Week of June 27, 2010

Mon  - Treadmill 5.0 0:38:30 7:42  Easy

Tue - Childs Race 2.4mi 15:35
      & Ludlow HS Track  800/1200/1600/1200/800  w/ 400 jog @5:20pace
Wed - Westover 5.0 0:38:02 7:36
Thu - Ludlow Res 10.0 1:10:30 7:03
Fri - Treadmill 5.0 0:37:35 7:31 156 Easy latenight 1st 8:25 last 6:30
Sat - Short Tempo Ashley Res 11.0mi 1:16:35 6:58 3 big loops 25:13, 19:20, 24:48
Sun - Med Long Miller-Ventura-Washinton+Liberty-Barwell 16.0 2:02:30 7:39

Week - 65 Miles  One good track, one decent tempo

Another way-too busy week. Work is non-stop problems.

On Tuesday Shot over to the Childs Kids Trail Race in Van Horn Park. The plan was to help pace my nephew Brandon Pavoni who this fall will be entering Granby High as a 7th grade freshman and plans on running Cross Country. I'd like to help out Dick Arsenault with the team if the work schedule will allow. Brandon decided he wanted to take it easy today and run with some of his other Granby friends, so I tried to pace out Abby Imelio, also from Granby. Abby went right out of the gates into 1st place doing something like 5:30 pace. I let her go for about a quarter of a mile before I gave her the heads up that she's going way too fast. By that point she was already laboring and breathing hard but she fought hard the entire way. I tried my best to get her to run more relaxed and provide encouragement. She ran a 15:33 for the advertised 2.4 miles. A slight PR for her I think. Hopefully I was a help. About a mile cooldown after with Abby.

That was a lot of fun. I never did the Childs race as a kid. In fact I never did any fun runs or organized races until senior year track. I do remember running one of those 1/2 mile school assessment tests at the old Van Sickle Jr High for the local legend Roland Cormier. Cormier kept after me to get into running after that, but I never did. All I knew or can recollect from way back then was that this guy was some kind of running freak. Running posters plastered over every square inch of his office walls. I think he used to tell the kids that it was 5 laps to the mile just to get them to run more. Too bad I never got into running earlier. The ole 'What if...". But I was so clueless back then. Only slightly-less-clueless now. But at least, albeit some 30 years later, I'm starting figure it out.

After a short cooldown and typically post race chatter, I jumped in the car and cruised on over to Ludlow High for Tuesday Night Track. I got there as Norm and Tim were heading out for their cooldown.

Mark Baillargeon joined me for the nighttime session of TNT. I did some quick stretches and easy strides. I was was pretty much ready to go from just doing the kids race.

The plan today was a distance ladder at 5k goal 16:40 or 3:20/km
800, 1200, 1600, 1200, 800 all with 400 recovery jog close as possible to 2 minutes.

splits/recovery
2:39/1:56 4:03/2:09 5:19/2:17 3:59/2:07 2:38/2:37

Efforts 5600m at 18:39 a scant second under goal
Total 7600m at 29:45 3:55/km 6:18/mi

Solid work. Getting closer to where I was last year before Boston
when I was able to do 8,12,16,2k,16,12,8 (but avg 5:30 pace on the 16's and 2k )

3 mile cooldown on grass outside track then another mile with Mark doing his final 400 and 2 200's 93, 45, 40

Finally went home around 9:30pm, ate, showered and logged into work. Finished up around 1am. A long day. And you wonder why I cant shake the last of this cold & congestion...

Tempo On Saturday: Headed over to Ashley Resevoir for a little threshold work around 1pm. Temps were in the 80s with a decent cool breeze but far from ideal conditions to hammer out a hard, hard workout. By the end of the summer, I best get myself into shape enough to run close to 10-12 miles at sub 6:00 pace. But for today a single solid paced loop will have to suffice.

