I have kept swimming pretty strong through the fall, averaging 20,000-30,000 yards per week, usually swimming in the morning. My runs have mostly been in the afternoon, in that brief window between the end of the schoolday and sunset. I have kept it down around 20 miles a week, with long runs no more than 7 miles. Many days, I have just done a couple easy miles with Riddick. Sometimes I stop at the fenced in baseball field and let him run around while I do strides and drills. Other days, I run by myself if I want to do a hard run on the PDS cross country course (such as a 3k, then a mile, then some sprints) or some hill repeats. When I leave for a serious run without him, Riddick always stands by the door and wags his tail, thinking maybe I will decide to bring him along. It's hard for me to say that this has been any kind of serious training, when I haven't done a track workout since the summer, and I've only gone to the towpath a handful of times for a tempo run (where I always run my hardest out of habit with the help of flatness). Regardless of the intensity level, it really has been a beautiful fall for running, and it helps to have a companion who is always excited to run.
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| Riddick on the lookout at Mountain Lakes. |
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| Riddick sprinting toward me on the baseball field. |
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| Hill repeats at Greenway meadows. |
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| The creek from Province Line Rd. |
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| The bride over the creek at Province Line and the start of the 1/2 mile hill. |
I decided to do two cross country races with Greater Philly Track Club at Belmont Plateau. Let me take a step back and explain that I cannot count the number of times I have raced at Belmont in my life. In grade school, it was CYO cross country every Sunday of the fall from 4th to 8th grade. I ran there a few times with AOC, and again in high school at the Briarwood Invitational every year. I kind of have a love-hate relationship with Belmont, as it is a great course, but I have never been a great hill runner. Really the main reason I decided to do these races was to force myself to work on hill running this fall, to try to train that weakness a bit.
The first race in October was Jack St. Clair, a 6k with mostly D3 college teams. We were the only club team there, but there were unattached runners as well. It was fun to compete with a team again. We had a nice warm-up in the woods, previewing the part of the 6k course that I had never run before. With a large field of over 100 runners, the start felt fast, in an attempt to avoid getting boxed in by the cluster of trees on flagpole hill. The first time up flagpole was fine, as my mind was more focused on positioning than anything else. I remember my strong part of that course has always been building momentum down flagpole and carrying it through the flat part around the fields. I found myself ahead of some of the Greater Philly runners who are typically faster than me, so I knew I had to settle down. Once we got into the woods I started to suffer. Going up Parachute hill, I really lost my momentum, and it was hard to get back. By the second time up flagpole, I felt like I was running hard again, and I did have a decent finish, passing a few people in the last 1/2 mile flat section, and then out-kicking a few more in the last 200 m or so. I finished 25th place with a time of 26:08 for 6k (averaging 7:00 mile pace). I felt like I had a good start and a good finish, but lost focus in the middle of the race. Ultimately, this was a fun race because there were so many people around me to run with.
The next cross country race at Belmont was the USATF East Region XC Championship, this time only a 5k. This was mid-November, and my running had tapered off substantially by this time. This ended up being a much smaller field, and even in the first quarter mile, the first trip up flagpole, there was a big gap between the lead pack and the rest of us. There were some very competitive club runners (Central Park and Georgetown Running Company among them). I tried to pass a few people on the flat section, but they passed me back as soon as we got in the woods. Going up parachute hill, I again struggled. By the top, I saw Faye coming up behind me out of the corner of my eye, so that was a little motivation to keep going through the rest of the woods, even though I didn't have a lot of people close in front of me to chase. The second time up flagpole was still not as bad as parachute in my opinion, but without as much competition around me, I kind of coasted in to the finish. The results were not great for me: 24th place out of 37 runners, with a time of 22:03 (7:06 mile pace). So many women ran under 20 minutes, which I cannot fathom running that fast at Belmont. If nothing else, this was a humbling experience.
My final race of the fall was the Rothman 8k, which I have been looking forward to all fall. I love the Philly marathon, but since my times have progressively gotten slower, I opted for the 8k instead this year. Even though the 8k is a little longer than the cross country races this fall, I was excited to run flat and on the road. Coming from Jersey now, I arrived ridiculously early, while it was still very dark. I had plenty of time to warm-up, stretch, and watch the sunrise over the parkway. Before the start, Julie asked me what kind of pace I was planning to run. I said I would start around 7:00, and hopefully descend to 6:30. She asked if I had a gps, and I said no, just my internal pacing. Well, my internal pacing got it wrong, and I went out in 6:25, with the excitement of weaving my way through the crowd. Sorry, Julie, next time, don't listen to me. I managed to hold on somewhat, bringing the next mile in 6:35. With the out-and-back course, it was cool to see a big pack of elite men really moving on their way back. I missed the 3 mile marker, so I lost track of my pace. Then on the way back, the sun glare in my eyes had me in a bit of a daze. When I got to the 4 mile marker, I realized that I had slowed down a bit, so I tried to pick it back up. At this point in the race, the crowd had thinned around me and I wasn't really able to pass many people, but a few people passed me, so I just tried to hold on to them and match their pace for as long as I could to pull myself along. I finished in 33:15, which is 6:40 pace. I was just happy that I didn't completely fall apart after starting too fast. This is the first time I've run an 8k, so it is an automatic PR. It's also a lot faster than the last time I raced 5 miles, so it is a good marker for the progress that I have made running in the last few years.
Up next: masters swimming at Ursinus December 13. My shoulder has been flaring up a bit this week (after the bad decision of attempting to join in 10 x 50 on :35 with paddles and fins last Sunday), so I am doing a lot of drills and kicking, and lots of rotator cuff strengthening exercises outside the pool. A few weeks ago, my knee started bothering me after lifting weights, so I know the break from running will be good for me. Instead of trying to lift for strength, my focus is shifting to more yoga and gentle strengthening exercises targeted at the knees, hips, and shoulders for the winter. I will take a little break from swimming at some point (probably after the Ursinus meet), but I am looking forward to doing more swim meets in the winter and spring, and possibly some indoor track meets as well (which I haven't done since college).
