Armory's annual Sprint Night...How devilish!

 Thurs, 12/30

Parked at the Y, ran a moderately paced 4M in 31:30, and then went inside the Y for stretching and some strength work, which included push-ups and box jumps.

Wed, 12/29

Met Tim on campus for an easy run. Wound up going 3.42M in 29:00.

Tues, 12/28

Did a recovery workout of mile in 9:00, stretch in 5:00, mile in 8:30, strength work (lifting), .5M in 3:45, and then .5M in 2:20 on the stationary bike.

Mon, 12/27

Wayne picked me up at 3:30 to head to NYC for the Armory's annual Sprint Night. Arriving quite early (4:45), we had plenty of time to putz around. The arena was remarkably empty. It would remain pretty sparse once competition commenced. Was the meet another COVID-19 casualty?

We'd meet ups with some of our teammates, fewer than expected: Ross, Chuck S, John Becker, Scott Burns, Brock Butler, Rob Ciervo, Jacques Lucien, and eventually Nick Damalas. In all, there were about 10 of us. 

After a bit of time, I started warming up, on account of my hamstring needed maximum time to get ready for the heavy load that is the 400.

Wayne, Jacques, and Ross ran well in the 60m, hitting 7.86, 8.01, and 8.06, respectively. 

I learned I was in none other than lane 1 (in heat 3). I'd be joined by John, Scott, and Brock, along with two other fellows. I was surprised with the assignment, thinking the modest seed time of 57.90 I had provided would land me in a heat with masters runners, perhaps even my 50-somethings teammates. Little did I know that this modest seed time I authored would turn out to be a stretch for me. 

At the Armory, lane 1 is a pain. Starting with or without blocks, one if likely to encountered a hiccup, made worse when you have a hamstring injury you're trying to fight through. From the gun, I could feel my hamstring just drag along; there was no pop and very little force I could muster. At the 100, I could see I had gotten way behind. I pulled back, resigning myself to the fact that I could go no faster, at east not without further aggravating my injury. One of the runners cut me off right before the 200m mark, drastically slowing me down. I likely crossed the 200 in 28 seconds, maybe even 29. I sat behind him until the backstretch, where I passed him. I could see coming up with the final stretch that I might not break 60 seconds. And I didn't. I posted a humbling 60.66. How devilish! 

Scott, John, and Brock would go on the break 57.00, and Rob and Nick would go on to break 60. 

https://results.armorytrack.com/meets/11168/events/390088/results

All of them tentative

 Sun, 12/26/21-

Went to Hillsborough High School's track again (on this sunny but windy 45-degree day) to test out my hamstring. After a good warm up, I did a 150, followed by 4 x 100, all of them tentative.

The 150 was in 23-mid, and the 100s were in 15-low, 14-mid, 14-low, 13-mid. I took 2 min between each effort.

My hamstring is not 100%, but it's getting better.

We'll see how Sprint Night at The Armory goes.

hampered hamstring

Sat, 12/25/21-It's Christmas.

On this 40-degree day, I went to Hillsborough High School's track for some easy 150s, just to test out my hampered hamstring. I was necessarily tentative. I managed 25-low, 24-high, 24-low, 23-high, 23-low, taking 2:00 between each effort. I then called it quits, feeling the soreness and weakness return. Also, I could sense I was compensating some, overloading my left hamstring in response to my injured right one. 

I am not sure I can compete at The Armory's Sprint Night, the unofficial start to the season and "qualifier" for our Millrose Games 4x400 relay(s).

Fri, 12/24/21-

Went to Y. Did a mile, stretched, did another mile, stretched some more (hamstring emphasis), lifted some more, then did .5M. 

Thurs, 12/23/21-

Went to Y. Did a mile, stretched, did another mile, stretched some more (hamstring emphasis), and lifted free weights. Went to Mark Najera for a deep tissue treatment. Hurt so good! 

My hamstring! Ouch! I was out.

Wed, 12/22/21-

Went to Y. Did a mile, stretched, did another mile, stretched some more (hamstring emphasis), and lifted free weights.

Tues, 12/21/21-

Went to Y. Did a mile, stretched, did another mile, stretched some more (hamstring emphasis), and lifted.

Mon, 12/20/21-

Took day off. Hamstring injury.

Sun, 12/19/21-

Met up with the crew at Germantown Academy for a workout. Got there on time on this cold and windy day.

I decided we'd do 5x (200, then 150)  (I initially thought we'd do six of each.) We'd take 3:00 between each effort and no additional time between sets.  

Goal paces: 200s in 30/31 and 150s in 21/22.

My runs: 31, 22, 30, 21, 30, 21, ...50 meters into the fourth 200, I stopped. My hamstring! Ouch! I was out.

