March 17th through March 23rd-Respect this Process

Running is a process.  It's definitely not the type of sport where you can just jump on a starting line and have the natural ability to dominate the competition.  One might argue that a Kenyan could dominate without training.  Truth is, the majority of Kenyan runners start the process when they run to and from school as little kids.  Running is not a sport of instant gratification.  You have to put in the time, miles, workouts, and rest to make it work.  The huge thing is to keep working at it and chipping away at your goals.  I'll warn you right now that there may be set backs along the way, but remember running is a process.  Keep moving forward, remain positive, and don't quit.

Sunday, March 17th-Happy St. Patrick's Day
11.5 mile cruise with Gazelle from the Y to Barn Island and back around.  I was glad to be able to help Jeff push through a long run as he makes final preps for Boston.  While it was chilly this morning, I enjoyed the competition and course.  I was especially impressed by Gazelle's ability to keep hammering out miles without fatigue...Boston Beware!

Splits: 6:54, 6:52, 6:44, 6:55, 6:48, 7:18, 7:14, 6:55, 6:38, 6:34, 6:27
77 minutes, 6:51 pace

After the run, we hit the pool.  It was cool to get some laps in with Gazelle and he gave me a couple pointers as we went along.  I enjoyed swimming more than I thought I would!  Afterwards, Jeff gave me a tour of the renovated Y and it was impressive.  I hope to work more on my swimming in the near future.

Barn Island

"What's the matter  5k, you need a break after 5 miles? "

Monday, March 18th
a.m. I had the intention of waking up and getting in a early morning run before work.  That opportunity went out the window after I hit the snooze button multiple times.

p.m. 5 mile easy run on Weekapaug roads.  I was really sore from yesterday, but had a decent run.  I think the soreness can be attributed to getting acclimated to my new orthotics. 33 minutes.

Tuesday, March 19th
5 miles with Lulu on the Weekapaug Inn Beach down to Quonnie followed up by some road work.  I was amazed by the dune damage in Weekapaug.  I had not run in this area since late January and don't remember all of that damage.  The dunes are completely washed out and it would not be a stretch for strong ocean waves to shoot right into the salt pond.  Lulu was flying today and I had to work really hard to keep up with her.  5 miles, 35 minutes.

I followed up my run with 100 pushups and 50 pullups.  Did sets of 20 pushups and 10 pullups.  Completed the workout in 12 minutes and was really happy with that result.  Finished up with some light stretching.

Wednesday, March 20th
0..work is awesome.

Thursday, March 21st
Mile warmup
4X800 neighborhood loop (estimate)
231, 229, 228, 226

Initially, I thought I would alternate directions I was running, but figure out that the hill climb right in the middle of the repeats were really good for race simulation.  My right hip felt tight so I tried to work into each rep.
3 mile warmdown-21 minutes
(6)

Friday, March 22nd
445 Club back in action.
5 miles easy on local roads with Gazelle.  Prior to the run, Gazelle let me know that he wanted to take it easy.  Being tired and sore, I had no complaints about the idea.  Saw some cool stars and enjoyed the various ocean scenes in the dark.

Saturday, March 23rd
Gazellathon

I decided to join Jeff for a portion of his final long run before the Boston Marathon.  He would be running a 23 miler, while I would be joining for about 14 to 15 of those miles. Since Jeff mapped out the course ahead of time, I had a pretty good idea that the course would be challenging but also fun.  I had a few goals for the day, which included: 1. Make it through.  2. Push/entertain Gazelle throughout the run 3. Gain a confidence booster by running strong.

After Jeff's first 9 miles, he met me at my house for my start.  From there, we ran through some neighborhood roads and out to Route 1 for the first four miles of the run.  I was trying to be careful not to push the pace considering Jeff had already ran 9 miles and had a bunch more to go. As usual, we started to push the pace, but our space watches kept us in check.   We then climbed up Klondike Road past Burlingame, briefly on 216, and then Buckeye Brook Road.  Jeff mentioned there would be some honest hill climbing on this running and I figured we might be almost done with them as we hit our water stop.  Turns out, we were just getting warmed up!

After finishing up our brief water break, we were off and the real run was about to begin. In my my, we just kept climbing at point.  Ran on Shumankanuc Hill Road and passed by Jonny's house.   We were hoping for some breakfast, but he must have been out blazing trails somewhere.  I affectionately now call his area Hammett Country.  It kind of makes sense why the Hammett clan are such good runners with all of the rolling hills and trails in the area.  We then ran down Burdickville Road  prior to a climb up to Riverside Farms.  Based off of mileage I knew were getting close to the ladder part of the run.  The conversation continued throughout the run until Jeff looked over at me and said, "The good news is there was only one hill climb left, the bad news it was a mother of a hill climb."  He wasn't kidding.  The last hill of the day kicked my butt.  I made it through the hill fine, but was trashed afterwards.  Once I saw the Route 91 sign, I told Jeff I was so happy to see it that I could kiss it.  We pushed it home quite hard back to Bradford School.  Jeff had me on the ropes the last half mile.  Needless to say, I think he's ready to rock it at Boston.  Great run, awesome pace, and all goals of the run were met. Wow, that was a hammer show!!!

Splits:  6:42, 6:42, 6:36, 6:54, 7:04, 7:08, 6:51, 6:33, 6:53, 6:43, 6:30, 6:31, 6:32, 6:02.
*Our hilliest miles were also fastest.

Weekly Totals
Mileage: 46
Lulu: 6
Swimming: a couple hundred yards
Core/Weights: 15 minutes

YTD:394
Lulu: 60

Synopsis: Short and sweet, best training week of 2013 so far. Not enough stretching.