In Like A Lion

Feb 28th, 2011 - Most of us are a little more than halfway through with this Boston training cycle and it's going pretty well for some, and a little less well for others.

(not naming names)

99% of running Boston is getting there injury free.

Personally, my legs still feel fresh and I haven't hit the training doldrums yet. This is partly due to my new found discovery of swimming and spinning to break things up a bit, and having a new long run each Sunday has also helped. Speaking of which, this looks like a new GLRR tradition (new group run host every week on a different course) and it's developing nicely.

All of this running has made me yearn for the swimming, the swimming for the spinning, and the spinning for the running. It's one vicious cycle that I actually don't mind, and highly recommend.

I am, however, itching to throw down some serious miles at a middle distance race, like New Bedford in three weeks. This past weekend was tough as a lot of my fellow runners were out there clocking in some serious training and racing miles, while I pussied out of a GLRR group run because of 4 inches of snow!

Other than the Super 5K and a couple of Fudgecicles (the racing kind) earlier this month, my schedule has been devoid of any racing. At this point last year I had about 20+ races under my belt and only my stupidity to show for it. I still can't imagine how the elite marathon guys can focus on just one or two marathons a year. I would go bat shit crazy just from the training!

(The President)

I've managed to increase my miles per week average, and overall pace since January, without injury or issue. I've also been able to hold it steady between 65-70 miles per week (not counting this past week, Speed Week, where I clocked in only 50) for the past three weeks.

My goal before the taper in early April is to try to get in 300 solid miles for March with New Bedford thrown in as a final tune-up. My goal at New Bedford Half is to break 1 hr and 20 minutes, or beat Mike Shanahan depending on which singlet he wears, GBTC or GLRR. Yeah Mike, I'm calling you out!

(just like the good old days)

With a recent change in my work-life balance I'll have to start putting in a couple of doubles throughout the week in order to hit 75 miles each week.

Like they say, March will come in like a lion and out like a lamb chicken.



Speed Week

Feb 25th, 2011 - My main focus for this week was on speed, more specifically, seeing what it feels like to run at my marathon goal pace of sub-6:30's for an extended period of time.

I remember when I first BQ'ed at Portland in 2009 that all of my training runs leading up to it were at marathon pace. Back then marathon pace was a relatively brisk and easy sub-7:10 pace and my weekly mileage was no more than 40 miles per week. Ah, to be young and smart again.

I also remember how effortless the Portland BQ'er felt, and I attributed that mainly to the fact that I was so use to running at that pace before I even got to the starting line.

I've upped the mileage this year (60-70), but I haven't really focused on the marathon pace.

Taking more than 40 seconds per mile off of that 2009 pace during my training runs this year has proved to be tricky. It's been hard to get in that much speed work unless I'm either on the track or on a nice stretch of road. As many of you local runners can attest, this winter has made both options very difficult.

The snow and ice has finally taken a brief vacation, enough for the roads to finally clear up to do some speed runs outside, for long stretches, without fear of slipping on ice and getting sidelined by an on-coming vehicle.

Speed Week started on Sunday with a run with some really fast dudes. We completed the 18 miles averaging 7:07's with only a handful of miles below sub-7. It wasn't my fastest 18 miler this year, so I chalked it up as a warm up for the rest of the week:

Monday is usually my rest/recovery day so I went down to Dorchester and did 10 very easy miles at 8 minute pace with Reno.

I also hopped into the pool later that evening to continue with the recovery process. Getting in the pool after a tough workout has definitely been the key factor in my recent recovery. I can't recall feeling this refreshed only a little over 24 hrs after a hard run like Sunday.

I was now ready for the rest of the week.

I picked up the pace again during Tuesday night's Bad Times Winter series run with Glenn, Frank, Scotty, James, and Jeff through Lowell/Belvidere.

We typically do this 5.20 mile hilly course in 42-44 minutes for a decent workout.

Even I thought I was joking around when I told James that I was shooting for sub-6:30 tonight.

