This week will bring my fall racing season to a close and, after a down week, I’ll be transitioning to training for the Fred Lebow Half Marathon in January.
I first ran the Rutgers Big Chill back in 2014. That was the year I ran my first half marathon – in October – but my training fell off after that because I hurt my knee. I finished the 5k in just over 25 minutes, which at the time was pretty good for me.
After I got back into running and did my first marathon in 2021, I’ve made it part of my routine to run the Big Chill. It’s fun to go back to my old alma mater, and it’s a good opportunity to test out my fitness after a fall marathon. Last year, I finished in 19:29, and I’m hoping to improve on that this year.
My races in the last few weeks have been a little lackluster, but since I ran the Ashenfelter 8k I’ve been feeling really good. Hopefully things keep trending in the right direction, and I’ll notch a solid PR on Saturday.
The Plan for the Week
With the race coming up on Saturday, I’m not pushing things too hard the rest of the week. I’ll start with a 14 mile long run on Sunday, do an easy workout on Tuesday, and fill in the rest of the week with easy miles to hit 60 miles on the week.
Here’s how things broke down:
- Sunday: 14 miles
- Monday: 5 miles trail AM, 5 miles treadmill PM
- Tuesday: 8 miles, I workout
- Wednesday: 5 miles treadmill AM, 5 miles treadmill PM
- Thursday: 5 miles treadmill AM
- Friday: 5 miles easy, strides
- Saturday: Big Chill 5k, 8 miles w/ WU/CD
And here’s how things went.
Sunday: Another Solid Fast Finish Long Run
I had to wake up early again on Sunday to take my sister in law to the airport. My schedule for the day was flexible, though, so I came back home, took a little nap, drank some coffee, and hit the road for my run a little after 9AM.
I walked outside and thought, “Is it spring?” In the sun, it felt downright warm. I was dressed in shorts and a tank top. And it’s December 8.
Once I got started, it was a little chillier when I got into the shade and the wind kicked up. But I never really felt that cold.
I’m doing the same 14 mile long run I did last week – 10 miles out and back to Millburn at an easy pace followed by 3 miles at tempo around the Reservoir.
The first half out to Millburn was uneventful. The sun was still low, and it was a little chilly. There were a good amount of people out, likely due to the mild weather. I got stuck at the one major traffic light and had to stand around for thirty seconds. When I hit the 5 mile mark, I was feeling good and my heart rate was nice and low.
From there, I headed back north. It’s slightly uphill, so I had to work a little for it. At the one big hill, I charged up at a steady tempo – looked later, and it was ~8:00/mi – but I felt strong throughout. I got stuck at the same traffic light on the way back. It’s usually not that busy, and I can frogger across in between traffic. But it occurred to me that I’m usually out earlier in the morning, and there’s usually less traffic.
While I waited at the light, I noticed another runner on the other side of the street also waiting to cross. She was wearing a Boston finisher’s jacket from this year’s race. We went separate ways, and I continued on to the Reservoir. When I got there, the sun was shining and it was warm – but it was also pretty windy. As I turned the corner and got to the ten mile mark, I passed by the Boston woman and we exchanged a quick wave.
Hit the 10 mile mark right around 1:25. Nice pace for an easy, controlled effort. Time to speed up.
I opened up my stride and picked up the tempo for the next mile. Lapped the first mile in 7:20. Perfect.
I turned the corner and ran right into some wind. Eugh. I probably pushed a little too hard into the wind, and the effort went up in the next mile. Probably a little harder than I meant to go. But I ended up splitting 7:00.
I tried to ease up a bit. I thought I did. Maybe the wind just let up, though, so it felt easier. But I didn’t get any slower. I lapped the third mile in 6:57.
I slowed down and jogged the final mile to finish up in 1:55.
All told, it was a great long run. The first ten miles were nice and quick, but under control. The three pick-up miles at the end were at a good pace, albeit a bit quicker than I intended. I wanted to hit ~7:15, and I took the last two a little fast. But my heart was in the high 150’s, so still a little easier than marathon effort.
It’s a great start to the week, and hopefully a sign of more good things to come.
Monday: When Your Legs Protest
Yesterday felt great. But I woke up Monday, and when I went out for my run in the morning, my legs protested pretty loudly.
The initial plan was to run eight easy miles on the trails. But as I got started with the first mile, I wasn’t feeling it. I did a little bargaining with myself and some mental math, and I decided that it would be better to break today up into two shorter doubles – and also move up some of the other miles for the week.
The first couple of miles were pretty slow. The second mile was still just above 10:00. I’ve had worse recovery days, but this was a slow start.
As I got to the turn around point, I saw somebody coming down the path in the other direction. I circled around a tree at the 2.5 mile mark and headed back towards the start. I could hear the other runner behind me, and it sounded like he was gaining on me.
Going down the hill, I slowly started to pick up speed. My legs didn’t feel so bad anymore. And the other guy never caught up. We got to the bottom of the hill and went our separate ways. The rest of the run felt much better – miles in the 9:30’s.
Maybe I just needed to warm up.
I went about work for the day and then hopped on the treadmill in the evening. 45 minutes, uneventful. Another episode of Andor. Felt pretty good, and – hopefully – primed for a good workout tomorrow.
Tuesday: Testing Out Race Pace
With only a few days to go before the race, I wanted to get in a little more race pace work – but not tire myself out too much.
