Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Wednesday, 5/30: 8 X 1 Mile

This morning I did a really great half marathon track workout.  The workout was 8 x 1 mile, with only 2 minute rests between each.  This would simulate a great feel for the half marathon.  My goal was to run 5:00 a piece.  It was pretty tiring, although I must say given the heat and humidity lately my body felt pretty good.  The other thing is, yesterday I ran 15 miles, and am on another high mileage week.  So my body should be pretty tired...

Splits:


5:03, 5:01, 5:01, 5:00, 5:01, 5:01, 5:01, 5:03

After I was done, I felt so familiar with 75 second quarters that I think I would know the exact pace if I ran without a watch and without a track.  This workout is EXACTLY what I needed.  It was a really great builder for the half, and I am feeling more confident about tackling another half in 2 1/2 weeks.  I think its good too to repeat the exact same pace because it helps get familiar with and adapt to that pace.  The 2 min rests were a lot less rest than I'm used to, and it gave me great confidence when I could just repeat the pace pretty comfortably off such short rest.  The other thing that has helped this is the fact that I can run 71 quarters for a 5k, so 75s don't feel so bad.  After all, practice does make perfect.

I am off to Florida tomorrow morning.  It will be even more hot and humid there, and I will be training earlier in the morning.  I should hit close to 100 miles this week, and next week will be less, going into more fine tuning/tapering.  I will do a couple more fine tuning workouts in Florida but the one I did today really put a lot of hay in the barn.  Certainly, it is all downhill from here.  I feel I am hitting my prime at just the right time.

Sunday, May 27, 2012

May 21-27: 90 Miles/Week

This week was a very hard-working week for me.  I am a bit tired, and feel I am coming to the finish of a long season.  Still, I feel like I have one more bullet left in the gun before going back to basics.  I hit high miles again this week, and on top of that I did 2 workouts, with 11 miles of total work(fast running).  The heat and humidity are also back, just in time for me to adapt before going to Florida next week for about 9 or 10 days.  Then I return on Saturday, June 9, before flying out to Duluth on the 14th.  Before I know it, I will be racing against some top runners in the country on June 16th, which will be 10 days before my 29th birthday.  On Thursday morning, a warm morning at that, I did a 5 x mile with minimum rest, to get into specific threshold pace, hitting right around 5:00 a piece.  Then, only 48 hours later, on a very humid morning, I did a 6 mile tempo on the towpath from Rileys to Swains with Jake, Sam, and U.S. Marine Sean Barrett(who finished 3rd at the Marine Corps Marathon a few years ago).  I definitely was partially fatigued going into the second workout.  In addition, the previous evening during an easy 8 miler, I felt my blood sugar plummet-not a pleasant thing for a runner(that evening I ate a ton).  But I knew this workout was going to be a great "toughening up" workout, especially since I had 29:37 10k runner Sam Luff and Jake Klim to work with.  My goal was to get in a solid "effort" of about 6 miles or so, or I told myself to go not much past 30 minutes, whichever came first.  The total distance I was unsure of, as the mile markers on the canal are very off, but I stopped my watch short of the 6th marker at 30:35, and it was definitely a little under 6 miles.  It was a solid effort though, and running with Sam, Jake, and Sean really helped.  The humidity was rough and definitely hit me like a ton of bricks as I knew it would so I grabbed a pre-stashed gatorade at Swains Lock and proceeded for a second 6 mile run back up to Rileys Lock where we started.  Sunday, I ran for 17 miles for an "easy" long run and felt ok.  The heat and humidity though, have made me thirsty as hell.  After my run I gulped gatorade, and more gatorade.        


Monday: PM: 10 miles easy

Tuesday: AM: 13 miles easy

Wednesday: AM: 5.5 miles easy, PM: 7.5 miles easy

Thursday: AM: 5x1600m w/ 2-3 min rests: 5:00, 5:00, 5:01, 5:02, 5:04, 9.5 miles total

Friday: AM: 4.5 miles easy, PM: 8 miles easy

Saturday: AM: 2 mile warm up, <6 mile tempo(30:35), 6.5 mile run, 14.5 miles total

