Last week ended on a high note. My threshold workout on Friday went pretty well. It was light, since I have a race coming up Monday, but I hit paces that I haven’t been able to hit since before Jersey City.
This week is the next test – a 10k race at the Ridgewood Run on Monday. This isn’t a major goal race, so I’m not too stressed about the results. But I haven’t had a really solid 10k in a long time, and I’ve never run one under 40:00. So ideally, I’d like to check off that box – even though under good conditions it shouldn’t be that difficult.
Otherwise, the main goal for the week is to survive and recover. I’ll put in a lighter workout later in the week, but the timing isn’t great. I’ll be looking to next week to really evaluate where I’m at leading up to the Fitzgerald’s 5k Lager Run on June 8.
The Plan for the Week
My three main goals for this week were to a) put forth a decent effort at the Ridgewood Run 10k, b) hit my mileage goal of 70 miles, and c) recover well enough to hit some good workouts next week. Since the race is on Monday, I had to shuffle my calendar a bit and re-arrange the mileage, but I fit it all in. I ended up doing a lot of short doubles to make up for not having a long run.
- Sunday: 8 miles easy
- Monday: 10k race (10 miles with WU / CD)
- Tuesday: 6 miles trail AM, 5 miles tread PM
- Wednesday: 8 miles trail AM, 5 miles tread PM
- Thursday: 8 miles I workout AM, 4 miles tread PM
- Friday: 4 miles tread AM, 4 miles tread PM
- Saturday: 8 miles trails
And here’s how things went.
Sunday: Not a Long Run
Sundays are usually for long runs. But not this week.
I was on the fence about how much mileage to do today. I settled on eight miles – enough to stretch my legs and start the week with a few miles, but not enough to tire me out too much.
I slept in a little bit and then started out for the Reservoir. Took the first two laps nice and easy as a warm up.
The third lap I did some easy strides. Nothing too fast. Just enough to open up my legs a bit.
And the final lap, I upped the pace a bit. Not a full on tempo – but got down to 7:43. I’m trying to get my legs used to ending an easy day under 8:00/mi, and this felt pretty good.
I jogged the final mile home. After a shower, it was time to go about my day. Quick and easy for a Sunday morning.
Monday: The Ridgewood Run 10k
The race was at 8am, and it was a good 30+ minute drive away. So I had to get up pretty early to down some coffee, hit the bathroom, and hit the road.
I hoped to make it there before 7, so I could warm up a bit before our 7:30 team picture. Didn’t quite work out. I got there a little after 7, jogged two miles, and then joined the team.
After a picture and some chatting, I hit the porta potties. I got in line before it got super long – good timing. Finished up my warm up with another mile or so – some strides and a little light tempo at the end.
The weather was better than I had originally anticipated. In the 50’s to 60’s, some shade from the trees, and manageable humidity. The temps would be much higher later when the sun got high in the sky – but the 10k would be long over by then. I guess an 8am start isn’t such a bad idea anyway.
The plan was to take the first mile or two under 6:30 and then see what happens. I lined up a few rows back, and we were off. The first mile starts with a slight incline, so I just took it by feel and tried to keep up with the people around me. When things flattened out and we took our first left, I was going a little fast – so I slowed down a titch.
The first mile came and went – 6:27. Hey, that’s not half bad. I felt pretty good, too. We took a couple of lefts here, and then the course was gently downhill for most of the next mile. I picked off a couple of people, waved to one of my teammates who wasn’t running, and generally felt great.
Second mile split: 6:21. Maybe this is going to be a great day, after all!
The next mile started some rolling hills. Nothing terrible, but enough to soften my momentum a bit. We passed by a house that was blasting Bruce Springsteen – gotta love suburban New Jersey. I slowed down here, but still managed a 6:28.
The worst of the hills were behind me, and I was hoping I could speed up again here. But my legs said otherwise. They just kind of petered out, and I couldn’t accelerate again. My hopes of going sub-40:00 were floating away, but I was just focused on finishing. Next split: 6:41.
From here, I knew we were getting close to the end. The last couple of miles lapped over the start of the race. There was a gentle incline through mile 5. We passed a lone bag piper standing on the side of the street. There were a few people strung out ahead of me, and we all seemed to be struggling together. I was just waiting for the end of this mile so we could head back downhill.
The sign finally came, and I split 6:47. Even slower. But I found a little life left in my legs and started to slowly improve my pace. We took a pair of lefts and headed back downhill towards the finish. I picked up some speed, and I passed one or two guys here.
As we got closer, I could here a guy breathing hard coming up on my shoulder. I pushed the pace and he fell back. He made his way back, and I planned to kick it at the 6 mile marker. He passed me just before the marker (split: 6:28), and he called something out and motioned for me to follow. I tried – and my pace in that final quarter was the fastest of the whole race.
But I couldn’t quite keep it up. I glanced over my shoulder, didn’t see anybody, and cruised in at a 6:00/mi pace for that final quarter.
Official time: 40:41.
Coulda been faster. Shoulda been faster. But it is what it is.
Grabbed some water, caught my breath, and then cheered on some of my teammates. A couple people came in just behind me – and they later told me that they paced themselves off me the whole race. It’s funny to think about perspective in a race – you have no idea what’s happening behind you.
I hung out for a bit, then I eventually jogged a mile to cooldown and then headed for home.
I had initially planned on doing an easy double on the treadmill to pad my mileage. But after some Memorial Day festivities and a nap, that idea flew out the window. I’ll add those miles in later.
Tuesday: Feeling Good
Monday’s race wasn’t everything I’d hoped. But at least I woke up Tuesday feeling pretty good.
