February 24th through March 1st

Sunday-7 miles total.
First part of the run was with Lulu on the Weekapaug Sand Trail.  As much as I always like running this trail, I get most enjoyment out of how much my dog loves running the trail and beach. Followed up with more miles and some 5X20 second hill pops to close things out.
pm 20 minute strength routine before bed.

Monday: 6 miler on a very cold and windy late afternoon.  Ran a solid pace but felt beat.

Tuesday: 20 minute strength routine in my basement..single leg body weight squats, bench press (4X10/150), abs, and planks.
45 minute spin class at the Y with Gazelle.
Music: Sorority Girlish  Workout: Good

Wednesday: I decided to do some more hill work today in anticipation for Holyoke.  When I first started running my Dad used to have me do hill sprints with him.  His logic was that hills give you strength..so years later, here I am (minus the sprint).  10X Hill Poppers on Meadowridge, followed up with a cooldown on the Weekapaug Sandtrail with Lulu. (8)

Thursday: 3 mile run on the treadmill..followed up my 2400 yds of swimming including a 5-4-3-2-1-50...good stuff!

Friday: easy 5 miler w/Lulu

Saturday: 16 mile early morning run with Team WTAC from Charlestown Elementary through Gazelleville.  Hard to believe it's March 1st and we're still dealing with single digit temps.  Luckily, there weather didn't scare off the guys as we had a total of 7 out there today.  Pace was good. Shannock Hill was nasty and I was happy with a fairly quick last mile.  Solid day.

Brr..
Photo courtesy of The Gazelle

Totals:
Run: 6X, 45 miles
Lulu: 3X, 11.5 miles
Swim: 1X, 2400yds
Bike: 1X, 45 minutes
Core: 2X 40 minutes

February 16th-22nd..Climbing

The theme for this week is climbing..I'm trying to build strength and go after some hills.

Sunday: 5 mile snow/slush run.  Sore from Saturday's long run and core work.  In the afternoon, I walked through the deep snow with Shara and Lulu on Weekapaug Beachway.

Monday: am-4 miler doing home loops...frigid and cold, nice variations of ups & downs at a solid pace.

pm- 3 miles on the treadmill in the basement.
45 minute spin class at the Y with Gazelle.  Very solid workout.  Quite an interesting song selection though..we finished up with an interesting 80s song that Gazelle and Boumenot probably used to get down to back in the day.

Tuesday: am- 2500 yd swim at the Y..500 warmup, 10X50 kick, 5X100, 5X100 pull, warmdown
pm-3 miles on the treadmill..23 minutes incorporating 30 second hard segments in every 3 minutes. The run may have been slow, but I still felt challenged.

Wednesday: Chase Hill Beater Workout Wednesday w/Gazelle..8X2 min H/1 min E.  With hill climbs and long descents this one really beat me up.  On one of the repeats I ended up getting severely "Gazelled" on a downhill..there was just no catching the guy.   I really felt this workout, hopefully it will pay off down the road. (7)

Tough.

Thursday: 7+ mile recovery run down to the beach and back.  Very enjoyable.
Random incident of the run: some dude flipping me off as he drove by.

Friday: approximately 1500 yd (actually a little less) swima t the Y with Gazelle.  We were pushing through the workout nicely when we quickly got kicked out of the pool on the account of a thunder storm.

Saturday: 15 mile run from the Westerly Y with Team WTAC (Gazelle, Muddy, Boumenot, & Garvin).  Overall, it was a really nice run at a comfortable pace.  The only downside to the run were the icy roads that we faced throughout the run.  After the run, I picked up a 1000 yd swim at the Y. Felt really good on the roads and in the water today.

Totals:
Run: 7X, 44 miles
Lulu: 0
Swim: 3X, 5000 yds
Bike: 1X, 45 minutes
Core: 0

Holyoke 2014

One of my big early 2014 goals is performing well at the Holyoke St. Patrick's Day 10k.  The race itself promises to include top level competition that includes World Class Runners.  Past winners include the likes of Bill Rodgers,  Allistair Craig, and various Olympians.  With close to 6000 finishers and a course lined with spectators, the race is like a six mile block party.  While the top runners battle it out for the bucks and divisional wins, I'll be running against myself with the hopes of crossing the line in a respectable time while having fun in the process.

Over the years, this race has been all about pride for me.  When I was younger, there were major bragging rights for performing well at Holyoke.  The race was the big measuring stick amongst local runners when I lived in nearby Chicopee.  Running a good 5k or breaking 3 hours in the marathon was great, but people really wanted to know how you came out at Holyoke?  Over the years, I've had some really good Holyoke races.  My personal highlight came in 2005 when I ran a 33:42 and placed way up there.  My lowest moment came when I was battling a number of injuries in 2007 and just couldn't keep pace with some of the big boys.  In between, I scratched and scraped for whatever result I could get.

