will run for fashion

So remember that long run I was supposed to do last Sunday?  Yeah, that didn’t happen.  Let it be known that NyQuil is evil when you need to be somewhat productive the next day.  But again, given that I was really trying to get rid of that damn cold ASAP, a long run may not have done me any favors.  The one downside to winter training-seems like it takes longer to shake out illness than it does in warmer temps.

So I threw myself back into it this past week.  Coach T took a little mercy on me on Tuesday and had me do 600s as a “rust-buster” type workout instead of the 1000s that the others were doing.  Which was perfect, my lungs did not feel up to 1000s.  My original plan was to try and run before work as there was the annual Flyers Chinese New Year celebration, and given that it was the Year of the Dragon (my year!) I sorta had to go   The snooze button won out but I was still able to get my workout done, and me and my workout-mates made it to the festivities in time (well…maybe a little fashionably late!)

Happy Year of the Dragon! Words to live by...and others that I can hope are reality?

 

And then in the middle of the week, the word was out that a certain coveted jacket was available on the Adidas site.  And of course inquiring minds had wanted to know for a while…what will the colors be?  Will it be embroidered or not?  And the answer is…

Once again, a departure from the traditional Boston blue/yellow, but I’m really loving this color!   I can’t wait to get mine…though I know I won’t be able to wear it til the afternoon of April 16th…bad luck!!

So I guess making sure I will be able to wear said jacket was what got me out the door on a rainy Thursday evening for a tempo which I felt I came up short on, but all things considered, was just glad to get it in.  And even though I got a late start today due to not being able to tear myself away from the Australian Open final, still banged out 17 and change miles (including not 1, but 2 loops of the Harlem Hills.)  Though dear god, if I am as tired after 17 miles in 11 weeks as I was today, the Newton hills are gonna be a world of hurt.

Busy week this upcoming week with final preps for the Flyers awards gala Saturday.  I expect to see lots of Flyers (myself included!) out running long runs Saturday…if last year was any indication, a long run will definitely not happen on Sunday.  In fact, I predict Flyer attendance at the Gridron Classic will be quite low…

week 17 wrap-up

ahhhhhhh!!!!! it’s now race week!!!  when did this happen???

So of course, taper week 2 is not without being packed with excitement…yeah if you can call it that.

So track was 8 x 400…no more 1000′s or 1200′s, just short stuff from there on in.  I hit my usual 1:35-1:36 with a 1:34 thrown in there….so while the workout was status quo, of course drama has to come from the loose soccer balls, which one unfortunately nabbed me in the shin-thank God I had my compression sox on!!

Wednesday I knew I had to get my recovery run done in the AM, as between an all-company meeting and the annual celebration of Oktoberfest at work, I knew it was gonna be a wasted day, no pun intended, and that no workout was gonna happen after work.  Sure enough, after sampling all 4 of the CFO’s varieties of home brew I hit the bar afterwards with some other colleagues…yep that was a late nite.

Thursday nite was cold and very rainy.  Cold I can deal with…but no need to be a weather hero so close to game time.  So I bailed on that nite’s workout in favor of some much-needed rest.

As for the weekend…did anyone imagine that it would snow in October?  Yeah, when I saw the forecast a coupla days out I didn’t believe it.  I mean, I didn’t see a low of 32 degrees or lower anywhere.  Boy we were in for a surprise on Saturday!!  My original plan to do a short run including the 5th Ave hill was scrapped in favor of the dreadmill and a yoga class.  On the topic of the dreadmill, I’m finding I actually don’t mind the Woodway brand too much…there’s usually 1 or 2 at the NYSC locations, so if I absolutely have to resort to the dreadmill, I hit up one of those!

So as Central Park was closed for part of yesterday, I hit up the West Side path for my last long run-8 miles with 7 @ MP.  The conditions on the path, post-snowstorm were pretty good.  It wasn’t too cold (I was actually wearing shorts!) though it was pretty windy-the big downside to running along the water, as it meant running into headwinds…and I’m sure you can tell which were the headwind miles.

Running into the wind, those first coupla miles were slower than I wanted.  And even though overall I hit the time, of course I couldn’t help but panic that if it is windy on Sunday, then I am screwed…

Oh yeah how does that weather look?  I know there’s time for it to change, but…

Actually-a little warmer than I would like (ideal for me would be in the 40′s) but compared to this past weekend-I’ll take it!!

say hello to my (new) little friend

Soooo…I mentioned the other day that Mr. Garmin had his final run on Sunday. Who is his successor, you wonder?

None other than the Garmin 310XT.  Thanks to a 15% discount and having a lot of $$ in the form of gift cards to spend at JackRabbit, I was able to pick this baby up.  Why did I go with this as opposed to the models that look more like a watch?  Well first off, I hate the touch bezel.  And the screen is too small-I like having 4 fields on the screen.  The model with the touch screen looks cool, but since it’s so new I’m sure it’s still sorta buggy.  This model got good reviews.  And it’s water-resistant!  And I love the wireless transfer-beats the hell out of the USB transfer, which was giving me nothing but problems for awhile…

I tried it out for the first time at the track and was pretty easy to use.  I wish I could say the workout was as easy!  Another workout of 1000′s…keeping with tapering, lessening the volume, not the intensity.

Interval	Time	Pace
1000m	4:11.73	6:45.12
1000m	4:11.91	6:45.41
1000m	4:08.90	6:40.57

quite similar to last week!  just over 4:10, then get just under for the last one.  Glad this workout was short and sweet, as I headed uptown to have some drinks with the Flyers, where I modeled one of my newer apparel acquisitions.

