Weekly Log: April 18 to 24

Solid week for training, as there are no interruptions with racing. Resume racing on Tuesday (26).

Monday: 8 Miles. 7 Mile East Ave run. Was feeling great going out, really considering going for a 6-flat pace. When I felt good at 6:15, I settled around there. A little hot but pretty easy. It was time to return, but suddenly the heavy and tight thighs came, and it got really hard. Weird run, as usually I feel good coming back but not going out.

Tuesday: 5 Miles, track workout. I felt horrible going in, eating way too close to practice time and the heat (nothing horrible, but I'd run in high 40s over high 60s any day) didn't help either. We received our workout, and only the end seemed bad. 75 (per lap) pace for 1200, then 800, then 400, break, then 5x400 at descending pace (start at 80 and drop 5 secs off each 400). The first 3 didn't feel great as I had a full stomach, but weren't hard either. Recovery was about 2 mins, then 1 min. Splits: 3:41/2:27/71. 6-Minute recovery before the 400s. The first three 400s weren't bad (I hate 400 repeats but they weren't especially fast) but the last 2 hurt a little. Started out too fast, then was right on. About 1 minute recovery for the first, then up to 3 minutes for the later ones. Splits: 71/75/69/63/61. Wasn't feeling too bad during the workout, but felt terrible on the cool-down. Difficulty: 4/5 (probably would've been a 3 with good weather and proper eating).

Wednesday: 8 Miles. Woke up at 11, which was very late. I didn't want to wait around for my run, so I went at 12:30 after planning a route. I would do the moonlight loop. I used this run to try out my Fresh Foam Zante for the first time. These were a cousin of the Fresh Foam, except with slightly less cushioning to allow more speed. And the first mile, all I felt was speed. I felt uncontrollably fast. The next three miles were terrible as they felt tight and were hurting. I adjusted them and they felt fine after that. Last few miles were tough with hills and heat.

Not a photo I took, but this is the same color I have.

Thursday: 5 Miles, a track-hill combo workout. I like the track-hill combo as it's interesting doing two workouts in one, but less of each. We did a set of fingers and one Narragansett hard. I felt great, but my Zante's were weird again. When I put them on they felt loose, yet only a quarter mile later (without adjustment) they felt so tight they were hurting. I don't think these are made for sprints. I may use them for blessing as they feel better for longer distances. Anyway, my hill workout was merely okay as my foot pain slowed me down. We went to the track, and had 3x400 @ 70, a 90% effort 300, and then an all-out 200. We had about a minute recovery between each, a little more for the last ones. This was actually a little fun. As I said before, I'm not a huge fan of 400 repeats, but it was only 3. The 300 was fun. I think I PR'd in the 200. My splits: 69/68/67/44/26. Difficulty: 3/5.

Friday: 10 Miles. Awesome Mystic loop with great locations. My 2nd fastest 10 miler ever (around 1:05), and it didn't feel very tiring. This was a huge strava success, as I went 5 for 5 on segments. Perhaps the first time I've gotten every segment I ran in a run, and I don't know that I've gotten that many in one run before. Definitely enjoy the road running in Mystic. I made two additional segments, taking the top spot on one, and coming in second on another (behind a speedy mystic runner who was the CR holder on I few I took that run).

Saturday: 5 Miles, track workout. I showed up late as I got the times wrong, but I just ended up shortening my warm-up by half a mile. I didn't eat breakfast, so wasn't looking forward to the workout in the humid and wet conditions. We started with 3x400 @70 pace. I ran them a little fast, but none were that tiring. 60 seconds recovery in between each. 69/68/67. Next was an all-out 1200, something I wasn't looking forward. It was slightly better than expected because I got to catch slower runners instead of running by myself. This made it go by quicker, and I finished faster than I expected 3:25. Pretty good practice, around a 4:13 for 1500 and 4:32 mile, just off my best. We concluded with 8x200 @38 seconds each, 20 seconds recovery in-between. It felt easy running them, but became a little tiring immediately after. This was certainly only because of the 1200 before.

Sunday: 10 Miles in Narragansett, before the RISP 5K. This was a good opportunity to explore new roads, but overall I wasn't impressed. Maybe I just picked the wrong route, but I liked very few of the roads I ran on unlike the Friday mystic runs. It didn't feel terrible, but didn't feel great either. My thighs felt tired early on and my entire legs were also feeling it in the last few. I broke my 2nd fastest ten-miler (from Friday), bringing a 6:32 pace down to 6:21. Happy with the run, but it wasn't much fun during.

Weekly Total: 51 Miles (2nd highest week ever)
YTD Mileage: 675 Miles

Two Easy Meets- Weekly Log: April 11 to 17

Double meet week, starting with a dual against NK on Monday then the Injury Fund relays on Thursday.

Monday: 4 Miles.

Started off the week with a dual meet against North Kingstown @the NK track. I had heard it was really hard, so I brought my racing flats, despite the fact that they weren't meant for shorter distances like the 1500, and certainly not the 800. Before the 1500, I tried both spikes and flats on the track. I decided immediately on wearing my spikes, as my flats were much heavier and slower, meant for longer road racing. Didn't feel great during warm-ups, and was genuinely concerned about the nasty stretch of wind on one part of the track.

