Back aching

Monday, 2/29-took off

Sunday, 2/28-went to Westtown School's track on this pretty gorgeous but windy day for a track workout, my first in 10 days.  I initially thought I'd do my sit 'n kick workout, but the wind was too much for this plan.  So, I decided to do 200s, three (3) sets of four (4).  The dozen would be divided accordingly: 3@31, 3@29, and 3@27.  The plan was to take 2:30 between the ones in the first set, 3:15 between the ones in the second set, and 4:00 between the ones in the third set.

I started off strong but ended weak.

set 1: 30-mid, 30-low, 30-mid, 30-mid
set 2: 28-high, 28-high, 29-low, 29-mid
set 3: 26-high, 27-low, 29-low,---got through the first 100 and felt terrible.  My back was aching.

I gathered myself and did 2x100 in 13-mid.


Saturday, 2/27-Went to the Y with my wife.

Mile/lift/mile/lift/stretch

Miles were 7:00 and 6:30.

What a city!

2/25/16-

Ran 4M around San Fran at a faster pace than yesterday's run.  What a city!

San Fran

Wednesday, 2/24/16-Ran around San Fran, CA.  Approx. 4M.

Tuesday, 2/23/16-Met up in town at 5:35 AM to do hills at 5:50 AM.  My mind, body, and spirit were fully committed.  Thus, I posted a slower than usual time of 16:40 on this 35-degree morning.

Monday, 2/22/16-Went to the Y at 5:55 AM to lift (arms and legs) for 15-20 minutes.

Another Millrose in the books

Sunday, 2/21-

Did a "recovery" run of 5.7M in 43:10...average of 7:35/mile pace.


Saturday, 2/20-

Millrose.

Met up with Chuck Kruelle and Dave Richard at Rustin.  As it turns out, the 50+ B team was scrapped on account of a family emergency for Daryl Johnson. So, Dave decided to stay back.  

Chuck and I headed to Willow Grove to meet Rob.  The drive to NYC was quick and uneventful.  We arrived at The Armory at 10:15.

I warmed up on the track, stretched a bit, did some pick-ups, strides and drills, and then spent a good deal of time trying to stay loose.  I was initially tight, but then I started feeling pretty good.  

The lineup was Nick Damalas (who scarily arrived close to check in time due to a family circumstance), me, Craig, and Rob. 

The race...

Nick got out pretty well and found himself in third place behind TNT at the handoff.  I took the baton 20 meters behind Kareen Kanier and proceeded conservatively, not wanting to go out like gangbusters.  I felt pretty smooth across the first 200.  I could feel myself cutting into his lead at the 300-meter mark.  That’s when I went to my arms and toes.  I kept my form coming down the homestretch and handed off to Craig dead even with, or maybe a half-step in front of, Kareem.  Craig was up against Kyle Lanier, who seemed to take the first 150m conservatively.  Craig stayed in contact with him over the first 200 meters.  Over the second 200 meters, however, Kyle extended his lead substantially.  Craig labored down the homestretch and gave the baton to Rob. Rob, about 25 meters or so behind TNT at the exchange, took the turn aggressively and ran a balanced first lap.  With the goal being to break 3:50, Rob brought the baton home in 3:49 and change.  

The "official" splits were:

58.44-- Nick D

54.01 Delvin (12.7, 25.7 (13), 39.7 (14.0), 54.0 (14.3))

59.-- Craig

58.--Rob

3:49.72

2016 Millrose M40 4x400 MR

2016 Millrose M40 4x400 MR-GPTC edition

Event 17  Men 4x400 Meter Relay Masters
================================================================
        Meet: M 3:28.75  2012        , Southwest TC                            
    Team                                                 Finals 
================================================================
  1 Southwest Sprinters Track Club  'A'                 3:29.26  
     1) Ed Winslow                      2) Adam Alderton                  
     3) Robert ThomasJr                 4) Antwon Dussett                 
        52.256 (52.256)  1:46.067 (53.812)    2:38.53 (52.47)   3:29.251 (50.73)
  2 CPTC New Balance  'A'                               3:44.32  
     1) Andrew Hogue                    2) Peter Brady                    
     3) John Milone                     4) Sherman Lau                    
        54.345 (54.345)  1:49.339 (54.995)  2:47.839 (58.501)  3:44.316 (56.477)
  3 TNT International Racing Club  'A'                  3:44.97  
     1) Michael Jackson                 2) Kareem Lanier                  
     3) Kyle Lanier                     4) David Bynoe Sr                 
        56.159 (56.159)  1:52.431 (56.273)  2:47.653 (55.222)  3:44.963 (57.311)
  4 Greater Philadelphia Track Clu  'A'                 3:49.72  
     1) Nick Damalas                    2) Delvin Dinkins Sr              
     3) Craig Strimel                   4) Robert Schwartz                
        58.434 (58.434)  1:52.434 (54.001)  2:51.553 (59.119)  3:49.712 (58.159)
  5 Mass Velocity Track Club  'A'                       4:01.00  
     1) ? Rossen                        2) Mark Silverman                 
     3) Joe Conway                      4) 1 Meirwyn Walters              
           59.692 (59.692)          1:58.587 (58.896)        3:01.087 (1:02.501)
         4:00.998 (59.912)
  6 Prospect Park Track Club  'A'                       4:19.10  
     1) Andrei Fluerasu                 2) Christopher O'Brien            
     3) Dean Gefbhardt                  4) Clarence Lynn                  
       1:05.222 (1:05.222)        2:12.416 (1:07.195)        3:19.361 (1:06.945)
         4:19.097 (59.737)
  7 Northport Running Club  'A'                         4:19.78  
     1) Steven Schmidt Sr               2) Kieran Gibbons                 
     3) Wilton Widman Jr                4) Kevin Arloff                   
       1:03.308 (1:03.308)        2:09.870 (1:06.563)        3:15.574 (1:05.705)
       4:19.777 (1:04.204)
 -- Eliot Track Club  'A'                                   DNF  
     1) Brian Moore                     2) Christopher Simpson            
     3) Andrew Junas                    4) Andrew Darien                  
       1:00.564 (1:00.564)          1:56.879 (56.316)          2:49.920 (53.041)
 