 So yesterday I got to test how water-resistant this thing is, as it was raining.  The downside was that it seemed to take forever to get a signal-something I thought was improved over the 305 with this model!  Not exactly fun when it’s raining   Anyway, it finally locked and I banged out some easy miles.  The device held up well (not that it was raining super-hard) and when I got home I downloaded a device software update hoping it will help the satellite problem…

Looks like it did, as it located the satellites in less than a minute.  Wow, I think that may be a record, especially in midtown Manhattan!   More 1000′s on the agenda tonite-though tempo.  5 x 1000, minute rest inbetween.  Shoot for 4:30.  (tempo splits outlined in red below.)

I think this was the first time-at least in a very long time-that I actually nailed the tempo.  Could be because it was cool and not humid for a change, or maybe everything is finally coming together, but I was definitely pleased!

So far, so good, I think me and my new Garmin friend will be very happy together.  Though it needs a name, can’t use Mr. Garmin again…any suggestions?

week 15 wrap-up

3 weeks to go! And you know what that means…

Hey on the topic, might as well throw in some MC Hammer for your listening pleasure…

Getting back to business.  Yep, this was not an easy week at all.  Even 2 days later, I was still feeling my race, but me and my compression socks sucked it up through a set of 4×1000′s.  There was an option to add on another 800 at the end, but Coach T said for me it wasn’t optional.  meaning he was saving me from myself and cutting me off after the 1000′s.

I was supposed to hit 4:10′s…got there eventually

Interval	Time	Pace
1000m	4:11.64	6:44.98
1000m	4:11.10	6:44.11
1000m	4:12.32	6:46.07
1000m	4:10.82	6:43.66

Thursday was hills, then Sunday was the last 20-miler-the “3 Bridges Run Redux.”  Once again, I’d be leading the “niners.”  Difference this time was a much earlier wake-up call!!  As this run brought around 500 people, it had to be split up into multiple waves as opposed to the 3 waves of 2 weeks ago.  What does that mean for me?  The 9 minute group would be departing for run at 6:45.  AM.  Yes you read that right.  The sun was barely up when we left.  But hey, it means we’d get back earlier to shop at JackRabbit (the run meeting place), right?   (and definitely was fortuitous that this run left from the west side JR!  meaning no transfers, no MTA fails!)

So anyway, we were blessed with another nice day, albeit a little windy, especially in the early miles on the West Side Highway.  Mental note-if it’s windy on race day, draft off of someone taller   I was the sole leader for the group this time around, though pretty much everyone stuck together and a couple others helped me at times.  Another great group to work with!  The pacing went well as usual-only miles that were slower were the headwind and bridge miles, and not by much.  In fact, at the water station at the 10.5 mile point in Brooklyn, Flyer PN who was manning the station with his wife said that my group was within a minute or 2 of the expected arrival time.  whoa.  how good is that?   We hit a bit of traffic in the park, as there was some huge walk going on that was taking up almost the entire 72nd street transverse and the east drive.  Found a clearing and crossed in order to hit the Great Lawn and get over to the west side and back to where we started…though we did have to do a little bit extra around the block to get exactly to 20 miles!   But we were DONE!!

And the splits:

Mile 2 had the major headwind…and I’m sure you can tell where the bridges were   But all in all, not bad.

Sooo afterwards I did some shopping…yep I had quite a bit of $$ to spend at JR, since I got gift cards for pacing both 3 Bridges runs and my baby brother got me a gift card for my B-day too.  I’ll eventually reveal what I got, but I will say that Mr. Garmin took FOREVER to get a signal before the run.  He must have known it would be his last outing or something   (and it was a good thing my group was one of the first to finish-no lines!!  By the time the later groups finished, the lines were insane!)  And I hit up 16 Handles because of course, it’s never too early for 16 Handles.  Even at 11 AM.  Especially after running 20 miles

Thankfully not really sore today…compression socks FTW!!  I think the hot pink CEP’s are gonna be part of the marathon outfit again   Did get a much-needed massage today for good measure!!  And for the next 3 weeks?  It’s all about staying uninjured and hoping to not catch whatever is going around in my office.  Let the taper madness begin!

week 14 wrap-up

considering I haven’t posted since my last “week-in-review” post, I guess I have been just a little busy this past week?

Considering going right from a 20-miler to a Yankee game and sitting in a stadium seat for hours…no time for ice bath, etc., is not the most ideal form of recovery, my legs didn’t feel so horrible when doing reps at the track a coupla days later.  (though it did take a little while for the calves to respond.)

Interval	Time	Pace
400m	1:36.66	6:28.90
400m	1:37.80	6:33.48
400m	1:36.65	6:28.86
400m	1:35.30	6:23.43
400m	1:36.90	6:29.86
400m	1:35.95	6:26.04
400m	1:35.65	6:24.83
400m	1:34.77	6:21.29
400m	1:34.47	6:20.09
400m	1:32.18	6:10.87

Was a little slower overall than the last time we did 10 x 400 but finished pretty strong.  (of course it didn’t hurt that guy from NBR was cheering me on during the 8th interval…always a sucker for impressing the guyz!)

Hit the Great Lawn for tempo intervals on Thursday.  You know it’s gonna be torture…no, not even when hearing what the workout was!  Nope, it’s seeing one of these at the south end of the Great Lawn.

Ohhh the waffle truck was tempting all of us.  But dammit, it was gonna be closed before we finished our workout.  And unfortunately we couldn’t indulge then and there, as that was not quite the carbo-loading the coaches would have in mind for us.

