Well, it looks like my training is finally coming around, although I hope with 10 weeks to go until my goal race I am not turning it on too early.
Week 11 (3/30 - 4/5) - 110 miles:
Given that I was pretty sick on Sunday after the race and we were traveling home on Monday afternoon I took the week pretty easy and just did 10/6 doubles for the rest of the week until Saturday. On Saturday I attempted a 5-6 mile tempo @ 5:15 pace. However, shortly before 3 miles I hit a bad patch and switched the workout to 3-2-1 on the fly.
Q1 = 3 miles @ 5:15s (2:22 rest) 2 miles @ 5:13s (2:20 rest) 1 mile @ 5:09.
Week 12 (4/6 - 4/12) - 124 miles
This was the week where things really seemed to be turning around. On my workout on Wednesday the opposite of Saturday happened. I planned a 4-1-1 workout, but when I hit 4 miles I felt so good I extended the long tempo portion another mile. Q1 = 5 miles @ 5:14.4 (26:12), 2:20 rest, 1 mile @ 5:07.
I came back on Saturday for a long tempo. Given that I decided midweek to try to enter the USA 25KM champs in 4 weeks I decided to do something a little longer than if I was just training for a half. Besides, I also felt like I have been working on the faster stuff a bit so an injection of strength work might provide a solid stimulus. I didn't feel great when I started the workout, but soon found myself cruising along at 5:15s. I ended up making it 6.5 miles in 34:03 (Q2 = 6.5 miles @ 5:14.3 avg)
Obviously another huge confidence boost since I averaged 6 miles @ 5:25s with about the same effort before I ran 68:12 last year, so to be able to run a little farther at 10-11s/mi faster bodes well for my upcoming races.
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Monday, April 13, 2015
The 2015 Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8K - Chicago, IL
One of my favorite cities in the world is Chicago. My wife and I started dating in 2006 and we lived there until a couple of months after we were married in 2009. I also moved there shortly after I started running again after college, and given that I pretty much hopped back into races right away it's always fun to look back at how far I have come with my running since then.
Back in December, Maureen asked if I would want to make a trip back there to run the Shamrock Shuffle. I ran this race in 2007 after a couple of months of training, with a modest goal of running under 30 minutes, and was on pace for about 2 miles before I crash and burned to a 31:32 finish. Obviously I was going to crush that time this year, but it would still be fun to see by how much.
We got in late Friday and after visiting a couple of old spots we went to bed. On Saturday morning Maureen and I did a shakeout run ending back at our old apartment. I grabbed a couple of egg white mcmuffins and hash browns before we looked around a little bit more. Our original plan was to try to get on a bus for the mile or so trip back to our hotel, but after waiting in the cold for a couple of minutes we just jogged back. No cramps at all for me despite a decent sized meal, I obviously have a future in ultras. (That's all it is right? Eating big meals and running 8-minute miles?). We ran a few errands later and I grabbed lunch in Chinatown after we picked up our bibs at the expo.
In the afternoon Nick got in and we went out to get dinner at the Flat Top Grill. After dinner we got all our gear ready and watched Notre Dame almost take down Kentucky in the elite 8 of the NCAA Men's basketball tournament.
The weather forecast for race morning was subpar all weekend and it didn't change by race morning. With a wind chill of close to 20 degrees I opted to warm up on the hotel treadmill and then jogged over to the race start. I bumped into my old friend Richard Heffron in the corral and we chatted for a few minutes, which helped me calm my nerves a bit especially with the cold weather. The race was delayed a couple of minutes, but that just gave me time to squeeze my way a little closer to the front and I ended up starting about 3-4 rows back. Finally after the short delay with no explanations we were off.
I had scaled back my expectations for this race in recent weeks. A month or so before the race I would have wanted to run in the low-mid 24s, or even crack 24 minutes if the weather was decent and I had a great race. However, I had a couple of subpar races in the past two weeks and my tune-up 5000 the week before converted to about a 15:30 at sea level, or about a 25:30 8K. Considering a year ago I split about a 25:40 8K in the middle of my 10-miler I was less than excited about my prospects coming in. What I did have going for me is that I was still in the "2-4 week recovery period" after being sick to I may still be gaining a lot of my fitness back. With all this said, I decided I would just try to run a conservative first 2-3 miles and "go for it" in the last half of the race.
