May 28th through June 2nd

Sunday, May 27th

pALS 5k: 16:30, 1st place

http://www.coolrunning.com/results/12/ma/May27_pALS5k_set1.shtml

To start things off, I was very happy with my time today.  I ran pretty evenly the whole way and felt comfortable out there.  As an added bonus in this one, I had my significant other out there today, along with my brother Steve, and Kelsey's Dad, Dave.  My brother rarely runs and mentioned prior to the start of the race that he had only ran 3 times in the last three months.  Considering his training and the conditions, it was pretty cool to see him run 23 and change out there.  My brother also happens to be the guy who introduced to this great sport and addiction.  

No big award for winning, just a medal and I'll take that..happy with my time and the company I had at the race.

Kelsey: 21:44

Dave: 23:39

Steve: 23:45

(5)

Pros:

-Hit my goal of getting back down to 16:30 for a 5k

-Solid, consistent pace

-ran in race flats and they helped

-Good fun had

-Nice to have "my people" out there

Cons:

-Strained my right calf in the second mile (hope there are no lingering effects)

-Didn't have enough time to warm-up (luckily it was hot out there, so a little over a mile gave me enough time to work up a sweat).

Monday, May 28th
16 miles in Burlingame with the Gazelle.  Early morning jaunt after a very late night.  We hit up the first 5 miles of the Lil Rhody Run Around and then ventured off track.  We had fun, hammered out some miles, ended up lost, and finished on the roads.  After about 90 minutes, I was feeling somewhat disoriented.  While the trails are always more fun,  I was happy to play it safe and finish on the roads.  Somehow Gazelle and I were able to run pretty hard right up until we finished.  Great run and effort.

Note to self: Bring a water pack on these long summer trail runs.

Tuesday, May 29th
6+ miles on Weekapaug roads.  First part with Kelsey and second half on my own.  Felt this run!

Wednesday, May 30st
0..off day..did some mowing.

Thursday, May 31st
"No Time" Workout
2 mile warm-up w/Kelsey and Lu
8X400
76-74-73-72-69-70-70-68..w/short rest.
1 mile cooldown

Friday, June 1st
7 miles with Gazelle from my house, through the Weekapaug roads, and down to the sand trail.

As I was waiting for the Gazelle to get to my house, I suddenly noticed blinking lights and a man on a bike.  I thought to myself, "Could it be?"  Sure enough it was him.  We immediately started the run at a solid pace.  It was pretty neat to see the sun come up and run on the beach...all before the work day even started.  Awesome run!

Jeff headed back out on the bike to knock out more miles.

This quote sums up how the WTAC does it:

"Every morning in Africa, a gazelle (Jeff) wakes up. It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn't matter whether you're a lion or gazelle - when the sun comes up, you'd better be running."

- Unknown

Saturday, June 2nd
8ish
A not so fun weather day...
Threw down a 5-4-3-2-1-30 sec workout.
With the humidity and circling shore winds, this workout was a tough one.  I intended to get a quality effort in and throw some hills into the mix to make it a really good workout at the end.  The hills weren't happening.  Sucking wind with rain pouring down, I decided to cash it in and head home.

About an hour later, Kelsey and I ran an easy three from Misquamicut Beach and through some parts of the Tom McCoy Fun Run course.  Good times.

Weekly Miles: 47
This week stands as one of my best training weeks of 2012 and arguably, my best week since 2006. Positive takeaways from this past week: getting back to 16:30 in the 5k (and hungry to get faster), a really solid long run, and some really fun running in general.  

