Single Digits Part One

9 weeks till worlds,1 week till my next race.
Up just after 8am and on my way to Temple by 9.35am conditions were sunny and warm,low 60s,a far cry from conditions at Lower Merion on Feb 19th on my last 12x400m repeat.
Another factor going into today's simulated 5,000m,12x400m w/ 800m recovery jog was the fact that this was my 8th repeat in 4 weeks and that consistency has started to show signs of paying off.

#1 400m 69.7.Any thoughts of trying to keep things sub 74-75 seconds went out the window w/ this.
In fairness there was no point comparing either conditions or levels of fitness from my last 12x400m,the bigger question was could I keep this level of pace for the remaining 11 repeats?
#2 400m 69.1.Obviously #1 wasn't a fluke,these splits were more in keeping w/ December's 10x400s
#3 400m 69.9.I always say repeats should read like a heart monitor w/ slight jumps,not like an EKG chart and up and down like Tower Bridge....but there was trouble ahead....a Buffalo sighting!!!
#4 400m 67.0.When I feared the shufflin buffalo's may effect my split I wasn't expecting them to make it faster!
In fairness to them they were only doing 300m time trials beginning 20 meters down the home straight and finishing 20 meters from the end of the back straight so I only had to switch from lane 1 to lane 3 and back again for 60 meters along the back straight.
#5 400m 71.7.Bugger! the minus 2 seconds I picked up on #4 I now gave back as plus 2 seconds on #5....devil's advocate I could've been looking at 5x69 across the board.
#6 400m 70.1.To be halfway through and still clocking these splits told me I'm not only starting to run consistent splits I have been for a few weeks now,the trick is to keep doing it.
#7 400m 71.7.Identical to #5 and still feeling in control.
#8 400m 69.0.I went out hard on this one as I feared a jogger was going to force me wide as she showed no sign of yielding lane 1 to me as I returned to the track after #7,thankfully she left me enough room on the inside and I took it.
#9 400m 71.3.Payback for going out hard on the prior repeat,if I felt #8 was going to be fast down the back straight then I knew #9 wouldn't be,even though I wasn't doing much differently.
#10 400m 71.6.The key to being able to run even splits on any repeat is the ability to be consistent,I had passed that test today w/ flying colours.
#11 400m 69.8.My case in point!!!now for the grand finale,I'd take a 65 second split to finish things off......
#12 400m 63.8.BOO to the frickin YAH!!!! It remains to be seen if I could drop a 63 second final lap at the end of a 5,000m race....over the coming weeks we'll find out I hope!

Since this was a simulated 5,000m following my 800m recovery jog I jogged the turn and built up speed down the back straight b4 launching into a final 200m,I'd have been ok w/ 34 seconds....I was more than ok w/ a 31.9. which could've been faster had I not had to swing wide to lane 2 coming out of the turn to accommodate some jogger who was fixing his earbuds...who then proceeded to jog in lane 2.....thanks wanker!!!!
All in all this was a great workout,it remains to be seen how it translates next Saturday in an actual 5,000m race but it's all starting to feel like it's coming together over the last few weeks,the trick will be to keep things improving as the weeks tick down to Worlds{9} and Nationals{12}.

Done Deal

Rest day today b4 the 12x400m repeat tomorrow.
Got an email from Pete Carroll the meet director at Swarthmore accepting my application to race next Saturday.
Pete has hooked me up three years in a row now for the Last Chance Twilight meet,maybe it's an Irish thing I don't know but I'm always grateful to get in to a college meet,this year the meet switched from it's traditional Monday evening schedule to a Saturday but retrains it's Twilight status,the meet kicks off at 5pm w/ the 5,000m going off around 8.35pm,which means I get to race under the lights which is very rare but very cool also, like a european grand prix meet.

It's been 11 weeks since I last ran 12x400m,it'll be interesting to see the difference in splits tomorrow now that it's no longer winter and I've been hitting the track twice a week for the past four weeks.

Another Piece Of The Jigsaw

Another 8 miler b4 my rest day tomorrow and then Saturday's 12x400m repeat.
Having begun the week w/ an easy 8 miler{61 mins}I used yesterday as a recovery run{59 mins} following Tuesday's 8x1,000m repeats and looked for today to be a little faster as I have a whole day to recover.
Conditions were sunny and mild as I set off at 4.20pm,I could tell early on I was pushing the pace more than I had on Monday and Wednesday and used today as a chance to visualize next Saturday's race,whenever I find myself doing that my pace picks up.....that's why on easy days I have to put visualizing on hold as b4 I know it I'm duking out the final couple of laps of the 5,000m at Worlds!!!!

When I was able to freewheel down snake hill the hill opposite Catherine St just b4 the turn off Cobbs Creek Parkway on to Cedar Ave I knew a fast time was on and wasn't surprised to see 57 mins when I got done.
I've liked the fact for the past two weeks I've worked my schedule to allow an easy day b4 a repeat,a recovery day,hard day,rest day,now for a hard repeat Saturday{no shufflin' buffalo's please!}and then a 12 miler Sunday.

I Think Icahn,I Know Icahn

Good day all around,it stopped raining just after lunch which meant my 8 miler was still on and the schedule for the upcoming Tuesday Nite Speed Series at Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island in New York was finally announced.