The conditions were ideal, but there were still some slick spots on the course, and you're never 100% sure if that's NOT black ice when you're running at night.

Even after throwing some caution into the head-wind, I managed to get in a 10K at 6:43 pace, with the last 2 miles close to 6 minute pace. And of course, back into the pool I went to cool off the jets.

I was hoping for some company on my weekly Wednesday night BU Death Run from Burlington to BU, but alas, it was just going to be me, RoadID, and my organ donor card on this cool night.

As it turned out this run was forced to be an abbreviated version (14 vs 16 miles) due to time constraints. I didn't get on the road until 7PM and Rachel would be done with her class by 8:30PM, so that gave me only an hour and thirty minutes to get my ass to BU.

This time constraint actually worked in my favor, since I was now forced to run pretty close to my marathon pace in order to get to BU on time to catch my ride home, otherwise this would turn into the first and last 28 Mile BU Death Run.

Right from the get go, and right when I got out of the bottle neck of Burlington, I slammed on the gas and didn't let up until, appropriately enough, I passed the Citgo sign near the unofficial finish line of my run.

The only "glitch" in the Matrix occurred at mile 6 when I climbed Park Ave at 7:48 pace, but managed to regain all but 2 seconds per mile on the other side.

Parts of Mass/Comm Ave turned into a speed track as I managed to easily and effortlessly hold onto marathon pace over the final 8 miles after coming off of Eastern Ave in Arlington.

Speed Week wouldn't be complete without a track workout, so once again GLRR found themselves locked out of Lexington and over at the Shamrock's home in Woburn.

Mark, Jim, EJ, Bash, Glenn, John, and Jeff were in attendance for the ladder workout (400 --> 1600 - up AND down).

I didn't have any set goals for this workout other than to see how my legs would hold up after three already tough workouts on the week.

Unfortunately, I arrived late and my crew needed my rabbit skills to lead them around the oval, so I opted for the less-than-ideal half mile warm up (kids, don't try that at home). This was going to be a true test of my stupidity.

We completed the first 400 in 1:24, which is about right for a typically workout, but my legs were already screaming at me, so I was a little hesitant on the 800.

I was pleasantly surprise when we managed the 800 in 2:49, which is my Yasso equivalent marathon time. Legs were still tight, but a little more loose now. That was basically my warm up.

Joyce doesn't have the 1200 interval marked, so we were all over the place on this one. We definitely came up short since we completed the supposed 1200 interval in 4:01. It should have been a lot closer to 4:20. I think it ended up being only a little more than 1000. No matter, the group still managed to hold onto our overall pace, which is the more important aspect.

The mile interval was going to be the true test. I felt that myself and the group could only manage a 6 flat at this point, so again, I was really surprised when we completed this final upside rung in 5:45!

We descended the second-half of the ladder in an orderly fashion and even stronger, which is perfect for a ladder workout since your main goal is to try to simulate race conditions (Fast -> Steady -> Even Faster). 

The overall workout looked like this:

400:   1:24

800:   2:49

1054: 4:01

1600: 5:45

1200: 4:19 (that's more like it)

800:   2:45

400:   1:11 (whoops)

My legs felt fine after the workout, but of course, I once again jumped back into the pool while the rest of the boys enjoyed their pizza, PBR, and Icy Hot over at Mario's.

The one thought that kept on going through my mind during the track workout was that GLRR's got some pretty damn good runners once again! We've got a tough group of runners willing to put in the work and effort. The results will speak for themselves come Boston and beyond.

With less than 40 days to go (not including 14 days of taper), I'm starting to get that nagging feeling. The feeling that I am ready for Boston 2:49.

Work, Run, Swim

Feb 22nd, 2011 - I managed to complete my first multi-sport event today in preparation for Kona 2030. Here are my splits and race report:

Work: 9 hrs 52 mins

I spent most of the morning by the water cooler, and then it was time for lunch. I was already bonking by 1PM, so I ended up taking more calories than I actually needed. This strategic mistake forced me to take a nap around 2PM. I woke up at 5PM and realized that I was close to the finish line. I had a snack and managed to get into the transition area by 5:52PM.

