|
|
|
| Wow, I got a relatively early start today and it was already 80! After running hard Saturday and long Sunday, today was a much needed recovery day. My legs really needed it. I started out running close to 8 min pace out to the bike trail (too late for the boards) but by the last few miles I felt comfortable closer to 7:30. No pushing at all, just ran as easy as I felt I should. 8 sweaty miles @ 61 minutes, then a glorious swim in the pool! |
|
|
|
Posted by Tim Ragan at
| | | |
|
| After a very solid sleep last night, I was ready for some long "easy" miles today. I started out up the Sea Girt boardwalk and was surprised to find it was pretty crowded despite the clouds. The humidity continued to make things uncomfortable, and didn't let up at all as I headed inland to the bike trail. Since the boards were so crowded, I decided to go a little extra out into Allaire so on the way back I could just go directly from the bike trail to home. I felt very good today easily cruising through 14 @ 1:41. Just knowing that the pool is the end point of the run makes the last few miles much more tolerable.
Total for the week: 51 for the year: 910 |
|
|
|
Posted by Tim Ragan at
| | | |
|
| One word describes today's race, HOT! With the humidity, conditions were pretty brutal. But I had definitely factored that in my head and ran smart. First mile is always fast, though today I managed to not get too crazy in 5:41. Mile 2 still felt ok into the slight W wind even felt slightly cooling. I kept back from my friend Kenny through this point. Just after the 2 mile (5:50), I caught him up, then gradually passed him. I passed three miles in 17:25, so 5:53 for that one. I was definitely feeling the heat by now, no amount of water poured over my head offered any relief. Mile 4 is always my slowest, probably because of the combination of fatigue and the turns on the course, it's just enough to mess up any rhthym you may have going. So I ran 6:07, slowest mile of the day. I rallied a bit in the last mile in part because I thought I spied Kenny coming back up on me, and I was not about to give let him beat me. I turned the next to last corner an saw the his yellow singlet close behind. During the penultimate stretch I could hear the footsteps trying to pass on the inside so I cut in. Then onto the home stretch I started pouring it out, but slowly because it is a long stretch. The yellow singlet passed me pretty soon, but then I realized it wasn't Ken. I let the guy go at first, saving it up for one final push, and I almost nipped him in the end with a really strong finish. I came through with a gun time 29:33. I was more than pleased with that. |
|
|
|
Posted by Tim Ragan at
| | | |
|
| Felt OK on my 6 mile shakeout run this morning. The humidity was thick, but with some strides thrown in I only had to be out there for about 43 minutes. |
|
|
|
Posted by Tim Ragan at
| | | |
|
| A little faster than recovery, but still easy. 6 this morning @ 44, felt good, the rain was actually kind of nice, it lets me have the boardwalk mostly to myself. I could feel yesterday's workout in my legs a bit, but I'm sure by Saturday I'll be at 100%. |
|
|
|
Posted by Tim Ragan at
| | | |
|
| After sitting through 6+ hrs of lecture today, I finally made it over to the Wednesday track workout at Point Boro. Nothing too crazy tonight, I am racing Saturday after all. After a couple miles to warm up, Ken and I rolled into 12 x 300 with 100 recovery. I felt good throughout, 60s for 300 was no problem, the humidity was a little rough so early in the season. Only the last 2 or 3 felt a like work. With the cool down, it was 7 miles with a running time of @ 50 minutes. |
|
|
|
Posted by Tim Ragan at
| | | |
|
| Today is the first day of the summer semester, but it's kind of a soft start. 10:00am, meet and greet with new professors, then some lecture. Tuesdays normally will be a clinical day starting at 7:00 and lasting until 4:00.
So today I was able to get in an easy 6 without having to get up too early, @ 43:07. A stiff NE wind made a few of those miles a little tough, but the last few on the way home were fast and easy. |
|
|
|
Posted by Tim Ragan at
| | | |
|
| Woke up to what sounded like a pretty solid rain. When I checked the forecast, it said there would be a chance of a slight break @ 10:00. They were actually right. The NE wind didn't let up, but the rain was just a drizzle, if anything. So I mostly had the boardwalk to myself for an easy 5 @ 38.
This is my last day of "vacation" since school starts again tomorrow. I'm thinking that I may actually go see The Avengers, it's clearly a big-screen movie, and if I don't do it now, I'll probably miss it. |
|
|
|
Posted by Tim Ragan at
| | | |
|
| I met up with a few guys at the reservoir this morning for a 10 mile progression run. It didn't go as it would have if I were running solo, but it's always nice to run with a group. The first loop was a little faster than normal @ 34:57, but it still felt easy. Then I dropped it down to @ 6:15 for mile 6 and Joe fell off. The next mile I settled in to about 6:20 pace which is where I kept it through 10. Somewhere in mile 7 I lost Ken, but then before 8 Joe casually came back up on me and left me in the dust. The timing was perfect though, because by 8 I was struggling, so having Joe just ahead to focus on kept me from slacking off. The second loop was done @ 31:13, so 10 miles this morning @ 1:06:11 (and was done before 10AM!) Now I'm going to grab my book and a towel and settle in by the pool.
Total for the week: 33 for the year: 859 |
|
|
|
Posted by Tim Ragan at
| | | |
|
| After just jogging for this entire week, I decided I needed to mix in some fast running. The summer racing season is here, and I need to get used to some fast running again. I read a good quote in an article the other day that explained the problem with long periods of building base with too little fast running included. The author said that when you do this, "you forget how to hurt." Physically you may still be able to run fast, but mentally, you don't accept the pain that you have to in order to push through to a fast strong finish.
Today was my first step towards remembering how to hurt. With that in mind, I decided some 400s were in order. Since my mileage is relatively low, the amount of fast running needs to be in line with that. 6 x 400 in 78 seconds each with about a minute rest in between. I hit all of them right at 78 with no trouble, I'm sure I could have done more, but not today. Over the next few weeks I'll keep adding until I get up to 15-20 x 400. With warm up and cool down, 6 for the day @ 43. |
|
|
|
Posted by Tim Ragan at
| | | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
