: January 22 to 28

 First week of school. 

Monday: 8 Miles- Charlestown, RI

Last one in RI for a bit- likely back in mid-day post Spring semester. Possibly looking at running the USATF-NE 5K at the Great Bear Run in Needham, MA and then a 5K or 10K the following weekend at the Ottawa marathon weekend. Haven't finalized that yet. Alternatively I'd head up to San Francisco and run the big race Bay to Breakers 12K, but it doesn't seem all that competitive and is a weird distance, plus may actually be more expensive than the NE plans when considering hotel costs. So probably leaning towards coming back for Great Bear. Technically could return for Spring Break, but given I have to stay for L.A. marathon the first weekend anyway (meaning only 7 days after that available), miss two days out of those due to flying cross country and could use the opportunity to do some cool hikes in CA, I'll elect to stay in CA for that period. 

This was the last run of a very cold period- 15 degrees for this. Took me a full two miles to warm-up. I'm usually pretty tough in the cold, but definitely felt it more this time around- wondering if that's being in much warmer climate up until mid-December. Typical VG loop with Dad + Brady. Really excellent trail conditions in spots- firm, grippy ground with the frozen dirt. But super icy in areas that received more rain. 

Tuesday: 11 Miles- Thousand Oaks, CA

Typical loop from Kimber Park with mostly trail and some road connectors. This is a good hilly one with about 1,000' elevation change but doesn't feel too difficult, no steep climbs or descents. After coming from cold and snowy RI the warm weather, sun and palm trees felt a bit different. In the fall, the landscape was dry and brown, which had changed since then as it rained many times while I was on break. The biggest observation was the hills turned from brown to green and was instantly a nicer scenery. The more obvious change was that the ground was no longer dry and dusty, but soft and wet and even many places with puddles or mud which I hadn't seen before here. The unexpected change was that the dozens of lizards running across the trail on these kinds of runs were nowhere to be seen. 

Felt pretty good on this one and averaged 7:04- my fastest for this hilly loop. Heavy legs to start but felt better as I went on. One frustrating thing about how infrequently it rains here is that some of the trails get closed due to some mud and puddles that they call hazardous conditions. I noticed this in Orange County in August (although those trail were completely gated and parking closed as well), and it was disappointing to see on the second half of trails here. I ran through anyway and while there were many wet and slick spots, I'm not sure why the trail was closed. 

Wednesday: 16 Miles- Thousand Oaks, CA

AM 12 Miles

Peppertree Wednesday 12 mile workouts again. Went for 6xOld Conejo hill, was hoping to get 8 in but felt flat pretty much right away and it was a struggle just to finish the 6 which was my minimum. Overall splits weren't bad, but not great either. That being said, the Wednesday workouts are really just about getting the effort in and there isn't much of a strict time goal there (with weekend workouts being more important). Saw a fit-looking female (masters?) runner wearing carbon fiber shoes in the parking lot which seemed strange given I've never seen any serious runners in Thousand Oaks and I don't think I've seen someone put on carbon fiber shoes outside of a racing setting anywhere. 

PM 4 Miles

Double before class. Wednesday is my double day which was easy enough last semester without class, but will be trickier to get in this semester. The bright side with this being a short block is that I already only have two more of these left (of 7 weeks). Expected to feel terrible and felt okay, so I'll take that. 

Thursday: 11 Miles- Thousand Oaks, CA

Lollipop from Conejo creek park on mostly trails with some really hilly but quite scenic stuff in the middle. 1,100' elevation gain total. Some new trails to me in there. 

Friday: 12 Miles- Agoura Hills, CA

Back to Cheeseboro Fridays- had the long version with a bigger mileage week. Didn't really enjoy this one as it was hot, I felt weak, and I had some unexpected stomach issues. Legs felt totally exhausted the last few miles which is unpleasant but tends to happen during the higher mileage weeks. Passing horses on the trail is still a mystery. Now I just slow way down and do as the horse riders ask- pleasantly surprised the first two groups let me run right past and even the last person to ask me to walk past was still really friendly about it. 

Saturday: 20 Miles- Ventura, CA

Normally getting into these long runs is a real slog/low motivation especially with a triple OAB format on the ventura river trail (bike path). Felt a bit weak on the typical 6 mile warm-up. Today was a 10 mile OAB for the workout portion with a goal of 4x2 miles at 5:50 pace/11:40 on half mile jog rest (for a total of 10). The high in ventura was high 70s and already low 70s when I started just after 9am so I adjusted the time down a bit from 5:45 goal. These long interval workouts seem really easy on paper- I just did 6 miles continuous at 5:45, so surely two miles at a time should be pretty easy. For whatever reason, I struggle more with them than a long tempo at a similar pace as it's really hard for me to pick it up again after a jog. I was a little nervous for this one too as I had failed this workout twice in the fall, totally bonking/falling apart and having a miserable run back on fumes. 

Started off right around pace feeling decent but it didn't take long for that pace to feel fairly hard. I was wondering why running 5:55 pace felt so good at Burlingame two weeks but that's probably because I was fairly fresh and now I'm deep into mileage/training. Marathon pace is simply not easy for me in most workouts and I have to have an excellent day to hit half marathon pace for anything longer than mile repeats. First two felt fairly hard but I maintained pace throughout. Headwind and slight uphill out so I was looking forward to hopefully feeling a little easier on the return. 11:28, 11:20, 11:05, 11:17 for the reps- comfortably under 11:40 for each. Felt pretty tired on the last one and was holding on, but quite glad to finish this workout after fails the last time and while it felt hard throughout, never felt brutal/close to racing (I could hold the pace longer if needed). Normally I take a long break before the 4 mile cooldown and feel terrible on that, but today was better as I only took 5 minutes in between (I've taken up to 20) and felt pretty good on the last 4. 

Sunday: 12 Miles- Thousand Oaks, CA

Hilly mountain/canyon loop from Santa Rosa Valley park. Ran almost all the way up Elliot Mountain- about 1,000' of climbing in the first 3 miles. Excellent views near the top. Mostly with switchbacks so little was steep. I fully expected to really struggle on this hilly route after yesterday, but was surprising to feel decent in the climbs. I find trail climbs to be really enjoyable when feeling good, and absolutely miserable when you don't have it. This was a really hot day with temps starting in mid-70s and very little shade. Felt decent through halfway then just became a struggle after that, plus some minor discomfort in achilles and top of foot. Stream crossings here were deeper than before, got wet on 2/4. Saw lizards for the first time this week!

Weekly Total: 90 Miles

Weekly Highlight: Hitting my mileage and long run goals, it's always great to have a big week like that behind me now. 

Weekly Lowlight: A lot of tough runs, struggling a bit this week. In the end, I got it all done which is what matters but I have to say a lot more runs than usual this week weren't particularly enjoyable. 

Movies Watched: Past Lives, Crazy Stupid Love, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, Inception

TV Watched: Loki S2

Might add a race to this block and go for a track 3K either 3/1 in Riverside or 3/2 in Long Beach. Post-marathon, I probably won't be track fit until mid-April at the earliest and all those meets offer 5K only, so if I want to attempt a 3K PR this would be the opportunity to do it. It also shouldn't hurt my half marathon on 02/25 being after that and marathon 03/17 having a full 15+ days between and able to start the taper after that. Riverside is a little further away but it would be easier to race Friday and then do the long run Sunday with a day to recover, especially as these meets will be late night and it'd be tough to run it around for a long run in the morning. The question will be how I recover from the half as it's only 5-6 days after and I certainly was not ready to go after the last two halfs. 