1500
Unlike the Chariho meet, it didn't take long to get to the 1500. We were off quicker. I thought I would have two competitors, but one dropped out to run the 800. So, it was me vs. an NK runner. I wanted to beat him, of course, but he had the better PR and he had a much better kick than I did. We started. Another NK runner sprinted out and led the first lap. Every time we hit the stretch with wind, it was brutal. I became tired quickly. After a lap, it was just us two. Soon, it became clear he was just pacing off me until the end, and it was confirmed when his coach told him to "wait" to pass me with 300 meters to go. He blew by me easy in the final stretch, finishing 3-4 seconds ahead. I was disappointed both that I lost and that I ran the same time as I did at Chariho, 4:19. I was looking for 4:15 this time, but my slower time made sense with the harsh winds.

800
Next was the 800. I was still tired, and I knew I had no chance of winning. Their top freshmen were racing, and one could beat me easy in any distance, but the other was more of a mid-distance guy. They both ran it for the win, passing me after a lap as I grew tired. They seemed to be running more casually than I was, as it seemed like they were talking. I barely held off a third NK runner in the final stretch. I thought my time wasn't great, but it was actually pretty good. I ran 2:09, which is my fastest time for an open 800 (my PR is in the 4x800 relay), and not too far off my actual PR.

4x400
I was surprised to be in the 4x400, and I was on Westerly's "B team", even though we were slower than the "C team". Our first leg would be about neck and neck with the C team, and we were slightly behind (1-2 seconds). I grabbed the baton (I was 2nd leg) and started to run hard. I felt good as I passed my teammate (2nd leg for C team) easily, but I grew tired quickly and after only 150 meters, I was slowing down. He caught up to me and passed me with 150 meters to go, finishing about a second ahead. My split ended up being .1 seconds faster than his, 58.4 seconds.

Overall, disappointing to be beaten so easily in a Dual meet, but my times weren't bad. Hopefully, I can be right around my PR (4:12) in my next 1500, which won't be until late April.

Tuesday: 8 Miles. I wanted to run a little easier. I forgot my watch, so I had to run with my phone, which is hard to stop, but cool to see the map. I ran a little in moore woods, a nice but extremely small place off East Ave that doesn't allow "jogging". I was a little nervous when walkers gave me some funny looks. I created a segment to hopefully attract more runners in there, but few were on it, possibly because there's so many different paths. Didn't feel great.

Wednesday: 9 Miles, I ran a little in Westerly, then a little in Pawcatuck. Decent run, but I didn't feel that great and took more breaks than I wanted to. I didn't run it hard because of the meet the next day, but I wished I had run it a little easier.

Thursday: 4 Miles, Injury Fund Relays. Wasn't feeling great going into it. I was surprised at the lack of teams there, there were only 6-7 teams. We were the ones that didn't belong, as we were the only ones not coming from an area near providence. There were only two teams with decent distance runners, each with one runner who was around my speed.

The meet took a while to start, but once it did, it went by very quickly. I was running the 3rd leg on the 4x800 team, and anchoring the DMR. It was a quality track (Conley Stadium), and I was hoping my 800 would be good.

4x800
It was an odd meet, as it was only relays and it was so low-key. I wasn't very nervous, even when I was about to run. Our first runner did very well, putting us in second with a big PR of 2:15. We dropped to a close third, but the first team opened up a gap on the 2nd team with the second leg. Then I was up. I grabbed the baton and ran out hard. My thighs felt heavy, but other than that my first lap felt good. I passed the second runner early, then passed the next with 400 to go. I was getting tired and felt that I was slowing, but I ended up opening a 60 meter gap and running a huge PR of 2:04.8, much faster than I expected. We ended up finishing in 3rd because the anchor legs on the other teams were fast.

DMR
I only got about 20 minutes recovery between the 4x800 and DMR since the meet was moving quickly. The lead runner was the same, and he started us out well in third (I think) place. Our 400 runner was likely to be passed, as he was a distance runner, not a sprinter, but ended up running very well for himself and not giving up a place. Our 800 runner kept the third place, and then I got the baton. I wasn't feeling great, as the 800 took a lot out of me. I even threw up a little before the race. I noticed my tired legs early on. The anchor leg was a real race, as we were very close to the 2nd team. Both the first and second team put their top guys as anchor, from Classical and North Providence respectively. The Classical runner was capable of a 4:25 mile, while the North Providence was more a mid-distance guy, but still ran around a 4:35 mile. I ran about a second behind the North Providence runner for lap, who made up the gap on the Classical runner. After another lap, I closed the second gap between me and the North Providence runner. 800 to go, this was a real race now. I was tiring, but neither were pushing the pace, and I kept swinging outside, considering making a move. Every time I did, I became too tired to pass. With 400, it was a close race, but I never had the strength to make a move. The Classical runner kicked with 200 to go, taking the win. I stayed around a second behind the North Providence runner at the finish. I ran 4:35 for 1600, a one-second PR. I was a little disappointed I was unable to pass either, but was satisfied with my time, especially as I didn't get much recovery.

Overall, a fun day that brought me two new PR's. Neither race felt great, but it was nice to run a low-key, relays only meet.

Friday: 5 Miles. I wasn't feeling great, as my legs weren't recovered from the meet. I cut my run short, and still felt crappy in the little running I did do.

