Iced like crazy!

Wed-
Went to the Y with V for 4 x (1M at 9:00, 8:30, 8:00, and 7:30 paces, plus 4:00 lift/stretch/self-massage).

Tues-
I set out to do my sit 'n kick reps workout.  Sit 'n kick reps workout is 5 x (400…rest 30 sec…and then 200, then 1200m jog).  The goal for the 400 is 64, and the goal for 200 is 28. The  modified workout is 5 x (400...rest 30 sec...and then 150); the extra modified is 60 seconds rest.  The 400s were supposed to be in 65, and the goal for 150 was 22.  

I warmed up and stretched in the cool wind.  

Set 1: 65-high (15,32-low/33-mid), 23-mid
1200 jog in 8:45.   
Set 2: 65-high (15,31-high/33-low), 23-low
1200 jog in 8:45
Set 3: 65-high (15,32-low/32-mid), ---- (hamstring)

Hamstring quite sore. Epsom salts bath.Iced like crazy!

Mon-Went to the Y with V for 3 x (.80M at 7:30 pace, plus 4:00 lift/stretch).

Sun-Connected with several of my teammates at Germantown Academy for a workout.  My initial plan was to repeat last year's Christmas Eve effort of 10x200 in two sets of five, with 60 seconds' rest between repeats and 6 min rest between sets.  However, after consulting with the crew (Chuck K., Rob, Wayne, Duncan (in from CA), John, and Bruce), we decided on 9x150 with 2:30-2:45 rest, each set of three one second faster than the previous. We'd loosely divide into two groups. The pacing for the first group was 22, 21, and 20; the pacing for the second group was 24, 23, 22.

My times were: 

22-mid
22-low
21-high
21-high
21-mid-
21-mid
20-high
20-mid

20-mid

Wayne did two in a row, then skipped the third for each of the first two sets. He had to leave early for a holiday party, so he stepped off the track after number effort 5. He did a total of four. Rob stepped out early, after number 6.

Turns out Wayne's keys had been locked in his car. ARGH.

Chuck S., Bob R., and a woman whose name I did not catch did their own thing, 1000s I think. Tom Jennings showed up at the tail end of our workout to wish us well, reminding us that he'll be 75 his next birthday.

Hamstring quite sore. Epsom salts bath.

Sat-Did a modest 5M run with DJ at Skillman. 44:50; DJ, 45:00.
Fri-took off

Did not finish the workout. HAMSTRING!

Thurs, 12/20-

Like last week, my plan was to do the 300s as I would do the pick-up reps workout: 8x400 @ 70, with #s 2,5, and 8 @ 63 with 3 minutes' rest.

For the 300s on the track, my target for the slower ones was 52-mid and my target for the faster ones was 47-mid.  My rest would be part walk/part jog back to the start in 2:30.

I was aware that my left lower hamstring was sore and not at all at full power. 

My runs:
#1: 53-low
#2: 49-low
#3: 52-mid
#4: 51-low
#5: 48-low
#6: 52-low
#7: stopped 150 into the run
did not finish the workout. HAMSTRING!

Wed, 12/19-Running late, I went to the Y for some treadmill running and lifting: .8M on setting 8 on treadmill (6:00), followed by 4:00 of stretching and lifting.  

I felt more winded than I should have.

On this cold and windy day, I made my way to school for a 6:30AM moderate track workout.  I decided to do a little speed work: 8 x 150m with 2:30 rest, a brisk walk in which I across the high jump area and came down the straight en route to the familiar to-of-the-curve position. My target was the first two in 22-mid, second two in 21-mid, and last two in 20-mid.

I managed 22-low, 22-mid, 22-mid, 21-mid, 21-mid, 21-mid, 20-mid, 20-mid.  I felt more winded than I should have.

I don't think

Mon, 12/17-

Ran only 1.8M in 13:40 at 6:00AM. Then, I lifted for a few.

Sun, 12/16-
 Met up with the crew at Germantown Academy for a workout. Got there a bit late on this cool and tiny day. 

I decided we'd do 4x200; 4 x150; 4x100.  (I initially thought we'd do six of each.) We'd take 3:00 between each effort and no additional time between sets.  

My runs:

200s (30 sec goal pace): 30-mid, 31-low, 31-low, 30-low.  This was for the 800 in me.
150s (21 sec goal pace): 21-low, 20-mid, 21-low, 20-mid.  This was for the 400 in me.
100s (13 sec goal pace): 13.3, 13.1, 13.2, 12.9.  This was for the 200 in me.