Last Week of Winter Break- Weekly Log: January 15 to 21

 Starting to ramp things up again preparing for the Los Angeles Marathon on March 17th. This would be week 4 of a 12 week buildup, but the first over 80 and with a 20 mile long run. Definitely feel a bit fitter/stronger currently than I did week 4 of Honolulu buildup (although I had 16 weeks then). Got a nice long winter break from classes, but that finished up. Unusually cold week for typically mild Rhode Island. 

Monday: 8 Miles- Westerly, RI

First time in Woody Hill in quite a while, plenty of water from recent rains. While there isn't a whole lot of technical terrain in there, these trails are still fairly slow. I'm almost embarrassed by my typical paces on RI/CT singletrack- around 8:30, but there is truly is a big difference running easy on that kind of singletrack versus dirt roads/easy non-technical trails. 

Tuesday: 11 Miles- Charlestown, RI

VG + northern burlingame loop. Conditions were quite bad with a very cold rain, plus lots of cold water, slush and ice all over the trails. Felt pretty cold by the end. 

Wednesday: 12 Miles- Westerly, RI

Wanted to do my staple 8x2 mins on/2 mins off workout on the burlingame campground loop as it's a good intense workout where the ons get really hard by the end (by keeping the offs at a moderate effort). The campground roads were iced over so I instead went to weekapaug which was probably a poor decision in retrospect due to the cold wind, but nothing was going to come close to as sheltered as the campground roads on a controlled loop. Made my own workout loop of Wawaloam-Spray Rock-Shawmut-Meadow-Chapman-Weekapaug for just under 2 miles. Goal was 5:20/6:00 as usual and ended up averaging 5:19/6:04. Not too hard on Wawaloam being flat and with the wind, but grinding out the rest with some rollers and cold headwinds. Felt pretty heavy early on and glad I toughed it out without too much of a slowdown. Got really cold in less clothing for the workout part, took a while to warm back in the car and by the time I cooled down, I just felt terrible. Few workouts are every easy, but this was definitely a tough one. 

Thursday: 11 Miles- Exeter, RI

Nice Arcadia loop. Cold/slow conditions again but not in a way that detracted from my enjoyment. 

Friday: 20 Miles- South Kingstown, RI

Green hill long run with Dad. 6 warm-up, 6 tempo, then 8 cooldown for 20. Was a little nervous about this with only one day of recovery, but the Saturday morning conditions were just brutally cold and it was going to be better quality on Friday. Some winds and snow, but nothing too bad. Felt heavy and flat on the warm-up, but was able to shift gears for the hard part. Goal was 5:45, averaged 5:43 so a good effort. Legs felt heavy almost instantly so glad I could grind it out. Definitely rough having to get in the 7 to hit 20 and bonked twice. 

Saturday: 12 Miles- Voluntown, CT

Super slow icy/washed out trails in Pachaug. Much worse conditions than Arcadia. The area is usually great for running at this time of the year, but not so much this time with it being cooler than usual. 

Sunday: 8 Miles- Stonington, CT

Mystic loop, probably the best I felt all week. Bit heavy but much more smooth. 

Weekly Total: 82 Miles

Weekly Highlight: Good training and good to get back over 80. Heavy legs are never fun, but much better than completely bonking or tying up which happens sometimes and I was able to avoid that. 

Weekly Lowlight: Not feeling easier for the hard efforts. 

Movies Watched: Thirteen Lives, Air, Step Brothers, Apocalypto, Ocean's Eleven

Note on future races- was looking at open meets in L.A. area for February/March. After surprising myself with a 4:28 mile despite being my third race in a week and just starting training, perhaps I could give the 1500 or 3K a PR attempt during this block. But it really just doesn't work well to get in the marathon training without risking sacrificing the quality of that or going into the half marathon tired. May possibly race one 2 weeks out from the marathon, but likely wait until April when I'm not on a time crunch to get in my long runs and marathon workouts in a shorter amount of time. It's kind of frustrating how you have to fully focus on one area of running to get the best results as I enjoy track, road, and trail but they don't really mix well. 

Also frustratingly hard to find racing shorts with a pocket in back for gels- had to search several brands as New Balance didn't have any. 

Weekly Log: January 8 to 14

 Back to the regular training. Slowly getting back into mileage + workout.

Monday: 0 Miles

First day off since December 26, 2022- 377 day running streak. Felt a little weird to stop it, but nice to remove that pressure of having to go for a run. Will probably run all but one day each month or so, the real reward will come being able to actual take time off at the end of a block. Started doing abs + pushups again after one month off. 

Tuesday: 14 Miles- Glocester/Exeter, RI

Attempt 1- Dad had us try the GW Walkabout loop which I've never actually done before. Except we bailed after a few miles as the snow was way too thick (running 13+ minute pace) and just exhausting. 

Part 2 was an Arcadia mix. Trails actually much better than the dirt roads, which were frozen over. Mostly fun except went way too long and gave me some fatigue throughout the rest of week. 

Wednesday: 12 Miles- Westerly, RI

Workout, ran from house. Was thinking 3x2M tempo but cut to 2x2M as I'm just getting started and need to build into a bit more. Seems like a logical progression from 5K tempo last time. Was going to run the avondale circuit for a controlled loop, but it was really windy around 20mph so I just stuck to roads. First mile was rough- just under 6:00 as I hit the headwind really hard on Bay street, plus some rollers. Got the second mile down to around 5:30 where I wanted. Second rep was smoother overall, but I had to turn around due to flooding on Ocean View highway. Finished up through Avondale and averaged 5:30. Good start. Felt fairly hard, but not too bad. 

Thursday: 11 Miles- Charlestown, RI

Nice full run around Ninigret. Some minor top of foot discomfort/inflammation but fortunately never worsened. Kind of uneventful overall.

Friday: 10 Miles- Charlestown, RI

Burlingame loop with Dad + Brady, nice weather other than a few flooded sections. Many of the easy runs this week I felt great for 75% of it then heavy, tired legs to finish. Likely getting back into mileage and too much time on feet Tuesday. 

Saturday: 18 Miles- Charlestown, RI

Another crazy windy day and with coastal flooding, opted to run from Burlingame. First long run workout of the block, helped that Andrew tagged along. 6 up, then 24 minutes @MP/moderate, half rest, 12 minutes @HMP/tempo. Good effort- the MP felt really relaxed and averaged 5:55 on the klondike/buckeye brook rollers. HMP part was hard but successfully cut it down to low 5:30s. Bonking on cooldown. Felt pretty fit on this one, which is a great sign for the first long run. My hope was that fitness/strength would carry over from the fall as I don't have as much time to prepare for goal races, seems to be working so far. 

Sunday: 10 Miles- Groton, CT

Bluff point + haley with Andrew and Will Curran. Felt mostly good. 

Weekly Total: 75 Miles

Weekly Highlight: Good hard efforts, didn't struggle too much. Trying to get some consistent work and mileage going. 

Weekly Lowlight: Tired, achy legs for much of the week. 

Movies Watched: Heat, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Thirteen Lives

Opening Races- Millennium Mile and NYC

This year I opted for some "rustbuster" short races and did a not two races in a week, but three. Wasn't too concerned about this given the first one was Monday and next Thursday, plus this would allow me to double up on NYC track racing at both Armory and for the first Ocean Breeze. Race layout was as follows:

Monday, January 1st: Millennium Mile in Londonderry, NH

Thursday, January 4th: NYRR Night at the Races in New York, NY (Armory)

Friday, January 5th: Wagner Invite in New York, NY (Ocean Breeze)

These races were simply to spin the legs at a hard effort, and get an opportunity to race in the Northeast + Indoor for the year as the bulk of 2024 will be spent in California. Coming a break post marathon and only having done one workout up to this point, expectations would be kept low. 