I need to focus on shaving off a couple of hours from this leg, which I think is very doable.

Transition 1: 19 mins 48 secs

My transition time sucked! There wasn't much I could really do with the other race participants causing a major back up on Route 3 North from Burlington all the way to the Lowell Connector. I guess I could get a motorcycle and weave in and out of transition traffic like a prick.

Run: 41 mins 34 secs

Like riding a bike, actually, it's more like running. I threw on my speedos and mowed down the 10K Bad Times Winter Series course in record time with Frank, James, Jeff, Glenn, and Scotty "Lowell Sun" Graham on my tail the entire way.

Transition 2: 15 mins, 23 secs

My transition time here was much better as most of the other race participants went for a beer and skipped out on the swim. I got over to the swim area at the BSC in Woburn by 8PM, removed my speedos, and started doggy paddling by 8:05PM.

Swim: 30 mins

I didn't drown.

I felt refreshed after all of that and I am convinced that doing the swim last, and after a long day, did the trick.

Now if only they would move the swim event to the end of the Ironman...

(Bike, Run, Swim, Cramp, Drown, Hospital, Dead)

What Would Joe Do

Feb 20th, 2011 - One of my goals during this Boston training cycle is to put in a training run with every local runner that would otherwise kick my ass in a race. After today's run I can cross Titus and Jim St. Pierre off of that fucket list.

Besides Jim and Titus, Andy C. and Jim R. also met up with me at the Church of Running on Leavitt St. in Dracut for another Sunday service led by Joe D.

Temps were in the high teens and the winds from yesterday were still blowing just as strong. The only thing that's really changed since the last time I ran around here were the hills. I think they grew a little bit. Stupid tectonic plates.

(Beer and Cigs Run)

Our group of six hung together through the first 7 miles until Andy wisely decided to run his own training pace and fell back. The rest of us had Daytona on our minds and tried to draft behind Joe and Titus through the wind tunnel known as NH.

After picking up their tax free beer at the border, Joe and Titus decided to re-enact their duels from Good Times 2010. That had to be the case because the nice tail-wind over the final 6 miles is definitely not enough to explain their sub-6 minute pace to finally pull away from us for good.

The remaining J crew were left to fend for ourselves in NH where we came upon a loose, but friendly, boxer (see shit stains in my shorts).

We still managed 7's for the rest of our run, even without the help of Joe and Titus to drag our car-casses around the semi-oval course.

We actually picked it up near the end in order to get Jim S. back home before his ITB turned into a pumpkin.

(18/7:07/5 Cats/2 Dogs)

Other than the wind, cold, hills, pace, and 18 miles, it was another excellent training run with the best around.

I even sent an e-mail to Runningahead.com to find out if they could add a race/tempo/hill/interval/fartlek/long run category to the training log.

One of the reasons why I like to train with better runners is to learn their secrets and to push myself past my perceived limits.

Today I learned that Titus turned "46" (I can't wait until I am in the same AG as Titus in 10 years), and that I can kick Jim S.'s ass as long as the race is longer than 15.7 miles.

(Yeeeehaw!)

Running From The Past

I Have An Asshole About This Too!

Feb 16th, 2011 - The BAA today released the new qualifying standards for Boston 2012, and beyond, in an attempt to uncluster the cluster-f that occurred during the 2011 registration.

(What say you with this heathen alchemy?!)

It looks like they got fed up with the complaints and just said, "**** it! Screw them all!"

Here's an easier way to understand where you fit into the new standards:

(BAA Pyramid Scheme)

This new format is obviously going to alienate some and make it more interesting for others.

Personally, I see it as a formidable challenge to try to hit the new standards, but I know of a couple of fellow runners that are severely disappointed because they were already on the fringe of the old qualifying standards.

In my opinion, I think that most runners will step up to the challenge and go beyond what they thought they were originally not capable of, except for Fil (that's my personal challenge to you).