I don't think I'm in as good (or as bad) a shape as I was this time last year.

I'd like to get these down

Thurs, 12/13-

Like this day five years ago, my plan was to do the 300s as I would do the pick-up reps workout: 8x400 @ 70, with #s 2,5, and 8 @ 63 with 3 minutes' rest.

For the 300s on the track, my target for the slower ones was 52-mid and my target for the faster ones was 47-mid.  My rest would be part walk/part jog back to the start in 2:30.

My runs:
#1: 51-low
#2: 48-low
#3: 51-low
#4: 53-low
#5: 48-low
#6: 53-low
#7: 51-low
#8: 45-low

Not bad, but I have more work to do. I'd like to get these down to 51 and 46, given the amount of rest I take. Alternatively, I could keep them at 52-mid and 47-mid with 90 sec to 2 minutes' rest.

Wed, 12/12-Did 4M in 29:10...around the Y area. 7:32, 7:16, 7:16, 7:06

I managed

Tues, 12/11-20 degrees. I did 12x150 with 2:30/250m jog rest.

I felt as slow as molasses!

The idea was to run the first four at 800 pace (24), the second four at 600 pace (22-mid), and the last four at 400 pace (20-mid).

On this cold morning at 6:30 AM, I managed: 24-mid, 24-low, 24-high, 23-high; 22-high, 23-low, 22-mid, 23-low; 21-high, 21-low, 21-low, 20-mid

Mon, 12/10-ran a little less than 3 miles at 7:20 pace. Brisk 20-degrees.

Sun, 12/9-Met up with the crew at Germantown Academy. Bruce and John did 8x200; I did 8x300, running with them, but continuing on for an extra 100m. Goal pace was a modest 32 seconds at the 200, my goal for the 300 being 49 secs.

49-mid, 50-low, 49-high, 50-low, 50-mid, 50-low, 49-high, 48-high.

Their rest ranged between 2:30 and 2:45. My rest ranged between 2:10 and 2:25.

25/30-degrees.

Sat, 12/8-Did 4M in 28:48...around the Y area.

Fri, 12/7-took off

Came to campus

Dec 6, 2108

Came to campus on this 20-degree morn  to do a moderate workout of a few 200s at 2:10 pace. I took 2:00/200-meter jog between reps.

32-mid, 33-low, 32-low, 32-low, 31-high, 32-low, 31-mid, 31-low

What an awful series!

Wed, 12/4/18-

Ran 4M in 28:55, then went into the YMCA for a little lifting. 20-degrees! Damn!

Tues, 12/3/18-

Went to campus this morning at 6:15 and had a sucky workout.

Pick-up reps
8x 400m @ 70 w/90-sec Int and #s 2,5,8 @ 63

Instead of doing 400s, I'd do 300s with a 90-sec rest. The idea was to run #s 1,3,4,6,7 in 53 and #s 2,5,8 in 48. 

It was windy as hell!
And the workout suffered under my weak legs.

Runs: 57, 50, 53, 54, 51, 53, 54, 48

What an awful series!

fitness center

Sun, 12/2-

I was inspired by a recent Facebook post from Peter Brady in which he reported doing 12x200, the first four at 2:04 pace, the second four at 2:00 pace, and the last four at about 1:54 pace. From what I remember, he took about 1:45 between each effort and 2:30 between each set. 

I warmed up and stretched at the Y, then headed to Hillsborough HS's track.

In a similar spirit, I took on 12x200 with a 200-meter/2:00 jog between efforts, with no additional rest between sets. Instead, I did a standing rest between sets. My idea was to run at 2:10 pace for the first set, 2:05 pace for the second set, and 2:00 for2:05 the third set.

Set 1: 32-mid, 32-high, 32-low, 32-low (2:10 pace)
Set 2: 30-mid, 31-high, 31-low, 31-mid (2:05 pace)
Set 3: 29-mid, 31-low (oops), 30-high, 29-low (On account of the 31, this series was 2:01 pace)

This workout on this wet, but warmer (50-degrees) day felt pretty good. My hope is that I will run these in 30-flat in the coming weeks. If I plan to run sub-2:05, I need to hit 28-high/29-low consistently.  Alternatively, I need to run 30s with a 90- and then 60-second rest.  I'd hope a I could do 8x200 workout (w/ a 200-meter jog of 2:00) in 30s.

