Time: 45:30
Distance: 6.5 mi.
Ian is in town for Thanksgiving, so we grabbed a jog in the middle of the day. Running around Amherst with him tends to make me a bit nostalgic, but it's nice to go with someone who knows all the routes and trails around as well as I do.
Time: 37:00 (?)
Distance: 5 mi.
Annual Amherst High School cross country alumni Thanksgiving run from the Keene residence. We did a loop on Mill Lane, the bike path and back through the South Amherst common. I'm turning the corner on being sick.
Time: 82:00
Distance: 12 mi.
Palace of Fine Arts, located between the Marina and Presidio
Ran up to Ian's, down to the Marina, across towards the Golden Gate Bridge, up through the Presidio (past some road race), back over a few other hills. Fun run, nice to catch up with Ian, but a bit of a pain in the ass... literally... with all the hills. By the afternoon my right hamstring and left IT band were sore.
Time: 186:45
Distance: 27.5 mi.
Brian and Owen Hanley descending along a creek bed
My second week in Alaska did not net much more running than the first. I got just one run in when we were in Fairbanks, but it was both mentally and physically refreshing. Brian and I ran about 10 miles (67:30) on some cross country ski trails which were also used for high school cross country running races in Fairbanks. I was feeling pretty tired and facing a 1:00 AM redeye flight out, but Brian got me out the door and before too long we were nearly racing through a nice warm day which quickly turned into cold Alaska summer rain.
While in Alaska I did get in another good week of exercise, though, including very active (sometimes running and sliding on snowfields, sometimes climbing rocks hand-over-foot) two and a half and three and a half hour hikes. Hiking with people who are very fit--I was with Brian, Ian and Brian's brother Owen, who was until recently a professional cross country skiier--makes excursions very fun.
Once I got back to Amherst late on Friday I fought through the jetlag to get in two weekend runs to prepare for my resumption of "real" training next week. On Saturday, Taylor and I went for a 7 mile run (49:35) in the afternoon mostly on the trails in Echo Hill. I was dragging heading out the door, but felt okay once we got going. I was pretty tired on my Sunday morning run, as well, but I got in 10.5 miles on the bike path / farm loop (69:51) which included a dip in the Mill River and finishing the last mile under 6:00.
Time: 48:14
Distance: 6.5 mi.
Running down the Exit Glacier snowfield
First week in Alaska which was totally fulfilling in every way except running. The first four days canoeing and portaging were very strenuous, I got inspired for a race to try to get into in the future, and then I did basically run down a mountain. The only real run, though, was shy of 7 miles in Fairbanks on Sunday with Brian and Ian.
I'll be in Alaska until Friday, so I'm shooting for 4-5 runs next week. Add my milage total to Jordan's and we cracked 100 this week!
Time: 70:16
Distance: 10 mi.
Ian, John and I met Coach Gould at the high school in the afternoon for a run in North Amherst. We headed out on the Juravich trails, and some UMass trails out to Amethyst Brook, and then back on a section of the Robert Frost trail and Northeast Street. I felt pretty good and it was nice to catch up with Gould.
Time: 93:00
Distance: 13.5 mi.
I met Ian and Tyson again, in the morning this time. I got out to do the Stanley Street loop before meeting them both at Ian's house, which got me 32 minutes. We then connected a bunch of trails segments together in Amherst Woods, over Mount Castor, by Groff Park and back by Amherst College and Stanley Street. Back to my house that was just over 60 minutes. I felt surprisingly good running over 60 minutes during the run, but afterwards am definitely tired. Happy about getting a longer effort in, and I will probably shoot for something similar on Sunday.
Time: 69:23
Distance: 10 mi.
Easy afternoon run with Ian and John Tyson. We met at Ian's house and then headed into the Echo Hill trails to Amethyst Brook. Coming back we hit the trails off of Harkness. Nice evening. I added on the loop around Woodlot, Wildflower and Teaberry to get it up to close to 70 mins.
Time: 68:00
Distance: 10 mi.
A slightly extended Amethyst Loop with Ian. I ran to his house first and then we took the trails near Harkness to get into Echo Hill. Beautiful morning for a run. My quads, hamstrings and calves were all sore by the end of the run... probably a good sign as they get used to running again.
Time: 50:00
Distance: 7.5 mi.
Easy morning run... much cooler than yesterday, luckily. Ian is back in town after graduating from Dartmouth on Sunday. Great to have some company. A little general soreness, but overall felt good.
