Blossom Time 5.25 2012

I knew this probably wasn’t going to be the breakthrough race it was for me two years ago and I was pretty confident it wouldn’t be as smooth as Chili Bowl and Boston this year. But I put on my racing flats and gave it a go :) You never know when you might get lucky!

It was hot on the warmup and I showed LJ and my boyfriend a bit of the course as this was their first Blossom. Noted that a few fast local women were there and made it the goal to stay as close to them as possible. It was muggy and hot, but not nearly as hot as it has been here the past few years.  I figured best case scenario was probably 5:55 pace for this one and more likely between that and 6:15 pace.

The first two miles of Blossom are mostly uphill and LJ and I managed to cruise through mile one easily in 6:05. I was pleasantly surprised by this and we were sitting in 3rd and 4th after getting by 3 or 4 other ladies who went out a bit faster. I pulled away from LJ in the second mile at some point and did my best to hold the gap between myself and 2nd. A bit before mile two you finally crest the hill and I instructed myself to pick up the turnover. I surprised myself with a 6:06 this mile which was actually better than 2 years ago. It certainly didn’t feel like I was flying, but it felt solid.

JS ran with me and helped me focus on 2nd place, at some point between 2 and 3 after catching a pack ahead of us he motioned that it was time to close the gap on 2nd, but my legs had no response. I was sitting steady in that 6-6:08 pace range and the legs weren’t going anywhere. I watched as JS easily caught the 2nd and 1st girls before picking up speed to get in a decent training day. I focused on trying to stay with the pack that included my friend JK hitting mile 3 in 6:08.

Mile 4 is tough, a lot of sun and you have a nasty climb towards the end of it. I focused on a few males this mile and hit 4 in 6:00 thanks to BD helping me push that incline before the end of the mile. After that it was mostly a survival to the finish. BD coached me to use my arms and encouraged me to do a  better job on the hills, I just had no fire.

I let three guys pass me that I normally would have been competitive with. I just didn’t have that extra “juice.” I knew I’d have to fight if I wanted to sneak in a PR and hitting mile 5 in 6:06 I was sure it was close but a little shy. That extra gear didn’t show up on the final kick and I managed to get to the finish in 31:54, over a minute behind 1st and 2nd! Ouch! But only 16 seconds slower than two years ago here.

Based on the way I felt I’m happy with it. It was a really even and solid effort. I’m glad I was able to keep the effort high despite being far out of contention and knowing a PR was not likely.  I’d like to think if 1st or 2nd had been closer I might have found some extra drive, but truthfully I was working hard out there. It just wasn’t one of those days where I felt “like a boss.” And both the gals that came in 1st and 2nd ran much faster than normal here. Kudos to them! I’ve got my work cut out for me this year!

Quarters

The past few weeks we have started doing the track workout a bit later which is great for me, less stress and I don't have to leave work before everyone else and feel guilty about it.

Last night was our staple quarters workout followed up by an 800. A bit less rest than usual but otherwise the norm. Goal was 85 though coach made it clear we should be faster based on the early groups results. Not my fastest quarter workout ever but it was solid and worlds better than I felt the past two weeks at the track. I'll take it!

Set	Reps	Distance/Time	Goal	Actual	Rep rest	Set rest
1	8	400  Meters	<85	82.12, 81.87, 82.03, 81.18, 82.47, 82.82, 82.02, 82.80	60	2:00
2	8	400  Meters	<85	83.40, 81.63, 81.97, 82.70, 82.63, 82.23, 82.19, 81.74	60	2:30
3	1	800  Meters	Hard	2:41.60

Run

Great song, great lyrics, it was about time for another Snow Patrol video ;)

Week # 4

Another week, another weekly rundown. This one was not stellar! My left calf tightened up significantly during Tuesday's track workout and a planned 70-75 miles turned into just shy of 30 with only one partial workout and one race.

No tempo, busted track workout, 2 days off, 4 runs, one ART session, one race, and one bike ride.

I'm probably a bit paranoid with the left calf, but I think erring on the side of safety for a little while may be smarter than forcing anything and ending up on the sidelines completely again!

Walking on a Dream

I think this may belong in the category of my "guilty pleasures" but I love this song and I imagine if I actually ran with music I would like running to this tune ;)

Track = Bust

Well last nights track workout was a bust. My left calf knotted itself up in a little ball that wouldn't let go and I decided to stop the workout rather than seeing if I could really make it angry. It was the right decision as it is sore today after icing and massage last night.

Goal was 2400 at 5:50 mile pace, 2:30 rest, 1600 at 5:45, 2:00 rest, 800 at 2:48, 2:30 rest, 1600 at 5:45

What happened was 2400 at 5:50 pace and then 1600 at 5:59 (first lap was on but then the foot/calf and lack of focus dragged the pace down) before deciding it wasn't in my best interest to force it anymore.

Blah! This whole tight calf/tight heel nonsense is getting old ;) If anyone is looking for me I'll be on the bike tonight wishing I was running and hoping a few days of cross training and PT will appease this darn left leg and get me back on the training wagon :)

Week 3 Rundown

Legs seem to be coming around. I felt perky for the first time in what seems like a long time this week thank goodness :) Perhaps due to adding back in nightly iron pills and OJ? Or maybe just finally getting recovered from the marathon effort.

Didn't quite hit the goal mileage this week but the mini vacation was a much needed trade :)

Goals for the week:
Total Mileage 70 - 75.

Monday: Easy.
Tuesday: Track.
Wednesday and Friday: Easy miles @ 7:40 or slower, 6 x 30 sec strides on Friday.
Thursday: 8 miles @ 6:35
Weekend:
12 miles @ 7:00
15 miles @ 7:30

Actual:

63 miles, 8 runs (one double), no 15 miler (replaced with a 10 mile trail run in Hocking Hills Friday)
a few hours canoeing, 1 PT session, 1 massage, and an easy/short swim

Though not posted about the "tempo" went well. I felt sluggish warming up and thought it would be a bust so I just ignored the watch, ended up pretty much nailing it and finishing with a nice last mile around 6:08!

Track Ladders

The last time I did a similar workout I managed to rally and hit the paces. The last time I did that workout it also wasn't 85 degrees and a few weeks post marathon :)

The workout got modified a little bit and was 4 sets of 800, 600, 400 (82 seconds recovery, 80 seconds recovery, 2 minutes between sets) Goals were 2:50, 2:04, 80. The 600s were not even close and pretty much after the first set I just had to settle for effort, there just wasn't any more speed to be had in these legs last night! Good workout even if it was slow!

2:53.56
2:04.93
80.94

2:51.00
2:08.45
82.57

2:55.10
2:10.98
84.52

2:53.18
2:08.77
82.91

Ambling Alp

I like a lot of Yeasayer's stuff, unfortunately not many of the songs I like have a You Tube Video! But this one's pretty good :)

Week 2 Rundown

Pretty sure I angered the coach gods as my coach doesn't seem interested in a longer recovery period despite work screwing up last weeks training and me generally feeling lackluster. Goals for the week were:

Total Mileage 70.

Monday: Easy.
Tuesday: Track.
Wednesday and Friday: Easy miles @ 7:40 or slower, 6 x 30 sec strides on Friday Thursday: 8 miles (6 @ 6:45, 2 @ 6:30)
Weekend:
12 miles @ 7:10
16 miles @ 7:30

After slacking off Monday I decided to just suck it up and do the week despite not really feeling like myself yet. I got in the miles and the workouts but still not feeling perky. Quads are sore every day and my legs just feel tired. Hopefully working out all the junk here and moving back into the fun part of running soon!

 68 miles, 7 runs, one double, 1 ART session