Sat, 12/1-in Nashville.

Ran 2.6M in the rain (19:00) in the rain, then I went to the hotel's fitness center to run 1.4M in 10:30. 4.0M.

Fri, 11/30-in Nashville. Took off. Sick.

Thurs, 11/29-Did a mile warm up on the treadmill, stretched, then moved into my workout: 5x600  (.37M) on the treadmill (12.5 speed). 1:53. Rested 3:00 between efforts.

Wed, 11/28-

Went to the Y for a quick round of upper body work.

Crazy hard!

Tues, 11/27-

Arrived at Pingry at 6:10AM for a track workout.  The real version of "Russian" intervals consists of 5 x (3x300m @ 48 with a 30-second/100m jog-rest between runs and an 800m jog/rest between sets.)  This means 5 sets of 3 300s in 48 seconds, with 30 seconds' rest between runs and an 800 meter jog between sets!  Crazy hard! 

On this 38-degree morning, I decided to do 200s instead of 300s.  My plan was to take exactly 60 seconds between runs and jog the 800 between sets in 6:00 or less.  My goal is to build towards the original workout described above.  With my goal being 32s for the 200s, here's what I managed:

Set 1: 33-low, 60 sec rest, 33-mid, 60 sec rest, 33-low  

Set 2: 34-mid, 60 sec rest, 31-high, 60 sec rest, 31-mid

Set 3: 32-high, 60 sec rest, 31-high, 60 sec rest, 32-low

Set 4: 31-high, 60 sec rest, 32-low, 60 sec rest, 31-high

Set 5: 31-low, 60 sec rest, 30-mid, 60 sec rest, 30-mid

These results are nearly identical to last year's on this day.

Hopefully, this Russian meddling will lead to medaling at nationals!  Haha!

Mon, 11/26-

Ran 4M in 29:05, then lifted for 15-20 minutes at the Y.

I walked for a mile

11/23/18-Went to Skillman Park for a short recovery run.
Mile 1: 8:14 pace
Mile 2: 7:53 pace
Mile 3: 7:27 pace
3.5M in, I stopped to walk. I walked for a mile.
Ran last mile in 6:45.

5.5M

admitting to myself I had failed

Thurs, 11/22-Somerville Turkey Trot. I arrived a bit before 8:00 AM on this blistery, 22-degree morning.  After registering, I jogged most of the course (2.3/2.4M).  I then stretched a bit, mainly in my car, but not too much.  Icy Hot was helpful, as were my two pairs of long tights, gloves, and hat.  The race went off promptly, 600+ of us in tow.  I tried not to go out like gangbusters, especially since the first third of the first mile was uphill.  I didn't want to blow out my legs!  Like last year, a half-mile in, I found myself among the top 10 runners. At the mile mark, I was in seventh place. It was at this point that I discovered I was running well below my target pace. Seeing 5:50s, I then became terribly discouraged. While on Southside Ave., I started hearing the demons: stop, stop, stop. 

I was running stride for stride with another runner. We turned onto Nimitz, and moments later I stopped. I stayed put for about a minute, deciding what to do: walk back in shame and return to running in much the same state. After about ten or fifteen people passed me, I decided to give it a whirl, admitting to myself I had failed. I managed to pass several  en route to a 19:30 on the 3.20 course.  The winning time of 16:02 was impressive, as was the relatively close second in 16:15. 

I received my medal for winning my age group and took my butt home!

Twenty turns

Wed-took off. Previewed Flemington 5K course, which featured almost twenty turns over almost 3.2M. I will probably run the Somerville Turkey Trot, though.

Tues-4M run in 29:36 (7:24/mile pace)

Mon-took off

I feel good!

Sun 11/18
Thought about doing Neg-split reps 2x (300m-500-400 w/neg-split last 100m). Goal for 2:00 800: @ :32+14 (=:46 300m) . . . 66+14 (=1:20 500m) . . . 48+14 (=62 400m) 2-min btw reps/jog 1200 btw sets.

I then decided against it, given my upcoming 5K. I decided to back off on the repeats by 100m each. This meant doing 2 x (22, 400, 300). I would nix the neg split part and just maintain pace. I'd retain the 2-min rest between efforts and shorten the rest between sets to 900m jog in 7:00.