I did the customary slow & easy initial loop for warmup at 7:35 pace. Then I drop into tempo pace, which for me, on this level gravel surface that can get a bit soft & loose, is between 5:50 to 6:00 pace for about 20 minutes tops. I'm not a very good tempo or threshold runner despite my solid marathon times. But each year I seem to be getting better at these Ashley loops. I no longer blast out of the gates too fast and die towards  the end. Rather I'm able to start closer to target pace - a product of more confidence in my abilty to guage effort in relation to actual pace allowing me to settle down and focus on running economy - the main purpose of these runs.

3 big loops at Ashley Res solo at 1pm

25:13, 19:20, 24:48


19:20 is my 2nd best timed big loop at Ashley. 5:51 pace. A good steady effort. A decent breeze was present and welcomed to cool off when the sun poke thru. By the final loop I was feeling the heat and looking fir shade cover wherever I could find it. I didn't much feel like doing a second tempo loop today.

10 Best Ashley Big Loops to date
Distance 3.3 mi 5.31 km

Average 23:37 7:10
Best 19:08 5:48
Count 154

Gmap Pedometer Route Route http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3159442


date time pace
10 10/29/09 20:02 6:04
9 3/11/10 19:55 6:02
8 11/12/09 19:54 6:02
7 10/9/08 19:53 6:02
6 5/15/10 19:40 5:58
5 3/11/10 19:38 5:57
4 11/19/09 19:29 5:54
3 12/3/09 19:27 5:53
2 6/25/10 19:20 5:51
1 10/8/09 19:08 5:48

Week of June 20, 2010

Another uneventful week of training. Still trying to shake a cold (nose & throat congestion) that I been fighting on and off for the better part of a week now. Hectic work schedule and lack of sleep are not helping.

I haven't hit stride yet in my summer training program. There's not too much post-marathon issues to deal with. I just need to get the mind, body & spirit commited and focused on the next big push.

This weeks' Tuesday Night Track (TNT) showed the first signs of life.
Norm Fuller, Mark Bailargeon and Bill Wheeler in attendance.
We all did warm-up together but on the track everybody had their own agenda.
Mine was 400s with 200 jog recovery. Work has been beating up lately and I wasn't going to come close to the 16-20 reps I had envisioned in my head all week. Instead 10 reps 76-77 per except the 1st @ 74 (group frontrunner mentality ) then two fast with Wheels 72, 68 and with Norm (one all out ofcourse) 66

On a steamy Saturday evening I took my Nephew, Josh Labonte, up to Northampton High to run the 3rd Annual Northampton Mile, his first race (a soccer kid). I done this Mile on the roads before and really enjoyed it but today I was going to take a somewhat relaxed approach. I wasn't expecting to run a superfast time and wanted to make sure my race wouldn't take away from whatever Josh might need from me in terms of getting him to the start line and pacing him out - being his first race .. ever.

So instead of warming up with a good couple miles, I hung around prerace trying to get Josh to do some basic strides or pre race routines - nothing doing - he wasn't interested.

After a lap or two of solo easy jogging and some easy strides feeling oh, so unready, I headed off for my heat which would go off about 20 minutes before Josh's. Given the lack of prep I didn't feel that bad emotionally. My stride, however, was U G L Y - even for me.

The effort didn't feel that hard at the begining, although the 76 second first 1/4 mile split was less than inspiring. I just couldn't hold a smooth stride at that rate with stiff legs. But I was holding my own for the most part and it appears no one over 40 year of age was ahead of me, so an age group win seems very possible if I just keep on moving. 

Flew down the hill at 1/2 mile in full stride. It wasn't till about 3/4 mile that I started to feel the envitable slow down. I got overtaken real bad on the final 100m track straightaway by some high schooler who went sub 5. In 2008 I was clocked 5:00.1. This year 5:01.5. My Pr is 4:56.5 at a Smith College All Comers. It would have been nice to PR today but considering the mile couldn't be further away from my best distance and not going thru a proper warmup I was content with today's 5:01.5.

