March 25th through March 31st

Sunday, March 25th
6 miles
Ran first half of run with Kelsey and Lulu down Shore Road and through the neighborhoods.  My left foot was feeling that same pain I had after yesterday's long run.  I decided to head back out down to Weekpaug and "test" in out a bit.  I started off running at a solid pace, but decided to push it since it wasn't going to be a long run and I was heading down the hill.  As I'm running, I get flagged down by the Weekapaug Security Truck (I've worked for these guys the past 5 summers).  My boss, Tom, quickly apologizes for interrupting my run and wants to know if I'd be coming back this upcoming summer?  I inform him that with everything I have going on, I've decided that I'm not coming back.  We chat for a few more minutes and then back to it!  I pick up the pace even more and notice the foot pain has subsided a bit.  After another mile of hard running, my body tells me to chill out as my legs get really heavy, really fast.  I finished up at a steady pace.

Monday, March 26th
0..bottom of my foot was still sore,so why chance it?
Push-ups, pull-ups, and stretching.

Tuesday, March 27th
7 miles..beach roads..nothing eventful..still tight in legs, but foot felt fine.

Wednesday, March 28th
Since it was a Wednesday, I knew it was a day when I needed to put some work in. Prior to the run, Lulu figured out she wouldn't be coming along so she decided to make a "break" and ran for it.  As Kelsey and I chased her through the neighborhood, I thought to myself "this isn't exactly the speed work I was thinking about for the day."  Truth is, even my best workouts in college wouldn't have allowed me to keep up with her.  Eventually Lulu surrendered and we dropped her off back home.

Okay, onto the run.
15 minute warmup
Location: HELL FIELD
4X800, 2X400 (1 minute complete rest between each set.
2:39, 2:36: 2:34, 2:32, 73, 72
15 minute cool down

6 milesthr

I was happy with the work I put in today.  My paces were pretty even and I was able to run negative splits throughout the workout.  I felt stiff and somewhat fatigued during the workout, but I was in control.

Thursday, March 29th
7ish
Weekapaug roads and Shore Road area.  My legs felt like crap today..general soreness in the quads and calves.  Was the soreness from a solid Wednesday workout or just general tiredness?  Regardless, I put my miles in...can't complain about that.

Friday, March 30th
6 miles
Weekapaug roads, Dunes Beach, and Noyes Neck Rd.  Hammered the last mile in and felt pretty good doing it.  Wind was pretty strong.


Saturday, March 31

AM
8 miles
Carter Preserve with Muddy.  Light rain and sleet coming down.  I continue to be very impressed with this area.  As Muddy and I ran through the fields, I was envisioning tempo runs and miles repeats.  With the trails and field, Carter Field would be the perfect place to throw down!

3 miles
Treadmill...mile warm-up, 4X400 at 75 sec w 400 recovery at 8 mph.  I had the urge to get some type of quick stuff in...this was a good way to feed that urge.

PM
Hydrating and dance floor!


43 miles for the week.

March 18th through March 24th

Sunday, March 18th

6 miles...First part of the run down by the water in Weekapaug with Lulu.  After dropping Lulu off, I plodded out another 3 on my own through neighborhoods.  I wasn't as sore as I thought I would be after Holyoke.  The weather was awesome...I'm liking this spring feel!

Monday, March 19th
6 miles
After sitting through meetings until almost 6 pm on a glorious day, I pondered the question "how do I want to spend my time?"  The thought of not running on a day like was out of the question.  So shortly after arriving home, I laced up my shoes and out the door I went.  I ran straight for Weekapaug Road, shot across the bridge, and onto Dunes Beach.  As I ran along the beach, I enjoyed the warm air.  I watched the waves crash on the shore and gave some thought to the feel of jumping in.  While I opted not to jump in, I thoroughly enjoyed my mile or so on the beach before heading back out on Atlantic Ave.  From there, I picked up the pace and pushed it home for the final few miles of the run.    Days like today are why I run my friends...you can't beat it.

Tuesday, March 20th
3 miles, light
I should have taken today completely off, but opted not to.  Headed over to run on the Ninigret fields with Kelsey and Lulu.  Ended up rolling my ankle pretty good for no reason at all mid run.  Weather was awesome again!!  Hello, SPRING!

Wednesday, March 21st
5+ miles
Warm-up
6X400 at HELL Field
75, 74, 74, 73, 72, 72
Cool Down

Solid workout just to remind my legs that they need to run fast!    My ankle was sore from my roll yesterday and I had actually planned on taking today off.  When I arrived home, Kelsey asked me to go for a run.  With the beautiful weather and sun out, I just couldn't pass it up.  The opportunity for me to get some work  in at the field made it even better. My legs were pretty tight after the run.

Thursday, March 22nd
6 miles
Another really nice day..ran neighborhoods down to Shore Rd, through Dunn's Corners, down to the beach and back around.  Very solid run!  Calves were tight and kind of sore.  Cranked the last mileabout .

