I got back late last night from the Larry Ellis Friday Night Races. I ran the second (and last) planned fast time-trial 5000 of the season and my goals were the same as last time: be as competitive and smart as possible and run faster than I did last time out. I accomplished those goals and finished in 14:09.87 for 10th place in the fast heat. I ran generally very even splits, with all laps from 1-11 between 67 and 69, only varying due to the pace fluctuations of the pack.
With this race I finally accomplished the "short-term" time goal I had set for myself when I started what I considered to be really serious training the summer before my junior year. 14:10 represented a benchmark for a good college runner, an even time goal to shoot for (straight 68s) and, at the time, a lofty but not impossible goal. Now that I've finally accomplished this, I have a few new goals:
1) Get better at the events above and below the 5k. I still haven't run a 1500 equivalently as fast as my mile PR and my big seasonal goal for that is to break 3:50. As far as the 10k, I won't run one this year, because it never really fit into my schedule and because I found last year that it's basically impossible to train for a good 10k and a good 1500, and I knew I definitely had upside that I wanted to explore at the shorter distance. The other problem with the 10k is that it just takes so much out of your season and I wanted to be able to race at every good opportunity. Next year the 10k could become my main focus, but I'll start thinking about that later on.
2) Take another second per lap off of that 5k time to get under 14:00. This one is self-explanatory, just a logical progression now that I'm down to 14:09. I won't have another opportunity to PR again this season; I'm only running one more 5k and it's at the upcoming NCTFA meet in Kentucky. The race is scheduled to start at 1 pm and will likely be me vs. a 14:19 kid in a tactical race, so I'm not expecting any spectacular times.
3) Somewhat tying in with the sub 14 goal, get fit enough to be able to compete for the win in most major meets. Obviously a sub 14 will still have me buried in the field at the Stanford meets or Mt. SAC, but at least on the east coast a time like that will put me up at the front. To me, the most exciting thing about running is racing and winning; running fast is great and I get a lot of satisfaction from it, but at the end of the day it is only a means to an end. I want to get fit enough that I can take some big scalps in the upcoming seasons.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Colonial Relays 5k
I just got back from the Colonial Relays, hosted by William and Mary. The meet was a great success for the club runners that went. Three of the four of us PR'd and the fourth ran his second-best time. I got into the fast heat of the 5000m, seeding myself at 14:10. The workouts I've been doing indicated that that time would be a realistic goal to aim for.
The conditions were perfect and there was a rabbit thru about halfway running the pace I wanted (68s/lap) so I stuck on to that pack and gradually moved up as guys fell off. I hung in right on pace for about half way and then starting slipping, but closed pretty well to finish in 14:15. Watching the video, I got stuck behind a guy just long enough to break contact with the guys ahead of me and then I just lost it. A good time and right around where I thought I would run. The time is a school record and a seven second PR. My splits went something like 68 68 68 68 68 68 69 70 70 70 66 28.
In two weekends I plan on racing in the fast heat of the 5k at the Larry Ellis invitational. Last year I won the slow heat in 14:22 and the fast heat was won in under 14. My goal is just to try and maintain contact at that pace for as long as possible and see if I can keep it up a little bit longer than this week. Hopefully this will squeeze a couple more seconds out and I can run another PR.
The conditions were perfect and there was a rabbit thru about halfway running the pace I wanted (68s/lap) so I stuck on to that pack and gradually moved up as guys fell off. I hung in right on pace for about half way and then starting slipping, but closed pretty well to finish in 14:15. Watching the video, I got stuck behind a guy just long enough to break contact with the guys ahead of me and then I just lost it. A good time and right around where I thought I would run. The time is a school record and a seven second PR. My splits went something like 68 68 68 68 68 68 69 70 70 70 66 28.
In two weekends I plan on racing in the fast heat of the 5k at the Larry Ellis invitational. Last year I won the slow heat in 14:22 and the fast heat was won in under 14. My goal is just to try and maintain contact at that pace for as long as possible and see if I can keep it up a little bit longer than this week. Hopefully this will squeeze a couple more seconds out and I can run another PR.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
NIRCA Track Nationals
The first ever NIRCA nationals was at the University of Indiana, about a 13 hour drive from Newark. I ran the mile (prelims and finals) and anchored the DMR. My goal for the meet was to win both as easily as possible and get through the weekend without much wear and tear.
