Back on the [Training] Wagon

Holiday season is in full swing and as of Tuesday so is Boston training. If it seems like only a few weeks ago I was running a marathon that's because I was.

I had planned to hold off training until after the New Year but on Monday one of my teammates sent out the following email:*

Hey guys,

A few of us were reflecting on how we can come together as a team and compete better in the NYRR points standings next year. We have a good core group of runners so I think half the job will be showing up to the races.  I see no reason why we could not challenge the 3 teams directly ahead of us.

Concerning training I know I have been guilty of doing most of my workouts/runs on my own. On many Tuesdays/Thursdays I contemplate going to team practices in the Park/6th Street track but when juggling my schedule I usually end up working out near my house. I figure I will end up running alone anyway so might as well run close to home. In the spirit of team camraderie I will start making the effort more often to workout with the team. When I know I can make it I will RSVP on the meetup site (will try a few days in advance) and drop you all a quick line via e-mail to let you know I will be there.

Hope all is well and see you out there (I will be in Park tomorrow for 7PM workout),

Chris 

 

Obviously the guilt-trip worked because I showed up at both our Tuesday and Thursday workouts. Tuesday night was hill sprints, the first speed work I've done since Philly. Because we took a full rest period between each sprint, the workout itself didn't feel that tough, but boy was I sore on Wednesday!

 

Last night the workout was 5-8x800 at 5k pace. I got off work late and had to run directly to the track which means I ended up with a 3 mile warm-up. Apparently, that was a good thing because the repeats went  great. Along with two teammates, I did 7, though I'd planned at stoping at 5. We managed to do all of them pretty close to pace, though for the last one we kind of let it all out.

 

The point of this rambling is that I think my abbreviated recovery went pretty well because I felt fresh for Thursday's workout and on my Friday morning recovery run as well. I'm going to continue cutting myself a little slack for the next few weeks, but I think this training cycle has the potential to be pretty awesome!

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*Edited for reader clarity.

A Trip Down Memory Lane Part II: La vie en France

This month's Running Times has a feature on "running buddies," a person they described as "someone who understood our passion and shared the battle and beauty of the road." Last week I also came across an recent article from my college newspaper, the Hoya, about running in school without being on the varsity XC or track team. Both pieces got me thinking about some of the people I've run with over the years.

I spent the summer after my senior year of college doing a study abroad program in Tours, France. Even though I already had my degree and didn't need the credits, I really wanted to make my dream of living abroad a reality before getting crushed by the oppressive workload of a decidedly non-creative grad school program. I had minored in French but never been to Europe so the summer program in Tours seemed like the perfect way to spend the summer.

There was never any doubt that I would keep running while in France, but it would have been tempting to simply take things easy had it not been for my running partner.

Our local track.

As part of the program, run through Georgetown, all the students lived with host families. Although my host family was somewhat far from our classes--they lived in St-Cyr-Sur-Loire, a small town across the river from the center of Tours--they were just down the street from another Georgetown student, Renée, who happened to be a quite an accomplished varsity runner.

Although I had run my first marathon less than a year before, I was still getting used to "training" as opposed to simply running (I think I had still done fewer than 5 races total). Renée, however, had a rigorous schedule to stick to and I did my best to keep up with her every step of the way.

Not a bad spot for hill work.

We did some seriously punishing intervals at the local track (le Complexe sportif Guy Drut), did hill repeats up L'avenue de la Tranchée, and did long runs along the Loire, sometimes running through vineyards as far away as Vouvray. I was really lucky that Renée put up with me. She was a much more experienced (and faster) runner than I was, but not wanted to slow her down, I pushed myself. She was also extremely encouraging and also inspiring. 

Unfortunately, I went off to grad school in New York and only saw Renée a few times after that. She went on to do some pretty amazing things, like qualifying for the Olympic Trials (though unfortunately she didn't make the team). Still, in my mind, that's the summer I really became a runner and I have Renée to thank for that.

(Maybe next time we'll talk about how that's the summer I really became a wine drinker or cheese lover, but then again, this is a running blog, right?)