After a four year hiatus, I returned to the race in 2012 and ran a respectable, yet disappointing 35:24. As for my plan for 2014, I really want to run sub 35.  With some significant rolling hill climbs that just don't let up, this course wasn't exactly made for my strengths.  To run well this year, I'm going to need to focus on hills, run some hard longer runs, and gain strength.  While my recent race results don't match my glory days, I feel the best I have physically in years.  I'm hopeful for a really good race.  Regardless of the result, the one thing I can guarantee is that I'll indulge in a beer or two at the finish.

PAST RESULTS
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2007* 2012
* DNF..sort of..was injured, stop and drank a beer with my uncle and cousin, and finished in 41 minutes but jumped off the course without crossing the line.

Other neat stuff..

Featured in Running Times..
While reading this I found out an old friend/rival, Brian Donoghue is now race director.

2014 Race Promo Video

Course Profile

I should probably try to simulate the course in some of my training.

February 9th through February 15th-Ouch!

As I start this week I'm paying dearly for an awesome snow run I had with Gazelle last Wednesday on the snowy trails of Woody Hill.  Being the trail amateur that I am, I neglected to wear long socks. The back of both of my feet are quite torn up {see disgusting picture below}.  With this going on, I couldn't fathom doing more damage by running the Belleville 10k, so I pansied out.  Anyway, awesome job to the those of you who did run.  Gotta heal these up!

One side..the run was worth it!

Sunday-6 miles..
4 miles with Shara and 4X hill pops on Meadow Ridge.  Ran one final mile with Lulu.
Followed up with 45 minutes on the trainer in my basement while watching Olympic XC Skiing. Cool stuff!

Monday-easy 7 mile WTAC victory run through Wakefield followed up by MEWS night.  Good company, conversations, fun, and brews.  I really enjoyed getting updates on everyone's racing accolades and training.

Tuesday: 6X400 on Weekapaug Beach Roads with recoveries through the snow.  I ran these more off of feel than pace.  After the workout, I jogged home and picked up Lulu for a mile.  My ankles/heels continued to be uncomfortable throughout the run.  Just like yesterday, they bled through the band-aids and my socks.  Checked the Garmin post-run and was hitting my 400s around 70 seconds.  I intended run more or do some kind of cross training, but was too tired (not everybody can be a Gazelle).

Wednesday: 2500yd swim. 800 warmup, 4X200, 6X50 fins, 4X100, cooldown

Thursday-another week, another snow day.  After hanging around the house for a bit and indulging in multiple bowls of cereal and cups of coffee, I get a text from the Gazelle that he was about to go running.  A few minutes later I give him a quick call and the dude is already out on the roads. Without any plan what-so-ever in place, I throw on my gear and meet him up on an area road for the rest of the run.  I ended up landing 12 miles, which happens to be the longest run I've done in quite some time.  Enjoyed the snow and wintry conditions.  Doubled up on the socks and made out better than Wednesday.

"Haha, 5k had no idea he'd be running 12!"

Friday-3 miles on the treadmill in descending fashion..730, 645, 600.  Followed up with a 45 minute sweat fest on the bike.

Saturday-10 mile Chariho Loop with a large WTAC Crew.  Split off from rest of the group at 5 miles and hammered it home with Garwin & Nate (6:07, 5:54, 5:47).  I really enjoyed the terrain and company on this run.  Great day, great fun, great club!

Go WTAC!
Photo courtesy of Gazelle Walker

Later in the morning, I did a strength routine with Shara..body weight squats, pushups, abs, bench press, shoulder press, planks, lateral band work.

Totals:
Run miles: 6X, 44 miles
Lulu's miles: 2X, 2 mile
Swim: 1X, 2500 yds
Bike: 2X, 90 minutes
Core: 1X, 30 minute

February 2nd through February 8th + SUPER 5k Report

Sunday-SUPER 5k, 16:45, 5th, Team Win
Results

The Super 5k stands out as one of my favorite races for so many reasons.  It's competitive, I love the distance, well organized, awesome post-race, and just good overall fun.  Going into the race I was simply pumped just to do it.  With my big picture goals focused on improving in the triathlon, I hadn't given much thought to how I would run or what my exact goal would be.  "Just run, dude."

