So now that it's mid-September (what?!), I just realized I should probably post my planned fall racing schedule. My last race of the spring was the Hyde Park Blast (read about it here), which ended on a bit of a downer. Trying to push through a nagging hamstring injury, my spring races didn't end as well as I hoped they would.
Since then, I've taken about 2 months away from racing, instead getting in some quality training. My hamstring is fully recovered and healthy, my mileage is back up in the 90+ per week range, and I'm running regular 20 mile long runs, 60 minute aerobic threshold runs, and hill repeats. Training's going great, and I've been feeling great during it.
With that said, I've actually technically started my fall season. Two weekends ago, I ran the Zero Prostate Cancer 10k here in Cincinnati. This year was the first year this race has offered prize money: $250 for both the men's and women's winner of the 5k and the 10k. I chose the 10k for a few reasons: 1) In the midst of base training, I'm in better 10k than 5k shape; 2) The longer race makes for a workout that fits better in my training program at this time (it basically takes the place of a longer tempo run, perfect for base training); and 3) I thought the longer race would have less competition. I was right on the first 2 points, but wrong on the third. One of the Hebron Kenyans also showed up, and of course he was doing the 10k. So anyway, we took the race out at an honest pace, through just under 4:55 at the first mile. After that I opened up a small gap and kept pressing. I averaged 4:55 through 5k, then about 5:05 for the second 5k. I ended up winning in 31:10, which was a decent time and a solid effort. By the end of the season I'd like my 10k to be a minute or more faster, but at this point in time it was a solid effort. Faster than last year's Thanksgiving Day Race and earlier in the season...that's a step in the right direction.
So now onto the rest of the season: the biggest thing I want to see this year is progress throughout the season, no setbacks like in the spring.
The next race I'll be doing is the Hudepohl 14k, one I've done each year since it's reincarnation in 2011. Since I've been doing it, the race has generally become a little less competitive each year as it has decreased and then eliminated prize money, but it still makes for a nice kick-off to Oktoberfest Zinzinnati. Like the Zero Prostate Cancer 10k, the timing and distance of the race makes it fit in nicely to my schedule as a tempo-style workout. Plus, since I've done it the past three years, I can judge my current fitness based on previous years' results.
Following a two-week training block, where my work should shift from aerobic base work to a little more faster lactate threshold work, I'll head up to Minster, OH for the Minster Oktoberfest 10k. This race is consistently one of the fastest 10ks in the Midwest, thanks to a generous prize purse and a large contingent of Kenyans. Looking at past results, it's a sub-30 10k. I don't know if I'll be in that good of shape by early October, but it's the perfect race to mix it up and see how fast I can go.
That race will be a great fitness test heading into my biggest race in the near-future, the Indy Monumental Half Marathon. The past few times out, my half marathon has been stuck in the 1:07-1:08 range. I know I can run faster than that, as my training has been of consistently improving quality for the past year. Here I'll be looking to significantly drop my PR more into the 1:06 (or even sub-1:06) range. On a flat, fast, nearby course, and in a race that has quality sub-1:05 competition, this is the place to do it. Just another step on the road to sub-1:05.
After Monumental comes a Cincinnati tradition, the Thanksgiving Day Race. The past three years I've finished 2nd, 4th, and 2nd. (Last year was the most frustrating.) So for this year...screw time, I'm going for the win. I mean, I'd like to run fast and show progress, but mostly I really just want to win. This one's all about local bragging rights.
The next race is a tentative maybe-yes-but-maybe-no-depending-on-how-I'm-feeling. If I do it, it'd be the Rocket City Marathon in Huntsville, AL. I want to do it because I'm starting to get the marathon itch again. It's been a year and a half since my last one (Boston 2013) and in that time frame I've returned to the kind of quality (and quantity) of training necessary to run a high-level marathon. I feel so aerobically fit that I'm confident I can really knock out a good marathon. I see no reason why I wouldn't be able to drop my PR from 2:28 to 2:22. And considering the goal has always been the 2:18 Olympic Trials standard, that kind of improvement is just more progress toward that goal. My only concern with this one: marathons take a long time to recover from, and I have another important race five weeks after this one, which is...
...the USA Half Marathon Championships, run as part of the Houston Marathon weekend. OK, so technically this race is in Winter 2015 and not Fall 2014, but it's the big goal race of this training block. Everything I'm doing is gearing up for this one. This race will be full of elite and aspiring elite runners (like myself), many of whom will be trying to run the Olympic Marathon trials B Standard of a 1:05 half marathon. There is almost guaranteed to be a large group chasing that time, so it presents the perfect opportunity to get dragged to a fast time. If I'm going to run the Trials standard this go-round, Houston is the place to do it. The only problem: I have to qualify first, which entails running either a sub-1:07 half marathon (see: Indy Monumental) or a sub-30:17 10k (see: Minster Oktoberfest). So the races I'm running this fall are vitally important to qualify for this end goal race.
