Weekly Log: September 26 to October 2

After all the frequent racing last week, this week is a nice break. One more on Monday, then the rest off. We were originally planning on having a dual meet against Stonington at Bradford Preserve, but that didn't work out and was replaced with training.

Monday: 6 Miles, Third XC Dual Meet. Out of the dual meets, this one would be by far the most competitive with North Kingstown bringing plenty of front-runners and also a fast toll gate runner in the field. At all the other dual meets this seasons, I was able to get a big lead, but at this one I wouldn't even win and possibly be challenged for second place. I knew NK sophomore Sam Toolin would take the win, but thought I had a decent chance at second place, although I was worried about Toll Gate junior Nik Reygadas. The course was at Rocky Point park, a relatively new course. I was originally excited to run here, but after hearing it was 3-laps, I was unsure what to think of it. After looking at the course in person, I wasn't looking forward to it. It was actually 3.5 laps, completely on grass. Even worse was that there was a very windy stretch we would run 3 times. I wasn't able to get in a complete warm-up, although it wasn't as bad as my lack of warm-up at the first dual meet. I wasn't feeling great on the warm-ups. Toolin said he would be sitting on me at this race, but at this point I was so used to it that I didn't mind.

We started. The first stretch was a slight uphill across a field before taking a right and heading towards the water. Several ran out hard, including some that didn't belong there. I was in second at first, then passed to take the lead. I took a wrong turn (continued instead of taking a left), but was quickly corrected and back on track. Reygadas had this place as his home course and starting giving directions. I understood the rest of that course, just not that turn. He led until the end of the windy part, before I took the lead again with Sam right behind me. I was already feeling drained from the fast start, the wind, and possible leftover fatigue from other races. I wasn't happy to have 2.5 laps left and was also slightly worried I might get DQ'd for the wrong turn (only because the TG coach mentioned we'd get DQ'd if we went off course). We continued on, slowly. In the middle of each main loop, there was an uphill and then a downhill. At the start of the uphill, we got our split for the mile- 5:07. I knew it was going to get much slower. I noticed that both uphill and downhill, Sam came right up to me and sometimes even passed me. Another loop went by and then another. I felt slower and slower, weaker and weaker. I think the mile 2 split was 10:29. We finally got to the last time through the windy section and just half a lap to go. It was time to kick, but I had nothing. I was really nervous about Reygadas catching up. Sam told me we had a 100m lead, and I confirmed it to myself when looking back at a turn but I knew I'd be really slow on the final uphill stretch. I tried to run hard at the end, but once again had nothing. Sam took off and ran away from me in the final stretch. I still finished second.

I later found out my time was 16:40, which actually isn't bad at all. I also looked at the elevation at my GPS data and it was around what I got for the home course. I felt terrible and thought I was running terrible, but actually a decent performance. Absolutely hated the course and am hoping we won't return next year.

Tuesday: 10 Miles. Northern westerly again. Went up high street, then across potter hill. Found a steep, long and winding hill on Randeau passage. Wanted to go up laurel and look at the town forest entrance too but didn't enough time. Felt pretty good and got to explore some new roads. Pace wasn't super aggressive as I was trying to recover.

Wednesday: 9 Miles. Was ready to do a hard hill workout, so it was really disappointing when we we ended up doing a distance run instead. I quickly figured out a route. I ended up running really fast and even pushing it up the hill at the end to keep my pace in the low 6:10s. Felt like I got in pretty good elevation again. I even checked, and I was top of the (strava) leaderboard for elevation at that time (which only lasted one day).

Thursday: 7 Miles. Then we got the hard hill workout. It was supposed to be 8xField Street, but coach changed it up and we ran 2x(Field/Palmer/Mayflower), 2xField with the recoveries still being the downhills. One of the coaches told me to work the downhill on one of the hills, which was confusing and certainly tired me out for the next hill. This was very exhausting. After I got done with the first set, the rest of it was quite hard. I got throughout and tried to push it, but my legs were dying at the end. Difficulty: 4/5.

Friday: 9 Miles. Another distance run. My first mile was a little fast, but then it started raining pretty hard. I sometimes like running in the rain, but it didn't take long to for my clothes to be soaked. After two miles, I felt like I was running into the wind for the rest of the time. I felt worse and worse over time as my pace gradually slowed. Once I got to the old pumpkins neighborhood, my run improved but overall very hard with the wind and rain.

Saturday: 6 Miles, track workout. I enjoyed the nice break from not doing track workouts, so I really wasn't looking forward to this one. We had done mile repeats several times and I was hoping we would do shorter intervals this time. I also felt terrible on the warm-up. I was dreading the workout even more when I heard we were doing mile repeats, 3xMile. One of the coaches told me my first split was 5:52, so I got a little excited about that, until he corrected himself and said 4:52. My target splits were supposed to be 4:52/4:40/4:52. I really didn't want to run it.

The first one was okay. I felt pretty good the first lap until I hit the wind on the straightaway closest to ward ave. I went out in 70 and slowed down a little but the first one was overall okay. First two laps were fine, 3 and 4 were a little tiring but I got through them okay and ran a 4:52 first split.

After about two minutes recovery, I was up again. I was thinking there was no way I could run a 4:40. Went out in 71 this time, slightly tired from the last time. I must've slowed down a little lap 2, from both the wind and fatigue because my coach yelled at me to pick it up lap 3. I was still off the pace, so I tried to hammer the last lap and managed to crank out a 4:41. Really happy with that, but absolutely dead at that point.

