Shifting gears... but not on a bike

I decided a couple weeks ago after my Riley's Rumble workout to change my training/racing goals for the rest of 2012. I'm going to drop triathlon training for the rest of the year and focus on running and running only. My intent is to build a big base over the next few months, culminating in (hopefully) a big PR at the Philadelphia half marathon in November. I will race several times over that timespan as well with a couple longer races to use as hard tempos/tuneups. I also plan to race at USATF XC Club Nationals, depending on how I feel after Philly, but I will be in decent shape to help the team (that's the idea at least).

I believe this is the best course of action for several reasons. One, I have been completely dissatisfied with my running this year. It demoralized me and I want a reason to believe I am a decent runner still. This should get my confidence back to where it should be. I want to feel excited to race off the bike in 2013 and a key is feeling like a fast runner, having a reason to be excited and confident. Two, the lack of miles from tri training was the main factor in my poor running this year. I was putting in tempo/track workouts... however without a mileage base I have nothing to fall back on when the going gets tough in races. My endurance suffered as well. Three, I think this will really positively impact me as a triathlete. I've focused so much on cycling and swimming the past couple years I've really neglected the run. With my swim and bike improved, if I can get my run to where it was in early 2011 and 2010, I believe my overall performance will be greatly boosted.

Plus, I have grown weary of tri training... I've been doing it for about 3 years straight without much letup. Simply put, I miss running. I'm happy to hang up the bikes for a little while. I'm just so pumped and excited to run again. That's what it's all about, having fun, not forcing it. I look forward to my runs now since they feel GOOD. No tired legs from cycling or swimming earlier in the day (although I intend to keep swimming 2-3x a week because I enjoy it... just no hard masters workouts) leads to higher quality runs. I did a 6x1000m speed workout this past Wednesday in the nearby park, and it went awesome, went at or under 3:10s for all 6 with 90sec recovery. And it was FUN!! Long runs feel nice and I look forward to afternoon aerobic runs. It's going to be nice to run with my friends much more often now and join GRC long runs again. I think I will also come into 2013 excited to ride and train for tris (going after Eagleman and a longer season) again. I just need a break, and get back to doing something I really enjoy.

Yeah, so that's what I'm up to now. Pretty excited for the next 4 months!

CTR vs. The Sun: An Eagleman Story

Original version here w/ more pictures and brightness

Goal race of 2012: Eagleman 70.3. I got to Cambridge at 11am Saturday. Met up with my favorite race-buddies, Ryan McGrath and Alyssa Godesky. We swam, rode, ate, rested, ate, went to sleep... and they dealt with my incessant nerves. Good people to deal with a jittery rookie. Race day was sunny, hot, even at 8:15 when I made my way to the water for the swim...

SWIM: 29:13, 1:28/100m, 158th (9th AG) -- Pretty average swim for me as of late, which is all I wanted. I had no trouble as I rarely ever do with being beaten by other racers, but I let the lead group get away early, which stunk. About 400-500m I noticed a guy swimming alongside me so I slowed up a touch to get behind him and behind him I stayed for a long time, I think until the final right-turn to head back to shore. It was helpful as he was also a good navigator, specifically going around slow-moving or still bodies of the older men/women in the two waves before us. I got out of the water and saw 29:XX on my watch and knew the swim was mission accomplished. My goal was 29:30 and I think thanks to the draft I was pulled a few seconds faster, although really the guy I was swimming behind was the same speed as me. The current was weaker although it made the swim a touch slower I bet. Never worried about arm ache or bad form as my Xterra Vendetta suit always feels really good, even in 75.5 degree water.

Ed called out that I was near the front of my age group, so I was pleased but also worried I'd lose spots during my weakness, the bike. Transitioned fairly quick but dawdled near the end and lost 15-30sec.

BIKE: 2:22:47, 23.5mph, 102nd (4th AG) -- This part of the race made me the most nervous leading up, as I had never raced on a truly flat course before and therefore had no idea what my target wattage would produce speed-wise. I was pleasantly surprised when I found myself holding 24+mph in the light crosswinds. I was even more pleasantly surprised how good it felt! In the meantime I nailed my nutrition, taking in 2xbottles of EFS, a bottle of Gatorade, a bottle of water, and 3.5 Strawberry Clif gels w/ caffeine, the best gel out there! Lots of drafting and blocking out there too. Funniest part of the ride was when I was drafted off of by some old guy for a while and on a couple more occasions by guys in my wave. Me?? Drafted off of?? For real, me??? Hhahaahah! About 35mi in I reassessed and felt good and thought about turning up the power a little but decided not to... I really had no clue how I would feel off the bike, so I stuck to what was working. Around 40mi I turned into the headwind, which while not strong, was enough to slow me down a little. I was holding 24.1 up to that point, and was brought down to 23.7 with 2mi left to go, which I guess was expected. Nevertheless I held a very even wattage, rarely ever seeing my power average go over 222 or under 218. I couldn't have asked for a better ride! I was expecting 2:25-2:28, so to get under 2:23 was great to see. With a good swim and even better bike, I was setting myself up for a good run!

Totally bungled T2, had everything right until I was leaving transition and a kind volunteer asked "Hey man don't you want your number?" Oh yeah, that would be a good idea, since I don't want to get DQ'ed. Ran back to the other side of transition to get it. Wasted minute!! What a nonsense.

RUN: 1:34:01, 7:11/mile, 80th (5th AG) -- Well, it started according to plan, 6:15-20s for the first 5k and it felt pretty good, just like I thought it would. I love my shoes by the way, K-Swiss Kwicky Blades, EA$ILY the best running shoes I've ever worn. No joke. Then like a switch being flipped my body's cooling systems shut down. Fuel cells OFF. I suddenly felt like I was in an oven. Well, I was. It's pretty exposed out there and then without a cloud in the sky and 92+ degree heat... trouble. I soon found myself walking through the next aid station... then the next aid station... and then the next. And then every aid station until the finish. Just walking through them to get down as much water/gatorade/pepsi as I could during the walk. Ran between them, which was helpful, held 6:30-:45 pace, but those 30-50sec walks were killer for my pacing and time. I saw some 25-29 AGers pass me but I caught a couple as well. Unfortunately I began counting and soon I counted myself out of top-5 podium. RATS.

O well, just gotta finish respectably from here. I wasn't cramping so not all was bad. I was just really hot. Some stud kept passing me when I was walking through the aid stations, only to get re-passed by me whenever I started to run again. Got tired of it. I threw down an epic miracle final 2 mile straight run at 6:30 pace to put him behind me for good. SLAAAAM DUNK. I just preserved ... 7th place in the AG. Well it's something.

