Monday 5/21 - 0 miles - Rest day again today. Probably could have run but I had plenty of chores to take care of and it rained all day long.
Tuesday 5/22 - 4 miles - Cambridge Farms over to Briarcrest 4 mile loop. Hamstrings still pretty sore but they loosened up and it felt good to push through some soreness and discomfort.
Wednesday 5/23 - 13.5 miles - PM (1400): Gathland to Weverton, but decided to turn around 50 minutes out so probably around 10 miles. PM (2230): Easy ~3.5 miles with two other roommates for my internship.
Thursday 5/24 - 8 miles - Did 6 miles pretty fast with one of my roommates for my internship (Darren)and then ran until I hit the hour mark to end up with around 8 on the day. There was a nice refreshing light rain the whole time to offset the heat and humidity.
Friday 5/25 - 11.5 miles - Ran around 2.5-3 miles or so with some new people for my internship at a nice and easy pace, then went to the Seneca Creek Greenway trail off 355 and ran to Brink Rd (~9 miles).
Saturday 5/26 - ~0 miles - When I woke up this morning the inside of my right foot was sore in the area that might lead to pronation (I'm not doctor through). Which I mainly train in racing flats I do indeed still have a pretty moderate pronation, and it seems maybe the recent increase in training has stressed this area. After running maybe a half mile or so I could tell it was still quite sore and decided to call it a day. Hopefully it will be healed tomorrow.
Sunday 5/27 - 11.5 miles - Hamburg Rd. to the upper parking lot at Gambrill, but not quite all the way to the Tea Room. Fell about 5 feet into the run and scrapped up my knee pretty well. Of course 2 hours of running had the dirt nice and fused together with my clotting blood... Foot held up well.
Total: 48.5 miles
Monday, May 28, 2012
Sunday, May 20, 2012
5/14-5/20
Monday 5/14 - 0 miles - Rest. Bruise on vastus medialis seemed to flare up after the Sunday trail run.
Tuesday 5/15 - 3 miles - Did the 3 mile Cambridge farm loop out through Briarcrest.
Wednesday 5/16 - 5 miles - Standard Jefferson loop out through Roundtree.
Thursday 5/17 - 9 miles - C&O Canal from Brunswick out to the AT, up to Weverton Cliffs and back. Didn't push very hard on the climb to Weveron, and forced myself to do some hiking. Wanted to be relatively fresh for the Capon Valley 50K on Saturday.
Friday 5/17 - 0 miles - Rest day. I wanted to make sure the bruise was fully healed as well as some other nagging issues going into the Capon Valley 50k the following day.
Saturday 5/18 - 30 miles - Capon Valley 50k in Yellow Spring WV today. I placed 4th overall in a time of 4:34:57. The course was apparently short but I did not wear my GPS so I can't confirm. Full race report here. Overall it was a great race on a beautiful course and I would highly recommend it to anyone.
Total: 47 miles
This was a great week, starting with some solid training runs on their own and culminating with a fantastic time at the Capon Valley 50k. I start my internship next week so I will be very close to the Seneca Creek Greenway trail, where I hope to to most of my summer training.
Tuesday 5/15 - 3 miles - Did the 3 mile Cambridge farm loop out through Briarcrest.
Wednesday 5/16 - 5 miles - Standard Jefferson loop out through Roundtree.
Thursday 5/17 - 9 miles - C&O Canal from Brunswick out to the AT, up to Weverton Cliffs and back. Didn't push very hard on the climb to Weveron, and forced myself to do some hiking. Wanted to be relatively fresh for the Capon Valley 50K on Saturday.
Friday 5/17 - 0 miles - Rest day. I wanted to make sure the bruise was fully healed as well as some other nagging issues going into the Capon Valley 50k the following day.
Saturday 5/18 - 30 miles - Capon Valley 50k in Yellow Spring WV today. I placed 4th overall in a time of 4:34:57. The course was apparently short but I did not wear my GPS so I can't confirm. Full race report here. Overall it was a great race on a beautiful course and I would highly recommend it to anyone.
Total: 47 miles
This was a great week, starting with some solid training runs on their own and culminating with a fantastic time at the Capon Valley 50k. I start my internship next week so I will be very close to the Seneca Creek Greenway trail, where I hope to to most of my summer training.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Capon Valley 50k
Earlier today I ran the Capon Valley 50k, a relatively low-key 50K race in Yellow Spring WV on various gravel roads, jeep roads, the Tuscarora Trail, and some pavement. Going into the race I was just starting to train seriously after a busy semester of only 20-40 mile weeks. My preparation I knew was better than for the Seneca 50k, consisting of the Mount 30, and the Mount 40, plus a nice run the previous weekend of maybe 16 miles or so with the Steeplechasers, but I knew I would have to take things in stride on race day.