Splits 76, 2:29 (74 downhill), 3:44 (75), 5:01 (77)

I recovered quickly (as usual for me), jogged up to the start to meet Josh for his heat. I ran alongside trying to pace Josh the best I could - neither of us having a clue how fast he  could run a mile. We started with a 1:40 split and slowed down some to a 1:55 but overall Josh held up great - especially when you consider his running program likely consists entirely of laps around a soccer field.

The 2010 Northampton Mile - 6/19/2010

Northampton, MA

Event 3 Mixed 1 Mile Run
================================================================
Name Age Team Finals
================================================================
Finals


1 Lutz, Ian M17 Leeds, MA 4:39.80
2 Clayton, Dan M21 Northampton, MA 4:44.80 Male Alumni Winner
3 Keith, Tyler M18 Florence, MA 4:46.00
4 Hunter, Harrison M16 Northampton, MA 4:51.80
5 Sullivan, Alex M16 Forence, MA 4:59.10
6 Landry, Rob M41 Ludlow, MA 5:01.50

Event 3 Men 40-49 1 Mile RunEvent 3 Boys 11-13 1 Mile Run

================================================================
11-13 Age Gr: * 5:53.50 6/22/2008 Jake Ross

Name Age Team Finals
================================================================
1 Milsark, Rory 11 Northampton, MA 6:22.20
2 Howe, Sam 13 Florence, MA 6:39.40
3 Milsark, Ethan 11 Northampton, MA 6:45.90
4 Norton, Sam 11 Northampton, MA 7:12.90
5 Venne, Francois 13 Florence, MA 7:14.10
6 Labonte, Josh 11 Ludlow, MA 7:17.70



================================================================

40-49 Age Gr: * 5:42.80 6/20/2009 Joe Brautigam
Name Age Team Finals
================================================================
1 Landry, Rob 41 Ludlow, MA 5:01.50*

Rhody 5k USATF New England Grand Prix

    Photo Credit: Krissy Kozlosky @ Smug Mug

This past Sunday was the 4th stop on the New England Grand Prix circuit. Lincoln, Rhode Island's Twin River Casino was once again hosting the 5k Championship. I spent the prior day enjoying a somewhat easy jaunt with Mark Bailargeon and Dav Pavoni at the Harpoon Brewery 5 miler in Downtown Boston's Seaport area.

Last year I tried doubling the 5 miler and 5k the next day. This year I was coming off my 3rd marathon in six weeks. Despite the fortune of not having to deal with much in the way of post marathon soreness, I was sure last weekend's effort still had firm grasp on my ability to deal out any 5k speed.

Although there's nothing more refreshing than putting down beers won at a summer race, wisdom dictated I take it easy at the 5 miler and live to fight another day. So with that in mind I decided to cruise thru the 5 miler and head off to Lincoln with the best set of legs I could possibly bring with me. If all went well I could help the Harriers score in the Grand Prix.

So for the 2nd day in a row: a 6am wake up call. This time for a trip down to the Rhody 5k with Norm and Brian Fuller, Ian Wright and myself. The rain and clouds dominated the early AM skies and kept our hopes high of a good day for racing...a rarity for the Rhody 5k. We get there a good hour early and have plenty of time to take care of business, stretch and do a long warm up. Not to soon after the sun broke thru and the heat and humidity came busting out. Its going to be another roasting at Rhody.

The warm up and strides went well. The legs seem ready to go. Time will tell how ready I am for a 5k. I haven't raced anything under 10 miles since January at the Smith College All Comers indoor track meets when I tweaked my IT-Band and knee. I suspect I will able to get thru the first mile okay but I will be unable to hold off lactate buildup for too long and my legs will drop into survival mode - a fate similar to last year. 

The gun goes off I feel in control, relaxed and running a smart pace so far. The slight uphill out of the parking lot doesn't even register in my mind. I lock into a position that I think will bring me thru one mile on target. I hit one mile in 5:26. I feel okay but the effort feels a little faster than a 5:26. As the downhill completes and we make a right turn at around 1.25 miles, I'm getting that 'I'm not holding on' feeling. Sure enough, I start looking in desperation for the 2 mile mark. It seems like its taking forever. It nearly does. 11:12. Just what I feared; what I pretty much expected. It won't be getting any better from here on home.

