Out in the front during the George School Invite
Monday, September 21st: After an off-day yesterday to recover from the race, we took today as a relatively easy effort as well. I ran an extended version of Pipeline, a route through the Wissahickon which traces the river from the right bank, and crosses over for a final stretch along Forbidden Drive. It's one of my favorites, and usually when given the choice, this is the course I end up running. My paces are returning to what they were with my higher heart rates I used in the summer, which means that my fitness has progressed enough that I can now run the same pace as before without taxing my aerobic systems as heavily. This is great for my fitness, because it means I will be able to train faster, while still recovering a healthy amount between efforts. In total, I went out for 34:30 today, averaging 6:56/mile through the trails and getting down to a 6:45 mile in the middle, which was my fastest recovery mile this year. Not that it particularly matters how fast I was going on a recovery day, but it's still a promising sign of where my fitness is right now, and what I'll be able to do on longer moderate days. After returning to the team, we all did a massive core routine, as well as a foot-strengthening circuit in the long jump pits. I did static stretching afterwards, and loosened out before returning home.
Tuesday, September 22nd: Workout day today from the Smith Gym on the GFS campus. We jogged over to the track for our warm-up, and after an extended dynamic stretching routine to prepare our legs for the day's effort, we did a quick set of intervals and got to work. I was scripted for my first lactate threshold workout of the year, 6x1000 meters at 4:52/mile pace with one minute of recovery between pieces. It went infinitely better than expected, and I felt so strong on every piece, even without using spikes. My splits were 3:02.13, 3:02.06, 3:01.77, 3:01.78, 3:03.92, and 2:57.80, which represented a great progression through the workout. I kept the recoveries very short, never exceeding one minute, yet I felt fully recovered at the beginning of each piece when I took off. My breathing was under control the whole time, and I'm sure that if I had been wearing my heart rate monitor, I would've never exceeded my Zone 3 heart rates. Once everybody else finished their workouts, we ran back as a group to the weight room, and did a full set of lifting, something we began last year during winter track, as well as a static stretch.
Wednesday, September 23rd: We had off of school today because of the Jewish holidays, so I went out running on my own. It's always nice to run solo every now and then, because it gives me a chance to clear out my mind and focus on the sport. Runs like this, where I focus only on the road ahead of me and the rhythmic pounding of my feet on the ground, can be the best remedy to a stressful week. Junior year has been much more intense academically than last year, so I greatly appreciate these moments of quiet solitude. I went out for 35:13 today, averaging about 6:59/mile as I ran towards the Race St. Pier. The city was eerily quiet since many people are preparing for the arrival of the Pope this weekend. Already, open lots are being filled with cars, because we won't be allowed to drive around the city while Pope Francis is here, and streets are being cut off by police blockades and fences. Entire city blocks are being lined with public restrooms in preparation for the hordes of people that are about to visit, and stages are being built everywhere to host a variety of concerts and communions. My teammates and I plan to get out of the city for the majority of the weekend, taking ourselves up to the Bowdoin Invitational in New York to avoid the crowds, but we'll still get to experience plenty of the chaos once we get back. For now, all I can do is admire a city transforming itself and wait in anticipation.