I hoped he would let us off easy on the last one because I felt like I couldn't even run 5:30, but unfortunately he did not such thing and I was still expected to run 4:52 without any extra recovery. The last was brutal. I felt horrible after just 150 meters. I was off pace again (mostly from lap 3) and once again tried to hammer the last lap. I ended with 4:55 which I was still pretty happy with.

Difficulty: 5/5. One of the hardest I've done. I felt a little better than I expected and was pretty happy with my splits. Hopefully I won't have to do that workout again.

Sunday: 5 Miles. Was told I could have the day off if I wanted but did a light run instead. Got a preview of the pumpkins course, complete with the recent course changes. Probably ran a little too hard. Forgot hard (soft) it was. Hopefully I'll be able to run this next weekend. I think I prefer the XC course, but still enjoyed this one.

Weekly Total: 52 Miles
YTD Total: 1,747 Miles

Stavros, First Home Meet, and Ocean State Invitational- Weekly Log: September 19 to 25 (w/Race Recaps)

Injury Fund knocked down many fast times, but since then the High School XC scene has been pretty quiet, with only dual meets filling many runner's race schedules (and mine). This week ended that, with this weekend being the first weekend of the XC season to have major meets once again. And after that, there are no more "quiet" weeks (or not many). Another way of saying this is that this week kicks off competitive cross country for RI. If any XC runners weren't feeling in a cross country state of mind yet, they should be after this weekend. While some RI teams went to NY for the Bowdoin XC Classic and a few up to NH for the Manchester Invitational, Westerly, as usual, picked the Ocean XC Invitational, held at Goddard park. While I was expecting this, I never look forward to it as I don't enjoy the course. I've actually not only run it every year of high school, but also since 7th grade, as Middle School races are held on Friday.

Previous Results

2012- 7th Grade/13th of 198/7:43 for 2K (6:13 pace)
2013- 8th Grade/7th of 243/6:56 for 2K (5:35 pace)
2014- Freshman 1/5th of 159/14:31 for 4K (5:50 pace)
2015- Varsity 1/13th of 220/17:03 for 5K (5:29 pace)

2015 Race

While the varsity races were fast, this year I was entered in the Championship Race, which was a whole another level. To get a glimpse of how competitive that is, my 17:03 effort in Varsity 1 from last year would have placed me 42nd in the Championship race. I was definitely happy to step up to a bigger race, but there was a downside. Nearly all of my teammates would run before me while I waited around for four hours and raced at noon. I had gone through more hours of waiting (six at the 2016 outdoor track state meet) before my race, but still wasn't looking forward to it. Based off my previous results (mainly my 2015 result), current fitness level and PR, and the amount of competition in the Championship race, I wanted to finish in the Top 10 and run low 16s (sub-16:20). Goddard Park is always an unpleasant experience for me and I just wanted to get it over with.

So typical week of training before an important race Saturday, right? No, this week doesn't just kick off the big meets of cross country, but also starts the weeks with several meets instead of just one. I had three races this week, a Bradford Preserve Dual Meet against Chariho on Monday, the Stavros Beach Race on Wednesday and of course, the Ocean State Invitational on Saturday. On Monday, I did have any specific goals. I knew it was likely Chariho's top runner would not race due to injury, and I wouldn't have any trouble winning if he didn't show up. I just planned to run it hard. As for Wednesday, I wanted to run a fast time. I was pretty sure I had the win no problem and wanted to run about a 15:30-15:50 time, as anything in that range would be about an all-out effort for me that would demolish the current CR of 16:20 (I tied it last year).

Then it got worse as plans changed. I was excited to race Monday, but found halfway throughout the day the meet was moved to Thursday. I would find out that my coach didn't want to race the first two races of the week hard, but just for the win. Two races that I was excited for now just became moderate efforts. I would later find out on Thursday that I was to run all-out at the new Bradford Preserve course, so it wasn't all a loss.

Monday: 5 Miles. Halfway into school I heard the meet was postponed and practice cancelled, which further ruined my already mediocre day. Took a long nap when I got home which drained all my interest in running, but of course I had to go out anyway. Originally planned 5-8, incorporating the local Mastuxet and Champlin trails. Maxtuxet was overgrown and wet, which was quite unpleasant to run in. After taking a fall on rocks in Champlin (wet from the rain), I was having an awful time and just heading home right away. Not a good run.

Tuesday: 6 Miles. Repeats on field street. Felt humid, but I thought I was running strong the whole time. For some reason, my segments showed I was off usual field street pace, but I think there was some error. Hard hill workout, steep section really slowed the pace and made me tired going up, but made the pace quick on the way down, getting less recovery. Seven repeats. Hard, but not unpleasant. Liked this workout. Difficulty: 4/5.

Wednesday: 6 Miles, Stavros Beach Race.

I originally had so much excitement for Stavros, but lost a lot of it after the two week delay. Finding out that I was just to run for the win was also disappointing, but at that point I had lost so much excitement that it didn't mean too much anymore. The only thing I would be missing would be going home with the CR. As far as I knew, I had the win. One of my goals for this year was get a back-to-back win (win a race this year that I also won last year), and I'm pretty sure I had this one. I figured Tom would be the top guy. Our team did our usual two warm-ups, plus stretching and strides and soon enough we were on the line. My plan was stay about 10m behind Tom for the first mile, catch up to him and run behind him at the turnaround, then take off mile 3.

Since I was planning on leading until mile 2, I wasn't going to take it out hard. I guess I forgot that a moderate effort is still much faster than warm-up, because I nearly paused/ran incredibly slow at the very beginning before starting to run a more race-like pace. For the first few moments, I was in a big pack with my team before separating after a minute. Tom had the lead and I moved into second but wasn't right on Tom's heels. I soon noticed that we were much farther to the left than I would have liked. I quickly corrected myself and ran right to the water's edge. I stayed behind Tom for a while. It didn't feel as comfortable as anticipated, and I found myself slightly regretting the decision to run on the right side as I now was splashing in the water, which was slowing me a little. I found a place somewhere in the middle that felt right. Towards the end of the mile, either I started to slow down a little or Tom picked it up and the gap was increasing a tiny bit. I picked it up to keep the gap equal to the distance I wanted.

