St. Patricks Day 5k and my training so far

As I am getting back on a regular blogging routine I wanted to recap how my winter is going and my goal races for the Spring and then lastly my past race/week.  This training cycle has been a slower buildup then I am used to, as I spent much of December, January and February just grinding out weeks with long runs and the occasional speed stuff during the week.  I constantly felt like I was taking 2 steps forward and one step back between re-injuries with my hamstring and various illnesses.  At one point after 5 days straight off in January dealing with the flu to instantly be followed up with a stomach virus I was beyond frustrated.  I had started feeling like my goals for the Spring were going out the window and my negativity had quickly started festering.  At this point between the constant stream of positive energy from my coach and me just taking a step back and giving myself some perspective I was able to just acknowledge that this is just the ebb and flow of running.  No training cycle will go perfectly, no plan is perfect, it is just about being able to adapt and keep believing in yourself. 

During this training cycle I’ve had some poor weeks down to 30 miles, I’ve missed several workouts and long runs and even did not hit the times I wanted to on some workouts.  In the past I think that would have weighed heavily on me but this year I’ve been a lot more mindful with my running.  While taking time off because I was sick is frustrating I waited until I felt 100% before starting up again and I think that helped me hop back into it.  Then to follow-up the flu having to miss workouts and long runs because of my hamstring and a stomach virus was hard to stay positive through as I know in the past I would have run through these things but I kept realizing by doing the right thing in January/February it will allow me to be better off in April.  Progression is not always a straight line in front of you as there are many obstacles, barriers and sometimes steps backwards to get you to where you want to go, but the key is to make it all a part of your journey.  The good and the bad of my training so far is what has gotten me to where I am today.  It’s obviously easier to look back with confidence now that I am running well that I made the right decisions, but I’d argue it’s because of the decisions I made is why I am running well today.

I finally raced for the first time since Boston 2017, in a local 5k with some really good competition upfront.  When my fitness started coming around I pinpointed this 5k on a Friday evening as a race I wanted to run to gauge some of my fitness ahead of Cherry Blossom 10 Miler in early April but I told my coach I was unsure if I could run a fast 5k.  Last year I spent a lot of the year doing specific 5k workouts so I had confidence when I ran 16:10 at the Shamrock 5k in March.  So going into this race I was somewhat unsure and I really didn’t set a goal, although if you had asked me I would have guessed I’d run about 17 minutes.  My goal was to just run hard and race a bunch of my teammates who were all very fit right now.  I also got to run a race with my wife for the first time in several years so that was very fun!  Leading up to the race I was feeling really good on my runs and had no real hamstring concerns but I was still a bit skeptical, also this was the first real race I was going to be running with my coach so I was going to basically judge the entire experience on the outcome of this race(I kid).  I was operating on confidence in my ability to get up for a competitive race, and the fitness I have achieved over the past several months which has been very different then past training cycles. 

So Friday night came and it was of course a cold and extremely windy evening so I did my best to ignore all that noise.  Everyone has to run in this so no reason for making excuses or worrying about it.  I felt good on the warmup, tossed in some strides and rolled up to the line extremely calm(well calm for me, which is still probably super stressful for other runners.  If you ever see me at a race see how antsy I am at the starting line.  There are countless photos of me bouncing up and down everytime I get on the starting line).  The race started and it was immediately downhill and everyone was flying, probably 400 meters in I look around and I am back in about 14^th place 50 meters back of the lead pack.  The very first thoughts to hit my mind, Am I ready for this, Am I trained properly.  I quickly tossed those thoughts away, (remembering the fantastic book I read “How Bad Do You Want It?) settled in and moved to the inside to run the tangent while several other people went very wide.  As we hit the straight-away into the wind I started to get comfortable and confident again and moved up.  As we hit about 800 meters in I was in the top 5 and settled in trying to get some cover from the wind (there was none).  Andy and Conrad had pulled away a little so a pack for 3-4-5 had opened up behind them and I knew we had a big climb coming up with a lot of downhill to follow.  I knew Ed running next to me was a fantastic downhill runner so I knew after the mile it was time to break up the pack if I wanted any chance.  I came through the mile around 5:10 according to my watch and started working up the hill.  I broke up the pack a bit and came in close contact on Conrad but once I hit the top I lost some focus going down the hill.  Missing out on that beautiful sweet free energy, something I need to work on taking advantage of.  As I rolled through 2 in 10:30 or so I felt good and sitting in 3^rd but was not sure what I’d have left for that last mile.  Instead of focusing ahead on running hard I did my usual look over the shoulder worrying about getting caught, which is one of my worst traits I’ve picked up.  This time I managed to hold onto 3^rd and pushed into the finish line to run 16:21 but felt I left a little out there from all that worrying about getting caught.

