A Tempo? What?!

Distance: 11.6 mi.

Warmup: 2.4 mi.
Workout: 5.4 mi. tempo.
Cooldown: 2.8 mi.

Stubborn as a mule, I headed towards the Charlotte Runners group again today and decided to cook up a tempo pace. This was a terrible idea, but I'm getting antsy and I'm supposed to run a 5k this week, anyway. I didn't start with the group; instead, I warmed up on my own from home and headed in their direction by way of Kings Drive. I caught a large pack that included Paul Reinfeld right where they cross Kings and head up away from the hospital. After splitting a 7:01 first mile I worked my arms up the hill and gradually quickened the pace  a bit.

7:01.7, 6:40.3, 6:27.7, 6:33.9, 6:33.5, 2:38.6 (6:27 ppm).

Amped by the thought of trying to catch everyone, I kept my foot on the gas as much as I could stand it, trying to walk the fine line between working the system yet holding back. I failed to catch the group of David Schenck, Terri Johnson, and a new girl named Sarah as they were just too far ahead from where I started, but I was pleased with the effort.

I was not pleased with my stupidity. My achilles swelled up some despite the icing and the pills. I probably could have done without this one.

Disobeying Orders

Distance: 9.8 mi.

Today, I set out for my run around 6pm after messing around in my new apartment all day. I missed the burrito training run with Caitlin and Thomas but did run into the girls at the Speed Loop plus Fillette, Eric, and Jamaar. After that I decided I wanted to try to catch up with the Charlotte Runners "five on the booty" group. I joined them where Queens crosses Sherwood - right before it turns into Selwyn. It was clear I was at the back of the pack, which of course triggered my competitive instinct and led to me running much faster than I'm supposed to right now. I can at least say the pace didn't really get quick until the last mile or more, though. I ran a 6:42 and then split just under 6 minutes for .96 miles.

I did a long cooldown back to the apartment for a total of 9.8 miles on the day, then iced my heel.

Confidence? Check.

Distance: 10.6 mi.

Warmup: 3.6 mi.
Workout: 5.06 mi. at tempo pace.
Cooldown: 2 mi.

Today I skipped a morning run but I had tentative plans for a semi-hard effort with the Charlotte Runners' Booty Loop run. I met Adrienne on the warmup and told her that I felt rundown and unmotivated and wanted a confidence booster. My plan was to try to push but hold back if the body wasn't up for it.

I found Evan Canfield, usually my partner in crime for these things, and asked if he was planning to go hard. He said he "needed to," and would let me set the pace while trying to push. I didn't want this to turn into a race but I was looking forward to having someone to push me. After about half a mile, we got stuck at a stoplight, and I noticed Thomas Long was drafting off us as well.

31:39.54 for 5.06 miles. Splits - 6:28.7, 6:16.3, 6:00.8, 6:16.2, 6:14.1, 0:23.5 (6:15 avg.).

This is significantly faster than I have ever run this route. The first two miles felt very relaxed as I tried to keep Evan and Thomas honest by pushing up the Queens Road hill. When we got to the flat Selwyn Avenue section, I threw in a fitness check with a faster mile, which is reflected above. I always slow down some on the Queens Rd. West section, as it's dark, the sidewalk is uneven, and I'm always afraid I'm going to fall. I keep things pretty even, however, and I'm pleased with the consistency I put out.

More importantly, I have my confidence back. I don't know why I lost it - perhaps it was the three days of no running...maybe it was my being sick...maybe it was the way the mind always plays tricks on the body right before a big race.

This was a much harder effort than I need the week of the race, but AA assured me later on that I would be able to "handle it," and she's right. I can't seem to stretch enough lately, though. The legs are very tight.

Long Medium Run

Distance: 14.5 mi.
Time: 1:55:41.68 - 7:58 ppm.

Clearly, I did not intend to run over 14.5 miles today, but that's what happened. I do want to start getting in a better medium-long run, but it will need to be more like 10-13 miles, not pushing 15. However, Adrienne wanted to do 10 today and she's leaving for India tomorrow, so I wanted to run with her. I started from and finished at the Dowd so that's where the extra miles come in to play. 

Running With The Chicks

Warmup: 3.2 mi in 25:13.02 - 7:55 ppm.
Workout 1: 6.45 mi tempo in 42:13.17 - 6:33 ppm.
Cooldown: 1.8 mi in 15:31.8 - 8:47 ppm.
Workout 2: 10 x 1-min hard/easy in 9:08.07 - 7:05 ppm.
Cooldown: 0.7 mi in 6:47.4 - 9:26 ppm.

I once again made plans for the Tuesday that involved meeting some friends at the Dowd and doing a tempo run with the Charlotte Runners. At this point I feel like I'm combining the best aspects of both groups - the CRC and Charlotte Runners - but we may have to get to that in another blog post.

A few things were different today. Thomas, unfortunately, is temporarily on the shelf after aggravating his glutes. Hopefully he won't be out for too long. Danielle and Alison Reed also joined Michelle, Matt, and I. We warmed up through the speed loop again but didn't see anyone this time, and Jaskot called it a day. So it was just me and the girls as we headed towards the Metropolitan.

