Recovering from CECS

River Cove Road Loop. 5.19 mi. 7:35/mi. 144BPM.

Middle Road.  8.16 miles. 1:01:57. 7:35/mi. 146 BPM

Middle Road. 6.26 mi. 47:06. 7:31/mi. 145 BPM.

Essex Loop.  8.44 mi. 1:02:23. 7:23/mi. 148 BPM.  Still chilly for spring.  32 degrees and light snow.  A little breezy too.

Middle Road. 6.24 mi. 7:13/mi. 143BPM.  45 degrees. Little windy and sunny.

A running buddy of mine called me this morning.  He's a pretty solid athlete, but he's had a bit of bad luck over the last couple of years.  He's had both ACL's reconstructed.  He's been pretty consistent through the winter and wants to start training together.  This might be what I need.  He ran the New Bedford Half last month in around 1:19, so he's fit but not out of my league.  He wants me to run a low-key hilly 1/2 mary this weekend.  I think I'll do it to jump start my training and motivate me to train a little more regularly.  I went for a run right after I spoke with Loren.  It turned into a tempo run.  8:48 miles total.  Essex Loop.  First mile or so easy and then I got into a decent rythm.  total time: 59:30.  7:01/mi. 148 BPM.  I think I can average 7:00s for the 1/2.  It's a tough course.

River Cover Road.  4 miles.  I'm a little tired from yesterday's enthusiasm.  29:09. 7:16/mi. 149BPM.

Rolling Irish Half Marathon.  13.11 miles.  It’s a certified course; I had 13.17 on my Garmin.  GPS error and tangents probably make up the .06 miles.  This is a tough hilly course on mostly dirt roads.  I haven’t been very consistent lately, so I wasn’t expecting a stellar time.  In fact, this is the first ½ mary I’ve run since 1997.  It was about 45 degrees, breezy and overcast.

Mile 1. 6:54. Flat and paved.  Leaders are already gone; a couple of kids from some small college.  I think they ran around 1:14 or so.  Pretty quick for this course.  I felt good.  Loren hung back with me.  He’s recovering from bronchitis and was hacking up some awful stuff.

Mile 2.  6:51.  Dirt and rolling.  Loren and I are still together.

Mile 3.  6:24.  Pretty big downhill.  It’s a loop course, so I’m already thinking about paying back this downhill later.

Mile 4.  7:09.  Gradual uphill.  This wasn’t too bad, but I know the tough stuff is not until miles 6 – 9.  Loren took off.  He ended up running 6:00s for the rest of the race.  I think he finished 5th or 6th.

Mile 5.  5:53.  Falling off a cliff.  Who though 5:53 would be a screaming fast mile for me?  Oh well, I’ll worry about that later.  Time to get ready for the uphill.

Mile 6.  6:36.  Leveled out and turned to pavement.

Mile 7.  7:49.  Did I mention the hills yet?  Brutal hills.  At one point I ran a quarter in 2:30!  Huffing and puffing and using my hands on my knees a little.  I’m starting to pay for taking 3 or 4 days off each week over the last 2 months!

Mile 8.  7:35.  We’re not out of the woods yet.  I’m still paying my penance for taking too much time off.  At least I had time in the bank from the downhills earlier.  I’m still better than 7:00 pace.

Mile 9.  7:52.  The worst yet!  The course markers dished out a little bit of cruelty.  They made a big chalk smiley face at the crest of a giant hill.  I assumed it symbolized the end of the uphills.  Wrong.  I turned the corner and discovered more hills!  What a heartbreak.

Mile 10.  6:39.  Finally done with the big hills.  Back to rollers.  Unfortunately, I’ve developed a pretty bad stitch.  I’ll deal with it.  Only 3 to go.

Mile 11.  6:54.  Rolling hills.  My legs are feeling pretty dead by now.

Mile 12.  7:04.  Still hanging on.

Mile 13.  6:41.  Switched back to pavement.  The stitch is really bad by now, but I can see the end.

.17 mi 1:10.  I tried to look smooth across this line even though I know I am in shambles.

Total time: 1:31:32.  6:59/mi. for 13.11 miles.  I think I was 12^th or 13^th.  I’ll check online once the results are posted.  That’s about where I figured I’d be.  According to the course tool this is a 6:41 flat effort.  I’ll take it.  Loren and I are going to start meeting in the mornings a few days a week.  I need the motivation, he needs the structure.  He ran around 1:22 today while recovering from bronchitis.  I hope to catch up to him if I can get out the door every day.

