Nagog Seasons 20K Prep

I normally don't talk about my training. Coach Amanda Kourtz writes my plan according to the races on my schedule, doing a decent job of getting me to the start line healthy and somewhat competitive, at least in my age group. I read the plan, do the workouts, and keep the faith.

My summer training has been sporatic, I haven't been formally training since the Bobby Doyle 5 Mile Road Race, and I've been busy. I was unsure of running the 20k and didn't have a plan in place. I jumped in anyway!

 

Figuring that "winging" a 20K was probably not the smartest thing, I threw together a Run Your Best 20k in Three Weeks plan.

I awoke this morning with a split run on my schedule. 80 minute z2 run, followed by a 3 hour rest, followed by an 80 minute z2 run.

After a couple cups of espresso and breakfast I headed out for Run 1. I wanted to have two solid runs so I was sure to eat before and between the runs. If I was further out from the 20k I might skip the between meal to deplete fuel sources forcing my body to run on short reserves. But a 20k is short enough so depletion is not an issue. 

Running north toward Mendon I ran up the 2ish mile long hill passing Daniels Farmstead. The Farmer's Market was preparing to open and there was more traffic than I normally encounter on that road. 

It was a nice cool dry morning and I felt fine but was a little concerned. Last Sunday I ran a 14ish mile progression in the am followed by a 35 minute aerobic run in the evening. Monday was recovery runs. Tuesday a.m. was a hard warmup followed by 2 x 20 minutes at half marathon pace. In the evening was a 4 mile aerobic pace run. The middle of the week were aerobic and recovery runs. Friday was a hard warm-up followed by 5 x 1 mile repeats. Saturday was recovery. 

I was hoping that the 2 x 80 minute workout was not too heavy of a workload for my current fitness.

At 40 minutes, just outside of the Mendon Town Center, I turned and headed toward home. I ran a bit quicker on the way back and finished the last 4 or so minutes on the BMR High School track, with is the Coach Kevin Maloney Track for those of you that went to the Foss Running Camp.

Once home I drank a OJ shake with about 10 grams of protein powder. After a quick shower I had a fried egg, a veggie snausage, and a tortilla smeared with butter. I make my butter from fresh heavy cream and buttermilk cultures. It is so delicious. Then I sat down read a chapter from The Three Musketeers. 

I had a about an hour remaining before my next run so I opened ITunes and put together an Eddie Vedder mix consisting of 10 of his performances with other artists. I was inspired to this after listening to the Eddie Vedder/Natalie Maines version of "Golden State." 

I suited up again and stepped out for Run 2. The first few strides, if I may call them strides, were a bit rough. It was hot with some humidity. I lodged a couple of F-Bombs into my account toward assuring a toasty home in the afterlife. The Farmers Market was now in full swing and there were some tasty looking apples laid out. At the 40 minute turnaround I was about a quarter mile short of the first run. The balance of the run was uneventful, as it should be, and any concerns about the workload were put aside. I finished .39 miles less than Run 1 over the 80 minutes. 

Tomorrow will be some easy recovery, Tuesday will be my last hard workout. It will be an interesting 20k. The elevation chart looked hilly/rolling the whole way. A half marathon with a .7 mile reprieve. 

Considering my current fitness, I will need that .7 mile relief. 

 

Shoe questions that must needs explanation....

I can't find my Hulu password so instead of watching Murdock Mysteries ...

After five or so years of wearing the funny toe shoes, of a manufacturer to remain non-named, I still receive the odd look, the querulous comments, and occasionally reasonable question.

Why do I wear this shoe? Well, I fancy myself as capable of tossing around anecdotal evidence as well as the next guy...but I won't. I would prefer to run without shoes of any type. To be truthful, upon honor and by faith of a gentleman, I have never seen any data driven evidence proving the benefit of one type of shoe over another.

Wear what suits your feet best.

Though doubt of this continues to exist...what shoe one wears while training or racing matters not, unless, of course, you are getting paid to wear a particular brand.

With all modesty, and a bit of tongue in cheek...the Q and A.

Question: Are those comfortable to run in? ( I assumed the real question is "Are your feet comfortable while running in those shoes"?)

Answer: I wanted to reply that it would be senseless to wear shoes that are uncomfortable; however, as is often the case, people do wear shoes that while fashionable are not comfortable. My most reasonable answer is that I have little awareness of my shoes while running.

Question: Do those shoes have any support?

Answer: I don't know what that means.

Question: Ohhh, those are a fun color.

Answer: Not a question but I always agree for some unknown reason.

Question: Do you run faster in those shoes?

Answer: Umm...faster than? I think I am at least partially responsible for making others run faster. Who wants to be outrun by an old guy in funny shoes? That would be akin to being beat by the person in the port-o-potty costume.

Question: You must go through a lot of those shoes.

Answer: Again, a pseudo-question statement that, probably, is a life of shoe question. While I have several pairs in rotation, the oldest pair I have was purchased in March of 2013. How many miles? My workouts are by heart rate and time, except for mile repeats and such, so I don't count miles. All the data is on Garmin, but I suppose more than 40mpw and less than 65mpw year round would be a fair guess. I do not differentiate between shoes for training and shoes for races. I've attached three images to show wear patterns over time.

Question: Do you wear socks with those shoes? Followed by a quick, "well how could get your toes if you wore socks?"

Answer: In the winter I do wear socks that have individual toes.

Question: Do your feet get wet?

Answer: Yes, yes they do. If it's raining, snowing, or if I step in a pool of water.


I realize that many of you would question my credentials and ability to make the earlier statement about the importance of shoe types. You might say "But John who are you to make shoe judgements, you are so slow?" That may be true, but the reasons I am am slow has nothing to do with my shoes. I am slow because...