The Charlotte Runners didn't start off late this time - they were already moving towards us as we all just sort of took stride and went with them. The loop is just over 5 miles and the girls actually wanted to do a 6-mile tempo, so I told them I would try to hold 6:30 pace or so and run back up the hill on Edgehill (across from the main CMC entrance) for an extra mile or so.

There's one runner in this group, Evan, who usually holds a pretty quick pace. A few others tend to start off probably a good bit faster than they should. There are some good runners in this group, for sure, but I'm not sure that trying to race each other every week is really what they need. With Michelle in tow, I headed up the hilly part of the loop that includes Edgehill and Queens Road East. I heard Michelle saying something about trying to use the small downhills, but I was just trying to keep Evan and the other frontrunners in my sights, knowing we had a flat section (Selwyn Avenue) coming up. The first mile went by in 6:39, the second in 6:26, and the third in 6:20. I caught up to Evan, who actually stopped abruptly right near Queens U, and the other leader, who I found out later to be Cody Case. I was feeling ok but my feet were hurting. After over 420 miles and my first marathon, I finally retired the second pair of Nike Air Pegasus 28s. Today I was running in the aforementioned Lunar Swift, and they don't quite fit the way I prefer. I could see painful blisters in my future.

Despite the foot troubles I tried to press on. Cody pushed me a good bit on the back side of the booty loop, but as planned I turned up Edgehill to tack on more miles. I slowed down a bit through here, as the tempo, the foot pain, and the elevation rise finally caught up to me. I doubled back down Granville and another of the Queens Roads (who can keep track, really?) before finishing the loop at the back of the pack. The girls were already here; I had added on an extra mile-and-a-half instead of just a mile. Oops.

Alison, Danielle, Michelle, and I grabbed some water and cooled down. Michelle somehow talked me into doing some minuters after this. Danielle was done for the day and ran home, and we coaxed Alison into joining us as we headed over to the speed loop. For this I just tried to maintain some turnover and not do anything crazy. We encouraged each other as the three of us just stayed together. Mich kept joking that my watch was off because the fast section seemed to be taking forever. We did 10 minuters - 5 fast, 5 slow - and then I jogged back to the Dowd in the rain, glad to be done for the day.

CRC-Charlotte Runners Face-Off

Distance: 9.81 mi.
Time: 1:12:04.63 - 7:21 ppm.

This evening, I met up with Michelle, Thomas, and Matt Jaskot at the Dowd. At my behest they agreed to do a short warmup through the speed loop and then join the Charlotte Runners at the Metropolitan. When we got there, Adrienne joked that our arrival reminded her of the "face-off" scene from Anchorman. I chatted with Brian Davis and a few others before we headed down to the "starting line."

We were at the back of the pack, and T&M had planned to go easy, so they all just chatted behind me as I slowly started to weave through the other runners. My schedule called for a regular run with sprints at the end. I didn't really feel like doing that, though, and after an easy opening mile with the group I started to pick up the pace in an effort to reel everyone in.

Everyone always treats these runs as races, but I guess I can't really talk if I always take the bait. Starting at the back and trying to gain on everyone is a good way to make sure I push. Unbeknownst to me, Thomas and Michelle had decided to try to catch me at some point, but they would have to try another day. This wasn't a very organized workout on my part but I was able to push the legs and lungs a bit, and so I was happy with it.

Get Some Booty

Warmup: 3.0 mi. in 24:06.81 - 8:03 ppm.
Workout: 5.09 mi in 33:45.23 - 6:38 ppm.
Cooldown: 0.7 mi in 5:41.1 - 8:22 ppm.

Today I showed up to the Charlotte Runners' "Five on the Booty" run for the first time since October. I like this run and wish I could make it more often. After some weeping and gnashing of teeth, I decided to make this a tempo. I showed up early to get in 3 easy miles and then joined the group. The attendance was sparse today on account of the holidays and, likely, the rainy weather.

As Adrienne, John Cendroski, and some other dude settled into AA's half-marathon pace, I strode ahead with the intentions of clipping sub-7 for mile one. I did that, but then I had the Queens Road hill to deal with, and I was feeling awfully tight. I had thoughts of scrapping this thing, stretching, and finishing up with the group. I put those thoughts out of my mind, however, and started to burn a bit on the flat Selwyn section. I sandwiched splits of 6:27 and 6:29 around a 6:47 down Queens West - slowing only because I didn't have a headlamp and was concerned about falling on my face.

I cheered in the rest of the group, did a quick cooldown, then called it a day.

P Stone Double

Distance: 4.41 mi.
Time: 30:35 - 6:57 ppm.

This run occurred over an hour after I was done at McAlpine, and after my cooldown, so I'm calling today a double. I joined the Charlotte Runners at the Philosopher's Stone. I wasn't really interested in the costume run shenanigans; today was my workout day and I had some unfinished business. I had cut my workout short but given some time to recover I was determined to go hard on this run if I was feeling fresh.

