Back from Berzerkely...

Back from a great trip to the West Coast. I went for a few days to check out some pizza ovens and to take a little break with Michael. I knew I was in Berkeley, because when we first got there and went for lunch, we were already talking about where else to eat. All the food was fantastic, from the multi course dinner at a friend's house, to the fancy night out, to tamales and fried chicken sandwiches. But wait, this is a running blog... the Berkeley hills were great too. I went for 6, 8 & 11 milers, all in shorts and all with at least 2 miles of hill climbing. And not rolling, gentle hills. The first day was up to the Lawrence Berkeley Hall of Science, with a 2 mile straight climb, just to see if I could do it. A few sections were quite steep. The next day was longer, and the hills a little more moderate, but still good climbs. Then on Monday I went for 11 miles up the fire trails. Most was rolling, but a couple of sections were very steep, with one about 1/2 mile long and a pure scramble to make it to the top. Thank God for the great coffee and carbo loading at The Cheeseboard. And now back to New Hampshire, wet and snowy. But still, the running is good. Had a nice time with Geraldine, Jeff, and Rudiger on Thursday night. But getting a little taste of running in shorts instead of leggings is a special kind of torture.

Miles to go before I sleep....

6 X 1 mile repeats for me, and it was a hard workout. Originally, the fast guys were going to do 4-6 miles, and I thought I would do 4 or 5. Then Justin decides to up the ante to 8, so I followed along like a lemming and did 6. I planned on keeping the pace to about 6:20-6:30. The first mile was 6:04, and it felt hard, but good. I slowed down a few ticks with each rep, but I never totally bonked, keeping all but 1 under 6:15. all my 400 jogs were about 3 minutes, so I felt like it was a good effort with out too much rest in between. And another good cool down at a good pace for me, and thanks to a power block from Mark, I felt fine till I got to the car. Good food, beer and conversation at Armadillos afterwards.

My times were:
6:04/6:08/6:12/6:14/6:19/6:15
Next week I'll be in Berkeley.

I'd rather be running in it than driving in it

Lots of snow and slush on the roads, but at least there weren't too many cars. It was only slippery in a few spots, like Old Concord road and George street. Earlier in the day I had thought about doing a few hill repeats, but after 1 hill, I was done. All in all, still good to be out in it.

New Zoots

Tried out some new shoes today, Zoot tt 2.0. They are light weight, flexible and very comfortable. I took them out for my usual 5 1/2 mile route, and was planning on doing about 45 minutes (8:10) for a recovery run. They felt good the whole way, so I ran a little harder, and finished pretty comfortably in 40:40 (7:23). Not bad for me on the day after 20. I don't think they will make it for too many miles, the rubber on the bottom is light weight. I think I will do my next 20 in them to see how my legs feel afterwards, then save them for races.

20

The first 20 of training is in the books. I went out early with Jeff on a nice 9 mile course down Swanzey way. We headed back up the rail bed to 101, then down 101 to the Marlboro extension, then back to Brewbakers. We went out at about a 9+ pace, then picked it up to about 8:30. Met up with the usual crew, Geraldine, Christina, Ann, Newt, Ed, Brad, and Rudiger to run to the Dam and back. It was a bit breezy on the way out, we went at about a 9 pace. Took a little break at the dam, but Rudiger kept right on going. I decided to see if I could keep my marathon pace for the last 5 miles or so, to see if I could catch him. I kept a 7:30-7:40 pace for about 2 miles, then I really put the hammer down (for me at least). The last 3 miles were 7:22, 7:08, 6:54. Way under marathon pace. Damn GPS. First I thought, lets see if I can keep it to MP, then that felt good, so lets see if I can do 7:30. Ok, 7:15.... before I know it, I'm running about as hard as I can down Court street, trying to eek out another second under 7. I felt strong, and I know the quality runs over the last several weeks are the reason why.

We all met back at Brewbakers for a Valentines edition of the weekly coffee/muffin gathering. Next week most of the crew is off for the Half at the Hamptons, and I am in Berkeley. It will be a quieter, less sweaty sunday at Brewbakers.

Evening run with Jeff & Rudiger

A good 6 miler with Jeff & Rudiger, with thanks to Jeff for the GPS. We did the around the block loop, with George Street twice, and then up the Washington Street extension for a little bit. We quickened the pace a little for the second half, then I ran Marlboro street hard for a good finish. I'm looking forward to my first 20 on Sunday, and then try to do some quality runs next week. I'm feeling strong right now for Boston, only 9 weeks away. I should get in 4 20/22 milers, with a 2 week taper.

Short and Sweet

The Wednesday run with the Keenyans went quick. A quick warm up, short workout, then a fast cool down.
The workout was 2 X 200/400/800. My times were:

36/1:22/3:00
36/1:24/3:02

I was just starting my last 800 when Justin was finishing his, so I was only about 3 minutes behind him. Of course, I haven't run as many miles as he has this week. But still, I keep my goal as trying to only be lapped once during the workout. And I felt strong running the cool down, when usually I am just trying to hold on and keep up.

Sunday Long Run

Geraldine returned to the sunday group, and we had a fairly good sized bunch. Jeff, Rudiger and I went out again early for an easy 5 1/2. Then we met up with Christina, Geraldine, Ann, Ed and newcomer to the Sunday Long Run, Scott. Scott set a good pace that I tried to keep up with on the Chapman loop. The hills proved a bit difficult, but we made it to the top, and waited just a few minutes for Jeff, Ann and Ed. We all cruised down Jordan, and went up Old Concord Road for about 3/4 of a mile or so. Then back down, meeting up with Christina and Geraldine. Scott and I pushed the pace a bit the rest of the way, going up George Street, then down Lincoln to Marlboro and to Main, for a total of about 17. I ran hard for the last mile or so, and felt good. We all met back at Brewbakers for the usual coffee and the rest. About 38 miles for the week. Next week a bit more, with 20 for Sunday.

Slacking

Took a break from running for the end of the work week, trying to heal a sore foot. And work has been very busy. I'm looking forward to the Sunday Long Run of 18 with Rudiger and Jeff. I will try to get in a good 5-6 mile hard run for the finish. We will see how it goes and who shows up.

Wednesday Run

A good workout for me. 8 X 800, all under 3:10, wit a 400 recovery jog between reps. Then, what for me amounts to a 3 mile tempo run as a cool down. I really like to push to run hard after a workout, it's good training for running hard when fatigued. And I only got lapped once by the speedsters, but it was close. It seemed like everyone had a good workout. Justin, Andy, Mark, Greg, Bojo and Justin's dad, Dan. He's just getting back to running, and I'm looking forward to getting some miles in with him on Wednesdays or other afternoons. It will be good to have someone to run the workout with.

2:59/3:00/2:58/3:02
3:06/3:09/3:08/3:09

I slowed down a bit in the end, but keeping all 8 under 3:10 was good for me.
We met up at Armadillos afterwards, and I'm really enjoying getting to know such a good group. Best quote of the evening- "Beer has food value, but food has no beer value." Mark Miller.