Joe's Running Blog

6/6/20: CVR 10K “Not Exactly Redemption” Virtual Race

Five weeks ago I ran a 10K race for the CVR series. I wasn’t incredibly-well prepared, particularly due to tired legs and warm temps, and recorded a disappointing time of over 58 minutes. I’ve run a couple more 10Ks in the past few weeks, one of which I set a new PR on, and one of which I really didn’t care about the time because I picked a hilly course.

But the 58 minute run remained in the back of my head. I figured I should be able to do a lot better on that course, at least challenge 56:00. So I figured this week, the 8th and final CVR Social Distancing race, I would take it on again and redeem myself.

Though I have backed off from “training” the past couple of weeks, I took some steps to set myself up for success. For one thing, building in a rest day the day before. For another thing, carry water. I didn’t exactly teetotal Friday night, but I also didn’t drink so much that I was hung over, and I ran in the afternoon.

Ah, the afternoon. After a rainy morning, the afternoon cleared up and I found myself with sunny, mid-70’s temps to run in. Just like the last time! As I mentioned above, however, I thought to carry water this time, to stay hydrated.

One thing I didn’t think to do was calculate the pace I needed to run a 56 – minute 10K. In my head I was thinking 9:20 x 6 miles = 56:00. Easy peasy. Except a 10K is 6.21 miles, not 6.00. That pace works out to 57:56. To run in 56:00 requires a 9:00 pace. I knew this last time. If all I wanted to do was have a better finish than last time, I figured I could do a 9:40 pace.

You may see where this is going.

So anyway, I toed the line at 2:30 on Saturday afternoon and was off on my run. This route starts in front of my office building on Stone Cutters Way, goes west along the bike path to Bailey Avenue, then takes a right to do a zig-zag around the State House. Then a left up Elm to a right on Spring, meet up with Main Street until a right on Liberty. Right on Hubbard, over the hill (this is the more gradual way), and left on Barre St. From there I run all the way out to the end of the bike path, eastbound, then all the way back to maybe 100-200 yards from the start.

Things started off well. The first mile is very flat, somewhat downhill even. The street crossings didn’t slow me down. I got to the mark in 8:40. Well ahead of my 56:00 pace, and a full minute in the bank on beating 58:00 I thought. Mile 2 goes through the hilly part around the state house. I did that in 9:04. Still going great.

Mile 3 covers the Hubbard Street hill, plus the rise on Barre St. I got excited and took a wrong turn, so I had to double back. That plus the hills was going to make me slower. 9:29. I gave back a little time on 56:00, but I had plenty in the bank. I was feeling the heat, but hydrating well. Mile 4 is flat/downhill. A good opportunity to pick up some speed, but I didn’t want to over exert and spoil my last couple of miles, so I kept a moderate pace. Another 9:29. A little slower than I wanted, but still okay. I got to the turnaround shortly after and took a bit of a walking break to hydrate so I would have some push for the end. 56:00 would require more effort than I had in me, but 58:00 was easily in the bag.

I had sort of intended to run this like it was a race, though I certainly didn’t act much like it. For one thing the miscalculation of the pace I needed. For another thing, not checking in with the watch or calculating my progress nearly as frequently as normal, perhaps a side effect of running for fun lately. What I didn’t realize is that, after 4 miles, I was actually 15 seconds behind my time from my first try at this course. And here I was taking a little extra waking time to keep fresh!

Mile 5 I ran in 9:52. 56:00 was way out of reach, and 57:00 basically was at this point, too, though I didn’t realize that. This did pick up four seconds against my previous run, however. And my efforts to have some energy at the end were paying off. Last time I had a couple more walking stints, but I ran the whole way this time and had a kick at the end. My splits for the last 1.2 miles were significantly better for this running. And when I got to the finish line I clicked my watch for a time of…58:05???

This was barely 20 seconds better than last time. My pace was 9:20 (right on target!) vs. 9:24 last time. This was a calamity! I was so confident that I had a good plan, and basically left myself with my pants down. Thank goodness this wasn’t a real race. And even though none of this actually matters, I learned an important lesson about really having a plan in place in order to execute.

At least I felt good at the end.

RACE SUMMARY:
Distance: 10K
Time: 58:05
Pace: 9:20
Place: 2/5
Age Group: 1/1
CVR Points: N/A

6/4/20 Training Update: It’s Good to Not Have Goals

When I started this blog six months ago (has it been that long?), it seemed like a good way for me to document what has gone into my new-found running journey. I wanted to chronicle the highlights of past races. And more so, I wanted to keep a log of my results and preparation for races going forward. Due to COVID-19, that is out the window for 2020. Everything scheduled for this summer is up in the air. Even small races are in doubt because, if gatherings are limited to 25 people, what kind of race can you hold?

The Corporate Cup, rescheduled for September, has been officially changed to a virtual event. The Vermont City Marathon, rescheduled for late October, is very much up in the air. There are usually 7,000 registrants, not to mention the hundreds of volunteers and thousands of spectators. How are we going to go from gatherings of 25 to gatherings in the thousands in just four months? I don’t see it happening.

So now, for the first time in my brief running life, I am not preparing for a race. I started running casually a couple years ago so I could feel somewhat competitive at the Corporate Cup. Then I found a couple of other races to join, just for fun. Then I discovered CVR, and their race series, and suddenly I had a purpose.

2019 was all about building up distance in a short amount of time. Get ready for a 10K in March. Get ready for a 10-miler in April. Then I broke my leg and, after I recovered, the cycle started again to get ready for a half marathon. Then I got ANOTHER injury, and the cycle started again for another half marathon. Then races I signed up for got cancelled, but I decided to run them anyway. Work on speed for this. Work on distance for that. Put on miles even when your legs or your mind aren’t into it. All leading up to the VCM, which had been scheduled for Memorial Day weekend.

And then there was nothing to plan for. As I wrote last week, my (no longer) training runs immediately became more fun. My CVR Social Distancing race last weekend I chose because I thought it would be fun and a personal challenge. No real goals. I want to get to 1,010 for the year, but if I run 4-5 miles 4-5 times per week, I will get there.