I started off easy with Jeremy Gray and Jim Cristini (Jim and Thomas Long were running in costumes) but when we hit the hill on Dotger, I took off. There were some fast guys who showed up for this one but I had caught everyone else shortly after crossing Laurel. It was tonight's run that led to me realizing that the map on Meetup was wrong. I thought I had run the right route in the wrong direction last week but apparently there is another whole loop that I had left out. The guy behind me was kind enough to yell out instructions every time I wandered in the wrong direction. My splits for this run were 7:27, 6:34, 6:34, 7:08, and 2:50 (6:59 pace for the last 0.41).

I had one beer and some food with the group, then I bounced. I'm ready to hunker down, rest, and get focused for the big day. It's right around the corner.

First P-Stone Run

Distance: ~9 mi. total.
Time: ?? Forgot to charge Running Buddy.

I had forgotten to charge my Garmin, so I wouldn't have it at my disposal today. I had decided to show up to the Meetup group's "Infamous P-Stone Run" at the Philosopher's Stone tonight. I wanted to get in my marathon workout of MGP, repeats, then tempo pace, using the group run as the tempo.

Without the watch I just tried to guess my distance based on what I know of the area and go on feel for the pace. I ran slow for a mile or more and then gauged what I thought to be MGP for the next two miles. After a brief rest I decided to run two times one mile hard, up and down Colville, which is just under a mile. I felt pretty good on this rolling street. I got done and ran back, getting to the P Stone before the group had taken off.

We walked down Caswell and then over to Greenway, where once again someone organized everyone to start. I had taken a mental picture of the course map just in case nobody else felt like running fast. I was warmed up and wanting to finish on a high note, so I took off down Greenway, up Dotger, over to Vail, and across Laurel. It was here that I apparently "got lost" by continuing on Colville down to Twiford. I wouldn't realize this until a week later, but I didn't actually get lost, I just ran the route listed above and that's apparently not the correct route anymore.

At any rate, I was flying. Without the Garmin I always run too fast rather than too slow. Afterwards, a guy named Ross told me he was 7:06 pace and guessed I finished two minutes ahead of him. So I dunno. But I felt good. All things considered I was a bit disorganized today but got in a great workout nonetheless. I wish I had the Running Buddy details to prove it.

Five Fast on the Booty

Distance: 10.65 mi.
Time: 1:16:58 - 7:13 ppm.

I once again signed up and attended the Charlotte Runners' "Five on the Booty" run, once again making it more like ten on the booty for myself. I averaged a comfortable 7:30 per mile, but since I was late, the pack was already barreling towards me before I finished. I took off my shirt, drank some water and Gatorade, and then took off. I had caught most of the group before hitting Queens Road West. My splits for the last five miles were   7:03, 6:58, 6:44, 7:01, 7:03, and then 4:13 (6:27 pace) for the last 0.65 miles. It had started raining before I got done and I felt pretty good.

First Meetup Run

Distance: 10.2 mi.
Time: 1:14:07 - 7:16 ppm.

This one was slightly eventful, as I have recently joined the Charlotte Runners group on Meetup. I guess I was just curious about this group since I had heard from several people involved that their runs tend to be a little more fun than anything else. My friend Jade is a member so I had asked her about it, then eventually signed up. Today I made it to their Tuesday night "5 on the Booty" run that starts at the Metropolitan. I wanted to go medium-long today so I got there early and ran the loop by myself, just cruising along.

I got back to the Metropolitan and drank some water. There was a large group around, including a few familiar faces. Several people came up and introduced themselves, recognizing that I was new. The group organizer gathered everyone over to the starting line before sending us off. I thought that was a little weird but figured it's better than simply taking off to run without making sure everyone is ready. This really does seem like a cool group; it's a good mix of serious runners, people new to running and trying to get better, and people who just want to have fun.

I found Franklin Keathley, an acquaintance of mine, and re-introduced myself. We started at the back of the pack and started picking people off. By the time we got up to Selwyn we were moving pretty quickly and had already passed most people. I asked Franklin how many people he thought were ahead of us. "Just a few, I think," he said. I then asked him if he thought we could catch them all. I was feeling frisky.

We raced down Queens West, crossed the street near CMC, and continued to mow down more runners. I was having fun, and to my pleasant surprise Franklin was hanging on not far behind me. I caught an older gentleman right near the gazebo on the greenway and announced that I didn't have any gears left. I tucked in behind him. I had run my last three miles in 7:05, 6:35, and 6:08, and had caught all but two of the runners. One of them was John Cristiano, who I probably could not have caught regardless of where we started. I spent some time talking to him about the Thunder Road marathon and a few other things. There was an after party at Vivace but I had other plans for the evening, and bolted after congratulating Franklin on his longest run of all time.

I enjoyed this run and the group in general. I don't really see myself being part of the social scene but it's definitely a fun group to run with. I like how everyone stays in a big pack and sticks around to congratulate everybody when the run is over.