I started the day off with six miles on the trails. The first mile was slow. It took a minute to loosen things up.
But everything felt pretty smooth by mile two. At the turn around point, I picked up the pace. I checked my heart rate and my breathing, and the pace was easy enough. I expected it was a little slower than it felt – because that’s often the case when I’m tired.
But I was pleasantly surprised when I finished and saw the last three miles in 8:47, 8:55, 8:40. Not bad.
After work, I hopped on the treadmill for an easy five mile double. My legs were stiff for the first five or ten minutes, but I found that starting super slow – like a 4.5 speed – and slowly ratcheting up over the first five minutes really helps. We’ll call it my version of the Kenyan shuffle.
By the time I finished, I felt great. Did a few light stretches and finished up dinner. Tuesday is taco night – and the meat was done cooking in the Instapot. Just needed to put on the rice.
Wednesday: Speedy Morning on the Trails
Wednesday morning, I woke up and hit the trails for an easy eight miles. I felt even better than yesterday.
My legs warmed up a little more quickly, and I eased into the pace over the first couple miles. By the time I got to the turnaround, I felt like I was really flying.
Five or six miles in, I glanced at my heart rate and it was a little high. Like just over the border from zone three to zone four on my Garmin. Technically still aerobic, but heading into the upper aerobic zone. I tried to reel it in just a little bit, and my heart rate hovered right around 152-153 (the border) for the rest of the run.
Finished up in 1:11 – which might be the fastest I’ve ever done that route. Miles 4-8 were all between 8:20 and 8:40. And I felt great when I finished.
Went down to the office for the day. Got home, laid down for a few, prepped dinner … and then on the treadmill for an easy double.
Just four miles – ~38 minutes – today. Again, super slow warm up. Then I settled in to watch some more of Andor. Finished up feeling pretty good.
Thursday: Not Such a Speedy Workout
So far, I’ve felt great after my race on Monday. I had initially been hesitant about doing a workout this week – what if I wasn’t recovered yet? – but things seemed to be on pace.
Unfortunately, that did not last.
I felt a little sluggish Thursday morning when I woke up. I got moving a little late. I was initially going to do 10 miles, but I cut that down to 8. That was still plenty of distance to get in my workout – 10 x 2 minutes at ~5k pace.
I warmed up for the first lap and then started in on the workout. I felt like I was going faster than threshold. But my watch kept beeping periodically, suggesting that I was off pace. I didn’t want to stress too much about the pace, so I ignored it for a while.
Towards the end of the 5th rep, I looked down at my watch and my pace was actually 6:05/mi. Spot on where it should be. Wow.
Next rep, same thing. It beeped at me in the beginning, but my pace at the end was in the target range.
The last few reps were a little slower, though. I started to flag some at that point.
I jogged home, expecting the data to not look too bad. But apparently I really struggled to accelerate throughout the workout – and those paces at the end weren’t representative of my actual pace throughout.
I had two reps that were legit in the range (~6:15/mi), a couple that were slightly off (6:20-6:25/mi), and then a handful that were 6:30+. Not great. Not sure if I’m still a bit tired from the race – or if I just overdid it the previous day on the trails.
After work, I did another easy double. Four more miles. Legs felt good.
Friday: Slow and Steady on the Treadmill
Thursday night, we went to the Beyonce concert at Metlife. That meant getting home late, and we didn’t get to bed until around 1. Morning came quick, and I was definitely short on sleep.
We also had a delivery coming, so I didn’t want to leave the house and miss it. Instead of going out for a short run, I did a quick four miles on the treadmill. It was sluggish, but I survived.
After work – and a solid nap – I hopped on the treadmill for four more miles. My legs felt much better after some sleep.
Saturday: Slow Again on the Trails
I was able to sleep in on Saturday and rest up a bit. When I finally got moving, I left for an easy eight mile trail run – the same route that I’d done in 1:11 earlier in the week.
My legs were a little stiff, and the first mile or two it took a bit to warm up. But eventually, I got rolling. I picked up the pace in the third mile, and I tried to cruise along like I’d done the other day.
During mile four, something felt off in my right knee. Not pain. Maybe discomfort. Or just some tightness. I eased up on the pace, and it went away. Not sure if it’s a result of doing too much this week – or I just stepped in some mud the wrong way and tweaked something.
The whole run was slower and higher effort than usual. But I eventually finished up – 1:18. Like night and day.
After a shower and some coffee, I went out to run some errands with my wife. Then I went back to bed for another nap to sleep this off.
Reflections and Looking Ahead
Was this a good week?
In some ways, yes. The start of my 10k race went really well, and I felt better at the beginning than I expected. And my runs over the next two days felt amazing.
But my overall time in that 10k was not amazing. I slowed up in the middle, and I definitely underperformed. And my workout on Thursday was also a disappointment.
Maybe I’ve just been pushing myself a little too hard, and that slow day on Friday and Saturday was a message. It could also just be a bad day, though, and I’ll see how tomorrow’s long run goes before I worry too much.
I am a little worried about the knee thing, though. Before I got healthy and got serious about running, I was plagued by recurring knee issues. So whenever I feel anything, there’s a dreaded sense of deja vu.
I’ll feel it out in tomorrow’s long run and pull the plug if I have to. But hopefully it’s nothing serious.
After next week, I’ve got a 5k coming up the following Sunday (6/8). And this is one of the June races that I actually care about. I need to finish in the top 100 to get a commemorative pint glass, and I’m hoping to improve on my previous time here (~19:20). But we’ll see how the next few days go before I make any plans.