O hey, there's the finish line! DONE.

4:31:37, 73rd OA (7th AG), 97 seconds off from what I wanted, but goal #1 was finishing and feeling "good". Well, I didn't feel that good, I was hot and blistered and sore as hell. But I got the primary objective done. Not so bad for a first half, I reckon. And oddly it was the bike that got me in contention (makes all that bike training seem worth it huh?)... and the sun run that put me out. Next time I'll get that top-5 AG and maybe a Vegas spot. Oh, big ups to fellow Sidwell alumni Ken-Ichi Hino on the 25-29 win. HUGE day for the guy. Good to catch up with him.

That was hella fun. Can't wait for the next 70.3, and that is fo $ho.

Big thanks to DC Tri Club and Team Snapple (Bart Forsyth is the MAN, I'm telling you) and their sponsors (Xterra, K-Swiss, Clif, Elite Bicycles, Hed, Rudy Project, Champion Systems) for the gear and support; Coach Todd for his usual bang-on coaching and Matias, Ryan, Michelle, LJ, Alyssa G and (coach) Alyssa M for their advice and wisdom that I desperately needed. Can't forget my Dutch boy friends Dirk and Paul who support and keep me honest 24/7. And Brian Shea at Personal Best Nutrition, man knows nutrition and he got it right... he does the job so well he doesn't allow the athlete any nutrition-related excuses. Shout out to Elite Bicycles for building me the coolest bike in the world and Smiley El-Abd for squeezing me in for some emergency fitting leading to the race. Oh, and Martina for dealing with all this triathlon hooey, of course!

Cherry Blossom 10mi race report

First, a little recent history. In the weeks leading up I raced in a couple 5ks and had been cycling a ton. First was Shamrock 5k in Baltimore. This ended up feeling a lot harder than expected, partially due to a hard ride the day before, but also because I expected to be in 5k PR shape without any real speed training... just one hill workout that same week. I ended up with a major positive split, coming in 16:23 and 13th overall. I was in much better shape to run fast last year so it was foolish to think the same this year, when I've approached training much differently. 2 weeks later I raced at the Multisport Expo in a XC 5k on the Prep campus. Matias and I cruised through the course, coming in 1-2. I ran 17:15 for the win (first and probably last time I'll ever beat Matias in anything!) and despite taking it a bit easier I easily had a much better race than Shamrock. Smarter racing and a little more run-specific hill training led to that. I had my first track "workout" the following Tuesday, which was short 5k-pace intervals. Nothing strenuous, just waking the legs up for this past Sunday's Cherry Blossom 10-miler, without a doubt my favorite local running race.

I had a hard bike workout Thursday which made me worry how my legs would feel by Sunday but on Saturday I ran for 20min and knew all systems were go. 100% full capacity. I warmed up with teammates for about 15-20min and still felt good heading to the start line. I found myself lined up behind... who else? Dee Nelson. Elbows at the ready, my first task would be getting by her without knocking her down and running with the burden that I roughed up a 68 year old woman. I managed to get by with minimal contact and the race was on. I sought out Matias but he got out to a faster start than I would've liked so I let him go and linked up with Bain. We came through mile 1 at 5:35, a little slower than both of us wanted, but we agreed it felt a little tougher than expected! Bad sign? But half a mile later my legs settled into pace and picked up speed a touch. The next few miles were consistent as I stayed on Bain's feet and slowly my small group began to reel in Matias' pack. We joined back up a little past mile 4 where I remarked to Matias "I finally caught you!" From there we made our way together down Independence Ave, catching and dropping a few other runners.

Following Matias, somewhere between 4 and 5, pain starting to set in. Photo by Jimmy Daly.

We got to mile 5 in around 27:34, but then I started to hurt. It was time to get tough and hold on. I didn't hold onto Matias though, as he picked it up heading into Hains Point. I waved goodbye as he and a PR fellow went after Bain. I forget my 10k time but it must've been somewhere between 34:20 and 34:35. It was also about that time that I began to suffer. It didn't help that the DJ around mile 7 was playing a song I was wholly unprepared to add to my mental playlist "Do The Locomotion" by Little Eva. A fine song otherwise, it wasn't what I needed on repeat in my head with 17 minutes of racing left. But on I soldiered.

Right around mile 8 I think I was beginning to slow mentally and physically as I heard a pair of footsteps draw ever nearer. Then a turning point! I saw a group of 20-30somethings suddenly erupt into a cacophany of cheering. They all shouted "YEAH!!! GO DAD!! GET HIM, YOU GOT IT!"

Dad and me with 1200m to go. Photo by Michelle Miller.

....DAD?!?!?! Oh hell. I can't lose to a guy named DAD. So my legs, reawakened with a competitive vigor, picked up steam and increased turnover. I felt like a different runner. Running away from an old man (I learned later he wasn't just any old man, but 56 year old Norm Larson, who is/was recently the 6th ranked masters runner in the US). His footsteps grew a bit fainter and stayed that way until mile 9.25, where I ran into a spot of difficulty again. It was quickly dispelled after I got some support from my friends from Falls Road. I came into the final hill and was able to finally reap the benefits of my recent hill work, putting a final cushion on DAD and rolling into the finish in 55:31, good for 44th overall and a 5:33/mi avg.

Scaling the final (and really, the only) ascent of the race, feel the pain. Photo by Jimmy Daly.

I'm very satisfied with this result. I fought for it and raced for it. And I did it with really only bike/swim and 40mpw run mileage. So being able to hold 5:30s for 10mi at this point has me very excited to start the real run training alongside an increase in bike mileage and intensity. I also paced fairly evenly, so it's nice to feel more experienced running longer distances. I start track work regularly this week and long tempos each weekend. Hopefully I'll get faster!

Fish heads fish heads roly poly fish heads

My legs feel awesome. I'm surprised because my left calf is a little sore from Club Challenge, but Wednesday's and today's runs were without a doubt the best (aside from CC) runs of 2012. Before I felt like I was just going through the motions on each run, but now my stride feels fluid and my legs feel very responsive. It's like the race woke my legs from a several month slumber. Whatever it is, I like it, obviously. Good thing, because I have some races coming up and more intensive run training (finally).

I also had my longest swim of the year yesterday, a 3700y master's practice with Germantown Masters. It's a good group, and it seems the practices earlier in the week focus on speed, which I can do better in a group. I'll probably make Friday or an extra weekend swim more distance-oriented. But 3700 sort of out of the blue didn't feel any different from 2700. I did do a 3100y workout last week with Germantown Masters. Anyway, swimming is going just fine. Sort of picking up where I left off when I last swam masters in September. Although I think I'm a little slower at the moment... probably due to less yardage overall to this point.