And so it continued this week. After some fun morning runs and Saturday’s 10K, Katie and I took a walk through North Branch Park on Sunday. We took a different route down than the normal, and my watch clocked it at 3.1 miles. Exactly 5 kilometers! Katie’s showed slightly under 3 miles, but it looked like she had an inadvertent pause in there, accounting for the difference.

On Monday I decided to make a run out of it. This is the route with the big climb, nearly 300 feet uphill over the course of a mile. I’ve always had to walk a portion of it to get up. Until Monday, when I was able to keep some semblance of a running pace the whole way up. Success! The downhill paralleled the uphill, a nice departure from the nearly straight downhill of my normal route. Then past the pool for the sprint home. Turns out Katie’s watch had been accurate, as my watched buzzed mile three right in front of my house. I had to keep going for another tenth to get my 5K in. At least it was flat!

Tuesday was a rough day. In addition to COVID, the country has been going through protests and occasional rioting over yet another murder of a black man at the hands of white police officers. I really looked forward to my post-work run. Though I’ve been doing a lot of woods running, I resurrected an in-town loop for this night, up to College Street, then down to the bike path to Bailey Ave, then the zig-zags back home. Feeling empowered by Monday’s run, I decided to try for a PR on the Liberty Street hill climb. I felt really strong, but it turns out that the segment starts at the next-to-last side street, not the last one. I started my push too late, and fell three seconds short. I’ll get it next time! The rest of the run was flat and easy. I felt strong.

On Wednesday I went to East Montpelier to run the Dodge trail with Lauren and her partner Matt. We did this a couple of months ago, where again I had found myself walking some of the steeper bits. Not so this time. I actually felt like I was slowing down for Lauren, who has a bum knee. I’m not used to that. We stopped once because she tripped on a root, and another time to check out a trail sign, and so finished in almost exactly the same amount of time as before. But it felt much better and much easier.

Today I decided to revisit the North Branch / Hubbard Park loop I’ve done a few times in recent weeks. I entered from the city pool side rather than the usual Cummings Street, to avoid road time. Running for the fourth day in a row, all with some climbing, my legs were feeling a little tired and sore. And with temps back up into the 70’s, it was warm. This time I remembered to carry water.

My aspiration for this loop is to be able to run all the way up the hill in North Branch, and then all the way up the hill Hubbard Park. I had failed to do this on the weekend’s 10K, and I failed to do it again. I did get up the North Branch side okay, but I was definitely winded. This time I went down the steeper downhill, then round about the field at North Branch Nature Center. This is the most exposed part of the run, but it was overcast and I had a breeze in my face, so it wasn’t so bad.

When I got across the street and starting the next climb, though, I found myself walking almost immediately. Tired legs and heat were the culprits. And though Hubbard doesn’t have quite as much elevation gain as North Branch, it is quite a bit steeper in parts. Once you decide it’s okay to walk the first time, it becomes okay whenever you need it the rest of the way. I finished my water just at the highest point of this portion. But then, good news, it’s all downhill for the next half mile, then flat back to the house. That part felt really good, and I tied my PR on the .2 kick segment at the end.

So this is what it’s like running without a plan. I managed to put in 16 miles in four days, and I do have a plan to run another 10K for the final CVR Social Distancing race. That will get me to 22 for the week, which keeps the pace for my goal for the year. The most unusual thing for me though is that I rarely looked at my watch during any of these runs. I usually check the splits when I get a beep every mile, but other than that I maybe looked once per run just as a gauge. Otherwise it was an exercise in watching my steps, checking in on form, and listening to my body. I’m not pushing for speed, which is reflected in my pace times, but in a way running trails and hills gives me cover for that. Of course I’m not going to go as fast as I would on flat pavement. It’s refreshing in a way. As the weather settles into months of heat and humidity, it’s nice to not be sweating my times.

5/30/20: CVR Social Distancing 10K Trail “Race”

I put “race” in quotation marks, because (as with others) the race signup was really just a vehicle to make sure I committed to the run. This was for all intents and purposes a fun run with some training elements. To the extent that the Social Distancing series is competitive, there was no way that I was going to run a fast time with the course I selected.

I didn’t really settle on the course until the day before. On Friday I did a little walk on the North Branch trails that turned out to be 2.7 miles. Earlier in the week I did a run through Hubbard Park that was 4.1. I could stitch those together as a sort of Figure 8. Take out the overlap and I had myself a nice 10K loop.

After a hot week, things cooled off back to the 60s on Saturday. I ran in the afternoon, with a little bit of sunshine that wouldn’t matter much because so much of this would be on shaded trails.

The route would start by heading south from my home to the Meadow, from where I would enter the park via Winter Street. Two things typically happen here: 1) the road gets really steep, which forces me to walk some of the climb, and 2) I get lost as soon as I get into the park, meaning I have to stop and figure things out. This time, neither of those happened. Repetition has its benefits.

OK, so the uphill part was probably no faster than I could go while power walking. But I was using a “running” stride. After entering the park, I had the choice to stay on the road or run up the sledding hill. Because this was a trail run, I chose the latter, then managed to find my way to the fitness trail. A little more uphill to the Seven Fireplaces, and then a long downhill on the way out of the park – just one more substantial rise after the last turn.

It all felt good. Then across the street through the Nature Center to North Branch Park. This is the most exposed part of the run, and I felt the sun. I was regretting not carrying some water for this run. I had the same regret the last time I ran a 10K without water. Live and learn. Eventually.

I ran the flat stretch that tracks the river, then entered the uphill trail at the end of Cummings Street. The “no walking on hills” portion ended at about the second switchback. Granted, I’ve never made it up this hill without walking, and I usually hit it a half mile into a run. This was nearly four miles in, and it was silly to think there would be no walking. Because there was a fair amount of walking.

The North Branch climb goes on for nearly a mile. I slogged up, and was grateful for the downhill section. This trail goes down for a couple tenths of a mile, then there’s a left-hand turn to a steep, straight downhill back to the flats. These trails probably have names, but I don’t know them. The downhill is too steep to really pick up a lot of speed. My legs were recovering okay, but had to brake some to keep balance.

