Week 17 - Day 3

Today was my first full speed "distance" sprints in a while...but I almost didn't even make it out there. I went home early yesterday because of mild cold symptoms (can't be taking risks these days...) and missed my Wednesday plyo workout. When I woke up this morning, my sore throat and congestion wasn't better, so I worked from home. By the end of the day, I started feeling better but, still tired, took a nap at 4:30. I woke up at 6:30 and felt *very* sluggish. I could barely roll out of bed, let alone conceive of heading to the track... But, an hour later, after half a caffeine pill and a quick bike ride, I was pumped up and ready to go. So ready to go that some food I'd had 3 hours earlier decided it didn't want to stay in my stomach...this has become something of a trend. Anyway, due to my weekend off and how long it had been since I'd run a good distance, I was unsure where I'd be today. I treated my goal times today as more of a guess from Alison of where I'd be...not something to pace to. I also ran completely on my own today; this is noteworthy simply because I've been lucky enough to have others run with me on many occasions in the past and I'm sure the extra bodies helped.

Rest: full
Format: rep - distance - target time (s) - actual time (s)

1 - 300m - 41 - 38.9
2 - 400m - 58 - 57.4
3 - 500m - 74 - 78.7
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I was happy with my 300 and 400 times today but wish I'd had a little more for my 500. When I was running my 300, I checked my watch about halfway down the homestretch and saw it at 31. Not wanting to push so hard as to ruin my later reps (see this workout), I didn't go into overdrive for my last 50m. I was pushing hard but I felt controlled. For the 400, I went out full speed for the first 100m, throttled back down the backstretch, and then cranked it up at the 200m mark. I pushed all the way through and while I felt fatigued, I still had some spring in my legs and was solidly up on the balls of my feet. For the 500, I went out hard for the first 100, throttled back for the next 200, and then gave it everything I had for the last 200. I was disappointed with my time and definitely felt my legs respond less from the get-go. Also, my rest today was quite long. There were soccer players milling about on the track, so I had to wait longer than I wanted to run. My average rest was around 25 minutes...impressive, I know.

At any rate, I feel pretty good about where I am and am excited about getting out to race in just two and a half weeks! I need to buy more spikes for my shoes...I seem to have lost a couple over the last few months.

Week 17 Workouts

Tuesday - Off

Wednesday - Warm up, 8x downhill runs, explosive plyos. Cool-down with a half-mile jog.

Thursday - Track - 300 (41), 400 (58), 500 (74). Full speed, full recovery.

Friday - Off

Saturday - Track - 5x60 meters, standing start.

Sunday - Track - 8x200 meters, 5 minutes recovery. 27-28 sec.

Monday - cross-train 40 minutes, moderate pace, weights
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I just came off a fun but tiring weekend in Philly and New Jersey and I'm ready to get back in the swing of things. I feel like I haven't done a "real" running workout in a while and I have one this week on Thursday. I'm looking forward to it.

Week 16 - Day 3

I ran at Cardozo High School for this workout. I had had a good plyo workout the day before and was ready for some speed work.

Rest: 3 minutes
Format: rep - distance - target time (s) - actual time (s)

1 - 30m (rolling start) - NA - NA
2 - 30m (rolling start) - NA - NA
3 - 30m (rolling start) - NA - NA
4 - 30m (rolling start) - NA - NA
5 - 30m (rolling start) - NA - NA
6 - 30m (rolling start) - NA - NA
7 - 30m (rolling start) - NA - NA
8 - 30m (rolling start) - NA - NA
9 - 30m (rolling start) - NA - NA
10 - 30m (rolling start) - NA - NA
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I felt good during this workout. I focused on getting out fast for the first 15m and then really pushing for 30m all the way through. I started in a crouch today, since I wasn't using my watch. I'm eager to do a full speed 100 or 200 to see where my speed is.

Andrew

Week 16 Workouts

Tuesday - Off

Wednesday - Conditioning mile, explosive plyos.

Thursday - Track - 10x30 meters, rolling start. 3 minutes recovery.

Friday - Thirty minutes of 1-minute runs

Saturday - Out of town - Off

Sunday - Out of town - Off

Monday - Conditioning mile, weights
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Less than a month until my first race! That kind of snuck up on me. Exciting! May is going to be a busy month, in general, but I'm pumped to get out there and see what I have.
Biggest priority: take care of myself and stay healthy.
2nd biggest priority: binge drink until I pass out 5 nights a week; I've earned it!