Treating this as my last 5K workout of the season, a kind of moderate, transitional workout, I did not wish to push it. Thus, my goal was to run 32, 68, and and 49.5. 

Set 1: 33-low (16/17), 67-mid (16/33/50/67), 49-high (16/32/49)
Set 2: 32-low (15/16), 66-low (16/32/49/66), 49-low (16/32/49)  

I feel good!

Sat, 11/17

Did a 5.74M run in 40:00...about 6:58/mile pace.

M1: 7:24
M2: 7:06
M3: 6:52
M4: 6:48
M5: 6:48
M6: 6:45 pace

Fri, 11/16

Took off

Thurs, 11/15

30-min run was on the docket this morning. I did 4M in 29:24 (7:06/mile pace)

At least I got free chocolate milk and a frozen turkey for second place!

Wed, 11/14-

Did a 5.74M run in 39:40...about 6:55/mile pace.

M1: 7:25
M2: 7:05
M3: 6:51
M4: 6:48
M5: 6:40
M6: 6:40 pace

Tues, 11/13

On this cold, rainy, wintry day, I took a page out of Peter Brady's playbook with 12x400, assuming a 200m jog/rest equal in time as the 400m run. Peter and his friend ran these babies in 75 seconds. Running alone and being not as good as Peter, I set my target at 79...and thus my rest at about 80. Three weeks ago, I managed 80, 80, 81, 81, 81, 80, 79, 80, 79, 78, 78, 74

Today, in the cold rain I did 79, 79, 80, 79, 79, 79, 79, 78, 79, 78, 77, 72. I did better in the rain.


Mon, 11/12-took off

Sun, 11/11-

Ran the Somerset Turkey Trot at Colonial Park in Franklin Township. A couple hundred people competed on this brisk morning. 

After being gapped by about 20 meters over the first 100 meters, I would not recover. Over the first mile, the gap stood at about 40 meters. It opened to about 80 meters at about mile 2. By the time we reached the third mile, it stood at 150 meters. 

Mile 1: 5:43
Mile 2: 5:53
Mile 3: 6:00+

I finished up this long, 3.18M course in a disappointing 18:30. At least I got free chocolate milk and a frozen turkey for second place!

awfully sore

Fri, 11/9-

Another easy two-mile run...in 15:10. Back still a little sore.

Thurs, 11/8

Easy two-mile run...15:30. Back is really sore.

Wed, 11/7-

Joined the XC team for a workout. Got there late and had too short a warmup and stretch. The team's workout was two sets of 4x400, with 100-meter jog (about 45 seconds) between efforts and a 3:00 rest between sets. Their times seemed to range between 72-76

I joined them for the second set. Running at the rear of the pack, I managed 74, 73, 76, 75. My back was awfully sore on the third and fourth ones.

and back

Tues, 11/6-

Easy 30 min run to CVS and back. 29:50.   

Walk-backs

Mon, 11/5-

Scheduled was a 45-min easy run. I did my usual 5.72M route from the Y. I started at 7:45 pace, dropped it to 7:30 pace on the second mile, then hovered in the teens (7:15ish) for the rest of the run. I finished up in 42:05. About 7:22/mile pace.

Sun, 11/4-

Scheduled was a 45-min walk/run. I headed to Duke Island Park for this. I started at 7:52, went down to 7:45, dropped way down to 7:15 and maintained. The pace of the last mile for this easy run was sub-7:00. I covered 5.67M in 41:55, about 7:23/mile pace.

Sat, 11/3-

On tap today? 20x1 min running up a shallow hill, with a walk back down to origin as the recovery. I went to Colonial Park for this baby! I used the hill closest to the tennis course, switching the angle after each set of five. I covered .17M on the first effort. Efforts 2-5 covered .18M. Efforts 6-10 covered .19M. Efforts 11-15 went back and forth between .18M and .19M. Efforts 16-19 covered .20M, with the effort 20 reaching .21M in not 60 but 62 seconds. The walk-backs (which involved a little jogging) were 3:00.

Fri, 11/2-

Rest!

loop around the park

Turs, 11/1-
Early this morn at Mountain Park I did 5x1000 with a 3:00 stationary rest after each effort. On this 50-degree day, I was glad it wasn't windy and thankful for the light that emerged by 6:45 AM.  

I warmed up 1.25M in 10:00, doing a full loop around the park. I stretched lightly.  