Millennium Mile

I had fun opening 2023 with the Millennium Mile and thought I could do the same in 2024. There's little going on in that time and it's a rare road mile that is also competitive. Millennium running does a great job with their events and I'd probably at least consider this many years down the road. Maybe this will replace Bottone as my annual road mile. Nothing against Bottone, but it falls in a time of the year where there are many more races going on. 

In 2023, I ran a 4:32 for 7th and was slightly disappointed as I had wanted to run under 4:30 given there's about 80 feet of net downhill but was content as an opener. The race felt pretty hard and I was really just hanging on after half a mile. I finished my fall 2022 season with the Manchester road race, giving myself a full 5 weeks to reset and get some light training in. This year I would have 3 weeks and would be recovering from marathon + travel as well. I came in with considerably less training and workouts and just made my goal to break 4:40. I did my first workout back the Thursday before and while I felt good, I strained something in my hamstring and had a big uncomfortable knot the two days prior that caused me to reconsider racing. I wanted to race but it wasn't worth setting myself back with injury. Fortunately after a lot of rolling + stretching things felt much better the day before and I gave it a go. More improvement to race day and I didn't feel it at that point. 

Got there 90 minutes before and met Andrew for a warm-up 45 minutes out. Timed it well and felt okay overall but lost some time waiting for the bathroom and didn't get to the start until 5 minutes before. Lined up in a terrible position, on the front line but directly behind a barrier. When the gun went off, I waited half a second so I could cut in (and not crash into the barrier). I had planned to go out conservative as I had gone out really hard last year and struggled in the last 400m. I wanted to be picking people off and not running out of gas. My approximate plan was to go out in 2:18-2:20 and run decently the second half to be under 4:40. Easier said than done, and while I let the leaders go immediately I was still running pretty fast in a enormous mass group. 

Scrunched in to far right (left in photo)

I ran next to Andrew through the quarter mile, who seemed he wanted to go faster but didn't want to pass me. I certainly wasn't picking it up. Went through the quarter mile marker in 63, definitely too fast but not feeling too bad. Last year I was still with the top group here before one guy separated and dominated the race. This year played out differently as there were 4-5 guys who had instant separation and a decent gap at that point. 

After a quarter mile, I noticed Everett Hackett who is a pretty strong long distance road runner from CT slowly move away from the mass and he seemed like a good person to chase. He moved on ahead but I started to get some separation from the group including Andrew who let me go. The second quarter mile feels the steepest downhill and I just let things go. Second marker hit in roughly 2:12. Okay, so probably similar to last year and I'd see how I'd hold on. I felt pretty good at this point which was a good sign, but didn't want to move too early and be gassed. 

Really cool shot of the whole race. I'm in 7th-ish in black

Kept a solid effort through about the 1K which is where I started to feel some fatigue. Got myself through the 3/4 miles in 3:18 based on the marker. This is great, I'm not only going to break 4:40 but 4:30 as well. I started to kick here. I feel like it's pretty easy to let the pace go in a road mile and especially so with a short uphill just before the finish. Surged up the hill and caught a guy who had fallen off the leaders. With about 200m, I was pulling ahead and decided not to go all out to the finish line- I was at about 95% effort and still had two races to go in the week. The other guy pushed ahead and beat me by a second. I was a little surprised to come through very similar to last year, officially 7th in 4:33. Full results. 

According to where the splits I ran a 63, 69, 66 and closed in 75. I pushed pretty hard the last quarter mile and made a move, so I find it hard to believe that these splits were correct. Also the third quarter mile should almost certainly be slower than the second with less downhill. 

Not much to analyze here- a solid opening run with less fitness than last year. Ahead of and felt better than I expected which is nice. I was fretting on whether it was stupid to race this early post-marathon but now I have no regrets coming away with a solid and enjoyable race. Long cooldown with Andrew. Millennium running does a great job with this event with immediate live results, instant awards and lots of snacks/drinks. 

NYRR Night at the Races

Fast forward to late morning Thursday and I was taking the train to NYC, again with Andrew. My legs were a little heavy the day before but I didn't feel like the mile had taken too much out of me. This was a late night race as I was scheduled to race about 8:10PM so lots of time to kill getting to NYC around 2pm. Got some lunch before hanging out and napping in the hotel for a bit, before taking the subway to Washington Heights and entering the Armory. 

It was a pretty cold and windy day and I was glad to be racing indoor track. While indoor track is certainly not the most exciting surface to race on, the huge advantage is weather is completely irrelevant and you never have to worry abou.t that. I decided to warm up about an hour out. I think 45 minutes is probably the sweet spot- assuming 3 miles takes around 25 minutes (giving an extra minute for stops, etc), you then have 20 minutes to change into race gear, strides and final bathroom break. For this, there was the chance of the meet running a little early so I started a little early in case. 

Andrew and I got in 3 miles OAB on riverside drive- not a great area to warm-up. Did one stride on a wide sidewalk but my shoes were much too loose and too much gear for that to be quality. Got back to the indoor track but 3K wasn't ready for check in and I had plenty of time to use the bathroom and got in some strides in the warm-up area. The meet was running behind and there was some time to kill, meaning I had warmed up too early. I felt pretty tight and wasn't expecting to have much pop out there. 

I ended up in the second heat as the meet was more stacked than expected. They called us out to the track early and I was glad I wasn't in the first heat as they went through the mile in 4:32 or so and anyone else was running in no man's land. I wanted to break 9 here with the faster track. I felt it was better to go out conservative not knowing where my fitness was. I wasn't sure if this was a realistic goal but the mile on Monday gave me some confidence. 

I noticed CT runner Sam Alexander in my heat. I lined up in the second position and got a bit nervous just before the start. The Armory has a big stadium like atmosphere with an elevated track, seats on multiple levels in every direction, a big screen in the middle and an announcer/live stream in every meet. Indoor track is a bit intimidating with all the bodies, tight space and many laps. One issue I faced in my open meet here in February was way too many people in the heat- I got boxed in, ran extra distance, wasted energy to keep up and was cooked in the second half. I was worried about the same thing here, but fortunately the people were not as aggressive here. 

Got out maybe in 3rd to 4th but quickly got pushed back a little further. We went through 200m at a modest 36.7 (9:00 is 36.0 the whole way and the first lap tends to be a little faster). I didn't want to be 7-8 positions back if the pace was lagging so I made my way up to 3rd or 4th. For much of the remainder of the race, I heard my name announced as they'd announce the first 4 positions each lap. I noticed my throat was extremely dry from the poor indoor air quality. The pace remained at 36.5 or slower through the 1K. I had to make a second move up to 3rd place. 3:03 through the 1K which was a little slower than I would have liked. Sam Alexander didn't like this either as he made a move to the front and took things over as we ran closer to 35.5. He moved swiftly enough that he gapped the whole field. No one went with him so I took over second and tried to slowly close the gap. Back on pace through the 1600m at 4:49. 

I caught up to him with 6 to go, but didn't last long and I started to feel awful soon after. I hung on for one more lap through 2K in 6:01 (2:58 second 1K) before I slowed back to the 36s and he regapped me. I felt totally out of it and was expecting to run a 3:10 last 1K. The pace really started to drop as I ran over 37s for the next two laps. It's probably a good idea to move from further out in the 3K (versus the mile) but I didn't have much in the tank. Getting passed by a few guys gave me some inspiration and I tried to hammer the last lap, which I hit in 32.7 for 9:01 overall. Results here.