Since my last Thurdsay Nite At The Races race at The Armory on February 24th I've known the dates for the 4 race series but not the distances which has made planning my final 5 races leading up to Worlds and Nationals a bit of a mystery,in running as is in life I like straight lines{which is ironic given that running track is all about going around in either 200m or 400m circles!!!} but anyway my schedule is now set.....more or less!

Providing I run a solid 5,000m next Saturday at Swarthmore I probably won't need to run another one but I have that option in the June 14th meet,basically over my final 5 races I have the chance to run,1,500m,3,000m,2 miles and 5,000m as I hope to hone my speed and race savvy b4 July,gentlemen,start your engines

No Buffalos,No Bullshit,No Worries

The potential problem w/ posting the above photo and caption prior to the workout was that if I fell on my arse I'd look stupid{though there is always the delete button!!}.....I needn't have worried!
If it's Tuesday it's Roxboro but in a change of script to allow a 12x400m repeat Saturday as a simulated 5,000m workout I went w/ my tried and tested 8x1,000m repeat hard on the heels of Saturday's monumental cock up at Temple.
It was hot at 5pm when I began the repeats but trust me it got a lot hotter as the 1,000s wore on!

#1 1,000m 1.15-1.21-38-3.14.9.Wow!the 1.15s aren't meant to kick in till Saturday!!Obviously I backed off a little over the closing 600m,there were 7 more 1,000s to come.
#2 1,000m 1.20-1.23-37-3.20.7.I'd be happy if I could hold this for the remainder of the workout,1.20-1.23 is a pace I could live w/ b4 bringing it down a notch over the coming weeks.
#3 1,000m 1.20-1.23-38-3.21.7.I was guilty of letting my focus wander over the final 100m,something I've been doing a better job of over my repeats recently.
#4 1,000m 1.21-1.22-37-3.20.9.Pop! the sound of my 1.20s going burst but still staying in the 3.20 range.
#5 1,000m 1.22-1.22-35-3.19.8.After the opening 3.14 I'd been easing my way up the home straight to compensate for that now that my opening 800s were slowing slightly it was time to push the closing 200s.
#6 1,000m 1.22-1.21-37-3.19.6.Hard to believe I was THIS consistent period,much less that today was my first 8x1,000m w/ a 2.5 recovery.
#7 1,000m 1.23-1.23-35-3.21.0.#7 is traditionally my slowest 1,000m but today might be the beginning of me lowering my splits and staying consistent.
#8 1,000m 1.21-1.21-32-3.14.5.You know it's your day when you not only close w/ your fastest 1,000m to date but it's faster then the 1,000m you opened w/.

I know one swallow does not a summer make but this was my best 8x1,000m repeat to date....go figure it'll be 18 days b4 I get to do another one due to my upcoming race schedule but this was a shot in the arm after a few hiccups on my recent repeats,as my ex coach used to say "there's more meat on that bone"....and I'm no Vegan!!

New Shoes

It's rare I buy the exact same shoes to replace my current pair but there was something about the Asics Gel Speedstar that I liked so much when my running total of miles had reached 370 miles last Sunday I ordered a new pair which I broke in today on my 8 miler.
I'm sure it was because I wore a brand new pair of shoes today but I felt like I had more cushioning underfoot,as it should be w/ a brand new pair of shoes compared to the 416 I had on my old pair when I finished up my 12 miler yesterday.
I got three months out of my last pair from Feb through the end of April so hopefully this pair will take me through to the end of July....I already have my eye on a newer model of the Asics Gel Speedstar....but let's not get carried away looking too far down the road.
The only day that matters is tomorrow and my 8x1,000m repeats,and no this is not a knee jerk reaction to Saturday's Chav Fest at Temple,in order to accommodate the race specific repeat I have in mind for Saturday and keep my weekly 8x1,000s in my rotation it's 1,000s tomorrow....hopefully the forecast calls for no herds of shuffling buffalo in Roxboro tomorrow afternoon.

A Day Late.....

The cat photo and caption are for my buddy from Saturday from Temple,I'd have happily used if on Saturday's blog only the picture is on my work pc and time constraints meant I didn't have the time to sift through a gazillion pages of LOL CATS to find it.
Time constraints yesterday meant by the time I'd done my 12 miler along the river and then caught up w/ all my domestic chores for the weekend that two days at Penn Relays had put me behind schedule for I was well and truly knackered and any thoughts of blogging post dinner and EPL Review went south....the writing was on the wall when I was falling asleep in the laundromat at 5pm!!

So yes,I did round out my week w/ another sedate 12 miler along the river mid morning to give me my third week of 2 repeats/55 miles for the week training,w/ a fourth hopefully on tap b4 two weeks of reduced mileage to accommodate races.
It was a busy but fun weekend,two days at Penn Relays watching friend and team mates compete,props to our Masters M40 4x400m team of Ray,Scott,Nick D and Dave for finishing second to win silver,well worth the price of admission.....had I've paid to get in{free ticket}.
So a whole new week,new repeats,8 milers not 10 milers to accommodate Saturday's unique repeat and no doubt someone else to fall foul of an anti social black hearted celtic pagan tirade...or two!