Saturday: 7 Miles. Hill and Track workout. We started with 2 sets of fingers, minus the last hill on Bellevue (for the 2nd one). We then concluded with 6x200 @ 33s each. Not too bad. Difficulty: 3/5. I got extra mileage with longer warmups and cooldowns.

Sunday: 0 Miles. I've been told to take the day off. I'll probably volunteer at Clamdigger.

Weekly Total: 37 Miles (lot less than usual)
YTD Mileage: 624 Miles

First Races of the Season- Weekly Log: April 4 to 10

Monday: 5 Miles. I was happy that the meet was postponed as I wasn't feeling it and I still had a minor cold. Unfortunately, we ended up having a nasty treadmill run because it was very cold and  wet outside. 10 minutes @ 9mph, before switching to a brutal 20 minutes @ 10.5 mph (5:42 pace). It was tough, and not fun at all. Dripping with sweat during that time.

Tuesday: 9 Miles. I was planning on running a little easier before the meet, but ran a little too hard and too far. Checked out some of the neighborhoods off canal. It was a just okay run. A little chilly at first, but fine once I got going.

Wednesday: 5 Miles. Meet @ Chariho HS vs. Chariho, Prout and Narragansett. I was running the 1500 and 3K, not sure how either would turn out, depending on what shape the top Chariho competitor was in. I thought I could win the 1500, but the 3K might be real race. Since it was the first meet, I was only looking for 4:15 and 9:15. I adjusted my goal when I got there and it was very windy. There was plenty of time before the 1500 went off. Got lots of strides, but wasn't feeling great. It was cold taking sweats off, and I was a little nervous lining up.

When the race started, I wasn't ready to go out fast and let others take it. After 10 seconds, I was in second behind the top Chariho runner. I was planning on making my move at 600 meters to go, but with 900 to go he was slowing and passed for the lead. Someone went right with me. The pace didn't feeling extremely aggressive or tiring but my thighs were tights and I didn't feel great so I didn't pick it up. I waited until 300 to go to start kicking, but it wasn't until the last 100 when I went all out. I ran 4:19, 5 seconds ahead of the next runner (prout). The Chariho runner finished 5 seconds behind him.

I froze before the 3K, and wasn't looking forward to it. My coach said he wasn't expecting a fast time in the cold and just to pace off the others. I ran closely behind two Chariho guys, one being the fast runner who ran the 1500. After 1000 meters, one dropped off. I paced with the other one for another 600, before taking the lead. I picked it up and pushed the last few laps, taking the win easily in a slow 9:41, must slower than I expected. However, this wasn't too hard to do. This was the first meet where I noticed how hard Chariho's track is, as my feet were hurting in the 3K. Definitely a confidence booster for the rest of the season, as I know I could've run both much harder.

Thursday: 7 Miles. I was planning on going a little easier today pace-wise, but not cut much off the distance. The light rain felt good at first, but when it started down pouring it was not fun. The rain was stinging me. I wasn't sure whether to take my heavy shirt off to feel lighter or to keep it on for protecting against the stinging rain. I took it off, but the rain hurt a few times. I stopped a few times to get out of the brutal rain. One time the entire side of the street was basically a 2-inch stream, and I got soaked even more. Pick-ups were tough on the track.

Friday: 9 Miles. Broke my fastest training run PR again, as I ran 5:57 pace for 8.5 miles. It got very tough at the end, as my thighs were getting tired. Very happy with run. I also PR'd for 10K distance (Strava says 36:58).

Saturday: 4 Miles. Another brutal track workout. Increasingly fast 400s and 200s. 4 each, with increasing recovery, going from 15s to 45s to 105s, before a 5-minute recovery before the next set.
Target splits were: 75/70/65/60, 37/34/31/28. Ran about: 73/70/63/59, 35/31/30/29. Next was a hard 1200, and I wasn't feeling great. Target time was 3:36 (72 per lap). The first lap wasn't bad, but I felt horrible in the next two and felt like I was running 90s. Somehow I stayed on pace and ran 3:36 exactly. I was surprised and unhappy to find that we had an all-out 300 after. I was so tired, but pushed it and ran 43 seconds. Threw up and coughed a lot after. Difficulty: 5/5. Possibly one of the hardest workouts I've done.

Sunday: 11 Miles. First time really getting to explore Carolina management area. After the very disappointing Great Swamp, I was happy to be very satisfied with these trails. They were really fun. I was looking for 8, but since we got lost it was 11. Good for mileage, but bad for a shakeout. Hopefully, I'll be recovered for tomorrow's meet.

Weekly Total: 50 Miles
YTD Mileage: 587 Miles

Happy I got in my second fifty mile week ever, also my 2nd highest week ever. I went too long on a few runs, but I also went too short on a few too. I didn't expect this. I'll probably be high 40s-low 50s next week, then with no meets the week after, I might get in a high 50s.

Last Week without Races- Weekly Log: March 28 to April 3

These last five weeks have been really nice. Why? Because I wasn't doing track races. It started with a five days, two road races, a moderate week, and then track started. It's been somewhat fun since it's just training and no racing (track races are stressful), but the solo distance runs from the high school are not fun at all. Wednesday the 5th will mark my first outdoor track race since June 26th, my first track race since February 28th, and my first race since March 5th. The first two weeks were solid, but this one was by far the best.