I ran with a goal of a 17:30 5K in mind. My runs were: 
3:30-17:35 pace
3:25-17:10 pace
3:28-17:15 pace
3:23-16:55 pace
3:15-16:15 pace

Wound up

Went to the track for...

On this cool morning,10 mins warm up – 10 x 200m with 200m walk/jog recovery– 10 min warm down.

My 200s were mostly in 35, although the first few were 38, 37, 36 and the last one was in 33s. I wound up jogging the 200m rest in 1:22-1:25, depending on the 200. Thus, I started a 200m every two minutes.  
0:00...:38
2:00...2:37
4:00...4:36
6:00...6:36
8:00...8:35
10:00...10:35
12:00...12:35
14:00...14:35
16:00...16:35
18:00...18:33

My 10-min warmup covered1.25M, as did my 10:00 cool down.

adjacent

Mon, 10/29-
Workout was 45-min run. Went 5.74M in 41:55.

Sun, 10/28-
Workout was 45-min while in Swarthmore. Went 5.7M in 43:00.

Sat, 10/27-
Five Parrish Hills (Swarthmore). .16M a pop...60 sec.
Three hills adjacent Sharples.

Fri, 10/26-30-min run

Thurs, 10/25-
Workout was 45-min run. Went 5.74M in 40:10.

Wed, 10/24-took off

runs were

Tues, 10/23-
Today at Mountain Park I did 5x1000 with a 3:00 stationary rest after each effort. I was glad it wasn't windy and thankful for the light that emerged by 6:45 AM.  

I warmed up 1.25M, doing a full loop around the park. I stretched lightly.  

I ran with a goal of a 17:30 5K in mind. My runs were: 
3:33-17:45 pace
3:30-17:30 pace
3:25-17:05 pace
3:25-17:05 pace
3:19-16:35 pace

This was an improvement over my most recent series of...
3:41-about 18:25 pace
3:37-about 18:05 pace
3:36-about 18:00 pace
3:36-about 18:00 pace
3:33-about 17:45 pace

I should have entered the workout with 18:00 pace in mind. 17:30 was perhaps too lofty this early in my training.

Mon-Easy 30 min (exactly) run to CVS and back.7:31, 7:17, 7:15, 7:10...29:14.

dropped some wisdom!

Sun, 10/21-

On this super windy, 45-degee morning, I met up with Chuck K and Bruce at Germantown Academy, arriving late on account of (wait for it!) overseeing. We could have taken a page out of Peter Brady's playbook with 12x400, with a 200m jog/rest equal in time as the 400m run. But...we took mercy on ourselves, particularly since the wind was hellish. We did 6x400 with a 2:00 standing rest, followed by 3x200 with 2:30 walk-across-the-field rest. 


A little while ago, I did the 12x400 workout described above, with my marks at 80, 80, 81, 81, 81, 80, 79, 80, 79, 78, 78, and 74. 

Today we managed 79, 79, 78, 78, 76, 76. We then went on to run 34, 34, 34 (Bruce posted 32 seconds on the last one, despite being zonked.) 

We put on our parent hat at the coffee shop and dropped some wisdom!

Workouts from Mark Williams and Mike Madsen-Facebook masters track retrieved sept 2 2018(2)

Mark Williams describing his 800m training on FB, Oct 6, 2018: Brandi here is a break down of what I do for my 800 training. I will break it down with base building and then the interval work with a few examples.
> 
> During the fall up to December I focus on longer runs 3-5 miles with 2 weekly being hard runs. I will do 5k, 8k, and 10k race to help for my harder runs.
> 
> Then in December I'll start with longer intervals here are a few examples of some workouts:
> 1. 2x1200 (@mile pace), 2x400 (@ 800 pace), 2x200 (@ 400 pace)
> 3-4 mins rest on 1200, 90sec rest on 400s, 30-60 rest on 200s
> 
> 2. 3x1000 (@ mile pace), 1x500 (@800 pace), 2x300 (@ 400 pace)
> 3-4 mins rest on 1000, 90sec - 2 min rest on 500s, 60-90 sec rest on 300s
> 
> 3. 5x1000 @ mile pace with 3 mins rest.
> 
> Then mid to late season I keep the intervals shorter
> 
> 1. 600, 500, 400, 300, 200, 100 with 2 mins rest starting at mile pace and getting progressively faster to finish at 400 pace.
> 
> 2. 6x400 at mile pace with 1 minute rest.
> 
> 3. 8x300 broken into 2 set of 4 with 1 min rest and 4 mins rest between sets. Starting at mile pace and getting progressively faster and finishing at 400 pace.
> 
> The day after each workout I do at least a easy 3 mile recovery run. I generally only do 2 hard workouts a week. I also do my strength training on my easier running days. I also want to make note I'm not a high mileage runner. I'm generally 28-35 miles per week.
> 
> This is what I find works for me. I hope this helps some. Any questions feel free to reach out.
> 
> 
The following was posted on Facebook by a mike madsen-masters track retrieved sept 2 2018 (could be helpful for me)