By the time I got to the bottom, I recognized that my calculations for the distance were off. I had forgotten that there were actually two overlap sections, and I was going to be very short. I improvised and ran back to Cummings Street, and then back up Elm. I was still a little short of six miles when I reached my house, so I had to keep going all the way past the turn to walk down to the city pool. I didn’t have a real powerful kick in me, but I was able to run the last quarter mile in a sub-9:00 pace, so I guess there is some solace in that. I had hoped to finish in under 1:05:00, but with 700+ feet of elevation gain, that was not in the cards. Final time 1:06:42. Not great, but then again, this was about fun. And, as with my recent training runs, this was fun for me, and also something to build upon.

RACE SUMMARY:
Distance: 10K
Time: 1:06:42
Pace: 10:42
Place: 9/12
Age Group: 2/3
CVR Points: N/A

5/28/20 Training Update: Morning Run = Morning Fun

So this is going to be a post about fun. Or at least, a post about running making me feel good.

My last post, the Vermont City Marathon Virtual Half Marathon recap, was not exactly filled with joy. I had followed a plan to have a great race, and didn’t have a great race. And, frankly, not that much of a fun race. My last non-race run had been on Thursday. Just an easy couple miles that was…fine?

Last weekend was Memorial Day, three days of freedom from work. After the run on Saturday, Katie and I took a drive to the Lincoln Gap, sat by a river for awhile then hiked a couple miles on the Long Trail. On Sunday we did a little bike ride in the Groton State Forest. On Monday, a hike up White Rock Mountain in Middlesex. Really, anything but running.

On Tuesday morning, it had been five days since I did any running except for the slog of a race on Saturday. And now I didn’t even have any substitution races on my calendar. My planning had only gone as far as the VCM. There are still a couple more weekends of CVR Social Distancing races coming up, but that’s about it. What’s driving me now?

For one thing, my 1,010 mile goal for 2020. The last couple of months I have made good progress on this, and as of the half marathon I was less than 20 miles behind pace for my goal. I’ve been making up 15 miles per month, and everything is looking good on that front.

So on Tuesday morning, I got up and took a run. I’ve not been doing morning runs lately, but a heat wave had arrived, and I did not want to run in the 90 degree temps later. Even getting out a little after 7:30 things were pretty warm. Low 70s and humid. I wanted to stay out of the sun, so I went into Hubbard Park to run under the trees. Despite all the hills I have been running lately, the uphill entering the park is still a bitch. It’s super steep, and I have to walk. And, as is my fashion, I got turned around almost instantly upon entering. But eventually I righted the ship and found the right trail. This run is front loaded with the climbing, after which it’s downhill and then across the street for a level jaunt through North Branch. 4.1 miles later I was home, drenched in sweat and…I felt pretty good. Real good, in fact. It wasn’t as fast as I wanted and I hate having to walk, but afterward? It felt rewarding.

The temps were going to be even hotter on Wednesday, and Lauren pre-emptively texted me on Tuesday to suggest we not run in the afternoon. We agreed on a morning run up her way. She asked what my mileage goals were. By now I realized that I was only about 18 miles short of 100 for the month. 100 wasn’t really going to be a goal for May, but…I’m so close now. I was already planning to do a 10K for the CVR virtual race this weekend, so I only needed another 12 miles. So I suggested 5+.

There’s this loop that Lauren and her partner Matt do from their house. One way starts and ends with downhills, but has a long uphill in the middle. The other way, not surprisingly, starts and ends with an uphill, but has a long downhill. Lauren asked which way I wanted to go, and I said I wanted to finish on a downhill.

This, evidently, is the Matt Loop. The other way, which Lauren prefers, is the Lauren Loop. I sensed some judgment immediately when she told me that I had chosen Matt Loop, and said so, but Lauren said, no, we’ll do it your way so you can see how you are wrong.

So we did the Matt Loop. It starts off on the dead end road next to their house, goes along some trails to a neighborhood off Towne Hill road, then up Towne Hill to Murray Road. Lauren said, “we haven’t done Murray Hill yet, have we? You’ll like it!”

I’ve learned that Lauren saying “you’ll like it” is code for “you’re not aware how much it’s going to suck.” So I was expecting the worst. We turned up Murray Road and it wasn’t so bad. What was she talking about?

Then we got to the corner and, well, okay, I guess this is what she’s talking about. It got real steep, real quickly. I plugged on up the hill, which is about a third of a mile, but had to pause and walk. Which I hate. Freakin’ Murray hill!

Murray Road ended at Bliss Road, which is blissful if you like a shady country road but less so if you don’t want to keep running uphill. Still, it’s not nearly as steep as Murray. It was a good opportunity to do some recovery, because now I remembered that Bliss was going to end at Center Road, and there was a Strava segment we had run before that I wanted to improve my time on. So I kind of took my time on Bliss, even though that also is a segment.

The segment on Center Road (“Flying Buttress”) is just a little uphill at the start, then downhill to County Road a little bit past Lauren’s house. I remembered that it was a little over a mile (actually 1.2 miles). I didn’t remember that I’m not used to sprinting over a mile. I also didn’t remember that there’s also another uphill portion in the middle of it.

Lauren’s knee was bothering, so she said “have fun” and I took off down hill. I was remembering my form lessons from my PT appointment, and being mindful of my footfalls. I wasn’t exactly sprinting, but this is fast for me. That uphill came, and it wasn’t so bad – I checked my watch and was going at a 9:30 pace, which is good for an uphill, even one that is fairly gradual. Then back downhill for the last 1/3 of a mile, a hero finish. It felt great, no pain anywhere. I cut my time by 17 seconds (that’s it?), but I still had lots of energy at the end. I also set my one-mile personal record by a couple of seconds. Another great run, followed by social-distanced iced coffee on Lauren and Matt’s deck.

