Running Shorts

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...

About 10 days ago I drove down to Nashville for the Music City Distance Carnival , which is a very unique event of mid- and long-distance track races. It's a really cool atmosphere that brings together youth, post-collegiate, masters, and professional runners contesting distances of 800 to 5000 meters. In an endless slog of road races, it's fun to change things up and experience the speed of the track, which I have definitely missed since college. It turns out the 'speed of the track' wasn't all that speedy for me. I ran 14:47 (I was hoping for about 30 seconds faster) and placed 12th. The good news, though, is that I didn't get lapped. I came into the race really confident after a 14:33 road 5k PR two weeks earlier, so I felt I was really primed to run 14:20. I could be happy with 14:20...it's right near my college PR, and to get back there after focusing on longer distances would be a good sign. However, it just wasn't meant to be this weekend. I...

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...