Biking is going pretty well also. It took a little while to feel comfortable on the road, but an easy ride Monday, which turned out to be almost 2 hours, showed me I'm rounding into a better form. My easy rides last year weren't that long, so good to see I'm finally gaining some endurance. I've been doing well in my workouts, power is going up.

By the way, before I forget, I want to reveal to you two videos. One, the song I had in my head for all of Club Challenge. Not sure how I ran as well as I did with it clanging in my head (OR HOW IT EVEN GOT THERE), but... body over mind?

Second, a special dedication. This video is for you, Thomas Stott, for your excellent physical therapy guidance and help. Make your time. hahaha.

RRCA Club Challenge 10mi -- Back to racing

I ran this morning in the Club Challenge 10-miler, a popular race among MD/DC running clubs. Ryan McGrath was a big factor in convincing me to do this race, and Todd went from encouraging me to do it as a workout to telling me to race it. I wasn't in great run form heading in as I've done 3 total "speed" workouts which really were only 22 total minutes of pick-ups... no tempos/hill/track work, just 30-35mpw and bike/swim workouts, so I tempered my expectations and simply aimed to get out there, run hard and see what my strong aerobic fitness could do for me.

I had previewed the course a couple times with the Falls Road team within the month leading up to the race and knew I had work cut out for me... it's a very hilly and technical course, with many sharp climbs and descents and turns to make it hard to keep a rhythm. I wanted to go out feeling conservative the first couple miles and then hold a solid tempo effort while racing for placement and thus helping my club, MCRRC.

My legs weren't fresh race morning as the day before I rode some hard miles in the strong winds preceded by a 30min run, but I felt better than I expected. Tom, Conrad and I warmed up for a couple miles, got my act together and headed to the start. I saw a lot of friends from MCRRC and Falls Rd and lined myself up a few rows back so I could commit to my conservative start. Race went off and I settled in, aiming to hit 6:00 for the mile, but instead found myself holding 5:45 but very comfortably... I kind of expected that to feel a little harder, but I just went with the conservative feeling rather than thinking about the pace.

And actually that's how the rest of the race went, even through the hills. I checked my miles just to be sure I wasn't getting TOO comfortable, but I felt I was putting in a good effort and passed at least 22 people, which was thrilling! My legs were strong on the harder climbs in the middle, which I was worried about as my previous hip/quad injury was magnified on hills. But today I didn't feel the injury once. Put in a little extra effort for the last mile since I didn't feel awfully winded at that point. Finished in 57:59 (I bush-league sprinted to the finish just to get under 58) and 23rd overall. I think that's not so bad for being out of run shape, also goes to show my bike/swim training has made me fit overall, which will hopefully make it easier to get faster in running. Splits were 5:45, 5:45, 5:46, 5:41, 5:43, 5:49, 5:50, 5:53, 5:56, 5:45. Conrad got a big win and other training pals / honorary teammates had great races too.

That was a lot of fun, a really enjoyable race. Competition with friends and foes. Paced myself well and had lots of energy and leg left after the finish. And both the result and effort has gotten me really excited for the Spring. Whereas last week I was worried about where I'd be by Cherry Blossom, I'm now confident I'll still salvage a strong running season.

Ok, maybe I was having too much fun, thanks Michelle

Load the Spaceship with the Rocket Fuel!

Training is picking up and the quality of my workouts IS getting better, which means they are getting harder, especially in biking. Two long trainer interval workouts Tuesday and Thursday, in addition to my first run workout since early December (2mi easy, 4mi @ no slower than 6:15 with 6x1min pickups every 4 minutes, 2mi easy) left me feeling pretty weary by the weekend. But no rest, I had a 2 hour ride, 10mi run and swim meet scheduled.

The ride on Saturday was probably supposed to be somewhat relaxed, Michelle and I joining Snapple mates near Sibley. Pretty early on it became evident that it wouldn't be relaxed. Bart pushed the pace early on and the rest of us just tried to hang on... it was all we could do! He eventually pulled away with John Chambers in tow. The rest of us picked up the pieces and reassembled and just rambled to the end of the ride. Wow. We were absolutely crushed by Bart. But it was still a quality ride, I was able to take plenty of pulls and locked my legs in the cellar of pain. Nah, it wasn't quite that bad but it was a good wake-up. I need a little more fitness before I rejoin the roadies. Ride data: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/147677313

Sunday was the DC Tri Club swim meet at Catholic U. I signed up for the 400free, 100free, 50fly and both relays, the 200medley and 200free. I wanted to really do well in the 400, but I started way too fast... I was just off of Matias in the lane next to me after 100. That was too close! I fell apart in the second 200, averaging about 1:22s in the second half. Bad Andy... I thought I was past that. 13 seconds slower than last year. I did fine in the shorter distances, a touch slower overall than last year, which I attribute to swimming about a fifth of the total yards this year that I swam in December/January combined last year. No speed work either, so I think my performance was pretty decent despite that. Aside from that poor pacing job in the 400, it shows my speed hasn't left me despite training much less. It's encouraging me to increase the effort a little in each practice, even if I'm not going to increase yardage. I will start masters practice 1-2 times a week in the next week or so... that'll help my speed. I also notice my form is really solid at the moment. My strokes are long and smooth, so I'm glad I have that covered and I can think more of building strength and endurance... lots of paddles and pull buoys in my future.

Right after the race Matias and I went for a 10mi run through DC. We started out a little quick, settled down and then dropped the hammer somewhat in the last 2 miles. A good run, made better by the fact that my hip did not hurt at all... despite swimming beforehand (flutter kick aggravated my hip woe) and lots of start/stop at intersections (which was a cause of hip problems during runs). It's great that I can start putting in more miles and quality together and not worry about injury anymore. I don't even think about my hip when I run anymore.

I have Allie at Schrier Physical Therapy to thank for that... she pointed out lots of weaknesses and really made things right with my hip. I know more about how the legs work as one unit and will keep working to make them stronger so they stay as one. So, anyone reading this who has unresolved or curious aches/pains, go to Allie, she's fantastic at what she does.

Swam Monday AM and ran with Wiggy Monday PM. Legs were tired but it was a good shakeout to wake them up.

AAAAH YOU CAN FEEL IT DUDE, YOU CAN FEEL IT!!

I love this kind of training

I am back in the swing of harder training.