I left Jefferson ahead of schedule around 4:15am, but that proved to be a wise decision as I missed several exits along the way. The race plan was to carry one water bottle packed with Endurolytes in the pocket and stick to equal ratios of Gatorade:water, which worked at Seneca.
When the race started out I didn't know what kind of competition there would be. I knew the top previous finisher from last year ran 4:52, a time I felt I could run so I figured maybe I would have a chance to win. Starting out the first mile was on roads and I hung with a lead pack of 4 guys, simply feeling out their pace. As it would turn out we went through one mile (as judged by GPS beeps) in 6:5x, which was a tad fast. I let the other three guys pull away at this point knowing that I should pace myself on top of my legs feeling flat after a rest day yesterday.
I cruised into the first aid station without much fanfare. Topped off on Gatorade:water and headed out. As my luck would have it I didn't actually fill up with water, but rather HEED, which tasted awful. I almost got lost somewhere between AS1 and AS2 but fortunately I saw others following the trail out of the corner of my eye and was able to fix my mistake before it cost me big time. From AS2 to AS5 I started to settle into a good rhythm. I ran with the eventual female winner (Meg Harnett) for this part of the race and it was nice to have someone to keep me from mentally checking out and keep the pace honest
One of the hallmarks of this race are the stream crossings. I believe the saying goes: "There is only one stream crossing... But you cross it about 30 times..." I enjoyed these crossings immensely. My New Balance MT110's drained like a well designed pasta strainer and there is just something inherently fun about splashing through streams like a kid.
As I left AS5 I hung with Meg Harnett for a while but up one large climb I simply couldn't keep the pace and I toned down the hiking speed. I tried to make up the ground at the top of the climb but it was no use, I was entering my only serious low point of the race. While I had been popping Endurolytes like an addict I do not think I got sufficient sodium, so I also started to cramp up at this point. I also mentally lost focus here and started to once again ask myself why I put myself through such an unpleasant endeavor. Miraculously I did however end up catching the 5th place runner during this stretch as he ran maybe a few hundred meters off course down a gravel road before I yelled to him he was going the wrong way. This helped to lift me out of death march mode and into a more moderate shuffling/running mode. I figured I probably had almost 10 miles or so to go at this point, so I was feeling pretty miserable.
Then things quickly turned around. AS6 is the same as AS1, and all of a sudden I had an epiphany: "Wait, I only have 3 miles left!". This was contrary to what I had previously thought: that I had much more pain and suffering to go through. My adrenaline kicked in I only took some Mountain Dew at AS6 for a caffeine boost before heading out. The 5th place runner who was right behind me asked to sit down so I knew if I could keep the engines going I was on my way to a strong overall finish. On top of that my watch read 4:11-12 or so, so I knew a fast time was almost guaranteed. The last three miles (although probably short) I ran much faster than the first three and they were arguably the miles I both enjoyed most during the race and the miles I felt the strongest. I could have ran even faster then I did but anytime I started to accelerate cramps kicked in so I just held steady. The fact that I finished so strong has me wondering what I could have done in a 50 mile race, and certainly it shows that my problems are still mostly a matter of mental conditioning.
In the end I am immensely satisfied with my result. Someone ahead of me ended up getting lost so I was actually 4th overall in 4:34:57. I finished way under my "best case scenario" time goal of 4:45. After the race my legs also left really good and I was able to do some light running without discomfort which shows good physical fitness. At the same time this was a valuable learning experience. I know that my physical fitness is not at all a barrier (especially considering my lack of training in the past few months) so if I want to continue to improve I need to work on being tougher mentally. I know that I need to look into S-caps, as an alternative way to get in more sodium and prevent cramping as races like the Catoctin 50k will be far hotter than the race today. Finally, this provides a nice motivational boost going forward into a more serious summer training phase. I can honestly say I have never had this much fun running in my entire life, and I am excited to see what the future brings.
I left Jefferson ahead of schedule around 4:15am, but that proved to be a wise decision as I missed several exits along the way. The race plan was to carry one water bottle packed with Endurolytes in the pocket and stick to equal ratios of Gatorade:water, which worked at Seneca.
