Putting in the work 7/20 to 7/26

7/20 Monday: 9 miles in 63 minutes

7/21 Tuesday: 13.5 miles in 90 minutes

This was done on a rainy windy day...perfect for a workout! 30 minutes of warm up then hit the track for one 400 meter run in 80 seconds (5:20 pace) to get a feel for the pace. Took 30 seconds rest then started the main workout. Left the track for 3 minutes at 5:20 pace ran a loop right back on to the track and into 400 in 75 seconds (5:00 pace). Then I took 90 seconds rest. This was done 8 times for a total work load of just under 7 miles. The effort was hard and I was pleased with the work load I was able to handle.....a good workout for sure.

7/22 Wednesday: 8 miles in 58 minutes

7/23 Thursday: OFF, took some time to rest and relax the legs.

7/24 Friday: AM: 9 miles in 65 minutes plus 12x15 second hill strides in the rain.

PM: 4 miles in 30 minutes.

Happy 4th Birthday Caitlyn!!!

7/25 Saturday: 18 miles in 121 minutes

I did this run up in Campton NH from my parents house. Ran RT 49 up towards Waterville Valley. I got out early and got this done while it was still cool and there was cloud cover. Did the last 5 miles at 5:45 to 5:50 pace. Felt real good and strong. Even saw a bear during my run!

7/26 Sunday: 8 miles in 59 minutes

Ran up in Campton NH with Heather who totally took advantage of my dead legs and dropped me in the last mile of our run. Felt OK....just tired and heavy from the long run.

Total Miles: 69.5

This was a good week. I was very happy with the workout and the long run. Next week I will be racing at Beach to Beacon 10k in Cape Elizabeth, Maine on Saturday August 1st.

Bill Luti 5 Miler

Saturday had a small group of us heading up to Concord NH for the Bill Luti 5 miler. Along for the race was Heather, Seth, and myself. The weather was looking pretty good for a July race, it was overcast, but still pretty humid. This race always attracts a pretty fast crowd as there is money for the top three. This race also serves as the sixth and final race of the CARS Series. Going into this race I had the lead in the series and only had to make sure nothing bad happened in order to make sure that I held on for the series win and the $250 dollars that come with the series championship.

Before the race I did a very easy two mile warm up. I did not feel that good at all. In the last few weeks I have brought the miles up and added some pretty good workouts....so I kind of expected to feel a bit flat. The goal going into this race was to make sure I win the CARS series, get in a very solid effort, and start working on getting use to racing again. At the starting line I looked around and saw the usual CARS runners including Scott Clark (2nd in Standings) and Dan Verrington (3rd in standings) and a very fast crowd including Mark Miller, Justin Freeman, Jim Johnson, Greg Hammett, Rich Smith and a slew of very fit looking younger guys.

As the race went off a group of three including Justin Freeman, Mark Miller and a younger guy took to the lead right away and quickly established a lead. I stayed steady in the following pack, which was running pretty conservatively for a flat opening mile.....probably because we all knew the 2nd mile had a very significant uphill. We hit the first mile in 5:24, I took a look over my shoulder to see about 12-15 people still in this chase pack.....which seemed like a lot of people. As we hit the hill I moved towards the front along with Jim Johnson, Rich Smith and Greg Hammett. As we hit the top of the hill and made a right hand turn things kind of got shook up, Jim Johnson and Rich Smith went by me. They were moving pretty good so I let them go. I started to push a little bit to open up some space and start dropping some of the group I was with. Going with me was Greg Hammett, Alex McGrath, and Andrew Chalmers. From The top of the hill to the 3 mile mark is all flat and down hill. It also includes going past Bill Luti himself calling out the 2 mile split which went by in 11:00 (5:36 2nd mile).....pretty slow. During this stretch I could see Jim pulling away and Rich was coming back along with the younger guy who was out quick, all while I was swapping places back and forth with Greg and Alex. Just before the three mile mark I lost contact with Alex as he put a small gap on me. I hit 3 miles with a 5:17 mile. At the three mile mark the course heads up again, a long slow climb up out of the St Pauls school grounds. During this mile I managed to get a small gap on Greg, and catch and pass Rich Smith and the younger guy who was out real fast (who looked like he was done at this point). This brought me up to 5th place in the race and just about 10 seconds back of Alex McGrath. I hit the 4th mile mark with a 5:47 split (ouch!! this is slow) At this point I could see that Justin was going to win, Mark Miller was 2nd and Jim was up to 3rd. At this point I just wanted to finish where I was in 5th place. There was no sense in going after Alex and I just wanted to hold off Greg and Rich who I could hear not more than a few seconds back. The last mile went as I wanted, I maintained my place and ran a strong last mile in 5:10, holding off Greg and Rich and finishing in 27:14 for 5th place and securing The CARS Championship.

Results







Pictured: Overall winners Justin Freeman and Jennifer Adams with Bill Luti






1. 26:06 5:14 Justin Freeman 32 M 2 New Hampton NH
2. 26:18 5:16 Mark Miller 28 M 1 Keene NH
3. 26:32 5:19 Jim Johnson 32 M 353 Salem NH
4. 27:08 5:26 Alex McGrath 18 M 226 Marlborough NH
5. 27:14 5:27 Chris Mahoney 31 M 107 Haverhill MA
6. 27:17 5:28 Greg Hammett 31 M 361 Chesterfield NH
7. 27:19 5:28 Rich Smith 39 M 3 Enfield NH
8. 27:27 5:30 Andrew Chalmers 19 M 381 Ashland NH
9. 27:43 5:33 Scott Clark 43 M 5 Gilmanton NH
10. 27:47 5:34 Scott McGrath 22 M 227 Marlborough NH


Capitol Area Race Series (CARS) Results

Men:

1st Chris Mahoney
2nd Scott Clark
3rd Dan Verrington













Women:

1st Heather Searles
2nd Emily Searles
3rd Ann Rasmussen



Picture: Heather Searles receiving a very special plaque for winning the USCAA XC National championship last fall.