I was satisfied with my effort, but I wanted to run 53-point and posted what I ran two years ago at Millrose.  Perhaps I should have been more aggressive at some point in my run.

The M50 4x400 put on a great showing.  They ran a few seconds faster than they did last year and quite a bit faster than our 40+ team.  

Way to go, guys!

Friday, 2/19-Took off

Thursday, 2/18-Made my way to Westtown School's track at 5:40 AM for a workout.  On this cold day, I decided to do 4x150 in preparation for Millrose.  My thought was to do 2 in 22 and 2 in 20.  I would up doing 2 in 21-mid and 2 in 19-mid.  I felt pretty ready.

feeling the effects of yesterday's loops and conveyor belt.

Wednesday, 2/17/16-I was going to head to the Y, but I bagged the plan.

Tuesday, 2/16/16-Took off.

Monday, 2/15/16-After returning from a visit to Lafayette College with my daughter, I headed to my alma mater, Swarthmore College, to use its battered, non-competition track.  I chatted it up with Pete Carroll and one of his assistants, John Noon, before warming up in the drab, drafty and somewhat crowded field house.  The infield was being used, and there were, go figure, runners about.

I tried to get myself nice and warm and stretched out.  I managed to get started at close to 5:30.  My tepid plan was to do some 200s.  I wasn't sure how many; I just knew I wanted to do a few at a moderate pace and a few at a faster pace.

Run 1: 29-high
Run 2: 30-low
Run 3: 29-high
Run 4: 27-mid
Run 5: 27-high

I took 3:30 between each run, feeling the effects of yesterday's loops and conveyor belt.

Come spring, I'd like to be able to do 4x200 in 29-30 and 4x200 in 26-27.  This would compare well to my college days when we'd do 4x200 in 27-28 and 4x200 in 24-25.

starting to become a drag

Sunday, 2/14-Went to the Y with V again after finding Swarthmore College's field house was closed.  It was 7:00 AM after all!  Did the same workout as I did yesterday, except I was swifter on the miles.  6:35, 6:35, 5:55...with 4:00 of lifting and stretching between reps.  The Y was starting to become a drag on these super cold days--8 degrees.

I will try to hit Swarthmore tomorrow afternoon.

Saturday, 2/13-Went to the Y with V.  Did 3x1 mile plus lifting. 6:40, 6:40, 6:20...with 4:00 of lifting and stretching between reps.

Workout interrupted

Friday, 2/12/16-The workout was supposed to be 9-12x200: 3x30, 3x29, 3x28, and, if I felt like it, 3x27.  Did only 6x200.  Workout interrupted.  Spike issue.

Thursday, 2/11/16-Went to the Y at 5:30 AM.  Did 3 sets of 1 mile + lifting (upper and lower).  Miles were in 7:40, 7:20, and 7:20.  Lifting "breaks" were 4:00.

Wednesday, 2/10/16-did 1 Rustin-plus loop in 17:20.

Tuesday, 2/9/16-Did hills with the crew at 5:50 AM.  Managed only 16:30.  With the exception of Ed and to a lesser extent Manion, the group seemed more lethargic today.

Monday, 2/8/16-went to the Y--lifting only

I had run someone else's race

Feb 7, 2016-

Even after competing in the 800 yesterday, I met up with the group at Radnor HS for a little action.  I needed a little flogging after a somewhat disappointing, I suppose.   

I warmed up, but not particularly well.  I didn't get my legs up for large muscle stretching.  Perhaps I should have.

I hemmed and hawed about what I wanted to do, choosing from among:

1. 3x400 in 60, with a 10-minute rest between each.
2. 2x400, 2x300, 2x200.  The 400s would be in 30-31 sec/200 pace, the 300s would be in 29-30 sec/200 pace, and the 200 would be in 28-29.  This would essentially mean my 400s would be in 60-62, my 300s in 45-46, and my 200s would be in 29-30.  The break between the 400s would be 10 min, the break between 300s would be 8 min, and the break between the 200s would be 6 min.
3. 600, 500, 400, 300, 200.  Each 200 meter segment is one second faster than the previous.  Choose a 400-meter race goal time and follow that workout.  For example, if 53-54 seconds is my 400 meter race goal, do a 1:36 600m, followed by a 1:17.5 500m, followed by a 60 second 400m, followed by a 43.5-second 300, followed by a 28-second 200.
4. Falling in line with what most of the group wanted to do, which turned out to be 5x150.

