Evening Reunion

Distance: 5.31 mi.
Time: 44:03.
Pace: 8:18.

This is the first time I have run on a Monday in over a month. With Adrienne back from cobra-charming in India, we put together a decent group to run easy from the Dowd. It was great to have Thomas back out there, and even better to have my running buddy back. I was glad to keep the pace easy and relieved to get my weekly mileage off to a head start.

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.

Cut-off Loop

6.06 mi in 00:44:30 - 7:20 ppm

Back to the Dowd for the day. I have tentative plans to do my second workout - a marathon-pace tempo run - on Saturday, but given the restaurant week shenanigans that may be a bit ambitious. My only goal for today was to not get caught up in a faster pace or too long of an easy run - both of which are easy to do with this group!

I had to give something to Chad, who along with his wife was running a bit late, so I waited while they pulled in the parking lot and the group took off without us. Chad and I ran a sub-7 mile in order to catch up, and then I was awake! They were doing the 9-mile Colville loop, so I parted ways with them at the 4-mile mark and ran back to the Dowd. The pace was brisk again (7:20 average) but I felt a lot better than I had the day before.

Dowd Sauna

7.04 mi in 00:52:29 - 7:27 ppm

I met the group at the Dowd for some easy miles today that weren't really all that easy. We had a huge group but the conditions just keep getting tougher out there. I wanted to be able to go shorter than most of them - closer to 6 or 7 miles - so when it became clear there was no plan as to our running route, I shot up front and set the pace. I had us turn from the Booty Loop down back towards Freedom Park so I could run on the greenway and go back up Morehead to the Dowd. If anyone wanted to add extra there would be ample opportunities to do so.

Well, I set a quicker pace than I should have, and suffered a bit for it. Too fast for an easy day. There was a 7:21, a 7:16, and a 7:24 in there before I slowed down and let someone else lead. Given the weather conditions those paces surely must equate to 7-flat or better on normal days. Perhaps I should start taking the weather into consideration when calculating my pace....or better yet, just stay at the back of the pack next time.

Speed Loop Group

Warmup: 1.38 mi in 00:12:35 - 9:05 ppm
Workout - 15 x 1 minute hard; 1 minute rest after each rep. Total: 3.92 mi in 00:30:00 - 7:39 ppm
Cooldown - 4.12 mi in 00:36:18 - 8:49 ppm

This is the first week of my marathon training plan, and I was supposed to do mile repeats at "cruise" pace (a tad slower than 5k pace, around 6:20 or so per mile). I was invited to join Jamaar, Thomas Eggar, Michelle Hazelton, and Emily Barrett for a 15x1-minute workout at the Dilworth Speed Loop (where Dilworth East/West hit East Blvd.; reference the maps). When Anne Marie told me she was meeting them at the Dowd to do 300-meter repeats with her friend Siobhan, I decided to join in. I told her and Jamaar I would be there either way and if my back was feeling better I would join the workout.

I woke up around 5:30 a.m. and my back felt fine. I'm due for a workout as I haven't done one in three weeks, and I figured Michelle would be a good training partner as she has been finishing just ahead of me in most races we've done together (as the fastest female). I'm not sure what Thomas can run for a 5k, but he is fast, and Jamaar has been putting in some serious work lately in an effort to train for an ultra (longer than a marathon) race.

Needless to say, I was disappointed when I got to the Dowd and Thomas and Michelle were nowhere in sight. Jamaar, Anne Marie, Siobhan and myself were joined by a guy named Jeremy that I met at the CRC fun run and we started off on a warmup to the loop. It turns out Thomas and Michelle had decided to meet us there and after some attempts to synchronize Garmins, we were off. Jamaar took it out hard in the first rep as I attempted to cruise behind Michelle and came through in 5:02 pace (think 30 seconds for the last 0.1 of a 5k - that's fast). We all settled down a bit after that, but it wasn't long before nature called for me and I found a porta-jon. The rest of the group completed three reps while I was taking care of business, and then I re-upped.

It was neat to be able to see Anne Marie and Siobhan doing a different workout on the same loop as we were all able to cheer for one another. We would pass them, then slow down for our rest and they would pass us back, etc. With me still three reps behind, the rest of the group got down to the end as Thomas and I tried to encourage Jamaar, who wanted to run his fastest splits at the end. I did one solo while they recovered, but then Thomas was nice enough to jump in for two extra as I finished out my workout.

I wanted to do a longer cooldown so Jamaar and I ran with them to Michelle's house before heading back to the Dowd. My back felt as good as new again, luckily, and I was happy with the workout. The legs felt fresh and I was able to get some good turnover, especially at the end and considering the short recovery. 

..Second Dowd Run

7.63 mi in 00:57:21 - 7:31 ppm

I made it back to the Dowd again. This time it was Paul, Caitlin, Caleb Boyd, Kevin Ballantine, Matt Jaskot, Compton, and several more. David Brinkley even showed up; he's usually there every day to lift and decided to run with us this time.

We ran part of the Booty Loop and passed Anne Marie as she was doing another pick up run - which she nailed. I should add here that things really do go better for her when she doesn't run with me. I might be faster but she's a much smarter runner.

Caitlin, always the leader, took us down the greenway and then back to the Y before going off to do more. Compton discussed the possibilities of a fall marathon and then randomly disappeared. Paul, David, and I mostly ran together and discussed various training plans as well as a bit of race strategy for the upcoming RFYL 4-miler.