A very good week of in terms of training including a 10k on Saturday that I am very happy with. My body is definitely handling the intensity very well and I think I have done a really good job with recovery in all respects (schedule of hard/easy workouts, nutrtion, massage/foam roller/sauna, and nutrtion).
On Saturday morning I cruised down to Mission Bay to run the 29th Annual St. Patrick's Day 10k. This was my third year in a row doing this race and it's always been fun. As always going into a race with a week of hard training in the books is always tough but with bigger races in the coming months resting for lower priority races is not going to happen and I think I am better for it in the long run. Running a hard 10k on tired legs is tough, both mentally and physically, but I know it makes me stronger and more willing/able to deal with "race day pain" when the big races come around.
I did a longer warm-up than usual with Brandon. We got in just under 5 miles of easy jogging and some strides. I had a good sweat going when I got to the line and felt pretty good. There were a bunch of really fast dudes there. Last year I got 3rd overall with a 33:56 and I knew that wasn't going to be the case this year with the crew at the starting line.
The race:
I felt pretty good from the gun and the starting pace was pretty mellow... or so I thought. I think my longer warm-up did the trick because the I was loose and initial pace didn't seem out of control as it usually does for me. I was in the second pack in the first mile of about 7-8 guys and the front of 5 guys were already getting a little gap going. I ended up going through first mile in 5:12... little quick for sure. I backed off my pace just a tad and just tried to stay with the group I was now in of 4 guys.
Long story short. the guys kind of got away from me and I finished the race running the last 4 miles in no man's land... all by myself. On the backside of Fiesta Island there was an annoying head wind for miles 3.5-5. It wasn't gusting or anything but just enough to make you not feel like your were running fast. If I could have stayed with the pack I could have tucked in and drafted off of the bigger guys but I blew that chance early on when I didn't respond to the increasing pace.
I finished the race in 33:58 (2 seconds slower than last year) and that was good enough for 10th ovearall. Even though I was 2 seconds slower I am very happy with my race and where my fitness is right now. I was really curious to see what I could do and what impact the foot injury and lack of winter running would do to my form/speed. The weird thing is even though the time is almost identical to last year the effort felt quite a bit easier.
I remember feeling totally gutted when I crossed the line last year and this year I felt a bit worked, but like I still had some in the tank. The pace of the entire race just felt more comfortable and the only thing I can attribute that to is the consistent track workouts I have been getting in. I haven't done consistent track work for the past couple of seasons and I can already tell it's making a difference.
here's the splits.
mile 1: 5:12
mile 2: 5:23
mile 3: 5:32
mile 4: 5:37
mile 5: 5:37
mile 6: 5:20
.26: 1:15
final turn sequence with my homeboy and teammate Adam.
final turn sequence with my homeboy and teammate Adam.
I stole all the photos from Dave!
Sunday was a different story. Ryan cruised down from HB for some riding. Beth (FW), Ryan, and I headed down to Solana Beach to meet up with Mary for a solid 4 hour ride. Another long story short... I totally blew up 2 hours into the ride after climbing highland valley rd (KOM in tour of CA). To make things worse I got a pinch flat .25 miles from home on the final descent! I was over it but made it home with almost 4 hours in the bank. Tough day! Beth and Mary rode super strong... I am glad am I am not a chick having to race them and stoked they didn't drop me on the way home!
Recap of the week's training.
Monday: off/recovery
- I slept in a bit but was still pretty sluggish. Delayed fatigue! During lunch I hit the gym for some light stretching and foam roller work. I contemplated an afternoon spin but it was windy and I was still tired so I just relaxed.
Tuesday: Track, Strength,& EZ Spin
- AM - 60 min/8 miles
- Track session. I felt pretty good. With the 10k on Saturday, and the fact that I am not doing the 5k that the guys I am training with are running I dialed my pace back a bit. After getting some instructions from Dave I ran in control and right around 10k pace. The pace felt solid and like I wasn't really pushing. good. The workout:
1.5 mile w/u
8x100m Strides on 100 recovery (1 mile)
3x1 mile w/ 400 EZ jog recovery
#1 - 5:24
#2 - 5:25
#3 - 5:18
1.5 mile c/d
I pushed a little hard on the last 800 of the the third mile. Definitely felt the pace increase a bit but was able to hold on.
- food: dried fruit, black coffee, & diet mtn dew before. Recoverite after.
Lunch - 40 min Strength/core
- did my version of 300 workout. 40 mins of continuous work. solid.
PM - 1:38/25.5 mile road ride
- I hit the road after work to spin out the legs. I felt really good and I know this will help with recovery from track session. I need to ride after track as much as possible. Super nice afternoon...great day to get out.
- Food: dinner after ride. Grilled pork chops & veggies (sweet pots, brussell sprouts, mushrooms, onions, & asparagus). Epic!
Wednesday: MTB, Gym, & Run
AM - 1:29/? mile MTB - Vo2 intervals
- Solid ride this morning. First "hard" training ride. 6x3 @ Vo2/Race pace with 2 min recoveries. I had a lot of fun during this work out. Felt good to push it. Great mtb race simulation.