So normally I’d do something like 3 minute intervals with 2 minutes rest. Instead, I’m dropping down the interval length to two minutes – with equal time rest. That’s enough time to get up to speed, but not enough to really get tired. And with the equal rest, it should be nice and easy.
I jogged down to the Reservoir, and I felt great. Had a nice spring in my step. Definitely felt much better than yesterday.
Started with two laps, ending with some strides and some leg swings. Then it was time for the first rep.
I had programmed 5:50 to 6:10 into my watch as a target pace, hoping to hit ~6:00/mi. I got up to speed on the first rep, my watch never buzzed, and everything felt pretty good. Two minutes is short, and the rep was over before I knew it.
Jogged it out for two minutes and then hit the next one. Now that I was warmed up, I felt a lot better. I looked down at my watch at one point and saw a pace under 6:00/mi. Nice!
Four or five reps in, my watch actually buzzed at me because I was (briefly) going too fast. A good sign. But I tried to reign it in for the last few reps. No sense in beating myself up too much and running too hard.
I finished up the last rep, and I felt great. Super strong effort, much better than the previous week’s I workout.
I got home and checked the data on Garmin Connect. Three reps below 6:00/mi pace, four reps just above. One was a little extra slow (6:13/mi), but otherwise they were all on point. Average pace: 6:02/mi.
That’s about as good a sign as I’ll get for Saturday. Now, I just need to take it easy between now and Saturday.
Wednesday: A Couple Treadmill Doubles
I woke up Wednesday morning, and it was raining. Not hard, but steady.
I could have gone out. But, frankly, I just didn’t want to run in the rain. So instead, I decided to hit the treadmill.
I had initially planned on six miles today and eight tomorrow. Instead, I moved a few miles up and did two easy doubles.
The first treadmill run was fine. Forty five minutes, over and done with, easy peasy.
Drove down to the office and back. There was a ton of traffic on the way home, and it took close to an hour and forty five minutes. When I got home, I laid down for a few minutes, then I hopped back on the treadmill.
Felt fine at first, but my heart rate started to drift up a little more quickly than usual. I stopped increasing the pace a couple notches below usual, and I finished up. Felt ok. Just a little tired.
Thursday: A Quick Five on the Treadmill
After yesterday’s switcheroo, I was able to cut the miles back to five today and five tomorrow (Friday). That would even things out to 60 miles for the week once I made it through the race on Saturday.
The plan was to wake up, do an easy run on the trails, and go about my day. But things didn’t go to plan.
I woke up a little after 6:00, rolled over, and planned to lay about for a few minutes before getting up. But the next thing I knew, I opened my eyes and it was almost 9:00. What the heck?
I overslept, but luckily I didn’t need to drive to the office, and my first Zoom wasn’t until 10AM. So I hopped out of bed and went right down to the treadmill.
Felt fine. Loosened up quick, and took things easy.
Finished up right before 10:00. Didn’t have time to shower, so I just threw on some dry clothes and simmered in my own sweat until the meeting got over at 11:00. Took a few minutes to get cleaned up after that, and went about the rest of my day.
But it was a relaxing change to just do 45 minutes in the morning and not need to do a double again in the evening.
Friday: Easy Strides Around the Reservoir
Friday’s plan was simple – two laps around the Reservoir with some strides.
I felt good when I left the house. Easily broke into a jog and trotted down to the Reservoir.
We’ve had a lot of rain recently – after months of nothing – and the Reservoir is finally starting to look full again. It’s nice to see.
First lap, uneventful. Other than a bunch of geese hanging around and partially blocking the path.
On the second lap, I added in 6x strides. My legs loosened up, and everything felt good. I glanced at my watch on one, and I was doing ~5:30/mi – just where I should be.
I finished up my five miles, got home, and went about my day.
Saturday: The Rutgers Big Chill 5k
Saturday was race day.
After the warm weather at the start of the week, winter was back. The temperature dropped to the teens over night, and I bundled up.
After I got warmed up, it wasn’t too bad. I wore some sweats and a quarter zip for the warmup, but I stripped down to my shorts and singlet for the race. Definitely got a few strange looks.
My goal was to try and dip under 19:00. I didn’t quite get there. But it was still a great race, overall. I finished strong, and I feel like I performed pretty well.
Reflections and Looking Ahead
This was another good week.
Things started off well with a solid long run, and I felt fine throughout the week. I no longer feel under recovered, and my legs feel fresh. Tuesday’s little workout was a good sign, too.
The race on Saturday wasn’t quite as good as I had hoped. But it was still a decent showing. It’s a PR, and I moved the needle a bit. I think with another week or two of training – or maybe just another shot at a race with decent weather – I could break 19 minutes.
But that’ll have to wait for another day. The next big goal coming up is the Fred Lebow Half in January. After that, the United Half in March. Finally, the Jersey City Marathon in April.
I’m going to it easy this week, and make sure that I’m fully recovered. Then, it’s back to training. I’m going to flesh out a long term plan through Jersey City, but I’m going to approach this spring a little differently – training for longer races but focusing on speed.
Through Fred Lebow, I’m going to do some hills on Sundays and a hard, fast workout during the week. After that, I’ll transition to a focus on T and/or M running on my Sunday long runs and I workouts during the week. Then, in the last few weeks leading into Jersey City I’ll shift gears and focus exclusively on T/M running.
Hopefully, that’ll let me develop my speed a little bit – something I haven’t focused on enough recently.