I am currently swimming only 3x a week, but that's ok as my speed is more or less back and my endurance is a lot higher than it was a couple weeks ago, averaging about 2400y per practice now. I'll be back at master's practice in a week or two, but that will just replace a swim I'm doing now. It'll add some endurance and harder efforts to my usual swim schedule. I really enjoy swimming. I found this out early last year when I started finding my stroke and got faster. They're probably my favorite practices each week. I can let my mind go blank each time I'm in the water... I can't ever recall what I was thinking about after each practice, only running numbers through my head to keep track of recovery and intervals.

I'm cycling 4x a week for now, a spin, 2 harder tempo/threshold workouts and a long ride. I really enjoy the trainer workouts. It's usually 30-35min of hard cycling total, with another 30min of combined warmup/cooldown, with wattages staying within tempo and lighter threshold effort. It's fun on ZeroZeroNine, the name I gave to my TT bike (after Cyborg 009, who has the power to accelerate and move so fast everything around him looks motionless) and to watch TdF stages on the TV while listening to music on my iPod. The workouts mix up cadence and power output to confuse my legs. It's working as my longer outdoor rides have become somewhat easier... more endurance and strength for climbs or tempo efforts.

I was running 3x a week for a total of 25 or so miles, but will increase that to 4 runs per week and around 35mi, including some shorter speed work on Wednesday. I think after the next 2 weeks I will add in hills and tempo to begin building strength and a solid base. My hip is so much better now... I ran 10mi on the towpath, which has been a thorn in my side, literally, it makes my hip flare up. But I ran painfree Sunday and even felt good after standing around for a few hours handing out water with teammate Phil and Laurel at the High Cloud half-marathon. I ran 45min with Jordan today, which was another good test as consecutive running days test my hip, but it felt fine. I no longer focus on my hip when I run, so I can run more relaxed and just focus on good form.

I feel so good running I added in a new race to the schedule, the RRCA Club Challenge 10mi at the end of February, but will do that more as a workout... maybe aim for 58-59min. It's pretty hilly and will be a good workout a month out from Cherry Blossom. I ran there a couple weekends ago with friends from the Falls Road running squad, and have been fortunate to get to know Tom Stott aka Scotty Doesn't Know, who lives a mile away from me. Hopefully we'll get to running and cycling more as we have somewhat similar races on the docket.

Mmm, the joy of running healthy and loving training... this kind of strength-building training is the best. I'll be unemployed tomorrow as HSUS can't afford my position anymore. That's depressing, but the fact that training is going well and I am having so much fun doing it takes my mind off my unemployment gloom. Searching for a job is stressful in these times, but knowing I can fall back on a good swim/ride/run keeps me on the happy end of the spectrum.

Or I can just watch Arnold talk and I'll feel better instantly.

First "Race" of 2012

I kind of sort of raced in a 5k in Charleston this weekend. I made the trip with my pals from Baltimore (Falls Road TWSS racing team), Ryan McGrath, Conrad Laskowski, Alyssa Godesky and Ed Aramayo. Ryan and Conrad ran the marathon while Ed, Alyssa and I invaded the 5k. For Ed, it was almost certain he was going to win and he did, easily. I promised to help Alyssa get herself a PR, since I wasn't even close to race form. The plan was to stay with her for at least 2 miles and then break off and finish with a hard last mile or less. By mile 2, we were holding a 6:18 pace steadily and she built a huge lead on the 2nd female, so I felt my job was done. I waved goodbye and sped up, maintaining a 5:00 pace for the last mile and held that for the duration of that mile. Crossed the line in 17:20 for 3mi, I guess around a 17:45 or so 5k equivalent at that pace. It felt really good to drop the hammer like that, even if I didn't really have a race on the line. I still passed about 7-9 guys and stole an AG award for myself, which ended up being a glass, so it was well worth it.

Alyssa won her first running race (and at an odd distance, since she's an ultra runner) and PRed big time, and Conrad and Ryan both came in under 3:04 in the marathon, a PR for Ryan and Conrad did it despite running at least 2 extra miles. Easily an everybody wins weekend, ITU.

So, takeaways. Despite not being in top shape, I was glad I could put in a 5:00 mile in an instant, even with a rather unforgiving headwind for more than half of it (tailwind for the last .2mi or so). But probably the best part of all was that I didn't even think once about my hip after the start. No tightness or weakness. Only during a start/stop cooldown and walking/standing around afterward did it tighten, but some stretching and massage kept it silent. That tells me it's time to start getting back to work and adding more miles and harder workouts to my schedule. I've been patiently allowing my hip to heal, and it seems to have paid off! I'm chomping at the bit to get back to it.

Danish Cookies

They are pretty tasty. Especially since they are sold for cheap in a tin. I like the pretzel cookie covered with those big sugar rectangular prisms.

Friday I just swam. More drills. Some lady in the lane next to me always seems to be at the pool at the same time I am, and she's pretty quick. I get a little competitive as a result, which I need at this point since I'm not racing for another month and a half. That made for a pretty fast 1700y, in about 25:50. When I thought about it about half an hour later, that has to be, without recoveries, a 23min 1500m or so. Not that slow, considering I wasn't even that fast with a wetsuit on in 2010. Some of the swimming was drill/breaststroke too. I wasn't thinking of swimming fast, but apparently my speed is still there to a degree. I still have a ways to go to get the endurance back.

Saturday I met Team CYB mate Alyssa for a ride+run at COLUMBIA. I hadn't been to that course since 2011's race. Whenever I'm there I get really furious... I love that race but I always seem to get angry about past results. I took some rage out on the hills for part of the ride and relaxed in the second half, reminding myself it was meant to be an "easy" ride. I couldn't help but remember the bad thoughts I had last year during the race. Despite probably being out of shape I felt quite good out there. I kept a pretty high cadence on all hills, so my turnover is quick, probably helped by all the high-rpm spins I've had recently. We then hopped out onto part of the run course for a 40min run around the lake and a little more. A test for my hip, I didn't even think about it after a couple minutes of running. It didn't hurt or tighten up afterward either. Alyssa and I then feasted on the DANISH COOKIES from the aluminum tin. I stretched and then rested for the remainder of the day.

Sunday AM I ran with a bunch of Snapple people. I didn't want to run the 12mi that Bart proposed, so I lucked out when several of the girls on the team said they only wanted to run 7mi. That's much more my kind of distance. We ran on the towpath, which seemed to slightly disturb my hip, and it was a little bit tender afterward. I immediately stretched it out and it was fine for a few hours. It got a little tender again in the afternoon, not helped by a walk. But I did some more stretching/strength in the evening and all that went away.