Solid track race, I do think the first track race in a while is a bit off and racing at 8:40PM wasn't ideal, but I handled myself fairly well. The big mistake was not being tougher and I should have tried to stay with Alexander longer. Clearly I had more in the tank closing in 32, and perhaps could have broken 9 running a bit tougher. But no serious complaints. Same cooldown which was quite cold and windy, before returning to the hotel and some dinner. 

Wagner Invite

Woke up the next morning after about 8 hours of sleep. Felt less stiff than expected. Had an oatmeal and grabbed a bagel at a local shop. This would be my first visit to staten island and it's a bit awkward to get over on public transit. First took subway down to Battery park which was unnecessarily confusing due to a train derailing the day before and several tracks being closed or switched around. Then a ride to Staten Island on the Staten Island ferry which was pretty cool, and free. Switch to staten island railway for a little bit, then we ubered over to the track from there versus walking 1.5 miles. Got situated and confirmed I didn't have to declare. Now it was 11:45AM for a 1PM race and I was figuring out a good time to warm-up. Double checked the schedule only to realize the race is actually at 12:30PM and I had to get going. 

Definitely a better day to be running late versus yesterday as there's only one traffic stop with a bike path across the street. Also got lucky with double port-a-potties on the route instead of having to wait in line. While my legs felt fine on the warm-up, my chest felt beat up and not recovered- not a great sign going into a mile. I was also stressed out with the new time constraint and thought I would run poorly. Did 2.5 miles, cutting back a tiny bit from usual to save time. Fortunately zero bathrooms lines when I got back so I was able to go again. 

Ended up having a reasonable window, didn't have to rush and got in strides during the first heat. This was a college meet, but low key and there were a handful of unattached runners. I didn't know what the competition would look like pre-race and I was trying to think what the slowest time I could run was and avoid getting last (this was not an issue- last place was over 6 minutes). I seeded myself at 4:25 which was my PR from last year but probably would be looking for low 4:30s on a good day. I thought if I matched my 4:33 from Monday that would be a good run, but I didn't want to go out in 2:10 to do so. 

I got put in the staggered outside section which was great because it's pretty easy to control placement from there. I decided to go straight to the back to keep things conservative and not get caught up with running for position in front. Went through 200m/400m in 34/68 which was probably ideal for the low 4:30s but meant I couldn't slow too much. I felt pretty uncomfortable at this faster pace compared to yesterday and felt I was hanging on early/done for. After 600m, the runner ahead of me was starting to get gapped and I made the decision to go around him rather than run really conservative/slow down and stay in last. 800m in 2:16. The great thing about the mile is it's quite short. It doesn't feel like a sprint like the 800m and has tactics to it, but there isn't much prolonged grinding either. I started to escape the negative mindset and think about when I should make a move. I passed another 2 guys who had fallen off and sat in 6th behind two guys. 

Decided to go with 300m to go as 500m felt risky. It wasn't too long before that time came and I made a big move around them. It took a lot of effort, but there wasn't much race left and I tried my best to hold it to the finish. Passed another guy with 150m to go and was questioning if I went too early as I was starting to tie up. Came up on another guy with 100m to go. I was able to pull alongside him, but it's so difficult to pass on the outer lane in the final stages of a race. I fully expected to lose the kick down the straightway but hammered through the line and actually got him to finish 2nd in the heat for 4:28.59. Results here. 

Was instantly quite pleased with that race. Came in thinking I was stupid for running 3 races in a week and would just embarrass myself in this last one. Instead I executed the race well on a tired body and negative split with a 2:16-2:12 and 64s. Always a great feeling to outkick someone rather the other way around, and this fueled the fire a little bit to get back on the track. It's a grind but can be satisfying when things go well. May consider running some outdoor meets in California if they're available and it works out, but for now back to the road training for Los Angeles. 

Longer cooldown on the Staten Island shoreline. Normally these long cooldowns after indoor meets are a real grind as I'm exhausted and just getting mileage in, but this one was quite nice. Ran a bit on the bike path and looped around a field on a road that was well paved and pretty much closed. Finished up with some dirt trails behind the indoor track. Good racing trip to NYC, and start to the year. 

Triple Race Week- Weekly Log: January 1 to 7

 Rare not only double, but triple race week for me. Raced Milennium Mile on Monday then a pair of track meets in NYC Thursday-Friday. More details in a separate post. 

Monday: 10 Miles- Londonderry, NH

Milennium Mile: 7th in 4:33. Pretty similar to last year's result and a solid first race with little time to prepare. 3 mile warm-up and 6 cooldown. Found some very quiet neighborhood roads for CD.

Tuesday: 8 Miles- Charlestown, RI

Burlingame VG recovery with Dad + Brady. 

Wednesday: 8 Miles- Charlestown, RI

Ninigret with Dad + Brady, strides after. Felt a bit heavy/tight on this although effort still fairly easy and comfortable. 

Thursday: 8 Miles- New York, NY

3K at the Armory- NYRR Night at the Races. Race went well- 9:01. On par with my openers from the last few years:

2022- 9:03 @UNH January 22nd

2023- 9:03 @Wheaton January 8th

2024- 9:01 @Armory January 4th

So faster track/better competition this time around but a little less time to prepare so overall about the same as last year. 3 mile warm-up and cool-down on Riverside drive. Not the greatest with lots of construction, plus quite cold and windy. 

Friday: 10 Miles- New York, NY

Doubled back for Mile at Ocean Breeze (Wagner Invite). Best race of the week running 4:28 and getting 2nd in the heat, definitely happy with that one. First time to Ocean Breeze and it was quite nice. Much better running area than the Armory, got to a bike path right away and there were dirt trails behind the building. 2.5 miles warm-up and 6.5 cooldown. Sometimes the cool-down is rough post race but this one was enjoyable. 

Saturday: 10 Miles- Charlestown, RI

VG + burlingame trail recovery with Andrew. Surprising not too fatigued from the races and felt solid. 

Sunday: 16 Miles- Stonington, CT

Mystic long with Andrew. Weather was rough- mix of rain and hail with high winds. Some parts were fine, others really tough when more open. Legs were really exhausted after 12 and finishing up was tough, likely race fatigue. 

Weekly Total: 71 Miles

Weekly Highlight: 3/3 for good races. Was questioning my decision to race so early and do 3, but now I feel it's justified. No true indoor season this year as I'll be in SoCal soon but it was nice to get a small dose of that. 

Weekly Lowlight: Sunday's run was tough, not one of the better feeling long runs recently. 

Movies Watched: Jack Reacher, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, My Cousin Vinny, No Country for Old Men, Ratatouille

2023 Year in Review

After a tough finish to my collegiate career and some significant injuries, I ended 2022 on a good note with a strong fall season and good momentum going in 2023. While there aren't too many breakthrough successes, 2023 was largely a great year for my running and best since high school. I ran consistently well in every single season, pretty much stayed injury free, pushed myself to run further in training and raced longer distances like the marathon and 50K for the first time. I also got some good travel with a great lakes trip, spending the fall in California and visiting Hawaii in December. The year wasn't perfect- many of the time goals I set were not met and I certainly had some disappointing races, but overall it was a strong one and reaffirms the effectiveness of the training I've been doing. 2022 had some successes, but also many failures and problems and it was great to resolve many of those in 2023. 

I also dodged the odd years curse I've had in the past. 2017, 2019 and 2021 were all tough running years for me with a lot of injury and disappointment. 2018, 2020 and 2022 were a lot better overall. 2023 broke the "curse" and I ran better than all 6 of those years listed. 

