Ran my Pomps Pond to Spring Hill Cemetery to Abbot road out and back. Wanted a nice easy run today to recover from the long run on Sunday and to also take it easy on the foot. I was a bit nervous about the foot after having some pain in it last week. I figured yesterdays long run probably aggravated it and I was fully expecting to have some pain. Much to my relieve I had no pain, just a bit of tightness, and the legs actually felt really good. Maybe it was that fresh pair of Asics DS trainers I pull out for the run. A good start to the week!
2/14 Tuesday: AM: 5 miles in 40 minutes PM: 8.5 miles in 65 minutes
AM: Easy running on the treadmill at home. Then strength stuff
PM: Easy running along the Shawsheen River Trails. I did 6 x 30 second strides during the last couple miles of the run. The strides felt alright. I still feel out of sorts if I try to run fast.
2/15 Wednesday: 10.5 in 80 minutes
Easy trail running along the Shawsheen River Trails over to the Bay Circuit Trail. I followed the Bay Circuit Trail all the way over and into the West Parish Cemetery before I turned around to head back. It was nice out there today....very quiet and calm.
I took Caitlyn night skiing at Ski Bradford after work. It was a great time!
2/16 Thursday: 9 miles in 66 minutes
Ran over to Andover High on the Shawsheen River Trails. Once at the High School I did a couple loop on the fields there. It was nice to get in a bit of running on a really soft grass surface. Overall the run was good and I felt pretty strong the whole way.
2/17 Friday: AM: 5 miles in 40 minutes PM: 8.1 miles in 63 minutes
AM: Easy running on the treadmill at home. Then some strength training.
PM: Heather met me in Andover for some running. We hit the Shawsheen River Trail over to the trails behind the High School. I was a great day to get out side and get in some running. The weather this year has been unreal.
2/18 Saturday: 6.3 miles in 48 minutes
Easy running on the treadmill at home. Felt alright except a pain in the right side of my chest. I think I may have pulled something while doing my strength stuff Friday morning. It doesn't really effect my running all that much but it is making my arm swing a bit uncomfortable.
Tomorrow I am heading into Boston for the USATFNE Indoor Track Championships. This will be my first race of the year and will help me figure out what kind of shape I am in. Seven weeks ago I ran a 3k indoors and the result was awful. I ran 9:38, the slowest 3k I have ever run and almost a minute off my best. I had been injured for a large part of 2011 and had done little training going into the race. So the result was not really unexpected, but it was a reality check that I needed. I am running the 5k tomorrow and hope the last seven weeks of solid training show up in a much improved result. A 9:38 3k equates to about a 16:48 5k. My goal tomorrow is to go through 2 miles at 16 minute 5k pace and see what happens. I really feel like I should be able to run around 16 flat. Anything under 16 minutes would be a good result in my mind and a great confidence booster. Anything slower than 16 minutes will just be another kick in the pants to get me out there putting in more miles and work. We will see how it goes!
2/19 Sunday: 11.1 miles in 76 minutes
Went down to the USATFNE Indoor Track Championships to run the 5k. I did about three miles of warming up with a few CMS guys and then hit the track for my first race of the year. The goal was to stay relaxed and keep the splits even as I was trying to finish right at or just under 16 minutes. I felt pretty solid for the first mile, then the pace and lack of any race conditioning started to take hold. I held on pretty well through about two miles, but in the third mile I really started to lose my focus and I was having a lot of trouble staying comfortable. I really don't remember many splits, but I know I was just under 16 minute pace through two miles and I know I hit one lap to go in 15:25. This left me only 35 seconds (4:40 pace) to cover the last 200 meters to hit my 16 minute goal. So buckled down and tried to kick the best I could. I ended up hitting the finish line in 15:58 (5:08 pace) and getting under my goal of 16 minute by a small margin. (Results)
Overall I was pretty happy with the time, and a bit surprised how hard it felt to run such time. This really was a good rust buster and a good first race to the year. There is still a lot of work to be done to really get me in race ready shape. Congrats to new CMS teammate Adam Malek for breaking 15 minutes and winning the 5k! You should have seen his kick!
My Next race is this coming weekend in the USATFNE 10 mile road Championships out in Amherst.
Total Miles: 71.9
Very nice week of running and racing. Things are getting better and the hard work is starting to show. Easier week this coming week to get ready for this weekends race.
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