Palio Half Marathon Week

89 miles for the week

September 15th (Monday): 10 miles (64:35) in the afternoon. 5 miles with Goup in 34:15, then another 5 miles at 30:20. Felt smooth. Gym for a lift session (setup by my high school buddy Ben Wicki).

 Coming in sideways with a popped collar!

 Deviled eggs (the lazy kind). The ingredients, but not whipped/mixed together.

 The kid said it might not all fit in one bag. Pshhh!

Cannot wait to see her in December.

September 16th (Tuesday): No morning run. Normal day at work. 10+ miles (72:10) with Kevin Treadway at SPAC. Watched some high school cross country races along the way.

September 17th (Wednesday): 3 miles (NT) in the morning. Wednesday workout down at UAlbany in the evening. The goal was 12x400 at a quicker pace. I was blessed with the company of Aaron Lozier who is much more naturally fast at that distance. 200 rest was what evened it out. 2.5 mile warmup. A couple strides and rushed onto the track by Aaron. Splits went accordingly: 75 (not enough strides before), 70, 69, 69, 67, 67, 67, 66, 64, 66, 68, 66. Last few were tough, but managed to hold it together. Rocked my Streak 5's and they felt even better than the Lunaracers. 2.5 mile cooldown. Five Guys for a burger on my own.

September 18th (Thursday): 3 miles (NT) in the AM. 7 miles (48:21) in the evening. Gym for another lift session. Pure recovery.

September 19th (Friday): 10 miles (68:34) in the evening at 7:30pm. Over to my buddy's house after for a bonfire and a couple beers. Crashed on his couch.

September 20th (Saturday): 7++ miles (62:17) at SPAC with Fleet Feet. The 5K XC course, then added on another 4+ miles with a couple different people (a couple teammates, then Charlie and race director Pat). Over to the farmer's market to check it out. Enough cash for a "manwich" - what it was called on the menu. Local eggs, cheese, ham and sausage sandwich. See below.

Stopped in at the expo to pick up my number and Goup's number. The afternoon was spent getting a fresh cut from my barber (Sean), shopping at TJ Maxx (grabbing a few sweet button downs), and laundry/cleaning. Another 5 miles (32:20) in the evening. Ready for the Palio Half Marathon tomorrow.

It was almost too good.

September 21st (Sunday): Up to Saratoga by 6:30ish. 2 mile warmup and some strides on the line. Rocked the Lunaracers and my new haircut. Off the line well with an uphill 1st mile to Skidmore.

Splits:

Mile 1: 5:25 (uphill and relaxed)
Mile 2: 4:57 (downhill)
Mile 3: 4:55 (mostly downhill)
Mile 4: 5:02 (flat down the main strip - Broadway)
Mile 5: 5:10 (25:30)
Mile 6: 5:07
Mile 7: 5:12
Mile 8: 5:10 (41:01)
Mile 9: 5:22 (uphill)
Mile 10: 5:21 (51:45 - ouch, feeling the brisk pace)
Mile 11: 5:20
Mile 12: 5:22
Mile 13: 5:16 (some downhill and forced myself to change gears)
Last 0.1: 0:30 (hammered home)

Kept it together for a 68:14 finish. Slower than last year (67:41), but ran harder/tougher than last year. Felt smooth and just ran a little dumb so my last 5 miles were rougher than I wanted. 4 mile (30:03) with 2nd place, Andrew Foxenburg and a couple others. Awards ceremony and back to the house to relax. Out for another 5 miles (33:24) in the evening to top off at 24 mile day.

Photos courtesy of Pat Hendrick.

Determined. Feeling aerodynamic with my fresh haircut.

 

 Feeling good.

 Finishing sprint.

 Another angle.

 I don't remember doing this.

Done.