Workout ideas parking lot.

Workout ideas parking lot.

Idea: 

4x400 in 70,68,66,64, then 4x200 in 32,31,30,29 with 2:00 sec rest between repeats and 10 min between sets

Idea:

3x200, 3x150, 3x100, 3x150, 3x200...2:30 between efforts

200s...31-high (800m race goal pace)

150s in 22-mid (600m race goal pace)

100s in 13-high (400m race goal pace)

Idea:

Negative-split reps.

2x (300m-500-400 w/neg-split last 100m) @ :32+15 (=:50 300m) . . . 68+17 (=1:25 500m) . . . 50+16 (=66 400m) 4-min btw reps/jog 1200 btw sets.

800m at The Armory: Night at the Races.

Fri, 12/17/21-6:00AM 5-mile recovery run at Mountainview Park. 8:35, 8:20, 8:10, 8:05, 7:45=40:55. Windy.

Thurs, 12/16/21

800m at The Armory: Night at the Races. 

After a long, 1 hour 40 min drive, I arrived at The Armory after nearly two years to give the 800m a whirl. Upon arriving at about 7:00, I checked in and adjusted my seed time from 2:12 to 2:15. I was able to accomplish an 8-min mile mile before the track closed for the women's mile. I'd stretch for a good while until the men's 800 was called at about 8:15PM. I would be in heat 2 of 3, position 11 of 12. I'd get on the track at about 8:25ish. 

I got out pretty conservatively and found myself in the 8th or 9th position immediately. A little jostling led me to cross the 200 in 32/33. More jostling put me at 66/67 for the 400. I was passed by one of two guys before the 600m mark (1:41.xx). I held my own over the last lap, closing in on a guy before running out of real estate. My mark of 2:15.90 was humbling but otherwise about what I expected. At least my race was well paced and even: 33/34/34/34. Now I just need to shave a second off each lap by this time next month  (2:11) and two seconds off by mid-February (2:07).

I marveled at Mark Williams's 2:03, after running a 4:35 mile not 40 minutes beforehand. He then ran on the fun 4-person, 5K relay, each running managing a total of 5 200s. He's a beast!

All over the place

Wed, 12/14/21-Went to the Y for 2 x (1 mile + 5:00 stretch)

Tues, 12/13/21

I headed to the track early this morning for a little pace-work over 150s. After warming up and stretching this somewhat stiff and sore body, I made my way to the mark on the curve.

I figured I'd see how I felt over the first effort and then go from there. 23-mid. This is akin to my current 600m race pace. Ok. Felt ok. I took 3:00 rest over a 250m walk. On the next effort I would slow down a bit, thinking I'd run at my season goal pace for the 800. This meant 24 seconds. I hit 25 instead. Perhaps I was too relaxed, as this is my goal pace for Thursday's race. I needed to his 24, so I picked things up slightly on the next one after taking a 3:00 rest/250m walk. I hit 24. Since I had planned to do six 150s, I figured I'd hit a 25, then a 24, then a 23 on this last one in order to match the paces for my current 800 race pace, 800 race goal pace this season, and my current 600m race pace. I wound up hitting a 25, then a 23, then a 24. I was all over the place.

Mon, 12/12/21

Took off

what seemed like forever

Sunday, 12/12/21

Met up with the crew today. On tap: 6x150 in 22 and 6x200 in 30/31 with 3:00 rest.

For the first time what seemed like forever, everyone joined in! Chuck S., Keith, Lorraine, Bruce, Rob, Wayne, and me. Granted, there were different paces and not everyone would complete the full slate.

For my part, I did all 12 as follows: 22-mid, 22-high, 22-mid, 21-mid, 22-mid, 21-high; 29-high, 30-low, 30-low, 30-mid, 31-mid, 31-low

Sat, 12/11/21-

Went to Y.

1.5M in 12:40

5:00 stretch

1.5M in 12:40

5:00 lift

.5M in 4:15. Sore hamstring bothering me

3:00 abs exercise

3:00 stretch

Fri, 12/10/21

Parked at Y.

Ran to CVS and back. Easy 4M in 30:50

Stretched

Lifted

Stretched

Thursday, 12/9/21

9 x 200s (3 x 3 x 200) with a 200 meter/2-min rest between each and a 400 meter/4-min jog between sets. Goal: 1st set--34s, 2nd set--33s; 3rd set--32s.

Wednesday, 12/8/21

5M at Mountainview

...on Thursday:

9 x 200s (3 x 3 x 200) with a 200 meter/2-min rest between each and a 400 meter/4-min jog between sets. Goal: 1st set--33s, 2nd set--32s; 3rd set--31s..

