This week started off great.
I was coming off an easy week last week, and I cruised right into a cross country 5k race to begin the week. It went pretty well – see the race report below.
From there, things went a little south. I think I overdid it a bit on Monday’s long run, and I was starting to drag by the end of the week.
But I made it through. In one piece. And I’m one week closer to Chicago.
The Plan for the Week
I planned on running 85 miles again this week. Here’s the daily breakdown:
- Sunday: XC 5k Race (7 miles with warmup)
- Monday: 16 mile easy long run
- Tuesday: 6 miles trail AM, 5 miles treadmill PM
- Wednesday: 7 miles trail AM, 5 miles treadmill PM
- Thursday: 8 miles trail AM, 5 miles treadmill PM
- Friday: 16 mile long run, T workout
- Saturday: 10 mile easy run
And here’s how things went.
Sunday: The USATF NJ XC 5k Championship Race
Sunday morning was another team race – the USATF-NJ XC 5k.
After the XC races I ran at the RRVR Summer Series, I was looking forward to another race – hopefully with better weather. Although it’s warming up again, it’s not nearly as hot and humid as it was earlier in the summer.
The race was about a 45 minute drive from home. I woke up, had a bagel and some coffee, and headed out. When I got there, I checked in, chatted with a few teammates, and jogged a bit to preview some of the course. After a team photo, I jogged some more of the course with a teammate, and he gave me some pointers on what to expect.
The course starts in a big, flat grassy area. It loops around on a gravel path before heading up a steep hill. Then, it loops downhill through a giant meadow, and heads back uphill. Following that second steep incline, there’s a big decline and it flattens out for the final mile.
So my strategy was to pace myself through the two hills and then, hopefully, hammer the pace in the final mile.
When we arrived, it was pretty nice out. Almost chilly. But the temps were climbing, and by the time we started it was around 70 and sunny. Not terrible, but a little warm.
We lined up at the start and sprinted forward at the gun. A group of two dozen or so runners grouped up in front of me, and I fell in behind that lead pack.
As we turned out of the grass field and onto the gravel path, there was a short incline. I passed a kid (a legit 10 year old, I think, based on the results, who finished about a minute behind me) on the incline, and then I spotted a woman I recognized from the RVRR Summer Series.
I usually finished just ahead of her, so I set my pace off her – slowly catching up and eventually passing her before we got to the hill.
As we approached the hill, there was still a large pack up front. But it started to string out on the incline. A few stragglers fell behind, and I was starting to catch up to them when we got to the top. So far, so good.
After that steep incline, there was a nice, long downhill. I caught my breath and focused on making up ground against the guys in front of me. Over the course of that decline, I passed another two or three guys.
Then, we headed back uphill. This hill was worse. It was longer.
A guy in front of me stopped to powerwalk up the hill. I passed him. I got to what I thought was the top – but after leveling off for a few meters we turned a corner and kept going up. Eugh!
At this point, a guy passed me – the only position I lost throughout the race. I made it to the top of the hill, tried to catch my breath, and focused on the guy in front of me.
We charged down the hill, and the next guy was ~100m ahead. I was keeping up with him, but I wasn’t making up much ground. I knew there was a little less than a mile left – but the second hill wiped me out. I wasn’t slowing down, but I just couldn’t quite speed up.
Thankfully, the end of the race was mostly flat. Just a gentle incline towards the end. As we made a final turn, I glanced at my watch and saw we had about a half mile left. At this point, I dropped the hammer – as best I could – and slowly started gaining on the guy. But I saw that I wasn’t going to make it, and I backed off slightly for the last ~200m.
Crossed the finish line in 20:51. Not an amazing time on paper, but those hills count for something.
I finished 14 (of 106) and 2 in my age group.
Maybe I could have pushed a little harder – either early on or after the final hill – and fended off the one guy. But I don’t think I could have gone that much faster – and I’d have had to finish under 20 minutes to move up beyond that.
I feel like I ran a pretty even race, and I did what I could. Sometimes, it’s hard to get in the cross country mindset and accept that times are relative. But compared to the rest of the field, I did a good job of moving up – instead of getting passed.
All in all, it was a good race. I’m looking forward to the XC 8k in the fall – which is supposed to be on a flat course.
Another Monday Long Run
With the XC 5k yesterday, I obviously wasn’t able to do my usual Sunday long run. Like last week, I decided to shift things to Monday and run a shortened, 16 mile long run.
I’m burning some vacation days this week, so I didn’t have to worry about work. I let myself sleep in a little bit, and after my morning routine I hit the road just after 8.
I was expecting warm weather, but not terrible. Temps in the high 60’s, rising to the 70’s, with moderately high humidity. Although I thought it was supposed to be sunny, I was pleasantly surprised to find it was pretty cloudy early on.