And then this morning, now with just about 12.5 miles to go for 100 for the month, I got up for another morning run. It was a couple degrees cooler and there was more cloud cover, so I figured I would do a street run and not a trail run. I have a 6.6 mile loop that goes out to the western end of the bike path, then all the way back to the start of the new part of the path, and back home. I planned to climb up to College Street, but time was short due to a morning meeting. It was an unexceptional run. Not super hot, but the humidity persisted, and my joints were a little stiff. I never felt all that compelled to push the pace, with the only inspiration to get home before my call. I learned from the last two humid runs and brought water, which was a good decision. And I trudged home in a pace a little slower than 9:30, which is okay for this distance I guess. It wasn’t a run that felt great, but it also didn’t feel bad. And I felt really good when it was over.

On Saturday I am going to run a 10K to have another entry in the CVR series, and also to get to 100 miles for the third month in a row. But I really don’t feel any pressure. I think I might re-run the route from a few weeks ago as a measure of redemption. But ultimately I just want to enjoy it. And it turns out that a six-mile run can be kind of fun!

5/23/20: Vermont City Marathon relay substitute

Regular readers of this blog will know that, even before COVID-19 turned our world upside down, I’ve been looking forward to this weekend. The Vermont City Marathon. My best friend Brock and I were planning to run the half-and-half relay. When the race was postponed, I put it on my calendar to run a half marathon the weekend of anyway. It’s good to have goals.

I got sent a medal in the mail, so I used it for this race!

This is the weekend that the whole winter and spring training regimen has been leading up to. The Sprouts Mesa Half Marathon. The Half Marathon Unplugged, which was also postponed. Even the Paul Mailman Ten Miler. All were part of the plan to get me to this weekend.

All these races, and all my other long runs, were providing data. Lessons learned. Don’t drink before races. Improve my nutrition intake and hydration (I scoped out more water stops for Katie to set up than I did for the Unplugged, and I carried water to boot). Maybe don’t kill the legs with excess miles the week before. I was prepared for this to be a good strong run. I wasn’t expecting a PR – I built a pretty good hill into the first few miles, and that would make matching Mesa a big challenge. But I’m also in better shape now, and it would be all flat after Portal Road.

And then… And then…

And then preparation met real-world conditions. And preparation was at a disadvantage.

For one thing, the weather is just now turning nice in Vermont, and Friday was a gorgeous day. It would have been the perfect evening to sit on the porch and have a cocktail or two, but I was sticking to a training plan. And I might have resented that a bit.

For another thing, the weather is just now turning warm in Vermont. Saturday’s temperatures weren’t too bad – 60’s when I started, mid-70’s at the finish – but they were considerably warmer than what I’ve been running in. And more humid to boot. If I had started an hour earlier, or if I had run on Sunday instead (and had a full holiday weekend Saturday of teetotaling? Ugh!), the temperatures would have been more favorable. But I did not do those things.

And for a third thing, I was running this thing alone. And I discovered that it’s one thing to run a solo 13 miles on a cold April morning when the ski areas are closed and there’s not much else to do, but it’s something else entirely to do so on a lovely May morning when the options are much improved.

Regardless, there I was toeing the starting line in front of my house at ~~8:00~~ ~~8:30~~ 8:35 on Saturday morning, and when Katie sounded the horn, I was off.

The course for this race was one that I set on a whim recently. I had both biked and run over Portal Road several times, and it’s approximately an 8-mile loop. A few weeks ago Katie and I took a bike ride that way, but then decided to extend it with a jaunt down to Three Mile Bridge and back along Junction Road and the bike path. When we got back home the distance was exactly 13.1 miles. Perfect!

The course starts out flat along Elm Street for the first two miles. Then a left onto Bolduc and Portal Roads, where it gains about 400 feet over then next two miles. It’s flat for a bit before losing all the elevation by mile six. Then, flat flat flat.

My goal was to do this in less than 2:10, a sub 10:00 minute pace. I did Mesa in a 9:30 pace, but again, that was a different animal. Flat/downhill and fast. I figured if I ran 9:30s on the flats it would offset whatever slowness I would experience on the two miles of uphill, and maybe allow me to finish ahead of my goal.

I’ve had an issue in recent races of heading out too fast, running the first mile or two closer to 8:45. I was pleased, then, to not have that happen so much on this run. I started out at a comfortable pace, and ran the first two miles in almost exactly 9:00 each. It didn’t feel taxing at all. So far so good! The next two miles were climbing, but Katie was going to meet me for water on a level section at 3.5 miles. I took a swig of water at 2 miles to stay hydrated, then paused for more at 3.5. I got there a couple of minutes before she was expecting, and I felt good. A brief stop and some walking before I was back on my way. I also took a shot block at this time.

In sketching out the race plan, I had sort of figured I could do the downhill at an 8:00 pace. I also thought the downhill started a little before it did and would be a full two miles. Neither of those things turned out to be true. Nonetheless, I hit four miles in slightly under 40:00 minutes. Basically I had to hold a 10 minute pace the rest of the way to meet my goal.

The downhills were a little slower than expected; 9:09 for mile five and 8:12 for mile six. But by now I was back to a 9:30 pace for the race. Katie met me at the bottom of the hill, just after mile six, for another water break. Walking, slight pause, but not giving back too much time.

And honestly, at this point everything was good. It was warmer than I wanted, and my hips were a little stiff, but overall I felt good physically. But things started to deteriorate nonetheless. Miles seven and eight were along Route 2 and Three Mile Bridge Road. I was noticing that it was flat and getting hot and that I was running this stupid thing alone. My splits weren’t awful at 9:45 and 9:52. But they also weren’t 9:30. And worse, it didn’t feel like 9:30 was coming back.

The next water stop was at the end of the bridge. I was 8.6 miles in by now. (I was also at the point of the run where there would be no way to take a shortcut home. I was committed!). I had asked Katie to pack a singlet to change into if things got hot, and so I made the switch at this stop. It was a cooler shirt and it was good to get some sweat off me. I took on some water and another shot block, and I mentioned to Katie that I was missing having other runners. She took that as a cue to ride on with me for the next bit. It would be another 2.5 miles to the final stop along the bike path. She didn’t really pace me, and didn’t talk to me, but she was there on her bike and had some tunes blasting from her phone for the next 25 minutes. I was grateful for all of this.