As with all Bank of America races in Chicago (i.e. Chicago Marathon, Shamrock Shuffle, and RnR Chicago half before it was sold to the competitor group) the first mile heads down Columbus Drive before taking a left on Grand and then turns back downtown again. I kept my effort pretty relaxed and hit the first mile in 4:58. At this point a pack caught me and I just latched on, figuring that we were going to catch a bunch of runners that had gone out too hard. My new friends and I gradually moves up through the field, and when we made the turn onto State avenue I could still see the lead vehicle up ahead. Pretty soon we hit the 2nd mile mark - 4:53 for the last mile, oops. The effort didn't feel too bad though so I just kept on running with the same pack and hit mile 3 in 4:57. The cool thing about the race was that they had a timing mat down at 5K, which I crossed in about 15:20. (official split later was 15:21, which was a 5K PR by 8 seconds). At this point we were running directly into a nasty headwind (based on forecast it was around 15-20 mph). I tried to be smart and tucked into a huge pack of about 10-12 guys. The effort actually felt a little slow and I was tempted to make a move, but as I was contemplating it somebody in the pack clipped the heels of a runner near the front and the guy in front went down hard and the pack splintered a little since nobody wanted to be next. Pretty soon we made a left hand turn and hit mile 4 in 5:01. Everyone was laying their cards on the table for the last mile and I apparently was holding the equivalent of 3-of-a-kind to most people's straights and flushes. I was clinging desperately onto about 5 guys in the last half mile as we headed up the only major hill of the race (the same one as in the last quarter mile of the Chicago marathon) and after we crested the hill the entire pack pulled away from me like I was standing still and I was just running as hard as I can to not lose any more spots. I was estimating that I was in the 50s or 60s placewise but like any competitive runner I was just trying to make sure I don't lose any spots unnecessarily. Finally I hit the line in 24:4x (official time was 24:44).
I came away with the race with mixed feelings. It was the first time I have run under 25 minutes for 5 miles. (well, 5 mile equivalent, since 5 miles would have been about 24:54 after adding 10 seconds or so to the 8K). Hell, in a standalone race it was the first time I broke 26 minutes. It was also definitely a sign that I am back on track with my training. However, it also showed me that I had a lot of work to do. I felt better when I saw the results later that a lot of people ran 15-30 seconds slower than the year before despite being in same/better shape so maybe that spoke to the conditions a little. More importantly, I finished within 15-20 seconds of a few guys who have qualified for the marathon trials and a few more that have run in the 65-66 min half-marathon range.
After a cooldown back on the treadmill at the hotel (yes, I am a wimp) we cleaned up and went out to lunch at my favorite deep dish pizza place in Chicago - Lou Malnati's. The food was good and one of Maureen's friends was also able to join us. Following lunch we walked around the Magnificent Mile a little bit to do some shopping and then head back to the hotel. Unfortunately I got pretty sick later in the day so the rest of the Chicago trip was a slight bummer as I ended up not having much of an appetite for about 36-48 hours.
I think this race may have made it's way onto my annual racing schedule. The 8K is a rare distance for a road race but also a pretty fun one, and an excuse to come back to visit Chicago is always good as well. Unfortunately I think because of the proximity between my postrace meal and me getting violently ill I have developed an aversion to deep dish pizza even though I KNOW it couldn't have been the pizza. Hopefully I can break that association before I am back in the windy city again.
Next up, Country Music Half-Marathon on Saturday 4/25.
Back in December, Maureen asked if I would want to make a trip back there to run the Shamrock Shuffle. I ran this race in 2007 after a couple of months of training, with a modest goal of running under 30 minutes, and was on pace for about 2 miles before I crash and burned to a 31:32 finish. Obviously I was going to crush that time this year, but it would still be fun to see by how much.
We got in late Friday and after visiting a couple of old spots we went to bed. On Saturday morning Maureen and I did a shakeout run ending back at our old apartment. I grabbed a couple of egg white mcmuffins and hash browns before we looked around a little bit more. Our original plan was to try to get on a bus for the mile or so trip back to our hotel, but after waiting in the cold for a couple of minutes we just jogged back. No cramps at all for me despite a decent sized meal, I obviously have a future in ultras. (That's all it is right? Eating big meals and running 8-minute miles?). We ran a few errands later and I grabbed lunch in Chinatown after we picked up our bibs at the expo.
In the afternoon Nick got in and we went out to get dinner at the Flat Top Grill. After dinner we got all our gear ready and watched Notre Dame almost take down Kentucky in the elite 8 of the NCAA Men's basketball tournament.
