Thursday, November 25, 2010

Turkey Chase 10k

I ran the Turkey Chase 10k this morning in Bethesda. After trying to take the race pretty seriously last year (and failing to run well) I decided to run it as a workout this year and just try to have fun. I set out to run 5:45s but more importantly get in a good, hard 6 miler staying relaxed throughout. I ended up running about 36:24 (5:52 pace) which I'm pretty happy with as I felt strong from start to finish.

This race is always a blast with all of the familiar faces around and this year did not disappoint. I ended up running the first four miles with Sam which was really fun, and also very helpful as he kept me focused and on pace.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Gearing Back Up

After a tough and unsuccessful summer filled with injuries, unbearable weather, a new work schedule, and concluding with a joke of a half-marathon at Parks, I've begun to gear back up for spring racing. My goal peak races for the spring are the Cherry Blossom 10 miler on April 3rd and Pike's Peek 10k on April 17th.

My training in the last two months has been a little different than usual. I've incorporated a lot of faster running in the form of fartleks and pickups into my base phase as well as my staple fast long run. I've also kept my recovery days short and easy (4-6 miles) which has allowed me to make my quality days really count.

After a bit of a training hiccup over Veteran's Day weekend with a trip to Vassar I'm back on track, having completed a 12 miler on Saturday with the middle 9 miles in 53:53 and a faster workout tonight consisting of some hill repeats and a few 1600 and 800 repeats both uphill and downhill on the Capital Crescent Trail between mile 2 and 3.