1. I don't run enough miles.
2. I drink too much beer.
3. I put too much butter on my tortillas.

Speaking of which...I am getting hungry

The 8th Annual Bobby Doyle Summer Classic 5 Mile

 The 8th Annual Bobby Doyle Summer Classic 5 Mile was held Sunday, August 9. This was the fifth of seven USATF-NE Grand Prix races. I took a leisurely drive through the biggest little state in the union, arriving about an hour before the race start. Parking was easy and I jogged over to the school to pick up my bib. I chatted with Jean Cann for a few minutes and went for a 20 minute warmup. I saw a group of CMS folk and I went over to say hello. The group was offering ribbons to wear honoring Jennifer Lewis-Hogan, a CMS teammate that passed a couple of weeks ago. I pinned on a ribbon, said a prayer, and headed for the start line.

I had never run this course before and did not know what to expect. I positioned myself at the 30+ minute section. I crossed the start line about 6 seconds after the gun, however, my chip and gun time are the same. Mile 1 passed quickly in 6:02. I felt like I was working too hard, maybe a bit dehydrated, for the balance of the race. Mile 2-5 were 6:12, 6:08, 6:21, 6:22, and there was this residual , 0.1 mile for 0:31 seconds. Garmin clocked me at 31:35 for the distance. The official clock had me at 19:31 for the 5k split and gun time was 31:40 for the 5 miles.

The bad news is that I was about 10 seconds slower per mile that I should have been.
The good news is that I beat my 2014 Ribfest 5 mile gun time. (5k 19:38, 5M 31:47)

The CMS senior team placed second and I managed to squeeze out 6th place in the 55-59 year old age group for 5 Grand Prix points.

The requisite excuses/rationalizations.

I did not manage to fully train during July. I crashed and fell off my bicycle, well I couldn't unclip and fell with my bike, banging up my knee. I am working now on my basic foundation by adding more miles through doubling, leg strength, and generous application of naps. The strength work I performed early this year was beneficial. And as always, a good training plan, thanks Amanda, prepared me to run this year, a bit quicker than last.

Next stop...the Seasons 20k in Acton, MA!

Hollis Fast 5k June 11, 2015

This is one crazy race!

It was already hot and humid as I drove from Marlborough, MA to Hollis, NH for this Thursday evening event. I arrived at Alpine Grove early to grab my bib and catch a bus to the start line. I was greeted at the bib pick-up by the USATFNE liaison Jean Cann as she was displaying the Grand Prix Statistics.

I hopped on one of school buses, a bit early, and was able to get some additional heat to make me more sluggish than I already felt. In reality, it was a short trip and the whole process was managed very well. Kudos the the event organizers!

I grabbed some water upon arrival and sat in the shade chatting with Mr. Dunham and Mr. Verrington, both of CMS. At 5:45 or so I went for a 2 mile warmup. I spoke with colleague Gerry Fredricksen who was running as well. I saw Mr. Savoy of CMS and we jogged over to the already very crowded start line and met with Mr. Pawlicki.

I went out as reasonably quick as I could, though I still had a bit of the marathon left in my legs. I saw the clock at 1 mile and was ok with the time. Mile 2 seemed to pass quickly and I started to fade a bit during mile 3 running about 15 seconds slower. After a little post race run I caught up with Gerry and Frank Ruggerio and we did the standard post run chat.

Place Div/Tot Div       Name                 Ag S No. Chip Time Pace  Gun Time 1mile  2mile  3mile  
198    7/54      M5559 JOHN GRIEGO 57 M 415 18:23.2      5:56  18:29.08    5:43   5:54    6:08

I ran quick enough to pick up a few Grand Prix Points, so all is well!

The next USATF-NE-GP stop is the Bobby Doyle 5 Mile race in Naragansett, RI. This is the only GP race in RI for 2015. 

Vermont City Marathon May 24, 2015

I do not run enough total mileage to perform well in a marathon! Plain and simple.

JoAnne and decided to take a long weekend in Vermont. We took a casual drive up on Saturday and checked in at the host hotel. There was brisk business going on at the VCM exposition but I was able to pick up my bib in a timely manner.

Early Sunday we headed down to the Waterfront arriving about an hour before the start. About 15 minutes before the start I went into the corral. There were already a few CMS singlets there.

The National Anthem was sung, the wheelchairs were off, and then the running began.

I felt ok through 5k, Around 5 miles I felt like I was working a bit, though I was at a "comfortable" 7:20min/mi pace, A quick pit stop really didn't help much. Somewhere around 6 miles I fell in with Mr. Dunham and Mr. Savoy, both CMS teammates, and we ran the southern side of the course. I was ok through 15 miles and up the big hill into town, where I saw JoAnne cheering me on. I had to work a bit the next five miles and somewhere around mile 20 I really fell off pace, pretty much crawling in the last 4 miles. Oh well.

I last ran VCM in 2004 and my finish times were comparable.
Not great, but good enough for a BQ both times!
2015 Gun time 3:25:47 (2004 Gun Time 3:25:04)
2015 Chip Time 3:25:36 (2004 Chip Time 3:25:45)

After my typical hour of post marathon nausea...
,

I took a shower and we headed to downtown Burlington for a tasty dinner and delicious cold adult beverages. Monday morning we headed home with a stop in Woodstock for some cheese at Sugarbush Farm.

And since we were so close to Bridgewater Corners we dropped in to the Long Trail Brewery.

Next stop...less than 3 weeks to the Hollis Fast (or maybe Not So Fast) 5k in 3 weeks.