Goal Review

Starting with a goal review, before even looking at the goal I know probably failed most of them. Setting so many firm goals at the beginning of the year is not the best way to go, as I mentioned in my 2021 in review post. Many of goals were contingent on running the hartford marathon and many were failed simply because my plans changed and it's impossible to predict what I'll be doing later in the year. 

1. Maintain health and consistency throughout the year

PASS. This was an important and difficult one and the biggest success of 2023 was perhaps staying healthy and consistent. I rarely bombed important races, I ran every day of the year and only had the occasional discomfort here and there. 

2. Run every day of 2023

PASS. Completed this running, running 2 miles or more every day (requirement was 1 mile) and all but two days over 3 miles. This was going to be very difficult given how easy it is to get injured for just one day, but I managed to pull it off with zero real injuries holding me back. Pretty glad to cross off that and not have to worry about again- looking forward to off days in 2024. 

3. Finish a trail race without spraining my ankle

PASS. This wasn't a super ambitious goal but 2021 and 2022 were rough years of trail running (after an excellent 2020 on trails) with many ankle sprains. 2023 went very well in this regard as I successfully returned to trail racing. A few ankle twists in these races, but zero sprains or injuries. 

4. Complete the Westerly Road Grab

PASS. Ran every road in Westerly, getting this project done in the cold dark early morning hours before work. Used streetferret to track. 

5. Finish the Nipmuck Trail

FAIL. My dad and I did the first few miles in December or January, but progress was halted due to me racing most Sundays in January then him spraining his ankle shortly after that. By the time he recovered, I was running further away mountain trails for summer trail race training and then moved to CA in the fall. This one will have to wait until I'm back in New England for good. 

6. Finish the Midstate trail

FAIL. Same as Nipmuck reasoning, but I'll get it in 2025. 

7. Get up to 35 NH 4,000 Footers

FAIL. I got 4 more for a total of 31. I had plans post-loon for a big hike that would net me the 4 more but between knee pain and an incoming massive downpour, I bailed. Never returned with the move to CA. Again something that will come back into focus when I'm in New England full time. 

Mt. Tecumseh was #28

8. Run 3,500 Miles on the Year

PASS. 3,600, so had a decent margin. Could certainly run more as I had some dead periods and ran much more mileage in the fall than spring or summer. But happy to improve upon this again. 

Time goals:

9. Break 8:40 in the 3K

FAIL. This was the primary focus of the indoor season so this was a bit disappointing. I think I was in shape for this as I ran 8:46 going out pretty hard and having nothing at the end, but just didn't get in the right race. 

10. Break 15 minutes in the 5K 

FAIL. Something I've wanted every single year and still haven't come close. This year it was due to a lack of trying though as I never raced a track 5K. I didn't feel great on the track coming off indoor and decided to go for road racing instead of outdoor. I'll get to a focused track season one day but am sticking to the roads for now. 

11. Break 15:30 in the road 5K

FAIL. Not a big fail as I ran 15:35 at Super Sunday and then never raced a flat competitive road 5K after that. Likely another one that I could have done in the right race. 

12. Break 1:10 in the half marathon

FAIL. I feel like I passed this one as I ran 1:10:20 at Berkeley with 600+ feet of elevation gain, but it's still over 1:10. 

13. Break 2:30 in the marathon. 

FAIL. Not even close. I revised this goal once I knew I wasn't going to target a fast marathon in the Northeast, but 2:39 is a long ways off 2:30 regardless. 

5/13, which is just okay overall but I think it's fair to waive Nipmuck and Midstate with the move to CA. As well as sub-15 as I never gave it a proper effort. I was close to 8:40, 15:30 and 1:10. So the only ones that felt like true "fails" were the 4000 footers and marathon, and even though I can qualify those further as well. 

I liked my format for the 2022 year in review, so I'll just copy that over. 

Race Ranking

I raced 28 times in 2023, the most in quite a while (at least 2018, if not earlier). As mentioned before, the races largely went pretty well with only a few duds or disappointments here and there. There aren't a ton of huge successes, but rather a lot of consistent B to B+ races but I'll definitely take that without complaints. 

28. Twilight Indoor NYC 3K- February 25th in New York, NY (The Armory)

This was the only race of 2023 that I felt was both objectively terrible and embarrassing. I was pretty good shape coming off an 8:46 the weekend prior that I felt wasn't paced properly and signed up for this race with the goal of finally putting away 8:40. Instead I struggled with too many people in one heat, fell of the pace early and really packed it for a 9:07. I absolutely gave up here as the sole goal was to run in the low 8:40s or faster and it wasn't happening. This was a total bomb of a race and the single bad performance of the indoor season. 

Grade: F

27. Blessing of the Fleet- July 28th in Narragansett, RI

After a 5 year gap, I finally returned to Blessing of the Fleet. And ran a 1:00:36 time for 36th, a truly terrible showing given the last time was 55:30 for 6th just out of high school and without supershoes. I wasn't in shape for this one but thought I could run 58:00. Didn't pace well and completely fell apart after 5 miles. Like the NYC meet, I totally packed it in after I fell off and gave zero effort to finish strong. It's not as bad as that performance given I was quite out of shape, but a very poor performance regardless. 

Grade: F

26. Loon Mountain Race- July 9th in Lincoln, NH

I've mostly had good showings at Loon and while last year was just okay, it came with the qualifier I missed a considerable amount of volume post ankle sprain. This year I had plenty of time to get in elevation trail work and felt I could run a few minutes faster than 2022 and be on my par with my best races here. I underestimated the fatigue and burnout from running my first 50k 8 days prior and just had nothing on the steep climbs, running by far my slowest ever on many sections and a full 3 minutes slower than 2022 which was already my worst loon. Definitely an ugly/yikes performance but unlike the bottom on the list, I at least knew this one probably wasn't going to be great coming in and kept my expectations low. 

Grade : C-

25. Manhattan Beach 10K- October 8th in Manhattan Beach, CA

This race seemed like a good one to put on my calendar being not too far away and getting a chance to finally put away my 10K road PR to something respectable. After a great run at Rock 'n' Roll San Jose, my body was totally wrecked and my achilles weak. I showed up and perhaps unsurprisingly, really struggled and didn't have much in the tank. 33:42 for 10K is not a good showing 1 week after hitting that split in 32:57 during a half marathon. But unlike other bottom tier entries on the list, I ran tough and never gave up despite having a bad day and that's worth something. 

Grade: C

24. Pittsburgh Half Marathon- May 7th in Pittsburgh, PA

Pittsburgh is without a doubt, the disappointment of the year. It wasn't a terrible performance but I thought I was in tremendous shape and had skipped outdoor track to take a shot at sub-1:10 in the road half. I really went for it running 16:10 through 5K (about 1:09 flat pace) but learned early that wasn't sustainable and went through a slow and painful blowup to 1:13 high. I didn't have the fitness here that I thought and needed to be more conservative, but can't be too upset for going for it and coming up short. 

Grade: C+

Last year I had 10 performances at a C+ or worse, this year only 5 despite racing more. Bulk of 2023 were solid "can't complain" races falling in the B categories. 

23. Pineland Farms 25K- May 27th in New Gloucester, ME

Returned to Cumberland County for the 3rd straight year to race the non-technical groomed trails of pineland farms. I had a great race here in 2021 and completely bombed 2022. I thought '22 was a fluke and I could run close to what I did 2021. This year unfortunately was another struggle for me as I didn't feel great early and faded like I did in 2022. A major difference is I ran tougher here, never packed in it and was running low 7 minute miles near the end versus high 8s. 