May 20th through May 26th

Sunday, May 20th
6 miles of jogging

On a beautiful Sunday morning, I found myself up in East Providence visiting Kelsey's Mom and Dad.  After a nice breakfast of eggs and waffles, we set plans to head out for a jaunt on the 10 Mile River Greenway.  As we headed outside, Kelsey's mom jumped on her bike, I checked Lulu's collar to make sure it was secure, and Kelsey and Dave were looking around in the yard.  In an instant without time to even see it coming, the neighbor's nasty Bullmastiff blasted into the yard and latched right on to Lulu's neck. Without even thinking about it, I jumped right right to the mix and did what I needed to do to save my dog.  Kelsey tried to help and got knocked into her mom's bike and scratched up by the dog.  Dave ended up having to kick the dog.  Luckily, Lulu was able to get out of the attack unscathed.  Kelsey and I took some scrapes, but ended up fine as well.  The neighbor, who was in her yard and witnessed the whole thing, came over after to tell us that everyone is okay and that the whole thing took place because Lulu is a "nervous" dog.  I was infuriated by the whole thing and did my best not to tell the neighbor what I really thought.  I'll certainly have my guard up the next time I run into that dog. After cleaning ourselves up, we left Lulu home and headed off for a very easy jaunt.

Monday, May 21st
6 miles.
I decided I need to get some "quality" work in today.  With the usual time limits, I knew I could get a quick, bang for your buck workout in so I decided to do a ladder workout.
I did a 5H-4H-3H-2H-1H-30sH-30sH-1H-2H ladder.

Overall, I felt pretty strong and efficient out there today.  I'm hoping to get one more workout in on Wednesday.  I'm hopeful that some quality work will improve my running economy and help me get some of those times down.

Tuesday, May 22nd
7 miles..Weekapaug Roads..first three with Kelsey down by the Overlook.  Next 4+ on my own, cranked the last couple of miles.  Back sore.

Wednesday, May 23rd
2 mile warmup
4X800 w/1 minute rest, 2X400 w/1 minute rest, 2X200 w/30 sec rest
236, 232, 233, 229, 71, 70, 32, 31
2 mile cooldown

Threw down another solid workout at HELL field.  Kept the rest short and tried to remain economical throughout the workout.  After the third 800, I started to feel the wheels come off.  At that point, I wondered if the workout was going spiral more and more downward.  Surprisingly I rebounded nicely and finished up on a positive note.  Crawled back home.

I will be dropping a big ole' 0 tomorrow.

Thursday, May 24th
0 Planned off day.
Coached my school's Unified Track Team at their big meet in Fairfield, CT.  Unified Track is mix of regular athletes and athletes with various disabilities.  Pretty cool and inspiring to see these kids perform.  It's even better to the smiles on their faces when they get medals and proudly wear them to school the next day.  Good stuff.

Friday, May 25th
8 miles with Gazelle in Champlain Trails and then shot down to Misquamicut Beach for a few more miles. It was very fun running the beach and neat to see people geared up for Memorial Day Weekend.  With Jeff racing on Saturday, I can honestly say we kept things in control.  "Gazellousquet" pace will have to hold tight for a few more days.  Great run and great conversation.

Saturday, May 26th
7 miles..I think today's run was really 6.89763234, but it is much easier just to call it 7.

I ditched my initial plan to hit up Grills bright and early to sleep in a bit.  I then did a bunch of chores and decided to take my run to the beach.  Ran down to Dunes Beach and proceeded to the Westerly Town Beach before retreating back to the roads and home.  I kept the pace under control again today with the hopes of saving energy for a solid 5k tomorrow morning. People were pouring out to the beaches in hope for some sun and summer.

Now it is on to mowing, more mowing, and house work..

Weekly Miles: 41
Even without a longer run in there, I was happy with my training this week.  Getting in more quality workouts will hopefully help me move towards my goal of some faster race times (times comparable or in the ballpark of my glory days).  As for next week, my plans are to run a fast 5k Sunday, long run Monday, and get a few quality efforts in later in the week.  Let's keep moving forward.

May 13th through May 19th

Sunday, May 13th
A very somber day..received a early morning phone call from my mom to tell me about the unexpected passing of my 34 year old cousin Frank.  Frank stood out as one of my favorite cousins for his fun personality and sense of humor.  He was also a very caring father to three young kids.  I feel very fortunate that I was able to see Frank one last time last Sunday on a visit to my grandma's last weekend.