Time: 13.5 mi.
Distance: 90:00
Target: hard effort-based hill workout with decent volume, make myself tired/hurt
Workout: 16 x Pease Park hills (up and over, alternating sides); from ~60 down to ~54 (the far side is longer but less steep, so they work out to be about the same time)
Warmed up with Ian who was just running easy up Shoal Creek a bit, and Joe met us there. We started by doing two hills up the shorter and steeper side before deciding to use both sides. We ran the hills pretty well, and Joe started to push the pace on the last 4, which was good as I needed a little kick in the ass. On the last one I had him wait and run to catch me, as he was definitely feeling better than I was.
I was pretty tired from being up late last night, as South by Southwest is getting started and Brian, Ian and I were up late last night seeing a few shows.
Time: 85:00
Distance: 12 mi.
A very easy 12 mile run to incorporate both Ian--who is in town for the next few days--and Brian's schedules. I did one loop around Hyde Park before Brian got back from work, and then we all went out to IF. Ian is nursing a sore calf, so he would stop every once and a while to walk and stretch it out while Brian and I kept looping. It's nice to have Brian back doing some more serious runs.
Time: 77:30
Distance: 11.5 mi.
Easy morning run with Matt and Ian. Nice to catch up with both of these guys (and definitely worth dragging Ian out of bed for). Matt and I added on 10+ minutes around the South Amherst common during Ian's pit stop making it longer than the usual loop. Legs pretty stiff/sore from yesterday.
Time: 77:00
Distance: 11.5 mi.
Goal: 3k - get a good race effort in without focusing on time (but seeded myself at 8:20)
Race: 2nd in 8:25
An okay racing experience all things considered. I would've liked to have been under 8:20, but the pace was a little bit all over the place... we were 2:12 and 2:18 for the first 2 800s (Hanley dropped out at about 1400m) and then I led until about 600m to go when Mark Miller (of Mohawk High School fame) took the lead and ran away from me. I wasn't very focused and didn't go to the well to go after him.
I wasn't really mentally ready to go after it and was out a bit late last night, but still a better start than last year. Got in a nice long run afterwards with Ian and Brian around Fenway and down Comm Ave.
Mixed 3000 Meter RunFull results here.
===============================================
Name Finals
===============================================
Section 1
1 Mark Miller 8:21.06
2 Owen Washburn 8:25.73
3 Jed Christiansen 8:33.46
4 Chuck Woolery 8:37.67
5 Adny Mccarron 8:40.89
5 Steve Meinelt 8:42.33
7 Harry Norton 8:47.43
Time: 69:06
Distance: 10 mi.
Map
Easy morning run on the Rosen Loop with Ian before we took off for Boston. Added on a little bit before I met him to make it a round 10'er. Legs stiff and back tight... I really think I need a chrio adjustment. Looking forward to the weekend... I got a surprise message from Brian and apparently he will be in Massachusetts for the week! Good deal.
Time: 88:12
Distance: 12.5 mi.
Woodlot Road... most of the roads in town are still covered in snow
More slogging along on snow-covered roads. Dragged Ian out of bed to hit the roads in the morning and took off on the Rosen Loop. It was a blazing 4 degrees when I headed out the door, but triple shirts and double pants seemed to do the trick. Looped around the South Amherst common while Ian made a pit stop and then added on by Kestrel.
Legs pretty tired by the end of the run and my right peroneal was a bit tight when I woke up, definitely from slipping on the snow.
Time: 34:00
Distance: 4.5 mi.
Nice easy slow double run with Ian who is working on getting back on the horse. The snow makes running debilitatingly slow, but the effort is decent.
Time: 39:23
Distance: 6 mi.
The "Rail Trail" bike path
Easy run with Ian from my house out Old Farm Road and across to the Amherst College trails, then back on the bike path. Feeling a bit run down and went after a 2 hour nap. It felt good to get out of the house and get the cool New England air in my lungs. Good to run with Ian, who is a great training partner because he always seems upbeat.
Time: 36:00
Distance: 5 mi.
Met up with Ian pretty early at his house and headed out on the classic three town loop that has been an Amherst short run staple since middle school. Ian is just getting back in shape and I'm tapering, so we overlapped nicely. After dropping him off at his place I did a loop around Woodlot with 5 easy strides. They were very slow and my legs are very stiff.
