Maine, Friends, and a Wedding

Monday, May 18: 0 Miles
Tuesday, May 19: 1:00 PM - Track WO @ Bentley
24 min w/u
6 x 800m w/ 2.5 minR - 2:19, 2:17, 2:18, 2:18, 2:18, 2:17
24 min c/d
Wednesday, May 20: 7:30 PM - 9 Miles, 60 min
Thursday, May 21: 6:00 PM - 13.5 Miles, 93 min @ Lincoln
Friday, May 22: 0 Miles
Saturday, May 23: 0 Miles
Sunday, May 24: 11:00 AM - 15 Miles, 100 min
w/ random pick ups in the middle and last 30 min @ 5:40-6:00 pace

Week Total = 49 Miles, 4 Sessions

Not a great week for numbers. I started the week feeling exhausted from a long weekend leading up to it and still had to cram a bunch of work in before heading up to Maine at the end of the week. I could feel it catching up with me on Monday, and by Tuesday, I was already starting to get sick. I did the workout on on my own because of work that night and just did not feel good out there. I was supposed to hit 2:16s for the 8's, and since I averaged that for a 3K just 3 days earlier, it shouldn't have been a problem. I hit the first 400 in 70 and knew it was gonna be rough. I still tried to get the desired effort in, but didn't hit a single 2:16. I was fluctuating with how I felt over the next few days and kept thinking that I was getting over this illness, but it just kept lingering on. Since I had a big weekend planned, I didn't want to push it too much, so I took Friday off, got some stuff done around the house, and drove up to Maine.

The reason I was heading north was to take part in my best friends' wedding. Liz and DJ have been two of my closest friends since high school and after 11 years together, they finally got married in Boothbay Harbor over the weekend. I had the honor of being a groomsman in the wedding, and along with the rest of the wedding party, we had a pretty full weekend planned up there. The Boothbay Region is really beautiful and we had a nice little spot out on Spruce Point where all the festivities were held. We all stayed in cabin-like rooms and everything was right outside our door, including the wedding ceremony that overlooked the water. It was great to have all three days of the weekend dedicated to this as opposed to just being up there for one day. In addition to the rehearsals and other preparations, we had a lot of great meals with the family and friends, and even took a boat tour around the islands. With everything going on and with still feeling a little under the weather, I ended up taking Saturday off as well. I didn't want to take another zero and I felt pretty guilty about it at first, but this weekend wasn't about me, it was about Liz and DJ.

The wedding itself was Sunday afternoon, which gave me an opportunity to get a long run in that morning while all the girls were getting their hair done and doing their makeup. I was feeling better and ran all along the coastline, which ended up being a rather hilly, but enjoyable run. Since it was an out and back route, I was gambling with how I would feel on the way back. I was feeling decent after the turn around so I threw in some surges here and there to try to get the legs going a little more. And since everything seemed to be functioning properly, I started leaning on the pace more and more on the way back with the last few miles being pretty quick. I don't know how far or how fast I was actually going, but I finished feeling like I got a pretty good workload in. It felt good to get that in after missing two days prior, and I was able to get rid of that guilty feeling and just enjoy myself the rest of the day.

Everything else on this weekend went perfectly. The weather was ideal, the location was gorgeous, and the crew that we had up there was unbeatable. This weekend was a perfect getaway for me and even though there were some long days and late nights thrown in there, I feel like it certainly helped to re-charge the batteries. It seems like whenever I've needed it, I've had something like this to get me going again and get me past the craziness of my everyday grind. It was such a great weekend with such amazing people, and I just didn't want to leave it all. I need to find a way to see these people more often and make sure I don't forget how great it is to be around them.

DJ's father had a great segment in his speech which went something like this:

"Enjoy this moment now, but don't wait for an occasion to show your love for each other. Let it wash the dishes with you every night after dinner ...let it find the keys with you every morning before you rush off to work. Let it kiss you before you go to bed and let it still be there for you when you wake up".

This was directed to two people that have a very deep love for each other, but it's a concept that can be applied to love and friendship across the board. I have a lot of amazing people in my life and I want to be able to share more of these great experiences with them. We shouldn't need an occasion to bring us together, we just need to work a little harder at making it happen. Let your friends know how important they are to you and do it often. With that, no great friendship should ever slip away.