I don't think I made anything worse, but it was a pretty active weekend, so I need to control that a little better. At least I know the stretching works. In fact, I noticed last night after strength that my hamstring flexibility has vastly improved! I am much closer to touching my toes than I've ever been before. I'm probably about 75% down my shins, just above my ankles. I've never really bettered 50% of my shins. PROGRESS. I'm very self-conscious about my hamstring flexiblity. Maybe soon I can come out of my shell and proudly show off my hamstrings.

By the way, my fury at Columbia can be accurately depicted by Ken Shamrock's typical WWF ring entrances back in the late 90's. This guy was the MAN. The most DANGEROUS man.

No pain, lots of gain

Yesterday's run marked the first time since October 2011 that I can remember having no tightness or pain in either my achilles or hip. Sunday's run was good, no achilles ache but still a small amount of hip tightness. A few more days of productive stretching and strength work later and I felt 100% healthy on my run. Usually the tightness bothers me at the beginning and 5min after the run, but this time there was no pain during OR after the run! Not even any tightness. In addition, I felt a lot of bounce and strength in each step. I can finally say I feel healthy and unrestricted during a run. Will keep up with the PT for 1-2 more visits and definitely keep the stretching/strength going, but this is huge for me. I'm really looking forward to the Spring races now and getting some speed back in the legs eventually.

Aside from that, I've been doing good drill work in the water, still have yet to exceed 2000y in a single practice, but I'd rather do a little bit less of higher-quality than a lot of poor swimming. On the bike, just keeping with the easy spins. I did take ZeroZeroNine out for a ride on Saturday... first time I've ridden it outside. It was a warmish but very windy day, so I wasn't able to pick up much speed, but the bike felt wonderful under me, a perfect fit. I'll hit Columbia this weekend, although I'm still not in the best bike shape that is a very fun route to ride... and perhaps it'll get me more excited about racing again.

2011/2012

It was a fine year, more ups than downs, which makes it positive. I am happy with the way I ran for the first half and happy with the way I swam and cycled in the second half. So that means I wasn't happy with both the way I ran in the second half and my cycling in the first half. Swimming was good all year round, but I really hit my stride in the last handful of races.

Best races were the trio of running PRs (15:37 @ Shamrock, 54:22 @ Cherry Blossom, 32:16 @ Pike's Peak) and the Luray Triathlon. To be perfectly honest I did not see those running PRs coming at all... I might have expected PRs by a few seconds, not up to several minutes in each. Luray was my best triathlon performance in regard to how I placed among the competition and my splits, particularly a good bike ride. I was only moderately pleased with Columbia since my bike was so horrible. My cycling races were all pretty decent. However all my races after the Race for the Cure 5k were disappointing. Just a combination of not very smart training on my part and the resultant overtraining/burning out by the end of the year.

I'd say I left a lot on the table in 2011. I just have to think that if I wasn't so tired by race day I would have done a lot better (Columbia/USATF XC Clubs). I will train smarter for 2012 so I can last the entire season and not be peaked and burned out by June. It's already been quite different from last year, when I was exceeding 125,000 yards in the pool in November/December/January and already cranking out interval work on the bike. That was too much. Past few weeks I've just been doing shorter workouts centered around drills in the pool and a handful of spins or aerobic rides each week. No hard work quite yet. I'm also adding in more strength and stretching work each week. That should allow my body to stay strong and hopefully injury free for the duration of 2012.

So, some goals for 2012:

-- 15:30 @ Shamrock 5k

-- 53:50 @ Cherry Blossom 10mi

-- 32:00 @ Pike's Peak 10k

-- 2:05 or top 25 @ Columbia Tri

-- Qualify for 70.3 Worlds at Eagleman 70.3

-- Podium at Luray

-- Don't embarrass myself at USATF XC Club Nationals

-- Train hard but smart and be healthy

Okay Hip, Let's See What You Can Do

Thanks to my hip flexor issue, I chose not to run for about two weeks since XC Clubs. And even with a short weekend run, I'm still not going to run again until New Year's Day, just to be sure I'm giving my body ample time to recover. But Saturday's run was a big step in the right direction.

I met with Klim by the Barnes & Noble in Bethesda for a 45min Capital Crescent run. I quickly skimmed through a book on the WWII Pacific Theater, studying mostly some pictures I hadn't seen before of CV-2 USS Lexington, an aircraft carrier that was attacked and sunk during Battle of Coral Sea (the prequel to Midway), a somewhat under-reported sea battle that has always intrigued me. Anyway, I was hoping I wouldn't suffer a similar (or a simile?) fate as Lady Lex while testing out my legs. It felt a little odd to be running again as 13 days off will give the legs some pop back but the running just felt weird. The good thing is that I felt really no hip ache during the run! It was indeed a little weak and tight but that should be expected. I did my stretches afterward and then the Red Fox and I scurried into the Dunkin' Donuts for some gross but essential breakfast sandwiches.

So that was good. I passed the first test. The hip did tighten up more as Klim warned later in the day, but still none of the persistent dull ache I had before. Nor did it feel like it was going to pop whenever I coughed.

Sunday AM I clambered onto the new TT bike for a 90min trainer spin, decked out in my brand new SIDI T2 triathlon shoes. Those silver-scaley ones I linked to in the last post... my main Christmas present. They fit perfect and feel wonderful on my feet. The ride was fun, I tucked into aero position for most of the ride, which is good because that means I'm getting used to my fit. No power meter, just going by time and cadence, which I kept between 92 and 100 rpm. It was also fun because I cycled to one of my now-favorite stages in the Tour de France, 2009's stage 18, the last individual time trial, which Contador won triumphantly (and sealing his 2nd overall Tour win!). I like the guy. I'm glad he punished the Schlecks and Cancellara. But more than Contador, I enjoyed watching Bradley Wiggins crank, his form is so flawless and smooth. Lance was also in this one, but wasn't very impressive in the ITT... guess he was getting old or something.

Here's a very short version of what I watched:

(Slow) & Steady As She Goes

I returned to "regular" training this week. Nothing intense, it's still too early for hard rides or swims... I'm really going to try to stick to the easy start, stronger finish strategy. These were pretty easy workouts, and I still haven't run for almost 2 weeks, but will go for 30min on Xmas morning and then another 5 days off before the next run. Then the training begins to pick up after next week and I get to run more.

Swam 1500y on Monday with a mix of 200s and 400s and some drills. Very simple, just to get back in the water and get some sort of feel back. I was actually surprised how good I felt. Clearly I have some... ok, a lot of muscular endurance to get back. At least I remembered how to flipturn.

Started my new strength regimen Tuesday AM, which consists of all body-weight exercises... no dumbbells. Will gradually work medicine balls and extra weight to my exercises but for now I need to get the muscles ready for the work ahead. In the afternoon I got back on the bike (wow, it's been 7 weeks!) and just spun easy for 55min while watching the final ITT of 2009 TdF, which was a really good one. Nothing really to report on the ride, it was just a small chain-ring, high-RPM ride.