I must have increased pace a little too much because soon I found myself right behind Tom. This was a little earlier than I wanted, but it felt more comfortable and I didn't want to slow down. He went around the cone first, then I went. I soon caught up to him again and we ran side by for a quarter mile. I started to take the lead, and after the lead increased, I picked up the pace more. I was feeling pretty good at this point, but my feet were bothering me a little. I opened the gap more and more before picking up the pace the final mile.

1st overall in 16:46. Actually a pretty time considering not a lot of people break 17 here and I wasn't racing it, but I certainly would've preferred to run in the 15s. I certainly hope I have the opportunity to do so next year, as it's likely I won't race this in college. Full results here.

Thursday: 7 Miles, XC Dual #2 at Bradford Preserve.

I was surprised to find out that my coach decided he wanted me to run it all-out (earlier in the week he said just for the win), that boys ran second, and that racetime wasn't until 4:45. Waited around for an hour, before first warm-up then one later. I was actually a little nervous going in because the hill had been difficult for me in previous workouts and I didn't want anyone to catch up me. Chariho's top runner was not running, so that certainly gave me confidence towards the win. I wasn't feeling very good on any of the many strides we did, which also made me a little nervous. Soon, we started.

Our team was on the far right side of the starting line, so I had to cut across diagonally to get to the first flag. I went out hard at first so I could get a good position, but after I quickly took the lead I settled into a more comfortable pace. The field loops felt pretty good, both effort and pace wise. I felt like I was running a 5:10 pace which would give me a lead but not use up all my energy before getting to the trail. I wanted to have a good lead before entering the trail so I wouldn't having to worry about anyone catching me on the hill. The field was a little sunny, but it was a nice part of the course. I actually didn't mind doing a second loop. I figured the Chariho runners would be close behind, seeing as it was very early in the race, but they were far back. I picked it up a tiny bit before lap two. Went by the crowd again, around the field, and this time into the woods. That turn was a little sharp, but not the sharpest turn out there. I got my mile split of 4:49 which seemed absolutely insane, considering I didn't even feel like I was going out hard. Then I started the ascent.

Going in, I figured this would be brutal and the steepest section (first quarter mile after starting the ascent) certainly tired me out. A slight and short downhill before continuing the ascent helped me get back into a fast pace. Usually, this section drags on. I always see the sunlight from the upper field and think it's just ahead when I really still have a third of mile to go. It certainly didn't go by quickly this time, but before I knew it I was at the upper field. Even though I had a huge lead going into the woods, it felt like the Chariho pack were catching up to me. I enjoyed the upper field portion as usual, before crossing mile 2 (I heard the split as something 21 which means either 10:21 or 11:21, but both don't make sense because 10:21 means my downhill mile 3 was slower than uphill mile 2 and 11:21 means I ran a mid-6s 2nd mile and low 5s third mile) and finishing the final uphill of the course.

I took a right turn and started the descent. I felt a little out of control with the steep sections and sharp turns. I never pushed the downhills as much as I could have since I was already going so fast down them. That section went by quickly, and I soon came to the flat section before the field. This section drags on a little bit because I'm prepared to exit the woods after the downhill and forget this section is still here. I pushed this part and spilled out of the trails, back onto the field for a quarter mile to go. I wasn't feeling very strong at that point, but I still had a little left. I gradually picked it up and sprinted the last straightaway. I was surprised to hear my time was 16:55, considering I was expecting a high 17s, possibly even low 18s time. Definitely happy with this one. Felt great nearly the whole time. Even though I was worried Chariho runners were right behind me, they actually finished 1:27 behind (18:22).

Friday: 9 Miles, Northern westerly distance run. Based off a satellite map, it looked like there was a telephone line trail that went from Potter Hill Road to Boombridge. I couldn't find it, but instead got to run in two WLT properties I hadn't run in before: Wildwood and Flora Whiteley. Also searched for Anderson, but couldn't find it. Heavy legs.

Saturday: 8 Miles, Ocean State Invitational. I was a little annoyed that I would have to wait for four hours because of the time of my race. I wasn't able to get as much sleep as I wanted and still felt a little sore on the warm-up. I wasn't very nervous coming in, but that changed as more and more of my teammates ran while I waited around. I started to get pretty nervous around 10, two hours before my race. I had eaten at 9, and now was having to visit the bathroom frequently, as usual, which was pretty annoying. I finally warmed up, feeling soreness in one my thighs. I had to do my warm-ups a little early because runners had to be at the starting early, about 15 minutes before their actual race start. I was worried that I'd have to wait in a long line for the bathroom, but luckily I found a bathroom with no line a few minutes into my warm-up. I got back, put on my spikes, drank my last sip of water and headed over to the start. I recognized North Kingstown and Cumberland runners doing strides. Sam Toolin of NK would likely be the top RI finisher and I'd battle it out with Ben Drezek of Cumberland for 2nd. After about 10 minutes of waiting around, doing strides, and checking in, we were instructed to take our sweats and line up. They took the first runner for each team and had them run left to the end of the huge starting line. Last year I was the farthest runner to the left and this year I was the second closest to the left. Even after everyone was lined up, we still had to wait before we started. They introduced all the teams running, and everyone did a short stride when their team was called. Then we waited through the national anthem. I finally thought we were about to go, but then we had a few more minutes to do our final strides. Finally, everyone was back on the line and we awaited the gun.