16:21 is my second fastest 5k since college, 11 seconds slower than Shamrock last year and on a cold, windy evening in mid-march I’ll gladly take it.  I had some general concerns I was not ready to push this hard in the week leading up to the race but I felt I did a fantastic job to ignore all that noise on race day and just be confident I was ready to race.  During the race I did not let myself get psyched out or worried, I was very mindful to run the race I was capable of and to execute according to my strengths and I am happy for that.  And above all else I am just happy to be back to running fast after a long 9 months of getting here.  The road back sometimes isn’t all physical, I’ve dealt with a lot of mental demons/barriers over the months thinking maybe I just won’t ever be able to do this competitively again.  The pain just would never go away.  Sometimes as a runner when you get injured and can’t run you isolate yourself a bit, and a lot of my 2017 I did that and I’m sure it didn’t help with me getting back out there mentally.  So getting past all of that for me is a huge win.

My 2018 is just beginning and the best is yet to come, I have some big goals for 2018 and as long as I stay smart, motivated, and focused I think I can achieve them.  I couldn’t be prouder of all my Falls Road teammates and friends who ran so fast and kept me on my toes all race and for the past 9 months.  When I couldn’t run I pulled tons of motivation from watching them all run such fast times and I couldn’t wait to be back out there with them.  As for what’s up next on 8 April I’ll be running my first Cherry Blossom 10 miler going after a shiny new PR and then at the end of April I will be traveling back to the Jersey Shore to run the NJ Half Marathon and give it all I’ve got.  As always thank you so much for reading this and I hope you enjoyed.

Why do I run?

At first response it’s usually the same answer for me, I want to keep improving my times and I want to push my body to its limits and see how far I can take it.  And while yes that is a part of why I run, I think in retrospect it’s not the bulk of the reason.  It’s not the reason I am out there every day running 6-8 miles or putting myself in tons of pain for a workout, or running through 100 degrees heat or below zero temperatures.  The reason that I love running and I do run is the friends and family I have made through it over the years. The running community is this magical group, where you can meet a random person one day and they will without even a  second thought support you and cheer your performances.  Not just in running but also in life.  Where you can meet someone on the roads and be able to strike up a conversation without any judgment.  Running has given so much to me over the years that I can’t ever begin to repay it back.  I continue to do my best to be out there supporting friends, offering advice and just being a positive member to the running community but there is so much more it's given me.  Additionally, running is also more than just logging miles, doing workouts, pushing the body to me.  It’s also this amazing sport where a group of people who might never meet all bond together and come closer because of it.  In Baltimore I was lucky enough to find my current team, the Falls Road Racing Team and they are a huge part of the reason why I continue to run today. 

It’s running and an amazing leader who bring us all together at the beginning but the team itself is about so much more than running.  Sure we train together, we sometimes talk about running ad nauseam and we go to races together.  But through that we become a family, where we spend time outside of running together.  Where we care about one another, not just about how each others training is going but how their life is going.  Where we meet up outside of running as a group and make memories.  And where we support each other in racing but also in every aspect of life.  I doubt without running I would have met any of these wonderful people who now make up a huge part of everything in my life.  But thanks to running, I am glad I have.  Don’t get me wrong, I suffer through a workout on the track to improve my fitness and run faster, but I am also suffering with my friends. Which makes it that much more enjoyable.  In the end I just think when it comes to the question why do you run, it’s important to have an answer that keeps you coming back and keeps you motivated.  For me, my running team and the pursuit of constant improvement is what gets me out the door every day and as long as I have that I will continue to love running.