- Food: dried fruit and coffee before. Protein/recovery shake after.
Lunch - 25 min core/myrtl/foam roller
- just a quick session at lunch.
PM - 44 min/6.15 mile run
- Lululemon run. Good crew. We ran a route that I mapped and it's a good one. I felt pretty good on the run and didn't push it at all. Running with groups in the evening is good for motivation I would have just slogged otherwise.
- Food: Clif Nectar 90 minutes before and various snacks at home. Huge salad for dinner afterwards... and some wine.
Thursday: EZ Run & Strength/core
Lunch - 57 min/8 mile run
- Just cruised my work trail and extened it 2 miles to get in 8. My left calf is still pretty tight down into my Soleus. Not painful and loosens up after is start running. Just a niggle. Ice it right after run in my office.
- Food: big bowl of cereal (go lean, cheerios, puffed corn, strawberries, bluberries, black berries, protein powder, flaxseed meal, and almond milk) for breakkie. V8 3o minutes before run. Recoverite after.
PM - 30 min strength session + 17 min dry sauna w/stick
- hit the gym after work and wasn't feeling it all but got it done. I lifted heavy and got into it after warm-up. the workout:
3 x 12 pullups/15 dips/30 knee-ups
4 x 6-10 bent over barbell row (115lbs)
3 x 8-10 barbell curl (60lbs)
4 x 8-10 dumbbell bench (45lbs)
3 x 8-10 overhead tri ext (45lbs)
3 x 10 lat shoulder raises (20lbs)
- food: larabar before. dinner after -salmon salad with a ton of veggies & some baked tortilla chips.
Friday: EZ ride & EZ run
AM - 1:30/22.5 mile road ride
- I got on it early and it was still kind of dark... and super cold. I froze. I felt ok and didn't push. Just kept it mellow.
- food: black coffee, dried fruit & pb before. protein/recovery shake after.
Lunch - 27:50/4 mile run
- I hit the work trail again. This run was to shake out the legs for the race on Saturday. I descended the first 2 miles out and then on the way back did 5 x 30" accellerations to race pace on 90" recovery. Legs felt good considering the training that has gone on this week.
- Food: V8, peanuts, and some random samples from Whole Foods before. Recoverite after.
PM - 60 min massage + adjustment
- gnarly deep tissue work. A new lady gave me a massage and worked me over. Dr. Jack said my upperback and neck were way more tight than usual. I am chalking it up to the race last weekend and maybe lifting heavy yesterday. Feeling great afterwards.
- Food: pre-race meal. egg & veggie (sweet pots, b. sprouts, broc, onion, peppers) scramble with corn tortillas and guac... made into tacos.
Saturday: St. Patty's Day 10k & EZ spin.
AM - 1:45/15 mile run (warm-up, race, cooldown)
- See RR above.
- Food: sports drink & black coffee only before. Recoverite & KIND bar after.
PM - 1:12/20 mile road ride
- Just an easy spin on the coast and felt great. No fatigue/soreness in legs... at all. Not even tired. Weird.
Sunday: Long ride
AM - 3:53/60 mile road ride.
- see above. tough day on the bike.
- food: too much to talk about!
totals for the week:
Time: 16:12
| Bike Distance | 126.62 mi |
| Run Distance | 41.26 mi |
| MTB Distance | 13.7 mi |
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15 comments:
DUDE!
YOU_ARE_FAST!!!
smoking 10K time and after a hard week of training!
DUDE!
Good Job on the race.
those are some pretty rad splits man! doing one of those would probably put me into a coma for a while!
Okay I questioned this entire "I am a runner" thing for a bit but now you have got real running shorts - so I am convinced.
More analysis - I bet if you had run that first mile a bit more conservatively, you would have run faster than last year - so keep that in mind (understanding you were racing).
dude, that's a huge week and a really fast race! glad you had fun.
I see you're running in the Lunars. How do you like them? I was getting ready to send love letters to Nike and then I hit the 5 mile mark and they start to eat my heels and balls of my feet like food! Tried backing down the mileage to break em in and just can't run over 7K in em! It suck because up to that point they feel incredible! I talked to Alan Culpepper in his new store last weekend and he said Nike is getting about a 50% complaint rate on this issue and will rework the next model to try and fix it.
Solid week and great 10k!
Nice race. Definitely look like a runner, dude.
Have a happy St. Patty's, or should I say have a happy green (flash) day!
Cheers.
Nice job on the race. Those splits are impressive. Gotta say sometimes I miss the running.
Nice work at the 10K! And another solid week in the books!
SICK!!!
Poor man's Steve Nash. First run back is LuLu Lemon Wednesday run in 2 weeks! Can't wait!
Sweet race J-Dub! Solid training efforts as well.
You are such a stud! Nice run!
Your weekly training puts me to shame...
AWESOME!
Great race report and so glad to hear you felt better than last year. That is HUGE progress! I can't wait to get back to my Tues evening track workouts. They really do make all the difference in the world, I don't care what anybody says.
I like the approach of going in with tired legs - like you said, it helps you to deal with pain in the more important races much better. Can't wait to see how this season goes for both you and Beth!
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