I had a 16-miler on tap that day, which amounts to 88 laps. It is not uncommon for me to pass 20-30 runners per lap on the crowded track. Sometimes, I even get passed during these runs, but often giggle to myself that it is another lifter is out for his lap (singular) of the day. So, I let them go and generally pass them on their way to the water fountain or on the next lap after they have fizzled out attempting to *gasp* go two laps. I have no problem with this exchange, as I’m sure they have no problem with the tall skinny guy walking into their area to pick up 10-pound dumbbells.
Occasionally, though, passing a runner is met with resistance. This was the case on Monday. I had already ran roughly 14 miles and was cruising right along at roughly 6:20 pace when I approached a fresh runner on the track. Just as I was about to go around him, his ego kicked in and he tried to hold me from passing him. While bothered a little by his slingshot tactic, I let him go but quickly found myself in position to pass again. He repeated his surge from before. Having experienced his ego just moments earlier and having deep understanding of my own ability, I decided to see what he would do if I went ahead and passed him.
He clearly took the bait, or else I’d be writing about another topic. I went around him quite easily and dropped a lap at 5:40 pace. He was huffing and puffing, but still hanging on. I continued the next three laps at a semi-comfortable 6:00 pace and remained comfortably in front of him. Part of me hoped that he had swallowed his pride and resumed to running his pace. Then came the fifth lap and I could hear him really working hard and getting closer. He was going to try to pass me and stop after running 1-mile. As he got close, I did his slingshot move from earlier and really turned my legs over. As I crossed the lap line in front I heard a “damn” escape from his mouth.
Yes, my ego played a role in this exchange too, but it had to. First, it is a jerk move to play the surge and stall game. It may work in a cross country meet or while holding someone off on the straightaway during a high school distance race with hopes to put them into lane two for the corner. But, it has no place while running on a crowded track. A person really needs to run their pace and tune out other runners. Second, if one is going to act that way, then they need to be able to back it up, which is why I tested him. It never gets old putting someone ten years younger in his place. Third, I saw his move as an invitation to race and I embrace the opportunity whenever it comes my way.
This runner was disappointed, but not upset. I’ve had the other happen just once. The guy was so mad he started yelling F-Us at me and accused me of being able to run fast because I was fresher than he was. I responded by inviting him back in an hour after I had ran another 8-9 miles and would race him again. He never showed, no surprise there though.
Here is my training for the past week.
I did another 2-a-day on Sunday. I had planned on pacing 800s for the day and running my hard tempo, but it didn’t pan out. So, I flipped my schedule around and picked up my 6mi/4mi split recovery run day. I did the 4 miles in the morning at Lied. They went fine and actually felt too easy. Total: 4 miles – 31:40 (7:55 pace).
Five hours later, I headed out for the second run of the day. I was able to get outside and run around the lake at Ada Hayden. I felt really good and being outdoors, I decided to pick up my 8-mile aerobic run with 10x100 strides. That saved me some turning on the indoor track. It felt amazing to be outside for the first time in days and I ran a little faster than I was supposed to, but I wasn’t going to fight how it felt. By the end of the run, freezing fog had set in and the next day school had a two-hour late start. Total: 8 miles – 52:28 (6:34 pace)
Monday was my longest run of the week. With the ice and new snow, it was back to the rec center and 88 laps upstairs. I ran most of the first 10 miles with Courtney around 7:40 pace. Then, I picked it up for 6 additional miles with a goal to bring my average down into my long run range of 6:40-7:20. I was hoping for a total of 7:15 by running around 6:30. I ended up “racing” during a couple different segments and ran the last 6 miles at 6:10 pace. Oops. Total: 16 miles – 1:53:34 (7:06 pace)
Tuesday we found a way to run outside by taking advantage of the fact that Iowa State does a really good job of clearing its sidewalks. The residential neighborhoods, on the other hand, were deplorable. So, we did a few loops on campus and hit the bigger hills a couple of times. The first 8 miles were at 7:48 pace and included some stride accelerations. Then, I went solo for 5 more miles at Moore Park and got in some more hill work as well as practice running on several different ice patches. I’m not sure what I’m practicing for, but I nearly ate concrete on one turn. Those miles were at 6:45 pace. Overall, I just missed my acceptable pace range for a long run. Yet, I was satisfied with the work I did. Total: 13 miles – 1:36:13 (7:24 pace).
I was tired all of the next day. I eventually crashed on the couch at 7:00 that night and got in an hour nap before helping close out the night with the kids. We still ran 8 miles a few hours before that down at the lake. The run started out pretty quick, but eventually turned into a grind. It was a recovery day, so I accepted the pace. Total: 8 miles – 1:03:20 (7:55 pace).
On Thursday I paced a set of 7x800-meter repeats. We pushed this workout back several days with hopes that recent 40-degree temps would clear the high school track of its snow, but it just didn’t do enough. So, I set my watch to beep every 200 meters, to help with pacing, and we ran them around the lake at Ada Hayden. We took a 600-meter jog recovery of roughly 4 minutes between each rep. My 800s were: 2:40.8, 2:41.6, 2:40.1, 2:38.7, 2:41.0, 2:40.8, 2:46.5 for an average of 2:41.4. My running partner averaged about 2-3 seconds back on each rep. With the warm-up, reps, recovery, and cool-down that brought made my total: 8 miles – 56:16 (7:02 pace).
It was my fast tempo day, though, so I still had more to do and I immediately set out to do it. My plan for the day actually called for 11 miles, 5 of which were a sustained tempo between 5:30 and 5:45. I had already ran 3.5 miles of 800-repeats at 5:23 pace and 8 miles total, so I did not intend to do the full 5-mile tempo. Instead, I ran a half-mile warm-up, then 3 miles non-stop in 16:33 (5:31 pace), and a half-mile cool down in a mostly flat neighborhood that loops around the mall and NE Ames. I’ll take that performance! Total: 4 miles – 23:20 (5:50 pace).
Friday I was back out for another 15-mile long run. When I ran the day before, I mistakenly thought this day was an 11-miler, but upon realizing it was 15, I got a little nervous. We headed out for Moore Park to pick up some hills. The first 5 miles were recovery w/CM and took 38:13 (7:38 pace). The last 10 miles were solo and I tried to bring the average down to 6:55. My first few loops on the hills were a little sluggish, but I eventually dropped them down to run several consecutive sub-6:20 miles. Every mile loop has a hill that gains 60-feet of elevation over a two-tenths of a mile stretch. It’s an easy way to get repeated simulation for Heartbreak Hill, which I think gains 80-feet in four-tenths of a mile. I can certainly find taller and longer hills, but the opportunity to hit this one again and again every mile is really appealing. Total: 15 miles – 1:44:17 (6:57 pace).
Saturday was a nice recovery run that we started just after ISU upset #5 ranked Kansas in men’s basketball. We ran through campus to Ames Middle School and then back, eventually cutting a loop through Brookside Park. The wind was a little rough today, but not a big deal. After the run, we watched a couple heats of the collegiate women’s 3000m indoor race as well as a former runner of mine in the 4x400. Great running all around. Total: 8 miles – 1:01:39 (7:42 pace).
For the week (Sun-Sat), I hit 84 miles in 10:12:47 or 7:17/mile.
Is Heartbreak Hill the one on Oakland?
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