Competitor Running

Competitor Running

And another one bites the dust...

Well as you may have figured this blog is going no where and I think it will be ending up in the same place as Mario's....

Unfortunately what has happened is that I do this full time now and there is no joy in just doing this on my time off. Everything I wish this blog would be is what the website I am working on is, which is nice. So I have decided to join Strands.com for my training logs and just work off that. I would recommend checking them out, it is a great website, and you can follow your friends, etc. etc.

Well that's all I have...so don't expect much of anything here...sorry to all my 3 loyal followers...

The Times They Are A Changin...

Well as is usual, I had a good record as far as the blog goes for the past couple of months, but alas I have fallen off. Lots of things going on of note and I will hit on each really fast.

We went back to Boston to visit/watch the Marathon. It was a great time and as usual not long enough. Congrats to all that ran and solid showing by Americans with two podium finishes. I predict an American winner within 5 years.

I have a new job...yay! I am working for Competitor Group as the Running Web Content Editor. What is that you ask? Well in a nutshell I will be the person that making decisions on the content that goes up on the site. I will do all the aggregation of news, compiling of articles done by journalists, writing a few articles of my own, making videos, covering events, and the list goes on and on. I am really excited having now been at work for a week. It is going to be a great project and when we go live in June I will be sure to post a link here so you can make Competitor Running your new home page :).

I have some training I need to post up here as well, but some of it is in my Garmin which I don't have with me at the moment. I will try and get the past 3 weeks up over the weekend.

So going forward I would expect McRunning Through My Life to really just become my training and racing stuff. Not exciting but the fact is if you want to hear anything else I have to say just go to the website I'm working on for work!

Thanks for still actually coming to see how things are going with me and my running, I know I don't do a great job on this thing anymore. I would guess that considering my new job is to post content to websites, this blog will more or less die over time, if it hasn't already. I won't give up yet but, like I said don't expect anything than the mundane training and racing reports.

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!

Training Summary: March 23 - 29

I need to preface this entry with a short note on me and days off. I usually plan days off, although sometimes life gets in the way or I have an injury. When I finally get in a rhythm with training I try and take very few days off, likely one every 3 -4 weeks, just to stay healthy. The absurd thing is that about 50% of the time I take these days off, the next day I get a nagging pain or injury. Never anything serious, but at times it can be annoying and interfere with training for a while. This week I had planned one day off as I had 2 weeks straight of solid running and wanted to take a day of rest. Low and behold the next day I had to miss my run because of an odd pain in my foot that was bad enough that I couldn't run. I guess there is a possibility that after long periods of activity, the one thing that may throw you off is actually taking some time of inactivity. I need to do some research on this but I just want to say it is annoying, and I don't like it. Sometimes I wonder if I should just never take another day off...

Mon 3/23 - off, planned off day.

Tue 3/24 - off, foot hurt, see comment above...

Wed 3/25 - 9mi, no watch, first 3 solo then 6 with Movin Shoes Wed Night crew, super easy run.

Thu 3/26 - ~14mi, WORKOUT, 5mi in 30:08 directly in to 3 miles of 5:14, 5:09, 5:08. 25min warmup and cooldown. Went out to Mirmar Lake to tag along with George and JLew through a workout. George planned on ~6min pace for 8mi so I decided to cruise for the first 5mi with them and then try to run the last 3mi progressively faster. I had no idea I would be able to pull of a progressive ~15:30 3miler, and it gave me lots of confidence for the Carlsbad 5000 next week.

Fri 3/27 - 10mi, 74:30, easy with George and Di on the bay.

Sat 3/28 - 10mi, 67:45, easy solo on the bay.

Sun 3/29 - 16.06mi, 1:54:03, at San Pasqual with Di, JLew and Darius for the first 12 then 4 solo. Really slow at the start but ended with a really easy feeling effort of 6:10ish pace for my solo 4mi.