Monday: 10 Miles. This was one of the few times I had been instructed to run 55 minutes (8 miles) instead of 50 (7 miles). I wasn't happy with the change as I already hated the school runs, but decided this would be a good opportunity to a run a longer loop. And then I realized I don't know any 8 mile loops as I'm not used to running that. I chose a 6-mile loop which went up old Hopkinton road (I hadn't run there since Feb.), across potter hill, and down canal. I also added on a granite street loop first to make more mileage. My fastest run from the school previously (for 7+ miles) was 6:23 pace, on several equations. When I was running much faster than that, I didn't want to slow down and pushed the pace, despite the constant rolling hills. These hills were quite tiring, and I was out of breath a few times. I took a detour on autumn, and even took the CR on hardwood down (a super steep downhill). I ended up finishing in 6:14 average pace, but ran a little long (8.5 miles). So happy with this run.

Tuesday: 4 Miles. I know, it's a big switch from 10 miles daily to 4, but that how the distance to workout mileage usually will be. Fast vs. long. We had six park ave repeats, which I was not expecting. I was not feeling well as I had a full stomach, but I felt much better than expected. Even though it felt decent, I wasn't satisfied as I came nowhere near any of my best times, which seems to be a problem with recent hills workouts. Difficulty: 2/5.

Wednesday: 9 Miles. After the hilly 6:14 average pace run, I was ready to back off a little. I was shooting for 6:20-6:25 today, and planned to avoid the hills. I was starting to craft out a distance pace plan, something like Very Hard Monday (6:10-6:15), Hard Wednesday (6:20-6:30), moderate Friday (6:45-6:55), easy Sunday (7:10+). I noticed that I've been doing this for the last weeks, and would like to stick with it, adjusting for racing. So I went to river road to avoid the hills, and went out hard immediately. Early on, I was experiencing annoying blasts of wind and lots of pain at and below my ankles. I even had to stop a few times because of it. When I finally got going (after two breaks), it was not any easier, but felt slightly better and I cruised at a 6:08 average pace until the turnaround points. Took a final break before returning, which felt great, expecially with the wind. I ended up getting 6:03 average, marking a new fastest training run (although I took three breaks vs. zero breaks Monday). Obviously, I was thrilled with this run.

Thursday: 6 Miles. I figured it would be two easy workouts Thursday and Saturday. I was very wrong, as Thursday's workout was one of the hardest ever. I was shocked when I was given a target pace of 2:17 for two 800s, as that was around mile pace. I happened to be a little sick that day, which would make matters even harder. The first 400 felt great for the first one, but then I got tired on the second especially with a blast of wind in the face on the first straightaway. There was 2-minute rest before the next one, which was extremely tiring. Splits: 2:16/2:18. We had another rest before an all-out 400. I was worried the recovery was not enough and thought I would run around 62, but I ended up running 58, tying a second-best time ever. We concluded with 4x400 w/60s recovery, which were only tough since we were very tired. Target of 71s, splits: 71/70/71/69. Difficulty of Workout: 5/5.

Friday: 10 Miles. I was surprised that the 55 minutes had been moved up to 60 minutes, meaning an additional mile. I ran a rolling hills CT neighborhood loop, but it was not enough as I was at 5 when I needed 9. I didn't feel great at first but felt better as the run progressed. It was annoying I had to add on so much after completing a bigger loop, but I got it done. I wasn't thrilled about having to do so much, but at the same time I was happy I might have a PR in weekly mileage.

Saturday: 4 Miles. I didn't expect another 4. We ran 2 fingers in the rain, and they were tough, but partially because I was still sick. I got through them, but parts were tiring. It was fun running in the rain, though. We did some pointless and extremely tiring sprints in the gym after.

Sunday: 10 Miles. I wanted to back off the pace as I was supposed to have a meet the next day (later moved to Wednesday). I was looking for high 7s pace on trails, but suddenly I had to run roads, and I ended up going way too fast. It was also much colder than I would've liked, and extreme winds near the water didn't help.

Weekly Total: 53 Miles
YTD Mileage: 537 Miles

I don't usually write after the weekly total section, but I'd like to point out that this break my previous weekly mileage PR of 49, also marking the first time I've run 50 in a week. The fast paces at which I did this really boost my confidence for longer races like Blessing and even some 10Ks, but my difficulty with the workouts lately has hurt my confidence for track races.

Weekly Log: March 21 to 27

Monday: 8 Miles. Pleased with the result, but felt horrible during the run. Cold going out against then wind, and a rather disgusting bathroom break. I was happy to get onto the beach, until the bad slope made for uneven and uncomfortable. When it finally stopped, I had lots of stomach distress and more bathroom problems. Horrible and chafing final two miles.

Tuesday: 4 Miles. 4x400 w/50 seconds recovery. 3-minute break between #6 and #7. Way under the 71 splits I supposed to do, but surprised how consistent I was. 76/69/68/68/67/66/67/67/67/67/67. Last three I was hurting a little. Good workout. Difficulty: 4/5.

Wednesday: 8 Miles. Now, my target pace for my school runs is 6:25 pace for 7 miles. Usually, I feel good running this pace until mile 4 or 5, but it never gets brutally hard. Wednesday was a struggle. I started running in the neighborhood that the old pumpkins was held in, and all my leg strength and energy faded on Gardner hill. The rest of the run, I was fading and avoiding any hills. I had to stop a few times to catch my breath, but eventually worked my way up to a 6:26 average pace. Happy with the run, but felt horrible.

