2011 B.A.A. 10K

 Race Reports  Comments Off on 2011 B.A.A. 10K
Jun 262011
 

I signed up for the inaugural run of the Boston Athletic Association’s 10k race because I just knew I could not miss out of the beginning of a new running tradition in Boston.  With this race the B.A.A now hosts a 5K, 10K, Half Marathon and of course the famous Boston Marathon.  All except the marathon are open to all public in a first come first serve basis and usually sell out almost immediately.  I used their website to reserve my place as soon as they were accepting signups, and even so my number was 407.  Somehow 407 people snagged numbers in the 1 minute it took me to fill out the online form!.

I found the setup to really well done on the Boston Common, with all the quality one comes to expect from the Boston Athletic Association.  They had live music, bathrooms, bag check and plenty to drink.  Here is the video I took which offers a lot more information about the race:

The following are some pictures from the day:

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finish-line
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medal

[Show as slideshow]
 Posted by at 5:54 pm

Weekly Training Report for 2011-06-26

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Jun 252011
 

Workouts 2
Time 91 min
Running 10.4 miles

  • wed: Locksley-Essex out and back. Ran 4.2 miles for 35 minutes at 8:18 pace. Working on my faster pace. It was a bit warm though and I felt like I was getting winded easily
  • sun: B.A.A 10K in Boston. Ran 6.2 miles for 55 minutes at 9:00 pace. Placed 1562 out of 3040 overall. I had real problems with over-heating and the last 2 miles I felt were deeply unpleasent. I think the 74 and humid weather conditions really took its toll on me. But since my goal was to break one hour I have to be happy with the 55:49 time. This comes to a 8:59 pace which is the fastest I have run any official race so far.
 Posted by at 8:00 pm

Weekly Training Report for 2011-06-19

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Jun 182011
 

Workouts 4
Time 154 min
Running 16.9 miles

  • tue: Locksley-Essex out and back. Ran 4.2 miles for 39 minutes at 9:15 pace. Nice solid run in the Kinvaras. Last mile is a fairly brutal solidly uphill push. Good practice in managing effort
  • wed: Locksley loop plus fletcher. Ran 3.7 miles for 33 minutes at 9:06 pace. Added a little extra distance to one of my standard routes by adding an out-and-back down fletcher road. I tried to make this an “easy run” and eased up every time I felt the slightest discomfort from my effort. I am trying to learn to listen to my body and not be dependent on my watching heart monitor.

    There is no escaping the reality for me that something pretty wonderful is happening with my running. In basically the last two months my “easy pace” has dropped from 10:30 to 9:00. It has got to be a combination of losing weight (down 10 pounds now), POSE running, minimalist footware and better conditioning. That sort of improvement should basically be impossible and only a piece could possibly be attributed to conditioning.

  • fri: Lynnfield 10K Loop. Ran 6.2 miles for 56 minutes at 9:07 pace. I wasn’t planning to really push, but the B.A.A 10K is a week from Sunday and I wanted to open up the gas a little bit. I did the last 20 min at a 8:15 pace.

    Starting wednesday I will be going off my diet, ease back into carbs and only do some light jogs. I want to be fully rested and fully fuled come the race.

    Oh: Yesterday at work there was a fire drill and we had to evacuate the Hancock building in Boston. I had to run down 57 flights of stairs. That plus 3 fast runs this week have left my calves in a bad state. I scheduled a massage for tommorow morning.. that is going to hurt.

  • sat: Sherwood Forest Loop. Ran 2.8 miles for 25 minutes at 9:14 pace. Way too hot @ 82 degrees and a little humid. Also, I should have run this really slow because yesterday was a tough run. Oh well.. onto the taper for next week’s race
 Posted by at 8:00 pm

Weekly Training Report for 2011-06-12

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Jun 112011
 

Workouts 4
Time 155 min
Running 15.4 miles

  • mon: Lynnfield 7 Mile Loop. Ran 7.0 miles for 75 minutes at 10:47 pace. Nice easy run in my VFF’s. This is the longest distance so far in them. I took them off and went barefoot a mile from home but the road was too hot for me, so after half a mile I put them back on. It was an interesting run for another reason… zero carbs for several days. Normally this is a recipe for disaster, so I went slow and took my phone in case I bonked. But it was kind of interesting… it reminded me of the last 6 miles of the marathon… maybe its a good skill to hone. Only recommended for masochists.
  • fri: Locksley-Wildwood out and back. Ran 3.1 miles for 31 minutes at 10:11 pace. Quick run on a gorgeous Friday afternoon.
  • sat: Sherwood Forest Loop. Ran 2.8 miles for 24 minutes at 8:47 pace. Amazing run in the rain. I am a little spooked at the speed because I am still on my no-carb diet and I didn’t really push into any pain levels to achieve this pace. Also this is a non-flat course with 800 ft of ascent/descents. If I can hold a pace like this (rested and fully fueled) for my 10k end of June I will be a very happy runner.

    I am also down to 172, so thats 10 pounds down from last month.. of course that helps the pace too. I read you can expect 2-4 seconds per mile faster per pound you lose.

  • sun: Around the neighborhood. Ran 2.5 miles for 24 minutes at 9:36 pace. Quick warm up before strength training
 Posted by at 8:00 pm

Weekly Training Report for 2011-06-05

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Jun 042011
 

Workouts 7
Time 289 min
Cycling 35.1 miles
Running 18.2 miles

  • mon: Down road and back. Ran 2.0 miles for 20 minutes at 10:00 pace. I spent the 2 miles practicing the POSE technique in my VFF. It went really, really well. As soon as I fell out of form I would slow down, get back in and then accelerate. I can tell when I am out of form because it get twice as hard to run. Used a metronome to guarantee every step of the two miles was at a 180 BBM cadence, even when jogging in place.
  • tue: Down the road and back. Ran 2.0 miles for 17 minutes at 8:45 pace. Just a 2 mile run to practice POSE form. I wore my trainers today and it was markedly harder than the VFF due to shoe weight. I am also on a PSMF diet (protein sparing modified fast) so I am low on energy as expected. I did like that pace though.. I don’t have any runs on DM at that pace, so POSE is making me happy.
  • wed: Around Neighborhood. Ran 2.6 miles for 26 minutes at 10:18 pace. I ran too fast for the heat. 84 degrees and humid at 3:30 pm and I ran mostly in direct sun. I had to stop 3 times from overheating and let HR drop. I probably should have been running a 11:30 pace in that heat
  • thu: Locksley-Wildwood out and back. Ran 3.1 miles. Easy run
  • fri: Locksley-Essex out and back. Ran 4.2 miles for 38 minutes at 9:11 pace. Great weather for a hard run today in the VFF’s. This represents a very fast pace for me for this distance and I can’t be unhappy with it. I am starting to get a sense for the form and feel for what a “true running” pace is like as opposed to a jogging pace. This run had bursts in the 7:15 range which felt great… I just can’t sustain it yet.

    I am beginning to have some confidence that I can break an hour in the upcomming B.A.A 10K

  • sat: Boxford 35 mile loop. Rode 35.1 miles for 142 minutes at 14.80 mph. Great day for a cycling ride with the North Shore Cyclists (nscyc.org). My quads are a bit sore but other than that it was a great ride.
  • sun: Locksley-Essex out and back. Ran 4.2 miles for 43 minutes at 10:23 pace. Gorgeous morning. I took it nice and easy and enjoyed myself.
 Posted by at 8:00 pm