To be honest, this is what most competitive people look for. When you make something harder the only thing you'll do is get even more people to try to conquer it. People don't pay $40k to climb Everest because it's there. People pay $40k to climb Everest because you stand a pretty damn good chance of dying! It's human nature.

To personally summarize the new standards, I would need to run a sub-2:50 in 2011, before the Sept deadline 2012, in order to be able to register on Day 1 in 2012. My goal at Boston 2011 is to run sub-2:50, so I should be able to succeed or come close, and therefore increase my chances of not getting locked out of registration. Locked out? WTF, still? Yeah, see below.

It's a different story come 2012. I would need to run a sub-2:45 in order to have the same bragging rights for Boston 2013! But I'm getting ahead of myself.

The BAA also got rid of the :59 second window, which I always thought was silly, but we'll see how silly that is when I run 2:50:01. Again, I'm getting ahead of myself. Stop it.

The biggest glaring flaw in this "new" registration process is that it still doesn't fully resolve the initial problem that started this whole revamp mess: runners getting locked out of online registration, even though they ran a qualifying time, because they didn't get online in time to register!

In theory, I could technically run a BQ time per the new standards and STILL, albeit a smaller chance, get locked out when it comes my turn to register on Day 4 because Cluster-F II happens or becuase I fell asleep at the keyboard.

(I Needz a Cofee)

Or doing something else at the keyboard.

(I Needz a Tisue)

I won't even get started on what my good friend EJ says is a glaring omission in the BAA system, which is the nonsensical difference in qualifying times between men and women. Sheez!

And streakers (the clothed variety), that's a whole different can of worms!

OK. I have an asshole just like everyone else that has an opinion about this thing. What would I do?

Without giving much thought to it, I would K.I.S.S.

Cap the field at 22,000 qualified runners. Evenly divide the 22k spots between the current number of Age Groups/Genders (11/2). This gives you roughly 1000 spots per age group per gender.

Accept all qualified entries. Take the fastest qualifying times and fill in the 22k open spots by age group and gender.

Obviously, you're not going to fill all 2000 spots for each age group/gender (are there really two-thousand 80+ runners "dying" to get into Boston?), so what do you do with the remaining available spots?

People like to gamble, right? So you go to the lottery system like NYC, drawing from the pool of remaining qualified runners that did not get in because they weren't the fastest qualifiers, until you fill all 22k spots.

For race day, you let in an additional 3000 or so charity/club runners, and you taser all of the bandits.

(I Needz a Loyer)

And there you go! Under my system you get the fastest runners, an element of chance, and some shock value!

What it all comes down to in the end is to just stop bitching and do what Coach Stronach always says, RUN FASTER!

But what about all of the runners that ran a BQ, but are still locked out under your proposed system?

**** it! Screw them all!

iWatson

Feb 15th, 2011 - While being aided on my 7 mile progression run by a machine, I listened to "Won't You Be Mine" by GnR from the Terminator 2 soundtrack on my iPad, all the while watching Watson go ape shit on Ken and Brad during round two of the IBM Ass Kicking!

It's fitting that we are witnessing the end of humankind on a show called Jeopardy!

During all of this a serious, but intriguing, thought popped into my relatively pre-historic mind.

What would happen if HAL and the Monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey had cybersex?

+

=

(TORONTO????????)

I, for one, welcome our new Jeopardy! playing overlords.

To be honest, if I were IBM, I would have developed and perfected Watson in secret, miniaturize the hell out of it, implant it inside a human player, get that player onto Jeopardy!, and win like a gazillion dollars.

(MUHAHAHAHHAHAHA!)

Short and Sweet...

Feb 13th, 2011 - ...like Fil. Actually, that would be sweet, sour, and old, like chinese food.

Excellent long run today with EJ, James, Jeff, Fil, Frank(lin) & Bash.

(Start of the Three Hour Tour...)

All of the above Good Looking Road Runners have a great shot at finishing Boston in sub-2:50. But all seriousness aside, everyone in this photo has the potential to finish sub-3:10, with the exception of those two Gatorade bottles.

