Training Log Archive: iansmith

Two street-O sections sandwiched around a Tufts Sprint course, from the CSU training set by Brendan. I arrived quite late, grabbed a map from Brendan's mailbox, and set to try to catch some people. I ran into Alex and Lori at the start of the Tufts sprint; Alex started after I did. I caught up to Lori at control 6, then led her the rest of the way. However, I wasn't going fast enough to shake her entirely, which was disappointing.

Revealing time comparison:
Street-O A:
Ian - 1507
Brendan - 1324

Street-O B:
Ian - 1324
Brendan - 1247

Tufts Sprint:
Brendan - 1718
Ian - 1831
Lori - 1944

I don't think I was pushing as hard as I would during a race, despite Thierry's advice to treat trainings like races. I also found an unmapped section of road on the first sprint which caused me some distress and may have cost as much as thirty seconds. Nevertheless, I was quite a bit slower than Brendan, and not particularly faster than Lori on the sprint. Ross's total time was about 41 minutes, 2 minutes ahead of Brendan.

Street-o/Tufts - Splits

Commute.

I went on a comparatively early run in my new Asics trail runners. I have worn them about for the past two days to break them in, but my feet still felt a bit stiff.

Conditions were windy, though not that cold (-2 C), so I ran a variation of the Franklin St. route to and around MIT, then back. I overdressed in tights, short and long sleeves, a windbreaker, and gloves. I continued The Guns of August (currently listening to the adventures of the Goeben), as I have finished Into Thin Air. I held to a steady 4/4 breathing, though with some congestion, my respiration is impaired.

Of late, when reflecting on training and competition, I have had the following songs involuntarily in my head:
Olympic Theme
Summon the Heroes
The Theme from Crimson Tide
And, improbably, Remember the Name

I acquired a new pair of running shoes - Asics Trail Runners - from the City Sports in Porter. I should frequent the New Balance factory store, because running shoes from City Sports were 2-3 times as expensive as shoes from NB.

Historically, I have gotten about 300 miles out of my running shoes - in the past, I would sometimes use the shoes with below 300 miles for other activities, wearing them prematurely.

I first used NB Trail runners as O-shoes - from December 2007 through July 2009, on which I put 150 km before they broke down. My X-Talons have 225 km and are still going strong (woooo).

Question for the readers: esp you high distance guys, how frequently do you get new shoes? How do you deal with the expense. It seems unwise to compromise on footwear, but the shoes are expensive.

C • New Balance factory store 4

Commuting to Longwood; it barely counts as training.

- Commute to the track
- Easy 400, pace 400 (84 seconds), easy 400 before the time trial
- 3x200 rep, 200 rest after the time trial:
42.5/83.9
43.4/96.7
43.5/94.8
- commute home after the time trial and reps

For the past two months, virtually all my running has been easy pace base. While I intend to maintain that rate of base running, I will adjust my training to include speed work, threshold running, and more quality workouts.

To provide a benchmark for measurement of future fitness levels, I decided to run a 1600 m time trial - my first time trial since March 2009 (5:32). While I haven't done much speed work, my fitness and consistency have improved, so I expected to run about 5:25. My goal was to run 80 second 400m splits.

In March, I had a huge variance in my split times - the first was 77 seconds, the second 86. Ross started simultaneously, which undoubtedly contributed to my initial burst of speed. I suspect that seeing him in front of me the entire time also encouraged me to push the whole way, so I did have some anxiety that I might not perform to my expectation this time. It was also cool - 0 C, with a moderate breeze on the track.

After a 3 km warmup, including an easy 400 around the track, I ran an 84 second 400 to get a feel for my pace, ran another easy 400, then started. My splits:

1st 400: 77.45
2nd 400: 82.03
3rd 400: 82.21
4th 400: 80.73

I had planned to run the first 2 400s at 3/3 breathing, then jump to 2/2 for a bit more power at the end, but I switched to 2/2 after only 600 meters. In any case, it was a good measure of my performance, and I am optimistic about breaking five minutes before the end of the year.

C • Nice 4

An hour or so.

I went on a late night run; I need to fight the lethargy that sometimes grips me before I muster the initiative to go out and train.

I warmed up for 15 minutes, then ran a 20 minute tempo run; apparently my pace was about 4:11/km, which is a little slower than my 4:05/km pace prescribed by my latest Vdot measurement. I finished with a 38 minute easy run back home. My route was Harvard Square to the river, then around to the Museum of Science and home via Cambridge St. It was quite pleasant out tonight, with clear conditions and -4 C. I was slightly overdressed in tights, a short-sleeved shirt, gloves and a windbreaker.

I was planning on running a mile time trial tomorrow, but my footwear is in deplorable shape - my running shoes are worn out, so the only viable shoes I have are my torn up Mudclaws and my X-Talons. I may run tomorrow, depending on how my feet feel, and take a later measurement in a month or so once I have acquired new shoes.

Commentary on injuries:

http://www.minnakauppi.com/eindex.php

I still need to learn German so I can read Simone Niggli's blog.

I decided I was too sleepy after rehearsal to go for a run. I am displeased with my lack of training.