We went out hard, but it wasn't an all-out sprint. I got out really well and was in the top 15 at the end of the field. I saw both Toolin and Drezek up ahead near the front. Pre-race, I thought the first mile would be awful with the combination of the very fast field lap and the soft sand trails. The pace was certainly fast, but it was actually much more comfortable than I had previously anticipated. I could pick it up if I wanted to, but wasn't feeling great and wondered if this wasn't my day. After the field loop, I was at the end of the lead pack. We crossed the road and headed into the woods. It was a little crowded and I was forced to step in a puddle. We ran by an awful soft sand section where there was several paths to take, went past the spectator railing and the mile mark. I didn't get my split or even see the mile marker sign, but I'm guessing it was around 4:50-4:55. I was in about 12th place and now towards the front of the chase pack. I could still see the lead pack in the distance, only about 50 meters ahead. 

We started the trail loop with a slight hill. It wasn't bad, but I still didn't feel like I had much energy. The ground was fairly soft and I didn't enjoy running on that. I found myself behind two Saint Anthony runners in black. Their coach kept popping and yelling out their places, which was helpful for me as I still had my top 10 goal in mind. The three of us were around 10th place. There was a section where I tried to push past one of them on an uphill, but he resisted and held me off. I was still behind the two of them in 11th place at mile 2.

I saw Drezek up ahead in 8th, not too far away but I could no longer see the top runners. We repassed the spectator railing and I recognized some people I knew. After the soft sand section, instead of going left where we entered we continued on and down a hill. I pushed past the Saint Anthony runners. One tried to stay ahead but I got a small lead on him. There was a steep but short uphill before the final third of a mile on grass. I slowed going up and was worried I might get repassed. I didn't feel very fast moving after that. I saw Drezek only 30 or 40 meters ahead and was definitely gaining on him. It wasn't until the last tenth of mile that I realized I had more left. I heard the Saint Anthony's coach yell "You're in 11th, go after this guy", which meant I was in 10th. I sprinted with the first good kick I've had since June (kicking is probably my biggest weakness in racing) and held him off. I didn't catch Drezek but was close behind. The clock ticked down from 16:00, and I crossed around 16:10. That was actually the first time all race where I thought about my time. I found out later I finished 9th in 16:09.98. A two second PR. Pretty happy with this one, but I wish I had pushed the last mile harder.

Did a long (3 mile) cool-down exploring some of Goddard away from the race course. It was peaceful and pleasant. Top 10 were featured in the awards ceremony where I received a medal and hat. Full results here.

Sunday: 9 Miles. Ran Pachaug State Forest for the first time. First three miles were awesome: started out on a pine trail with tall trees surrounding the trail. It was actually a little cold for once, which was nice. A brief confusing and ugly dirt road section followed, but the mount misery ascent was really fun. We went on the wrong path after that, and the rest of the run was tiring over mostly ugly stretches of trail.

Actual Results vs. Predictions

I made some predictions for the three races this week and this is how I matched up:
Prediction/Final Result

Stavros: 1st in 15:49/1st in 16:46
XC Dual #2: 1st in 18:02/1st in 16:55
Ocean State: 3rd in 16:25/9th in 16:09

To be fair, even though I was way off on all three, I didn't know I was running Stavros easy, there were no previous results to base off a prediction off of for the Bradford Preserve course and I didn't know I'd be in the Championship race when I made that prediction.

Weekly Total: 50 Miles
YTD Total: 1,695 Miles

Weekly Log: September 12 to 18

Just one easy meet this week plus some training.

Monday: 6 Miles. South Kingstown dual meet.

Not an important meet at all. First dual meet of four this season, which are held every Monday until the 4th week, which is on a Tuesday. SK was certainly the top team here, does decently in the division, but doesn't have any standouts on the state level. Coming into this, I knew I could win no problem. I still wanted to run hard, but I didn't feel much pressure coming into it nor was it important at all for me. I ran a 18:35 here freshman year, as the sharp turns, pavement crossings, and mixed terrain slow down the pace from a standard XC course. My sophomore year I did not run the course, but the fastest times ever were recorded from the top NK and Chariho runners with times of 16:59 and 17:02 respectively. I had just come off a PR and third fastest time in RI (for this season) of 16:11 for 5K, so I thought a 16:40 would be a great effort here. Course map.

While I was happy to run an easy, low-pressure XC meet, I really hated the course because of the two loop format and frequent change of terrain (and would also find out there were 10 pavement crossings and many annoying sharp turns). We were supposed to run the course jog for a warm-up, but for some reason the SK coach had us walk it. I was slightly annoyed but was okay with it until I realized it was completely cutting into our warm-up time and we would be racing soon. We departed the group with 15 minutes to race time to do a short, but completely improper and rushed warm-up. I wasn't even able to use the bathroom. And even worse, I still had no idea where I was going on a few sections of the very confusing course. I finally got it all cleared up, got a few strides in and awaited the gun. At least, I thought I had it all cleared up. I went out fast without overdoing it right away. I saw a flag at the end of field and continued, but I heard "Matt, turn right" before I got there so I guess I wasn't supposed to go so far. Fortunately, the rest of the course I was able to follow. I wanted to shake any followers off my path and have a huge lead right away, so I continued to run fast. I felt like I was going out just right and not stupidly sprinting the first mile, but the effort felt a little harder than I wanted. The first trail was a little annoying with loose rocks on a slight uphill. There was another field, and once I got past that, I was both feeling better and was enjoying the terrain more. I felt good for the rest of the first loop. There was a small hill at the start of the second loop and I suddenly went from feeling good to can't move my legs. I didn't blow up, but decreased in pace significantly and now really wasn't feeling it. I tried to pick it up, but the sunny fields, loose rocks, slight uphills, and heavy legs made it impossible. When I finally get past the section I didn't like, I was able to get to a better pace, but it was still a little slower than I would have liked. I started to pick it up more in the last half mile, but was completely defeated by a short steep hill before the finish and my last 150m were terrible.

