I tagged along with Vasilis today as he drove over to Lincoln, MA to meet up with John Drago and Dan Biales for a long run. John works at EY with Vasilis, and both John and Dan are Bentley Alumni who now run for New Balance Boston. Since Vasilis is considering joining NBB, it seemed like a good idea to get out for a run in their normal practice area. There are a ton of trails in the Walden Pond State Reservation Area, and we trekked all through those woods. We were crisscrossing all over the place. John and Dan have been practicing there since college, and they seemed to know the trails like the back of their hands. If Vasilis and I were alone, we would probably still be lost out there.
The trails were soaked from the rain last night which had carried over into today and was still coming down. Thankfully, it wasn't pouring anymore, and the precipitation was more of a constant mist during the run. The run was still pretty enjoyable though. I haven't done much trail running since college, and it was nice to change things up. My watch didn't provide accurate pace or distance due to the trees, but the effort was easy and conversational. There were a couple of rolling hills, but no major climbs. Although wet, the run was largely uneventful aside from when Vasilis slipped and did a superman through the mud towards the end (he was fine if a bit dirty). The run actually seemed to pass by quickly, and we were done before I knew it. I'm not sure on the actual distance, but the NBB guys seemed confident that it was 15+ miles which is supported by the overall time of the run which was an hour and 40 minutes.
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Monday, June 29, 2015
Saturday 6/27/15 - 4 mile tempo
With no race or track workout planned for this weekend, I decided to put in my first tempo run of the year, and I dragged Vasilis along. We did an easy 2 mile warm up at 6:50 pace then got right into the tempo when we hit the Storrow Drive side of the Charles River Esplanade. The plan was 4 miles at 5:10 pace. I feel like I'm in good enough shape that I need to start focusing on 5:00 pace and lower for this type of workout, but I wanted to prove to myself that I had 5:10 under control after my poor performance at Market Square Day. Since the workout was my idea, I set the pace and came through the first mile just a bit quick at 5:05. I let the pace settle into 5:09 during the second mile and still felt good. During the third mile, I was starting to feel the effort but held the pace without over stretching. Vasilis dropped back a bit at that point, but I was glad for the company in the first half of the workout. Having him looming behind me also kept me honest during the second half of the workout. I would have felt like a jackass if I pushed the pace too hard early on and was then unable to hit the goal pace in the last two miles. Thankfully, my splits were fairly consistent as I came through miles 3 and 4 in 5:12 and 5:09. Mile 4 actually felt really good and gave me a lot of confidence about how my fitness is progressing. The remainder of the run was an easy cool down at 7:00 pace along the Cambridge side of the Charles. 11.25 miles in 71:57.
Friday 6/26/15
Vasilis and I did more easy city running today. We kept the pace a bit more honest today in the 6:30 range, but the effort was still pretty relaxed. We ran passed the Boston Common as we went down Beacon Street then cut over to loop around the Fens before making our way to the Emerald Necklace. There was some traffic to negotiate, but it wasn't too bad. I wouldn't want to do this run every day, but the atmosphere is cool every once in a while. My legs were feeling back to normal today, and I felt great during the run. A couple of easy days definitely paid off. Hoping to get a tempo run in tomorrow. 11.5 miles in 74:09
Thursday 6/25/15
I've found myself a midst a fairly high mileage week with a solid track workout and could definitely use an easy day or two. Vasilis was in a similar situation after a workout on Wednesday, so we headed over to Southie and did a bit of easy city running. The pace ranged from 6:40 to over 7:00 at times when foot traffic or stop lights slowed things down a bit. However, I never felt like the pace was too easy. Towards the end of the run, I was actually sucking wind a bit. I'm really glad we took things slow today. If I had tried to do a run at normal training pace, I think the wheels would have fallen off halfway through. Overall, the run was fun though. It wasn't really a strugglefest or anything. I also haven't spent much time in Southie, so it was cool to run through there and over to Castle Island including a lap on the Head Island Causeway which runs around Pleasure Bay. 10.75 miles in 73:33.
Wednesday 6/24/15
Solo 11 mile loop around the Charles. Legs felt pretty tired to start of the run, and I thought it was going to end up being a tough one. Thankfully, things started to loosen up after about a mile and a half, and the run went really well. I felt great at 6:10 pace and didn't have any issues. I did back off the pace a bit over the last two miles, but it was more about preservation than a feeling of discomfort. 11.5 in 71:03.
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Tuesday 6/24/15 - 8 x 800 track workout
After two years of holding back from joining a track club, I decided it was finally time, and I joined the Greater Boston Track Club last week. Tonight was my first scheduled practice with the team, but unfortunately, the weather report wasn't really cooperating. All of the reports I looked at showed 100% chance of thunder storms and 20+ mph winds. So, I wasn't all that surprised when I learned that practice was cancelled. Although none of the coaches were going to the track, a few of the team members were going to give the workout a shot. I took a look outside at 6:00 and decided to head over to the Madison Park track behind the Reggie Lewis Center where GBTC holds their practices. I packed light and planned on running in the rain as long as the lightning held off. I assumed that the distance team did a group warm up, so rather than running to the track, I took the T to Ruggles and walked over.
I was there a bit early, and with the rain was holding off, I was optimistic that we'd be able to get a good workout in. I hung out around the track for a bit and did some stretching until the first members of the middle distance/sprinting group arrived. They let me know that the distance guys usually met in the parking lot before their workout. I jogged over but missed them. Not a big deal. I just did my own 2.5 mile warm up around the track. As I was warming up, I actually got a bit nervous. It has been such a long time since I've done a track workout in a group, and I was worried I was going to embarrass myself by having a bad workout or something. It didn't help that I had eaten to much during the day, and my stomach wasn't feeling great.
