struck by a vehicle

Wed, 10/30/24-

6M (48:30). I cut my run short today after being struck by a vehicle at the intersection of E. Mermaid and Winston. So much the headlamp and street lights! I was coming down E. Mermaid, and there were two cars approaching from opposite sides of Winston. I assumed both would stop as I entered the intersection. Once stopped; the other blew right through the stop sign. Thank goodness I saw him in time to be able to speed up and jump into the air so that the car didn't catch my legs or knees. Instead I landed awkwardly on his hood and kind of bounced off. He got out of his car, and the driver of the other car stalled a bit. The offender was clearly shaken up, as I scolded him, lightly I might add, before he apologized for doing a "California roll" (through the stop sign). Realizing I was shaken up, I gathered myself and ran another 4 miles...at 8min/mi pace.

Tues, 10/29/24-

Oddly, my watch read 3.87M, not the usual range of 3.77-3.82M! (31:10), en route to the fitness center. 1.2M back home (9:30)

on account

Mon, 10/28/24-

Easy 7M (55:10), on account of an 8:10 first mile and a 7:30 final mile.

Fairly easy workout

Sun, 10/27/24-

Fairly easy workout today: 10x400 at 5K pace, with 2:00 rest. Chuck S. was after 96; I was after under 90 secs. Also joining in the fun were Guy (first 200m), Jeff (in and out), Alison (first 8, after racing a 5K yesterday), Andrew, and Fredericko (new guy).

88, 87, 88, 87, 88, 87, 86, 85, 82, 77

I could've done more, but I figured I'd quit while I was ahead.

A next effort could be 5K pace with 90, 75, or even 60 sec rest.

Sat, 10/26/24-

Easy 4M run in Forbidden Drive. 34:00

my knee failed me

Fri, 10/25/24-

7M (55:40). Started out at 8:25 and then dropped to under 8:00. The last .25M was tough, as my knee failed me.

Thurs, 10/24/24

Took off

sluggish this morning

Wed, 10/23/24--

Felt sluggish this morning. 3.8M (31:25) to fitness center. Lifted a little. 1.2M (9:30) cooldown run back home.

better than the first

Tues, 10/22/24-

7M (55:30). The back half felt better than the first.

run back

Mon, 10/21/24-Same 'ole: 3.8M (30:45) to fitness center. Lifted a little. 1.2M (9:15) cooldown run back home.

stupidly

Sun, 10/20/24-

Didn't know what was in store today following yesterday's 5K, but we eventually settled on 3 min on/3 min off, 2 min on/2 min off, 1 min on/1 min off. We did two sets...giving ourselves 2 min between sets. 

First 3:00: I covered 800m

First 2:00: I covered 570m

First 1:00: I covered 305m

Second 3:00: I covered 810m

Second 2:00: I covered 265m

Second 1:00: I covered 300m

I could've done a third set, but I opted against it. My hamstring was bothering me. With that being the case, why did I stupidly hop into the first of four 100m runs Andrew and Chuck did, even if they were only in 15/16 sec? 

I'll take that!

Sat, 10/19/24

Today was the AbingTHON 5k and Fun Run. I haven't done a 5K in a few years, although I've done a 5+ miler! I was wondering what I could do today, especially on an unfamiliar course. And unfamiliar it was indeed! I arrived at the site a bit after 9:00 and decided to drive around the neighborhood in order to get a sense of the route. Admittedly, the route didn't seem especially intuitive, although I did see arrow markers here and there. I eventually returned to the assigned parking lot and checked in. I then began my warm up. I lightly jogged a mile and stretched for about 10 minutes before bumping into Chuck Shields en route to the bathroom. He cautioned me that the course seemed haphazard. At any rate, I handled my restroom business and then stretched a bit more. 

