At this point, the fall racing season is in full swing. I’m far enough away from Chicago that I’m more or less fully recovered. I’ve gotten a few early races in.
And now it’s Thanksgiving week – time for the Ashenfelter 8k Classic.
This is a pretty big turkey trot in north Jersey. Last year, there were about 1,000 finishers. It’s a good time, and – more importantly – a lot of my running club will be there. So it’ll be fun to run this with them for the first time.
I’m not super confident that I’m in the best shape for this race, but I am hopeful that I can put in a good effort and improve my time over last year. We’ll see how things go.
The Plan for the Week
I’m in Philly for the weekend, so I won’t go for my usual long run Sunday. The other big adjustment is that I’ve got the race on Thursday, so I won’t be doing any other workouts. But I’ll still hit 60 miles over the week, and I’ll try to take it a little easy Tuesday and Wednesday.
Here’s the plan:
- Sunday: 6 miles easy
- Monday: 10 miles easy AM, 5 miles easy PM
- Tuesday: 7 miles trail
- Wednesday: 6 miles easy + strides
- Thursday: Ashenfelter 8k (8 miles w/ warm up)
- Friday: 8 miles easy
- Saturday: 10 miles easy
And here’s how things went.
Sunday Morning in Philly
This weekend, we were out of town. We went to Longwood Gardens Friday night and Saturday morning, and then went to Philly to see the Christmas Village.
This weekend also happened to be the Philly Marathon. So I got to wake up early and watch the start.
I rolled out of bed at 6AM, and I immediately went out for a jog. I jogged over to the starting area, and I ran into one of the guys from my running club. He was in town to watch his daughter run.
The starting area was packed, and there was a long line to get in – this was around 6:30. The whole vibe brought me back to when I ran this race two years ago.
From there, I looped through I followed the beginning of the course, looped through the historic district, and came back around to the first mile marker on Arch Street. I passed by a lot of runners and spectators. But I also passed by two girls who were definitely not there for the marathon. It looked like they had been out late partying – and Philly was not as quiet as they’d normally expect on a Sunday morning.
The crowds were fairly thick, but I found a nice spot right at the end of Ben Franklin Parkway. I waited around a bit, and the race seemed to start a few minutes late. But eventually, the wheelchairs went by, followed by the elite corral. After the first wave went by, I jogged back to my hotel.
I took a shower and had some coffee. We had a nice view of the course – Chestnut Street – from our hotel window. I watched the lead pack run by. A little while later, I went back downstairs to try and see two of my coworkers who were running. I missed one in the crowd, but I spotted the second one. I snapped a picture, cheered him on, and then went back upstairs.
I went back upstairs to eat breakfast, them climbed right back in bed for a nice nap. This whole spectating gig isn’t half bad, after all …
Monday – Back At Home and Grinding Out Miles
Initially, my plan was to go for an easy long run Monday morning – something like 14-16 miles.
But then I woke up a little late, and I decided I didn’t want to risk wearing myself out too much before Thursday’s race. So I decided instead to split it up into two runs – with a longer ten mile run in the morning and a shorter double on the treadmill in the evening.
So I drank my coffee and hit the road for a ten mile out and back. The roads were busy for a Monday morning, and I had trouble navigating the traffic to cross the street. Usually, I go down one busy road, turn right, and then cross to the left side of the street when there’s a break. Instead, I got caught running on the right side of the road – with no sidewalk – for a good half mile or so before I was eventually able to cross.
I felt pretty good as I got warmed up, and I kept on going up to Verona Park. I checked my heart rate a couple times to make sure I kept the effort easy, but otherwise I ignored pace. I looped around Verona Park and headed for home. When I turned into my neighborhood and hit the ten mile mark, I looked down at my watch.
Split ten miles at around 1:25, with the final three miles at 8:15. I jogged another half mile to get home, and to pad out the distance from yesterday (which was probably closer to 5.5 miles than 6.0).
Overall, a solid easy run.
After I finished up work for the day, I hopped on the treadmill for a five mile double. I finished watching Star Wars: Rebels, so now I’m working my way through a rewatch of Andor. The run went pretty well, although I stopped increasing the speed one to two notches below normal to make sure my heartrate stayed in zone two.
All told, it was a good day.
Tuesday – An Easy Run on the Trails
I woke up Tuesday, and it was raining. It wasn’t too hard, just a light drizzle.
So I went about my routine and hit the trails. Thankfully, it wasn’t too cold.
I wasn’t a half mile into the run before the rain picked up. And it seemed like with every mile, it got harder and harder.
On the plus side, the run felt good. My legs loosened up pretty quickly, and I felt like I was going at a good clip down the trails. When I finished, I was surprised to see that my overall pace was 10:00/mi. But I looked at Garmin Connect, and my later miles got down to ~9:30/mi – I was just slow at the warm up.
On the down side, I got home and I was soaking wet. My shoes were wet, my shorts were wet, my socks were wet. I peeled everything off, and I hopped into a nice hot shower to warm up.
Then, off to the office for the day.
Wednesday – Some Laps Around the Reservoir
Last day before Ashenfelter. The goal for today was to do some easy miles and to work in a little easy speed.
Instead of the trails, I headed to the Reservoir for some laps on the paved path. By the end of the first loop, I could feel myself wanting to speed up, but I kept things in check.