Sunday: AM: 17 miles

Total: 90 Miles

Sunday, May 20, 2012

May Training


This year, so far, if you look at my mileage, it has been all over the place.  I've run as high as 111 in a week, and as low as 37 during the race week of pikes peek 10k.  I'm not saying this is a bad thing.  I think I've also worked on a lot of quality and precision of doing the right workouts this season, not just mileage.  I was also not training for a marathon this spring, so mileage, yes, I did not need to run too many 100+ mile weeks.  This summer and fall I will tap back into that as I aim to do a marathon in november.  However, I do plan to hit a couple more 90-100 mile weeks for the next few weeks before I taper down for Duluth.  The last few weeks I have run 71-72 miles each week.  What was impressive, actually about the 14:58 5k I ran was the fact that I had run 72 miles the previous week, whereas for pikes peek I ran half that mileage the week I ran 30:56 for the 10k(which is pretty close in performance compared to my 5k time).  Following the 5k at swarthmore, I ended up with 71 miles this week, with 2 days off.  I was tired after the race, but my body quickly woke up by the time wednesday hit and I got in some solid miles.  I did a nice moderately hilly 15 miler during the week, starting at whites ferry and hitting some back country roads where no one was in sight.  On the weekend, I ran 14 miles Saturday morning on the towpath with Matt.  On Sunday, I met up with the Duluth Crew(Sam, Karl, Jake) and we hit the up and down hilly trails near old anglers inn for about an hour before running a second hour along the towpath.  We picked up our pace once we hit the towpath nicely and Karl said he felt good so he hammered the last mile.  Jake and I ran togther along with Sam and finished up a 2 hour run of about 18 miles. I like finishing these long runs fast.  Afterwards, we hit Robeks and I pounded a large Smoothie.  I am going to Naples, Florida with Beth and her family from May 31-June 9.  I am looking foward to relaxing w/ Beth and just running.  If the weather in Duluth ends up being humid I will surely be prepared for it.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

5000 Meters

5000 Meters can be one of the most painful events for such a short period of time.  Your blood lactate levels become distressingly high during the race, and if you race it right they will become the highest towards the end.  This type of racing on the track can also differ a lot from road racing, as it is more aggressive as people fight for positioning.

5000 meters or less is not my prime event.  But who says that I cannot get good at it?  It may not be my best event, as longer distance running is where my strength is, but it still is a vital component of my overall progression and training.  Thus, I explain below, why I am also running shorter races, not just half marathons, throughout the year:

5000 meters uses the largest portion of VO2 Max.  With that, your VO2 Max can improve significantly through 5K training.  A high lactate threshold(which is very important in half marathon and marathon racing) means that lactate doesn't start to accumulate in your muscles and blood until you reach a high percentage of your VO2 Max.  With a higher VO2 Max, there is room for a higher lactate threshold to improve.  Everything actually relates to one another, even though it is unfair to compare an equivalent 5000 meter time to an equivalent marathon time.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RACE REPORT
May 14, 2012.  10:20 PM: Swarthmore College, PA

I lined up in 4th position out of 25 or so runners in the 2nd (of 3 heats total) of the mens 5000m.  Puddles covered the track from the on and off rain during the evening.  It was late.  This was the last event of the evening.  We got into position and waited for the sound of the gun...
We took off and I surged immediately with the front pack, making sure to get a good position early.  College track meets are so aggressive.  I was not used to it from racing on the roads, a totally different style.  People jostled and pushed and elbowed, I felt like I was in a boxing match.  Luckily, I'm tough as hell, and I don't put up with "pushing around" despite me being one of the smaller guys in the race.  Coaches screamed as we hit the first lap of the race...70!!!!