That was a joke.

Peace.

Andrew

(I'm shooting for 4 nights)

Week 15 - Day 5

So, I ended up going to a tournament over the weekend with some friends. I hadn't planned doing so when I laid out my schedule back in January, but there you go. Saturday's workout was 5x60m with a standing start. So, when I got to the fields, I warmed up and did my workout during the first half of our first game. I pushed hard and focused on each one and took 3-5 minutes between each one. By the end of the workout, the bellies of my muscles felt untaxed, but I felt strangely fatigued/stressed around my knee and hip joints. I hung out for a bit, ate some food, and played a little, but didn't feel comfortable making full-effort changes in direction; I felt injury-prone. I did an "ultimate" warmup before the second game and did some pivoting/throwing but still felt a little weird. I split my time standing and sitting and then, by the middle of our second game, I felt fine. The sensation was gone and I went out and ran hard and felt great. I'm interested in what my body was going through there...perhaps it was getting over the impact of running that hard, except that I ran on grass and didn't run *that* much faster than I do when I cut deep in a game. Anyway, interesting.

Sunday's workout was a 100 (12) - 200 (26) - 300 (42) - 200 - 100 ladder, but I decided to forego it and run hard in my games instead. I had hopes of getting this in on Monday, but I think I was wise to just do a light jog and a lift. I'll try to make it up soon, though.

Week 15 - Day 3

The weather was amazing today. I had meant to do this track workout yesterday since Washington Lee was booked today, but it turns out it was booked yesterday as well, so I went ahead and did the plyo workout that day as scheduled. So, today I was very eager to get this workout in because it was going to be a good yardstick for me. I did the exact same workout around this time last year. But, I had to find a track first... After forgetting my keys at work and dealing figuring that out, I finally started a tour of DC to find a spot. My first stop was Cardozo...my old stomping grounds. Success! The facilities there are so nice now...beautiful turf field and nice new rubber track. I was so happy. Here's what I did.

Rest: 5 minutes
Format: rep - distance - target time (s) - actual time (s) - heartrate (bpm)

1 - 200m - 26 - 25.7 - 160
2 - 200m - 26 - 25.5 - 160
3 - 200m - 26 - 26.5 - 168
4 - 200m - 26 - 26.8 - 168
5 - 200m - 26 - 26.5 - 172
6 - 200m - 26 - 27.2 - 172
7 - 200m - 26 - 27.5 - 176
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This workout was supposed to be 9x200m, which was what I intended to do, but the soccer dudes cleared off the field promptly at 8pm and said they had to lock the gate behind them. Tough. So, I decided to run an 8th rep right then to end things out, even though I'd only rested for around 3 minutes by that point. Let me tell you, those extra 2 minutes really matter... I ended up running a 28.3 but didn't report it above - it was more of a spontaneous test to see what would happen. My legs were sapped down the homestretch and I felt like I jogged through the finish. I'm confident that had I run my last two with correct rest, I would have logged times in the low 27s/maybe high 26s. I got upset after running that 27.5 and wanted to get that one back. Anyway, I really wanted to get slightly more consistent times today, but this performance was a dramatic improvement from last year's. I really struggled with the 5 minutes rest and while I started out in the 26s, I slipped quickly and was running just over 30 by rep 6 or so. There were other factors at play last year, but still...it's always nice to see concrete improvement. I can't wait to run some full speed 200s. I really dialed it back during the first two reps today; I feel like I'll be able to hit some aggressive times going forward. Up up up!

Andrew

Week 15 Workouts

The end of Week 14 was the first time since my injury that I lifted hard with my quads. My right quad now feels close to 100%. I still need to be smart about foam rolling/heating/icing, but I'll be giving it a full load from here on out. Here are this week's workouts.

Tuesday - Off

Wednesday - Warm up, 8x downhill runs, explosive plyos. Cool-down with a half-mile jog.

Thursday - Track - 9x200 meters, 5 minutes recovery. Aim for 26 sec. each one.

Friday - Off

Saturday - Track - 5x60 meters, standing start.

