Training Summary: April 6 - 12

Mon 4/6 - 10+mi, 68:25, solo on the bay.

Tue 4/7 - 9mi, no watch, easy with Darius on the bay.

Wed 4/8 - 10mi, no watch, easy solo 4 then 6 with the MS Wed Night Crew.

Thu 4/9 - 10+mi, 68:45, easy solo on the bay.

Fri 4/10 - 10mi, no time, easy with Di at Penasquitos Canyon.

Sat 4/11 - off.

Sun 4/12 - ~16mi, 1:48:20, 12 with Di and George and 4 solo at San Pasqual. Last ~10mi around 6:15 average, solid run.

Summary: 65mi, 6 days. Had a day off on Saturday that was a product of working all day at Movin Shoes and having little sleep from the night before. Other than that it was a decent week. Felt fairly flat from the race the previous weekend but bounced back with the day off and a solid long run on Sunday. Next week will be split between runs on both coasts as Di and I go back to Boston to visit and watch the Marathon. It will be a fun week and I hope to run about 75-80mi. Just plugging along...

Training Summary: March 30 - April 5

Mon 3/30 - 10mi, 67:40, easy solo on the bay.

Tue 3/31 - 10mi, 68:30, with JLew around the bay. 10X1min on/off. Felt tired and cut the workout short to 10 pushes instead of 15. Hopefully the legs will bounce back for Sunday...

Wed 4/1 - 10mi, no watch, solo for first 4 and then the final 6 with Movin Shoes Wed Night Crew.

Thu 4/2 - 9mi, no watch, easy with Darius around the bay.

Fri 4/3 - 11mi, 1:24:45, easy with Di and George around Scrips Ranch.

Sat 4/4 - 7mi, 54:00, easy with Di at UCSD, 6X100 strides.

Sun 4/5 - 8mi total, RACE Carlsbad 5000, 15:35 (11th Place), Race Recap.

Summary: 65 miles, 7 days/runs. Overall I am happy with how the week went. The workout early in the week was fairly terrible and not a great confidence booster for the race. The race went about how I planned, although I fell short of the sub 5min pace goal. It was warm and I really didn't feel comfortable the entire race, so I think I can come away with the fact that I am in much better shape than this time last year and in a ton better shape than 2 years ago.

Now it's time to just get back training and look forward to a solid race at the Union Tribune 8k. As for long term goals, I am not sure but a slight possibility of a race on the track in June then focus back on XC and solid Dirt Dog campaign. With time on my hands, aka no full time work yet, it makes it easy to get these miles in. I have a few possibilities out there on the job front which I am really excited about. Di and I are heading back to Boston for a long weekend to visit and watch the Marathon, which we are really pumped about. After that it's back to San Diego to keep workin on the job hunt and figuring out the running plan for the summer. Until then I'll be pounding out the miles and looking forward to what lies ahead...

Race Report: Carlsbad 5000

Results: 15:35, 11th Place (29 & Under Race)

Going in to this race I had only one workout (last week) that was timed and able to give me a remote idea what I may run. After that workout I figured I would aim to run under 5min pace. Well, I ran 5:01 pace and placed 11th in my race, which I would say was pretty good. I'm not jumping up and down but I'm also not upset with how the day went. I have done something like one workout every 10 days or so for the last 8 weeks, each with little-to-no planning or direction. Considering that I am happy with the result. Here is how it played out.

It was about 75 degrees, no clouds and very dry. These conditions don't usually bode well for me, so I tried my best to soak myself in water as we waited to start. If you don't know anything about Carlsbad, they call it the "World's Fastest 5k." I'm not sure how that happened, but the course is not very fast. I would argue there is less than half a mile that is actually flat and there is always a wind coming off the water. I have absolutely run on faster courses for 5k, however you are unlikely to find better fields than these most time of the year. It is definitely the people, not the course, that make this race "fast."

After holding us for over 15min at the start area/line they finally shot the gun. The race started insanely fast with a bunch of absolute goons taking off and putting me in somewhere around 30-40 as we took the uphill turn at about half a mile. The race began to sort out a bit more, and I hit the mile around 4:51, which was about where I thought I would be. Mile 2 includes a sharp 180deg turn that really breaks your rhythm, as the turn is right on a moderate downhill, sending you directly back uphill. Mile 2 went by in about 9:56 and I was still moving up through small packs. I caught a group of three at the other 180deg turn with about half a mile to go and picked off a few more before the turn to the finish. Unfortunately my lungs gave out on me about 3/4 of a mile before the finish and I was unable to kick down 10th place.

The good thing was that my legs felt amazing the entire race. If I hadn't gone in to oxygen debt at around 2.5mi I would have had a nice kick to the finish. Considering I don't do any VO2Max work I should expect to lose it around 2-2.5mi, so no complaints there. With a little work I think I could be back around 15:00 on the track by the end of Spring. I am debating a track race before the Spring is over so I may try and pull together some REAL workouts over the next month or two.

The goal now is to focus on running the Union Tribune 8k in May then possibly a track race in late May or June. I am still going to run the La Jolla Half but I am not planning on racing it. I think I will just make it a hard long run, but save myself for the 8k the next weekend. Overall I am feeling positive coming out of today and feel like things are looking up. Today was technically a 5k Road PR, although I am far from satisfied calling that my PR. Time to get back to work and hope for some good races later in the Spring!