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Tuesday: Speed Intervals

6/11/2013

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I went to the Marcy Field track today for the second week of intervals at 5k pace. This might be the last speed interval workout I do for a while, as my next race is 32mi so I should be focusing on longer intervals at a slower pace from now on.

It was raining hard and tough to get out the door, and I ran my warmup nice and slow. By the time I'd finished my drills it felt great to run fast in the rain.

Warmup: 2.5mi at recovery pace.
Drills: High knees, butt kicks, bounds, high skips, 2 strides.
Intervals: 5x1000m at 5:20 pace with 400m recovery jog after each interval.
Cooldown: 2mi at recovery pace.

I ran my intervals in 3:25, 3:22, 3:18, 3:20, 3:18--nice to see the fastest intervals later in the workout. The last three were probably too fast, however, and my calves are sore now. Got to learn to reign it in on these workouts!

Total Miles: 9mi
Weekly So Far: 18mi
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My Running Shoe Quiver

6/10/2013

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Bondi, Free, and Lunar Montreal.

Road Shoes

Hoka One One Bondi B (Long Slow Distance): This is the shoe that made it possible for me to run on pavement comfortably. I trained for my first marathon over the summer of 2012 in the Bondis, and even ran the race in them. The Bondi makes the road feel soft and forgiving, and as a former trail runner who almost never set foot on pavement it was a revelation to be able to do so comfortably after I bought the Hokas. I use them for easy runs now, especially for longer distances. The shoe pictured is my third pair. Weight per pair: 12.4oz in size 10.5.

Nike Free 5.0+ (Easy Runs): This is a new shoe for me. I bought them to use on easy runs when I want something lighter and more flexible than the Hoka, but that still has great cushioning. It was surprisingly difficult to find a shoe that fit this need, and the Free is probably not quite what I had in mind (I would have preferred more support), but it will do the trick for those 4-8 mile easy runs that tend to dominate the schedule. Weight per pair: 9.3oz in size 11.

Nike Lunar Montreal / LunaRacer +3 (Hard Runs): I bought my first pair of Lunar Montreals after running my first marathon in the fall of 2012. I had finally adapted enough to running on pavement that I felt I could get away with a lighter shoe for hard workouts and races, as long as it still had a soft, cushioned feel. The Lunar Montreal fit the bill, and it's amazing how cushioned it is for such light weight. I do speed work on the road, tempo runs and even some harder effort long runs in this shoe, and now feel like it will be enough shoe for my next marathon. The shoe pictured is my second pair, and I have a third pair (as well as the new LunaRacer +3, which fits a little better and will be the one I use for the marathon) waiting in the basement. Weight per pair: 7.2oz in size 11.

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Mafate and Helios.

Trail Shoes

Both of these shoes can be found at my favorite trail running store and former employer, The Mountaineer in Keene Valley, if you want to check them out.

Hoka One One Mafate 2 (Easy Runs): When I first tried on some Hokas in Boulder, CO I wasn't sure about the Mafate. It didn't seem to fit me as well as the Bondi, so I bought the Bondis instead even though I was looking for a trail running shoe at the time. The Bondi performed very well on trails, but at some point I wanted a Hoka with better traction and gave the original Mafate a shot. Once they broke in the fit was good, and I quickly became a convert to the Mafate for trail use. I am now onto my second pair, the updated Mafate 2, and while a bit heavier it also fits me better. It's my choice for easy paced trail runs, as well as winter road running (for the warmth and traction) and summer recovery runs (as it is the most cushioned shoe I own). Weight per pair: 13.7oz in size 10.5.

La Sportiva Helios (Hard Runs): My current all-around trail runner: this is the category of shoe that I have the most experience with. In the past I preferred a stiffer, more protective and supportive shoe for running the trails of the Adirondacks. As I've grown accustomed to road running in more minimal shoes I have found that I am happy to run on rugged trails in a lighter shoe as well. The Helios is a remarkable shoe. It is extremely light, but it has enough of a rock plate to avoid bruising the foot on all but the sharpest rocks. The toe bumper is also just enough to keep from serious damage when kicking rocks and roots. Where it shines in my opinion is the cushioning that it offers for its weight and the excellent traction that the sole achieves. The midsole is soft enough to run comfortably on roads or hard packed dirt, and the sole excels on wet rocks and roots and even most mud. Weight per pair: 9.5oz in size 44.5.

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Streak LT and Vertical K.

Specialty Shoes

I love running shoes, to the point that I'm willing to buy shoes that are very specific in their use. These two are the ones I'm currently using for only one very limited purpose.

