Week of Training November 1 – 7

I think Joe and I made enough chili!

This week was a pretty standard fall week at ZAP. There was a long run on Sunday and had one bigger workout on Wednesday followed by a moderate effort on Friday. Also there have not been any groups at ZAP for a few weeks, so there is not much cleaning to do around the facility. But at the end of October, our chef Michael, left, so we started cooking for each other four nights a week. This entails two of us preparing a meal for the rest. While we are not the level of expertise that Michael is, we can make a decent meal. My meal for the week was made with Joe for our house warming party and dedication of the newly minted “Palmer House”, named in honor of ZAP founder Andy Palmer. We decided that it would be easiest to make chili. It is a delicious and easy meal that can be made in copious amounts (which we did). The party ended up being a success and we were even able to have Jane Palmer, sister of Andy, in attendance.

My workout for the week was my final big “fitness boosting” workout of the sequence. From what Pete says, it takes around ten days for the benefits of a workout to be seen. At a certain point there is nothing you can do to be anymore fit. You can only maintain and sharpen. In a way, training can be analogous to blacksmithing a blade. All the training is like hammering the blade in to shape, but hammer too long or too short and the edge will not hold.

My workout was supposed to be a simple “bookend k’s” workout. I did the first 7 reps (2km and 6 x 1km) and after the last 1km, Pete gave me the choice to do something different than a final 2km, so I opted for a simple 3 x 400m. Overall it was a good workout, especially with ten days until the .US 12km Championships.

Workout:
2km, 3 min rest; 6 x 1km, 1:45 min rest;
3 x 400m, 1:30-45 min rest
Splits:
5:54 (3:02, 2:52), 2:48, 2:49, 2:50, 2:48, 2:49, 2:46, 62, 61, 61

On Friday, I had a moderate climb within a run. After 35 minutes or so, I began from Black Bottom and went up to the Moses Cone Grave. It is just under 5 miles for the climb and I ran just under 26 minutes. While we run ample hills at ZAP, it is always nice to go back to the basics and do a climb. At the top I did 10 x 100m strides, focusing on maintaining form while running fast. This will be important in the final stretches of races.

Climb:
Black Bottom to Grave (~25 min), 10 x 100m (15-16 sec)

My last race of the season is this Sunday. For the second time, I head to Alexandria, Virginia for the .US 12km Championships. This race was dreamt up by USATF as a way to finish off the USA Road Circuit. Even over my three years running professionally, the road circuit has become much more competitive and interesting. This fall is a great example of it. Of the four races I ran this fall, three were US championships. All included fantastic fields, where getting in the top ten was a challenge. The 12km looks to be no different. Since there are qualifying standards, the field size is smaller than other races, the quality and depth is there. I am excited to line up one more time against guys that I have been racing all fall, and will have to race again on February 13th. This might be the last time we get a chance to see what everyone is made of before the Trials.

Regardless of how this race pans out, I know that I have had a successful fall season. I have placed well in all the races I have run, including a runner up and a win. This fall was about development towards the Trials, and that has been accomplished. But do not think that because I have thrown in the towel. I want to add one more win to the season. It’s been six weeks since I was outkicked at the Twin Cities 10 Mile, and a win in Pittsburgh was some consolation, I have had some of my best training while at ZAP and am rounding into shape just in time. You can tune in at 7:45 EST to USATF.tv to catch the race live. It is going to be a good one!