It’s not unusual for my pace to suffer at this stage of a run, I guess. Mile 9 was over 11 minutes due to the shirt change. Mile 10 was just under 10. Mile 11, with another water stop at the very end, was also over 11 minutes. At that stop we doused a washcloth with water, and I used that to cool my head the rest of the way.

I wasn’t really doing the math in my head at this point, but it seemed like finishing in 2:10 was going to take some effort. And whereas the will was mostly there, the body was not, and I had to accept that reality. The last two miles were slow, and I had to walk a few times to catch my breath. In retrospect I think both the heat and the hill took more out of me than I was prepared for. I was on fumes.

After the last water stop, Katie headed back to the house so she could change out of biking clothes and then pace me in. She met me with about 3/10 of a mile to go. I’d like to think I had a kick in me, but at that point I was still in “get to the end” mode. It was only as my watch buzzed for mile 13, almost in front of my house, that I was able to summon some juice for the last tenth of a mile. I wanted to get this thing over with!

My finishing time was 2:12:24. Luckily, not as slow as my first half marathon, which was something I hadn’t contemplated as a real possibility. But slower than my other two, which was a disappointment. I think I would have posted a better time if it were the actual VCM, because Sunday’s weather was cooler, the course was flatter, and there would be actual race excitement. All that said, though, I am still proud of this run. It was a lesson in perseverance, in adaptation, and setting out to finish what I started even when things didn’t go to plan.

RACE SUMMARY:
Distance: Half Marathon
Time: 2:12:24
Pace: 10:04
Place: 4/5 (CVR Virtual Race Series)
Age Group: 1/1

5/21/20 Training Update: Trails?

The past couple of weeks have been in service of preparing for my half marathon run coming up in a couple of days. I ran a long run on the 11th, then dialed back the distance over the past couple of weeks, keeping everything under five miles, except for the virtual 10K I ran last weekend.

The miles weren’t without challenges. Ever since I started working with Lauren, she has talked about getting me out on the trails this summer, even though I insist I am not a trail runner. I am a trail walker/hiker, however. Katie and I did a #IRunWithMaud hike through the North Branch Park trails on May 8. As we were walking I was thinking that they didn’t look awful for running. So I suggested to Lauren that we could do a trail loop for our Wednesday Run.

The North Branch has some hiking trails that also have been adapted for mountain biking. The park abuts the (unaffiliated) North Branch Nature Center, which happens to be directly across the street from a Hubbard Park trailhead. The North Branch Park loop is about 2.5 miles, so we decided to link into Hubbard to get our distance up to four miles.

Walking the NB trail isn’t too bad, but running is a different story. It’s a little less than half a mile from my house to the trail head. And then it’s uphill, gaining 272 feet in less than a mile. Because it’s a mountain bike trail, it’s not extremely steep anywhere but the switchbacks, and there are some decent stretches of mostly flat relief. But man, it was hard – it seemed a lot more taxing than the Gould Hill / Jacobs Road climb over the weekend. Getting to the top was a welcome relief, followed by a steep, straight shot all the way down and a flat bit through the Nature Center Fields. Across the street, and again back to the uphill. The Hubbard Park section gains another 163 feet in 3/4 of a mile. But the steeps are steeper. There were quite a few walking bits here.

The finish is another pretty straight downhill, then back to Elm Street for a flat, fast finish. The total run was 4.25 miles, and I felt strong at the end despite getting wiped out by the hills. I finished thinking that those hills shouldn’t take so much out of me. So on Thursday, I went back and did it again. And it felt just as bad the second time. In fact, my time to complete was exactly the same on Day 2.

Friday was what is becoming a rare rest day. I did take a walk to put some checks in the mail, and came back through Hubbard Park to stay out of the rain. I was tempted to run the downhill part, but I wasn’t dressed for that. But sticking to the plan is important, too.

They say that running hills will make you faster, and on Saturday I ran a really strong 10K on a flat course. I felt really good throughout. On Sunday Katie and I went for a 30-mile bike ride through Northfield and Moretown. That had some killer hills, too, so I decided to rest on Monday. But then I hopped on the bike for a 7.5 mile loop up Portal Road to scope out a water stop for my half marathon. It was a good shakeout.

Tuesday was very warm, and so I thought it would be best to stay out of the sun. So it was back to the parks trail loop. (Okay, I also was still feeling like this is a nut that I want to crack.) And it sucked again. The uphills don’t seem to be getting any easier. But I felt really strong on the final stretch on the road. Without realizing it, I ran the loop a minute and a half faster than the first two times!

With tapering for Saturday’s long run in mind, on Wednesday I went for a flat four miler in town. (Lauren was not able to join me this time.) This was purely gaining miles, as I didn’t push anything. But there were results regardless, as my “easy” pace was just under 9:00. It’s not that long ago that it was 9:30. Today was more of the same, just a simple 2.3 mile loop that is half on the bike path. It actually didn’t feel good at all – my glutes were sore the whole way – but I ran an 8:48 pace.

It’s gratifying to see the miles pay off, and to be able to run a faster pace without overly taxing myself. Saturday will be a challenge, but the elevation gain for the whole run is less than the parks loop, and it’s almost all gained in one climb of 2 miles early on. The key will be to not overdo it on the run down terrace street, because the pounding takes a toll, and there will still be seven flat miles following. I felt surprisingly good at the end of the Gould Hill / Jacobs Road run two weeks ago. Regardless of my time, I’ll be very pleased if I am not in pain at the finish!

5/16/20: CVR Social Distancing Virtual 10K Race

It seems I just had a post with this exact same title. Methinks CVR could have done a better job of naming these virtual races, in order to keep them all straight.