Wednesday I swam again, only 1600y but again a mix of drill and swim. I felt a little better than I did Monday.

Thursday was another AM strength routine. I was a little sore from Tuesday since that was the first strength work I had attempted since the Spring. I'm going to have to keep it consistent in 2012. In the PM I had another spin, this time on the TT bike. I'll need to get used to TT position again, as this ride felt just wee-bit harder than Tuesday's. But I'm not worrying about power or anything now... just getting the legs turning in circles.

I swam this AM and went around 1900y, so I'm slowly bringing the distance back up. I did more pull/swim this time and some extra kicking. My legs actually responded a lot better to kicking now than they ever did earlier in the year, and I think that's due to all the stretching I've been doing. Really have been focusing on getting my hamstrings, calves and hips loose.

So for Christmas, I'm getting these from my family:

http://www.slowtwitch.com/Products/Cycling_footwear/Sidi_T2_Silver_Snake_1985.html

Pretty sweet.

USATF XC Club Nationals: Well, at least I wasn't last place

The title sort of gives this one away. XC Clubs didn't go so well. The past 2 weeks leading up to the race raised several red flags -- sickness and several little injuries -- that I felt I would be able to totally fight through. But by race day, I still had a pretty heavy cough and my hip flexor rang with ache every time I coughed or took a long stride. But I would do what I could to get through the race and somehow finish around PMurph or Shredder.

Didn't quite work out that way though. By 2.5mi into the race, my hip started hurting quite a bit and more importantly started feeling weak, like I was running on one good leg. I came through the first 5k in 16:50, but knew that I wouldn't sustain. At that point it was a matter of just finishing somewhat respectably, but it became quickly apparent that I would have to be content with simply finishing. 6k in people started passing left and right and I found it very difficult to keep a high cadence and pull my right leg from the goopy sections of the course. I finally got myself through the finish in around 35:30, placing 234th out of around 300 (damn, that's a fast race). OUCH (referring to the hip and the time). That's a good 90sec slower than I thought I would finish and an 18:40 second 5k. Slowest 10k I've run in over 2 years. That was a pretty miserable experience. I limped to the team area and stretched it out. Fortunately the pain went down a bit in the last 2km so I was able to slowly jog a cooldown but it was very tight still. I indulged in a good evening of beer drinking and that took my mind off the misery.

Ow.

Photo courtesy of Michael Scott

The next morning a group of us went for a 5mi run through some of Seattle, finishing with donuts. Hip was stiff but not too painful. It was not until the plane ride home that it really hit me... not the pain, but how upset I was about the race. It was something I had trained hard for but unfortunately fell apart just before the big day. I got pretty frustrated and angry about the whole thing and continued feeling that way for a few more days. It was a pretty depressing time for me!

Then I thought about what led up to the race that caused my body to collapse in on itself so. At the time I didn't think I had overtrained or anything of the sort, and I may not have, but after talking to Dirk about the race and training, I realized that I just simply had not been training like I should have. What I refer to is the fact that I had a very successful Spring this year, with all 3 races being big PRs. And what led to that spring was indeed triathlon training, but also very little track work, as opposed to what I did for 2 months leading to XC, when I hit the track every week (for 8+ weeks!). I only started track work 2 weeks before my first race in March and even after that I ran the workouts controlled and not as hard as I could. I didn't really think much of it in the Spring or after, but it was the tempos and hills and strength/endurance building I did during my training that made me strong and ready to run well and healthy. I did none of that leading to XC (I did a couple tempo-y workouts, but they were short and too fast). Also, bringing up my mileage from 20 to 35 to 45 to 50 to 60 was probably way to quick of a jump. Doing that with no recent tempo/strength meant it was only a matter of time before my legs gave up.

Lesson? I should train the way I know helped me succeed in the past. Rattling off 2:20 800s at track workouts are bullets I should be keeping in the chamber for race day... and anyway, that's not the kind of speed I'll be using in a 10k! That's not to say the training was incorrect... it was just not the right training paces for me. Too fast for 10k training for me. Do more tempos and longer tempos at that... that's what increases the endurance and strength at the same time, which are essential together at distances longer than 5k.

I'll also keep the mileage much higher during triathlon season... whereas I ran 30 at most during the tri season, I will regularly hold 40-50 this year... I'll be much better prepared therefore when I eventually just focus on running later in the year, and it will help keep my endurance high for Eagleman in June.

In addition, I have a new respect for the training I did earlier this year. I aim to really nail my workouts this coming Spring, now knowing how effective they are when done correctly. Once I realized this, the passion and excitement that I usually felt when racing (that I did NOT feel the past few races) came back quickly... I am really motivated and psyched to get back into my training. And I hope to apply the same methods for when I train for XC Clubs next year as well (this will include ending triathlon season a few weeks earlier), as I want to make the race more of a priority in 2012.

I took this past week completely off from exercise to allow my body to heal. I have been starting a new stretching regimen to help ward off future joint injuries. This coming week I only have 3 swims, 3 rides and 3 strength sessions, and an optional Xmas day run. Will keep the focus on recovery but also getting my feel again for the water and the bike. At this point last year I was crushing my body in the water and on the saddle after very little/no recovery period from the previous season... I aim to be more conservative at the start of my training so I can hit the important workouts effectively and also have a lot more energy left to burn by the end of the year. Hope it works!

Chasing Turkeys and Getting Sick

Thanksgiving Day I raced in the Turkey Chase 10k in Bethesda. I hate this race. A lot. It's really hilly and I always get stuck running with the UMD XC team. In the first 2 miles they do nothing but chit-chat amongst themselves. This leads to half of them dying off before halfway, and the other half zipping ahead. That leaves me in the middle with 1-2 other confused souls. It wasn't a BAD race but it wasn't great either. I eased off the gas way too much when we got to the city, worried I was pushing the hills too hard and lost the group I was with. I ended up having to run Old Georgetown Rd pretty much alone, with no one in sight behind me and the next guy about 10sec ahead. It was a little uphill and windy, so it wasn't amenable to catching anyone. I passed Jerry and he later noted it didn't look like I was working/racing hard. I think he's right. I did enjoy my time out there, which I never do when I'm running hard. The main thoughts in my head when I'm running fast/hard are "wow, this hurts" and "I so badly want to stop NOW"... those have been my thoughts in fast or PR races. I certainly wasn't feeling like that at Turkey Chase! I ended up with a 34:32 and 11th overall, certainly not an impressive time by any stretch, but I'll take an improvement over last year's Chase, when I was cramping and dying.