With 10 minutes to go before race time, Keith Davis (spectating only) came upon me, and we headed over to the start line together. The race went off promptly, if not a couple of minutes early. Over the first half mile I found myself in the top 10, behind a heard of teenagers. I reached the first mile in about 6:00. I encountered a meaningful hill, where I made up ground on a couple of the boys. They sprinted down the hill once we got to the top, building their distance over me. I managed to pass one at about the 1.5M mark. The other I got less than a mile later. My second mile was probably a bit slower than my first. Argh. I looked at my watch and realized that I still had about .5M to go. I told myself I would push myself more with about .25M to go. What I thought was .4M to go I found out was just .2M; I saw a runner well ahead of me reach the baseball field, loop it and head towards what turned out to be the finish line. I thought he would run through it and double-back since I looked at my watch and estimated that the finish line would put us at 2.97M or so, not 3.1. 

I was a bit tired and flummoxed. My finish was anti-climatic, as I strode to 18:08 (5th), knowing the course was a bit short. Chuck came in (9th) about 2 minutes later in 20:06. He said his watch clocked 4.77km. We later learned that there was a small loop that surrounded a bus drop-off area/parking lot that we skipped. We accounted for the missing .23km, noting it during our 1.35M cool down. I would wager that an additional 230m would still get me just under 19:00 for the course. I'll take that! 

Blank.

Fri, 10/18/24-took off. Blank.

Better but not altogether great

Thurs, 10/17/24-

Today's easy run was better but not altogether great. Went 3.45M (28:30) to fitness center, lifted per my routine, and then took a .75M (6:00) route back home.

Knee is ouch!

Wed, 10/16/24-

5M (41:15). Cut the run short. Knee is ouch! Besides, I have a 5K scheduled for Saturday.

Tues, 10/15/24

Same 'ole: 3.8M (31:20) to fitness center. Lifted a little. 1.2M (9:20) cooldown run back home.

Garmin seemed to fail me.

Mon, 10/14/24-

On this day "off" from work, I drove to Forbidden Drive for a 7M run. Starting at the Bells Mill Rd trailhead, I went out 3.5M and came back 3.5M (27:00), averaging around 7:45/M, ...for a total of 7M (56:30). There was one problem, though: my Garmin seemed to fail me. The watch marked 2M well beyond its previous mark. From Bells Mills, the 2-mile mark is just at the Valley Green Bridge. Today, my watch marked 2 miles AFTER the Valley Green Inn. The 3.5M mark seemed long as well. Not only this, but I turned around at 3.51 exactly and ran on the right side of the trail (I ran on the left side during the first 3.5M), and I ended up having to run .03M beyond where I started to achieve 7M. Small potatoes, I suppose! 

had I not

Sun, 10/13/24-

A number of us joined in for the workout that I called: 3-4 x 1200 at about 5K race pace, with 3:00 recovery between efforts. Some of us wound up running "partials". 

I figured I'd run about 4:30 or so. 

The first effort woke me up: 22/45/1:32/3:03/4:34

The second effort felt pretty easy: 21/43/1:30/4:30

200m into the third effort, I decided the third effort would be my last for the day: 20/42/1:25/2:51/4:15

I would've been able to do a fourth had I not gone hard on the third.

After a few minutes' rest, a few of us did 3x200 in 40 sec.

Sat, 10/12/24-Forbidden Drive. Easy 4M....34:00 (9:00, 8:45, 8:15, 8:00)

bum knee

Fri, 10/11/24-took off. Knee is fragile.

Thurs, 10/10/24-7M run, most of it with a bum knee. Took it pretty easy (56:50).

Wed, 10/9/24-3.8M (31:00) to fitness center, then stretched & lifted (12 min), then 1.2M (9:30) back home.

Tues, 10/8/24--7M (55:00)

Mon, 10/7/24-3.8M (31:20) to fitness center, then stretched & lifted (12 min), then 1.2M (9:20) back home.

plague me

10/7/24-3.8M in 31:30 to fitness center; lifted; 1.2M in 9:20 back home. Left hamstring continue to plague me.

Could've done another set!

Sunday, 10/6/24-

Graphed off a 19-min 5K, the workout was 4 sets of 800m run in 5K pace, 100m jog rest, 300m run in mile pace, 400m jog rest

Target pace of 800s: 3:00; target pace of 300s: 60.