EJ hosted from his snowed in abode at the bottom of Arlington Heights, where it's unusually very warm...

(Hell Hath Indeed Frozen Over)

We started out by tackling the Wollaston and Park Ave hills before going flat along Mass Ave into Cambridge and around the Charles in Boston. Perfect conditions with some minor icing.

To make the experience even more like the actual Boston course, we even had a Boston Bandit named Brian jump in at mile four and join us for about 15!

Most of us ended our run with a free-climb straight up the beast called RT2 (300 feet over the span of a mile!). Frank the Tank earned the coveted Polka dot jersey today for turning on the afterburners and reaching the top first.

(King of the RT2)

Frank and I also tackled Wollaston one last time over the final mile of our 22 mile run for a nice bookend finish. Now I know why there are hardly any road races in Arlington. It would be inhuman.

(that's purty)

I ended up averaging a 7:50 overall pace, but that wasn't the point today. The goal for today was to put in a nice and steady long run with a great group of runners. Mission Accomplished....well, on the long and steady part at least.

(tick tock)

(Now that's fucking hard-core!)

Time To Get Serious

Feb 11th, 2011 - Because the epic battle begins in less than 65 days.

Fudgecicle + 8 on tap for Saturday, and 20+ for Sunday around Arlington/Cambridge/Boston with the new running crew.

(Why So Serious?)

I Scream for Ice Cream

Feb 10th, 2011 - After barely surviving my 16 mile BU Death Run last night (see yesterday's missing post), I was looking forward to an indoor track session tonight.

Surprisingly, the Lexington High field house was once again off limits for our use, so James, EJ, Bash, and I made our way over to the usually reliable Joyce Middle School for our weekly hit of 11 laps-to-a-mile self-mutilation.

Unfortunately our track workout at Joyce was preempted by...wait for it...a track meet!

Bash, using his newly purchased iPhone frantically called around to the other tracks in the area, but to no avail. After waiting around dumb-founded for 30 minutes, hoping the meet would magically clear out by 7PM, the four of us parted ways into the cold, cruel night.

Disclaimer: I'm just guessing at what I think the rest of the crew did after they left Joyce.

EJ would go on to put in another treacherous 8-miler around Arlington. Bash headed over to the BSC in Woburn to take advantage of climate controlled running, and James called up the rest of the J crew for 6.63 miles in 48:26.34 from his house...but I could be wrong.

What did I do?

I went back to the apt and decided to do what I set out to accomplish tonight, a track workout.

There are three things I hate most:

1. Track workouts
2. Treadmills
3. Running out of ice cream

I got on the treadmill and did a 2-mile warmup just as Jesus Shuttlesworth broke the NBA 3-point record.

A mini-ladder workout was on tap tonight: 800, 800, 1600, 800, 800

The treadmill will keep you honest and easily on your workout's target pace, but I had to first figure out the pace I needed to hit. Besides converting my track brain from 145 meters to a 400 meter treadmill track, I also had to convert the miles-per-hour display to seconds per lap, etc, etc.

Let's just say that my cromagnon brain was hurting more than my legs by the end of the workout.

To help ease the pressure on my frontal lobe, I kept it simple by doing Yasso 800's for the 800 intervals, and just dialed in a 10 mph (6 minute mile) for the mile.

I just did the 800's in 2 minutes 50 seconds since I'm going for sub-2:50 at Boston, (this is the thinking behind Bart Yasso's simple, yet intriguing, 800 theory).

800 - 2:50
800 - 2:50
1600 - 6:00
800 - 2:50
800 - 2:40 (whoops)

At least tonight wasn't a total wash-out. I had a great workout considering the events leading up to it, and the Celtics were up HUGE when I was done....

...but then, I went upstairs and found this in the freezer:

(AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!)

The Perfect Storm

(See, there's no mention of 'liquid refreshments')

Super Bowl Sunday, 2011 - I knew the running gods were smiling down on the Super 5K in Lowell when another supposed wintry blast turned into a mild drizzle the night before the race, melting away much of the hazardous snow. This is the same hazard that forced a number of the other local races to cancel on Sunday. In the end this would indeed turn out to be the perfect storm.