I guess I really did slow down quite a bit lap 2 as I finished in 17:25, way off both what I wanted and the course record. Really disappointing, but on the bright side it was probably the best meet to have a bad race at.

Tuesday: 9 Miles. First east ave of the season. Made a new route, east ave out and back with two loops around local neighborhoods. Really enjoyed the lack of cars and runner-friendly roads, but wasn't feeling it and felt heavy legs the whole time, thirst and it was hot. Pace was really good, but not very enjoyable.

Wednesday: 6 Miles. Timed timothy drive loop. Wasn't looking forward to a track workout or another distance run, but got really excited to find out that we might have a super easy practice with Indian chains and possibly a game. Unfortunately, we not only didn't get that but did something even worse than any of the above options. Timed timothy drive loop. This is a XC workout we have done before where we run hard for 5-6 miles down to timothy drive, out and back on granite and east ave. It's not fun to run roads I run easy frequently at a fast pace, it's usually hot, and it's quite annoying stopping at stoplights during a hard effort. I was hoping we were done with these, but unfortunately we had it again. I wore my watch to monitor pace. Ran out easy for a little bit then took the lead and picked it up. I could've run faster but ran about tempo pace as I didn't want to be super uncomfortable. Somewhere along the way, it got really hot and I got really tired. Not fun. Difficulty of Workout: 4/5 (not really a workout but I don't know what I'd call this)

Thursday: 6 Miles. Hill Workout. Apparently, we were going to have a really hard workout, but I wasn't worried as they're very rarely brutal. I figured the coaches would just increase the number of repeats which would make it tougher. I was thinking three fingers and was hoping for that. It ended up being 3xNarragansett, 1xFinger, 3xNarragansett. I wasn't looking forward to it, but felt great and really strong most of the time (got tired at the end of the finger). Suddenly changed to 1 Narragansett at the end instead of 3. Actually a pretty fun workout. Difficulty: 3/5.

Friday: 9 Miles. To chase hill road and back. First old Hopkinton road in a while. Ran out and back on old Hopkinton, forrestal and chase hill. Rolling hills the whole time. Enjoyed most of them but some really wore me out. Way too many cars. At least I felt pretty good the whole and was happy with pace.

Saturday: 8 Miles. Home XC workout. 3xWesterly (Bradford Preserve) Trail Loop. I was set down for 10:45 splits but didn't know what that meant, both pace and effort-wise as it hard to measure on trails. The uphill (to upper field) was so tiring every time, but I regained energy and felt much better on the return each time. Every time, I felt like my uphill was slower but downhill was faster. I was the only one not to hit their first split or come close, but everyone slowed down while I stayed consistent. Enjoyed it, but makes me a little nervous when facing good uphill runners. Downhills were so fast. Splits: 11:20/11:10/11:10. Four mins recovery on each. Difficulty: 4/5.

Sunday: 7 Miles. Technical and hilly but fun Natchaug (Northeast CT) trails. Afternoon trail stop during CT day trip. Natchaug state forest looked massive so I figured the running there was great. I really enjoyed the trail. Flat sections, dark sections, rocky sections, steep sections. Nearly all single-track.

Weekly Total: 51 Miles
YTD Total: 1,645 Miles

Next week: While most of these weeks so far have been training with only a few meets and only one important meet so far, next week dives into the XC season. So far the amount of meets per week have gone: 0/1/0/1, but this week has three. Monday brings dual #2, this time against Chariho. Depending on the health condition of their top runner, I may or may not have great competition. It's at the home course, which will be exciting, especially if it rains. Nervous about the hilly mile 2 and possible competition, but should be fun. Wednesday is the Stavros beach race, which I'm really looking forward to as it is a great event and I want to run a fast time. Shouldn't be any great competition either, making it less stressful. Saturday marks the ocean state invitational, a meet I have zero enthusiasm for as the course is absolutely terrible and it's a long meet I may have to wait around to race for. Unfortunately, it's the most important of the three as it's a big invitational. Hopefully I run well in all three.

Predictions:

Dual #2 at Bradford Preserve- 1st in 18:02, Chariho's top runner does not compete
Stavros- 1st in 15:49
Ocean State- 3rd in 16:25 (not sure what competition will be like)

*Note: if you are seeing this post again and are confused on why, I accidentally deleted it and had to figure out how to get it back.

Injury Fund Recap

Once again, the summer has come and gone in what seemed like an incredibly short amount. Cross country started up and soon, despite school not starting until September 6th, the first meet rolled around. Unlike indoor and outdoor track where the first meets are solely for fun; extremely low key, short and small events, the cross country season always opens with a major event. It's not quite as important as championship races or massive out of state invitationals, but nearly every team in the state goes to the opening meet and attempts to run a fast time. This meet, hosting eight varsity races named after coaches and officials and two freshman races, runs from morning to mid-afternoon and was something to be nervous about. I enjoyed it both freshman and sophomore year, but after both failure at Schonning and still trying to transition back to school running, I had just about no interest in competing here. But this was a major cross country meet and you can't just skip major meets for no/bad reasons (although some of my teammates would tell you otherwise), so I was in, whether I liked it or not.