In the beginning of my run, I ran by a guy in a wheelchair being pushed by a home health aide.  I could tell the gentleman was in tough shape, but was trying to make the most of a beautiful day. As I continued my run I thought about fortunate I am and told myself not to take this all for granted.   Seize the day my friends!

Friday, March 23rd
Straight up 0...feeling pretty beat today.

Saturday, March 24th
AM:17 miles
PM: 3 miles

Burlingame Long Run with the WTAC Trail Gods.  I was pretty psyched for this run knowing that I would get to see some parts of Burlingame that I've never came across before.  Met up with Jonny at 6 am and started to chat it up about it still being dark and our running.  Shortly after, we see two cars pulling into the lot.  Our conversation went something like this, "No way, that can't be Jeff.  Wasn't he just in India?  Are we sure he even landed yet?"  Sure enough, the Gazelle had landed and was ready to run!  Cool stuff.

The rest of the run was pretty awesome.  Started off on the roads and hit up a bunch of trails.  We even ran through "the secret trail."  I'm glad to say that I didn't take any diggers on this run and didn't have any real ankle rolls.  Not being much of a technical runner,  this was an accomplishment for me.  I was really impressed by the Burlingame trail system and all that it has to offer. 

Our run lasted about 2:10--which is a PR in time run for me.  I may not be knocking down any PRs in races right now, but I will take this one for now.  The only downside to the run was some pain in the outside of my left foot.  Blame it on the orthotics.

Headed home to do some serious painting, followed by an additioal 3 miles later in the afternoon with Kelsey and Lulu.

Weekly total: 46 miles
Solid week of mileage for me.  I was happy to get in the quick workout Wednesday and the long run on Saturday.  I plan on dropping the miles down some this upcoming week while still getting some quality efforts in. 

March 11th through March 17th


Sunday, March 11th
10 miles
Spring Forward 1 hour trail race.  
8 miles in 53:52, 5th place
Series finale of the South County 4th Season Race Series.  
Today's race was a really tough one for me.  I have no excuses to make, I have a really tough time on technical trails.   In usual fashion, I like to go through the positives and "areas of improvement" after every race, so here goes..


Pros
1.  4th Season Race Series.  I have to give a shout out to Mike Galoob for organizing and putting the series on.  The races were unique, fun, and well organized!  After running road races for years, this series provided me with something different.

2. Muddy knows how to work in the mud.  Outstanding run by Justin!

3. Team WTAC winning the race and overall series!

4. Despite not being happy with my personal performance, this event was straight up fun.

5.  It was a hell of a workout.


Areas of Improvement
1.  My general trail fitness.  I do think I have trouble running on the trails, especially with the inflexible orthotics.  The orthotics make me feel like I'm sliding and flopping all around.  I'm not about to give them up, but I know I can do better.  Suggestions?

2.  Hills....maybe I can fix this one come next weekend.

3. Eat less munchkins...FAT chance.

Monday, March 12th
6+ miles, Weekapaug Roads and down by the beach.  I ran the first three with Kelsey and Lulu, second 3+ on my own.  I was really sore when I started out today, but felt better as the run progressed.  The weather was awesome today.  The volume of cars and people down by the beach definitely picked up today.

Tuesday, March 13th
0. DOMS Day...feeling some soreness in the legs and calves from Sunday's trail beat down.  Did some stretching.

Wednesday, March 14th
6 miles
With Saturday's race rapidly approaching, I knew today was my only opportunity to sharpen the sword.   Ran a 3 mile warm-up with Kel and Lu on Shore Road through Piezzo Drive. Dropped them off and heading down to one of my favorite haunts, HELL FIELD!

Workout-4X800 with 90 seconds recovery, 4X200 with 30 seconds recovery
2:39, 2:35, 2:34, 2:31, 35, 32,33, 32

Overall, I was happy with this workout.  With some lingering soreness, I just wanted to get a solid workout in that would give me some confidence for Saturday.

Thursday, March 15th
6 miles in Champlain.  Had fun on playing on the trails.  I felt sluggish today but that is okay.
I was on the look out, but I did not have any GAZELLE sightings.

Friday, March 16th
2.5 on the treadmill at 5 am.  Very uneventful.  Took it nice and easy.  No time for a run later on..heading up to Western Mass.

Saturday, March 17th
Holyoke St. Patrick's Day 10k  35:24
5:42/mile
35/6000

Wow, I have so much to say about this race. 
Coolest race facts:
-Zac Hine, who is from South Hadley, won the race and beat some Africans in the process.  I believe he is the first local winner since 1980.  From what I know of Zac, he is a really nice guy and is an incredible runner.  Awesome and exciting win for him.
-6005 finishers.  Really?  I thought the race was big when I ran in last (2500 runners).  This race has more than doubled in five years.
-100th place finshing time: 39:22.  Crazy
-There had to be 10,000 spectators in the past 300m

Pros
-After taking almost 4 years off from competitive running, it was nice to be back at this race.
-Met with a ton of old friends and running buddies.  The big question of the day, "Tommy, where have you been?"
-Starting in the elite athlete section.  They gave me a special orange bib that gave me a great starting spot.
-Ran mentally tough and didn't give up.
-Can't complain about placing 35th when there are so many good runners.
-Still consider myself to be within "striking distance" of some of old rivals (I did beat a few of them)
-Now that this race is over, I can really assess my running.  I  plan on mixing up my training a bit by adding some different stuff to my program and taking necessary rest along the way.