Sunday started out cold, but it soon warmed up and melted away the thin layer of black ice covering the surrounding area. The temps were in the upper 30's by 10:30AM, and the big ball of fire complimented the rare blue of  the winter sky. The only real danger now were the dickhead speedsters on the boulevard, and the sharp elbows of the SRR's.

I got out to the Elks club, registered, and did a warm up loop on the 5K course by 11AM. I managed to time it perfectly as Glenn & Co. (thanks guys!) were in the process of putting out the safety cones and signs. I even succeeded in beating Glenn, and his tree-battered Baja, back to the finish line. Ba-Ha!

My original plan was to put in 5 easy miles before the race, run the race, and then put in at least 8-12 after the race to get in a total of 18-20 on the day. By the time I got back to the Elks all of the usual suspects from GLRR were there including future GLRR'er Bash Z.

Bash and I went back out on the course for his warm up and my second loop. We nearly got clipped by one of the boulevard dickheads as we tried to avoid 1 of 4 large puddles on the course. There was also definitely some wind, but it was a tailwind for 1.5 miles, and then a crosswind for the rest of the way up the boulevard to the finish. At this point this was turning into an ideal day to race along the mighty Merrimack. Of course, the key phrase being, "at this point".

I told Bash that I was looking to break my time from last year (18:27) or go for sub-18. Whichever came first. With the current conditions and my training-to-date I knew I could easily beat my course PR, since I recall a nasty headwind during last year's race. There's no way we would get the same nasty headwind...

The race crowd was busting and bustling out the front door of the Elk's by the time Bash and I got back to the start at 11:40AM, 20 minutes before race time. Everyone and everyone was now here for the race.

I actually wasn't that shocked to see some of the runners in attendance given the fact that all of the other Super Sunday races were cancelled. The top Whirlaway, CMS, RUN and SRR runners were here, including the brothers Quintal (Dave & Mike), defending champ Joe O'Leary, two-time winner and GLRR'er Eric Beauchesne, Titus, EJ, and Lou Peters. Needless to say, this year's field was stacked.

Double J was in also attendance, but he arrived shortly before the start just to wish everyone luck. He came by foot....from Salem, NH....17 miles away.

Other familiar sneakers included a few that I hadn't seen since Good Times including Jonathan Morris and Tom O'Leary. Former SRR runner Frank Georges was decked out and debuting his slime green jersey. It's no coincidence that Frank ran faster this year than last. It's all about the singlet.

The race itself, specifically mine, was uneventful. Not surprisingly, I fell back behind the lead pack of 10 right away, and only gave up one pole position during the run and that occurred before Mile 1. And as it so often happens, the headwind was back with a vengeance over the final 1.5 miles along the boulevard. It was just as bad as last year.

EJ hung with with me over the first part of the course, but he fell back only to be replaced by the women's winner who had to check out my ass over the final 2 miles. Poor girl, but I hear her eyes are recovering well.

I completed the run with a time of 18:08, which was good for 12th overall and 2nd in AG. I bettered my time from last year by 19 seconds, so I haven't peaked just yet.

Splits comparison:
 

	2011	2010
Mile 1	5:37	5:40
Mile 2	5:46	5:53
Mile 3	5:53	6:07
.10	0:52	0:47
	18:08	18:27

Results

Photos

I completed my 18 mile day with a 9 miler around the surrounding neighborhood. John Rheaume and Frank accompanied me for the first two miles as part of their cool down. Unfortunately, by the time I got back to the Elks all of the liquid refreshments were gone, along with all of the satisfied and slap-happy runners. Must have been one hell of an after-party!

Only Richie the Timer, Frank the Green, Jim the RD, and a handful of broken imitation Oreo cookies were there to greet me.

A perfect end to a perfect day.

The only other race on my schedule before Boston is the New Bedford Half in March. After Boston? Super 5K 2012 of course.

