Training Log Archive: levitin

1.0 M w/u
0.5M c/d

Moderate spin to the 2nd half of "Witness for the Prosecution." Heart not working terribly hard, but leg muscles feel like they've done some work.

WftP was not the most taut courtroom drama I've seen, but it was still a good film. I can't recall having seen other films showing modern British courtrooms. Some of the plot turns I anticipated, some I didn't.

For strength of the performance, I'm partial to "To Kill a Mockingbird" and Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch. I think there have also been a couple of modern dramas like Verdict that I've enjoyed more.

Run 1 with Joe. Early morning, light rain, cooler than I anticipated. Cranbrook loop.

Run 2 solo, afternoon, cool, but no rain. Salisbury out-and-back. Intermittent leg pain, but less when I go uphill.

to library and back to pick up a DVD I'd reserved. Somewhat cool with a touch of wind.

I've been having an intermittent pain in my lower L leg, inside of the tibia. I hope this is not a $+R3$$ FR@C+UR3. Mario Fraioli, manager of PR running, thought it was not when I described it to him last time I was in. Maybe I'll see what the dr. says.

ARRT loop plus a diversion through WestRidge, the "active adult" community being developed downhill from our plant.

Horse loop from work. Hot. Didn't see the horses.

The uphill finish took it out of me. My legs were not feeling especially sapped from yesterday's hilly 7, until I turned the corner to the long uphill, and then I felt like a wet dishrag.

Rail trail 7M loop, ccw (Long gradual uphill, shorter, steeper downhill). Warm, 79°. Felt tough. Weight is a recent high. Must be a side effect of the "Passover Hungries," the quest for satisfying food that makes you feel full. (Oh, for a burrito with beans, rice, and cheese....)

Reservoir loop, afternoon, solo. Saw 5 cyclists, but not a single runner. Bizarre. I know it is the weekend of the Boston Marathon, and the day of the Women's Marathon Trials, but not even the casual 5-10 mile runner was out at the same time as I was. I guess that's what I get for running late in the day.

Up and around the Salisbury Hill development about which an article appeared in the alternative weekly paper on water quality and erosion. I observed a truly odd natural phenomenon. An older, taller tree had died, cracked near the base, and fallen partway over. It had struck a shorter, smaller tree squarely. The smaller tree was bent, but not broken, with the weight of the dead tree on it.

AOWN: saw one wild turkey up on the hill. Where were the rest of the pack?

Assabet River Rail Trail loop, 5.5M, easy pace.

The fair weather cyclists/walkers/skaters are starting to come out. I encountered a group larger than any other I'd seen before, but, thankfully, they were not as obnoxious as they were large: 4 adults, a kid, 3 dogs, and a stroller, taking up both sides of the trail. Fortunately, at least some noticed me before I overtook them and moved aside to make room. Thanks for sharing.

Event: 30th Annual Billygoat Run
 

Billygoat run. Going in, I knew my skills were rusty but my stamina was good, and thought my speed would be sufficient.

I found my stamina was good, my skills barely sufficient, and speed was not as good as I had hoped.

I fell off the back of a couple of trains. When I was in contact with the map, it was not crucial to be; when I was not in contact with the map, I paid a dear price. When I was orienteering solo, I navigated sanely about 40% of the time.

Need more practice.

The Goat - Splits

Easy trail run on the ARRT, cut short due to discomfort in my lower L leg.

AOWN note: while loping about as slowly as I've ever run on the rail trail, I noticed 2 wild turkeys off to the right in a wetlands bounded by the trail and a road. I had never noticed turkeys in the area before.

Speedwork at Worcester State College track. 800/1200/800/1200 with 400 rest interval in between. Splits: 3:17 for 800#1 (160,171) [3:00 (147,120)] 5:20 for 1200#1 (164,173) [3:31(141,107)] 3:27 for 800#2 (163,172) [3:05(147,125)] 5:13 for 1200#2 (166,178) [3:26(146,123)], then 800 c/d.

Lower L leg felt twingey. Breathing hard, but 2-2 through most of it, 2-1 toward the end of the last interval.

Average 800: 3:22 @ HR 162; 1200: 5:17 @ 165.

It's clear from how I felt and from the numbers that it's been a while since I've done speedwork.

3x400 w/u, plus 4x100 strides. Track cluttered with hurdles, benches, garbage cans, walkers, and even a couple of other track people doing intervals (some faster than I).

HD to base of Noname Hill, 2x up/down, then back. A new silt fence has gone up in the last week (About f'ing time) to separate the construction (read: incursion) from the wetlands, but some of the marshy land extends underneath the fence :-). A bit sluggish (fatigue from Sunday's race?), less snappy feeling than a week ago on the same course, but faster on the ups and about the same on the downs.

One tumble over the silt fence, scraping my knee a bit.

Event: Great Bay Half Marathon
 

Cool, 43°, intermittent light drizzle, windy. The course was the same as last year. Rolling hills that challenge with the opportunity to use different muscles.

Coming halfway between two goal marathons, this race was not the priority I thought it was going to be when I registered a couple of months ago. Going into the race on a week of no training due to work pressure, I planned to try to hit 5M @ 40, then speed up to 7:45 through 10 and go from there. The first 5M @ 8mpm felt too tough. I was breathing too hard, and experienced a tight R calf muscle through the race. I was part of a minute late at 5M, but still less than a whole minute later than 8mpm at 10M (80:5x) Somewhere along the last few miles, just when my brain typically loses the ability to do split arithmetic, my HRM started displaying interval time on the top line along with time-of-day on the large, middle line. Huh? I was looking to see if the 2nd 10K took the same amount of time as the 1st 10K, and saw the time of day, 12:4x, instead of some time like 1:4x. Still, it recorded splits faithfully to the end.

After running the inaugural race here last year, I told the race director at another of my frequent faves, the Covered Bridges Half Marathon in Quechee, VT, that his race was better executed. After today, I think it might be a toss-up.