The major change for this year was that the meet took place at East Greenwich HS, not the usual Burrillville MS course. This was a new course that was apparently years in the making. While I did enjoy the old Burrillville course, it was not certified, it overlapped several times, and while I'm unsure what the actual distance is, it's a short course and not quite 5K like advertised. Perhaps it was time for a change. The EG course was certified by Ray Nelson and was supposed to be incredibly fast and flat. I'd love to start the XC season off with a PR (current PR 16:12), so it seemed to be a great place to do it. The only aspect of the course that I wasn't excited for the two loop format, but at least it wasn't two by 2.5K loops.

As I stated before, I was not looking forward to this. Even less so when I learned I was running at 12 against two top distance runners I didn't want to lose to, Cumberland's Ben Drezek and Barrington's Mars Bishop. I started to get nervous the days before, worrying about dying halfway through and trying to run a hard pace from the gun. Race day rolled around.

I wasn't super nervous going to the meet race day, but just had a complete lack of interest in competing. To make matters worse, I had very few teammates in my race while most ran the freshman race earlier that day. We arrived about 10AM, after my usual pre-race breakfast on the bus, and spotted the East Greenwich High School for the very first time. I spotted some Chariho runners preparing to race in a few minutes, and from what I saw, the course looked awesome. About half an hour later, we were told to go scope out the course. I didn't think that was a great idea as we had a big group overall and teams were still on the course with more would be coming out soon, but of course, we all went anyway. I did want to preview the course, but I knew it wasn't right risking a clog up on the trails and potentially hurting other's races. Not one to ignore my coach, we were soon doing the thing I had feared- nearly taking up space on the trails during a race. We were able to avoid getting in the way of any runners, but I felt like a jerk and an idiot while doing so. As the far as the course went, it looked great. I thought the grass start that quickly becomes crushed stone double track was a great opening half mile. Next another grass section followed, with a part open to spectators then a part along a fence before starting the main trail portion. It wasn't typical trails- but rather more XC style with a wide crushed stone path. It was somewhat shaded but led out to a loop that was open and hot. the only bad thing about the course was that there were two loops, at least for the 5K. The loop was small rolling hills but short and mostly flat. There were a few sections where the rock was bigger and looser which wasn't very comfortable footing at all.

We took far too much time with our course preview and soon the freshman races were up. Our freshman squad left and our varsity team for the day starting doing a proper warm-up. Within the hour before racing, as usual, I became very nervous. Not only did I have little interest in racing, but it wasn't helpful seeing others sitting casually done with their races. The hour went by, I took care of bathroom problems and got the last of my warm-ups in. I did 4 or 5 strides and took a look at the rest of competition, but really was only worried about Mars and Ben. Even though I wasn't looking forward to this, I was ready to go out hard and stick with them as long as I could. We got in our spots and awaited the gun.



Start to Loop
As usual, we immediately went out hard from the gun. Sometimes it feels really awful running a near-sprint immediately, but it felt right here. Ben, as usual, sprinted out hard and I found myself in second place behind him right after the first turn. I had no trouble getting out and into a position where I could pass easily. I figured Mars was right behind us. I stayed with Ben and noted that we slowed a little but were still running a fast pace. We made the loop around the baseball field and headed into the short first trail portion. Ben pulled away a little bit but I still couldn't see or hear Mars. At first I was nervous that Ben had opened up a very small gap so early into the race, but soon I caught back up and remembered that he just goes out extremely fast. We stayed one-two going back the crowd of spectators when immediately exiting the trail, and before getting on the next trail, Mars caught up to us and I could see him right by me. Soon, Mars pulled up to my side and we were running as a pack. On the wider turns we would run on the side where there was dirt and more traction, which felt like a better move. Soon we approached the main loop.

First Loop
At this point, I knew the pace was fast but I didn't think we were overdoing it. But for some reason, I was getting quite tired. I continued to hang with the group. Mars took the lead shortly after but we still passed the mile mark as a group of 3. I heard the split. 4:48. At first I thought it was off, but later I would realize that it was right and we really did run out that fast. I was running in third now and Mars started to pull away. Perhaps he noted we were slowing down and realized now would be a good time to break away. Even though I came into the race with every intention of hanging with the leader as long as possible, I didn't try to go with him here. I felt drained and I didn't even know if I could match his move, so I let him go and stayed with Ben. At first, I felt defeated and was wondering if I could even stay with Ben, but soon I passed him as well. I felt like he was right behind me, but soon I started to gap him. Mars was much further ahead, but I was trying to extend my lead on second rather than going after first. Mars extended his lead and I extended mine, but I wasn't ready to pick it up loop two.

Second Loop
Starting the second loop was awful. I had barely anything left and at this point I was trying to hold on for second. It didn't go on to long, but was a sufferfest and not fun to run again. It was mostly uneventful. When nearing the end, I kept my eye up on Mars ahead. I wanted to close the gap but didn't the energy and strength and instead kept my current position.

Finish
Sooner or later, I realized I wasn't going to win, but was still scared Ben would overtake me because I knew I wouldn't have a kick. I was looking back at the switchbacks, and even though I had a good lead on him, I was still pretty nervous. When we got back onto grass, I knew it was time to kick but was only able to pick it up a tiny bit. When I heard others yell Ben's name out right after mine, I was really nervous he was coming for me and I wouldn't be able to respond. I pushed it a little more at the end, feeling like Ben was right behind me, but still finished ahead of him.