The second loop around, I checked my pace – 8:30. Nice easy mile. Warmed up and ready to go.
In the final loop, I threw in six easy strides. I didn’t feel quite as good during the strides. Legs were a little tight when I tried to open things up.
But overall, it was a decent run. I’m as ready as I’ll ever be for tomorrow.
Thursday – Ashenfelter Time
Thursday was Thanksgiving – and time for the Ashenfelter 8k.
The weather did not cooperate. It was cold, rainy, and miserable. But we still had a great time.
I got there around 7:45, checked in, and jogged three miles for a warm up. I wore a quarter zip and some gloves for the warm up, but they were soaked through by the time it was race time. I stripped down to my singlet and shorts, and I hoped that the movement would keep me warm.
I was hoping for a solid PR at this race – but it wasn’t in the cards today. I still had a decent effort, though, and I’m not upset about the results. You can read the full race report here.
As soon as the race was over, I stripped off my singlet, shoes, and socks, and put on the race t-shirt. It’s actually a pretty nice tech long sleeve shirt, and I’ll probably end up wearing it this winter on some workouts.
When I got home, I took a nice long shower, had a good nap, and woke up in time to help prep things for Thanksgiving dinner.
Friday – Recovery On the Trails
It’s a holiday weekend, so I slept in a little Friday morning. Once I had some coffee and washed away the grogginess, I felt pretty good.
The plan was to do 8 easy miles on the trails. I was expecting it to be a fairly slow recovery slog, but I actually felt pretty good.
The weather was much better today. It’s cloudy and overcast, but the temps are in the high 30’s. So I went out with shorts and a t-shirt, and I felt fine. Passed by a few other runners, hikers, and dog walkers on the trails.
Although things are damp, the trails were not that wet considering how much it rained the past few days. Very few puddles and no mud.
The first two miles seemed to drag on for a while, but time passed more quickly after I got halfway to the halfway point. Before I knew it, I was turning around and heading for home.
I ignored the pace, but I looked at my watch a few times to make sure my heart rate was under control. The hills had me huffing and puffing a couple times, but overall I was consistently in the 130’s, with a little time in the low 140’s towards the end. Pretty solid zone 2, easy effort.
When I finished, I glanced down and I was a little surprised to see 1:16. I haven’t been that fast over these trails in a while. After I got warmed up, the middle miles were ~9:00-9:10.
Maybe yesterday was just an off day – but this at least gives me some hope that I’ll be in good shape for the Big Chill 5k in two weeks.
When I got home, I did some stretches and some exercises with the medicine ball. I’ve been neglecting this stuff – but I’m going to try and get back in the routine. At least until the spring when I get deeper into marathon training, and the miles take up more time.
Saturday – A Ten Mile Out and Back
I took the opportunity to sleep in a little again. I finally opened my eyes around 7:30, and after some coffee I hit the road a little after 8:30.
It’s winter for sure – high 20’s, brisk, and breezy. But the sun was out, too. I put on a compression tank top and a long sleeve shirt along with some gloves, and I was good to go.
I followed a similar route to Monday – a ten mile out and back to Verona Park. I made one modification to shorten the route slightly, and that also meant missing out on one of the big hills in the beginning. So slightly less elevation, but still rolling hills.
It’s Saturday morning, so the roads are much quieter than they were Monday. I had no trouble crossing the street, very little traffic. Saw a few people out and about walking their dogs or on their way to the synagogue. Everyone else was bundled up … and there I go, running along in my shorts.
I thought maybe I’d be a little sore – some delayed soreness from Thursday’s race. But I didn’t. I felt great from the moment I started, and I quickly settled into a good clip. Felt even better than yesterday.
I ignored the pace on my watch, but I glanced down a couple times to check my heart rate. I kept things consistently in the green zone – low 140’s progressing up to the high 140’s by the end.
At around the halfway mark, I got to Verona Park. There was what seemed like an army of geese on the side of the path. I carefully avoided them and continued on. I saw a few other intrepid runners out in the park, braving the cold.
On the way back, I passed a woman walking her dog. It was a young lab, and it reminded me a lot of my dog. It must have been only a couple months old, and she was trying to train it. As I approached, she pulled over to the side, got him to sit, and kept reassuring him. He did a good job – but you could tell he was a ball of wound up energy and he just wanted to jump up and greet me.
On I went, and as I got closer to home I picked up the pace slightly. I made the final turn and finished up on the street around the corner from my house. 10 miles in 1:23:43. The last three miles were 8:07, 8:05, and 7:58.
So faster than Monday, and overall a great run. Things are going in the right direction.
Reflections and Looking Ahead
I’m a little disappointed in my performance at Ashenfelter. After a year in which I’ve put in a lot of work and in which I’m clearly in better shape, I expected to post a better time.
But it wasn’t meant to be. There will be other opportunities.
The two days since that race, though, have been a real confidence boost. Instead of feeling beat down and fatigued, I’m raring to go. My runs have felt better and stronger these past two days than they have in a while.
Maybe I wasn’t quite ready for a solid race – but I think that race was just what I needed to jump start things and get my legs moving again. Hopefully, this is a sign that things will go better at the Rutgers Big Chill in two weeks.
The weather looks good, and I should be able to get in two solid workouts this week coming up. Then, I’ll have time for one more light workout – and then it’s race day.