So it was a tolerable tempo workout…6 x half-mile with a very very short jog inbetween…so pretty much continuous.  (others had to do 8 or even 10, but I was let off the hook due to racing this past weekend…)

Interval	Time	Pace
0.48 mi	3:28.75	7:15
0.48 mi	3:48.78	7:57
0.48 mi	3:42.00	7:43
0.48 mi	3:34.22	7:27
0.48 mi	3:37.75	7:34
0.48 mi	3:33.95	7:26

I was all over the place here…was supposed to be shooting for 3:40 but came up fast most of the time…Mr. Garmin was saying it was short.  Not sure if he was right (it has given me some flukey readings on the oval before) or if I really was going too fast-I’ll take it though.

And it was a little chilly afterwards, so I put this lovely apparel item on:

Yes, I’m a dork and couldn’t wait to buy a “Boston Qualifier” item   However, the way I see it…it’s no different than, like, making sure I keep at it to still fit into my awards gala dress?  I’m gonna need all the motivation I can get to train through the winter!

Coming up in my next post will be a report from today…my first race in my new age group.

keep holding on

it started last week, just continued into this week.  Now i’m at the point of training where all the miles and the hard efforts are really starting to build up, and the result is having to push through runs and workouts on very tired legs and just try and hold on til taper time…even though I was sort of hoping to escape that this time around.

This week’s track workout was 6 x 800, I had to aim for my normal 3:20 per interval.  Obviously my legs had other, not so good ideas.

Interval	Time	Pace
800m	3:19.15	6:40.63
800m	3:23.15	6:48.67
800m	3:24.45	6:51.29
800m	3:24.22	6:50.83
800m	3:21.15	6:44.65
800m	3:19.24	6:40.81

Obviously I wasn’t happy with this one, as I used to be able to crush 3:20 in workouts.  Was the half-marathon still in my legs?  I don’t know.  It did seem, however that everyone across the board was struggling.  Then again, others who did both the Fifth Avenue Mile and the 18-mile Tune-Up back to back had an excuse…not sure I did.

So as I was in NJ for the holiday and couldn’t make Thursday’s workout, I had to consult Coach T for an alternate workout…I figured I’d have access to the track at the local high school and I knew the minute I mentioned that it was 200 meters, that he’d suggest a repetition workout and sure enough I was right.  However, I was surprised when I saw that the 200 meter track was no more and instead it was replaced by a brand-spankin’ new 400 meter track!  The high school field hockey and soccer teams were practicing there too, but it was cool, we all stayed out of each other’s way…oh what a difference than McCarren Park, as this time I did not have to dodge a single soccer ball!!  Anyway, threw myself into the 200s and 400s…

Interval	Time	Pace
200m	0:46.05	6:10.55
200m	0:47.40	6:21.41
200m	0:48.92	6:33.65
200m	0:46.52	6:14.33
200m	0:46.40	6:13.37
200m	0:45.97	6:09.91
200m	0:44.96	6:01.78
200m	0:47.03	6:18.44
400m	1:37.55	6:32.48
400m	1:36.88	6:29.78
400m	1:38.57	6:36.58
400m	1:35.57	6:24.51
400m	1:36.55	6:28.46
400m	1:34.77	6:21.29

Plan for the 200′s was to start out at 46/47, take it down to 45/46…and for the 400s to start at 1:37 and take it down to 1:35.  So for the most part it was fine, though I don’t know what happened with the last 200, and I had to take a little more rest for the last coupla intervals.  Was just glad to get it in before the torrential downpours that hit later in the day.

Another 20 on tap this weekend.  And this will be after attending the Yanks playoff game tomorrow nite!  This oughta be, uh, interesting

week 12 wrap-up

Boy, this week was actually a tough one.  Couldn’t rest on my laurels from the half, still had work to do.  Lotsa mileage up in here!

So track this past week was a ladder.  2 x 200, 400, 800, 1200…then repeat in reverse.  I was granted a little bit of mercy and was allowed to swap the second 1200 with an 800, as long as I did the one 1200 under 5:05.

Interval	Time	Pace
200m	0:46.97	6:17.95
200m	0:47.22	6:19.97
400m	1:38.22	6:35.17
800m	3:19.47	6:41.27
1200m	5:03.10	6:46.49
800m	3:19.37	6:41.07
800m	3:19.32	6:40.97
400m	1:37.61	6:32.72
200m	0:47.08	6:18.84
200m	0:45.06	6:02.59

So all were under target, except for the 1200, the original target was 5:00 but I’ve had trouble hitting that as of late…especially with legs that just ran a half 2 days earlier!  Hence the deal that was made

Thursday was the total opposite…as I had a Flyer event in the evening and had to miss the group workout, my assignment to do in the morning was a 4-mile tempo at 7:35-7:40 pace.  That definitely did not go as planned.  Yeah, it was dreadfully humid, but my legs were definitely tired…I knew it when I tried to do a couple of strides and my legs weren’t responding.  But I threw myself into it anyway, and wound up with 7:53 pace…the first 3 miles barely under 8, but picked it up for the last mile, which was 7:43.  And my heart rate data even backed things up-was much lower than it should be for a tempo effort, meaning the legs were tired.

So the legs felt better for today’s 14-miler, which I did in the park while running in the opposite direction from the 18-mile Tune-Up race…and it was good to cheer for and chat briefly with other teammates and friends, but boy the humidity was deadly.  Even though I took my gel somewhere between miles 7 and 8, by mile 12 I felt under-fueled and my legs felt shaky-had a feeling it was a fueling error I had committed before.  With the humidity, I probably needed 2 gels instead of 1, or I needed to have taken Gatorade and not just water.  But really, I hope this humidity takes a hike soon-so glad I did my half last weekend instead of this one!

But got it done, and had the afternoon free to enjoy the Yankees game…ah a nice victory over the Sawx!!  But oh boy, crazy how the Sawx’s playoff hopes really lie in the Yankee’s hands this week-literally!!