When the race started out I didn't know what kind of competition there would be. I knew the top previous finisher from last year ran 4:52, a time I felt I could run so I figured maybe I would have a chance to win. Starting out the first mile was on roads and I hung with a lead pack of 4 guys, simply feeling out their pace. As it would turn out we went through one mile (as judged by GPS beeps) in 6:5x, which was a tad fast. I let the other three guys pull away at this point knowing that I should pace myself on top of my legs feeling flat after a rest day yesterday.
I cruised into the first aid station without much fanfare. Topped off on Gatorade:water and headed out. As my luck would have it I didn't actually fill up with water, but rather HEED, which tasted awful. I almost got lost somewhere between AS1 and AS2 but fortunately I saw others following the trail out of the corner of my eye and was able to fix my mistake before it cost me big time. From AS2 to AS5 I started to settle into a good rhythm. I ran with the eventual female winner (Meg Harnett) for this part of the race and it was nice to have someone to keep me from mentally checking out and keep the pace honest
One of the hallmarks of this race are the stream crossings. I believe the saying goes: "There is only one stream crossing... But you cross it about 30 times..." I enjoyed these crossings immensely. My New Balance MT110's drained like a well designed pasta strainer and there is just something inherently fun about splashing through streams like a kid.
As I left AS5 I hung with Meg Harnett for a while but up one large climb I simply couldn't keep the pace and I toned down the hiking speed. I tried to make up the ground at the top of the climb but it was no use, I was entering my only serious low point of the race. While I had been popping Endurolytes like an addict I do not think I got sufficient sodium, so I also started to cramp up at this point. I also mentally lost focus here and started to once again ask myself why I put myself through such an unpleasant endeavor. Miraculously I did however end up catching the 5th place runner during this stretch as he ran maybe a few hundred meters off course down a gravel road before I yelled to him he was going the wrong way. This helped to lift me out of death march mode and into a more moderate shuffling/running mode. I figured I probably had almost 10 miles or so to go at this point, so I was feeling pretty miserable.
Then things quickly turned around. AS6 is the same as AS1, and all of a sudden I had an epiphany: "Wait, I only have 3 miles left!". This was contrary to what I had previously thought: that I had much more pain and suffering to go through. My adrenaline kicked in I only took some Mountain Dew at AS6 for a caffeine boost before heading out. The 5th place runner who was right behind me asked to sit down so I knew if I could keep the engines going I was on my way to a strong overall finish. On top of that my watch read 4:11-12 or so, so I knew a fast time was almost guaranteed. The last three miles (although probably short) I ran much faster than the first three and they were arguably the miles I both enjoyed most during the race and the miles I felt the strongest. I could have ran even faster then I did but anytime I started to accelerate cramps kicked in so I just held steady. The fact that I finished so strong has me wondering what I could have done in a 50 mile race, and certainly it shows that my problems are still mostly a matter of mental conditioning.
In the end I am immensely satisfied with my result. Someone ahead of me ended up getting lost so I was actually 4th overall in 4:34:57. I finished way under my "best case scenario" time goal of 4:45. After the race my legs also left really good and I was able to do some light running without discomfort which shows good physical fitness. At the same time this was a valuable learning experience. I know that my physical fitness is not at all a barrier (especially considering my lack of training in the past few months) so if I want to continue to improve I need to work on being tougher mentally. I know that I need to look into S-caps, as an alternative way to get in more sodium and prevent cramping as races like the Catoctin 50k will be far hotter than the race today. Finally, this provides a nice motivational boost going forward into a more serious summer training phase. I can honestly say I have never had this much fun running in my entire life, and I am excited to see what the future brings.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
5/7-5/13
Monday 5/7 - 5.5 miles - Down college lane with DeNunzio extension. 8 x 100m strides on the track. Out and back down college lane one more time. All in VFF's.
Tuesday 5/8 - Rest - No time to run.
Wednesday 5/9 - Rest - No time to run.
Thursday 5/10 - 8 miles - Catoctin Mountain National park 8 mile loop from the visitors center.
Friday 5/11 - 8 miles - On the canal from Brunswick. I could feel my legs are certainly lacking in the speed department.
Saturday 5/12 - 4 miles - Ran from Cambridge farms out on Remsberg Rd. and then back through Cambridge farms. Had a strange bruise on my vastus medialis that was a bit disconcerting.
