One Step At a Time Many Times

Santa Scramble 5K - Hamden, CT - Along the Farmington Canal Trail

11 am run, high 30's, sunny.

Course is nearly flat except for a slight dip/rise in the first mile.

Time: 22:58
Pace: 7:23

The mile markets seemed a bit off so I did not get mile splits
for this race.

Place: 25/161 overall
        5/13  in 50-60 age group

This was a decent run, 4th best time this year in the 5K:

10/27/2012 22:28
 1/ 1/2012 22:30
 3/ 4/2012 22:43
12/ 2/2012 22:58

Other 5K times were in the 23:24-23:43 range.

I was hoping to be below 22:30 but could not quite get to full speed
today.  However, the breathing was good, pace/effort consistent, held
my position in the pack give or take one runner.

Noteworthy: I had a PR on this course last year (21:32).  In the same
month last year, I logged 116 miles and this year 88 miles, a 28 mile
difference.  For me, to get the better 5K times, I need a bit more
endurance and I need to be running close to 30 miles per week.  Dropping
below that makes it hard to recover sufficiently from any speed work,
which means the race time suffer.

So, this is more or less it for my 2012 season, may do one more race
later in December, but right now, looking at January and back to 
working on base training for a few months.

Glad to see PRE running the 5K today, finished a respectable sub-24
placing two spots behind me in our age group.

Long Run - Whitney Peabody Museum Loop (short)

Late afternoon run, mid 50's, overcast.  

Total miles: 6.00
Totat time: 1:00:11

Slow, steady pace. 1' stoppage at lights. 

Bonus points: 5 x 200m strides after finish.

This was a long, slow run on the streets locally.

This is a rest week for me after finishing up the 5K races
for the season.

Long Run - Farmington Canal Trail: Treadwell to Sherman

Mid afternoon run, mid 40's. 

Total miles: 10.00  (route long by 0.4 miles) 
Total time: 1:38:14

Out: Steady, 50:23 (10:04 pace)
 
Turnaround: 2'00'' walk/gel break, 

Back: overall time of 45:51 (9:10 pace)

The run back included some speed work, Fartleg, 1 mile fast + 4' jog:

(1) 8:05
(2) 7:44
(3) 7:52

The faster miles are at my 10K pace, so a good addition to the 
long run.

Big help running in the cooler temperatures, could not do this
back in July!

Hamden Hilly Run

Mid afternoon run, mid 50's, cloudy. 

Total miles: 8.00
Total time: 1:20

Slow, steady pace with 5 hill sections. (Short: 0.12m)

This was supposed to be a recovery type of a run, which I did on
the streets.  Since the pace was pretty slow, 10:00/mile pace, 
I added some hilly sections to build up some strength.

Was pretty tired after the run but felt okay after a 30 minute
nap.

I find hills a bit annoying to do, but I know they help a lot
on the flat runs, so I am doing it.

Recovery Run - Farmington Canal Trail: Treadwell to Skiff	

Total miles: 4.00
Total time: 38:32

Mid afternoon run, mid 40's. 

Steady pace, 19:35 out (9:45 pace), 18:57 back (9:30 pace).

Today was an easy day, shorter distance on a flat route.

After a long run and a hilly run, I intentially took it easy
and felt okay after the run.

Base Run - Farmington Canal Trail: Treadwell to Sanford

Total miles: 6.00
Total time: 56:11 (9:22 pace)

Mid afternoon run, low 40's, partly cloudy. 

Steady pace, base run: 29:02 out (9:41 pace), 27:09 back (9:03 pace)

Typical base run, steady first half and pick up the pace
on the return leg.

Just about the right level of effort, not too tired after.

Long Run - Farmington Canal Trail: Treadwell to Sherman

Total miles: 10.00 (Long: 0.4m)
Total time: 1:34:57

Mid afternoon run, mid 40's, a bit on the cool side once the 
sun started to get low in the sky. 

Out: steady, 48:03 (9:37 pace)
 
Turnaround: 1'00'' walk/gel break

Back: overall 45:54 (9:11 pace) 

Added some speed work, Fartleg: 1 mile + 4' jog: 

(1) 7:57
(2) 7:42
(3) 8:02

This is similar to the run that I did last Sunday, but about 3' faster
due to a shorter break at the turn around and a faster pace going out.

I felt strong going out, felt the benefit of the hill work earlier in
the week.

The second fast mile (7:42) took me by surprize, so I made sure to
walk for 30 seconds after to recover.  However, I felt it on the 3rd
mile but was glad to get close to 8:00/mile.

Overall, I was able to log 38 miles this week which is good after logging 10 last week, my rest week.

The legs feel file, no signs of injury, so this level of effort may
be sustanable for a few months.

 

Farmington Canal Trail: Treadwell to Sherman

Long, slow run. Mid afternoon, mid 40's.
 
Total miles: 10.00
Total time: 1:44:36

Out: 52'26'' steady
Turnaround: 1'00'' walk/gel break 
Back: 51'09'' back

I ran a bit slower today.  Maybe it was the cold
and it took me a while to warm up.

See how the next few weeks take shape.

Farmington Canal Trail: Treadwell to Sanford

Total miles: 6.00
Total time: 57:20

Mid afternoon run, low 40's, partly cloudy. 

Steady pace, base run, 29:20 out, 28:00 back.

I seemed to find my legs today.  The return leg
was at a 9:20 pace, which is good for a base run.

Farmington Canal Trail: Treadwell to Skiff

Total miles: 4.00
Total time: 38:26

Mid afternoon run, high 40's.

Steady pace, recovery run.

Nothing unusual today, 9:37 pace, not too fast, not too slow.

Hamden Hilly Run 	

Total miles: 8.00
Total time: 1:25:00

Early afternoon run, mid 30's, partly cloudy. 

Slow, steady pace with 5 hill sections. (Long: 0.36m)

The purpose today was to do some hills to build up some
strength.

Felt okay but I have yet to muster up enough courage to
sprint up the hills, maybe next month!

Farmington Canal Trail: Treadwell to Valleyview	

Total miles: 8.00
Total time: 1:20:38

Mid afternoon run, mid 30's, partly cloudy. 

Base run, 

Out: 41:47 

Back: 38:51 with some Fartleg sections: 

7:57 mile, 2:50 rest, 
8:02 mile , 2:58 rest, 
1:28 0.2m, 2:09 rest, 
1:27 0.2m

I tried some speed work today with some faster miles
near the 8:00 pace, which is a bit slower than my 10K pace.

I threw in a couple of 0.2m strides to build up some
coordination for sprinting, at about a 7:15 pace, which
is more like my better 5K pace.

Farmington Canal Trail: Treadwell to Sherman

Total miles: 10.00 (Long: 0.4m)
Total time: 1:52:08

Mid afternoon run, low 30's. 

Steady pace under slippery conditions.
 
55'27'' out, 
2'00'' walk/gel break, 
54'46'' back. 

I ran on the canal trail today which has sloppy footing.
About half the trail had 1-2 inches of slush and snow,
which made it hard to get up to speed.  I think my shoes
were slipping a bit since I would rarely run at an 11:00 pace
even on a slow day.

However, I got done and got used to the cooler temperature,
so I pad myself on the back for getting out there and doing it.

Lenox, MA: run through grounds of Foxhollow

Slow run on snowy road, 17 F (cold), early morning.

Three circuits around the grounds.

Total miles: 4.5
Total time: 48:17