And the men’s marathon world record fell today in Berlin!  (and Haile falters once again…I think he’s done)  But wait a minute, they used pacers…so it shouldn’t count!!  Hey after all, women aren’t allowed to use male pacers.  Yes, I think this new ruling by the IAAF is ridiculous.  It’s one thing to do this going forward, but previous records should NOT be voided. That said, in my opinion…I don’t know why it matters if a record is run in a mixed or women’s only race…pacers or no pacers, their legs still had to do the work. A pacer can only do so much-they don’t run the race for the athlete.  And I’m not sure if the USATF is gonna follow suit, but if they do…I feel more bad for Deena Kastor than Paula Radcliffe-at least the best time in a women’s only race that can count for a world record does still belong to Paula…Deena would get stripped of a record entirely.  (Looks like the USATF does keep track of records set in women’s-only races as well as mixed races…though I think the time they have for the marathon is outdated, shouldn’t it be Kara Goucher’s 2:25 in NYCM 2008?)  I’m sure the Chicago marathon organizers are pissed about this too…their race is in 2 weeks, there is no separate women’s start, so now their race can’t count for any women’s records?  Anyone want to take bets on how long this ruling will last?

week 11 wrap-up

7 weeks to go…less than 50 days out…time flies.

Well this was an interesting week of sorts.  Highlighted by “Bibgate“.  Unfortunately, I got that news the day of my track workout, and it definitely threw me-I was “off” the entire time.  I was supposed to hit 5:00 per 1200 and was way off…

Interval	Distance	Time	Pace
1	1200m	5:06.37	6:50.88
2	1200m	5:06.12	6:50.54
3	1200m	5:12.80	6:59.50

Not sure if I was still feeling my MP run from Sunday, or if it was Bibgate getting to me, but I wasn’t happy with this one at all.  Especially the last one-I was definitely hauling, and the heart rate data showed it, why was it so slow?

Tried to put it behind me for Thursday, 2 consecutive tempo loops of the Harlem Hill loop (approx 1.41 miles).  My 2 loops were 10:56/10:35 (7:43/7:28 pace)…improvement from the last time I did this workout in May, when I ran 10:56/10:57?  Was the first really cool night in awhile (very windy too!)-felt a little underdressed in short sleeves and almost could have been glove weather!!

As for today’s half, there is a full report to come, but I will say for now that the popular opinion on the poll was correct (1:37-1:39.)  There was no PR, but still glad to get under 1:40 as it was definitely tougher going than I expected.  Of course, I knew it was gonna be a challenge going in as I was not tapered…

rain over me

Wow, for awhile this week I almost forgot what the sun looked like…this week was just rain, rain and more rain.  Thankfully it didn’t affect me as much as it did the US Open-2 full days of washouts meaning once again  (3rd year in a row?) the men’s final is on Monday!  (time to install a roof somewhere at Flushing Meadows…?)

As for me, the only day the rain really affected my workouts was track nite.  I kept monitoring the hourly forecast, hoping for the best but still expecting a wet evening.  (that’s what she said.)  And sure enough, once 7:15 rolled along, the rain hadn’t really let up.  But me and a few others still decided to show up to the track.  Crazy?  Maybe.  Not sure what the intended workout was gonna be, but the “plan B” was a 2-mile time trial.  Uggghhh…why do time trials always seem to happen in the rain?  I had a feeling it wouldn’t be my best, but at least I’ll get some kind of speed workout in tonite.  And so off we went, with the only obstacles in lane 1 being puddles, as the track was empty and the usual soccer balls and bikes were nowhere in sight.  I was over 7 minute pace at the 1200m mark and knew this was gonna be a slow one…but just tried to hold on.  The 2 miles were done in 14:24, estimated mile splits 7:11/7:13.  So I basically did this at my 5-mile race pace.  Blame it on the rain I guess…

As for my recovery run the next day, I thankfully didn’t head out til after a brief downpour and my run was just drizzling and/or misty.  I hit up the bridle path and with the exception of some puddles, it actually was not that bad.  It however got too dark at one point so I had to take it to the roads…guess cooler days bring darker nights…

Last nite was tempo with the distance upped once again…instead of the normal 1200s we did 1800s.  Only 2 of them, but still, as we had to do the same pace we did for the 1200s.  And I was pretty consistent with this workout, ran 7:49 for the first and 7:50 for the 2nd but I still say that it was not a whole 1800 as there was no way I was running 7 minute pace  (Mar. Garmin said the 1st was  1.05 miles, the 2nd 1.03 miles.  And I believe 1800 meters should be closer to 1.1 miles…?)  So I guess this was closer to 7:30 pace which seems more realistic for me.

And the next challenge will be the long run this weekend…13 miles with 8 at marathon pace.  Getting nervous thinking about it…

adios part dos

So as mentioned previously, I was looking into getting another pair of Adidas Adioses…whether I was gonna stick with the watermelon candy color or try the new one was to be determined.  Which one did I go with?  Without further ado…

this pic doesn’t even do justice to how neon-y these shoes are…

Yep, I decided to go with the pink…or as I was informed, the color was called “turbo.”  OK, maybe that doesn’t scream “look at me, look at me” as much as “neon pink” does, but “turbo” does sound fast.

And believe me, these do get noticed.  I broke them in at my track workout and when just waiting around some random stranger says that she spotted my shoes halfway down the block.  Plus just walking to/from the subway I felt they were getting looks.  I like it though!  Glad I went with these instead of the greens.

Last nite had short stuff on tap-10 x 200.