In order to break 15 minutes, I needed to run under 72 seconds each lap.  We went through 800 meters in 2:22(a 72), and 1200 meters was 3:33(71).  I remained locked in a tight pack of about 10 people.  Despite the steady pace, I continued to get jostled around as if people wanted me out of their way.  A push from behind, an elbow here, an elbow there.  It was like a fist fight-throwing punches.  I began to get agitated and decided I had enough.  
You want me out of your way? Ok, I'll get out of your way. On the fourth lap, I made a move to the outside and surged to the front.  Mile 1: 4:43.  Another 70.  I began leading the race but knew I had to be careful not to go out and die.  I still had 2 miles to go.  5th lap: 5:55, a 72.  A few guys then went around me.  6th lap: 7:06, another 71.  I was now halfway through the race and the pain was starting to set in.  A few more guys past me, but I stayed in contact and hit 3000 meters in 8:52 and 2 miles in 9:28(a 4:45 2nd mile).  By now, we had a pack of over half a dozen guys or so.  I was barely hanging on and they began to surge...and I began to fall off the pace.  Dammit, Chris stay awake!  I knew I was running sub 14:50 pace let alone 15:00 so I did have a nice "cushion" to break 15.  But now I wanted to break 14:50 since I was running that pace.  I tried to concentrate on the pack, and I fell off the pace slightly each lap.  The clock ate hungrily away at my sub 14:50 pretty quick, and I was paying for my hard effort earlier.  Each lap I tried to run harder, and all I was hitting was 73-74s...it wouldn't budge.  Shit.  Get tough, Chris.  With 2 laps to go, I worked it through.  I didn't have much left, but I began surging harder again.  Some of the GRC guys cheered for me, particularly Karl, who helped me a lot through the mental battle I was having that last mile, I thank him for that.  One lap to go.  Just one lap-but one hell of an INTENSE one.  I looked at my watch and knew I needed to go.  NOW.  I told myself to run as hard as I could for one more lap.  I began to kick it in and saw a guy with 200 to go.  Run him down.  I surged and blew by him with 150 to go.  He had no response.  I made the final turn and saw the finish straight ahead.  The last 100 meters I felt like I was underwater holding my breathe, and I was swimming up, up, up to the surface but I couldn't get any oxygen.  Was I going to make it?  It seemed so far away...

I bent down on the track, huffing and puffing, until I could regain my breathe.  Karl came to help me up and congratulate me as I knew I had broken 15:00.  I saw my watch read 14:57 as I crossed the line, and later on in the results I would find the official time to be 14:58, I placed 7th in my heat, and 24th overall out of 71 athletes.  4:48 pace average.  I took off my track spikes and cooled down barefoot on the inside turf and felt really good about the effort I gave.  Who says the longer the distance, the harder? I respect those who concentrate on 5000m as their prime event.  The 5k is one hard fucking race.

-Sloane


RESULTS:

Men 5000 Meter Run
================================================================
    Name                    Year Team                    Finals
================================================================
  1 Hallinan, Steve              PACERS TC             14:04.06 
  2 Luff, Sam                    GEORGETOWN RUNNI      14:18.32 
  3 Brannigan, Jeff              PACERS TC             14:24.16 
  4 Gilmore, Peter               BOSTON U.             14:27.42 
  5 Kissin, Peter                HAVERFORD             14:29.66 
  6 Sohail, Faraz                HAVERFORD             14:30.97 
  7 Parker, Ceth                 JUNIATA               14:31.08 
  8 Mynatt, Henry                DICKINSON             14:35.45 
  9 DuBois, Eric                 ROWAN                 14:36.49 
10 Hartung, Tim                 YORK (PA.)            14:39.84 
11 Farrell, Dillon              MORAVIAN              14:40.52 
12 Stadler, Chris               HAVERFORD             14:43.86 
13 Ryan, Scott                  WASHINGTON A          14:44.45 
14 Lutcza, Matt                 MORAVIAN              14:47.11 
15 Sadlock, Josh                UNATTACHED            14:47.36 
16 Fitzgerald, John             SALISBURY             14:48.49 
17 Rankin, Mike                 ST. JOSEPH'S          14:50.33 
18 Lilley, Michael              UNATTACHED            14:51.05 
19 Megee, Bryan                 DESALES               14:51.67 
20 Speray, Ryan                 BRIDGEWATER           14:52.64 
21 Leinenger, Mark              AMERICAN              14:52.88 
22 Zitek, Andrew                NYU                   14:54.57 
23 Sturner, Andrew              HAVERFORD             14:56.62 
24 Sloane, Chris                UNATTACHED            14:58.39 
25 Quinlan, Ian                 SUSQUEHANNA           14:59.36 
26 Hicks, Steve                 UNATTACHED            15:02.48 
27 DeArmitt, Evan               ELIZABETHTOW          15:04.80 
28 Krause, Zachary              UNATTACHED            15:05.19 
29 Sohl, Luke                   BRIDGEWATER           15:11.76 
30 Sidebottom, Mark             TCNJ                  15:12.77 
31 Haneman, Pat                 HAVERFORD             15:13.54 
32 Watts, John                  UNATTACHED            15:15.51 
33 Knowles, Dave                NYU                   15:16.02 
34 Richards, David              HOUGHTON              15:17.55 
35 Galasso, Aidan               DELAWARE TC           15:18.93 
36 Hutcheson, Craig             MESSIAH               15:19.68 
37 Connelly, Alec               RUTGERS-CAMD          15:20.03 
38 Driscoll, Darren             VIRGINIA WES          15:20.20 
39 Warren, Chris                DELAWARE TC           15:21.77 
40 Boimov, Sam                  GEORGETOWN RUNNI      15:23.35 
41 Norton, Joe                  UNATTACHED            15:23.76 
42 Vernorn, George              UNATTACHED            15:24.04 
43 Toller, David                SALISBURY             15:24.57 
44 Harrison, Stephen            MARY WASHING          15:27.96 
45 Cutilli, Ben                 HAVERFORD             15:29.90 
46 Hayburn, Pat                 BRYNMAWR RC           15:31.36 
47 Healy, Sean                  MARY WASHING          15:34.00 
48 Brightbill, Kyle             BRYNMAWR RC           15:34.64 
49 Gallagher, Ryan              WIDENER               15:35.43 
50 Holowka, Tom                 UNATTACHED            15:38.38 
51 Myers, Jason                 GEORGETOWN RUNNI      15:39.07 
52 Hoagland, Zach               MESSIAH               15:40.18 
53 Dolan, Mike                  UNATTACHED            15:40.73 
54 Larsen, Charlie              ELIZABETHTOW          15:40.74 
55 Herring, Matthew             MESSIAH               15:47.35 
56 Margiotta, Max               ST. JOSEPH'S          15:49.65 
57 Bowman, Kevin                UNAT-MCDANIE          15:50.28 
58 Gresh, Dan                   ELIZABETHTOW          15:52.14 
59 LoBianco, Stephen            UNATTACHED            15:53.67 
60 Hopkins, Sean                UNATTACHED            15:53.71 
61 Childres, Steve              YORK (PA.)            15:54.94 
62 Rooke, Tyler                 GWYNEDD-MERC          15:57.27 
63 Herring, Daniel              MESSIAH               16:03.35 
64 Cotter, Brian                DELAWARE TC           16:04.91 
65 Blood, Henry                 UNATTACHED            16:06.70 
66 Kelly, Chris                 RUTGERS-CAMD          16:08.40 
67 Clemson, Alex                DESALES               16:11.82 
68 Merkel, Peter                MCDANIEL              16:44.28 
-- Allen, Mark                  AMERICAN                   DNF 
-- Parmenter, Nathan            UNATTACHED                 DNF 
-- Mackenzie, Samuel            UNATTACHED                 DNF

Monday, May 14, 2012

OFFICIAL: 14:58!!!

Went out VERY HARD.  4:43, 9:28 splits.  Was in the 2nd heat and took the lead after the first mile.  Went for it.  Race Report Coming...

Time to Get On the PAIN TRAIN

Seeded 26th out of 84 runners in tonight's Swarthmore Track Meet in the Mens 5000m.  Time entered is 14:45.  A lot of people lie in this meet and I probably should have put 14:40.  But I should be in the first heat.  Race is scheduled to start at 10:20 pm(last event).  It's going to probably rain too.

ITS TIME TO GET ON THE PAIN TRAIN!!!

Sunday, May 6, 2012

WRR Winter Rankings & 1st Week of May

After Pikes Peek I recovered pretty nicely all things considered.  Racing 5K/10K certainly doesn't take as much out of you as 10M/13.1M does.  Usually following a 10 Miler or Half Marathon I am unable to do a workout the following week.  This week I was certainly fine(minus some calf soreness) to do a strong trackworkout on Wednesday.  I only hit 60 Miles, but it was a step back up from last week(which was a yearly low of 37 miles).  However, the lower mileage last week enabled me to recover and race well for Pikes Peek.  My mileage now will be steadily climbing to prepare for Duluth, but not too too high before the Swarthmore Track Meet(which is next Monday).  It is an odd time to race as I won't really be able to do a long run this weekend.  I probably will do one mid-week semi-longer run or something.  After Swarthmore, I will have 5 weeks to do final preparations.  It really will be 3 weeks of hard training since the last 2 weeks will be easier.       

