The Boston Diaries: Chapter 35
Squeezing it all in
I always try my best to appreciate every single run. Every day I head outside, I get to do something that a lot of people tolerate at best and hate at worst. Me? I love it. It’s often the best part of my day1. Sometimes it’s a place of solace, a place to reflect. Other times, it’s a way to get away from something, to blow off steam. It’s not always so emotional. Sometimes I have a run scheduled and head out to get it in before moving on to other things.
This week though? More than any other week this year, it felt like something done at a specific time, because I had other things to get back to.
My day job is in sports talk radio. Working in Omaha, Nebraska, that means college football is king. In particular, the Nebraska Cornhuskers. With another season beginning on Thursday night2, that meant building my entire week around coverage of the season-opener. Bonus hours of radio here, time spent finding any last bit of intel I could there. Throw in a Chasing Three Hours recorded on Tuesday3, plus play-by-play returning Friday4, and every day was seemingly one long build towards my Long Run on Saturday morning.
Once I got past Saturday’s run, I would reach the proverbial end of the week. Three day weekend, time with family and friends, and a chance to sit on the couch for hours on end watching games all day Saturday. But I had to get to Saturday.
So, I ran.
This week in podcasting:
Omaha’s own, Seth Hirsch, stopped by to discuss a fascinating career in running. Seth found a ton of success at a young age and it led to running at Wisconsin and Colorado. He also was a college athlete as the pandemic took over our lives. What did that mean for him? How did he find a silver lining? And why is he riding a bike so often these days?
We discussed that and more for this week’s podcast. Thanks for listening, and be sure to subscribe, rate, and review.
The log:
Monday: 6 miles in the AM + 4 miles in the PM
Tuesday: 11 miles with 5 x 1200 meters at 5k pace
Wednesday: 15 miles
Thursday: 1+ mile walk with Riss and Banks
Friday: 6 miles
Saturday: 18 miles with 12 at marathon pace
Sunday: 10 miles
Total: 70 miles
Year to date: 1946.99 miles
Day 240: With the aforementioned busy week, and in particular an insanely busy Thursday, I decided to move my rest day to the latter and move the first three days of the week up one day each. That meant my first double of the cycle would take place on Monday! I kept both runs incredibly easy, knocking out the first six miles at 9:00-per mile, with the heart rate averaging 122 throughout, before going four miles at 9:17-per/124. Since I didn’t do the usual 18-week plan for the Des Moines Marathon, I ended up avoiding the first double in the heart of the summer. Even with it being 85° on Monday night, I was in the shade the entire time, so it felt much easier than 85° should. Big fan.
Day 241: That preceded a big dog on Tuesday. A beast as I have so often labeled a workout like this. 11 miles total with 1200-meter intervals at 5k pace. I went into this one not really knowing what my 5k pace is, so I settled on hanging out between a 5:40-5:45 mile for each rep, and went from there.
Started off easy for the first four miles and that pace felt easier than expected. 7:59, 7:39, 7:40, and 7:27, with the latter picking up a bit so I could begin the first interval close to where I wanted to be. I was feeling good out there, running in a pair of Adizero Adios Pro 2’s I picked up from a friend the previous weekend. 20ish miles on them, I got them for a very good price, and the early returns had me happy with the purchase.
The first rep felt great. Finished in 4:10, which is a 5:35 pace. I had the wind at my back though, and even though it wasn’t too bad that day, it would be in my face for the next two, before again being at my back for the final two5. Knocked out the second and third intervals in 4:16 and 4:15, a 5:43 and 5:42 pace. As I made the turn to go north again, I felt pretty confident in my ability to keep this going. After some workouts that left something to be desired at various points this year, I wanted to hit my goal every single time.
When I finished the fourth rep in 4:13 (5:39 pace), I knew I’d do it. Why not push things and see if I couldn't deliver my fastest rep yet? Sure enough, I knocked it out in 4:08, which was a 5:33 pace. Couple seconds faster than what I did to begin the whole workout. Finished with a little more than a mile cooldown, a tremendous workout in the rearview.
All told, 11 miles, 7:05-per, with the average HR at 156. A great, great run. And I might have just found my race-day shoes.
Day 242: After such a tough workout on Tuesday, 15 miles at an easy pace was just what the doctor ordered. Made my way back to Flanagan again, with three loops on the docket6. Took about a half-mile before my legs settled in and after that, it turned into a perfect morning. I’ve had a few runs this year where I actively feel better by the end than I do at the start, and this was another one. My average pace was 7:42-per mile, even though I only bettered that pace one time (7:41) in the first ten miles. Then, not really trying to go that much faster, I went 7:39, 7:33, 7:39, 7:37, and 7:28. My HR barely climbed too, and I finished the run averaging 145 throughout. Plus, I saw a hot air balloon7!