Grade: B-

22. Gate River Run- March 4th in Jacksonville, FL

While this was a fun race and first time racing in Florida, my performance wasn't the best here as I faded quite a bit off the 5:30 standard I hoped to achieve all the way to low 6s by the end. This would easily be a C or worse but comes with the qualifier that the conditions were quite bad (75 degrees, 90% humidity) and there wasn't much I could do with that, especially considering having run in much cooler winter RI temperatures. Nothing to be thrilled with, but hardly a disaster either. 

Grade: B-

Note the next 8 races were tough to rank and largely interchangeable, really very small/slight criticisms distinguished these for me. 

21. Gunstock Trailfest Mountain 10K- June 25th in Gilford, NH

I was actually pretty disappointed in my time here and ran pretty any mountainous/difficult terrain slower than I should have. My technical downhill abilities really weren't present either. The saving grace was that I got the win which stands as my only win in mountain running. This was definitely due to the field being weaker than the last few years, but a win is a win regardless and this was a nice one to pull off. So kind of mixed thoughts with my time being on the slow side but being competitive in a mountain race for once. 

Grade: B

20. Millennium Mile- January 1st in Londonderry, NH

This was a totally solid/fine opener in 4:32 for a downhill road mile. I wished to be a little more competitive/slightly faster but really not much to criticize here. 

Grade: B

19. Giant Race 10K- September 3rd in San Francisco, CA

After coming off good runs at Run 4 Kerri and Bobby Doyle, 33:23 wasn't quite the time I had hoped for here. But the race organization was a complete disaster having to navigate around crowds of 5K runners on the sidewalk in the second half which added quite a bit of time. Overall a decent but uninspiring run. 

Grade: B

18. USATF-NE Winter Series 3K- January 8th in Norton, MA (Wheaton College)

Decent track opener getting an easy win. Wanted the sub-9 and ran 9:03, but that was completely fine with solo running on a flat track. Can't expect too much in low key openers like that and this was a good place to work off of. 

Grade: B

17. Suffolk Ice Breaker 3K- January 14th in Boston, MA (The Track at New Balance)

One week after the Winter Series opener, I ran 8 seconds faster for an 8:55 high. But this was a much faster track and I had competition the whole way, so I left wanting a little bit more. Some sloppy racing there waiting too late to make a move and then getting dropped. Another race with an excuse as I was originally going to race the mile but wasn't allowed to and had to wait another 3 hours after which definitely affected how I felt. Overall another fine performance but was hoping for a bit more. 

Grade: B

16. Dogtown Trail Race- May 20th in Rockport, MA

Was happy with this one- went out hard despite not feeling good then after getting caught mid race I picked it up again to get a gap and eventually the win. Second place is a 2:29 marathoner so I wasn't racing slouches either. But overall a pretty low key race and looking back at the effort, I probably could have done a bit better. 

Grade: B

15. Clamdigger 5 Mile- April 16th in Westerly, RI

Good effort here going 26:23 for a small PR without going quite all out. Kept the pace pretty even in the 5:10-5:20 range, picked it up a bit coming back. This one was intended as a workout race shooting for slightly harder than half marathon effort so it doesn't score any higher given I didn't go 100%. 

Grade: B

14. USATF-NE Indoor 3K- February 19th in Boston, MA (Harvard)

This was one of the most disappointing races of the year for me as I was hoping to finally run a 3K PR after many years and had nothing in the tank in the last lap, falling from 3rd to 8th and losing my shot at the PR. But it wasn't really the result of poor racing as we went out way too fast, just how the race went and not quite having it. Still ran my fastest 3K since HS in 8:46, showing there's clearly potential for faster in the future. 

Grade: B

13. Run 4 Kerri- August 6th in South Kingstown, RI

This was a pretty good performance and nice bounce back after a really bad Blessing. Not being in shape and just starting training, I set my goal as 21:30 and pretty much hit that dead-on with a 21:31. Got lazy in the middle, but rallied well when not feeling good and had a strong finish. Good point to work off of going into the fall. 

Grade: B+

12. Spring for the Trails Half Marathon- May 13th in Ipswich, MA

Good intro back in hard trail running after not having any true trail races since 2020. Ran a consistent strong effort and like Dogtown, I went out pretty hard and got caught mid-race but ran a strong second half to win by a decent margin. 

Grade: B+

11. Honolulu Marathon- December 10th in Honolulu, HI

Not quite what I wanted for marathon debut after getting pretty fit- 6 minute positive split to finish in 2:39 when my expectation was closer to 2:33-2:35. But I completed my marathon debut and was satisfied with 14th place. Not the prettiest of results, but given I've never run a marathon before and the conditions were pretty tough with 74 degrees, 80% humidity and 14mph winds this was respectable enough. Just not a top performance on the year. 

Grade: B+

10. Riverhawk Invite Mile- January 28th in Boston, MA (The Track at New Balance)

Looking back, I could have done without this race but it was a strong performance. After racing the last 4 weekends, I went into this one tired and felt considerably worse during the race. But I stayed in it mentally and kicked well to run 0.06 seconds faster than I did the prior weekend for a small PR of 4:25.06. A good performance all around, especially while feeling worse than usual. 

Grade: B+

9. Earth Day 5K- April 22nd in Londonderry, NH

This was a low key and hilly road 5K that I got a easy win in 15:55. Sounds like a solid performance but nothing special, but this is one that I felt could have been a lot better with competition. Felt really strong on this one running about 5:08 pace over a tough rolling course. 

Grade: B+

8. Super Sunday 5K- February 12th in Cambridge, MA

Probably the opposite of Earth Day, this 5K was flat, super competitive and I felt terrible. The race was horribly organized and spent much of the hour before the race waiting in bib pick-up lines and barely getting in any warm-up. Despite that and feeling quite bad during the race, I hung tough enough to eke out a 1 second road PR and improvement over Hartford in the fall, so a good day. 

Grade: B+

7. 5th Avenue Mile- September 10th in New York, NY 

This was a strong performance coming off a lot of travel and low sleep. I wanted to break 4:30 here but had low expectations given I'm not great at the road mile and was pretty tired. Absolutely got it done on race day with a 4:29 (truly 4:28 but NYRR rounded up) and was pleased with that. 

Grade: A-

6. Black Fly in My Eye 10M- June 10th in Gorham, NH

Fun and varied trail race at the base of Mount Washington. Ran strong throughout this one and stayed in the race with some fast competitors. A rare race where I was quite a bit faster than my time goal and was really happy with how I kept up the intensity and effort the whole way. 

Grade: A-

5. GBTC Invite Mile- January 22nd in Boston, MA (Harvard)

Objectively had a great run here- wanted to break 4:30 in the mile and ran 4:25.12 for an over 2 second PR. Got thrown in a loaded heat and held my own. Good range on 2023 running PRs in the mile and half marathon. 

Grade: A-

4. Bobby Doyle Summer Classic- August 13th in Narragansett, RI

Wanted to break 27 in this race based off what I had done at Kerri but felt burnt out and unmotivated. Showed up here and picked people the whole way and even running a rare negative split for a course/race PR of 26:36. Really the best possible result and race I could have run. 

Grade: A

3. Rock 'n' Roll San Jose Half Marathon- October 1st in San Jose, CA

Very happy to run a 27 second PR in the half marathon while in the middle of heavy training. I had yet to get a good run longer road race without tapering to this point, so this was a good indication that I could run strong races in the middle of the season rather than just the end. Ran really strong splits through 8 miles here then the effort caught up with me and I struggled home the last 5K. But a great run for early October when the focus was December.

Grade: A

2. Berkeley Half Marathon- November 19th in Berkeley, CA

7 weeks after San Jose, I was quite a bit fitter and proved that in Berkeley. Ran 31 seconds faster than SJ despite that race having about 150' of elevation and Berkeley having a full 600'. Really strong here over considerable hills and some wind which clearly shows the sub-1:10 is there on a faster course. By far my best race ever on roads. 