Interval	Time	Pace
1	0:45.30	6:04.52
2	0:45.89	6:09.26
3	0:44.70	5:59.69
4	0:45.03	6:02.34
5	0:44.40	5:57.27
6	0:44.55	5:58.48
7	0:44.17	5:55.42
8	0:44.28	5:56.31
9	0:43.69	5:51.56
10	0:43.32	5:48.58

Given my target was my normal VO2max pace of 50 secs per 200 (with the blessing to take it down to 48-49 if need be) I guess these were a bit on the fast side.  But still felt good, and hey at least I was consistent, and didn’t blow out the first interval and get significantly slower for the rest of them.  200s may sound easy (especially compared to the previous week’s 1200s!), but the quanitity, plus the short rest, makes it hard.

So glad the shoes are still working for me…I’m actually debating whether to wear them for my upcoming half.  Or do I stick with my performance trainers (the Brooks Launches)?  Decisions, decisions…

And though it may be just the middle of my running week, thankfully my workweek is over!  Yay for 5-day holiday weekend.  Tomorrow I’m hitting up some hills…then hitting up the US Open!  It must be love…

picture of consistency

THIS.

can you guess what my target time was?

So the dreaded workout of 1200s.  Well actually I didn’t dread it as much as a coupla others did, I knew we were due for a tough one and I guess 3 of those babies was…um doable?  Just wasn’t sure if I’d be able to hit the pace for all 3, given that the last time I ran 1200s in a track workout I fell short.  But then again, it was a little cooler…and my 800 interval times have gotten faster, so maybe that would translate to the 1200s too?  It did, and did a pretty good job pacing them too.  Kinda thought the 3rd one should have been a second or 2 faster, given that I felt like I was really hauling a$$ on the last lap, especially the last 200 meters, but I’ll take it.  At any rate, my legs were definitely dragging on yesterday’s recovery run so I must have done something right…

As for the Bronx Half this weekend-still don’t know what’s gonna happen.  Given that the forecast for Sunday hasn’t really changed just yet, I see NYRR making this into a “fun run” or just canceling the thing…the right thing to do would be to make the call by Friday so people can get their long runs in Saturday if need be.  If NYRR does wind up canceling the race, I just may move my long run to Saturday instead.  And before you say “wuss” and “weak”…another thing I do have to keep in mind is the transportation situation.  Given that the subways malfunction when there is just one drop of water, there are definitely going to be subway issues if the hurricane predictions come true.  And given that I’m sure that we wouldn’t be able to shack up in Yankee Stadium, I’d prefer to not take my chances with getting stuck in the Bronx.  Not to mention the fact that it’s not worth risking safety just for a a run that’s being used as a marathon-pace workout.  Sucks to have to eat $30, but that’s the breaks.

Anyway-I’ll still get my bib and stuff tomorrow…if NYRR hasn’t made the decision for us already, I’ll probably decide for sure on Saturday morning what to do…

quality + quantity

Equals this training week, perhaps?

Both speed workouts this week consisted of things familiar.  But with the quantity upped a little bit.

Track this week was 400-meter reps.  But whereas last time was supposed to be 8 (which eventually got cut down to 6, thank you thunder and lightning!), we had 10 of them on tap.  I was supposed to aim for 1:36 (ok, guess the ante was upped a little bit since 1:38 was my target last time out…) and I hit that once

Interval	Time	Pace
1	1:35.44	6:23.99
2	1:35.25	6:23.23
3	1:35.72	6:25.12
4	1:36.67	6:28.94
5	1:34.40	6:19.81
6	1:34.10	6:18.60
7	1:35.72	6:25.12
8	1:34.58	6:20.53
9	1:34.82	6:21.49
10	1:32.55	6:12.36

At least I was consistent?   Or maybe I just wanted to get done quicker as I had a date with some Blue Moons and some teammates afterwards and you know it takes a lifetime to get from Brooklyn to the UES

Yesterday was tempo intervals…instead of the usual 4 x 1200, was 5 this time!  Another one I had to get done in the AM as I spent last nite having a few drinks for a certain someone’s b-day…anyway, piece of cake, right?  Never mind the last time I did this workout in the AM I struggled with it.  And I did again.  5:20 was my target, wound up running 5:38 (not sure what happened here-maybe legs not quite ready to run fast yet,though I did warm up for over a mile?), 5:29, 5:26, before I ended with two 5:20′s, the ones I should have been running all along.

I did have mixed emotions about this one.  Why is it so hard to keep my head in it during these tempo workouts?  On the other hand, I was able to handle the additional volume and get the times progressively faster.  So a wash I guess.

And this weekend will be the longest run to date during this training cycle…18 miles.  Bring it!

“enjoy it while it lasts”

So I’ve been warned.  After 2 PR’s in a row, pretty soon the ante is gonna be upped for me during workouts.  I guess I had to expect it, was gonna be only a matter of time.  Doesn’t mean I’m not nervous about that though

As for this week at the track, your basic 6 x 800 workout.  Even though the skies were threatening, the forecasted rain thankfully held off for us to complete the workout.  And this is what it was:

Interval	Time	Pace
1	3:18.57	6:39.46
2	3:17.15	6:36.60
3	3:16.02	6:34.33
4	3:16.42	6:35.13
5	3:13.94	6:30.15
6	3:12.82	6:27.89

Well no wonder the ante will be upped, I surpassed the 3:20 target each time…even when going out in 47 seconds (for the first 200) every time instead of 50   I did think the first one felt “easy”…not as much describing the effort, as I was working hard, but as in “the first interval felt good and that means I went out too fast and gonna crash and burn for the next 5.”  Though I think Coach T thought I meant effort and said “duly noted” but not totally seriously.  Oh damn…second time that day I put my foot in my mouth!   (the first time was my positive reaction to someone not attending a meeting I was in.  though everyone else in that meeting agreed with me.)  So thankfully, no crash and burn.  It helped me on the last 3 that AK (who was coming off running the 5-miler and doing the NYC Tri on back-to-back days!) was taking it easier so she ran with me-she was good to pace with.  And I think the forecasted rains scared off all the annoying people, as the track wasn’t as crowded as usual.  So good workout.  As for the next group up, their target times sounded scary to me and a little out of my league but I was reminded that “there was a time when I thought 3:20 was scary.”