After checking in and picking up my number and shirt, Shara and I headed out for a two mile warmup on the course.  I noticed a headwind going out and a slight tailwind on the way back while warming up...perfect I thought.  Once we finished our warmup, we chatted it up with Boumenot before heading over to the line.  I situated myself right next to teammate and 4th place finisher, Chris Garwin.  Chris and I chatted it up about pacing and race goals.  I told him I simply looking for 5:20s. He confirmed he was looking for the same thing.  Before we knew it, the gun went off!  A number of runners immediately shot out and Chris and I settled right in.  Within a quarter mile of the race, one of my longtime rivals, Shaun Horgan, pops on my shoulder and quickly asks what pace I'm trying to run.
I grunted an answer to him and figured the battle was on.  Chris ran slightly in front of me and before we approached the mile Shaun tried to make a move on Garwin.  We hit the mile in about 5:20 (right around the pace we were looking for).  From mile one to two it's really easy to lose focus with the out and back.  Two things happened at this point..Garwin dropped me and I dropped Horgan.  Crossing through the two mile, my watch beeped and I saw 5:30.  Not good.  I immediately told myself to forget it because there wasn't anything I could do to get that time back.  Besides, the remainder of the course was pretty fast.  From here, I tried to focus my attention on the road ahead and Chris.  I knew the chances of catching him in the last mile were quite slim, but tried to prevent the gap between us from growing and from someone from behind making a move on me.  Chris finished strong in front of me in 16:33.  I came across in 16:45.  According to my space watch, my last mile was a 5:13.  If that time is correct, I'm very happy with that closing mile.

All in all, I was happy with the day.  Here's why-
-WTAC Team Win.  Wow, that was the strongest team we put together to date.
- Super showing by Galoob (15:29), which happens to be a PR and the dude is pushing 40.  Inspiring.
-Shara ran a 20:22 off of very little training.
-Getting taken taken down my a Frienemy.  While Galoob and Woolley were well ahead of me, I worked with Garwin for parts of the race.  I couldn't hang with the speedster today.  My motto is if you're going to get beat, it's much better that it's a teammate than somebody else.  Besides, how I can I not cheer for the guy?
-Strong running by Woolley, Muddy, Jonny, Gazelle, Nate, Matthew, Boumenot, Crutch, and just about everybody else.
-I ran 24 seconds faster than last year.  While I didn't run great today, I was satisfied with my performance.  It's something to build upon.
-The MEWS team award night that is yet to come.

Monday: am..unexpected snow day.  Looks like someone will be going to school until July!  Well, better make the most of it.  Threw on some running gear and headed out into the rain, sleet, snow mix for 8 miles of recovery from yesterday.  I wanted to do a different loop than normal and opted to cut through Glacier Park before looping home.  Champlain was pretty slick this morning, but was still great fun.  Made it home before 8 am..felt good.

pm..40 minute ride on the trainer in my basement

Tuesday: 4 mile unplanned progression with Lulu through Weekapaug.  Weather was awesome.
Followed up by a 45 minute spin at the Y.

Wednesday: Yet another snow day, what do I do?  Gazelle shot out a Tuesday night message regarding a 7 am snow run in Woody Hill. I'm game.  We cruised through the trails of WH at varying perceived paces.  I definitely felt like I was exerting myself as I tried to maintain pace with Jeff through the hill portions.  There was some great scenery out there today and we were the first ones to lay tracks down since recent storms.  We had a comical end to the run as Gazelle and I worked to get his car out of the snow.  Great run and effort.  (7)

"Come this way 5k, I hid some beers in the WTAC Tree Fort."

Thursday-2100yd swim.
500 warm, 4X200, 4X100, 6X50, 1X100 b-stroke recovery, 200 cool

Friday-8 mile workout w/Gazelle & Boumenot.
I've been wanting to do a workout in Watch Hill since I ran a part of the course with Gazelle and Matthew pre-Surftown this past year.  We opted out of the 430 Club and picked up an afternoon session.  6X Surftown Hill-I have no idea of the distance and just ran these off of feel.  On the last two Gazelle through down some hard challenges on me.  We recovered by jogging for awhile and then went after 5X1 minute H/1 minute E on Ocean Way Highway.  The workout finished off with 5X30 seconds H/30 seconds E and had a different guy take each 30 seconds to keep things fresh,

As we were about to finish our warm down, we heard someone yell out, "Tommy 5k!"  As we all turned around, Ryan Woolley surfaced out onto the balcony of the Ocean House.   Since he's getting married on Saturday, this is definitely the last time we saw him as a single man. Poor guy.  Neat seeing him!

Watch Hill Winter

Gluttons for punishment

Where Woolley lost his freedom!

Saturday- am..6 miles on local roads fairly easy.
p.m..3+ miles with Lulu and Shara on local roads.

Totals:
Run: 7X, 43 miles
Lulu: 2X, 7 miles
Swim: 1X, 2100 yds
Bike: 2X90 minutes (30 miles)
Core: 0