Anyway, that's the proposed schedule for the upcoming months. I'll try to stay current on the blog, posting training updates and race recaps, but in the meantime, come run with me if I'll be doing the same races as you!
Since then, I've taken about 2 months away from racing, instead getting in some quality training. My hamstring is fully recovered and healthy, my mileage is back up in the 90+ per week range, and I'm running regular 20 mile long runs, 60 minute aerobic threshold runs, and hill repeats. Training's going great, and I've been feeling great during it.
With that said, I've actually technically started my fall season. Two weekends ago, I ran the Zero Prostate Cancer 10k here in Cincinnati. This year was the first year this race has offered prize money: $250 for both the men's and women's winner of the 5k and the 10k. I chose the 10k for a few reasons: 1) In the midst of base training, I'm in better 10k than 5k shape; 2) The longer race makes for a workout that fits better in my training program at this time (it basically takes the place of a longer tempo run, perfect for base training); and 3) I thought the longer race would have less competition. I was right on the first 2 points, but wrong on the third. One of the Hebron Kenyans also showed up, and of course he was doing the 10k. So anyway, we took the race out at an honest pace, through just under 4:55 at the first mile. After that I opened up a small gap and kept pressing. I averaged 4:55 through 5k, then about 5:05 for the second 5k. I ended up winning in 31:10, which was a decent time and a solid effort. By the end of the season I'd like my 10k to be a minute or more faster, but at this point in time it was a solid effort. Faster than last year's Thanksgiving Day Race and earlier in the season...that's a step in the right direction.
So now onto the rest of the season: the biggest thing I want to see this year is progress throughout the season, no setbacks like in the spring.
The next race I'll be doing is the Hudepohl 14k, one I've done each year since it's reincarnation in 2011. Since I've been doing it, the race has generally become a little less competitive each year as it has decreased and then eliminated prize money, but it still makes for a nice kick-off to Oktoberfest Zinzinnati. Like the Zero Prostate Cancer 10k, the timing and distance of the race makes it fit in nicely to my schedule as a tempo-style workout. Plus, since I've done it the past three years, I can judge my current fitness based on previous years' results.
Following a two-week training block, where my work should shift from aerobic base work to a little more faster lactate threshold work, I'll head up to Minster, OH for the Minster Oktoberfest 10k. This race is consistently one of the fastest 10ks in the Midwest, thanks to a generous prize purse and a large contingent of Kenyans. Looking at past results, it's a sub-30 10k. I don't know if I'll be in that good of shape by early October, but it's the perfect race to mix it up and see how fast I can go.
That race will be a great fitness test heading into my biggest race in the near-future, the Indy Monumental Half Marathon. The past few times out, my half marathon has been stuck in the 1:07-1:08 range. I know I can run faster than that, as my training has been of consistently improving quality for the past year. Here I'll be looking to significantly drop my PR more into the 1:06 (or even sub-1:06) range. On a flat, fast, nearby course, and in a race that has quality sub-1:05 competition, this is the place to do it. Just another step on the road to sub-1:05.
After Monumental comes a Cincinnati tradition, the Thanksgiving Day Race. The past three years I've finished 2nd, 4th, and 2nd. (Last year was the most frustrating.) So for this year...screw time, I'm going for the win. I mean, I'd like to run fast and show progress, but mostly I really just want to win. This one's all about local bragging rights.
The next race is a tentative maybe-yes-but-maybe-no-depending-on-how-I'm-feeling. If I do it, it'd be the Rocket City Marathon in Huntsville, AL. I want to do it because I'm starting to get the marathon itch again. It's been a year and a half since my last one (Boston 2013) and in that time frame I've returned to the kind of quality (and quantity) of training necessary to run a high-level marathon. I feel so aerobically fit that I'm confident I can really knock out a good marathon. I see no reason why I wouldn't be able to drop my PR from 2:28 to 2:22. And considering the goal has always been the 2:18 Olympic Trials standard, that kind of improvement is just more progress toward that goal. My only concern with this one: marathons take a long time to recover from, and I have another important race five weeks after this one, which is...
...the USA Half Marathon Championships, run as part of the Houston Marathon weekend. OK, so technically this race is in Winter 2015 and not Fall 2014, but it's the big goal race of this training block. Everything I'm doing is gearing up for this one. This race will be full of elite and aspiring elite runners (like myself), many of whom will be trying to run the Olympic Marathon trials B Standard of a 1:05 half marathon. There is almost guaranteed to be a large group chasing that time, so it presents the perfect opportunity to get dragged to a fast time. If I'm going to run the Trials standard this go-round, Houston is the place to do it. The only problem: I have to qualify first, which entails running either a sub-1:07 half marathon (see: Indy Monumental) or a sub-30:17 10k (see: Minster Oktoberfest). So the races I'm running this fall are vitally important to qualify for this end goal race.
Anyway, that's the proposed schedule for the upcoming months. I'll try to stay current on the blog, posting training updates and race recaps, but in the meantime, come run with me if I'll be doing the same races as you!
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