My 800s were 3:00, 2:58, 2:57, 2:52; my 300s were 60, 60, 59, 52

The 100m rest period was around 75 sec; the 400m rest was 4:00.

Felt good. Could've done another set!

Saturday, 10/5/24-took off

Friday, 10/4/24-3.8M to fitness center; 1.2M home.

Maybe for Sunday

Maybe for Sunday, 10/6/24 

Workout Options (pretty much for 19:30 5K):

1. 6x1000m at 4:10 (60 sec rest) 

2. 5-6x1000m at 3:55 (2 min rest)

3. 4 x (800m run in 3:00, 100m jog in 60 sec, 300m run in 60 sec, 400m jog in 4:00)

4. 5 x (800m run in 3:05, 100m jog in 60 sec, 300m run in 65 sec, 400m jog in 4:00)

5. 5x1200 in 5:00 (75 sec rest)

6. 4-5x1200 in 4:40 (2 min rest)

7. 3-4x1200 in 4:32 (3 min rest)

8. 1600m in 6:15 (6 min rest), 1200m in 4:40 (4 min rest), 6x400 in 1:28 (1 min rest)

9. 2 x (3x1000m). Set 1 in 4:10s with 1 min rest; set 2 in 3:55s with 2 min rest.

10. 20-25 min tempo run at 6:50-6:55/mile

Possible races:

Oct 12, Sat, 10AMAbingTHON 5KAbington HS, PA2023

Oct 19, Sat 9AM   Shore XC LeagueHolmdel Park, Holmdel, NJ 2023

Oct 26, Sat. 8:30 Phoenixville Run https://runsignup.com/Race/PA/Phoenixville/PhoenixvilleRun

Nov 3, Sun 3PMCCeXCiTe Series 5KPennypacker Park, Cherry Hill, NJ 2023

Nov 16, Sat 8:30AMAlumni XC Run 5KHolmdel Park, Holmdel, NJ          2023

Nov 28, Thu 9AM        Face to Face Turkey Trot 5MForbidden Drive, Fairmount Park2023

trailhead

Thurs, 10/3/24-

On this day "off" from work, I drove to Forbidden Drive for a 7M run. Starting at the Bells Mill Rd trailhead, I went out 3.5M (29:00), averaging around 8:15/M, and came back 3.5M (27:00), averaging around 7:45/M, ...for a total of 7M (56:00), or 8:00/M.

Thinking of sub-20:00 5K:

https://www.google.com/search?q=If+I+can+run+a+6%3A00+mile+what+can+I+run+in+a+5K+top+of+the+line&sca_esv=31504b4340b63b2d&rlz=1C5GCEM_en&ei=Gb3-Zr3uIuXd5NoPh5Xw-Qo&ved=0ahUKEwj93r2HyPKIAxXlLlkFHYcKPK8Q4dUDCA8&uact=5&oq=If+I+can+run+a+6%3A00+mile+what+can+I+run+in+a+5K+top+of+the+line&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiP0lmIEkgY2FuIHJ1biBhIDY6MDAgbWlsZSB3aGF0IGNhbiBJIHJ1biBpbiBhIDVLIHRvcCBvZiB0aGUgbGluZUj5TVC_CFj5THABeACQAQCYAZkBoAHQDaoBBDEwLje4AQPIAQD4AQGYAgKgAqUBwgIKEAAYsAMY1gQYR8ICCBAAGIAEGKIEmAMAiAYBkAYEkgcDMS4xoAe1Ew&sclient=gws-wiz-serp&safe=active&ssui=on#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:4bab1140,vid:aBtZBogsPno,st:0

Informal runner's pentathlon

Wednesday, 10/2/24-took off

Tuesday, 10/1/24-3M in and around Great Valley Corporate Park. 24:00

Monday, 9/30/24-4.5M in and around Great Valley Corporate Park. 36:30.

Sunday, 9/29/24-Informal runner's pentathlon with team. The line-up was 1600, 100, 800, 200, 400, with a 10 min break between each effort.

For my part...

1600...5:40 (1:23/2:50/...5:40)

100...13.6

800...2:35 (76/79)

200...29.8

400...71.8