Training Log Archive: PG

5 mile race in Hatfield, mostly flat, total climb about 80'. Nice day for racing, low 50s, no wind, light drizzle.

Did the best I could. Aerobicly I was just about right (had enough left to finish without fading, but no more), but the legs were hurting, mainly the quads. Don't know what I'm not doing right, they have been bothering me for a while now, whereas the usual bugaboos (hamstrings, caves, achilles) have been behaving themselves.

Time was a little better than expected. Ran a 5-miler in Amherst in late April in 33:45 when I was in better shape (and 6 months younger!), but it was a much hillier course. So I was hoping for under 35 for sure and maybe under 34, so the 33:25 was a nice surprise. But I worked hard for it, including having a guy closing on me in the last couple hundred yards, and my mind was conceding that he would pass me while my legs were picking up the pace. And he got closer and I picked it up some more and he got real close and it was an all-out sprint for the last 30 yards and I got him by about 6 inches. We are silly sometimes.

Splits: 6:31, 6:50 (slightly up), 6:50, 6:39 (slightly down), 6:35 (flat, except for 3 speed bumps...). Ran the race once before, 10 years ago, in 30:50. Best ever for 5 miles is about 29:30.

Before and after.

M&M trail south of Rt. 202 (close to where I was yesterday, up and down along the ridge crest). Didn't have much energy so cut it short.

After sitting through an all-day tax seminar, got out just before dark for a run at the Holyoke reservoirs. Mostly flat gravel/dirt roads, but about 15 minutes on really rocky trails up on the ridge to the west. The causeways were quite spectacular with the water high, as they were barely above water and the darkening sky and waves from the stiff southerly breeze gave a sense of vulnerability. Would have been a nice time to have a camera.

Came back quite dirty as one bit of firm ground I stepped on turned out to be mud about knee deep. Thick, dark, oozing, sucking, mud. But I had my shoes on tight.... :-)

From the overpass over 91, a loop aroud Whiting Reservoir plus a short up and back at the south end to Rt. 141. Gentle terrain, but a slow pace anyway, legs were tired.

With Phil from Mill River to Depot Road. Nice run, not the often/usual near race pace clash of egos.... :-) ... even though as Phil says, we often push ourselves more when running together and that's a needed part of training. But Phil was suffering this time, so I could run at a reasonable pace/effort. Legs and feet still feeling sore by the end.

Beautiful afternoon, crisp air, fall colors still around although the leaves are coming down. Both the sun, low in the afternoon sky and right in our eyes on the way back, and the leaves, oak leaves especially, hiding the rocks and making the downhills more slippery, made the running a little harder, felt like running blind at times. But still better than running at night.

Splits: 8:40, 9:20, 6:53 (24:53 to Juggler Meadow), 12:23 (37:16 to Depot Road). Back: 11:13, 6:49, 9:04, 7:53 (35:00).

C • 9

At Mt. Tom, was planning to do Phil's loop (from Lake Bray, up and over Whiting Peak and Goat Peak) despite the fact that legs felt very tired. My mind must have been tired too, because I missed the turn for the Keystone trail. Which was just as good, even the gentle hills were a struggle. So I looped around onto the ridge by I-91, noticing a fresh streamer on the end of a stone wall, for Phil's meet in a few weeks I assume. Then along the ridge to the NE tip of the map and back to Lake Bray. A nice outing, still some hills but all shorter, and better than what I had planned given how I was feeling.

Over to South Sugarloaf (14:51), up (9:02), back down (6:52), back home (14:29). Better than last week. Still a struggle on the hill, but legs just tired, not hurting. Beautful late afternoon, got to the top just at sunset, unfortunately now at about 4:40pm.

C • 6