This was an in-between weekend for me. In light of recent lessons about needing rest, I have chosen to dial back my mileage between last weekend’s 10-mile run and next weekend’s virtual half marathon. This was also good practice for race prep in general. In past races it’s been about run run run to acclimate to mileage, then run the race and hope for the best. Now, with a few races under my belt, I am learning to strategize better.

The strategy I am employing is in service of half marathon training. In being more committed to tapering before the race, I decided six miles would be about right for this weekend. And what better way to do six miles than by running a 10K race?

I did not prepare well for my last 10K, two weeks prior. I logged a lot of miles during the week, then went on a killer bike ride the day before. (As it turns out, I went on another killer bike ride this weekend, but it was the day after the 10K. Sequencing!) I ran three times during the week, for a total of 13 miles. Two of those were hilly runs through the woods that I found very taxing. But I took Friday off to rest before the race. I was feeling pretty good.

I was tempted to repeat the course of the previous run, but I decided instead to modify a route that I have done several times from my house. I had to cut 0.4 miles off. Part of that I accomplished by changing the starting point. Part was accomplished by streamlining the route. I shaved a couple of zig zags off, and in the process some small hills. This would result, I figured, in a fast course. Two weeks ago I was thwarted in my attempt at 56:00 and a PR, but I was better set up this time.

To run a 10K under 56:00, you basically need to run 9:00 minute miles. I’ve done that for 5.4 miles before, so I figured it was doable. But it’s fast for me, and I tend to slow down after 5 miles. Adapting to the lessons from the last race, I chose to carry some water and also a Honey Stinger for an energy pop halfway. I didn’t drink Friday night and I did a good stretch and warmup before the run. I was ready to go.

My route started on the edge of the Meadow, then down Elm to State Street, then cut over to the bike path toward Dog River. Then I doubled back on Junction Road, the only real elevation gain on the run, and back down Memorial Drive. Then a zag back to the bike path which I took to the former end on Stone Cutters Way. From there I doubled back on Barre Street all the way back to Main (skipping the Hubbard Street hill. Then on back to Elm for the run home. This course cut back on street crossings as well, and late-Saturday afternoon traffic was light in general.

I have a tendency to start out fast, and this was no exception. I’ve been slacking on cadence recently, but I was mindful to keep it up for the race. I finished the first mile in 8:21, well ahead of the target pace. I felt good, and also figured it’s good to have some seconds in store for the inevitable slow down. Mile two was a bit slower at 8:39, but I was already a minute ahead of where I needed to be for 56:00. I was already thinking 55:00 could be the new goal. Mile three was a bit slower still, but at 8:51 was still faster than I needed. I got to 3.1 miles in under 27:00, and for a moment harbored thoughts of shooting for 54:00.

I had to tell myself to keep my eyes on the goal. I didn’t do the math on what pace I needed for 54:00, but I knew it was less than 8:50, which is what I had run the last mile in. I still had three miles to go. It was pretty unlikely that I’d be able to keep up that pace. So I decided to just relax and run a comfortable pace, all the while keeping my eye on 55:00. As I already had more than a minute in the bank, I could run 9:00s and get there.

I relaxed just a bit more than I probably should have, as miles 4 and 5 were done at a 9:08 pace. I forgot that there was some elevation gain back on Barre Street, though pretty gradual, followed by a gradual downhill. It didn’t help that I had to stop for a few seconds at a traffic light that I hit at just the wrong time. Those splits were cutting it close though, and so I found myself pushing mile six in a way that I am not accustomed to. My legs were having it, though. I got to the 6-mile mark at just over 53:00 minutes, so I just had to sustain the sub-9:00 pace for the last 0.2. That stretch I call the Kick Zone, and it goes right in front of my house. I actually went a bit past 6.2 before stopping my watch. Final time: 54:57. This was nearly two minutes better than my previous PR in March.

But I’m not really here to toot my horn about a PR. If nothing else, the pandemic response has allowed me to really work on improving my training and my race prep. Some people have told me that they wouldn’t be able to get up for a solo race, but for me it’s basically laboratory time. I felt really good on this run, and I think adjustments to training and prep have everything to do with that. The next trick is to see how that translates to the half marathon next weekend!

RACE SUMMARY:
Distance: 10K
Time: 54:57 (New PR)
Pace: 8:50
Place: 3/6
Age Group: 2/2
CVR Points: N/A

5/11/20 Training Update: What Exactly is Rest?

The pattern here at Joe’s Running Blog has been to provide a training update on Thursday and a race update on Monday. Last Thursday, however, I did a race update. And today, Monday, I’m writing a training update.

It’s a pandemic, folks. There are no rules!

As the title implies, this is a post about rest. Something I am learning about as I go along. I check out Strava on the daily, and I see people who have long running streaks. I see people who run pretty much every day, with 8 miles being a light day. They do long runs, 15+ miles, 20+ miles, on the weekends. So it seems to me that daily runs, or daily exertion (like bike rides) is something that people are entirely capable of.

So I put that to the test, though maybe not intentionally so. Last weekend I ran a 10K and did not have the legs for it following a long bike ride the day before. I was going to take Monday off, but decided that a quick 2.4 miles was kind of like resting. Tuesday I ran a flat 3.4 – I compromised and cut a couple tenths off the route. Wednesday was my weekly non-Runderachievers date with Lauren. Another 3.4 miles. This time with hills. And on Thursday I ran the Corporate Cup 5K route, and did not have the legs I wanted.

So, keeping in mind that I wanted to do a long run on the weekend to train for my half marathon two weeks hence, I was going to rest on Friday and run a ten miler on Saturday. I signed up for the ten mile category in the CVR Social Distancing race series, hoping to “win” mostly by default if others didn’t run the distance.

On Friday, which I took as a vacation day, I saw a bunch of people posting #IRunWithMaud on Strava. Curious, I discovered this was a sign of support. Ahmaud Arbery was a young African American man who was chased down and killed by white supremacists in Georgia a few months back. His killers went free until a video was released.

Friday would have been Ahmaud’s 26th birthday. He was murdered on February 23, so runners were symbolically running 2.23 miles.

