For the last couple of years, I’ve taken the first week of December as my week off. It seems to work out pretty well for me. My last race is usually early in December, so after that I try to shut it down for a week and let my body take some “extended” recovery time. I’ve been fortunate to be relatively injury free so that’s allowed me to run pretty much year round. The fact that I’ve been running races from January until December keeps me going year round but as I get older, I’m definitely seeing the benefits of taking some down time every now then.
I did a better job of working in cross training this year, at least I biked more and ran fewer doubles. However, I still should have backed off a little in the spring. I strung together about 10 weeks of 60+ mile weeks and I think that ended up contributing to some cumulative fatigue, which slowed me down some in the summer. I should have stuck to the plan of building three weeks then backing off a little bit until I was really ready to pile on the miles. I didn’t build up as slowly as I probably should have and then instead being smart, I just said ‘well I don’t want to ruin it by backing off’. I can be a little OCD when it comes to getting miles in sometimes.
That’s a little bit of a long winded intro to what I’m doing now, “resting”. I say it quotes because I don’t exactly feel like I’m resting and that’s probably part of my problem. A lot of times when I should probably take a day off, I say that I’m not going to be any less tired after work if I skip this run so I’ll just go out and get something in. I’m sure that’s mental more than physical though, so this week I’m really working on taking the week off from running and allowing my brain to be okay with that. I’m heading to LA for work so I’ll probably run a little out there, but other than that no running Monday-Friday. Then I’ll start back up with some easy miles through the end of the month. After that I’ll figure out my 2017 race schedule and start training for whatever my first goal race is (either River Gorge or Chattanooga ½ marathon).
That was a little rambling, but whatever. It’s my blog.
Race Recaps
Little Mulberry Park 10k
This is always one of my favorite races of the year. It’s always cross country weather, it’s one of my favorite courses, and it’s usually the last vestige of my summer/fall sharpness. This year’s race was all of those things. The weather was perfect, not too hot, not too cold. The course was in great shape. Huge shout out to whoever blew all the leaves off the trail (probably Tim and Johnny).
I didn’t feel awesome at the start, but I was coming off of some really solid workouts that were building 10k strength, so my plan was to relax for the early part of the race and wait till be were through the first section of cross country course (grass field) then pick it up on the long gradual paved downhill and go from there. That plan lasted about three quarters of a mile. There were a bunch of high school kids running the 5k, which shares the same course as the 10k until 2.5 miles, so naturally they went out really fast. I stayed relaxed and hung out in fourth or fifth just kind of surveying what was going on out front. I moved up to third when we started the first little climb. It’s not much of a climb but it can be a little rough if you aren’t quite warmed up yet.
When we hit the grass I was in third, but moved up to second to close a little gap that had opened up. Admittedly, I got a little antsy at this point and instead of waiting and steadily increasing the pace, I surged once I hit the front. I instantly opened a small gap and at that point there was blood in the water so I went for it. I pushed the first 2.5 miles pretty hard and had a sizable lead but I tried to keep on the pace once I got onto the equestrian trails, thinking that I could take a shot at one of my better times on the course. I struggled a little bit in the final mile and a half – which features a real grind of a climb – but ended up running my second fastest time on the course and my fastest time on the current course. I was really pleased with the result. It was nice to feel like all the workouts had come together for a good race. It’s easy for me to just kind of fall into the rhythm of going through the motions this time of the year, so It was a rewarding race.
Victoria Bryant State Park 10k
From one of my favorite races to one of my least favorite races. Victoria Bryant has been my last race of the year for the last three years or so. It’s not a bad race. It’s difficult. The course is constant up and down with very little room to settle into a rhythm. It’s also usually either super muddy (which can be fun) or treacherously leaf covered, or sometimes both. It’s also difficult for me to get into the race mentally. I almost always just want this race to be over. All that being said, it’s probably the least popular Dirty Spokes/XTERRA/Georgia State Parks race – this year it was part of the GA State Parks series, next year it’ll be XTERRA and it’ll be in April – so I feel like it’s a race I mainly go to in support of Dirty Spokes.
I ended up winning by a big margin, which had I known I probably would have eased off, but I was convinced that people were going to catch me because I was driving the struggle bus for the whole second half. As it turns out, most of the guys that would have been nipping at my heels ran the shorter race. Ugh, I don’t even like thinking about this race. It’s seriously all either up or down. And the it’s all short steep ups and downs. The ups grind you down and the down just blast your quads. The last mile feels like three. That’s all I’m going to say. Anyone that showed up for this race deserves kudos. It’s just a nasty one.
What I’m Reading
Phil Gaimon makes another appearance. Now that he’s retired from the pro peloton he’s set his sights on taking KOMs back from dopers. I read another story a few months back about how prevalent doping is among masters and age group racers and at first that kind of blew my mind. But as a read more I saw that a lot of it came from anti-aging clinics and supplements that I see commercials for on TV every day. “Boost your natural testosterone” is bullshit.
This thread on LetsRun caught my eye a few weeks ago. The poster was asking how/where people get their miles in when they have a full time job. Great question. This is something that took me a long time to figure out. Part of that is due to the fact that I changed jobs a bunch early in my career. There was even a time that I barely ran because of my work schedule.
When I was in grad school I’d run 5-7 every day at lunch and occasionally make an appearance at Phillips Andover for a Whirlaway workout. When I was interning, I’d get three in on the treadmill at the gym across from work two days a week, three if I was lucky. When I moved to Philly I finally settled back into a groove and ran almost every day. I moved back home and kept that alive (it helped I was working at a running shop) then I moved to Georgia and ran maybe 10 times in the first six months I lived here. It wasn’t until I stumbled on Dirty Spokes that I really started training again. And even at that it took me two years at my current job to find a rhythm and schedule that worked for me on a daily basis.
That’s what I’d say in response to that post. Find a rhythm that works for you. You also have to prioritize running to get it done. If it’s important to you, you’ll figure it out. Of course that doesn’t mean every run is going to be Instagram worthy. I was fortunate to go to college in a great area for running. Tons of trails and varied terrain. Now, most of my run are done on the same two or three loops either near my house or by my office. I mix it up when I can but I found a couple routes that work and those are my go to ones. Maybe it would be different if I lived in Marin, or Boulder or something like that, but I live in the suburban sprawl of Atlanta. Don’t get me wrong there are some awesome places to run here, but a lot of my running is pretty plain. I’m okay with that. Sometimes getting out with a headlamp on is tough on the motivation, but for me, having a routine is the basis of my training.
What I’m Liking/Following
Tuck Fest is back on my race schedule again. I mean, I have to go back if they are using me in the promo tweets right?Start 2017 off on the right foot. #TuckFest registration is now open at https://t.co/ubFwHlxKpJ pic.twitter.com/45JAqqAdcI— Tuck Fest (@USNWCTuckFest) December 7, 2016
The story of the Millinocket Marathon from Down East magazine is a really cool one. I recommend giving it a read. The idea behind it is incredible. I makes me want to jump in the car and head up to Gaitlinburg and spend some money at local businesses after the crazy fires they’ve had up there. I realize that’s not some amazing noble thing, but I think the idea of trying to revitalize Millinocket that way is different and I’m always interested in people who are trying to re-think the standard way that things are done.This race may have just made the bucket list... https://t.co/llVmF2pv0l— Matt Haley (@mattmhaley) December 2, 2016
Wrapping it up here. I love that I start these and then three weeks later I realized I never post them. I need to start working on my 2016 wrap up now.