Sunday 5/13 - 16 miles - 5 mile loop of unknown nature with the Steeplechasers and then from Hamburg out to Fishing Creek and back (~11 miles) with Vincent.
Total: 41.5 miles
It feels nice that summer is officially rolling around and I am excited to be able to do more running.
Tuesday 5/8 - Rest - No time to run.
Wednesday 5/9 - Rest - No time to run.
Thursday 5/10 - 8 miles - Catoctin Mountain National park 8 mile loop from the visitors center.
Friday 5/11 - 8 miles - On the canal from Brunswick. I could feel my legs are certainly lacking in the speed department.
Saturday 5/12 - 4 miles - Ran from Cambridge farms out on Remsberg Rd. and then back through Cambridge farms. Had a strange bruise on my vastus medialis that was a bit disconcerting.
Sunday 5/13 - 16 miles - 5 mile loop of unknown nature with the Steeplechasers and then from Hamburg out to Fishing Creek and back (~11 miles) with Vincent.
Total: 41.5 miles
It feels nice that summer is officially rolling around and I am excited to be able to do more running.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
4/30-5/6
Monday 4/30 - 4.5 miles - Headed out to the manor area for a quick out and back to Thurmont Rock Overlook with a little extra to Gabrill Park Rd. Felt rather sluggish on my first time doing this run on back to back days in a while.
Tuesday 5/1 - 4 miles - Didn't get out until after 10PM but the weather was still quite pleasant. 2 loops of down College Ln. Some up-tempo sections.
Wednesday 5/2 - 5 miles - Another evening run. 2 loops of down college Ln. with an extended section once on the DeNunzio trail. Some more up-tempo sections.
Thursday 5/3 - 9 miles - Manor area to Fishing Creek Rd. Legs felt fatigued on the way out but then once I got warmed up they felt absolutely fantastic on the way down. Knee felt a little sore on the way up and down the mountain but I took a cool stream bath afterwards which definitely helped.
Friday 5/4 - 4.5 miles - Manor area to Thurmont Rock Overlook. Legs felt very fatigued on the way up and had to resort to some hiking on the steeper portions. Felt surprisingly good on the way down.
Saturday 5/5
PM: 4 miles (13:00) - Ran from Hamburg Rd. down into the valley, then back to Hamburg. Soreness on the lateral underside of my left foot has returned and my legs felt very tired. A fair bit of hiking coming out of the valley.
PM: 4 miles (22:00) - Felt good in the evening so decided to go out and do a nice quick run down College Ln. twice. Legs felt good and as expected the foot soreness was not a problem on the pavement.
Sunday 5/6 - Rest - wanted to heal up this foot soreness before it becomes a serious problem again and I have lots of finals week work to do.
Total: 35 miles
This was a pretty good week. I was consistent which was crucial. With finals week next the milage will probably take a hit but this should hopefully be the last low milage week before I start building up during the summer.
Tuesday 5/1 - 4 miles - Didn't get out until after 10PM but the weather was still quite pleasant. 2 loops of down College Ln. Some up-tempo sections.
Wednesday 5/2 - 5 miles - Another evening run. 2 loops of down college Ln. with an extended section once on the DeNunzio trail. Some more up-tempo sections.
Thursday 5/3 - 9 miles - Manor area to Fishing Creek Rd. Legs felt fatigued on the way out but then once I got warmed up they felt absolutely fantastic on the way down. Knee felt a little sore on the way up and down the mountain but I took a cool stream bath afterwards which definitely helped.
Friday 5/4 - 4.5 miles - Manor area to Thurmont Rock Overlook. Legs felt very fatigued on the way up and had to resort to some hiking on the steeper portions. Felt surprisingly good on the way down.
Saturday 5/5
PM: 4 miles (13:00) - Ran from Hamburg Rd. down into the valley, then back to Hamburg. Soreness on the lateral underside of my left foot has returned and my legs felt very tired. A fair bit of hiking coming out of the valley.
PM: 4 miles (22:00) - Felt good in the evening so decided to go out and do a nice quick run down College Ln. twice. Legs felt good and as expected the foot soreness was not a problem on the pavement.
Sunday 5/6 - Rest - wanted to heal up this foot soreness before it becomes a serious problem again and I have lots of finals week work to do.
Total: 35 miles
This was a pretty good week. I was consistent which was crucial. With finals week next the milage will probably take a hit but this should hopefully be the last low milage week before I start building up during the summer.
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