Nike Zoom Streak LT (Track Workouts): This is designed as a cross-country racing flat. I like it because it has a bit of traction for off-road running and some protection from rocks, which makes it the ideal shoe for my interval workouts on the gravel of the Marcy Field track. I'll likely use it for 5k racing this season as well--it is just cushioned enough for a few miles on the road. I have another pair of these waiting in the wings (Zoom Streak XC 3, which seems to be identical). Weight per pair: 6.2oz in size 11.

La Sportiva Vertical K (Mountain Time Trials): One of my favorite things to do is time myself up a few of the local mountains. When the Vertical K came out in 2012 it was clear that it would be the ideal shoe for this purpose, as long as it fit me reasonably well. It does, and I love it for eating up vertical gain. It's incredibly light, nicely cushioned and very sticky. It's very similar to the Helios, in fact, but due to its minimal upper and lack of rock plate I find it to be less than ideal for racing downhill, so for me it is confined to uphill time trials where I run back down at an easy pace. Weight per pair: 7.9oz in size 44.
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Weekly Recap: June 3-9

6/9/2013

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PictureFinn in Boston
Total Mileage: 50.5mi
Elevation Gain: 1400'
Cross-Training: 15mi (5 walking, 10 hiking)
Goal: Get as much running in as I can despite a very busy week.

I have to be happy with this week, even though the mileage is lower than I would have preferred. The field trip to Boston wasn't as conducive to running as staying home would have been, but getting two runs in over three days was more than I thought I'd be able to do, and walking around the city made for some easy cross training. It was a tough trip in terms of sleep, but otherwise I think it did me good to have a rest day and to stay loose with all the walking, plus it was a fun time overall.

The week wrapped up nicely, with a feel-good 17-miler on Saturday and 5 easy miles as well as a 10mi hike on Sunday. The hike was quite physical (clearing blowdown) and took over five hours, so between those two factors it was definitely quality cross-training.

Looking Ahead: The following week is my final full week of training before heading into the woods to lead a hiking camp, and I hope to make the most of it. I'll be very busy, but hope to put in at least 60 miles, including speed work on Tuesday, a moderate effort trail run on the GATR course on Thursday (with lots of stops to mark the course along the way), and a long run on Sunday.

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Saturday: Easy 17

6/8/2013

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I moved this week's Sunday run to Saturday in order to save tomorrow (a nicer day) to do trail work on the Great Adirondack Trail Run course. It was done, but the heavy snow on Memorial Day weekend brought a lot of trees down. No chainsaw this time, so I hope they aren't too big.

I'm happy to be home and running on familiar roads again (and not having to dodge people and cars, as fun as that was for a couple days). I'm working on getting the Sunday run up into the 20+ mile range before Wakely Dam.

I probably won't run more than 3hrs during any one training run even though the race is around 5hrs, but might also do one back-to-back long run, where I run 14mi on Saturday and 18 on Sunday or something like that, so that I've at least done 50k in one 24hr period at some point before the race.

Total Miles: 17mi
Weekly So Far: 45.5mi
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Thursday/Friday: Boston Running

6/7/2013

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We arrived home late last night from a three-day field trip to Boston with my wife's 6th grade class. It was a rousing success, both from Meg's perspective and mine: Finn loved the city and got to spend some quality time with my mom, and I got to run twice and see the Red Sox walk off against their 2013 nemesis, the Texas Rangers.

Thursday: 8 miles, with 7mi at MP. I ran on the "banks of the River Charles" (love that dirty water) for the first time in my life. The Boston side was nice and uninterrupted, but I wasn't too fond of trying to figure out how to access the bridge crossings or having to stop for intersections on the Cambridge side. I had a lot of pent up energy and the stop/start nature of the running made it easy to get caught up in a fast pace.

Friday: 6 miles, pushing Finn's city stroller (not the jogger) in the pouring rain with jeans, cotton shirt and jacket on, after only 4 hours of sleep the night before (and 14 in three nights). At least I had my running shoes! This was not the most traditional of runs, but walking 3 miles each way from the Common to Harvard Square in Cambridge wasn't going to be fun in the rain, so I decided I may as well get a run in. It was a blast.

Total Miles: 14mi (in two runs)
Weekly So Far: 28.5mi
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Tuesday: Ladder Intervals

6/4/2013

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Today was a fun return to speed intervals (done at 5k pace, as opposed to strength intervals at HM pace that I've been doing for a while now). A cool down jog to Keene Valley to meet Meg and Finn for tacos at Green Point was a great way to cap off the run.