The distance guys came back from their warm up shortly after I finished mine. I introduced myself as the new guy, everyone was really nice as we chatted for a bit, then we got right into the workout. There were 7-8 guys doing a 10K workout while a couple others were doing a 4 mile tempo. I opted for the 10K workout which was (800 at 10K pace, 400 jogging rest, 800 at 5K pace, 400 jogging rest) x 4. Eight 800s total with four at 10K pace and four at 5K pace. We all started at the same time, but the group quickly started to separate as a number of the guys are focused on longer distances and were running slower splits. Adam Pacheck and Michael Carlone said there were looking to do splits between 2:20 - 2:30, so I went along with them. My splits below.
800s at 10K pace: 2:30, 2:32, 2:31, 2:27
800s at 5K pace: 2:21, 2:27, 2:27, 2:24
The rain ended up holding off for the entire night. I never felt a drop. The sun was even out at times. Granted, you could see the thunder clouds off in the distance. With no rain, the workout felt hot and muggy. Temps were in the 80s and the humidity was way up there. Surprisingly, I didn't feel like it effected me as much as usual. Adam was splitting most of the repeats 3 - 4 seconds faster than I was, so I just let him dictate the pace while trying to keep the gap consistent. I got a bit aggressive during the first 5k pace 800, but I settled things down and felt really good throughout the workout.
After the workout, I jogged around the track for a mile with the rest of the team before making my way back to the North End. My stomach wasn't feeling great, but I needed to get a few more miles in for my cool down. I figured that I'd jog to Fenway and grab the T from there or something but, I ended up just jogging all the way back to the North End. I didn't really want to get on the T in running clothes while dripping sweat. Thankfully, my stomach, legs and heel held up well, but I did have to take things very slow. I was also cursing myself for not thinking to bring water to practice. I'll definitely have to do that next time. After 4 miles, I was getting pretty dehydrated, so I swung by Alie's for a quick drink before finally making it back to the North End at about 9:15. Overall, great workout and feeling really upbeat. 13.5 miles on the day.
I was there a bit early, and with the rain was holding off, I was optimistic that we'd be able to get a good workout in. I hung out around the track for a bit and did some stretching until the first members of the middle distance/sprinting group arrived. They let me know that the distance guys usually met in the parking lot before their workout. I jogged over but missed them. Not a big deal. I just did my own 2.5 mile warm up around the track. As I was warming up, I actually got a bit nervous. It has been such a long time since I've done a track workout in a group, and I was worried I was going to embarrass myself by having a bad workout or something. It didn't help that I had eaten to much during the day, and my stomach wasn't feeling great.
The distance guys came back from their warm up shortly after I finished mine. I introduced myself as the new guy, everyone was really nice as we chatted for a bit, then we got right into the workout. There were 7-8 guys doing a 10K workout while a couple others were doing a 4 mile tempo. I opted for the 10K workout which was (800 at 10K pace, 400 jogging rest, 800 at 5K pace, 400 jogging rest) x 4. Eight 800s total with four at 10K pace and four at 5K pace. We all started at the same time, but the group quickly started to separate as a number of the guys are focused on longer distances and were running slower splits. Adam Pacheck and Michael Carlone said there were looking to do splits between 2:20 - 2:30, so I went along with them. My splits below.
800s at 10K pace: 2:30, 2:32, 2:31, 2:27
800s at 5K pace: 2:21, 2:27, 2:27, 2:24
The rain ended up holding off for the entire night. I never felt a drop. The sun was even out at times. Granted, you could see the thunder clouds off in the distance. With no rain, the workout felt hot and muggy. Temps were in the 80s and the humidity was way up there. Surprisingly, I didn't feel like it effected me as much as usual. Adam was splitting most of the repeats 3 - 4 seconds faster than I was, so I just let him dictate the pace while trying to keep the gap consistent. I got a bit aggressive during the first 5k pace 800, but I settled things down and felt really good throughout the workout.
After the workout, I jogged around the track for a mile with the rest of the team before making my way back to the North End. My stomach wasn't feeling great, but I needed to get a few more miles in for my cool down. I figured that I'd jog to Fenway and grab the T from there or something but, I ended up just jogging all the way back to the North End. I didn't really want to get on the T in running clothes while dripping sweat. Thankfully, my stomach, legs and heel held up well, but I did have to take things very slow. I was also cursing myself for not thinking to bring water to practice. I'll definitely have to do that next time. After 4 miles, I was getting pretty dehydrated, so I swung by Alie's for a quick drink before finally making it back to the North End at about 9:15. Overall, great workout and feeling really upbeat. 13.5 miles on the day.
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Monday 6/22/15
Standard base building 11 mile loop around the Charles. I'm planning on running a track workout tomorrow, and after two long runs this weekend, I wanted to take today's run a bit easy. Unfortunately, I didn't really commit to the easy run, and I got a bit carried away. I didn't push things too hard at 6:05 pace, but I wasn't really holding back like I should have. It was a beautiful day in the mid 70s which felt warm but not too hot. Legs and heel felt good. My ipod shuffle died today, and I'll have to buy a new one. This seems to happen every 4-6 months because I'm not overly concerned with them getting wet during runs. Thankfully, they are fairly cheap. It's just a matter of actually getting to the store to buy a new one. 11.5 in 69:41.
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