#masterstrackathlete

I’m trying not to beat myself up about it too much, but I guess tomorrow is another day. No running tomorrow, but I’ll get some cycling miles in for sure. No time for a pity party, just get back in the lab.

I got my long run done day, first time in a month I’ve been able to do that. I started out today feeling a little flat but I eventually found my groove and cruised over the rolling hills of my neighborhood. And afterwards I got to play with my new compression boots. All I can say is, wow, what a game-changer. My legs felt so much better afterwards. After the run I did a few striders in my racing flats, the Saucony Endorphin Pros. I’ll be running the 3000 tomorrow at USATF Masters East Regionals in Maryland. I have no expectations, especially the day after a long run. I have track spikes but haven’t worn them in over a year so going with flats is a safer choice right now. I may give away a few seconds but I’d rather just get a benchmark and stay healthy. It’s been a while since I have raced on the track in even semi-decent shape, so I’m looking forward to seeing how this works out.

So this weekend’s “race” is really just a glorified time trial, plus I'll get a FAT time that can serve as a mark for nationals this summer. So why not…

“No such thing as bad weather just soft people,” said Nike founder Bill Bowerman once upon a time. I was not feeling it today with rain falling on a chilly (for late May) day. But I kicked my soft ass out the door and knocked out 5.3 miles. I even made it a fartlek workout by doing “telephone pole” pickups - 4 sets of 1-2-3 poles. I was so glad I did that even though it poured for the whole run.

It was tough, but in a different way. My cardiovascular system was never challenged but my legs definitely felt the effects of a max effort, even though the 300m of sprinting I did were a mere fraction of 4+ miles I ran. I plan to continue working this over the summer and then maybe I’ll be able to pivot back to some solid XC and 10K racing this fall.

Today’s workout was powered by #supercoffee enhanced #nacraftbeer from @athleticbrewing. Pretty good stuff. Then it was time to get outside for 10-10-5-5 minute #tempointervals in some dismal weather conditions. Luckily I dressed well for the weather and was comfortable for the whole distance. 3 weeks until @cucb #cherryblossomtenmiler. I still have some work to do but the progress is there. #mastersrunner #masterstriathlete #masterstrackathlete #mastersxcrunner #mastersroadrunner #runva #tracktraining #xctraining #neverstopstriving #justkeepgoing #zensah #zensahambassador #teamzensah #withoutlimitz #sauconyendorphinspeed (at Mantua, Virginia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CptOSBGO_Uo/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Great day to be outside with #springrunning conditions. I made another step up in distance today, going for 4 miles. That’s the longest I’ve run in almost 10 months! I kept it all easy today and just let my body find the run. That may be why my last mile was my fastest and that was a mostly uphill mile, too. My @zensah compression socks and my favorite trainers, the @altrarunning Torin, made sure it was a nice smooth ride as well. Afterwards I strength trained and I now feel like I got it all In today for sure. #mastersrunner #masterstriathlete #masterstrackathlete #mastersxcrunner #mastersroadrunner #runva #tracktraining #xctraining #neverstopstriving #justkeepgoing #altratorin #zensah #zensahambassador #teamzensah #withoutlimitz (at Mantua, Virginia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CanRDLJp_e5/?utm_medium=tumblr

Time for another #miletimetrial to assess progress. About a month ago I clocked a 6:16. Since then I've done #chivirtualtri plus two #5k races. Then I hit a fitness wall about a week or so ago. All my performance stats went to crap and my Garmin was giving me the dreaded "Unproductive" indicator every day. When I see that on the watch for one day, no big deal, but when I see it every day for a week, yeah something is out of whack. I finally decided to take the past weekend off and now I'm building back. But I'm clearly not all the way back. Thanks weird thing is, today's 6:30 was evenly paced the whole way, and I always felt like there was another gear there...but I just couldn't get to it. Then when I finished I was only modestly winded. I recovered quickly after it too, then worked some bleachers and cooled down, barely beating the big storm that rolled in. Anyway, a few years ago when I trained hard for the mile and got down to a 5:32, I collapsed on the turf when I finished with my lungs and legs on fire. Oh well, all I can do is #keepshowingup and #puttinginthework. I have to believe that breakthrough will come at some point. #runblr #fitblr #fallrunning #trackworkout #timetrial #masterstrackathlete #xctraining #mastersxcrunner (at Wilbert Tucker Woodson High School) https://www.instagram.com/p/CFvehMOHgrR/?igshid=1d5n6087wcx5l