My legs felt a lot fresher than I thought they would. There was no stiffness or soreness from the race yesterday. I felt great from the moment I rolled out of bed and had coffee, and got rolling pretty quick.
The first mile – typically slow as I warm up – wasn’t too bad (9:13). Over the next, I eased into the pace (8:30 down to 8:00).
On the way out to Verona Park – six miles of net uphill rolling hills – I felt pretty good. The sun peaked out a few times, and when it did, I noticed the heat. But otherwise, things were going swimmingly.
I got to the park and looped back towards home. The next five miles, no issues. I brought 4 gels with me, and I took the first three at miles 2, 6, and 10.
At the ten mile mark, I looked down at my watch for the first time. 1:22:20. Solid split for that route.
A mile later, I was turning into the loop around the Reservoir. The sun was now out in full force, and the heat was starting to get to me. I stopped at the water fountain on the way in to top off my flask, and then I kept it moving.
I still felt pretty good – although I noticed my heart rate was starting to drift upwards.
For these last five miles, I wanted to push the pace down a bit under 8.
The first two miles were perfect – 7:57, 7:35. I looked at the total time, and I realized that I’d finish around in 2:10.
I was starting to get tired now, but the next mile was still 7:38. Took my final gel here at 14.
Mile 15 was a slog, but I kept up the pace: 7:37.
In the final mile, I was pretty wiped. My breathing was getting labored, my heart rate was elevated, and my legs were tired. I backed off the pace a little, and I finished that final mile in 8:04.
I stopped my watch and looked at the overall time: 2:09:10. Not quite as easy as I would have liked, but a solid time. Other than a couple marathon paced long runs, I’ve only had one other 16 mile run that was a few seconds faster than this back in June.
When I got home, the fatigue washed over me. I had took a shower, had a smoothie, and took a nice long nap. Certainly glad today was a vacation day.
I woke up in the early afternoon feeling much better, and I went about the rest of my lazy day.
Tuesday: Wiped Out and Recovering
On second thought, I was wiped out pretty much all of Monday. I felt a little better after my nap, but I think I waited too long to eat something.
I felt better after a late lunch, but I was exhausted all day and I couldn’t wait for a good night’s sleep.
I woke up Tuesday feeling tired and beat up. I wasn’t too creaky and stiff getting out of bed, but once I started running I could really feel it.
I went out for an easy six miles on the trails. It started off slow, and it stayed slow.
I felt a little bit better towards the end, but there was no denying I was taking my time. The last three laps – when I’m usually down around or below 9:15 – were all right around 10:00. My average pace for the run was over 10 minutes, and it’s never that slow.
I went down to the office, got some work done, and came home. My legs were stiff getting out of the car, but they felt better after I laid down for a few minutes and moved around the house.
Then, it was time for a quick double on the treadmill. Five easy miles. I felt better than I thought I would. Better than the morning. Got up to the usual speed, but it felt a little tough at times.
Hopefully some more sleep will help.
Wednesday: Better But Still Beat Up
I woke up Wednesday feeling a lot better.
I had my coffee, went about my morning routine, and hit the trails. From the get go, my legs felt a lot more loose.
The pace was better. The first mile was still slow, but towards the end I got down to my usual 9:10-9:20. I did a total of 7 miles, but I glanced down at my watch at 6 miles and saw ~57 minutes. So much faster than yesterday.
I spent the day on the computer working, and maybe that was the problem. Throughout the day, when I got up to move around, I felt creaky and beat up. Just not quite 100%. The run had felt good … but I didn’t feel great in between.
It was also in the 90’s in the afternoon, so I decided to skip the Wednesday night track workout. Between not feeling 100% and it being hot as hell outside, it just didn’t seem like a good idea.
Instead, I hopped on the treadmill for an easy five miles.
I made the mistake of not checking the dehumidifer before starting. It was full, and the humidity was ~90% down in the basement.
It was fine at first, but about halfway through I was sweating way more than usual. Although my heart rate was fairly controlled, the run felt a lot tougher than usual.
I’m not sure how much of it was fatigue and how much was the humidity. But I survived the forty five minutes, and I promptly dumped out the dehumidifer.
I will not make that mistake again tomorrow.
Thursday: Back on Track?
Thursday morning, I again felt pretty good.
I took the day off from work – more vacation to burn. So my morning was a little more relaxed than usual. Had a second cup of coffee, milled about the house, and worked on some data for a side project.
I eventually made my way outside around 8:30. The weather broke last night. It rained heavily, and after a day in the high 90’s the high today is in the mid 70’s.