The mile prelims on Saturday were an easy qualifier. I won the first heat and had the second fastest qualifier behind Josh, another UD guy. Sunday morning had some thunderstorms but cleared up after a half hour delay. The mile final had nice weather, and Josh went into it hoping to run under 4:20. Since it was a final it was tactical and he ended up leading through three laps and the 3 guys sitting on him (me included). With a lap to go the other guys started moving so I kicked for the last 400 and cruised it in once I knew I had the win. I closed in around 57 and it felt pretty comfortable for being that quick.
After that, the sun came out and it got warm and humid. An hour and a half after the mile we ran the DMR against only three other teams and made no contest of it. I just wanted to get in a good effort and run at 5k goal pace and I split about 4:31, which was right where I wanted to be.
The meet was run pretty well and I definitely give NIRCA credit for being able to run the first ever track meet without any major hitches, even with the uncooperative weather. It was very well done, but the 13 hour drive is a big hassle for us on the east coast. Other than that, the weekend went great and I hope NIRCA gets more participation in the coming years. It is a great thing for the casual runner and the atmosphere of fun competition is a good draw for more club runners. NIRCA is still a young organization but has definitely done well so far.
The mile prelims on Saturday were an easy qualifier. I won the first heat and had the second fastest qualifier behind Josh, another UD guy. Sunday morning had some thunderstorms but cleared up after a half hour delay. The mile final had nice weather, and Josh went into it hoping to run under 4:20. Since it was a final it was tactical and he ended up leading through three laps and the 3 guys sitting on him (me included). With a lap to go the other guys started moving so I kicked for the last 400 and cruised it in once I knew I had the win. I closed in around 57 and it felt pretty comfortable for being that quick.
After that, the sun came out and it got warm and humid. An hour and a half after the mile we ran the DMR against only three other teams and made no contest of it. I just wanted to get in a good effort and run at 5k goal pace and I split about 4:31, which was right where I wanted to be.
The meet was run pretty well and I definitely give NIRCA credit for being able to run the first ever track meet without any major hitches, even with the uncooperative weather. It was very well done, but the 13 hour drive is a big hassle for us on the east coast. Other than that, the weekend went great and I hope NIRCA gets more participation in the coming years. It is a great thing for the casual runner and the atmosphere of fun competition is a good draw for more club runners. NIRCA is still a young organization but has definitely done well so far.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Monmouth Mile
This weekend's competition was an open mile race at Monmouth University. I had heard through the grapevine that Princeton was sending their whole team to run this race, which was good enough for me. In the fast heat there was myself, a Monmouth guy with about the same mile PR as me, and fourteen Princeton guys. A few of them were running just to race, but a few were also there to pace Donn Cabral to a four minute mile. Since there were 16 people the first lap was all pushing and shoving as Cabral's group separated from the rest. I ran in the second pack for the middle stages.
I felt good in the middle two laps but due to the crowding it would have been a waste of energy to swing out and surge. The last lap went about as well as can be expected and I kicked into 5th finishing in 4:08.45, just off my indoor PR. I felt better and more in control this time around.
Coming up next weekend is the NIRCA meet, where I'll run more miles, and after that is the first really important race on my schedule, the 5k at Colonial Relays.
I felt good in the middle two laps but due to the crowding it would have been a waste of energy to swing out and surge. The last lap went about as well as can be expected and I kicked into 5th finishing in 4:08.45, just off my indoor PR. I felt better and more in control this time around.
Coming up next weekend is the NIRCA meet, where I'll run more miles, and after that is the first really important race on my schedule, the 5k at Colonial Relays.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
VCU meet and a new workout
This weekend was the first outdoor meet on my schedule. Our club team followed the women's schedule and went down to the Ram Invitational at VCU. I raced the 1500 and ran 3:54.88, and while it was a PR the time is clearly inferior to my indoor marks. I did not have high hopes for this race, since it was a relatively warm day, and I am not even close to acclimated to any kind of warmth (I felt terrible this week training in especially un-March-like conditions). Because of these self-imposed handicaps I was happy to get the win and not feel too bad during the race.