Final workouts before heading to Malaga:

Tuesday was 2 x 4 min at 5:30 mile pace with 1 min recovery then 3 x 3 min at about 78 sec quarters pace with 2 min recovery and then 4 x 1 min at 67-68 sec pace with 2 min recovery. I struggled a little with the transition to the faster paces as I think my legs were still tired from last week.

Saturday: final tune up before Worlds. 4 x mile with 90 sec rest on the track. Goal was to start out relatively comfortable and then drop my pace on each one to where the last was sort of fast. Goal was 5:45, 5:40, 5:35, 5:25. Again, my legs didn't have a ton of zip and I had some negative thoughts going through my head, but it's amazing how you can grind through a workout when you are in good shape. Actual splits 5:43, 5:37, 5:33, and 5:24. Went into the well a little bit on the last one, closing with a 78 sec quarter.

meaningful

Fri-took off. In Chicago.

Thurs-Up and down.

Started from the Y. A mile into the run (7:45), I moved into "up and down" mode.
1 min hard/1 min easy
2 min hard/2 min easy
3 min hard/3 min easy
4 min hard/4 min easy
5 min hard/5 min easy
and then back down...
By the time I reached the Y again (5.75M), I was 2:20 into my second "4 min hard". Finished up in 40:20. So, 1 mile warm up, 4.75 miles of up and down.

Next time I should start the hard 1 min from the Y, and even then 5.75M would not really be enough distance. I think I need about 7M or so for what should be 50 minutes of up and down running. Add a mile warm up and you have 8M.

Wed-Easy 30 min (exactly) run to CVS and back.

Tues-

On tap for this windy day was 6 x 2:00 at 5K goal pace with a 2-min jog recovery between efforts. My goal is sub 18:00, about 5:47 or less/mile.  At this pace, I should have covered about 550-560 meters per repeat. (42 seconds per 200 meters) The 550-560 distance is less meaningful for "sprinter-type" 5K runners like me. The 600-meter distance is perhaps more meaningful.

#1: 580 meters

#2: 575 meters  

#3: 580 

#4: 580

#5: 590  

#6: 590 

#7: 590 

#8: 600 meters in 1:56

I averaged about 5 meters more distance than the last time I did this workout.

tough

Sun, 10-14-18-

Hills at Colonial Park. I tried a different slop this time, since the one I usually used was swarmed with people and dogs. Some kind of dog convention?

The slope (from the huge oak on the left of the tennis courts up to the pavilion) was .19/.20M. The first couple took me close to 70 seconds. After that, I was able to reach the distance (.19M) in between 60 and 62. My rest was 3:30 back down to the start.

Sat, 10-13-18-

Took off. Too busy. Board meeting.

Fri, 10-12-18-

Busy.

Thurs, 10-11-18

On this humid day, I did a tempo run using the extended route from the Y. Used the first two miles as warmup (15:20). Miles 3 (6:24), 4 (6:21), and 5 (6:00) were tough. 18:47.

these babies

Wed, 10-10-18-took off. Busy working in the AM. Tired, too.

Tues, 10-9-18-Grandma's bday!! I took a page out of Peter Brady's playbook with 12x400, with a 200m jog/rest equal in time as the 400m run. Peter and his friend ran these babies in 75 seconds. Running alone and being not as good as Peter, I set my target at 80...and thus my rest at 80.

80, 80, 81, 81, 81, 80, 79, 80, 79, 78, 78, 74

Mon, 10-8-18. Off from work. Went to the Canal for a 45-min run of 6M. (45:12; 7:32/mile pace)

New path

Sun, 10/7-Went to Skillman Park for an 8-mile/60-min run. Like last week, I made use of the new path to the park entrance, and I also changed direction after each loop.