Areas for Improvement

-HILLS...The rolling hills of the course kicked my butt.  I will be working on this..
-35:24-my slowest time on thsi course..best time was 33:41 and my previous slowest time was 34:47. 
-General fatigue (arms felt heavy throughout, turnover could be better).  Should I start doing pushups and more strength work? Why I am always tired?
-Shoes.  I know, I keep complaining about my orthotics and shoes.  This is a hot topic for me because I do believe the orthotics are a big reason I am able to run in the first place.  On the down side, they are too bulky to put into racing flats and make for a rigid ride. 

Much more to come on this race report..these are my general take aways.

39 miles for the week

Holyoke St. Patrick's Day Race

With less than two weeks to go before race day, the 37th Annual Holyoke St. Patrick's Day 10k is on my mind.  Of all of the races I have ran in the past, this one stands out the most in my mind.  Since 2001, I've ran the race a number of times with mostly successful results.

The race itself annually draws strong local and national talent. Past winners include a variety of African runners, various Olympians, and even Bill Rodgers.  It is very competitive up front and it is very easy to get caught up in all of the races fanfare (fans along almost the entire course, A-10s completing a fly by before the start, and the general feeling of excitement).

As a native of Chicopee, Massachusetts (the city right next to Holyoke), this race always stood out as a measuring stick for me.   With nearly 5000 finishers every year, everyone knows about this one.  Having Irish ancestry, my family also put an emphasis on this one by always coming out to support me and cheer me on at the finish line.  My best day at Holyoke came in 2005 when I placed 10th overall and ran a 33:42.  The 11th place finisher that day was Zach Hine, who is from South Hadley, and recently competed in the U.S. Men's Olympic Trials Marathon and placed 31st with a 2:16:40 (Needless to say, that was the first and last time I beat Zach).

As for the course, it's tough.  After a flat first mile, runners have to climb through the hills for the next three.  Once you reach mile 4, you have a mile of pure downhill running.  Even if you are beat up, you can fly at this point.  As mile five approaches, the course starts to roll again.  At this point, your quads are usually cashed in, but you have to forget about it because there is only a little more than a mile left.  As you close in on the finish, the crowds thicken.  Spectators are on the sides of the street cheering and offering bottles of beer.  As tempting as these beverages may be, it's time to focus on the finish.  The final 200m is truly unbelievable with the crowds, noise, and competition.

To say I'm pumped up for Holyoke is an understatement.  It will nice to see some old racing friends, jump back on that course, run as hard as I can, and enjoy the after party. While I will not forget to take a few minutes to reflect on past races and memories from Holyoke, I plan on dropping the hammer down on this one!

March 4th through March 10th

Sunday, March 4th
7 miles
After some typical Sunday chores, I decided to head down to Hell Field to a workout.  I did 4/2X200/400. This was a bread & butter track workout for me when I was at Westfield State (except I had to do more sets and almost always did them on the track).  The workout went well and my last two sets were my strongest.   Headed back home to pick up Kel and Lu to put some time in on the Champlain trails.

Monday, March 5th
7 miles
Weekapaug loop with Kelsey and Lulu for about 3 miles, dropped them off and headed back out for another 4 miles.  Wicked cool sky and a nice chance to watch the sun fade away for another day.  My quads felt completely trashed from the last couple of days of running.  I could feel tightness throughout my body.

Tuesday, March 6th
0
Doing what I do best, nothing!!

With some lingering soreness and general tiredness, I knew today was the perfect off day for me.  I decided to do some pushups, sit-ups, and stretching instead.  Hoping to feel rejuvenated tomorrow.

Wednesday, March 7th
7 miles
Time for a workout.  With some time contraints, I decided to do a short, efficient workout that would allow me to get the most bang for my buck.  So here goes, 3X3min hard, 2 min hard, 1 minute hard with half recovery on the easy runs.  Once I finished the workout, I picked up Lulu and we went out for light 3 miler.

Workout went by quickly.  While I had no complaints about the speed I was running at, I did have some foot pain, which is never good.  I have had some plantar fascia issues the last couple months and on-going foot problems over the last five years.   Needless to say, I'm going to proceed with caution on this one.

Thursday, March 8th
0
Lazy...well, not really.  Between a million other things and the foot pain, I decided to take the day off.

Friday, March 9th
6 miles on Weekapaug Roads incorporating sand trail and some beach time with Lulu.  Foot still bothering me, but it was tolerable. 

Saturday, March 10th
8+ miles with Muddy and Jonny in Carter Preserve.  Fun run with my WTAC buddies and loved the opportunity to explore some new trails.  It turned out that these trails are right near the area I used to vacation as a kid.  

2.5 miles on Westerly roads with Kelsey and Lu.

38 miles for the week.  Felt it was a smart move to drop my miles down and hopefully get my foot feeling better,