I chose to fly nearly solo with my 3x400.  Most of the group chose to do 150s. 

Trial 1: I got out well, crossing the 100-meter mark in 13/14.  I relaxed on the backstretch, reaching the 200 mark in 28/29.  As I hit the homestretch, I tried not to over use my arms.  I crossed the 400 in 60-mid.

I walked a 400.

Trial 2: Feeling fully recovered after 7:00, I decided to go into the next 400.  I reached the 100 in 14 and the 200 in 29.  I knew at this point that I should have taken the full 10-minute rest.  I looked at my watch at the 300 mark and saw 45.  I tried to relax over the last 100, finishing the lap in 61-high.

I walked a 400.  This time I would take the entire 10 minutes-plus some, on account of losing 3:00 of the previous rest period and of waiting for John Curtis to join me.  He said he wanted to do my last 400 with me since the 150s group would be doing only five (5) repeats. 

Trial 3: After 12:00, I was ready to go.  I took to the track like I had on the first 400.  I reached the 100 in 13/14 and the 200 in 28.  Chuck K. joined me with 200 to go and Duncan with 150 to go.  I tried to keep pace over the last 150, looking down at my shadow as I went stride-for-stride with Chuck K.  I finished up in 59.01.  Booyah!  

My butt was locked up afterwards, though.  

I was pleased with the workout, given I had competed yesterday.

If I do this workout in the near future, I'll either do 4x400 in 61 or 3x400 in 59.

Feb 6, 2016

I arrived at 1:05 for the Frank Colden Invitational at Ursinus.  I learned that the meet was running about 15-20 minutes ahead of schedule.  I warmed up on the outdoor track soon after arriving.  Lanes 1-4 were completing snow-piled.  I stretched thoroughly inside the arena.   I checked in and learned that, with a seed time of 2:06.78, I would be in lane 2 of heat 3 of 4.  (Mark Williams was assigned heat 1, his seed time being 1:56+.)  At about 1:45, I went back outside to run a couple of pace runs.  I put on my spikes and did a 100 in 14-mid.  I then did another 75-meter pickup.  Pace achieved, I returned to the field house for last-minute preparations. I stretched a little more and did a couple of strides.  I was ready, or so at least I thought.

I tried to visualize the race, thinking specifically about last week's 600-meter time trial.  When it was time to come to the line, I felt like the old guy amidst of sea of young heads.  I was a little self-conscious.  Four of us were situated "up"; the rest were on the back line.  The gun went off and I went right out with the guy in lane 1, who was from Chestnut Hill.  Forty meters into the race the gun went off again: we were being called back to the line after someone had fallen to the ground.  

I took my time walking back.  After a moment, we lined back up to hear the gun.  Like the first, I took off after the guy in lane 1.  I tucked in right behind him.  At the 150-mark, it appeared that two guys in the inner lanes would beat me to the 200.  I wasn't having any of that.  Thanks to a surge over the last 30 meters of the first lap, I demonstratively took the second position.  The time was 30 seconds.  Over the next lap I felt the leader had slowed down some. I thought about passing him on the inside and then on the outside, but he surged whenever he sensed my senses.  We would cross the 400 in a pedestrian 63.  I felt good, though.  He sped up a bit on the third lap, perhaps feeling that I was on his tail.  I hit the 600 in 1:34/1:35.  I was miffed.  I was a full 3-4 seconds off pace.  I went to my arms and toes over the last 200, coming within reach of the leader.  With 50 meters to go, however, he kicked it in, beating me by close to a second.  He ran 2:07.71; I ran 2:08.63.  (Mark ran 2:00.36.)  I was disappointed, as I had run someone else's race.  30/63(33)/1:35(32)/2:08(33).  I was hoping for 29/60(31)/1:31(31)/2:04(33).

I finished and, without even stopping to catch my breath, headed to the shoulder of the track.  Breaking into virtually a jog, I headed to get my stuff.  

Very flaccid week of running...

Friday, 2/5-snowy morning.  Took off.  Didn't even do strides.  Very flaccid week of running...

Thurs, 2/4-went to Westtown's track for a light workout.  Most of the track was still covered and icy.  Too upset and preoccupied anyway.  Bagged it.  No workout.

Wed, 2/3-went to the YMCA at 5:55 AM.  Did 3 x 1 mile + 4:00 of lifting.  Miles were 7:00 pace.

Tuesday, 2/2-met up with the crew at the hill, which turned out to be too icy.  Much of the crew went to Church Street to do 12 x a much shorter and flatter hill.  I wound up doing 13.  This workout was not as vigorous as the usual suspect.  I learned that the "top" guys were elsewhere on West Chester's campus, maybe even indoor!

Monday, 2/1-went to the Y for a brief workout, mainly lifting.