2nd Place Overall. Timing clock wasn't working, but I was told I ran in 16:40s range. Disappointing and not what I was looking for. Looking at some other times of the day, I could see others were a little slower than anticipated, but I wasn't thrilled with it. I was interviewed and would later find out I actually ran 16:11, the third fastest time of the day, and a one-second PR. Results here. Disappointment turned into success. Not a great race, as I could gone out a little slower, kicked better and tried to hang in there longer, but happy with a PR as that was the main goal for the race. I wish my time had been a little bit faster, but overall happy with the performance. Lots of fun, but non-important races and courses where times don't matter coming up before the Ocean State Invitational on 9/24.

Weekly Log: September 5 to 11

More of a training week, as no racing this week and Stravos postponed Tuesday.

Monday: 7 Miles. Labor day trail/road mix with some Carolina and some Carter. Really was looking for to a trail run, but ended up disliking it as so much was road and it was tougher on my still tired legs. Was originally looking for eight, but completely ran out of desire and headed back for seven while the other two (Tom and Dad) continued on.

Tuesday: 5 Miles. I was extremely disappointed Stavros was postponed, but perhaps better this way as I didn't get much sleep that night and the conditions would be brutal for a beach race. I also wasn't sure if I had fully recovered from Saturday. I was excited to think we might do a track workout in the pouring rain (harder to breathe, but much more enjoyable), but unfortunately we did hills instead. 7xPark: It was awful. I was already not feeling great that day as I was tired, had a headache and felt weak when coming to practice. The wetness and heaviness of my clothes, the clothes sticking to me, the difficulty breathing and the lack of traction I had made this one hell. After the first one, I was probably much slower than the pace I should've been running and tried to run decently but felt awful the whole time. As a result, my team was much, much closer to me than usual and even closing the gap a little bit. Hill workouts are typically a little challenging but almost never brutal. This one was. Difficulty: 5/5.

Wednesday: 9 Miles. Typical high school distance run. Felt really weak for about 4 miles, but felt a little better in the second half. Felt hilly coming back, but didn't get that much elevation gain. Overall this was okay- I was happy with my pace and that I didn't take any breaks, but I wished I had felt a little better overall.

Thursday: 6 Miles. Another hill workout, this time Narragansett ave. I was actually a little happy we weren't doing track as originally planned (soccer game taking place). We had to do seven and I wasn't feeling great so I thought about taking a little easier than usual. I started off hard and actually felt good throughout, pushing it until the end. Happy with this one. Difficulty: 3/5.

Friday: 5 Miles. Super fun Bradford Preserve practice. So nice to have a change of venue from the track, hills and ugly roads nearby. Course jog and then we had to run it hard. I wasn't looking forward to the second part at all, but we ended up doing only the trail portion. I didn't love the course during the jog, but it was really fun during the hard run part. I broke away immediately, slowed down a little on the hill and started to feel crappy/run slow up until the field, but I started to feel better there and felt great on the return, pushing the pace. Ran 10:49  for trail portion. Difficulty: 3/5.

Saturday: 5 Miles. Wasn't looking to this hot and possibly hard track workout. Original plan was 3xMile, but since a football game was starting soon it was cut down to 2xMile and 2xNarragansett. A little grateful for the change but still not thrilled doing two hard miles on the hot track. My target time was 4:50 for each, 3-minute recovery. Felt really good starting, with (oddly) people right behind me (they were going way too fast; I wasn't) but was disappointed to hit the first 400 in 73 because I felt I was moving much faster than that and I'd have to pick it up, both effort and pace-wise. It wasn't fun after that. I started to pick it up, but wasn't feeling it anymore and was getting quite tired. I went through the 800 in 2:25, the 1200 in 3:47 but really ran out of energy at the end and finished in 4:51. Pretty good and not super hard but it was all about #2. I was supposed to get three minutes of recovery, but it felt like he started me really early while I was still recovering. Felt tired from the start and it was tough. I got through it okay even though I was incredibly and weak, but was off pace going through the 400 in 74 and the 1200 in 3:55. Felt terrible but finished in 4:58, not horrible but not super close to the target. Disapointed, but also turned out I got 2 mins recovery. Hills were a little hard because we just did track. Starting was super tiring and the first one was hard but felt much better the second time. Positions were completely changed up, as the track workout had different effects on different people. Difficulty: 5/5.

Sunday: 6 Miles. Woke up at 6, ready to head to surftown to watch and get a run in, but I found out that my alarm was way off for some reason and it was really 4:50. Went back to bed and then didn't wake up again until 8:20. It was really 7:10, but I was really upset at first as I had planned on running with a teammate at 6:30 there and now had no run in and no ride down. Almost decided not to go and (miserably) run from home but then realized I could quickly grab a few things and sprint down there. I left at 7:20 and got there at 7:28, just able to watch the start. Ran with freshman teammate Aaron with breaks to catch some of the action. I was disappointed with the race, both with the lack of fast times and the refreshments afterwards, but I was happy to get in a decent and easy recovery/shakeout run. The morning wasn't awful, but could've been better,

Weekly Total: 43 (stepped down from last week total)
YTD Total: 1,594 Miles

Dual meet tomorrow (9/12) at SK (CCMS), possibly the least important race of the season because of a complete lack of competition. Not nervous and very little pressure. Course record of 16:59 (5K) for that course, so that would be cool if I broke it.

First XC Meet- Weekly Log: August 29 to September 4

For some reason, I've had trouble getting this last week's log up even though I never had a problem with time in the past. I'd figured I need to do it before I forget. Week #2 of XC, First Meet Saturday 9/3, Injury Fund Carnival @EG. Smaller log this week.

Monday: 9 Miles. 2nd HS distance run. I'm so tired of the same roads, but the three month gap make the first of the season feel fresh. Picked the river road loop which is usually okay (flat, fast and scenic) but the heat killed me and I had to take many breaks, even jumping in the river at the end. Gradual decline of pace.