Congratulations to Heather for her CARS series championship. I also want to congratulate Emily Searles (Heathers younger sister) on a great 2nd place CARS series finish. She ran a very strong 2nd half of the series to take 2nd place away from Ann Rasmussen. Nice job by you crazy fast Searles sisters!

Training July 13th to 19th

7/13 Monday: 9 miles in 68 minutes

7/14 Tuesday: 11 miles in 73 minutes

Track workout of 2400, 2000, 1200, 800 all @ 5:20 pace. then 1 mile of 200 on 200 off at 35-37 seconds on and 47-50 seconds off. Hit all paces for the intervals with in 2 seconds of goal pace and hit the 200 on and offs right in pace window. Felt pretty good, I am happy with how this workout went.

7/15 Wednesday: 8 miles in 62 minutes

7/16 Thursday: AM: 8.5 miles in 62 minutes

Easy run, after seven miles I did 10 x 15 sec hill strides. Felt ok. Ran another mile back to work after hill strides.

7/16 Thursday: PM: 4 miles in 30 minutes

7/17 Friday: 5 miles in 39 minutes

7/18 Saturday: 12.5 miles total at Bill Luti 5 mile Race

Warm up 2.5 miles in 20 minutes. Raced 5 miles in 27:14, cooled down for 5 miles in 4o minutes. See race report for full details (will be posted later).

7/19 Friday: 8 miles in 63 minutes

Ran around Lake Kenoza with Heather. I did one lower loop with Heather then went around for a second lower loop solo. Felt pretty slow and tired.

Total: 65 Miles

This week was a good one. The miles are coming up and I am getting in some good workouts. I even ran my first race since my Mt. Washington disaster and felt OK. Then on Sunday Heather surprised me with entry into the Beach to Beacon 10k on August 1st. I have wanted to do this race for a very long time and I am very excited to be running it in less than two weeks. Thank you Heather....your the best!

More miles, more smiles 7/6 to 7/12

7/6 Monday: 8 miles easy in 58 minutes

7/7 Tuesday: 12 miles in 82 minutes

30 minutes of warm up, then into 5 x mile @ 5:30 with 1 minute rest. Went 5:34, 5:33, 5:30, 5:29, 5:28, then 20 minute of warm down. I was very happy with how this workout went. Much better than my last attempt at a workout.

7/8 Wednesday: 7 miles in 56 minutes

Ran with Seth Williams along the Merrimack River trail in Andover. Very easy running.

7/9 Thursday: OFF from running

7/10 Friday: 8 miles in 59 minutes

7/11 Saturday: 16 miles in 1 hour 49 minutes

This was what I guess you can call a long progression run. Went 3 miles at about 7:40 pace, next three miles were 7:10 pace, next three miles were 6:40 pace, next three miles were 6:20 pace, took one mile easy at 7:20 ish, then went into three miles at 5:55 pace. I felt pretty good, but certainly worked the last 3 miles. Hamstring and hip felt good!

7/12 Sunday: 7 miles in 52 minutes

Nice easy run with Heather out to Crystal lake in Haverhill. Felt a little tired and heavy from yesterdays longrun.

Total: 58 miles

A very solid week that I am pretty happy with. I had some good workouts and increased the mileage a little bit. The hamstring and hip even felt alright. Next week will be more of the same, increase the mileage a bit and get in another good workout. I will also be running The Bill Luti 5 Miler on Saturday.

Training 6/29 to 7/5

Monday 6/29: 8.5 miles in 60 minutes Easy run

Tuesday 6/30: 11 miles in 75 minutes

Track work: Mile, 4x400, 1200, 4x400, Mile. Did this in 5:38, 82s, 4:04, 80s, 5:36 Hitting all the goal paces that were set out. Felt pretty good and was pretty happy with the effort.

Wednesday 7/1: Off from running.

Did some self PT on the hamstring and hip

Thursday 7/2: 7 miles in 52 minutes.

Easy running then off to the Sports Spa for some treatment on the hamstring and hip.

Friday 7/3: 8 miles in 54 minutes

Ran from NHTI (Home of National Champion Heather Searles) in Concord NH. Did 1 minute pickups at the beginning of miles 4-8.

Saturday 7/4: 14 miles in 101 minutes

Ran From St Pauls School in Concord NH. Was suppose to do 5 miles at 5:40 to 5:50 pace towards the end of the run. Ended up only making it 1.5 miles at pace, then breaking it up with 3 x half mile at pace with 2 minute breaks for a total of 3 miles at goal pace. This was a pretty disappointing workout. I felt awful, tired, slow, heavy. The only good thing to come from this workout was that my hamstring and hip felt OK the whole time. Only a slight tightening towards the end.

Sunday 7/5: 7 miles in 51 minutes

Very easy from my parents house up in Campton NH. Then it was off the Squam Lake for a great day of boating and swimming.

Total Mileage: 55.5 miles

Despite the bad workout on Saturday this was a good week of training. I got in some good mileage and a couple of workouts. The hamstring and hip even felt OK for most of the week. Its getting better each day and with continued attention I feel that I will be 100% again in the next couple weeks. Next week I will bring the mileage up a little bit more and start getting ready for some marathon training. The USATFNE Championship Baystate Marathon is October 18th.