Running in Circles

I remember in law school when Thursday nights meant Bar Review (read: copious consumption of alcohol). Before that, I remember college where Thursdays meant Thirsty Thursday (read: copious consumption of alcohol). These days, however, Thursdays mean track time (read: a brutal workout followed by a more moderate consumption of alcohol). Any of these three can leave you feeling a little beat-up the next day.

After last week's mile repeats I didn't figure it could get much more difficult, but I was wrong. Last night we had a ladder workout. That means the we started with shorter repeats but worked our way up to longer repeats and then worked our way back down again. Just based on that premise it doesn't sound too bad, huh? I forgot a couple of details though.

I think my paint skills are really progressing.

The repeats were 2x800, 2x1600, 1x3200, 2x800, 2x400--for the first seven sets (everything before the 400s) we only got a 200m rest in between. These repeats were to be done at half-marathon pace. For the final two repeats, the 400s, we got 400m of rest in between but they were to be done at 5k pace.

When it was time to divide up into pace groups there was a 6 minute group, a 6:30 group, a 7 minute group, etc. I knew I wouldn't make it if I went with the 6 minute group so I opted for the 6:30 group, even though that's a little slower than my half pace (by saying that I have probably jinxed myself for next week's half-marathon).

We started off a little fast with the first 800 in 3:04. The next one we did in 3:09. That was fine by me because that meant they were a little closer to my true HM pace. However, going into the first 1600 I began thinking about how truly short a 200m recovery is.

We did the first 1600 in 6:28--pretty much spot on. For the second one we somehow picked up the pace (I say we, but I was leading most of the time so I guess I mean me) to run 6:17. I was dreading the 3200 since I've never run that far on a track before but it wasn't too bad. We did it in 12:46 (or 6:23 pace).

Now, I forgot to mention earlier that the final set of 800s was optional. At this point most of the other guys running my pace decided to stop. Thankfully, one other runner, Ren, is as much of a glutton for punishment as I am. Of course, after doing the optional 800s (3:08, 3:07) we had to the optional 400s. I really felt myself pushing on these--1:24 and 1:25--and was thrilled to be done. At that point, however, one of the other guys who'd been running with the 7:00 minute group had one more 400 to go. Ren and I both decided to join him (what's one more 400?). I had wrongly assumed that it would be a slower lap; it wasn't. We did the final 400 in 1:23.

It was a punishing workout but that's what I was looking for when I joined the group--new challenges. I never would have made it through that workout on my own (I'm pretty sure I would have quite after the second 1600) but having other folks there to push me helped. Sadly, I was too tired afterword for beer. Next week?

East River Mile Repeats

Thursday nights are track workout nights for my running team, the Dashing Whippets. Although I've been running with them for a little over two months now, before this week I had only made it to one track workout. There are two main reasons why I haven't been to more workouts. First, when I joined, I was halfway through my marathon training plan and didn't want to switch plans midway through the cycle. Second, these workouts are at the East River Park track. While it's a pretty decent facility, it happens to be about 1.2 miles from the nearest subway. As you may remember from a previous post a good track is hard to find in Manhattan.

I really want to get faster this year so last night I sucked it up and headed to the East Village after work. I always dread track workouts (any speed work, really) and I was still sore from Tuesday's workout so I had no idea what to expect from myself. The schedule called for 4 - 6x1600m repeats at 10k pace with 400m recoveries in between. As Scott, the coach, explained, the idea is to train yourself to run tired. It's as much mental as anything else. He offered the three of us who had run Boston an alternate workout (3 - 5x1200m with 800m recoveries) but we all decided to try the 1600s.

The workout actually went pretty well. I did the first 1600 in 6:10 but felt surprisingly good. After what seemed like an incredibly short recovery I did the next one in 6:06. Scott had said that those of us still in marathon recovery could stop at 3 if we wanted so as I began the third one I paid special attention to how my legs were feeling. I did it in 6:07 and decided I felt good enough to end on a even number. It helped that one of my teammates, Tom (who also did Boston), was running at about the same pace.

For the final repeat I tried to stay on pace for the first three laps. Once I got to the 200 mark, though, I began picking it up. When I hit the final straightaway I kicked it to finish the mile in 5:57. It was definitely tiring but I was extremely happy that I stuck with it. Now I'm really looking forward to a summer of speed work.
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 Yesterday's Run: 7.5 miles total.