And speaking of scary, last nite’s workout involved a scary hill.  Well maybe not so much scary as it was just tough-the Great Hill.  You know, that one that leads up to the dog track that is so steep it actually has stairs?  I had last done a workout there 3 years ago and lived to tell the tale so I suppose I could do it again   And it really wasn’t bad-no specific “targets” to shoot for, just ups and downs with a recovery loop around the dog track for 25 minutes, which for me and a few others meant 5 round trips.  And even though we weren’t supposed to be running for time, I was glad to see that the trips up the hill were faster than 3 years ago.  Though I will say, it’s almost like 2 hills in one…once you get past the part that has the 2 sets of stairs, that last steepest part just gets ya.  Needless to say, I slept well last nite…

week 5 wrap-up

6 days running, 3 hard, 3 easier.

Obviously the hard days were track, the race…and yes a tempo workout on Thursday.  Original plan 1K, 2 x 2K, 1K.  Target 4:30 for 1K, 9 minutes for 2K.  Didn’t quite hit either-1K’s were 4:35 and 4:38 and the 2K was 9:27.  And thankfully I was let off the hook for the 2nd one.  A little off the targets obviously, the surface and the contant turning on Great Hill track really isn’t conducive (sp?) to speediness…neither is idiots stopping right in front of me.  Oh yes, we were none too happy to see a mass of humanity led by highlighter singlets make their way to the track while we were warming up.  Especially when some of their runners would stop short right in front of me without stepping aside while I’m trying to keep momentum going.  It was definitely a beautiful sight to see them heading down the hill…oh my reaction was definitely in “double rainbow” territory…

Wednesday was a dreadmill run, as I was advised to stay off the roads that day and do the bridle path but the rain was gonna leave the bridle path muddy and slippery.  But even though I kept the pace easy/recovery effort…I don’t know if I was imagining things…but I thought I heard the (sh)IT band talking to me.  Moreso because running on the dreadmill really seems to mess up your stride.  Needless to say, my leg got plenty of foam roller action and plenty of stretching action in yoga class afterwards.  And I’m keeping any future dreadmill runs to a minimum.  (just to clarify, it feels fine now.  probably just a scare triggered by the dreadmill?)

Thankfully, I only had to do a “medium-long” run the day after the race, so I did 10 on the west side path.  Much better than the last time I attempted a longish run the day after a race, what a difference the terrain makes.  Oh but of course, I waited until the afternoon…well because I was occupied in the morning, nope not watching the NYC Tri (for the first time in years!)  But my baby brother was doing the Damon Runyon 5K at Yankee Stadium so I wanted to watch for a little bit.  It actually looks like a fun race…definitely something on my running bucket list-maybe one year when I’m not training for a fall marathon?

Finally, for laughs…I like Galen Rupp and Chris Solinsky, and i hope they both do well at Worlds, but this was hilarious!

just call me “target”

And the tracky chronicles continue.  Specifically, what obstacles are gonna derail my workout.  I know I have to deal with it every week, but this week seemed worse than usual…and I just seemed to be the target for it!

So this week was 1200/1000/1200/800…same target times as usual.  Some of the peeps seemed none too excited about that…and Coach T was encouraging us to “get excited”…oh man he sounded like one of my bosses there!

First 1200 I was a few seconds off…either the legs were not quite there yet, or maybe I still had Sunday’s long run in my legs?  I made it through that one unscathed, oh but then the real fun starts.  On the 1000, with about 100 meters to go, some girl is WALKING in lane 1, the opposite direction that I am running, and I nearly had to slow to a stop to prevent a collision.  On the next 1200, with about 200 meters to go a family was walking across the track, not bothering to look either way…oh hey there are runners approaching!!  Finally, in the home stretch of the 800 I almost get sideswiped by a friggin kid on a Big Wheel.  I swear, I couldn’t win that nite…

Interval	Time	Pace
1200m	5:05.98	6:50.36
1000m	4:10.49	6:43.12
1200m	5:02.96	6:46.31
800m	3:17.22	6:36.74

For whatever reason, I didn’t feel as good about this one as the one 2 weeks ago.  Coach T said I did good given the obstacles.  And the 1000 was on target and the 800 ahead of it…but wonder what could have been.  The 1200s I wasn’t thrilled with.  But whatever-another one done.

And if these hijinks continue at the track, someone WILL get run over eventually.  You have all been warned…

week 4 wrap-up

First 40-mile week I’ve thrown down since Chi-town training last year.  And as today is the last day of July (duh)…logged 168 miles for the month of July.  More than in 2008 (good NYCM year) but less than 2009 (bad MCM year) so I’m taking this as a good sign, actually, since things have netted out well so far.  (fingers crossed it stays that way!)

So where did I leave off…oh yeah my remaining 2 missions for the week.  The first being a VO2 max workout of 7 x 800s (@ 3:20) which I had to get done in the morning before work on Thursday as I had plans afterwards.  And honestly, getting the workout in wasn’t the tough part, no it was trying to figure out where to do it!!  The first suggestion was the Great Lawn oval, but I nixed that as I found out the hard way a coupla years back that most likely my workout would be derailed by unleashed dogs.  All the tracks would be too much of a trek from midtown.  There’s always the flattish stretch between Engineer’s Gate and Cleopatra’s Needle, but again a little far.