Mile 1: 8:06
Mile 2: 7:36
Miles 3-5: all around 7:15
Miles 6-7: 7:05
Mile 8: 6:53

Average mile pace for 8.00 miles in 58:30...7:18/mile pace.

Now I just need to get greedy!

Sat, 10/6-Sean Hanna Foundation 5K at Duke Island Park.

https://runsignup.com/Race/Results/3861/#resultSetId-132249

On this misty, 60-degree day, I arrived at a bit after 9:00 for the 10:00 start, V with me. After I registered, we jogged 2.1M, completing the paved outer loop of the park (20:00). I then lubed up with Icy Hot and stretched pretty well. After shaking my legs out, I did two 30m pickups and was ready to go.

I chatted a bit at the line with another run, Brian Bumgarnes, and then we were off.

Brian and I ran side-by-side for the greater part of the first mile. When we reached the first bridge at about 2:45, I thought we were on pace to hit the mile mark in 5:30 or 5:40. I was surprised then to hit it at 5:50, at this point 15 meters behind Brian.

I did not panic, however. I just acknowledged that I was behind where I wanted to be. I was also determined to stay in contact with Brian. And that's what I did. As we moved through the wooded area, I kept him within reach. At one point he did extend his lead to about 25 meters, but I'd surge and shrink it to within 20 meters.

My Garmin watch told me that I ran my second mile in 5:55. I wanted to cut into Brian's lead, but he maintained, not faltering. With about a half-mile to go, I could feel I was getting closer. My third mile I ran in 5:52. I came within three seconds of catching Brian. I didn't push the last 60 seconds of the race I should have.

That said, I am glad I am making progress with my 18:17. Now I just need to get greedy!

Fri, 10/4-took off

The usual

Thursday, 10/4-

The workout was supposed to be an easy 30 min run. I did my usual out and back run (YMCA to CVS and back). 4M in 28:52 (7:13/mile pace). I started at 7:35...then 7:16...then 7:08...then 6:53.

Wed, 10/3-took off. Tired.

Tues, 10/2-3x1200, 100m jog, then hard 400, followed by 300m jog.  
4:28 (60 sec/100m jog); 78
2:45/300m jog
4:23 ... 77
...
4:14...

Mon, 10/1The workout was supposed to be an easy 30 min run. I did my usual out and back run (YMCA to CVS and back). 4M in 29:24

Tues--3x1200, 100m jog, then hard 400, followed by 300m jog.  

Wound up

Sun, 9/30-Went to Skillman Park for what I thought would be an 8-mile/60-min run. Instead, I wound up going 10.67 miles in 1:17:58. I made use of the new path to the park entrance, and I also changed direction after each loop.

Mile 1: 8:04
Mile 2: 7:37
Mile 3: 7:25
Miles 4-8: all around 7:16
Mile 9: 7:05
Mile 10: 6:53
Mile 11: 6:45 pace

Average mile pace for 10.67 miles...7:18.

Sat, 9/29-Went to Pingry at 7:00 for a workout of 3x1000 in 3K pace and 3x500 in a bit faster than 3K pace. 3K is typically about 20 seconds per mile faster than 5K pace. This means my 1000s should have been at about 5:25/5:30 pace. Rest period for the 1000s was a 200m walk/3:15; the rest for the 500s was a 100m walk back to the start/1:45.

1000s
effort 1: 3:25
effort 2: 3:24
effort 3: 3:16

500s
effort 1: 1:35
effort 2: 1:35
effort 3: 1:34

The 1000s really should have been in about 3:20 or better, and the 500s should have been in 1:30.

Fri, 9/28-took off

Faster pace today: I love my new Garmin watch!

Sept 27, 2018

Was supposed to do a 45-min run. Ran my 5.75M route from the Y. It wound up being 5.73M today. 41:03 (6:59/M pace). Started at 7:39, then 7:19, then 7:11, then 7:05, then 6:55, then under...finished at 6:45 pace. Faster pace today: I love my new Garmin watch. For the past few weeks, I have been happy with the accurate, reliable, consistent measurements....

Even splits

Wed, 9/25/18-
6:15AM: Ran 4.01M in 29:29. 7:21/mile pace

Tues, 9/24/18
6:15 AM: 3 x 1600 at Pingry with a 200m slow jog (2:00) between each effort.