The real fun came afterwards. I had planned to run two workouts this week but after the first one on Tuesday went poorly I decided not to take chances and skip the second one and try and make race day a workout. To that end, I decided to take a page out of the Oregon Track Club training handbook and to a tempo run after the race. About 30 minutes and 1 slow mile after the race, I ran a 4 mile tempo on the roads around Richmond. It was extremely hot, the sun was high, I was dehydrated and, of course, tired from the race. Pretty obvious in hindsight, but I felt Bad. I might try this again if I skip a workout during the week but honestly this felt so badly (and I was running pretty slowly) that I would rather not try it again. Lessons learned.
The real fun came afterwards. I had planned to run two workouts this week but after the first one on Tuesday went poorly I decided not to take chances and skip the second one and try and make race day a workout. To that end, I decided to take a page out of the Oregon Track Club training handbook and to a tempo run after the race. About 30 minutes and 1 slow mile after the race, I ran a 4 mile tempo on the roads around Richmond. It was extremely hot, the sun was high, I was dehydrated and, of course, tired from the race. Pretty obvious in hindsight, but I felt Bad. I might try this again if I skip a workout during the week but honestly this felt so badly (and I was running pretty slowly) that I would rather not try it again. Lessons learned.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Spring Training and Schedule
With a few weeks of not racing I've been able to get some uninterrupted training in, which has always been an important thing for me before a long block of racing. I do think the best preparation for racing is to actually race, so this coming weekend I will open up my outdoor campaign at VCU with a 1500m and see how that goes. These first few weeks of track aren't that important to me and will serve as "developmental races" and fitness checks. The first race that I really care about will be the Colonial Relays 5000m, and after that the Larry Ellis 5000m. I may try and fit in another fast 5k depending on how things shake out, and I definitely want to run a later-season 1500m or two, maybe at the Tuppeny/Swarthmore Last Chance meet in May.
As I said, I've had a good block of uninterrupted training. My intervals have been going well and I've got some good work in around mile pace. I've been doing some hard tempo runs with Digennaro and have gotten my aerobic fitness better than ever. I believe that to race a good 5k, you need to be able to run well both under and over that distance. The tempo runs have been my sustained > 5k work and the intervals have me covered < 5k, so the only thing left once I have that fitness where I want it is to do some really specific 5k workouts and then see what I can do in a race. I might also try to keep up some mile pace stuff along with the 5k and keep working on my speed endurance. My volume has been good and I've noticed in the past week or so that my easy/recovery runs have gotten faster without any noticeable change in effort. One thing I need to figure out is how to best taper for races, but a little experimentation is what the early-season races are for.
Today it is going to be 75 degrees and sunny on the track. Nothing like a taste of spring to get me excited for spring track!
As I said, I've had a good block of uninterrupted training. My intervals have been going well and I've got some good work in around mile pace. I've been doing some hard tempo runs with Digennaro and have gotten my aerobic fitness better than ever. I believe that to race a good 5k, you need to be able to run well both under and over that distance. The tempo runs have been my sustained > 5k work and the intervals have me covered < 5k, so the only thing left once I have that fitness where I want it is to do some really specific 5k workouts and then see what I can do in a race. I might also try to keep up some mile pace stuff along with the 5k and keep working on my speed endurance. My volume has been good and I've noticed in the past week or so that my easy/recovery runs have gotten faster without any noticeable change in effort. One thing I need to figure out is how to best taper for races, but a little experimentation is what the early-season races are for.
Today it is going to be 75 degrees and sunny on the track. Nothing like a taste of spring to get me excited for spring track!
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Another Mile at the Armory
Today was (probably) the last race of my 2012 indoor season and it concluded much the way that my last outdoor season did - with a solid race and a near-PR. This time it was over a mile and a PR and school record just wasn't in the cards. The race was set up for an Albany guy to get as near to 4:00 as possible. I was at the back of a line of 5 guys and Coach had me out in 59.8. I am just not that fast, at least not right now, and I fell off on the second quarter to 2:04 and from there it was just trying to hold contact to the guy ahead of me. I finished in 4:09.93 and it was definitely an all-out effort.
I definitely felt the fast first 440 for the rest of the race and I think if I had gone out a little bit more conservatively in 61.x, I would have been able to squeeze a few more seconds out. Of course, I also would have been by myself in the race, so I have no regrets about the way I ran. I just put myself in the race and hoped for the best, and eventually I'll hit a perfect race that is set up for me to run my best. For now, though, I want to take a break from racing until outdoor track starts and get a solid, uninterrupted training block in.
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