(Over here, Jim!)

Like A Fish Out of Water, In Water

Feb 5th, 2011 - In case the BAA ever decides to turn the Boston Marathon into the Boston Triathlon, I went out and started my Scotty Graham training in earnest early this morning.

I started out at 5:45AM (I hate this already) on the 10 mile run from my apt to the UML pool for my first EVER swim lesson.

Yep, I'm learning how to swim. As in not learning how to be more efficient or faster in the water, but learning how NOT to drown, or more importantly, how NOT to drown those around me.

Rachel is my training partner in this whole fiasco and she'll be tackling her first Ironperson once she decides that running isn't stoopid. Fellow GLRR'er Paula C. is also joining me on this life-changing event, and also skipping out on Frozen Fudge, over the next few months.

Let's just say that my swimming ability is similar to my running ability when I first started running at the age of 6 months old, and we all know how that turned out. In short, if you were to ever book a cruise on the Unsinkable II, then don't make me your Jack to your Rose. I want to be Rose.

The first lesson went really well. I only had to stop at one water stop and had my fill. I only panicked twice and kicked Rachel in the face once. Speaking of Rachel, if there's a sandbagging award in swimming, then she wins that prize. We started out together and the instructor promoted her from greenhorn to assistant instructor in the matter of 10 minutes. In short, she's my Jack and I'm her bitch...in swimming.

The first lesson covered proper kicking technique and...nope. That's all I had time for and barely manage to figure that out by the time the kid's session started. If I hear one more kid laugh at me!....

The instructor did say "You rock!", but I was on the bottom of the pool at the time, so I might have misheard her.

In the end, we all agreed it was a great workout (much better than stoopid running), and I'm looking forward to not drowning again in two weeks. Stay tuned.

(Ohhhhhh, now I get it!!)

Man vs. Nature

Feb 3rd, 2011 - Nature always wins. Always. But Man will always find a way to get a run in.

(Nature!....you cute)

The Streak at Lexington Field House continues. This marks either the 5th or 20th week in-a-row that they've cancelled our Thursday night track workout. I've lost count, sort of like running on their track.

Speaking of 11 laps to-a-mile, we (EJ, James, and I) found ourselves, and our $5's, over at the new GLRR home for winter track, the Joyce Middle School in Woburn, where it's $3 for the same workout. The $2 savings goes towards the BYOB fund.

4 x 1 miles at roughly half-marathon pace was on the docket for tonight.

2 mile warm up

1 - 6:02
1 - 6:17
1 - 6:14
1 - 5:45 (whoops)

2 mile cool down

For comparison, here's our previous  4 x 1 workout on 11/10/10:

1 - 6:38
1 - 6:38
1 - 6:18
1 - 6:07

Of course you cannot not waste a good workout by not not going to Mario's afterwards, so in GLRR Thursday track tradition, we once again found ourselves across the street from where they filmed three minutes of The Fighter.

We were joined by our good friends P, B, & R for dinner. Thanks, EJ!

Looking forward to not not running again in Lexington next week.

10 on tap on the treadmill for tomorrow. 14 on the road on Saturday. And Super 5K on Sunday wedged in between two 10 milers.

On target for another 70 mile week. Not bad considering the conditions and my body is holding up well with the increased mileage. I can't say the same about my mind though, but that's par for the course for me.

I Like The Way It Hurts

Feb 1st, 2011 - With snowpocalypse on our doorstep and pretty much everything cancelled, including indoor GLRR track (might be open on Thursday), it's time to take drastic measures. I plan on being on the treadmill a lot this week starting out with tonight's 4 x 1 interval workout at half-marathon pace (6's).

Doubles planned for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, so roughly 30 miles on the meat grinder this week.

I hate getting on the mill, but by the time you're done you feel great! It's an excellent option for interval training during these dark days of winter. You just have to get through the first 2-3 miles before you begin to zone out and stop thinking about hurting yourself. Remember, no sharp objects nearby when running on the treadmill.