5:53
5:56
5:52 (even splits)

5K Masters Championships

Mon, 9/24/18-took day off. A bit tired from the drive to and from Buffalo.

Sun, 9/23/18-5K Masters Championships in Buffalo.

The race course was a double loop on a golf course. It turned out to be long at 3.21M. Several runners were talking about if, after looking at their watches following the race.

My thought was to try to run 3:40 per kilometer. I also thought I might run 6:00 at the mile and then increase my speed over miles 2 and 3. As it turns out, I hit mile 1 in 5:47, mile 2 in 6:01, and mile three in 6:11. I ran the final .21 in about 63 seconds. The 19:02 was disappointing, but it's something to work with. After all, it was 5:56 per mile over 3.21M.

Great time hanging out with my teammates. The drive up and back was made more bearable by Neill Clark, my co-pilot and roommate.

Tapering for Buffalo

Sat, 9/21-took off. En route to Buffalo.

Fri, 9/20-On tap was an easy 30-minute run at 6:10AM. Ran from the Y to CVS and back. Turned around at 2M mark....Total of 4.01M in 29:05. (7:15/mile pace)

Thurs, 9/19-took off (tapering for Buffalo)

Skillman

Wed, 9/19-Went to Skillman Park for an easy 30-min run.

Covered 3.70M in 28:07 (7:36/M pace). Started at 8:06, then 7:36, then finished in the low 7:00s.

Tues, 9/18-

Went to the track for...

10 mins warm up – 10 x 200m with 200m walk/jog recovery– 10 min warm down.

My 200s were mostly in 35, although the last few were in 34s. Easy-peasy! Walked 100m in 1:30 and jogged 100m in 60 second, for a total rest of 2:30 on this early humid morning.

Mon, 9/17-

Was supposed to do a 45-min run. Ran my 5.75M route from the Y. 42:05 (7:19/M pace). Started at 7:35, then 7:20s..., then finished at 7:00-minute pace.

I felt pretty strong.

Sun, 9/16-

The workout was supposed to be 45 run/walk, so I ran some and walked some.

4.22M run at Duke Island Park in 32:08 (7:37/mile pace), followed by a 13 min walk.

Sat, 9/15-

20 x 1 minute on a shallow hill....

Made my way to Millstone, parked and jogged to Colonial Park for my warm up (1.47M in 11:45). The temp was in the mid-70s, with some humidity but not that much.

Starting at the portion of the sidewalk (that leads to the pavilion) closet to the park marker (near where the sidewalk intersects with the parking lot), I made my way up the stretch of glass to the tree line. My 60-sec runs ranged between .30km (300m) and .30km (315m). or about .19M, respectively. Per the instructions, I walked back down to the origin, for a generous rest of 3 minutes, 30 seconds.

This felt good. I felt pretty strong.

relaxed

Fri, 9/14-took off, per the plan

Thurs, 9/13-

I was supposed to do a 30-min run in the AM and one in the PM. I chose to do just the AM run. I followed my route from the YMCA to the CVS (actual corner, 2.04M) and back. The Garmin registered 4.07M...29:30. 7:15/mile run, last mile in a relaxed 6:55.

experienced some difficulties

Wed, 9/12/18

I was supposed to do an hourlong run, but I managed only 40-something minutes since I was running late and experienced some difficulties with my watch; I needed a few extra minutes to charge it.

I took the YMCA to East Amwell to South Triangle to Triangle to TMCA route. 5.75M in 43:00. 7:29/mile pace. Began at 8:00 pace and went progressively faster, with last mile in about 7:10.

Tues, 9/11/18

On tap today was 6 x 2:00 at 5K goal pace with a 2-min jog recovery between efforts. My goal is sub 18:00, about 5:47 or less/mile.  At this pace, I should have covered about 550-560 meters per repeat. (42 seconds per 200 meters)

#1: 570 meters

#2: 575 meters  

#3: 575 

#4: 575

#5: 580  

#6: 580 

#7: 590 

#8: 600 meters in 1:56

To keep myself honest, I used my new Garmin watch, which measured the distance run perfectly. Perhaps more importantly, I did not stop my watch after each rep. Instead I kept it going so that my two minutes of running and two minutes of rest were equal. Thus, I started each 600 run every four minutes: 0:00, 4:00, 8:00, 12:00, etc.