The fight for social justice can’t take a day off, and so I reasoned that I should do a symbolic run, which I shared on Facebook to challenge other white people to speak up against racism. Ahmaud was murdered for running through an affluent, mostly white neighborhood. I somewhat intentionally ran through the Meadow, one of the more wealthy neighborhoods in Montpelier. Then again, I run through the Meadow several times a week and nobody bats an eye. I am white.

I was thankful that my symbolic run was so short, because my legs were incredibly heavy. I ran faster than a jog, but not much. The best part of the whole thing was when I trotted the last bit back home, as 2.23 miles finished 0.2 miles from home.

As I was running, the idea of running 10 miles the next day was incomprehensible, especially with the elevation gain that I was committed to for training purposes. And I was planning to go on a long bike ride with Katie on Sunday, so I couldn’t run that day. But that meant that my 10 mile run wouldn’t qualify for the race series, which counted only runs on the weekend. What to do?

What to do was decide that it was okay not to run ten miles on the weekend. I could do it on Monday instead. This was really meant to be a training run. I signed up for the “race” to hold myself to the distance, not because I wanted to run this like a race. I was going to climb a big hill. I just wanted to get to the finish. And the “plan” could change.

But then what happened was we didn’t get out the door early on Sunday, and Katie decided to forego a ride because she also planned to go visit her mom on Mother’s Day. My legs were feeling pretty good after a day off, so I thought I would give it a go. I may have also been influenced by a forecast for crappy weather on Monday. That sounded like a good day for more rest.

And the run itself was much easier than I expected. I ran the opposite of my long run up North Street a few weeks ago, going up Gould Hill Road. But I took a detour on Jacobs Road to add an additional two miles. And some additional elevation gain as well. Jacobs connected to Horn of the Moon Road, and then back to North Street, which had the high point of the run.

The total elevation gain for this run was 1,200 feet, which I am pretty sure is the most I’ve ever done. Gould Hill is a more gradual climb than North Street, though the Jacobs portion is pretty steep. It’s three miles to the high point on Jacobs, then flat/downhill for a mile, then another rolling climb to the high point on North Street at mile six. Then downhill for three miles before a flat finish back to home for the last mile.

In many ways this is like the Genny Tenny. The total gain is a couple hundred feet more, though only one real big climb unlike the two in the Genny. I felt really good for the climb, but was concerned as my right knee was hurting only halfway in. The long descent could be problematic. I was really mindful of my cadence the rest of the way, with shorter and more frequent strides. The knee did not deteriorate. In fact, it started feeling a little better. A mid-race dose of Ibuprofen may have also benefitted.

Also harkening back to the Genny Tenny, I recalled the long, steep downhill in that race. I felt great going down, but was completely spent when things leveled out for the last mile. I expected more of the same on this run. But to my surprise, I actually was able to keep a decent pace at the end. In almost all of my long runs, I really lose pace after about six miles, but the last mile here was done under 9:30. I was very pleased with this. I ended up finishing 10.2 miles in 1:42, or a 10:05 pace. Given the climbs – three splits over 11:30 – I wasn’t expecting anywhere near 10:00 even with the long downhills.

(You see, it wasn’t a race, and I didn’t set a time goal, and I was in no way trying for speed. But everything is kind of a race…)

So, rest is good. I rested again today. I have a plan for my half marathon, which includes at least one rest day in advance. I don’t plan to run anything longer than 6.2 miles between now and then. I’ll sign up for a 10K for next weekend. This is committed tapering. We’ll see how that all pans out.

(NOT A) RACE SUMMARY:
Distance: 10 miles
Time: 1:42:56
Pace: 10:05
Place: 3/3 (for those who posted times in the CVR virtual race series)
Age Group: 1/1
CVR Points: N/A

5/7/20: Faux Corporate Cup

Oh, man, I was looking forward to this one.

The Corporate Cup is my race. It was the first 5K I ever ran, back in 2017. 4,000 people in downtown Montpelier inspired me to try running after I had walked a couple of times. It’s one of Montpelier’s biggest parties every year.

And every year something happens. In 2018 I sprained my ankle the day before the race. In 2019 I anti-doped myself with a heart rate-suppressing drug the day before the race. In 2020?

Well, for one thing, we aren’t certain there will actually BE a race in 2020. Due to COVID-19 this year’s race, originally scheduled for today, has been moved back to September. Though the Vermont social distancing restrictions are starting to loosen, it’s not a given in my mind that it’s going to be considered safe to have a crowd that size in September. And it’s certainly not a given that I’m going to want to participate if it does go on.

But I do want to run this race, my race. And so I did what I’ve been doing all spring: I raced it on my own.

I came into this with all kinds of confidence. I was looking for a PR. After the CVR Social Distancing 5K a few weeks ago, in which I missed my PR of 26:12 by just a few seconds, I figured it was in reach. This course is as flat as that one, and though the adrenaline that comes from the crowd would be missing, so would be the actual crowd. Nobody to get in my way. I was thinking more about 25:59 than 26:11. And besting last year’s 27:00 to get a PR for the race itself? Well, that was a given based on how I’ve been running lately.

After some heavy miles last week, I knew I wanted to dial it back this week so as not to be overtired. I didn’t take any actual days off, but took it easy. 2.4 miles on Monday. 3.4 on Tuesday. Another 3.4 on Wednesday, with some hills that I ran with Lauren. I wanted to be fairly fresh for the race on Thursday.

Lately Thursday afternoons have been spent in the office, depositing checks and otherwise taking advantage of the equipment there to do printing, etc. Today was no different. After work I would do my stretches and then get a little warmup by jogging over to the start. The weather was ideal: 55 degrees and some scattered clouds.

All warmed up, the horn sounded at 5:45 p.m. and I was off. I needed to run 8:20 splits to break 26:00. Per usual, I started off fast. I looked a couple of times at my watch and my pace was under 8:00. I knew that I probably couldn’t keep that up, but my strategy was to try to run 8:20 – 8:30 and throw in some faster segments to get the overall average down. This, I figured, would count as one of the fast segments.