Sunday - Track - 100 (12 sec), 200 (26 sec), 300 (42 sec.), 200, 100, full recovery. cross-train 40 minutes, moderate pace, weights
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Week 14 - Day 6

I went out to Banneker High this fine Easter afternoon with my roommate, Jon. The weather was spectacular. I ran on this track last summer for ultimate and had a miserable time...the track was circular (around a baseball field), gravel, and uneven. During the fall, though, it went through a massive renovation and now it's a top-notch track. The rubber is softer and nicer than Washington Lee and there's plush grass for stretching/lounging. I loved it. The only downside is the atypical track shape; while I'd be a little concerned if I ran on this track exclusively, since I run on an oval most of the time, I feel fine about hitting this circular one every week or so. Anyway, here's my workout.

Rest: 10 minutes
Format: rep - distance - target time (s) - actual time (s)

1 - 450m - 67 - 65.9
2 - 450m - 67 - 69.1
3 - 450m - 67 - 68.1
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I was very happy with this workout. Jon was kind enough to both time and help me down the last 50m of each rep. I ended up resting closer to 12-13 minutes in-between each rep, but I really focused on giving a full effort each time out. After running the 69, I made my goal to keep my third time under 70. During my break before I ran, I spent time visualizing my lap...how hard I'd be running at different parts of the track...and mentally preparing for the last 200m; I was going to leave absolutely everything on the track. I went out well and felt good down the backstretch. I was happy to find that I had a kick at the 250m mark and gave it everything I had left. I was really pushing by the time I came through the finish, and Jon was happy to tell me my time: 68. 450s are not my favorites by a long shot, but I do recognize how important they are for building 400m speed, and I have noticed my improvement in running them. I'm already looking ahead to my 200m workout on Wednesday - full effort, full rest. I want to see what kind of times I can muster. Up from here.

Andrew

Week 14 - Day 3

I went out to Washington Lee today after work. The weather was phenomenal. I misread the workout and did 30m with a flying start and not 40m. Oh well. For the flying starts, I marked off 15m from the starting line and 45m from the starting line. For the reps, I accelerated as fast as I could to get as close to full speed as possible by the 15m mark and then maintained that through the 45m mark. This was full effort.

Rest: 3 minutes
Format: rep - distance - target time (s) - actual time (s)

1 - 30m flying start - NA - NA
2 - 30m flying start - NA - NA
3 - 30m flying start - NA - NA
4 - 30m flying start - NA - NA
5 - 30m flying start - NA - NA
6 - 30m flying start - NA - NA
7 - 30m flying start - NA - NA
8 - 30m flying start - NA - NA
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Despite the short distance and the only moderate number of reps, I felt this workout. I could feel the impact afterwards; it's not soreness...it's more like what I feel after a plyo workout. Back in high school and college, I would finish a workout like this and would feel like I'd wasted my time; I wouldn't feel anything. Now I definitely do. Perhaps it's an advantage of being in my late 20s...you know, some muscular development to offset the mental degradation that starts around this age. Good times.

Andrew

Week 14 Workouts

Coming off an encouraging tournament where my quad held up and my legs felt good, I'm back on track and ready to rock.

Tuesday - Off

Wednesday - Conditioning mile, then explosive plyos

Thursday - 8x40m, rolling start, 3 minutes rest

Friday - Off

Saturday - Cross-training 40 minutes, moderate pace; weights

Sunday - 3x450m, 10 minutes rest

Week 13 - Day 2 (Time Trial #2)

So, I finally got out to the track to run today. I hadn't done a track workout since Week 11 - Day 5...eleven days ago. I did do some jogging and some upper body weights over this period of inactivity, but I was still nervous about where I'd be today. I also read this article earlier this week. So...now I've decided to take caffeine before workouts and races. I'm not a big coffee/caffeine guy, but I'm gonna give it a shot!

Anyway, today I drank 3/4 of a cup of coffee and then went out to Washington Lee with Ken from work. I gave it a good warm-up and felt a little bit of tightness in my quad, but it was of the dull variety, so I went for it. I was amped for this time trial. I really wanted to pick up where I left off. I came out well and my heart was already racing from the caffeine/adrenaline - I noticed that. Ken picked me up down the last 100m and I came through in 38.1. That's a new personal best and improvement from Time Trial #1, which was a 38.9. That said, I felt like I'd made good strides over the past few months and I really wanted to get into the 37s here. Oh well. At least I didn't hurt myself, haha. And at least I didn't regress. I'm moving into the speed phase of my plan now. Booyah!

Andrew