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 

Turns out Wayne joined us on the first two.

 Sun, 11/28/21-

Went to GA on this 35-degree morning to do Sit 'n Kick Reps with teammates.  Actually, on tap for me were sit 'n kick reps, while on tap for my teammates would be just the 400s. The ideal/goal is 5x (400m @ 64 . . . rest 30-sec . . . 200m @ 28) jog 1200m btw sets. Being able to do this as written sets me up to run about 2:00 in the 800m.  Since this was my first Sit 'n Kick Reps workout in months and since I know I am in deperate need of speedwork, I figured that I would be well off pace. 

Thus, my goals were:

70 sec 400, 60 sec rest, 35/36 sec 200

1200 jog in 8:25

69 sec 400, 60 sec, 34/35 sec 200

1200 jog in 8:25

68 sec 400, 60 sec, 33/34 sec 200

1200 jog in 8:25

67 sec 400, 60 sec, 32/33 sec 200

1200 jog in 8:25

66 sec 400, 60 sec, 31/32 sec 200

The idea was for Bruce and Rob to do the 400s with me and take a 10 min rest between efforts. Turns out Wayne joined us on the first two.

Actuals:

71, 36

70, 35

68, 34

67, 33

65, 33

I have a lot of work to do!

Sat, 11/27/21

On this especially windy day, I went to Mountainview Park for a 4M run. 32:20

Somerville Turkey Trot

Friday, 11/26/21-Happy Anniversary! 

Went to the Y with V for a recovery session.

Treadmill...1.5M (12:40)

Stretch (4:00)

Treadmill...1.5M (12:40)

Lifting (5:00)

Ab exercises 

All done.

Thursday, 11/25/21-

Somerville Turkey Trot. I arrived a bit after 8:00 AM on this 35-degree morning.  After getting my bib number, I jogged two miles on and off the course.  I then stretched a bit, but not too much.  Icy Hot was helpful, as were my long tights, gloves, and hat.  The race went off promptly, 778 of us in tow.  I tried not to go out like gangbusters, especially since the first stretch is uphill.  I didn't want to blow out my legs!  A half-mile in, I found myself among the top 10 runners. I got passed by a few guys and now found myself sitting in 15th place.  I traded positions once or twice with a couple of people, reaching the mile mark in 6:04. I jockeyed back and forth some more over the second mile. I hit the 2-mile man in 12:17, covering the second mile in 6:13. With a mile to go, I tried not to wane.  In fact, I took a slight hill pretty aggressively to gap a runner right off my shoulder.  It was then that I was trying to decide if the two runners in front of me were within reach. Making a left onto Main Street, I realized I could reach neither.  I couldn't even close the gap between us. About 200 meters from Veterans Memorial Drive, my watched notified me I had reached the 3M mark, covering the third mile in 6:08. The time was now 18:25. As I approached Veterans Memorial Drive, I could see 3.1M reach across my watch as the clocked reached for 18:59. I covered the 3.15M course in 19:17 for 13th place overall, first in my age group.  The winning time of 17:24 was impressive, as was second in 17:36.

each of the last two

 Mon, 11/22-took off

Tues, 11/23-4M easy at Mountainview Park. 32:20. Started at 8:45, then hit 8:05, then hit 7:45 for each of the last two miles 7:45.

Wed, 11/24-took off

pursue all 12

 Sun, 11/21/21-

A good number of people convened at GA today for a workout. Coincidentally, most of us, short distance runners and our long distance counterparts, opted for moderately paced 200s. The workout was meant to be comfortable and help with the base and confidence through volume.

I assigned myself 12x200 in the mid-30s, with a 200m/2:00 jog rest. Rob and John would skip numbers 4 and 8 in favor of additional rest. They had planned to skip number 12 as well, but once they had 8 200s in them they figured they could reach 10. Andrew, Bruce, and I would pursue all 12. Chuck would do the first 5 or 6, and Wayne would do 4 or 5 here and there.

This would up being a moderate workout.

38, 36, 35, 35, 35, 34, 35, 35, 35, 34, 34, 30.

I had planned hit 34 on the last one, but Bruce took it out pretty hard. I didn't respond, but then decided to after Andrew responded. I reached the 100 in about 17 and must've clocked the second 100 in 13 to hit the 200 in 30.xx.

I think I could've gone two seconds faster per repeat on the same rest, or could've cut the rest to 90 seconds over a 200m jog and been okay.

Sat, 11/20/21-

Went to Skillman for an easy 6M. 46:40.

-ish

 Fri, 11/19-took off

Thurs, 11/18-EZ 5.75M run. Tired legs, though. 8:40ish, 8:20ish, 8:30ish, 8:30ish, 8:00ish, 6:00ish

48:15

Wed, 11/17-

Left home at 5:45AM and arrived at Pingry at about 6:15AM for a 6:35AM workout. The temperature was 29 degrees.

Taking a page out of the 2017 playbook (11/14/17), I aimed for  three (3) sets of four (4) 300s, with 100 meter jog recovery (1:00) between efforts and 3:00 between sets. The pace was supposed to be 3K, 2K, mile, respectively.

My goal for set 1 was 60, my goal for set 2 was 57, and my goal for set 3 was 54. In other words, I was shooting for 20 sec 100s in the first set, 19 sec 100s in the second set, and 18 sec 100s in set three.

Set 1: 60, 61, 60, 60  
Set 2: 57, 57, 57, 56  
Set 3: 54, 54, 55, 53  

tougher than expected

Tuesday, 11/16/21-Parked at Y and went for 4 miler (31:30). Returned to Y and stretched/lifted for 20 min.

Monday, 11/15/21-Drove to Mountainview Park. Did 5M recovery run...39:15.

Sunday, 11/14/21-Drove to Cherry Hill's Pennypacker Park for a 5K sponsored by South Jersey Track Club (teammate Craig Strimel). 19:18.

6:05 M1, 6:26 M2, 6:14 M3, :33 .1M...19:18. 5th place

https://runsignup.com/Race/NJ/Haddonfield/SJTFCCrossCountryFestival?rsus=100-200-41f6b492-8e94-4564-9adb-51fc700ed111

My first 5K in over two years was tougher than expected on this pretty flat course. My second mile needs work.

Great to support this event. Great to see a few of my teammates: Keith, Bruce, Carmen, and Craig, of course!

Saturday, 11/13/21-Went to the Y with V. Did mile in 8:30, stretched, did 1.5M in 12:45, stretched, did another mile in 8:30.

Friday, 11/12/21-5.75M