Tuesday: 6 Miles. Couldn't make practice and got to run duval trails in early AM instead. Much more fun, considering I was still feeling it after my tiring 8-miler the day before and everyone else had a brutal workout. I wanted to push one of the duval segments but got tired quickly and really just used it as a recovery run.

Wednesday: 9 Miles. New springbrook route (not the roads; just the specific loop I was running): glad to be out of the sun but felt awful from start to finish. Maintained a quality pace but very unpleasant, like Monday. Super humid.

Thursday: 5 Miles. Was hoping for some track as I needed a hard workout to give me confidence for Saturday, but got hills instead. Two fingers (hardest hill workout we do) before one hard Narragansett. I felt okay but thought I was going much slower than usual. I was ready to run the last Narragansett hard but felt completely out of steam halfway through. Somehow I still beat the segment CR on Narragansett summer to ward that I have wanted for so long. Didn't feel genuine at all; I feel like Strava screwed up. Disappointing to get it this way. Difficulty: 4/5.

Friday: 8 Miles. Apache/old pumpkins course neighborhood is fun to run in, but the hills tire me out. Perhaps not the best place for a shakeout, but I went that way anyway. Mixed in another neighborhood and Cimalore field. Run went by really quickly and it was actually a little fun. I felt pretty good except for heavy thighs. So much better than both Monday's and Wednesday's.

Saturday: 5 Miles. Injury Fund XC Carnival. Went out super hard in 4:48 (Fastest 5K mile split by 11 seconds!!!) as I tailed the leader (pack of three) then faded a little and was unable to hang with the top guy (third place for first mile) but got ahead of the original leader. Everyone told me I was high 16:40s/low 16:50s, but my final time was 16:11, a 1-second PR. I will do a separate write-up sometime in the future. A pretty good race. Results.

Sunday: 10 Miles. Recovery loop w/Dad and B. They were doing 16 as a long run pre-surftown on the course, but I opted to do 10 as this was recovery and I wasn't ready to go that distance. Just did the Weekapaug/misquamicut portion as they continued to watch hill. Felt pretty good for most of it; pace was never too challenging. Got really tired in my worn out legs towards the end.

Weekly Total: 52 Miles (much better than I expected considering the typical beginning of season decline)
YTD Total: 1,551 Miles

Racing Bucket List- Rhode Island

I finally got caught up on race reports and weekly logs, and now I get to create a post I've wanted to for a while- a bucket list of races I'd like to run at some point. This list mainly exists because I can't do many races during my school seasons- which takes up a giant portion of the year. As you may have noticed, this edition will only focus on races in the Ocean State. I will be doing a series of follow-up posts to cover other New England races before another follow-up series with a bucket list of Marathons I'd like to run post-college. This is the first of several posts in my Racing Bucket List series.

I will also be ranking these races from least interest to most. I may not give completely accurate or lengthy descriptions on many races, because for many I have only acquired details based off their website and won't really be an expert on the race until I actually run it several times. For Rhode Island, there are six races I really want to run (and a few others that I want to do but not with the same level of interest). This number will likely increase throughout time, which may cause either a future edit of this post or an additional post.

6. OCY Triathlon

Next Edition: September 25, 2016

Despite it being so close to home, I've never gotten the chance to do this local event. While most of the Y events are low key, relatively small and lack elite competition, they're typically run pretty well and you get your money's worth in every category you'd expect. Starting from the town beach, the course looks great: ocean swim, two-loop pond bike, and a fast and flat run. After volunteering at this event for so many years, it'd be nice to finally participate.

5. Ocean Road 10K

Next Edition: October 2, 2016

Some of the best races are held in Narragansett, and this seems like a great one. The course is exactly as it sounds- 10 kilometers on ocean road in Narragansett. Starting at the Point Judith Lighthouse and ending at the Narragansett Town Beach, this course looks scenic and mostly flat- a perfect chance to run a 10K PR, run another race in the great town of Narragansett, and experience a unique one road course.

4. Belleville Pond 10K

Next Edition: (Likely) February 2017

I'm somewhat cheating here because I've already run this race, but that was a while back and in the snow. I'd like another opportunity to run this course again, snow-free, as the course pictures look amazing and I remember very little about it. Trail 5Ks seem too short but the 10-mile was too long for me, so this would be a good distance on trails to race. Also, it seems to have a good variety of terrain to mix things up. My only concern is that this race won't be held by the time I get to run it again.

3. Jamestown Bridge 10K

Next Edition: April 2017

I'm not a huge fan with the way Trimom has been running their events lately, but can't deny that many of them look like a lot of fun (Trinewport nearly made this list). And this one definitely does. I love running over bridges, especially as they typically provide excellent views of whatever they're on top, usually water. I've never gotten the chance to actually run over a big bridge, and this seems like an excellent opportunity to. Obviously, the scenery would be amazing the whole time, but just the opportunity to race primarily race on a bridge seems amazing.

2. Shad Bloom 10K

Next Edition: May 2016

This was a hard decision between this and #1, as both look exceptional. It's always fun to run on an island, and even better to participate in a rare race there. Of Block Island's few races, only one is a trail race. It's 10K, an excellent distance for racing trails, and also has a variety of trails with a steep climb at Mile 4. Many great statements have been made about this race, and it certainly looks like a lot of fun.

1. Pell Bridge Run

Next Edition: October 23, 2016

Once again, another bridge race. Only this one doesn't go over twice, isn't put on by Trimom and goes over a longer and bigger bridge. The course map just looks awesome, and the start time is a fantastic 7:15 AM (in October!). A bigger and better (or at least looks that way) edition of #3.

Stay tuned for the next entry.