Grade: A+

1. Quebec Mega 52K- July 1st in St. Ferreol les Neiges, QC

This was the surprise of the year as I came into my ultramarathon debut with low confidence having not done enough training and never raced longer than 25K. This one threw me right in the lion's den with a brutal course over very rocky, technical terrain, a considerable amount of elevation at 6,500', being a super competitive race and a hot/humid day. I had many reasons to completely fail here and the goal was truly just to finish, but ran strong for most of it only fading a bit in the last third and finished well in 25th place in just over 6 hours. Was very happy with how this went and excited for future trail ultras.

 

Grade: A+

Lots of Bs and few huge successes, but with the vast majority at a B- or better this was a consistent and good year. I'd place both Berkeley and Quebec among my best races ever and both show a lot more potential at those distances.

Breakdown by Seasons

My year was split into two training periods with one major break in the middle. I ran without significant breaks from January to July, took some down time then ran/raced again until December. The first section had sub seasons within and different focuses. 

1a. Indoor Track (January and February)

Headed into 2023, my goal was finally take down some PRs in distances that I hadn't run well in college. The primary focus to run a good 3K and 5K. The season was only somewhat successful. I ran consistently well from week to week with only one bad race and ran a mile PR of 4:25 twice as well as a road 5K PR of 15:35. However, the goals of running a fast 3K/5K were not met. I came just short of the 3K running an 8:46 but never got around to the 5K not feeling confident enough in my abilities to give it a shot. Overall, did some things well and left something to be desired in other areas- a good but incomplete season. Still quite a bit better than I had done in several years. Workouts for this season were pretty disappointing as I generally struggled to get what I wanted done, but I still almost always showed up on race day.

1b. Spring Roads (March to Early May)

My goal after indoor was run at least an abbreviated outdoor season to chase a fast 5K and potentially 3K. I started with the Gate River Run for a fun bucket list race, but this was just okay due to the weather conditions being much hotter than usual. I took several attempts at outdoor track workouts but I just really struggled and wasn't enjoying it, so I decided to shoot for a fast half in early May at Pittsburgh instead. I felt I did great training for 2 months in preparation and got in excellent shape. I raced sparingly but had good tune up runs at Clamdigger and Earth Day. The actual goal race didn't go so well as I went out too fast and faded badly to 1:13, but I felt I had given it a good shot and had some great training behind me. At this point of the year, I felt I had done some great training and raced reasonably well but just hadn't put it together in the key races. 

2. Trails (May to early July)

While I never took true time off post-Pittsburgh, I ran 3-5 miles a day (for non-workout/goal days) for 2 weeks to have somewhat of a down/recovery period. Otherwise, having signed up for the Quebec Mega Trail 52K I needed to get going on longer and technical trail runs to be somewhat prepared for that. I signed up for a bunch of trail races as well to get used to harder trail running again (and have fun!). May was a packed month as right after Pittsburgh, I raced a low key trail race each weekend. Great start winning two events in Essex County, MA convincingly with good runs, but maybe was a bit overraced and burnt out as I couldn't really hold it together at the Pineland Farms 25K. Late May and June I did a handful of longer mountain runs in MA, NH, and NY and it was a lot of fun to return to hilly mountain trails without the ankle stability I had faced the prior two years. June I didn't race as much but ran really well at the Black Fly in My Eye trail race and just okay at the Gunstock Mountain 10K, but at least got a win there. I still didn't feel great going into Quebec with the brutal course and much longer distance, but the race went about as well as it could have and I very much outperformed my expectations. It was a lot of fun and really satisfying to race for so long as well. I finished the season with Loon Mountain Race which was a mistake as I was cooked mentally and physically and ran my only bad trail race of the season. But a successful season overall and probably the best in terms of reaching my goals so far this year. 

3a. Fall Roads (late July to September)

Things changed dramatically in the fall as I moved to Southern California for a master's degree. This led to different training venues than what I would do in RI, with the biggest difference being much hillier. I finished up the time in RI with some rustbuster local road races of Blessing-Kerri-Doyle off pretty much no training. Blessing was a rough start but I came around well for the other two. I had a final races before more serious ones with the Giant Race 10k and the 5th avenue mile which both went reasonably well without doing anything special. 

3b. Fall Roads with Goal Races (October to December)

Like last year, this was absolutely the best season for me. After some decent training, I ran the Rock 'n' Roll San Jose half marathon and did pretty well, running a 30 second PR off what I did at Philadelphia in fall 2022. This was encouraging as I had put in a full block and taper for Philly whereas I was in the middle of heavy training here. I then put in the best training of my life with hilly mid-week workouts in Thousand Oaks, and long runs up to 22 miles on the Ventura Bike path. Weekly mileages peaked in the 88-92 range which was higher than I had ever done before. I went into the Berkeley half marathon with lower expectations given this was serving as a tune up and was quite hilly, but ended up running really well taking 30 more seconds off my PR despite a slower course. The goal race was Honolulu Marathon which didn't go as great running a 2:39 but is good experience in poor marathon weather. 

Unlike 2022, every single season here was at least good and I had positive takeaways from each. The best two were the trail and fall road seasons as I largely accomplished what I set out to do and felt more confident in my abilities going forward. I felt somewhat good about the other seasons but was also missing a good performance in the key races for those. Unlike the last 3-4 years, I didn't have to mention injury once in this recap as I largely got through the year unscathed. Really there were some weeks with some minor pains and discomfort, but nothing that ever truly altered my training. 

Takeaways of the Year

1. I was healthy in 2023. 2023 was my healthiest year since 2016. Every year since then I had at least one injury that required at least a few days to resolve if not more. I ran every day of 2023 and never had any significant issues. I was really happy with this. I definitely got lucky but also attribute much of this to how I train, rarely going super hard in workouts and running a lot of mileage (for me) to keep everything strong. 

2. A very successful return to trail running/racing. I had an excellent 2020 for trail running/racing, running many technical mountain trails, difficult traverses/loops and FKTs while really having fun out there. I took a big step back in 2021 and 2022 with many ankle sprains and twists that limited my trail running and kept me from doing any real trail races. I let things heal in late 2022/early 2023 and successfully returned to technical trails, races and even an FKT in 2023. I really do enjoy trails and it was great to have that back. 

3. I succeeded in running every day. This was satisfying and only done as I was healthy throughout the year. Really glad to cross this off this year as it puts no pressure on me to ever do it again. 

4. The self-training/coaching worked out well. This was my first full year of training alone on my own training plans and I felt it went pretty well. I don't think it's a coincidence that this was my healthiest and best year in some time, I think doing what I felt was good training significantly helped with that versus doing mediocre or poor training when being coached. This is hardly a perfect system though as I certainly bombed my fair share of workouts and running solo most of the time can be challenging, but overall it works out well for me. 

5. My Best Surface is Roads. After some solid early 2023 road races and finishing with good longer road races, I definitely feel my best surfaces is on the roads and I'll continue to race on those as a priority. There's definitely potential with track and trail, but I don't feel as strong comparatively on either. 

6. Track success will have to wait. The only true negative of 2023 for me was not meeting my track goals. I was hoping to have an excellent track season and fully transition to roads/trails after that but still remain hungry for fast track times. It'll come eventually but I'm choosing to focus on roads for now. 

7. Great exploration of the United States. While out of country visits were pretty limited in 2023, I'm okay with that as I definitely got around the country. Highlights were exploring the great lakes region in July, road trip to California in August which was my first time West since 2017 and first time visiting Hawaii. I also still got to all new england states + new york and went to major northeast cities of Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington. I visited Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Nevada and Hawaii for the first time bringing my state total to 40 plus went to 24 states this year alone.