The weather forecast for race morning was subpar all weekend and it didn't change by race morning. With a wind chill of close to 20 degrees I opted to warm up on the hotel treadmill and then jogged over to the race start. I bumped into my old friend Richard Heffron in the corral and we chatted for a few minutes, which helped me calm my nerves a bit especially with the cold weather. The race was delayed a couple of minutes, but that just gave me time to squeeze my way a little closer to the front and I ended up starting about 3-4 rows back. Finally after the short delay with no explanations we were off.
I had scaled back my expectations for this race in recent weeks. A month or so before the race I would have wanted to run in the low-mid 24s, or even crack 24 minutes if the weather was decent and I had a great race. However, I had a couple of subpar races in the past two weeks and my tune-up 5000 the week before converted to about a 15:30 at sea level, or about a 25:30 8K. Considering a year ago I split about a 25:40 8K in the middle of my 10-miler I was less than excited about my prospects coming in. What I did have going for me is that I was still in the "2-4 week recovery period" after being sick to I may still be gaining a lot of my fitness back. With all this said, I decided I would just try to run a conservative first 2-3 miles and "go for it" in the last half of the race.
As with all Bank of America races in Chicago (i.e. Chicago Marathon, Shamrock Shuffle, and RnR Chicago half before it was sold to the competitor group) the first mile heads down Columbus Drive before taking a left on Grand and then turns back downtown again. I kept my effort pretty relaxed and hit the first mile in 4:58. At this point a pack caught me and I just latched on, figuring that we were going to catch a bunch of runners that had gone out too hard. My new friends and I gradually moves up through the field, and when we made the turn onto State avenue I could still see the lead vehicle up ahead. Pretty soon we hit the 2nd mile mark - 4:53 for the last mile, oops. The effort didn't feel too bad though so I just kept on running with the same pack and hit mile 3 in 4:57. The cool thing about the race was that they had a timing mat down at 5K, which I crossed in about 15:20. (official split later was 15:21, which was a 5K PR by 8 seconds). At this point we were running directly into a nasty headwind (based on forecast it was around 15-20 mph). I tried to be smart and tucked into a huge pack of about 10-12 guys. The effort actually felt a little slow and I was tempted to make a move, but as I was contemplating it somebody in the pack clipped the heels of a runner near the front and the guy in front went down hard and the pack splintered a little since nobody wanted to be next. Pretty soon we made a left hand turn and hit mile 4 in 5:01. Everyone was laying their cards on the table for the last mile and I apparently was holding the equivalent of 3-of-a-kind to most people's straights and flushes. I was clinging desperately onto about 5 guys in the last half mile as we headed up the only major hill of the race (the same one as in the last quarter mile of the Chicago marathon) and after we crested the hill the entire pack pulled away from me like I was standing still and I was just running as hard as I can to not lose any more spots. I was estimating that I was in the 50s or 60s placewise but like any competitive runner I was just trying to make sure I don't lose any spots unnecessarily. Finally I hit the line in 24:4x (official time was 24:44).
I came away with the race with mixed feelings. It was the first time I have run under 25 minutes for 5 miles. (well, 5 mile equivalent, since 5 miles would have been about 24:54 after adding 10 seconds or so to the 8K). Hell, in a standalone race it was the first time I broke 26 minutes. It was also definitely a sign that I am back on track with my training. However, it also showed me that I had a lot of work to do. I felt better when I saw the results later that a lot of people ran 15-30 seconds slower than the year before despite being in same/better shape so maybe that spoke to the conditions a little. More importantly, I finished within 15-20 seconds of a few guys who have qualified for the marathon trials and a few more that have run in the 65-66 min half-marathon range.
After a cooldown back on the treadmill at the hotel (yes, I am a wimp) we cleaned up and went out to lunch at my favorite deep dish pizza place in Chicago - Lou Malnati's. The food was good and one of Maureen's friends was also able to join us. Following lunch we walked around the Magnificent Mile a little bit to do some shopping and then head back to the hotel. Unfortunately I got pretty sick later in the day so the rest of the Chicago trip was a slight bummer as I ended up not having much of an appetite for about 36-48 hours.
I think this race may have made it's way onto my annual racing schedule. The 8K is a rare distance for a road race but also a pretty fun one, and an excuse to come back to visit Chicago is always good as well. Unfortunately I think because of the proximity between my postrace meal and me getting violently ill I have developed an aversion to deep dish pizza even though I KNOW it couldn't have been the pizza. Hopefully I can break that association before I am back in the windy city again.
Next up, Country Music Half-Marathon on Saturday 4/25.
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