Recent Running:

Since Pittsburgh I took about a week of downtime to recharge the battery and then I got right back into training.  I wanted to keep this fitness around and do some shorter races for the next couple of months before moving into Marathon training for the fall.  I ran a couple races in May and then this past weekend with some push from a friend decided to try out an aggressive weekend double, Baltimore 10 Miler on Saturday, Bel Air Town Run 5k on Sunday.

Baltimore 10 Miler - It was a hot and humid morning and I knew there would be some competition for me at this race but I wanted to get out and see what happens.  I knew Dave Berdan was the local favorite and I was just bib #4471 when it came to race coverage and contenders.  No worries I was ready to go.  One of the reasons I choose this race was 5 years ago it was my first race back to competitive running, I got 100^th place and ran 1:10:59 and I wanted to see how far I’ve come in the past five years.  So the gun went off and I got out early with Berdan, and despite it being hot and humid came through the mile a little quick around 5:15, rolled into 2 miles around 10:38 when a Howard County runner, the eventual winner Eric came by and the pace quicken.  I quickly knew I was not going to be able to handle this and fell back a bit but tried to keep enough contact in case the humidity got to anyone.  As we hit Lake Montebello(mile 4/5), it was clear I was off the pace and not getting top 2 today so I settled into 3^rd and wanted to not lose my podium place.  At around mile 6 there was a turn around so I was able to calculate I had a 50 second lead on 4^th.  With a race tomorrow I began to let my foot off the pedal a little bit, clearly way too much.  Sometimes you can get too cute in racing, today was an example of that for me.  As we rolled through the hills before getting back into Druid Lake I was feeling confident attacking the final big climb.  As I hit the final water stop I did a quick look back and saw my lead had shrunk to about 20 seconds.  Panic set in as I feared I was going to get caught as we entered the tack-on loop around the park.  I put on a big surge around one of the turns and looked back again (ugh I need to stop doing that) and knew I had it.  Rolled into the finish line 3^rd place overall to the announcers saying “In 3^rd place #4471, hold on we have no clue who that is” and then they proceeded to butcher my last name.  57:16 and 3^rd place on a hot morning, I’ll take it.  Got a pretty fun glass container and got to spend the morning with the woman’s winner Meg, trying to appear in the background of her various interviews.  

Bel Air Town Run – Sunday it was about the Bel Air Town Run.  This was my second time running the Bel Air Town Run, first being in 2014 when I got 18^th and ran 17:38.  I spent most of Saturday doing everything possible to get my legs ready for the next day.  Got to the line and the gun went off and the pace went out real hot.  Down the first hill by the corner we were rolling 4:30 pace and the leader Tyler was pulling away.  So I let him go and a pack of 3 of us formed behind him and stayed that way until the mile, 4:48.  On a hot humid morning, after a 10 mile race probably not the best idea.  After the mile the pack broke down to 2 of us, and at about 1.75 miles second place finisher Chris pulled away and I decided to not go with him.  Probably the thing I am most upset about all weekend.  I convinced myself in the moment to let him go and I’d go after him at the last big hill around 2.5 miles.  I’ll need to be mentally tougher during a 5k in the future, the race is too short for mental lapses like this. I rolled through 2 miles in 10:11 and when we got to 2.5, I was about 10 seconds back but made no move.  Rolling down the final hill I could see him finish and ended up with another 3^rd place finish with my fastest 5k 16:25 since college.  All in all if that’s the only thing I am upset with this weekend I can deal with it.  Watched our woman’s team go 1-2-3 so that’s fun and hung out afterwards and got another fun award and some money.  Overall a great racing weekend.

Up Next for Me:

My fall season is up in the air currently not sure what I will target as my peak race but I’m pretty sure I am targeting a Marathon.  As for the summer I’ll do some more local 5k’s, 10k’s and maybe a half sometime in September.

If you’d like to read more about me, I was given the great honor from the Baltimore Road Runners to be the Member of the Month for June 2016.  Get to know me better here

Lastly check out some fun pictures from the past couple weeks of racing.  And lastly I added an email section if you would like alerts for future blog posts!