I'm having a tough time processing this one.  Rest in peace buddy.        

8 miles of reflection.
Live life to it's fullest my friends.

Monday, May 14th
5 miles, 35 minutes
Very early treadmill run.
I went on a Chinatown Boston Field Trip with my school..ended up developing the symptoms of a stomach virus by mid morning..sick, feverish, and exhausted by night.

Tuesday, May 15th
3 mile jog..took in nice and easy.
I couldn't eat a solid meal, but found a way to get something light in.  If I can work, I can still run, right?

Wednesday, May 16th
7 miles down the Weekapaug Sand Trail to Quonnie Breachway and back.
Stomach still sore and body was sluggish, but feeling better.

Thursday, May 17th
6 miles of a trail/road mix. Did some trail blazing right by my house and finished things up with a cruise on Shore Road.  Prior to heading out the door, I was hoping to through some "pick-ups" in.  Once I started running, my body quickly told me otherwise.  I struggled through this run, but still had fun out there.  Found a pesky tick crawling around on my back when I came home.


Note to self: time to buy some new kicks.

Friday, May 18th
8+ miles in Champlain trails.  Awesome trail romp on a beautiful day.

Saturday, May 19th
6 miles on the roads around my house.

After attending my cousin's services up in Massachusetts, I made sure to check out the beach on a gorgeous late afternoon.

Weekly Miles
43


Needless to say, this was a really challenging week for me but I made sure to get out there as much as I could.  In good times or bad, running always provides me with balance and comfort.  Some days it is nice to get out there and reflect, while other days it's enjoyable to just bang miles and enjoy the moment.

I'm looking forward to getting back into the normal swing of things and summer.  Another busy week coming up, but I'm looking forward to Memorial Day Weekend and a possible 5k to go along with it.

May 6th through May 12th

Sunday, May 6th
6 miles
2 miles with the girls on the roads, followed by 4 miles on the Weekapaug Sand Trail.  I loved running on the sand trail--the resistance of running though the sand, ocean views, feel of nature, and joy of having those tiny, endangered birds try to dive bomb me throughout the run).  Fun!


 Congrats to Jeff on his SUB 3 hour finish at the COX Marathon!

Monday, May 7th
9 miles
6 miles of trail romping in Champlain..rolled my ankle a few times, but this run was awesome.
Surprisingly and unexpectedly, I was able to head back out for another 3 miles with the girls.

Tuesday, May 8th
6+ miles
Warmed up for close to a half hour with my female running friends.  I then had the bright idea of pulling out some racing flats from 2006 (Old School Asics DS Racers).  I placed some super feet insoles inside for a little extra support and then headed down to HELL Field to get some work done.

1200-800-1200-800-400-400 with 1 minute recovery between.
4:06, 2:33, 3:55, 2:33, 71, 69

I was ripped after I completed my first 1200...the pace felt fast and the stride seemed smooth, but my split sucked.  After that rep, I was much more focused and really happy with my splits.  I need to keep up with these workouts if I ever expect to run better times.

I haven't touched flats in almost six years.  I'll definitely give them some consideration come my next 5k.

Keep marching.

Wednesday, May 9th
0-planned off day/no time for anything fun day
Coached Unified Track and had work obligations into the night..

Thursday, May 10th
7 miles on local roads...Kelsey jumped on the bike for the second half of this run..finished strong, but nothing eventful..and back to work at night again..awesome.

Friday, May 11th
4+ miles, shot down to Dunes Beach...did some short sprints on the beach with Lulu as she spazzed out in the sand.  Took this run real easy.  Weather was awesome...

Saturday, May 12th
Block Island Shad Bloom Trail 10k
38:32, 2nd overall.


Very tough race.  Fun though.

Weekly Miles:
41