Sunday, April 08, 2012

Week Recap (25 March 2012 - 31 March 2012) - 65 Miles


Sun: 11M.
Nob hill - GG Park. Not feeling very motivated today and ended up wasting  time on the couch until I finally dragged myself out around 2pm. Didn't really get into it much and put in a rather slow run.

Mon: 10M.
Bay Club - Presidio. This has pretty much become my standard loop these days. It's the only loop from the Bay Club that allows me to spend some time on trails and it definitely beats most other options by far. I also can't get through the Presidio with anything shorter than 9-9.5M so opting for this route doesn't hurt the mileage.

Tue: 10M.
2x(3x1000(3:05), 1x1000(2:55)).
3:05, 3:07, 3:05, 2:58, 3:07, 3:05, 3:05, 2:57.
This workout was similar to last week's but broken into 2 sets, with the last interval of each set at a faster pace. Rest was 2:00 between intervals, like last week, and 5:00 between the two sets. I worked from home today and had a bit of an adventurous trip to Kezar. I decided to run to the Civic center station and catch the N to Carl & Stanyan, just outside Kezar. I headed out in pouring rain with my sweats, a spike bag with my Hyperspeeds for the workout, my clipper card, which had just enough value for a one-way trip, and a $20 bill to reload it. I didn't account for the bill getting wet on the way there and I couldn't get any of the machines to accept it. Trying to find someone to trade $20 bills with me didn't work out either so I just headed out and hoped that I would find a way to get back on the MUNI after my workout. I guess the unexpected turn of events left me in a somewhat confused state as I ended up catching the wrong train and not realizing it until I was at the Church station. It's only a couple of miles to the track from there so I got out and run to Kezar for my warm-up. I would have preferred to get to the track first so I wouldn't have to run my warm-up with a spike bag on my back but it wasn't really a big deal. I didn't spend much time stretching since it was raining and I was already fairly soaked so I just wanted to get the workout underway. The rain kind of starting dying out during the workout but since it had been raining all day, the track was covered with a few inches of water. Despite the less than ideal warm-up and the adverse weather conditions I ended up running a good workout. For the slower intervals, I was right on my goal of 3:05 for 4 of them and pretty close on the other 2, mostly because of getting out slow on the first lap. Switching gears on the last interval of each set to get to a 2:55 wasn't an easy task in these conditions but I came pretty close. I got out in 70 for the first one but didn't hold it together in the 2nd lap, coming through the 800 in 2:23. I managed to close with a 35, though, to hit a 2:58. The last one was rather similar, out in 69-70, 2:22 and a 35 again for the last 200. I was pretty wiped by the end of it but content from having run a good workout in rather bad conditions. I ran a few laps on the grass for my cool-down and added a few strides before heading out to catch the N back. To my disappointment I noticed that the train wouldn't be there for another 20 minutes and of course I didn't want to wait around with wet clothes, especially not knowing for sure if I could pay for a ride back. I started running back but soon enough realized that running another 4 miles wouldn't be the greatest idea so I pulled over a cab and got a ride home. The wet $20 bill did come in handy after all.

Wed: 8M.
Started out from the Bay club as usual and headed towards the Embarcadero. Ran along the Embarcadero through Fisherman's all the way to the Marina and made my way back from there, going through the Broadway tunnel. Feeling a bit tired today so I was running fairly slow the whole time.

Thu: 11M.
1x5k(17:30), 1x3K(10:00), 1x2K(6:20).
16:49, 9:58, 6:22.
I was supposed to be in the office at 8:30 this morning so we could get an early start for our company trip to Lake Tahoe. I knew that I wouldn't be able to run later in the day, let alone try to run a workout in Tahoe, so I had to get up early and get my workout out of the way. My alarm went off at 6am and I was up without much trouble. It always amazes me that I can easily wake up in the mornings if I'm meeting someone or if I must absolutely get my run out of the way but if running later in the day is an option, waking up early becomes an almost impossible task. I walked over to the office first to drop off my bags before heading over to the Bay club to start my run from there. I did the usual warm-up along the Embarcadero to AT&T park and didn't spend much time stretching or running strides before getting the workout underway. The goal for the 5K was 3:30/km but I was fairly confident that it wasn't a very ambitious pace. I was at the 1K mark in 3:22, feeling fairly relaxed, and more or less maintained that pace the whole way. I had 5:00 between intervals which was plenty for me to be recovered before the next one. The 3K was fairly relaxed too and since it was only slightly faster than the 5K it didn't feel like I had to switch gears  much. I had to make a more conscious effort to get out faster for the 2K but managed to get the legs moving fast enough to finish off the workout with a good last interval. I felt pretty good at the end of the workout and I could have added a longer cool-down but I didn't have enough time for that so I just ran straight back to the Bay club for a quick shower before heading back to the office. It definitely felt good to get a good workout out of the way early and not have anything to worry about for the rest of the day.

Fri: 3M.
I didn't get to bed until around 3am last night so waking up early this morning wasn't an easy task. I managed to get myself out of bed around 9:30 and thought I'd have enough time for a decent run before meeting everyone else at 11 to head to Squaw valley. Unfortunately after checking my work emails I realized that I had some urgent work to do and I wasn't able to get out for a run until around 10:30. I only had time for a quick 3M, out and back from Granlibakken resort. I stayed on the roads for the most part but had to run for a bit on snow when I tried running on a bike path. I'm not sure when the last time I had to run on snow was, probably 4-5 years ago. It was sunny and in the low 40s though so I had no trouble still running with shorts and a t-shirt. It was only a short run but I felt pretty good and I was wishing I had some more time to extend it. I was considering going for a second run after coming back from Tahoe but I didn't make it home until almost 10pm and I was just too tired to lace up my running shoes again.

Sat: 12M.
Started out from Nob hill and made my way to Crissy Field along the Marina. Continued on to Lincoln Ave and picked up the Bay trail towards Park Blvd. Went down park trail to Presidio Blvd and made it to Golden Gate park before heading back home. It was a relatively short run for the week's long run but I kept the pace faster than usual and worked the hills well. I'm racing the 10,000m at the Cyprus national championships on April 20th so over the next 3 weeks I'll be focusing more on quality over quantity.