The lesson? I need to get competitive at Clubs. No more being passive and afraid of going out hard. I just have to go with the race. No being conservative. I need to be aggressive. Fitness is good, but I need to just get my mind in the race, like it was in the Spring.

Friday I ran an easy 6 with Jordan on the trails, legs felt pretty loose after the 10k, which leads me to believe I held back yet again.

Saturday I took the day OFF, completely. First day off in a long time. And another first in a long time... I started to get sick. Sore throat - here comes a cold! Is that what happens when I take days off? Geez. I immediately went on a vicious offensive, gulping down zincs, tea, yogurt and broth. I hate being sick.

Sunday I woke up with a pretty sore and dry throat, but still went out for a 13mi run with PMurph, Matias and Jimmy. Probably not wise to go 13, but did it anyway. Couldn't swallow at all but put in a decent effort in the last 3 miles... although really just because I wanted to be done. My condition got worse throughout the day, and I was pretty uncomfortable by the evening.

Monday the throat was a little better, but still quite dry and sore and being replaced by pressure in the sinuses. I ran 6.5mi in the evening and actually started to feel a little better.

Tuesday AM I ran too much again, 10 with Jake, Karl and Sam and an extra 2-3mi going from and to my car. I initially felt good and the sore throat was virtually gone but started feeling worse later in the day.

Wednesday I felt pretty yucky during the day, lots of pressure in the sinuses, coughing and sneezing a lot at work. Felt a little better by the evening, but it definitely affected my track workout with GRC, 4xmile (5:15, 5:05, 4:55, 4:45). I knew the 4:45 would be really tough healthy, but still feeling sick I wasn't sure of what would happen. Strangely enough I felt really (and I mean, REALLY) good for the first 3 miles, in which we hit paces exactly. I was surprised. But 400m into the last interval I felt tired pretty quick and felt like my breathing became very restricted. I went for another 800m and dropped once I hit the 1200 (was on 4:45 pace through 1000m). Legs felt fine, but I was struggling to breathe properly. I chalk it up to the cold, and it was also pretty chilly out... it had been pretty warm here during the week so it was a bit of a shock, coupled with still feeling under the weather, I think I was going to suffer. But at least I got most of it done, that I feel good about.

Ok, so I need to focus on a few things. The hardest workouts are done, it's time to think about resting, getting fully healthy and making sure my mind is in the right place. I have to admit, I am really excited about Clubs. Zwama told me on the phone tonight that an XC 10k is one of the most painful races one can do, but that got me even more stoked. Just have to make sure I arrive in Seattle all systems go.

Holding my own again

Sunday I took it easy under Jerry's orders. I originally planned a 10-12mi run but ended up doing 6mi since it was between two hard workouts (Saturday's XC and Monday's early track workout). Again, I'm learning my body is adjusting pretty well to the mileage increase. It felt comfortable, as all of my recovery runs do now. It's a different feeling from my recovery jogs in the middle of tri season. I hit 62 miles for the week, which is possibly the most I've done either ever or for the past couple years.

Tonight (Monday) was an early week track workout since many people would probably be traveling home for the Thanksgiving holiday. Workout was 1600-1200-800-400 with 3min recoveries, a good pre-race workout but also with some tough paces. Made a little tougher by a somewhat stiff wind and annoying mist. Not to mention it was a little chilly! Not a fun night to run in. This workout's B group consisted of myself, Dangerous Dave and THE SHREDDER (Jason's new nickname, because he can shred on his trusty skateboard). Tender, Danger, Shredder. It's a good group, especially since I can finally hold pace with them in workouts again (something I was able to do in spring but not during the summer/early fall). We went 4:55 (74s), 3:36 (72s), 2:20 (70s) and 65. I led the 1600 and 800, and was able to hold an even pace just like last week. Another very solid workout that I was actually able to contribute to. I cooled down a little longer than usual since the workout was a little bit short. Probably about 9mi total

That makes 3 fast workouts in 5 days. And my legs feel great. I'll run medium distance easy the next couple days before Turkey Chase 10k on Thursday. If things go fine at the 10k I plan on taking my first day off in a while on Friday (or just spin for 30min).

Running well in the grass

I ran a little bit too long on Thursday with 3 J's (Jake, Jordan, Jimmy), aiming for only an hour but ending up running 80min, for probably 11-12 miles. That gave me enough reason to slice off 20min off my Friday run, going for 40min on my neighborhood loop, probably about 6mi since I picked the pace up a little for the last 20min.

Saturday AM was another XC workout with the team at the cell phone tower fields. Larger group this time, and I had a larger B-group contingent to work with this time (Dave, Jason, Jimmy and newcomer Will). The workout was 8x1km w/ 2:30 recovery jog. The idea was to cut down pace by 5sec every 2 intervals, but after we went out in 2:58 (4:46 mile pace, huh) for the first kilometer, that cutdown probably wasn't going to happen. And it didn't! But the good thing was that we stayed consistent. Dave and Jason gained 3-5sec on me for each interval, but that's the good news! I set a goal to keep Jason within 5 seconds, and I did just that. Our paces stayed even, 2:58, 2:56, 2:55, 2:56, 3:00, 3:02, 2:57 for the kilometers. It was a little slippery out there and we nearly bit it a couple times, but it was good practice without spikes.

So this would surpass Wednesday's track workout as my best workout yet of this current run build. I don't think I've ever been able to hold a sub-5 pace for 8km of a workout, so that was pretty neat to do! And that it was on rolling grass/dirt terrain was even more constructive.

Will run shorter than planned tomorrow because of an early-week track workout planned for Monday. I also need to watch my homedawg Michelle try to qualify for the trials in Philly and Ryan take on Ironman AZ tomorrow. Less running, more time to track them.

I don't understand the body

My body is reacting oddly to the increase in running mileage. When I made the 3-week initial jump from 30-40-50 from early October I picked up a few minor knocks mainly in my feet, including an ankle/achilles ache and a strange swelling in the base of one of my toes. This was expected because a 20mi total increase in 3 weeks is a leap, especially by my standards. I was a little worried after a couple weeks of 50mi because the issues didn't get worse, but not much better. The toe stopped hurting but still swells a little bit (no redness or anything), but the achilles area still ached when walking or before warming up during a run. Leading into Vet's Day I felt it getting a little better, but of course I worried that I would just aggravate it during the race. I've been wearing trainers for all runs and workouts so I could protect my feet a little, so wearing flats during the 10k might have caused issues.

