Running Shorts

Finishing place: ??? Time: 15:10-ish (?) Photo courtesy of Shelton Graves Alright, so this was my third time doing this event, and it was by far my best performance here. In 2013 I entered in a weird limbo between marathon recovery and hard interval training, and so nothing translated to a quality race performance. Last year I had run a great race three weeks earlier, but then strained my hamstring and didn't run very much leading up to the Blast, which showed in a poor race. This year I entered in a good training rhythm after a solid block of base training. Only problem: it was a solid block of base training . I was in great fundamental shape, but not great race shape (especially a race as short as a 5k and competitive as this one). So I had to temper my expectations a bit...I knew I wasn't going to be competitive with the top runners going 14:20-30; for me at this point a sub-15 would be a great time on this course. Having those tempered expectation, I had to stay ...

Damn. This was a fast field. The course isn't really all that fast...it's four loops with one deceptive hill each loop (which seemingly gets bigger every time around) and one 180-degree turn (which kills all momentum). And yet...the winner ran 14:00. That is quick. About 30 seconds quicker than the winner usually is here. This was by far the deepest field in the Blast, and (with the exception of the Chicago and Boston marathons) one of the fastest fields I've ever raced against. Which, of course, is the reason I love the Blast. Because the field was so fast, I can't say I'm too disappointed with my race. I ran 15:20-something to place just outside the top-10 (I can't say for certain, because I can't find the official results anywhere). As the leaders took off crazy fast, I ended up running most of the race on my own. I did finish in sight of 2:13-marathoner Craig Leon , so I can't feel too let down about this one. That said, I really wanted bet...

Will you be in Cincinnati this Saturday, June 28th? If so, you should experience the Hyde Park Blast , the most fun race event in the city all year. Yeah, I said it. It's better than Flying Pig weekend, better than the Thanksgiving Day Race, better than the Heart Mini 15k. Why? Simple: because it puts all levels of endurance sports (well, cycling and running) on showcase through a block-party-like atmosphere. The day starts in the morning with a 4-mile run/walk. Who doesn't like road races? Trick question: everyone loves them. Especially in Hyde Park. Everyone runs in Hyde Park, and you can bet just about everyone will be participating in the run that morning. The run is followed by a series of kids races, ranging in distance from .1 to .5 miles. Nothing like getting 'em started young. At noon the even switches gears (pun intended) as the cycling races start. From noon until 8 pm, there are a series of crits  of decreasing category (which means increasing speed ...

File this one under "do as I say, not as I do." Runners are pretty often Type-A, borderline-obsessive compulsive personalities. We like to maximize all the performance enhancing details (nutrition, flexibility, strength, etc.) while also running more, more, more; faster, faster; faster. Except sometimes, the best thing to do is the opposite. Case in point: I haven't been running much for the past two weeks. Just some off-and-on mileage. Why? The good ol' hamstring's a little strained. In the days before the Music City Distance Carnival, I had a short tune-up workout: a 20-minute aerobic threshold run and then 10 x 200 at fast (ish) but controlled effort. And what inevitably happened? I felt really good and was psyched to race that weekend, so I ran the aerobic threshold too fast. Then I got even more pumped that I was running well and blasted the 200s too hard. I knew what I was doing was bad for my future performance, and yet I couldn't stop myself. ...

After focusing most of the winter and spring on base fitness geared towards the Pittsburgh Half Marathon, I'm now making the transition to more shorter and faster work focusing around running a quality 5k. This is the first time in a while (maybe since college) that I'm really making a concerted effort to train high-intensity VO2max/5k specific fitness. After last summer's disappointing race in June/July, I'm really looking forward to redeeming myself. Here's what's already happened and what's on tap: Lou Cox 5k Monday, May 26 - Memorial Day, Dayton, OH. 14:33, 3rd place. Whoa. Not really expecting this. Huge road 5k PR (old one was 14:45 at this same race three years ago), and fastest time I've run since college. Ran very even, consistent splits, and maybe even a bit negative for the last mile. It was one of those races where I didn't feel all that much pop in my legs warming up, but once we got a mile in, I was able to find a good groove and p...