Warmup: 2.5mi easy road.
Intervals: 400m/600m/800m/1000m/1000m/
800m/600m at 5:28 pace with 400m recovery jog after each interval.
Cooldown: 2mi easy road.

The mini-streak I have going of 22 straight running days will likely end tomorrow, unless I can motivate to go for a 9pm run in Boston. The good news is my mom is going to come in to take care of Finn for a while on Thursday, so I'll get to run on the Charles and see a Red Sox game!

No posts until the weekend, as I'll be off the interwebs while in Beantown.

Total Miles: 9.5mi
Weekly So Far: 14.5mi
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Monday: Easy 5

6/4/2013

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Ran the Hulls Falls Loop, with a nice spring in my step for a Monday. Tight hamstrings made me skip the hill sprints at the end (I haven't done those in weeks and really should do them more, but I wanted to be loose for Tuesday's speed workout).

Total Miles: 5mi
Weekly So Far: 5mi
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Weekly Recap: May 27-June 2

6/3/2013

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PicturePhoto not related to this post in any way.
Total Mileage: 61
Elevation Gain: 4500'
Goal: Recover from Patch Sprint and get back to doing hard workouts.

What a great confidence building week! After a tough taper for Patch Sprint and a great race day I was not sure how I'd feel during my recovery week. Fortunately the knee ache that I was feeling before the race has mellowed out, and I somehow found the energy for 61 miles--more than I thought I'd do for sure. Highlights of the week include a few days of heat training, which are not fun but are important when race day dawns 80 degrees and humid, and my first tempo run on the road in a while.

Looking Ahead: Tough weeks coming up: I'm in Boston for three days with Finn this week and might not be able to run while I'm there, then I'll be working hard to prepare for directing the Great Adirondack Trail Run the next week (including at least one more day of trail work), all the while getting ready for the 10-day hiking camp I'm leading later in June. I'm going to try not to stress about missing a few workouts, and use the forced time off to recharge for a couple of good training weeks in early July before Wakely Dam.

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Sunday: Long Run

6/2/2013

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The Sunday long run is a runner's tradition, and I'm sticking with it! Up until this point in the year it hasn't been as important to my training as other workouts (speed, strength and tempo) because my first goal race was only 13 miles.

Now that I'm training for a 32mi trail race and a marathon Sunday's workout has become the top priority. I have two paces at which I'll be doing my Sunday runs: easy and long. You can see both of those in my pace chart on the right sidebar. Yeah, that's confusing: long refers to pace in my training plan.

So, today I did a "long run," which means a Sunday run at a brisk pace (not as fast as marathon pace, but a lot faster than the pace at which I cover most of my miles). They should be hard but no problem to complete.

Warmup: 1.5mi easy, then some light dynamic stretches.
Long: 10mi at 6:45 pace.
Cooldown: 1.5mi easy.

I learned my lesson from yesterday and got out early to beat the heat and loss of motivation that comes with it. It was still pretty hot and humid until mile 8, when it rained about as hard as it ever has while I've been running. For a while there was about 1cm of standing water covering the entire road. It felt great to be soaked!

Total Miles: 13mi
Weekly Total: 60mi
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Saturday: Easy 7

6/1/2013

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Today was one of those days where it's a struggle to get out the door and run. Early morning would have been the time to go but I woke up depleted from last night's run (down 2-3 pounds, so probably dehydrated). After a long Saturday of chores in the heat I finally worked up the desire to run, but wouldn't have been surprised if it turned into a 3 mile recovery run.

I felt like crap for the first mile, but after a brief moment of mind wandering I was surprised to realize I had picked up the pace and was feeling fine. I ended up doing 7 miles at my easy pace and feeling pretty darn good about it.

Before last summer (when I became a "runner") I never would have gone out feeling the way I did today. One of my biggest lessons has been that runners go running, every day unless there's a very good reason not to. It's a good feeling to have that kind of persistence pay off.

Total Miles: 7mi
Weekly So Far: 47mi
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    My Best Results:

    7/31/16: Escarpment Trail Run 18mi
         1st place, 3:01:12
    7/18/15: Wakely Dam 33mi
         1st place, 4:45:01, Course Record
    6/21/14: Manitou's Revenge 54mi
         1st place, 10:50:34, Course Record
    4/21/14: Boston Marathon
         2:55:52
    10/13/13: Mohawk Hudson Marathon
         11th place, 2:49:49
    9/29/13: Vermont 50
         3rd place, 6:40:29
    5/25/13: Patch Sprint 12.5mi
         1st place, 2:01:43, Course Record

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