I didn’t want to stare at my watch the whole time, so I tried to just focus on moving forward and keeping the cadence up. For some reason I didn’t take a gander immediately when the mile one buzzer sounded. But I looked a few seconds later and discovered that I wasn’t as far ahead of my required pace as I expected to be. And as I pushed up Elm Street, heading for the zig-zag through the Meadow, my pace was more in the 8:30 – 8:40 range. This portion was slightly uphill, but this was too slow!

I was looking at a couple of speed intervals in the Meadow, particularly on Pearl and Summer Streets. But when I went to push, I felt like I was pushing, but the gains weren’t there. 8:30. That’s no way to run a 26:00!

The split for mile 2 was 8:49. I needed my total time at that point to be around 16:40, but I was already over 17:00. Sub-27:00 was safe, but the PR (and certainly sub 26:00) already appeared doomed, especially given the non-response from my legs. I tried for more speed on the bike path, but couldn’t get it. Mile 3 ends with a climb up Bailey and Baldwin. It’s modest – about 30 feet – but the biggest lift of the whole run. By the time I peaked on Baldwin, my mile three was at 8:48. I was just under 26:00. With no life coming from my legs, I was starting to sweat on the 27:00 goal!

Luckily the last 1/10 mile is downhill and then flat. I was able to pick up speed even if it was just due to gravity. I got to 3.11 miles sooner than I expected – the official course is .01 – .02 longer than 5K – and clicked the stop button at 26:47. Better than last year, yes, but much much slower than I was aiming for.

So what happened in 2020? The obvious answer is “operator error.” I knew I’d been putting heavier-than-usual miles on my legs and that I needed a rest – Sunday’s 10K was firm evidence of that. But I rationalized that easy 2-3 mile runs are basically rest. (Editor’s note: they are not.) Hills on Wednesday were not a recipe for success. The feedback from both Katie and Lauren was, “you need to rest.” Which, sure, I get that. But I think there was also some science going on here. I really don’t know how my body will respond until I ask it to respond. And it didn’t respond poorly; by most measures an 8:37 pace is pretty good for me. But I did not set myself up to challenge my PR on this race. Perhaps, with lessons learned, things will be different next time.

See you in September!

RACE SUMMARY
Distance: 5K
Time: 26:47 (PR for this course)
Pace: 8:37
Place: 1/1
Age Group: 1/1

5/3/20: CVR Social Distancing 10K Virtual Race

When is a race not a race?

When is not-a-race a race?

What even is a race anymore?

I was thinking of cheating and not writing a “race recap” for this run, because I knew at the start that I wasn’t primed for a race. I didn’t even decide how far to run until the morning of. And besides, I ran this alone. There was nobody to race against.

Then again, I’ve been running solo “races” all spring. And I entered this in the CVR Social Distancing race series. And, had my legs been up to it, I would have given it more of a go. It would be intellectually dishonest to pretend this particular run was different to the others.

But it was different, especially in my preparation. This wasn’t a “replacement” race, like the Kaynor’s or the Paul Mailman, but a race added by virtue of the CVR virtual race series. And that is just for fun. As such, I didn’t really have a training plan coming into Sunday.

And so on Saturday, Katie and I went for a 35 mile bike ride, that included two big climbs totaling almost 3,000 feet. I am pretty sure this is the longest ride of my life. I felt better than expected at the end, but throughout I was pondering whether to go for 5K or 10K for the race on Sunday. I decided that, for training mileage goals, I should run the longer distance. Basically, my legs didn’t say “no way,” so I went for it. I planned a course that is pretty flat so as not to go overboard in taxing the legs, but that was the only real concession.

I recognized that I was approaching this at least partly as training run, so I thought I should set a time goal. My last 5K, the virtual Kaynor’s run, I remembered was 56-something (56:44 as it turns out), so I figured that would be a good goal. Even with tired legs, this was a flatter (editors note: not a ton flatter) course, so it would be less taxing.

The first couple of miles gave me some false hope. As has been the case lately, I went out fast, with 8:43 and 8:49 splits the first two miles. To break 56:00 I’d need to keep about a 9:00 minute pace. I didn’t feel like I was really pushing it. So far, so good.

Mile three was a different story, It contained the only real climb of the run, over Hubbard Street. I could tell before this mile over that there would be no pushing for a PR on this run. In fact, I was having a semi-serious debate with myself whether to pull the plug at five kilometers, or to keep going. The course was set up to enable such a choice: I ran the same loop as the 5K two weeks prior, but started from the office (and the co-op, for post-race grocery chopping). The second half of the race was out-and-back on the new portion of the bike path, starting very close to what would be the 5K finish.

Over my body’s objections, I chose to keep going. I was back to training mode at this time, and I figured there would be times in the future that I would need to push on despite some adversity. There was no real adversity here. I wasn’t feeling any sort of pain. I was just tired. However I figured it would be good to put in the memory banks a time that I really didn’t want to go on, but chose to anyway.

From this point, it was 1.65 miles to the end of the bike path, and then back to get to 6.2. Mile three was completed in 9:33. As I said, I knew that 56:00 wasn’t in reach. I modified the goal to 58:00, which was more of a 9:20 pace. There was some hope on mile 4, which was done in 9:23. I decided to treat the turnaround at the end of the path like a water station, and I walked a little bit. Sadly, this wasn’t a real water stop. I wasn’t carrying water and, in retrospect, I am certain I was quite under hydrated.

The walk did nothing to refresh my legs. I ran mile 5 in a few seconds under 10 minutes. More of the same for mile 6 – a short walking portion, dead legs, a time just under 10:00. I did muster a little bit of a kick for the last two-tenths, but the pace was still just 9:23. Final time: 58:26. Disappointing on the one hand because I know I can do this faster. But I was also proud to have gone out and done it anyway, despite knowing I hadn’t really set myself up for a good “race.” So, as I’m sure will be the case often in the future, poor result, good experience.

RACE SUMMARY:
Distance: 10K
Time: 58:26
Pace: 9:24
Place: 6/11
Age Group: 1/3
CVR Points: N/A