Last week has been the high point of my summer season so far. My long run went great, and my legs felt great throughout the week. I even hit some good paces in my workout – giving me some hope for this week’s races.
This week starts with a race – the Fitzgerald’s Lager Run 5k – and ends with another race – the Sun Run 10 Miler. I’m more interested in the results from the Lager Run, so I’m prepared to take it easy at the Sun Run if I’m not feeling it. But it’s a category 3 race for the USATF-NJ Grand Prix – and I really just need to finish to fill in some points for that spot.
Otherwise, I’ll focus on taking it easy in the middle of the week. I may or may not go to the Wednesday track workout. Depends on how everything goes.
The Plan for the Week
With the Lager Run on Sunday evening, I won’t be doing a long run this week. So I’ll just throw in a bunch of extra doubles to rack up the miles I need to fill out my usual 70 miles.
Here’s how things broke down:
- Sunday: 4 miles trail AM, 6 miles 5k race + WU PM
- Monday: 6 miles trail
- Tuesday: 8 miles trail AM, 4 miles treadmill PM
- Wednesday: 6 miles trail AM, 5 miles tread PM
- Thursday: 6 miles trail AM, 6 miles tread PM
- Friday: 6 miles trail AM
- Saturday: 13 miles – 10 mile race + WU
And here’s how things went.
Sunday: The Fitzgerald’s Lager Run 5k
The race is in the evening, so I woke up and went for a quick shake out run in the morning. Four easy miles on the trails. Quick and uneventful – and feeling good.
I relaxed the rest of the morning and drove over to the race around 4PM. Jogged a couple miles for a warm up, took the team picture, and added another mile warm up with Donny. Felt pretty good.
We lined up for the start at 5:30. I started a few rows back, and I got boxed in for the first 50 meters or so. But once I passed one or two people, I had open road. I sped up and kept with the pack for a bit, before I looked at my watch and saw my pace was way too hot (under 6:00/mi). I eased up a little from there and lapped the first mile in 6:10.
In the second mile, there’s a big hill. I planned to take the hill easy and then open up afterwards. I might have slowed down a bit too much and given up some time here, but I got back on pace at ~6:10/mi after the hills. This part was going ok. I spotted a girl who I usually finish just ahead of – and she was just up ahead. Throughout this mile, I got a little closer and tried to reel her in.
With the hill, I only managed a 6:26 split here. Not great. But I can salvage this.
Turns out … I couldn’t. On the third mile, which was a gradual decline, I just couldn’t get up to speed. I watched the girl drift off, and a couple other people passed me. I struggled to maintain a 6:30/mi pace, and my leg just felt dead. At one point, one of my teammates passed me and I tried to stay with him. I managed a little surge, but it didn’t last 100m. The end of that mile was even slower – and I lapped 6:28.
I did manage to pick up the pace in the final quarter mile. The race finishes on the track, and I managed a final surge of effort. I passed one or two people in that last stretch. Down the final straight away, I saw one more guy up ahead – and I managed to pick him off right before the line. I could also hear somebody right behind me, but I fended him off.
I pushed super hard at the end – almost too hard. I was on the verge of hurling as I stumbled over to the fence. But after a few seconds, my stomach calmed down and I walked over to grab a bottle of water.
Finished in 19:40. A couple seconds slower than last year, but still respectable. Slower than I was hoping for (19:15 or better). It was in the top 100 men, though, which means I get another pint glass for my collection.
I chatted with a few teammates, grabbed a beer and a pretzel, and then walked over to watch some other people finish. I hung out for a bit, had my second beer, and eventually went home. It was raining, and I still had to cook dinner for the family.
Monday: Out on the Trails
I slept in a bit Monday, and then I hit the trails for an easy six miles. It was cool, cloudy, and drizzly.
My legs felt surprisingly good for the day after a race. I kept it easy for the first three miles and slowly warmed up. After the turnaround, I picked up the pace a bit – 9:06 and 9:09.
In the last mile, my stomach started to rumble, and I felt the urge to go. I stopped for a quick walking break, calmed things down, and finished up at a slower pace.
Evidently that dinner from the night before hadn’t had enough time to settle.
Tuesday: More Easy Miles
Tuesday morning: more rain. The trails are starting to get a little wet again. Not rain forest, slip and slide wet … but the familiar mud is building back up.
The first mile was a slow warm up. Eased in a bit in the next two. Then I picked up the pace. Felt great.
The last five miles were all around 8:20-8:30/mi. Legs felt great. Didn’t feel like any residual fatigue or issues from the race. Much better than yesterday.
After work, I hopped on the treadmill for an easy four miles. Uneventful, but felt pretty good.
Wednesday: Not So Fresh After All
After a few days of cool, rainy weather, it’s starting to heat up. Sunny and mid 60’s when I went out for my run in the morning.
I was still on the fence about going to the team’s track workout in the evening, so I kept the pace nice and easy in the morning. My legs felt pretty good – ran out three miles and back. The last three were ~9:10-9:15/mi.
I had to drive down to south Jersey for work, so I was on the road quite a bit. About an hour and forty five minutes down to the office for a meeting. Two hours back.
When I left the office, the heat hit me like a slap in the face. It was in the 80’s, approaching 90. I had second thoughts about the track workout. By the time I got home, I would have had to go straight there – so I decided to take it easy and just finish up on the treadmill.