April 30-May 6 Training:

Monday: PM: 6.5 easy
Tuesday: OFF
Wednesday: AM: 4.5 easy, PM: 5x1000m @ 2:57, 2:54, 2:53, 2:55, 2:58, Total: 6.5
Thursday: PM: 5 easy
Friday: AM: 5 easy, PM: 5 easy
Saturday: AM: 10.5 at Swains Lock
Sunday: AM: Long Run at Edward's Ferry with Dusen and Klim, 16.5

Total: 60 Miles

On another note, the winter rankings are out and I placed 12th, which was my highest placing ever, although winter is not as competitive.  Spring rankings should be interesting.

From the Washington Running Report:

"Holy inconsistency! Only two of the top 12 runners had two races in the top 14. Ricky Flynn was a total afterthought with his December 5K win in 15:56. Still, after racing a 2:13:42 marathon finish at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Team Trials, it is little surprise that he would come back to the forefront. He did that winning the Sentara Colonial Half Marathon in 1:07:18.
Sam Luff had a solid win at the YMCA Turkey Chase 10K in 31:32. Then in January he jumped from ninth to third place dragging 12th place Christopher Sloane (15:12) with him at the Indoor Terrapin Invitational in 14:56.
Gurmessa Megerssa was second at the king-maker Alexandria Turkey Trot 5 Mile in 24:49. Then he bolted to the runner-up spot in a heated battle he won (31:10) with fourth place Michael Wardian (31:13) and fifth place Jordan McDougal (31:14) at the GW Birthday Classic 10K.
Vince Collins takes the sixth spot winning the Annapolis Half Marathon. Ninth place Tristram Thomas was second there, followed by 11th place Dustin Meeker.
Another former champion, Ryan Carroll, takes seventh with eight overall wins, including the Online Fitness Turkey Derby 10K in 31:19. Eighth place Temsgen IIanso had a sterling MCRRC Jingle Bell Jog 8K in 24:53. Conrad Laskowski is tenth winning the RRCA Challenge 10 Mile in 52:55."

1Flynn, Ricky 24Lynchburg, VA30:32
2Megerssa, Gurmessa32Silver Spring, MD31:10
3Luff, Sam 24Rockville, MD31:09
4Wardian, Michael37Arlington, VA31:13
5McDougal, Jordan24Warrenton, VA31:14
6Collins, Vince22Baltimore, MD31:11
7Carroll, Ryan29Portsmouth, VA31:19
8Ilanso, Temsgen25Washington, DC31:17
9Thomas, Tristram25Baltimore, MD31:15
10Laskowski, Conrad25Baltimore, MD31:50
11Meeker, Dustin30Baltimore, MD31:37
12Sloane, Christopher28Rockville, MD31:42
13Otstot, Adam29Williamsburg, VA32:01
14Renjifo, Carlos29Columbia, MD32:05
15Molz, Jon25Richmond, VA31:58
16Peck, Graham22Lutherville, MD32:10
17Geletu, Seife29Washington, DC32:07
18Witters, Ryan23Washington, DC32:14
19Hryvniak, David27Charlottesville, VA32:23
20Murphy, Ryan26Richmond, VA32:21
21Jacoby, Bert29Fredericksburg, VA32:24
22Whitlow, Dustin25Arlington, VA32:42
23Kolata, Stephan30Washington, DC33:07
24Guevara, Paul25Alexandria, VA33:12
25Hopely, Mark23Lynchburg, VA33:13
26Saunders, Rich23Washington, DC33:18
27Hardin, Joshua20Potomac Falls, VA33:32
28O'Reilly, Blaine23Richmond, VA33:45

Thursday, May 3, 2012

TRACK: 5X1000M


On Monday I forced myself to get out and run an easy 6.5 miles at Lake Needwood, to get the junk out of my legs from the race.  Tuesday, I took off.  I needed a day off and was pretty exhausted.  My calves were also ripped to pieces.

Wednesday morning I ran an easy 4.5 with my dog Mickey, feeling better.  That afternoon, I headed over the track to do a workout.  I planned on 4x1000m, but I felt good and decided to do 5.  It was the perfect 5k prep workout.  The rests were about 3-4 minutes between each. 

Splits: 2:57, 2:54, 2:53, 2:55, 2:58 = 14:37 total time.


Last year, before I ran 15:13, I did the same workout, but each interval was 4-5 seconds slower(adding up to 15:00).

I really like 1000s for 5k training-these give me a lot of confidence. 
I am entered in the Swarthmore College 5000M on Monday, May 14.  Excited to spike up and race on the track.