Thursday: 5 Miles. Was hoping for and expecting an easy track workout, but got hills instead. 6 repeats of Narragansett. Like Wednesday, I was much more tired than usual. I struggled with the hills wasn't close to my best times. However, I finished strong on the last one. It was harder than usual, but not brutal. Difficulty: 3/5.

Friday: 8 Miles, fun mystic loop. I think the best time of day to run is around 4-5 in the afternoon as you're probably less tired and more time to fuel yourself. This one was at 5. I really enjoyed the mystic roads, and even took two segments. First 5 miles were low 7s pace, then final two were much faster. Last mile was 5:54 pace. Very happy with this run. Felt much better than pervious two days.

Saturday: 6 Miles, track workout. The Saturday workouts are always brutal, so I was expecting one of the hardest workout I've ever. It wasn't as hard as I expected, but certainly not easy. Two sets of 200s, 18 in total. First was 12x200, 34 seconds each w/30 seconds recovery. I felt good until the 8th or 9th when my thighs started to feel heavy. I was running about 33s for each. We got a 5-minute break then 6x200 (originally planned as 8), 29 seconds each w/90 seconds recovery. These were very hard, as they were pretty much all-out for me and my legs were already tired. I was a few seconds off on some on them. Difficulty of workout: 4/5.

Sunday: 8 Miles, first time at great swamp management area. The perimeter trails around the swamp was pretty awesome (as are most trails with water views), but it was impossible to find the segments and the other trails were not impressive and reminded me of some of the boring Westerly grills trails. Felt horrible for most of the run, clearly lacking energy. Disappointed with the place, and don't have much interest in returning. Other trails I'd like to check out include green falls/tippecansett, John H. Chaffee Preserves, Trustom Pond, and Carolina Management Area.

Overall, a pretty solid week. While I didn't feel great on many runs, I was satisfied with the final result of all of them. Pretty good workouts too. Last week is the final week before I start having track meets.

Correction from Last Week's Log
Last week I said that Field Street is the worst hill locally, but after running Gardner hill on Wednesday, I think that is worse.

Weekly Total: 47 Miles
YTD Mileage: 484 Miles

Two Races, One Day

On my first Saturday off I tried out something new- running two races in one day (excluding track races). I did this because the offseason is very short, especially this one and I wanted to enjoy it. The first month of the sport is fun, but running from the school is just so boring now, and the championship is stressful. So I was happy to come off my indoor season that ended in disappointing results to the offseason. I hadn't run a race since January 9th, the URI Classic, that I actually enjoyed, so I wanted to get back to road racing.

I woke up around 6:30, cooked a little bit of pasta and ate it, even though it was probably too close to my first race- the Hare Hop 5K. This was in Mystic, done by Jeffrey Anderson of Kelley's Pace. While I was looking forward to running it, I decided that I would hold back and run it at my target tempo pace (about 5:40), and hopefully I could come in 2nd behind Jonny Hammett. I didn't think there would be much competition other than him. We got to Mystic around 7:30.

Hare Hop 5K
Mystic, CT
March 5, 2016
7:59 AM EST

I warmed up with Dad, a short and easy jog through the parking lot. I had gotten my pre-race bathroom break out of the way, but I wasn't quite sure if I had to go again. It was about 10 minutes before the start that I had a moment of panic, as I didn't have my racing flats, but the problem was quickly solved. When I went to strip to race gear, I was feeling cold. Really cold. Obviously, I was shorts. That was a no brainer. I had my singlet and I was wondering if it would be too cold. Yes, I stepped of the car and immediately decided I would have to wear something else. Gloves, armsleeves, or both? The thing was, while I have really been enjoying the armsleeves this winter, I've never raced in them before. I put them on, then got the weird armsleeve feeling, and decided to ditch them. But my fingers get cold easily, so I wore gloves.

I jogged over to the start about five minutes before. I was cutting a little closer than I wanted to. I didn't do any strides, which would've been stupid if I was running it all out. But, this would be a slow race (for winners), so it was okay. Walked towards the front, spotted a few WTAC runners, and I lined up on the left side of the start, but not quite up to the line as there was a mat there. I spotted Jonny Hammett on the right side...and holy crap. I was amazed by the number of fast-looking guys. There were about 10 guys who looked like they could break 18, and I was wondering if I'd have to settle for top 10. I was getting cold, as we still had a few minutes before the start. With about a minute to go, I lined up on the line next to Jonny, who had moved over to the left side. I wasn't planning on taking a front row spot, but since it was open, I figured I might as well. The countdown began, and soon we were off.

The Start

Mile 1
I ran out slow, letting 10 or 15 people get ahead of me. After a quarter mile, I was no longer liking the slow start, so I passed a few guys. I was staring at my watch as we exited the parking lot. I was in about 7th or 8th, trying to run 5:45 pace. At the half mile mark, I was starting to notice how horrible I felt. It wasn't difficult at all to run 5:45, but my thighs felt heavy and locked into the pace. By the end of the mile there was plenty of separation. Jeffrey Wadecki was leading it out hard and had opened up a big lead. Next was Jonny and a young armsleeve runner, probably around my age. They seemed neck and neck, but I can't remember exactly. Then there was my group, who had fallen 20-30 meters behind the chase pack. I had moved up to fifth, but there were one or two guys right behind me and I was right on the guy in front of me. I also started to notice the discomfort in my stomach. I had eaten way too close to the start was feeling a full stomach effect.The mile ended as we finally got off Coogan Boulevard and turned onto Jerry Browne Road. Split- 5:44, right on pace.