What I'll probably do

What I'll probably do on Wednesday:

5M at Mountainview

...on Thursday:

9 x 200s (3 x 3 x 200) with a 200 meter/2-min rest between each and a 400 meter/4-min jog between sets. Goal: 1st set--33s, 2nd set--32s; 3rd set--31s..

Tues, 12/7/21-

Ran 4 "hills" on the treadmill. .18M in 68 sec. (Pressed the incline button 10 times)

Drove back home (7 min rest)

Ran 4 hills on Zion Rd. Again, .18M in 68 sec.

Mon, 12/6/21

Ran a modestly paced 5.75M in 47:20.

not fast enough or strong enough…yet

Sun, 12/5/21-

I decided to do Sit 'n Kick Reps at Hillsborough HS, declining to go to PA on account of a busy weekend at SCH and an obligation at 11:00. This workout, which is designed for a 2:00 800m high school runner, consists of 5x (400m @ 64 . . . rest 30-sec . . . 200m in 28), with a 1200m jog between sets. Since I am not able to run 800 meters in 2:00, I always modify the workout accordingly. Today, the modified workout was: 5 x (400m @ 65/66. . . rest 45-seconds, 150m in 24/25), with a 1200m jog between sets. 

The first 400 was a hard-fought 66 (32/34). 45 second rest, then a 25-second 150! I felt winded. 1200 meter jog in 9:00.

The second 400 felt better--65. 45 second rest. The150 was 25. 1200 meter jog in 9:00.  

I ran the third 400 in 65. The 150 was in 25. I was feeling terrible about the 150s. 1200 jog in 9:00. 

My fourth 400 was a 66. I rested 45 and then tried to pop a 24. I then jog-recovered 1200 in 9:00.

And then there was my final 400. I wondered whether I had it in me to hit 64 and 24. I fell shy. I hit 65 and 24.  

Cooled down 800m.

Overall, this workout was pretty good, but I was disappointed with the 150s.  The 150s essentially amounted to 200s in 33s and 34s, well off the pace/expectations.   

With only a 45-second break between the 400s and 150s, I still expected to run 24 seconds in the 150s. I would have set 32 seconds as a goal had I assigned myself 200s instead of 150s.

I guess I'm not fast enough or strong enough…yet.  

For perspective, on Sunday, Dec 1, 2013, I reported-

I decided to do Sit 'n Kick Reps to test my strength. This workout, which is designed for a 2:00 800m high school runner, consists of 5x (400m @ 64 . . . rest 30-sec . . . 200m in 28), with a 1200m jog between sets. Since I am not able to run 800 meters in 2:00, I always modify the workout accordingly. Today, the modified workout was: 5 x (400m @ 65. . . rest 30-seconds, 150m in 22), with a 1200m jog between sets. 

The first 400 was a hard-fought 65 (32/33). 60 second rest, then a 24-second 150! I felt winded. 1200 meter jog in 9:00.

The second 400 felt better--65. 30 second rest. The150 was 24. 1200 meter jog in 8:55.  

I ran the third 400 in 65. The 150 was in 25. I was feeling terrible about the 150s.   1200 jog in 8:50. 

My fourth 400 was a 65. I rested 30 and then tried to pop a 23 but came up short with another 24. I then jog-recovered 1200 in 8:45.

And then there was my final 400. I wondered whether I had it in me to hit 64 and 22. I did exactly that.  The 64 felt relaxed.  Thirty seconds late the 22 felt pretty good as well.  

Overall, this workout was pretty good, but I was disappointed with the 150s.  The 150s essentially amounted to 200s in 33s, well off the pace/expectations.  The last 150 in 22 seconds coverts to a 30-second 200.  

Even with only a 30-second break between the 400s and 150s, I still expected to run 22 seconds in the 150s.  I would have set 30 seconds as a goal had I assigned myself 200s instead of 150s.

I guess I'm not strong enough…yet.  

Sat, 12/4/21-Chestnut Hill. Did a simple 2 x (8:00 min mile + 4:00 stretch) in the fitness center at Chestnut Hill Hotel.

Fri, 12/3/21-Chesnut Hill. Ran 3.25M up/down Germantown Ave. and SCH campus.

Thurs, 12/2/21-Chestnut Hill. Did a simple mile warm up in 8:30, followed by 2 x (11:55 1.5 mile + 4:00 stretch/lift) in the fitness center at Chestnut Hill Hotel.

Wed, 12/1/21-8 x 300 with 2:00 rest. Numbers 1,3,4,6, and 7 were supposed to be in 52/53 and numbers 2, 5, and 8 were supposed to be in 48/49. I was a second or so off across the board, but I made it through.

Tues, 11/30/21-easy 4M in 32:20, followed by lifting at the Y.

Mon, 11/29/21-easy 5.75M