Finally, on a suggestion from a teammate, I settled on the measured half-mile on the lower loop between just south of Tavern and the carousel.  Warmed up for about a mile to the park, did some strides, and got to work.  Was tough keeping my head in it going about it solo, and there were some points where I had to dodge others (read: not always a perfect tangent.)  Then again, having other parkgoers may help…I do remember on the third one, the guy who passed me and said “good job” and I tried to keep him in sight for the rest of the interval   And I saw other Flyers in passing too, so I definitely couldn’t look like I was slacking   Anyway, how it went:

Split	Time	Distance	Pace
1	3:15	0.50	6:33
2	3:22	0.53	6:19
3	3:17	0.51	6:31
4	3:25	0.52	6:32
5	3:23	0.51	6:43
6	3:25	0.51	6:39
7	3:17	0.50	6:34

All in all, I was pleased. This was the wrap-up that I sent my coach (and his reply indicated he was pleased too):

“Yes, I know #1 was too fast I think the clockwise ones (2, 4, 6) may have been net uphill-plus those I was running in the “wrong” direction, therefore not really being able to go close to the curb and run the tangents. But pretty good considering I was flying solo and didn’t have the group to push me or pace off of. (and still better than any 800s workout I did last year. yeah.)”

Next “hard” workout would be today’s long run-12 miles, first 9 easy, last 3.1 on the rez @ 8:30-8:35.  And the first 9 were pretty easy, kept it on the CP roads, between 9-9:15.  Saw quite a few of my favorite Flyer guys in passing too   The “progression” part at the end…the story told by me.

“good news-long run done and feeling good
bad news-i was a bad girl during the last 5k

splits for that last 5K-8:12, 8:12, 7:55, 1:15 (for .16 mile-or so Garmin said.) 
estimate the 2 rez loops were 12:58/12:37.

i did truly intend to target 8:30s…I think given the rez is a slower surface than you think (it seems like whenever I do workouts on the reservoir, my times turn out to be slower than target)-I may have misgauged effort a little in the early going.  the first loop really did feel easy though (so i just decided to go with it instead of slowing it down) and I think the last .75 mile I was getting annoyed with the tourists on the rez so I wanted to be done “

Yes, I was one of those people I hate.  But I owned up to it.  Only good take-away from this was that my legs really didn’t feel spent from it.  But just in case, I spent some quality time with the foam roller today and am wearing my compression socks as I speak (type.)  Onward!

Oh and today during my run I wore what I think may be my new favorite shorts ever-Lululemon Speed Shorts.  The fit and the length could not have been better (or more flattering!) and they have 2 gel pockets in the waistband and a zippered pocket in the back!!  And nothing too revealing like the infamous “naked shorts”   Could possibly be my new go-to long run short…and marathon race day short too?  We shall see

So this coming week, the highlight is obviously gonna be the Club Champs 5-miler on Saturday.  This will of course mean I will not be partaking in the Underwear Run on Friday night, but hey I gotta take one for the team, right?   (BTW-whoever it was this past week who found my blog by googling “nyflygirl underwear”…I don’t know whether to say “thanks” or “you perv” )  No set time goal in mind just yet…let’s wait and see, shall we?

lightning crashes

And this post title has been brought to you by a song that brings back a lot of memories of the spring/summer of 1995…

(Oh and I may add that with this post, I have posted more times in the month of July than I have in all previous months of 2011, combined.  Guess I have my blogging mojo back?)

So as I mentioned yesterday, I knew Tuesday’s tracky workout was gonna consist of repetitions.  Which I normally dread because they’re usually short stuff like 100s, 150s, 200s and I really suck at those.  However, when I was told the workout was gonna be 8 x 400-and when I was told to target 1:38 per rep, I actually felt a little better about it?  Maybe since being able to hold that for longer intervals makes it less scary…

Interval	Time	Pace
1	1:35.42	6:23.91
2	1:38.87	6:37.79
3	1:38.19	6:35.05
4	1:37.51	6:32.32
5	1:37.12	6:30.75
6	1:34.79	6:21.37

Started off a little fast, but settled in, and actually was able to pick it up a little for the last one (and it may have been a second or 2 faster had I not needed to hurdle over a soccer ball around 200 meters in.)

Oh but wait a minute!  This workout was supposed to be 8 reps, why were there only 6?  As the title says, lightning crashes…and in this case, cut our workout short-we were done after 6 and went right into a cool-down.  Little disappointed that we weren’t able to go the full 8-as I really felt I could have done it well-but good that the coaches were looking out for our safety.

And as it turned out, we were lucky that the workout ended right then and there…the wind was ridiculous (knocking over signs, trash cans, etc) as we were heading to the L train…you can say we made up for the missed quarters as we were booking it as the skies opened up a coupla blocks away from the station.  And if the night couldn’t get any weirder, the L train had problems just as we hit Manhattan and was sitting in the 1st Ave station for quite awhile.  Finally it was revealed it wasn’t going anywhere any time soon so we all escaped the train and grabbed a bite and a glass of wine in the East Village while waiting out the storm (not to mention our transportation options!)  So a crazy evening ended well.