Mile 2
We turned off Jerry Browne shortly after and onto the worst hill of the course. I wanted to pick it up a little, so I passed into 4th. I saw that my average pace was slowing on the gradual climb, and picked it up. The 5th guy and the small pack dropped off me as they couldn't match my pace. I felt like I was gaining on the Armsleeve runner, who had dropped a few seconds back from Jonny. We got to the top, and I watched the top runners go around the turnaround. There was a thirty second gap between 1 and 2, a three or four second gap between 2 and 3, a ten to fifteen second gap between 3 and 4, and a five second gap between 4 and 5. We go back down the hill, and I don't use to my advantage, but rather coast down it smoothly. (It wasn't actually smooth: my thighs still felt heavy and stomach full).
We turned back onto Jerry Browne, then Coogan Boulevard. No one was close behind me, and I was definitely gaining on the armsleeve runner. Mile 2- 5:34, a little fast.

Mile 3
I kinda felt like closing the gap, but it would require going faster than tempo and could possibly ruining my next race. I did anyway, not going all out. I began to pick it up to a 5:25 pace, slowing hunting down the armsleeve runner. It was clear that he was slowing, as he had fallen back. I was just thinking about finishing and not running with a full stomach, so I didn't have intentions to pass him, but to come up close. I didn't want to put too much effort into this race. It took quite a while to close the large gap. With a third of mile to go, I was only two seconds behind him. I was going to let it be that way, but right before the hill, Dad said something like "Try and pass to get third.". This gave me a push, as I realized I wanted top three. I pushed the hill a little, getting right on his shoulder. Then, I soared past him on the downhill. Jonny was the next runner, but he was way out of reach. I was pushing it now. I was starting to kick with what I had left, then I realized there's still a quarter mile to go around the parking lot. I didn't make the extra surge because of it, but was still running pretty fast. I look back at a turn, and saw I had opened up a huge gap on 4. I thought he would be a little stronger at the end. I was gaining on Jonny a little, but there wasn't enough distance to close it. I sprinted the last straightaway.

The Big Gap

The Kick

My time was announced as 17:31, but official time was 17:33. My watch said 5:31 pace, which is a low 17s, so I guess I ran wide on turns or something. A good race, I enjoyed the course, and probably would've had a lot of fun if I wasn't running with heavy thighs and a full stomach.

The Finish

Ocean's Race Strategy
So here's what I was originally planning for Ocean's Run. I wanted to break 22, so sub-5:30 pace. I wasn't completely sure if I could do it, as I took some time off and hadn't been training for anything over two miles. I thought I'd be at least close though. I think, for me, if I want to run the fastest time I can, I need to go out fast. I wanted to go out fast, a 5:20 first mile. This may be a little tiring, but shouldn't be too hard on the flat sections of Misquamicut. I'd try to hit a 5:30 second mile, which may be a little tough, and then my third mile would like be slow as I'd be very tired. I'd try to run a 5:30, but it would likely be 5:40. That would put me at 5:30 average, and I'd hope to just run under 5:30 in the last mile.

After Hare Hop, I really doubted I could do that because of how tight my thighs were. I'd try it out to see if I could, but would just be happy to PR. A short warm-up felt okay, then I was going to do a few strides since I was racing it hard. It didn't happen. As I was getting my flats ready, they called people over for the start, despite it being 12 minutes early. Dad and other WTAC members headed over, probably a little nervous. I was freaking out a little, though, as they were in their gear and I was not. I put on my flats as quickly as I could, stripped down to singlet, gloves, and shorts and ran over. And then they announced it won't start for a few minutes. Great, thanks for rushing me. Soon, they told us we would follow a biker on an immediate right to fix the distances. I made the decision to go out hard. I never questioned or thought about the change, because I thought that's what a reliable director would do, and I forgot it wasn't a reliable director (distance errors many times in the past). Not only that, but I was focused on this race, ready to push the pace.

Ocean's Run 4-Miler
Westerly, RI
March 5, 2016
9:13 AM EST

Fast Start
I was ready as soon as the gun went off (I don't think it was a gun, but I can't remember what started us). Immediately, I was running an extremely fast pace, no one going with me. I noticed this and slowed a tiny bit. When the biker led us out on Atlantic, I didn't know where we were going. Soon came a sudden very sharp turn around a guardrail. My lead kept extending, but then soon someone was chasing after. He was closing in on me and was right behind at the end of chute with the guardrail. I was running about 5-flat average pace, as I was constantly monitoring pace. I was happy with this: it felt much better than I expected. Next came another turn, this time wide, before entering a similar guardrail chute. We ran to the end of that, then onto the planned course.

