The Home Front

So I went home for a couple of weeks, which was lovely. I didn't accomplish a tremendous amount while there, but then again, that wasn't my goal. I did manage to see my family, get some good training in, chill with a few friends, and watch a ton of Olympic swimming; so I've got that going for me, which is nice.

I don't really have a ton to say about my visit, other than I ran a race and didn't run it all that well. I approached it sort of like a workout, in the sense that I didn't rest, didn't workout that week, and didn't get too nervous beforehand. With all that said, it was still a race in my mind, and I wish I had felt a little better on the day. I went out in 4:50, about 5-8 seconds slower than I had planned on. Immediately I knew my hopes of a sub-15 finish were on life-support. Even though I didn't feel all that great I hung in there the second mile, only dropping down to a 4:59. So, two in 9:49 was not ideal, but not horrible. Then it got pretty interesting. I really struggled the last mile, with the last 400 resembling a three-legged race (it was really not my day). I just ran out of gas after my sluggish start. I got passed by a kid who registered himself as Sal Manilla; quite embarrasing. I never really gave up out there, which is a good sign, but they don't give gold stars for effort in this sport. My training is going better than my finishing time of 15:30, so I'll take it for what it was, a solid race effort. Below are my last two weeks of training.


August 3rd - 9th

Sun: 10 miles, solid run after the drive, felt really good.
Mon: 20 miles, waited an extra day for the long run, good decision I suppose. Had my dad out there on a bike helping me out with fluids, huge help. Didn't feel so great out there, but got through it.
Tue: 10 miles, easy.
Wed: 14.5 miles total, workout in evening, slight drizzle and cool, 20x400 in 69-70 w/ 200m jog rest (1 min) at the MV track. This was my first workout alone after working out each week with the Pacers, felt really good today.
Thur: 10 miles, tired not such a great run.
Fri: 12 miles, easy w/ Alyssa's gentleman friend Chris Hamel, good run.
Sat: 9.5 miles, easy w/ Mac, Skip, & Makai
Total: 86 Miles


August 10th - 16th

Sun: 17.5 miles, easy, good lung run with Mac & Bromka out in Eastham, MA.
Mon: 10 miles, did a mile towards the end of the run in 5:10 to wake-up my legs, maybe this wasn't a great decision.
Tue: 12 miles, felt good.
Wed: 10.5 miles, did the first half easy with my Dad and sister, then the second half at my pace (perhaps a little too quick). Not exactly an easy pre-race effort.
Thur: 10 miles total, 5k race in 15:30, buh.
Fri: 12 miles, easy, felt pretty awful the first 7.
Sat: 10 miles, not a bad effort to finish the week off, felt better.
Total: 82 Miles

If you are still reading at this point, let me give you a heads up. My 2009 Tufts University Cross Country Alumni Run preview is coming.