I spend the next 6+ minutes trying to run relaxed and carry as much speed as I can, relying more on running economy than a surplus of strength, confidence and, well..., ability.

All in all not a bad effort considering seven days ago I was wrapping the marathon trifecta. In fact, today's time was a couple clicks better than last years' 17:37. 

As a team we finished a decent 6th in the open division, and a respectable 3rd in the masters competition.

11th Annual Rhody 5K Road Race

New England Grand Prix Championship

June 6, 2010 5 Kilometers (USATF Certified #RI07004RN) Lincoln, RI

Timing By: Granite State Race Services steve@gsrs.com

===================================================================================

1 1/66 M2029 14:55 4:48 Patrick Tarpy 27 M 326 Yarmouth ME
2 1/105 M3039 15:14 4:55 Matthew Ely 34 M 306 Natick MA BAA
3 2/66 M2029 15:22 4:57 Patrick Moulton 28 M 313 Providence RI BAA
4 2/105 M3039 15:26 4:58 Justin Freeman 33 M 331 New Hampton NH RUN
5 3/66 M2029 15:29 4:59 Casey Moulton 28 M 333 Pelham NH RUN
6 3/105 M3039 15:30* 5:00 Jim St Pierre 39 M 335 Dracut MA RUN
7 1/95 M4049 15:35* 5:01 Joseph Koech 41 M 329 Chelmsford MA RUN
8 4/105 M3039 15:41 5:03 Daniel Princic 30 M 286 Woburn MA WHIRL
9 5/105 M3039 15:43 5:04 Dan Smith 31 M 108 Cambridge MA GBTC
10 4/66 M2029 15:44 5:04 Ben Schmeckpeper 27 M 318 Charlestown MA BAA
11 5/66 M2029 15:47 5:05 Marc Leblanc 29 M 323 Natick MA
12 6/66 M2029 15:48 5:06 Brian Fuller 21 M 295 Ludlow MA GSH
13 2/95 M4049 15:50 5:06 Kent Lemme 43 M 298 Williamstown MA GSH
14 6/105 M3039 15:52 5:07 Ryan Carrara 33 M 159 Hudson MA NBB
15 7/105 M3039 15:53 5:07 Kevin Gorman 33 M 347 Norwood MA CMS
73 21/95 M4049 17:30 5:38 Robert Landry 41 M 293 Ludlow MA GSH


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MALE OPEN TEAM RESULTS
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. RETAILERS UNION (RUN)
15:26 15:29 15:30 15:35 16:13 ( 16:21) = 1:18:13
Justin Freeman, Casey Moulton, Jim St Pierre, Joseph Koech, Ben Ndaya,
Paul Reilly


6. GREATER SPRINGFIELD HARRIERS
15:48 15:50 16:38 17:11 17:30 ( 17:45) ( 18:26) = 1:22:57
Brian Fuller, Kent Lemme, Ron Lombardi, Carlos Rivera, Robert Landry,
Peter Fratini, Brent Coon

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
MALE MASTERS TEAM RESULTS
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. WHIRLAWAY RACING TEAM
16:25 16:25 16:31 16:44 17:03 ( 17:18) ( 17:23) = 1:23:08
Henry Scollard, Scott Anderson, Mike Cooney, Bob Dabrieo, Paul Doe,
Reno Stirrat, Paul Hammond
2. CENTRAL MASS STRIDERS
16:27 16:47 16:58 16:59 17:08 ( 17:13) ( 18:10) = 1:24:19
Tim Vanorden, Rod Viens, Scott Clark, Dan Verrington, David Quintal,
Ernest Brake, John Pajer
3. GREATER SPRINGFIELD HARRIERS
15:50 16:38 17:30 17:45 18:26 ( 18:50) ( 19:18) = 1:26:09
Kent Lemme, Ron Lombardi, Robert Landry, Peter Fratini, Brent Coon,
John Matthews, Norm Fuller