8. Good year for highpointing. I wasn't expecting to get any highpoints this year, but had a window open up, then some weren't far out of the way on certain trips. I got 6 total which is good progress and puts me over the halfway. The good news is I can likely add a few more in 2024 as I have to drive back from California. 

Favorite Places Visited in 2023

-White Mountains, NH: Always a good time here

-Western New York: Watkins Glen, Letchworth and Niagara Falls State Park. Really cool spots for waterfalls

-Michigan/Minnesota Lakeshore: Sleeping Bear Dunes, Pictured Rocks, Gooseberry Falls, Split Rock Lighthouse. Beautiful spots on the some of the largest lakes in the world

-Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard, MA. Nice to get back here, really cool coastline

-Red Rock Canyon, NV. Beautiful canyons just outside Las Vegas

-Pinnacles National Park, CA. Low expectations, but some cool views and rock formations

-Hawaii. Great state and totally different from the rest of U.S.

-Griffith Observatory, CA. Cool views, definitely want to come back

Cities visited for the first time: Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, Chicago, Oakland, Honolulu

Favorite running spots of 2023: Arcadia, Ninigret, Burlingame (RI), Cheeseboro Canyon (CA)

2023 Stats

Total Yearly Mileage: 3,600 Miles, PR. Over 200 miles more than last year. Ran quite a bit more than usual in the fall but lots of low weeks early/late in the year kept this number down. 

Highest Week: 92.51 Miles, PR (October 23 to 29)

Lowest Week: 20.8 Miles (December 11 to 17)

Longest Run: 32.11 Miles (July 1st)

Highest Month: 383 Miles, Big PR (October)

Lowest Month: 226 Miles (July)

Monthly Mileage 2018-2023

# of Days Running: 365 (100%), PR

# of Days Off from Running: 0

Elevation Gain: 215,000', PR

Most Elevation Gain in a Run: 6,585'- Quebec Mega Trail 52K, July 1st

# of Mountain Runs: 10 (+14 hikes)

# of Mountains Summited: 16

Highest Mountain Summitted: Mauna Kea, HI, 13,803' (Huge PR, more than double previous)

Longest Running Streak: 365 Days, huge PR

Longest Non-Running Streak: 0 Days

Coldest Run: 10°F, feels like -4°F in Exeter, RI on February 4th

Hottest Run: 87°F, feels like 85°F in Thousand Oaks, CA on October 6th

# of Races: 28 (most since 2018)

# of Wins: 6 (most in quite a while)

Terrain Breakdown:

Road- 15

Trail- 7

Indoor Track- 6

# of Countries Run In: 2 (US, Canada)

Movies Watched: 118 (down from 141 last year)

Video Games Completed: 2

# of States with Strava Activities: 19 (+DC, QC, ON)

Any runs are included + hikes or walks over 2 miles. Didn't bike once. 

Rhode Island- 193 Activities (44%)

California- 116 Activities (28%)

Connecticut- 50 Activities (11%)

Massachusetts- 16 Activities (4%)

Hawaii- 11 Activities (3%)

New York- 10 Activities (2%)

New Hampshire- 9 Activities (2%)

Michigan- 6 Activities (1%)

Illinois- 4 Activities (1%)

Minnesota- 3 Activities (1%)

Wisconsin- 3 Activities (1%)

Florida- 2 Activities (<1%)

Quebec- 2 Activities (<1%)

Ontario- 2 Activities (<1%)

States with 1 Activity: Maine, Maryland, Vermont, Indiana, Nebraska, Colorado, Nevada + DC

Municipalities with 4 or More Activities:

*New Municipality for 2023

Westerly, RI- 107 Activities

Thousand Oaks, CA*- 58 Activities

Charlestown, RI- 52 Activities

Norwich, CT- 15 Activities

Exeter, RI- 14 Activities

Agoura Hills, CA*- 14 Activities

Groton, CT- 13 Activities

Camarillo, CA*- 13 Activities

Preston, CT*- 10 Activities

South Kingstown- 9 Activities

Stonington, CT- 7 Activities

Ventura, CA*- 6 Activities

Richmond, RI- 5 Activities

Los Angeles, CA*- 5 Activities

Boston, MA- 4 Activities

New York, NY- 4 Activities

Chicago, IL- 4 Activities

Honolulu, HI- 4 Activities

Municipalities with 3 or less activities:

California- Berkeley*, Calabasas*, Irvine*, Manhattan Beach*, Moorpark*, Morgan Hill*, Oakland*, San Francisco*, San Jose*, Simi Valley*

Colorado- Denver*

Connecticut- East Lyme, Ledyard*, New London, Pomfret*, Voluntown

Florida- Jacksonville*

Hawaii- Kihei*, Kona*, Volcano*

Indiana- Beverly Shores*

Maine- New Gloucester

Maryland- College Park*

Massachusetts- Amherst, Cambridge*, Cheshire*, Edgartown*, Ipswich, Lincoln, Mendon*, Milton, Norton*, Rockport*, Wellfleet*

Michigan- Burtchville*, Carp*, Glen Arbor*, L'Anse*, Munising*, Superior*

Minnesota- Minneapolis*

Nebraska- Lincoln*

Ontario- North Bruce Peninsula*, South Bruce Peninsula*

New Hampshire- Derry*, Gilford, Jefferson*, Lincoln, Londonderry*, Waterville Valley

New York- Bolton*, Genessee Falls*, Lexington*, Stony Point, Watkins Glen*

Pennsylvania- Pittsburgh*

Quebec- Beaupre*, St. Ferreol les Neiges*

Rhode Island- Burillville, Hopkinton, Narragansett, West Greenwich

Vermont- Hartford

Wisconsin- Bayfield*, Hill*, Madison

+Washington, D.C.

States/Provinces Run in for the First Time: Colorado, Hawaii, Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada

2023 Heatmaps

Pictorial Highlights

January: Racing at the Track at New Balance (MA)

February: Return to the Armory (NY)

March: Lincoln Park and Chicago Skyline (IL)

April: Good race and win at Earth Day 5K (NH)

May: Return to Trail Racing at Spring for the Trails (MA)

June: Great view off Mount Osceola (NH)

July: Lake George from Tongue Mountain (NY)

July: Middle Falls at Letchworth State Park (NY)

July: Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (MI)

July: Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (MI)

August: Red Rock Canyon (NV)

September: Pacific Ocean near Point Mugu State Park (CA)

October: Rock formations at Pinnacles National Park (CA)

November: San Francisco Bay from Oakland Zoo (CA)

December: Finishing the Honolulu Marathon (HI)

December: Clouds above Mauna Kea (HI)

2024 Goals

 For the 2021 in review post I had no goals. For 2022 I had many and failed many simply due to my move to California or not focusing on races I thought I would. For this year's, I'll split the difference and have a few focused goals. 

Sub-1:10 Half Marathon: Been going for this since 2022 and I think my run at Berkeley definitely showed it's in reach. I'll be going for a few faster halfs for sure in the first half year that I'll get a shot at this. 

30 Highpoints: Wouldn't normally go for this as it's highly dependent on free time/money, but I know I'll be driving back from CA and will have the opportunity to get a handful more. 

Go to more CA national parks: I'd for sure like to get to channel islands as it's pretty close and also Joshua Tree being in Southern California. Otherwise there's a handful within driving distance I'd like to get to but nothing specific. 

Can't think of anything specific/concrete else I'm shooting for so I'll leave that as a wrap on 2023.