Day 243: Thursday’s stats: Nine hours on the air, first from 6:00-9:00 am, then a quick hour from 12:00-1:00, before my show from 2:00-6:00, with a bonus hour after until 7:00 thrown in for good measure. Which explains the quick mile walk I got in with the doggo + Riss early in the day before my show began. It was a busy day, but a real fun one, getting to go on the air with guys I usually don’t do shows with. That said, sleep was very much appreciated when head hit pillow later that night.
Day 244: Felt incredibly refreshed Friday morning and it made the six-mile run easy. Went 9:05-per mile with the HR averaging 126. Little higher than earlier in the week, but after a busy Thursday (not to mention all the food I ate to celebrate the first Nebraska game), I wasn’t too disappointed.
Day 245: And so, Saturday arrived. As I mentioned earlier, this was the last hurrah of the busy week, and I wanted to put my best foot forward, especially given this would be the final LR of the cycle with marathon pace built in. I moved the run up a day, hoping to take advantage of a morning just a bit cooler than what was scheduled for Sunday.
The plan? Two miles easy (~8:00), four progressively faster (~7:30, 7:15, 7:00, 6:45), before the final 12 at MP (6:30). I’d head back to Flanagan and grab a water bottle at every turn, not stopping and continuing at my pace. I was happy with myself throughout the first six miles, as I never allowed myself to get out of control:
Mile 1: 7:55
Mile 2: 7:46
Mile 3: 7:28
Mile 4: 7:15
Mile 5: 6:58
Mile 6: 6:41
As I got going at MP after that, the response I got from my body was exactly what I was hoping for. Nothing felt labored and I clipped off the first six miles between 6:21 and 6:25. I didn’t feel out of control at mile 13, but it was obvious it was getting warmer outside. That said, I had under 40 minutes left in the workout. I could do it. I finished that mile in 6:29 before 14 clocked in at 6:32. “FFFFFFUUUUUU!” I yelled out loud, not quite a scream, when that number flashed on my watch. I wouldn’t go sub-6:30 on all 12 miles. I needed a short memory though and had one, going 6:25 and 6:30 over the next two. I had two miles left.
And for the life of me, I still don’t understand what exactly I was thinking as I got 16+ miles in. I didn’t feel like doing the short loop at Flanagan, instead opting to turn around and finish near the parking lot where my car was. But for some reason, I turned around too soon, and suddenly the wind was in my face for much longer than I would have liked over the course of a mile or so. 6:38 for my 17 (a disappointment), before 6:40 for the last one (ditto).
In the end, I knocked out 18 miles at an average pace of 6:46-per mile. My 12 marathon pace miles averaged 6:28. My HR was 166 throughout. Temps climbed above 70. I certainly didn’t biff the workout by any means, but those last two, and especially my mistake of turning around too soon, left a bad taste in my mouth as the morning rolled on.
More motivation for the next time.
Day 246: The busiest week of the year came to an end with ten more on Sunday at a pace not quite as slow as recovery pace, but not quite as fast as easy pace. I decided to settle in around 8:30-per mile and wouldn’t you know it, I finished the ten miles in 1:25:01 — 8:30-per mile on the dot. My HR never got out of control, averaging 135 throughout, even as temps climbed close to 80 by the time I was finished.
It was my first week hitting 70 miles since the end of March. The Des Moines Marathon is somehow six weeks away. Fall is seemingly just around the corner.
I’m excited to see what happens.
Every night before we go to bed, Riss and I will recap the day by asking “what was the best part of your day?” It was a tradition that started in 2020, when we were trying to find a silver lining for each day. Most nights during a week, the first thing I’ll mention is my run.
They lost, 13-10, in typical horrific fashion.
This episode comes out this Friday and I can’t wait for you to hear it.
I also announce Creighton men’s and women’s soccer matches, with my first of the season coming on Friday night.
Sadly, this was my last speed workout like this at Flanagan for quite some time. The lake is about to undergo some construction, so doing loop after loops won’t be possible anymore. I am going to miss it immensely.
I absolutely love being able to leave water in/on the car and not have to run with a running/water bottle belt. In the summer, 15 miles without water would be miserable, but getting water every five miles is perfect for me.
I follow someone on Strava that saw it take off from Zorinsky that morning, whereas I saw it land at Flanagan before it took off again.