Summary: 59mi, 5 days. Considering everything it was actually a decent week, sans the days off. Extremely happy with the workout on Wed and 16mi long runs are a cake walk now. This would have been close to 80mi if I had a full week and I should hit around 80 going from Thu to this coming Thu. The plan is to keep up the volume through Fri and then take a one day taper to hopefully feel fresh for Calrsbad 5000 on Sunday. Anything under 15:30 would make me happy, although I think there's a chance I may surprise myself. No matter what happens I just want to make it a solid effort and race it hard.

Training Summary: March 16 - 22

Mon 3/16 - 9mi, 61:45, easy solo through La Jolla.

Tue 3/17 - 10+mi, 66:30, solo on the bay, 8X100 strides.

Wed 3/18 - 10mi, no watch, first 4 solo then final 6 with Movin Shoes Wed Night runners.

Thu 3/19 - 10mi, 69:40, 8 with Josh (including 4X800 ~5:40/mi) and final 2 solo on the bay.

Fri 3/20 - 10mi, 74:40, run in Tucson with Di and her Uncle through Sabino Canyon.

Sat 3/21 - 9mi, 67:10, easy with Di on the river trail in Tucson.

Sun 3/22 - 16mi, 1:53:56, easy long run at San Pasqual trail with Di, George, JLew and Darius for various parts of the run.

Summary: 74mi, 7 days/runs. A really great week for me and finally a full 7 days of running! Felt really good all week, although I didn't do much hard running so I should have felt good. Di and I had a great trip out to Tucson for a few days and got in some really scenic runs. Definitely a place to check out if you have never been there. I am excited to get in a workout or two this coming week and Carlsbad 5000 is just around the corner.

Training Summary: March 9 - 15

Mon 3/9 - off

Tue 3/10 - 10+mi, 66:15, solo on the bay, 8X100 strides.

Wed 3/11 - 10mi, 1:12:15, 4mi solo and 6mi with the Movin Shoes Wed Night Run crew.

Thu 3/12 - Workout, progression run over Mt. Soledad, really focused on pushing the steep up and then down to mimic the LJ Half Marathon course, felt GREAT!
10mi, 61:25 (full minute faster than I have ever done before)

Fri 3/13 - 10mi, no watch, with Di and JLew at UCSD. JLew and I followed Di as she did a fartlek on the trails at UCSD, and she had a great workout which was a bonus!

Sat 3/14 - 9+mi, 61:20, easy solo through La Jolla.

Sun 3/15 - ~16mi, 1:52:50, at San Pasqual trail. Had company from lots of different people for various amounts of the run, including: Di, George, JLew, Darius and probably a few others I am forgetting.

Summary: 65mi, 6 days. Another good week, with the only thing stopping it from being great was the day off. I am very excited for the weeks to come and the workouts I have planned. I have been getting in some decent hours at Movin Shoes, which has been nice to help put some extra money in my pocket and keep me busy while on the job hunt. Other than that not much is new as I continue looking for a new job and just keep running the only other priority. Di and I are making a trip to Tucson for a few days to visit her Uncle while her Mom and Grandmother are there as well. Hopefully we get some nice trail runs in Arizona and the trip should be fun.

Training Summary: March 2 - 8

Mon 3/2 - 9+mi, 62:45, easy through La Jolla.

Tue 3/3 - off

Wed 3/4 - 14mi, no time. Ran with JLew and helped pace him to a timed mile and then some pickups in the run. Didn't plan on running quite as much but it was a good longer day. Did the timed mile on grass in around 5:10 or so which felt super easy, which was nice.

Thu 3/5 - 10+mi, 66:35, easy solo on the bay.

Fri 3/6 - 10mi, 73:30, on San Pasqual trail with Di for 8mi and 2 solo.

Sat 3/7 - 9mi, 64:30, easy on the bay with James for ~5mi.

Sun 3/8 - 16.1mi, 1:56:18, easy long run with Dianna and George at San Pasqual for most of the run. Finished up the last 3mi under 6min pace to add a little effort in to the end.

Summary: ~68mi, 6 days. Not a bad week with a day off. The goal is to continue adding in a second longer day, but I'm not sure it will always be as close to the full long run. I am feeling really good about where I am at and I think, come the fall, I will really be back in some respectable racing shape. Good things to come as I am now at around a month before the Carlsbad 5000, which should be a good gauge as to my fitness.