Big Lead, Except for the Guy Closing in on Me

Mile 1: I started to get a little tired half a mile in. This is where the runner passed me. I noticed that my body felt great (no tight thighs/full stomach). The average pace going down, around 5:10. The runner was right behind me, and eventually would pass me on the west edge of Misquamicut Beach parking lot. He was wearing much more gear than I was and was wearing earphones, but looked fit as a runner (I would later find out this was Geoff Nelson, or at least I think it was, based off results). I ran behind him for about a minute, before he started to talk to me. He asked me if I was running the 4-miler, and once I answered yes, he asked what pace I was looking for. When I answered 5:30, he said "I can get you there." I guess I was going to pace off him, which was not something I was expecting but I suppose it would help. Since he was running the half, it was clear he was a very fast runner. I ran close behind him for the rest of the mile, split- 5:16. Right on target.

Mile 2: I was getting tired on Maplewood, and he opened up a few meters on me. This was not good. I was ready for him to turn around and say pick it up, and I would respond that I couldn't. The full stomach feeling was coming back a little, although not so bad this time. He did turn around and said something I couldn't hear, although it didn't sound positive. I closed the gap and got right back on him at the slight incline on Ocean View Highway. I was next to him at the top. Mile 2- 5:29. Perfect.

The Wrong Turn/Off-Course Running: Somehow, I regained some energy after going up Ocean View and I felt more confident. I stayed pretty much on his shoulder, worrying about pace, not course. I was pretty sure the turn was on Crandall, so when I passed Uzzi I didn't even about turning. But, I did look down. And I saw the red arrows. Even though the director clearly said turn at the red arrows, I interpreted this as take the next right. So, I kept going, feeling strong, but now slightly worried. Then I got to Crandall. There were no red arrows. There was no one there. I was panicking a little, realizing the turn was on Uzzi. Geoff Nelson kept going and I tried to alert him, but his earphones must have blocked out the sound. I made the decision to turn on Crandall. Crandall was great. The sun came out and warmed me up. I regained more energy, and picked up the pace while still feeling pretty comfortable. I was worried, but realized Crandall is parallel to Uzzi and that I could fix my mistakes. That didn't keep from wondering if my race was over and looking back a few times. One of those times, there was someone there, telling me that I had led other runners off-course. When I turned off Crandall and onto Atlantic, I looked right and saw a course marshall at the intersection of Uzzi and Atlantic, confirming I had run off course. But at least now, I was back on.

Keeping It Fast: When turning off Atlantic and onto Crandall, my watch beeped and I received mile 3 split- 5:24. This was so much faster than I expected, a good indication that I would break 22. And I still had a lot more left. I kept running in the 5:20s, feeling good about my race again. But, then when I was at 3.2 miles, I got worried again. I still had to run to second street, run second street and rabbit run, run winnapaug, and then return on Atlantic. It seemed like more than 0.8 miles, so I was nervous. I passed course marshals, keeping the pace fast. When I turned off rabbit run at 3.7 miles, I was sure the course would run long. I didn't know how long, so I kept running fast, although I slowed a little.

Jogging it In: So I didn't really jog it in, but I became more and more upset as I ran towards Atlantic Ave. I turn at 4 miles, and still had plenty to go. My mile 4 split was 5:28, indicating my time would've been not only sub-22, but under 21:40 (it would've been 21:38, measured perfectly). I slowed down so much, as a great race where I crushed my expectations had been ruined. I got to the final turn, running on the right as I was about to turn into the chute on right. As if I wasn't angry enough, the volunteer yelled at me. "What are you doing?". I didn't know what to say, so I kept running, really slow now. "Are you running the half?" He yelled. I told him I wasn't, and he yelled that I shouldn't be running on the left (I had only turned to the right a few moments before) and that I should be following the (apparently obvious) directions (that were never given). I was really mad about this, and slowed down even more, running in at a 6:10 pace.

When I finished everyone around the finish was happy for me, but I was extremely upset. The rest of the experience was crappy. The food was crappy, my awards were bad, and no one apologized for ruining for race. What's even worse is that the half was ruined, running an extra half mile long. This was clearly caused by an unnecessary and rather horrible extension of the course at the beginning.

My final time was 23:23, almost two minutes off what I actually ran. The only good thing that came out of the race is that I performed well, and that it showed me I can easily break 22. Unfortunately, this was the time to do it, as I coming off a season with good training. My next 4-miler will be in summer, Run 4 Kerri. Then, there's a good chance it will be very hot and I won't have good training in my legs. Even if I did manage to break 22 then, it's likely I wouldn't be that far under.

Even though Trimom has just now acknowledged their long course (only for the half, but I guess it applies to both) via email, there didn't seem to be much apology there, and I'm fairly certain that I will never do this race again. At least Hare Hop 5K was well done. If it was the other way around (Ocean's run first as warmup, then run hare hop hard), it would've been great race day. My next race is the first dual meet in early April, and my next race with WTACers is Backroad Ramble.

Back to Track- Weekly Log: March 14 to 20

And after less than 10 runs in the off-season, it's back to track. Unlike Indoor Track, the first meet for outdoor is the first day of the fourth week. Even though there were a few cool aspects of track starting, I wasn't looking forward to it at all. So, I was surprised how well it went.

Monday: 7 Miles. I got there with little interest in running, and my body wasn't feeling great either. I was told to run with the new and a few returning distances. I was supposed to run easy for 15 minutes, then pick it up to a high 6s and see what shape everyone was in. Two immediately felt back and eventually dropped off on the speed increase, while the other stayed close to me until the final hill, where he fell off.