To my pleasant surprise, the race effort did not hurt my feet, but actually seemed to accelerate the healing! Including last night's workout I have run 25mi since the race and each day my feet feel better. I'm going to hit 60mi this week, so it's nice to see my body is indeed healing, even though I'm not decreasing effort or mileage. It's really weird how the body works!! Michelle knows what I'm talking about.

Monday AM I ran 8mi or so with Sam and Jake, feeling no fatigue or soreness from the 10k. Tuesday AM I ran 6mi around my neighborhood loop nice and easy, and it felt quite relaxing. Last night was probably my best track workout since the Spring. 2x1600 (5:04, 5:05), 2x800 (2:26, 2:24), 4x400 (67, 67, 65, 65) with relatively short recoveries. Led the 2nd mile (first was a little quick for the group), and the 1st 800. That was something I hadn't done since my Spring season. To be honest, that is what I've wanted to do most of all in workouts during this run build. I used to be able to lead and pace the B group earlier in the year during workouts. I haven't been able to since. The past few workouts have been good, but I was just sitting in and keeping up. This workout felt comfortably tough and I was able to take control of parts of it. Progress! The 67s and 65s at the end were pretty important to me, considering I want to work on my turnover/leg speed in the coming weeks.

Veteran's Day 10k and COOKIES

I'll get it out of the way first. Best part of the Veteran's Day 10k, above the "best part" that is most appropriate for this running/multisport-related blog, were the chocolate chip cookies that were provided at the race. MAN, they were great. Chewy but not overly so and with chocolate chips the size of Montana, I must have eaten at least 8 of them and even shared some with Charlie, who can do a good Cookie Monster.

About the race, it was pretty good too. Great morning for racing at Hain's Point, mid-40s at start time, so I was able to go jersey and my new half-tights, which Chris "SURPRISE" Sloane sold me, with no winter gear. A little bit windy, which one could definitely feel on the Point.

Race started and I did my best to hang back, but this also made life difficult as a big gap immediately opened up between me and my to-be main competitor in the race, PRR's Andy Ciarfalia and the front pack... about 8-10 seconds by the time we got to the point. Andy C got about 10 seconds ahead of me by mile 1, so aside from a Riadha girl I had just passed, I was alone, my least favorite way to be at HP. Came through mile 1 in 5:10 according to my watch and Jerry, who reminded me to relax. I was feeling pretty relaxed though, so it must have been a short mile. I do remember it being a little bit further down the road. The positioning stayed the same up to and around the turn at the end of HP, and came through mile 2 in 5:50, which also didn't feel right, so miles 1 and 2 definitely weren't measured correctly.

Made the turn to head down the other side of HP, and was greeted, pushed rather, by a tailwind. We had been running into a headwind from the start so this was refreshing. Came through 5k in 17:00, which was my plan. I went through in 16:40 or so last year and fell apart, so at least this year I could say I took it conservative and smart, so the race was shaping up well so far. I also had caught up to Ciarfalia and a young guy from Falls Road team, Alex Weldt, who had fallen way off his 33:low pace. I caught both at the turn to head home, at around 3.5mi. Weldt couldn't keep pace but Ciarfalia nestled behind my left shoulder and I knew it would be a race from here. We exchanged leads for the next 2 miles, giving each other momentary breaks from the unexpected headwind (yeah, it felt a headwind going both ways, must have been a crosswind).

I passed by Jerry at mile 5 and he gave me some encouragement and I realized that I was well on my way to getting close to 33:45. Ciarfalia then asked me if I was Andy as well, since all he had been hearing from guys like Charlie, Max and Jerry was encouragement for "Andy" (or fish-stick, Captain, Chicken Tender et al.). We exchanged chuckles and resumed the competition. I tried at this point to pull away and for a second I did, but strangely enough my legs weren't agreeing. They didn't hurt, they just didn't want to speed up. Aerobically I felt great... regular breathing, controlled/tempo HR, but my legs just didn't want to spin any faster or harder than sub-threshold. We sped up a bit as we came within half a mile to go, but I really couldn't get my legs to go faster, despite feeling like I had a lot of energy to expend. Finally hit mile 6 and I knew I'd hit my B goal of 33:45 or better, but Ciarfalia launched his kick and my legs didn't respond. Hit the line in 33:45 and 18th overall, 5:26/mi. My best finish at Veteran's Day and any HP 10k. And my first non-disaster at Vets Day! Sweet! And my best 10k not named Pike's Peak (which is an absurdly fast race). Also got a gift certificate for 3rd in the 25-29 age group, so that pays for a new pair of half-tights that Chris Sloane will enthusiastically sell to me.

So what about that inability to speed up? I talked to Jerry and expressed my concerns. He presented a logical explanation: I need more speed work. I agree. I've had 3 straight weeks of good speed work, but that's not enough. A months-worth more of speed and I hopefully will be able to increase my turnover and leg speed by XC Club Nationals. But this race was quite the positive experience and was good practice for me to finally race smart and strong the whole way through. Plus, it was a lot of fun and to me that was the BEST part of all. As I wrote before, my competitive spirit had been quelled after Columbia, but running MCM around Emily in October reignited that fire. I felt it today and it made racing a heck of a lot more exciting. Running with the team and seeing them succeed as well (we won the team competition, no thanks to me who always runs too slow to be counted) makes it even better.

Here's to some more speed and fun in the next month.

1 mile in.

Godzilla likes races too

Yes!!

Another solid week of running leading into Veteran's Day 10k this Sunday. Ran about 10mi on Monday with Uncle Buttweenis, a spin on Tuesday, hard but short track workout Wednesday, and a pair of shakeout runs Thursday and Friday (today).

Wednesday's track was another success, but good golly it was hard. It seemed shorter and therefore easier, but this would end up being only half true. I felt really light and loose in the warmup, which is great news to me, as I've been feeling a little better each week. This was definitely the best I've felt while running since I started focusing on my run training again. The workout was 2k @ 77s, 2x1k @ 73s and 72s, 4x500 @ 67s. We really were closer to 75s on the 2k, hit the 1ks on time and then I started to fall apart a bit on the 500s. First one I hit 67, but really lagged on the second, coming in at closer to 70. I was ready to call it quits then, but PMurph (almost literally, I fear) slapped some sense into me and convinced me to finish the workout. Hit the last two on pace, in 67 each, so I still have some mental demons to defeat apparently since my legs clearly weren't finished. Thanks to Patrick for somehow knowing this.

So it was a hard workout with short recoveries that was about the edge of my abilities, but it apparently was the right workout as Thursday's recovery run felt really smooth. No stiffness or aches, but rather my legs felt loose and ready to go faster. That's the idea, I think?? One more easy run tomorrow with strides and then it's time to race again!