As for tomorrow, I got 800s on tap bright and early…oh boy I’m gonna need lotsa caffeine to get through the workday tomorrow

week 3 wrap-up

Just shy of 40 miles this week, was one week where I was glad to get everything in, even if it involved some rejiggering and holding back the pace.  Originally I had Sunday as a rest/XT day and a short easy run w/ strides on Friday, but given that it was 100 degrees outside (and as I was taking a summer Friday, why get up early if I don’t have to)…you can sorta understand why my preference was a yoga class in the nice, air-conditioned gym and saving the run for Sunday, where the weather broke just a little.  Of course you may question my sanity when it comes to sitting outside on Friday nite in said heat wave…but I was not alone there

Thursday’s tempo workout was indeed a bit of a struggle.  Was yet another “Triple T” workout…tough, topless, tempo. 4 x 1200 cruise intervals on tap (though if I believe Mr. Garmin, it definitely was not a full 1200 meters)…was told to target 5:20 and I was determined not to repeat the idiocy of 2 weeks prior, where I went out too fast and died during the last 2.

Distance	Time	Pace
0.7 mi	5:19.92	7:38
0.69 mi	5:24.20	7:50
0.7 mi	5:21.08	7:39
0.68 mi	5:15.73	7:45

Yeah, I guess on the slow side for a tempo.  But given the conditions (in the 90s, felt like in the 100s)…i’m just glad I kept things together, and its just another workout in the books.  However, I’ve been feeling lately like I’ve really been struggling with these tempo workouts…whereas I’ve been nailing the VO2max/track workouts-and it used to be the other way around!  Like my workout earlier in the week, my target for the 1200 was 5 minutes-and my target for this was only 20 seconds slower yet it felt so much tougher to keep my head in it (and has been the case in previous weeks too.)  Do you all find that you struggle more with tempos as opposed to intervals during the summer months?

On tap this week…the dreaded “R” word tonite (repetitions), 800s on Thursday (to be done before work, yay!) and latching some speedier miles to the end of my long run.  Piece of cake, right?

the heatpocalypse has come to town

Yep, this is how you know there is a heat wave in NYC…on Foursquare, “Heatpocalypse NYC” is swarming or trending or whatever.

The mercury’s been in the 90′s or higher all week, which of course makes running not as much fun.  But I’ve dealt with it, so far…Monday was a recovery run from this past weekend’s activities, and I was smart enough to run along the West Side Highway…besides the fact I was desperately craving a flat surface, I figured running along the water would make things a little cooler.  Which it did…run went fine, plus I ran into a friend I hadn’t seen in awhile so we caught up over a coupla miles…which was cool!

Tuesday was track workout time, and us gals were emailing back and forth as one was a little concerned about the heat and wanted to know if the rest of us were going…my thoughts were “I was still planning on going…if I raced in this heat last Tuesday, I should be able to handle a track workout…Hopefully it will cool down a little by 7:30, and I’m hoping target times/paces will be heat-adjusted? “  And it did feel a little cooler by the time the workout started (or is Williamsburg just cooler/colder than Manhattan?  I noticed that during the colder months too…)  We had been teased with the prospect of 1200s for weeks…this time the coaches delivered.  Though thankfully only one-but we had to follow up with a 1000, and 800, a 400 and a “surprise” at the end.  I thought the coaches were gonna make my target splits more aggressive, given my PR the past weekend, but the targets remained the same…maybe that was heat-adjusted?   I was also a little concerned about if I had recovered or not from the weekend, but as we got going, the workout went fine…came in a little ahead of the targets for the first 3!  The 400 was a little fast, but I had a feeling everyone was gonna blow that one out.  The “surprise”?  An all-out 200.

Interval	Target	Time	Pace
1200m	5:00	4:57.75	6:39.32
1000m	4:10	4:09.62	6:41.72
800m	3:20	3:16.52	6:35.34
400m	1:40	1:32.00	6:10.15
200m	fast as I can!	0:41.54	5:34.26

Like whoaaaaa!!  Especially that last one.  And I’ll admit to being a little nervous about that target time for the 1200.  If you remember last summer, when doing four all-out 1200s, my target was pretty similar.  And this time, I had to leave something in the tank to complete the rest of the workout.  But here is a situation where I think doing intervals on a track are much better than a measured stretch of road…having intermediate splits makes pacing much better (and I was pacing pretty well for the entire workout.)  All in all, not bad for a hot and sticky nite at the track…

So tonite? I don’t know what the exact workout is yet, all I know is it’s gonna be a scorcher…or maybe not, the mercury may make it below 90 by the time we get going But I’ve done this all before…all I can do is be smart, adjust if necessary, etc. And will also have to keep that in mind on Saturday when paceleading for 16 miles at the LTR…

Oh, and the only pictorial memory I have from my great race Saturday…

they can't all be smiles and sunshine.

topless tempo. tough.

OK, I couldn’t resist the title, and I’m sure some people being, uh…creative in what it means.  I mean yeah, I’ve run around Central Park in my underwear once…maybe twice?  But do you really think that I’m that much of an exhibitionist that I’d run around Central Park shirtless?

So with an air quality warning in effect and the warnings telling everyone to stay indoors, what do I do?  head to the park to run some tempo intervals.  And though it wasn’t that bad warming up, I still chucked my singlet before the actual tempo part, leaving just the sports bra on…and a coupla others did the same (as well as one of the male members of our group taking the last interval shirtless.)  Hence this being a “topless tempo”

And as for me, smart I was not.

Time	Distance	Avg Pace
5:17	0.73	7:15
5:31	0.74	7:29
5:37	0.73	7:43
5:39	0.73	7:43

Being told to keep it in the high 5:20′s, obviously I went out way too fast, especially given the conditions.  The second one I had to pull back a little bit…still OK, but the second half I started to lose it-feeling kinda light-headed after the 3rd interval and during the last one.  I finished, but it definitely was not pretty.  And even walking home, I sorta felt chills…amazing the difference from feeling like a million bucks on Tuesday.

Onward!  To the weekend…