Tuesday: 5 Miles. First track workout of the season. Usually, we do a timed (all-out) mile on the second day of practice. So, I was a little surprised that we were actually doing a workout. We ran the same pace for four distances, each time dropping 400m off. About 2 mins recovery in-between, I ran 1600/1200/800/400. Something like: 5:06/3:42/2:28/73. Was so surprised how tiring this was, then realized it was because it was a humid day, and certainly not because I was out of shape. That, and I was a little sore from the stretching I am not used to. Difficulty of Workout: 3/5.

Wednesday: 8 Miles. I felt good early in the run, and knew that this would be one of my faster. However, only two miles in, I was very tired from running 6:15 pace and my legs started to hurt. One of the rare runs where I ran from school to house (or close to house) and back. Struggled through, especially with hills, but was very pleased with end result: 7 miles at 6:23 pace, tying my faster ever 7-mile run. (8 total because warm-up/pick-ups).

Thursday: 4 Miles. Today we did the timed mile (actually 1600), and I was really wishing Tuesday's and Thursday's runs were reversed. I wasn't great again, and the strides felt horrible too. Then we were off. I was very happy with my first 400, as I came through in 66, which would be my opening split in a perfect mile race. Then it felt apart. I got really tired, and slowed down a lot. I obviously wasn't coming near 4:30, but I hoped to break 4:40. I didn't get my 800 and 1200 splits, but was told I was on pace for sub-4:40. Didn't happen. I crossed the line in 4:43, tying my best practice time. I was so disappointed in this, as I felt I should be able to run at least a 4:35 in practice, and certainly ran it all out. I also timed my kick horribly, not picking it up until 50 meters to go. We ran 12x100 on the grass field, I was supposed to run 16s, which was about what I ran.

Friday: 8 Miles. I was too worn out from all the unexpected hard runs earlier in the week, so I wasn't going to attempt another 6:20 run, like Tuesday. I thought about running a 6:50 average, but decided to run with a slower group for a few miles at 7:20 pace, then break off and attempt 6:30 splits. My legs and feet hurt again, but it felt much better than Tuesday's run and went by quickly. I found this cool road called Captain's Drive of Beach Street, which had many different colored houses. I was frustrated by the amount of times I had to run dead ends/extra loops to make 7.

Saturday: 4 Miles. Based off Tuesday and Thursday, I thought we were immediately going to get into hard training. The workouts were much harder than the starting workouts in cross country and indoor. But, we ended up doing our first hill workout at the worst hill locally: Field Street. I made the mistake of remembering it to be a lot easier than it was. It has an easy section, then a very steep but short section. It became tiring to do this several, but never got extremely difficult and I actually enjoyed it. On the first one, the next runner was close, but after that everyone dropped way off. Palmer Street is parallel to Field, which looks much tougher. Also parallel to Field is Locust Ave, an interesting name. Difficulty of Workout: 3/5.

Sunday: 9 Miles. I was planning ten, but completely and wildly underestimated how tough the Yawgoog trails were. While the trails were somewhat cool, I would say that I disliked it. Frequent technical climbs and rocky sections slowed the average pace to over 10 minutes, something I don't experience often. I usually enjoy trails more than roads on an average run (but I much prefer to race roads), this was a step out of my comfort zone and far too technical for me. While some of Yawgoog trails were tolerable, I really did not like the trails near Long/Ell Pond as they were much too rocky and steep, even getting to a 16-minute average pace. My first mile was over 13 minutes, perhaps my slowest ever.

This week was great. The only low point was the 1600 being much slower than I expected it to be. This first week of track was much different from other seasons in two ways: it was harder and I wasn't immediately sure that I was the best distance runners. Freshman cross country and freshman track aside (first season I was unsure of my placement/second season I had someone close to me returning), I've been far ahead of the rest of the field. This time, there were three possible people who could be better than me.

Person #1: I actually had never this guy before the first day of track. The only reason I thought he might be a fast distance runner is because he looked good enough to be in the Olympics. He looked like a great runner. And then he went with the sprinting group, showing no interest or experience in distance running.

Person #2: This guy is a german foreign exchange student. Apparently he was an athletic standout and also told me he beat my score on the pacer, which is not an easy thing to do. While this wasn't the best standard of measuring speed, it scared me a little. He became a distance runner, but after he couldn't keep up the entire run on Monday, and was far behind on the week's workouts, it was clear he wasn't close to speed level.

Person #3: The final person with potential had recently moved from China. I never would've considered him as a runner, until several people told me he runs a 15-minute 5K. He actually missed the first two practices, which scared me a little a more. Then, after talking to him, he had no idea was distance running was and went with the sprinting group, claiming his 15-minute 5K was a thing of past. Two days later, an athlete told the coach he used to run a 15-minute 5K, and he was put with the distance group. The runner didn't do well on the group run Friday, but surprised me when he kept up with me on pick-ups and almost beat me when I raced him. He said he was injured, and would need training to back in shape.

So for now, I'm still Westerly's #1 distance runner. But, we'll see.


Weekly Total: 45 Miles (much higher than I expected for the first week of track)
YTD Mileage: 437 Miles