Testing 1...2...3K

Monday, May 11: 2:30 PM - 9.5 Miles, 66 min w/ Mario
11:00 AM - Chiro w/ Dr. V
Tuesday, May 12: 6:00 PM - Track WO w/ Mario, Ari, & Tony
25 min w/u
3 x 1600m w/ 2.5 minR - 4:57, 4:56, 4:51
(4 minR)
6 x 300m w/ 60 secR - 47.3, 48.2, 48.0, 47.6, 47.8, 46.8
25 min c/d
Wednesday, May 13: 0 Miles
Thursday, May 14: 5:30 PM - 10.5 Miles, 77 min w/ Brett
9:00 AM - Massage w/ Carly
Friday, May 15: 8:30 AM - 38 min w/ strides on the track after (in spikes)
Saturday, May 16: 9:00 AM - Time Trial @ Bentley
25 min w/u, 3000M - 8:33.6, 12 min c/d
68, 2:16 (68), 3:24 (68), 4:32 (68), 5:40 (68), 6:47 (67), 7:58 (71), 8:33 (35)
Sunday, May 17: 8:00 PM - 13.5 Miles, 91 min

Week Total = 59 Miles, 6 Sessions

This week started off pretty well as I tested out a new run in Framingham with Mario and then had a solid workout on Tuesday. The mile repeats felt easy and wasn't a problem to crank down the third one a bit. The 300s felt a little quick for me, but it's probably good to work on that speed a little. After missing my Wednesday run due to work, I had a nice run at Lincoln on Thursday. I was a little late getting there to meet Schmeck and Matt so they took off without me. Being frustrated about getting stuck in traffic and missing the opportunity to run with someone made me start the run pretty quick. I caught up with Brett Ely about 30 min in and ran easy with her for the rest of the run.

Over the last couple weeks, Kevin and I have been discussing the idea of doing a time trial on the track since I didn't have any races planned between James Joyce and the Twilight meets. The idea being to hopefully give me an idea of where my fitness is and also prepare me for the feeling of running all out on the track again. Kevin decided on 3000m for the distance and figured this week was good timing (3 weeks after JJ and 3 weeks before NBB Twilight). Since this was a race simulation, I busted out the spikes, as opposed to the flats that I normally wear in workouts. The last time I wore my track spikes was at Hayward Field over a year ago, so I pulled them from the closet a day early and did a few strides in them to shake off the dust.

I wasn't feeling great in the days leading up to Saturdays effort and was feeling pretty run down that morning when I woke up. I was getting nervous about the possibility of blowing up in the middle of this 3k and destroying the little confidence that I had left over from the 10K. After a couple hours of focus, I was able to mentally prepare myself for running hard and running close to my current fitness level, regardless of how I felt.

I really had no idea what my 3K fitness was leading up to this, but based on the strength work I've been doing and the ease of running 70-72 pace in workouts, I figured I should definitely be sub 8:40. I was also hoping that I could handle it just based off memory. So the plan was to shoot for 68s (8:30 pace) and adjust if necessary. My training partners of Ari, Tony, and JP were doing their own workout, but Tony was kind enough to lead me through the first 800m and get me on pace. I feel I did a pretty good job at staying right there and keeping it in control as I passed through 1600 in 4:32 feeling pretty good. I don't recall when I last ran a 4:32 on the track, so I was happy the legs weren't screaming at me. I think that actually made me a little greedy as I started leaning on the pace shortly after that, running 2:15 for the next 800. At 2K, I really thought I was gonna break 8:30, but with about 600m to go, it started to unravel. By the time I got to 300m to go, both the wheels had fallen off and there was no chance of having a fast finish. I was happy with the 8:33, but definitely knew that I could have run sub 8:30 in a race situation.

I now have 3 weeks until I run a real 3K at the 2nd NBB Twilight meet and if training goes as planned between now and then, I think something in the 8:22-8:25 won't be impossible. Immediately following that, I'm planning on a 5K at the 3rd NBB Twilight meet, and might even be eyeing a PR in that race. I don't want to get too far ahead of myself, but there should be enough able bodies in the race to do it, so I'm hoping I can take advantage of the opportunity and actually run a good race. We're still a month away from that and I still have a lot of work to do before then, so if I can get some more consistency in my training, maybe I can make something happen. Thus far, my workouts have been decent, but the volume throughout the week just isn't where it needs to be. Somehow, I need to find a way to improve that without getting sick or hurt. I'm hoping the nice weather and help of my teammates will be enough to get me there.

Picking Up Speed

Monday, April 27: 6:30 PM - 12 Miles, 84 min
Tuesday, April 28: 2:00 PM - 7 Miles, 46 min
Drills and Strides at the track
Wednesday, April 29: 6:00 PM - Track WO w/ Ari
25 min w/u
8 x 600m w/ 2minR - 1:46, 1:45, 1:44, 1:44, 1:43, 1:44, 1:42, 1:42
24 min c/d
Thursday, April 30: 7:30 PM - 6 Miles, 40 min
Friday, May 1: 8:30 PM - 7 Miles, 47 min
Saturday, May 2: 9:00 AM - Track WO w/ Ari, Pat, & Tony
25 min w/u
6 x Mile w/ 1minR - 4:59, 4:56, 4:57, 4:58, 4:52, 4:48
26 min c/d
Sunday, May 3: 7:30 PM - 12 Miles, 86 min