It was still a little warm and humid in the morning, so I didn’t wear a shirt. But it’s supposed to continue to cool off throughout the day and be beautiful tomorrow.
The run felt great. Eight miles on the trails, and I felt good throughout. My pace was similar to yesterday, and I finished the full 8 miles in 1:17. Not too fast, not too slow.
But I did still feel a little beat up throughout the day. My legs feel a little stiff when I bend over, and when I walked the dog I could feel the fatigue. Is it the race from the weekend? Going too hard on Monday? Or just the reality of getting back to peak mileage (85 miles) this week?
When I hopped on the treadmill Thursday night, I finally figured out what was bothering me. It was my right hip – on the side and my lower back. It felt a little tight and “iffy” as I slowly started to roll – and about 15 minutes into the run, everything had eased up.
I finished up my 45 minute jog and felt fine. A little fatigued. And then I made sure to stretch out my hips and do some bodyweight squats and lunges to put everything through the range of motion.
Now that I realize what’s wrong – I can pay a little extra attention to it over the next few days.
Friday’s Decent Run, Failed Workout
Friday I woke up feeling pretty good. I’d slept well, the weather was nice, and I was ready to go. My hip didn’t seem to be bothering me as much.
I planned to do a 16 mile midweek long run. Since I didn’t go to the team workout Wednesday, I decided to incorporate a workout into this run. I opted for one of my favorite Jack Daniels workouts – 2 x 10 minutes at threshold, with 2 minutes recovery, a long period of easy running, and another 2 x 10 minutes at threshold towards the end.
I felt ok as I got started, but my watch had other plans. About a mile in, it buzzed to notify me that it had calculated my performance condition: -3. Hmm.
I don’t usually pay a lot of attention to this, but when I’m feeling good it’s usually neutral or positive. It’s rare for it to be negative unless I’m jogging an easy, slow recovery.
Whatever. Put it in the back of my mind. Finish warming up for two miles, take a gel, make it through a traffic light, and launch into the first ten minute rep.
Everything feels good. I think I’m going fast. Breathing is easy. It’s uphill, so I assume I’m a little slow … but I’m not looking at my pace.
My watch buzzes to signal the end of the first mile – 7:48. Huh?!? That slow?!?
I kept going, and the end of that rep was closer to 7:20. But still slow. I thought maybe the GPS wasn’t active, but it was.
I jogged the two minute recovery, and the next rep was better. But it was still 7:00/mi. A true threshold pace for me would be 6:20ish – and even a slower pace incorporated into a long run should still be 6:30 to 6:45.
I accept that I’m going to be slow, and I jog the next five miles or so. I took two gels during the easy portion, and I made my way to the flat loop at the Reservoir for the last few miles.
The third rep is similar – ~7:00/mi. Still slow.
The fourth rep, I pushed a little harder. Got closer to being out of breath, but I made it through. 6:40 or so. Closer to what it should be. If I’d hit that pace for all 40 minutes, I wouldn’t be mad. But only one rep?
I’m going to chalk this up to lingering fatigue. It certainly wasn’t the weather, which was pretty nice.
I’ll take it easy this weekend, and I won’t incorporate too much intensity into my next long run. Hopefully I’ll feel better by the time Wednesday’s workout rolls around.
Saturday’s 10 Mile Jog
I intended to sleep in a little on Saturday. My dog wasn’t having it.
She woke up at 6am and starting barking at the window. After a few failed attempts to coax her back to bed, I just gave in. Made my coffee, took her outside, and got started with the day.
I felt pretty good, but I didn’t want to push things too hard after feeling beat down the last few days. So when I went out for my easy ten miles, I intentionally kept the pace nice and slow.
I did a pretty good job at keeping things reigned in. I looked at my watch at the halfway point, and I’d done 5 miles in 45 minutes. Average: 9:00/mi. Looking at the splits now, it was predictably a little slower in the first two miles and then high 8:00’s for the last three.
I sped up a little bit in the second half, but not be much. The last few miles were down around 8:15/mi.
My hip and lower back felt fine. Good sign.
When I got home, I did some leg swings. Then I went inside, did some body weight squats and lunges, and finished up with some light yoga.
Range of motion was good, but there were a few tight spots. Definitely need to keep up with this stuff.
Reflections and Looking Ahead
I made it through another peak week.
I might be a little worse for wear, and Friday’s workout was a little disappointing. But I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
I’ve got one more peak week coming up this week. Then I’ll drop down to 70 miles before an upcoming 12k race.
I’ll pop back up to 85 miles following that race – but probably cut back on the workouts for the week. After that, it’s taper time.
I was pretty happy with the cross country race, too, even though the time was deceptively slow. But really, I’m just looking forward to dropping my mileage after Chicago and attacking a few fall races in November.