My legs were feeling a little creaky at this point, too. Maybe it was all the driving. But I just didn’t feel fresh at all.
I laid down for a bit, then I hopped on the treadmill for an easy five miles. Felt ok – but a little more labored than my double earlier in the week.
Thursday: More Doubles
After yesterday, it kept getting hotter. Woke up Thursday morning, and it was in the 70’s and sunny.
Between the heat and the upcoming race, I tried to keep things reigned in and super easy today. Warmed up for the first few miles, and then finished up in ~9:20-9:30/mi.
I was a little tired at the end. Not sure if I was feeling off – or if it was just the heat.
In the evening, I finished up work and did an easy six miles on the treadmill. Longer than I usually double – but that’s how things worked out. I felt ok at the end, though, not too worn out.
Friday: An Easy Day on the Trails
It was still warm Friday, but not as bad. Down in the high 60’s when I went out.
It was refreshing to just have a single run for the day. The doubles were starting to get a little much this week – especially with the longer ones at the end of the week.
Warmed up the first few miles. Kept it easy, but slightly faster – ~9:20/mi – at the end. In the last mile, I did a few quick strides to loosen up my legs.
In the middle of the week, I was worried my legs were getting a little fried. But I felt ok at the end.
This race tomorrow could turn out well, after all.
Saturday: No Sun for the Sun Run 10 Miler
After a few hot days, it cooled off significantly Saturday morning. It was in the 60’s, cloudy, and lightly raining on and off. By the time I got to the race – around 8 – the rain was off. But it felt decent outside.
I met up with a few of my teammates, chatted for a bit, and then went off for a warm up. Legs felt ok, and my strides at the end felt great.
We lined up at 9am and started. The first half mile is up a steep hill, so I fell in and tried to take it easy. There was a relatively large field – but not a lot of faster runners at the front. So the pack of people in my area was pretty slow.
At the top of the hill, I tried to pick up the pace a bit. I noticed a guy – who’s faster than me – and one of his teammates – a girl that’s often just behind me – up ahead. It seemed like he was pacing her, because he was slower than usual. I gradually moved up, passed them, and settled in at the front of the pack. A handful of other runners – including my teammate, Donny – were drifting off in the distance.
The first mile was a dismally slow 7:00. But it was hilly, right?
The second mile was a steep downhill. I charged down and picked up some speed. There was a pack of 5 or 6 people behind me, and I heard them chatting as we ran down the hill. The pace here was perfect – 6:20.
But once things flattened out, it got a bit harder. In the middle of the third mile, somebody pulled up next to me. I didn’t realize at first, but it was my teammate Daniel. We ran together for the next bit. At first, it seemed like he was struggling and I was fine – but that didn’t last.
Mile 3: 6:48. I was expecting to run ~6:30/mi on the flat sections. Not good.
At this point, a group of young girls in their 20’s passed us and surged ahead. They’d pull away and eventually disappear.
Suddenly, it felt really hot and humid. The weather had felt almost cool before the start – but the humidity was causing me to sweat. We finish mile 4 just before the turnaround – 6:50. Nope, even slower.
After mile 4, there was a turnaround and a water stop. I opened a gel – I’d brought one, thinking that the electrolytes might help in the humidity – and I felt a little better. But I couldn’t pick up speed. At this point, I started to fade and Daniel kept going. He slowly pulled away.
Each mile got a little worse. Mile 5: 7:10.
Mile 6, I heard some footsteps coming up behind me. A woman passed me, and I split 7:20.
Here’s where the hills started. And it got worse. 7:40. 7:53.
With two miles to go, it leveled out a little bit. There was a steep downhill, and that quick charge down helped revive my legs. But then, we hit an incline and they died again. In this final stretch, another older woman passed me. 7:12. A little faster, but not good.
With less than a mile to go, we ran through a wooded park area. I could hear someone behind me, and I managed to pick up the pace a bit – back in the high 6:00’s. When we came out of the park, it was a steep decline to the finish for a quarter mile.
I heard a guy behind me – breathing very loudly – and I pushed as hard as I could. I fended off the guy who was chasing me. But the time was nothing to be proud of. I was just happy to be done.
Chatted with my team, grabbed a beer and some pizza. It had started to rain towards the end, and by this point I was wet. We hung around for a bit, and by the time I left – I was downright chilly and almost shivering. It kept getting cooler throughout the day.
I’m not sure if it was just the humidity – or my legs were weighed down with the miles from the week. But this was not a good race. I had basically thrown in the towel by the halfway point, and it was a struggle to finish.
The good thing is that there wasn’t a lot of fast competition – so I placed well and scored some points for the Grand Prix.
Reflections and Looking Ahead
The week started on a high note – and ended on a low note.
The Fitzgerald’s Lager Run 5k wasn’t quite as fast as I had hoped. But it was fast enough. And if things kept trending in the right direction – I still had a couple races later in the month to capitalize on.
But the Sun Run was definitely not a success. It was a struggle the whole way through. I’m sure the weather played a factor – but I think it’s a bit of a cop out to blame the whole thing on the humidity.
I guess we’ll see with how things go in the next week.
I’ve got a full week, and then the last two races of the month are the following week – a 5k and a 5 miler.