Week Total = 68 Miles, 7 Sessions

Monday, May 4: 12:30 PM - 10 Miles, 71 min
Tuesday, May 5: 6:00 PM - Track WO w/ Ari, Mario, JP, & Tony
26 min w/u
4 x [1000m (3minR) 600m (2.5minR]
[3:00, 1:45], [2:57, 1:41], [2:58, 1:42], [2:57, 1:39]
25 min c/d
Wednesday, May 6: 10:30 PM - 7 Miles, 47 min
Thursday, May 7: 8:00 AM - 6 Miles, 42 min
Friday, May 8: 0 Miles
Saturday, May 9: 0 Miles
Sunday, May 10: 8:00 AM - Long Interval WO
25 min w/u
2 Miles (road) - 10:18 (3.5minR)
2 Miles (road) - 10:09 (5minR)
1 Mile (track) - 4:58
15 min c/d on the grass

Week Total = 47 Miles, 5 Sessions

Two weeks have passed since I last posted on here and in that time, I've had some waves of good and bad training along with fluctuations in my motivation. Immediately following the James Joyce Ramble, I was on a mental high for a few days and had that mindset that anything was possible... something that's been missing for a while. Even though the race wasn't super competitive and the time wasn't super fast, it was a big enough boost to give me that "high" that I've been lacking. I had a really great training week which was concluded by one of my best workouts of the year on that Saturday. I was definitely starting to feel my legs under me again and feeling like I was making progress towards my goals.

I had another solid workout this past Tuesday followed by a great outing with the team at John Brewers afterward. We've had something like 9 birthdays on the team in the last month and some great performances so far this season, so with the addition of Cinco de Mayo, we figured we were due for a team get together. I really enjoyed the night and remember leaving dinner feeling very good about where things were going with the team and for me as an individual.

So it was a good start, but after that, the latter part of my training week started to unravel as I was bombarded with all sorts of things. Work was obviously a factor, but in addition to that, I also purchased a new car this week. I finally decided to retire the DSTNCE-Mobile ...or the Blue Beast as some would call it. I came to a point where I either had to invest a large amount of money into getting it to pass inspection or invest that money into a new car. After lots of consideration, I bit the bullet and chose the latter option. This little car has been good to me and it's certainly seen it's share of travel in the last few years, but after 160,000 miles of getting me from point A to point B, it was time to move on.

After a little searching around, I decided on a 2009 Hyundai Elantra as my new ride. My family has had pretty good luck with Hyundai so far, so I figured I'd keep with tradition. I also decided to purchase it in Maine since that's where we've gotten all our other cars, so I had to travel back and forth between MA and ME a couple of times over the course of the week. This process also included a lot of leg work that needed to be done to get all the paperwork taken care of. Maine and Massachusetts don't seem to work well together on that stuff, so I spent a good amount of time at the always exciting Registry of Motor Vehicles. This all certainly affected my training as I did some 10:30 PM runs and had some more zeros in the log, but I'm finally done with all the paperwork and my new car is now sitting happily in the driveway of 39 Stearns. I'm definitely liking it so far and think it'll be a good fit for me over the next several years.

Finally, after a crazy few days, I squeezed in another workout early Sunday morning, but was struggling with the motivation to really get after it. I was dreading doing it solo and just didn't have the time or energy to get mentally prepared for it so all I wanted to do was get it done and over with. I was supposed to hit 3 x 2 mile at 10:20, 10:10, and 10:00, but after the second 2 Mile, I was struggling and had a feeling the last one would be brutal. Therefore, I changed it up and just did a mile on the track at that pace. It ended up being an ok workout, but certainly not as comfortable as my last couple have been.

Moving on, I will still be working a lot in the next few weeks (especially now that I have an extra monthly payment to make), but I plan on having more consistency in my training and making a conscious effort to get in more of the little things between training sessions. I've been a lot better with icing lately as I've added a large storage bucket to the living room strictly for that purpose. CVC has been using it with me as well, now that he's training more regularly. I've also been doing a lot more foam rolling as instructed by Dr. V and might look into getting a wobble disc and/or baps board to help with my on going lower leg and foot issues. The ART, icing, stretching, etc. is helping, but I need to do more to strengthen those stabilizing muscles and increase that ankle mobility. Furthermore, I've scheduled a much needed massage with a recently certified Carly Graytock who was kind enough to log some free time with me earlier in the year while she was going to school. On top of all that, I'd like to (need to!) get in more drills and core work again to help reduce my risk of riding the bench through another season. I'm starting to see my fitness improve now and I need to be serious about everything I'm doing in that process. Otherwise, why am I doing it at all?

As for racing, I still don't know what my exact schedule will look like, but I'm pretty sure you'll see my name on one of the start lists at the Twilight Meets. I won't make the first one because I'll be in the Sipe-Eddy wedding up in Boothbay Harbor, but the second and third meets are probably fair game. Then depending on how things go there, I may shop around for other races on the track or switch to the roads. I'm still in the planning stages of my "racing season" while most people are in the middle or end of their season. But I'm ok with that. Definitely let me know if you'll be joining us in the Twilight Series this year or if you have any other suggestions I should consider.

Have a good week and I'll see you at the races.