Middle Road. Recovery run. I'm pretty sore from yesterday's race. Mostly my calves and my hips, but no injuries to report. I hobbled along for most of the run, finally loosening up after around 4 or 5 miles. 6.25 miles. 50:01. 7:59/mi. 140 BPM.

I met Loren at 5:15 this morning.  This will be my morning ritual for Tues and Thurs from now on.  Hopefully it'll boost both our efforts.  I'll start to incorporate some quality work for these sessions shortly.  8.06 miles.  Essex loop.  very easy.  1:07:46. 8:24/mi. 132 BPM.

Essex Loop plus a bit. I tried to get up super early again today to run but failed miserably. Instead, I went around 9:00AM after arriving at work. It was pleasant, close to 50 degrees, but I had to deal with the ever-present wind again. Nonetheless, it was a pretty good run. 11.18 miles. 1:22:12. 7:21/mi. 142 BPM. I meet Loren tomorrow morning again at 5:15AM, so I need to hit the hay early.

I met Loren again at Fort Ethan Allen at 5:00AM.  Today we did a bunch of loops around the fort trying to lay out a small loop we can use for tempo runs.  We'll start doing quality work on Tues and Thurs morning once the temps are a little warmer.  7.86 miles.1:03:42. 8:06/mi. 125 BPM. 

River Cove Road loop.  5.20 miles.  39:28. 7:35/mi. 137 BPM.  Beautiful day.  about 50 degrees and sunny when I went at 9:30AM.

Loren planned on running with me this morning but he was up all night with sick kids, so I was on my own.  It was probably a good thing because I felt like crud for the first 5 or 6 miles and didn't feel like company.  It was sunny and cool, but the wind was blowing again!  I guess I'll get tough running in it so much (even though I always complain about it.)  I ran most of my usual long run route, but deviated a bit to go to Indian Brook Reservoir.  It's less than 5 miles from my house, but I've never been there!  I think Anne and I will go there this evening for a walk.  Anyways, after I got into a groove I felt good until the final couple miles.  I expected it since I haven't done much overdistance lately.  First solid week of running in quite a while.  6 days, 53 miles.  today: 14.52 miles. 1:48:25. 7:28/mi. 147 BPM.

I was thinking about doing a small race this morning, but changed my mind.  I think I could've hurt myself racing hard so close to last week's tough 1/2 mary.  I've always used the formula- one day recovery for every mile raced.  Well, at least no races for as many days; I think you can train hard again as long as you didn't completely flatten yourself in the race.  I came close to flattening myself in the 1/2 mary due to my lack of training, so no races for a couple more weeks.  Anne and I went to my sister-in-law's house for the afternoon.  It's in farm country with lots of nice back roads to run on.  My old nemesis the wind was there.  10.14 miles.  1:12:23.  I picked it up on the way back with the wind at my back; a couple of 7:00 miles, a 6:50 and a 6:30 miles.  Overall pace 7:08.  144 BPM.  I'm starting to feel good again.  

A.M. Middle Road.  I am going to try to double on Mon, Wed and Fri.  I will start out very easy; probably only 30 minutes in the morning.  4.18 miles. 31:19. 7:29/mi. 137 BPM.  50 degrees and rainy.

P.M. Colchester Pond Loop.  86 degrees and breezy.  Very hot for this time of year in Vermont!  I wilted.  6.33 miles. 47:26. 7:29/mi. 146 BPM.

Essex Loop with Loren at 5:15AM.  It was a little easier to get up this morning, but I'm still tired in the afternoons.  Hopefully my body will get used to this routine in a few weeks.  8.06 miles. 1:03:21. 7:51/mi. 135BPM.

A.M. Middle Road.  Chilly 31 degrees.  4.58 miles. 34:16. 7:28/mi. 134 BPM.

P.M. River Cover Road Loop.  Sunny, no wind and 50 degrees.  Absolutely beautiful spring weather.  I ran fairly quick for the entire run, but I didn't do much of a warm up so shame on me.  5.21 miles.  35:36. 6:49/mi. 143 BPM.

I met Loren again at 5:15AM for an easy 8 miler.  I forgot my Garmin, so I had to time it by checking Loren's wristwatch before and after the run.  1:03:00. 7:50/mi. no HRM.