Sub-7 Lunch

Going under 7:00 pace for my lunch 7 is a rare feat.  This week was only my third time under this year.  I’ve run the loop 135 times since April of 2015.

 

Shawsheen 7
Sub 49:20
Date	Time	Pace	Rank
10/15/2015	0:44:53	0:06:25	1
3/10/2016	0:46:19	0:06:37	2
8/13/2015	0:46:30	0:06:39	3
8/27/2015	0:46:38	0:06:40	4
9/24/2015	0:46:44	0:06:41	5
3/9/2016	0:47:26	0:06:47	6
12/3/2015	0:47:41	0:06:49	7
10/5/2016	0:47:51	0:06:50	8
6/30/2015	0:47:53	0:06:50	9
5/21/2015	0:48:34	0:06:56	10
8/12/2015	0:48:42	0:06:57	11
10/8/2015	0:48:47	0:06:58	12
5/1/2015	0:49:02	0:07:00	13
6/17/2015	0:49:08	0:07:01	14
10/7/2015	0:49:12	0:07:02	15
5/20/2015	0:49:19	0:07:03	16
7/29/2015	0:49:19	0:07:03	17

Lunch run PR

I’ve been running the “Shawsheen 7” during my lunch since April 28 of last year.  In that time I’ve run the course 112 times.  It has a nice mix of ups and downs and road and trail.  I never get tired of this loop.  The only thing that keeps me away is snow during the winter and horseflies in the summer.  My personal best is a 44:53 during a hard work-out a few days before XC nationals last year and my slowest was a 58:21 (8:17 pace) a few days after Loon Mountain.

This week I ran two of my fastest times.  The combination of starting to feel good and the weather cooperating helped me to a couple of solid times. Even more solid considering my race pace these days is about a minute a mile slower than it was “back in the day”.  If the same holds true for training runs, then these would qualify as tempo runs.

Shawsheen 7
Sub 49:20
Date	Time	Pace	Rank
10/15/2015	44:53	6:25	1
3/10/2016	46:19	6:37	2
8/13/2015	46:30	6:39	3
8/27/2015	46:38	6:40	4
9/24/2015	46:44	6:41	5
3/9/2016	47:26	6:47	6
12/3/2015	47:41	6:49	7
6/30/2015	47:53	6:50	8
5/21/2015	48:34	6:56	9
8/12/2015	48:42	6:57	10
10/8/2015	48:47	6:58	11
5/1/2015	49:02	7:00	12
6/17/2015	49:08	7:01	13
10/7/2015	49:12	7:02	14
5/20/2015	49:19	7:03	15
7/29/2015	49:19	7:03	16

Park Loop PR

I rarely run under 41 minutes for my six miles at lunch (heck, I rarely run under 42!) but this week I decided I'd try to run a bit faster each day.  I ran just over 42 on Monday, then a minute faster on Tuesday, and 30 seconds faster on Wednesday.  Thursday and Friday had me fast approaching "tempo run" pace, but I felt pretty good.  I closed out the week with my fastest time ever for the multi-loop 6 mile and had three of the top five times during this week.  Next week I might hit the track...

Here are the fastest Lunch Run 6, that I’ve done:
12/14/12	37:18	6:13
11/07/12	37:40	6:16
11/02/12	39:13	6:32
12/13/12	39:13	6:32
12/12/12	39:56	6:39
11/06/12	40:24	6:44
09/27/12	40:27	6:44
11/01/12	40:37	6:46
12/06/12	40:49	6:48

Here are the splits from today.  Can you tell I enjoy stats?  Yes, I do run 10 laps in this little park and no it doesn't get boring (I turn after 5 laps).

Split	Rolling time	Distance	Pace
2:04	2:04	0.31	6:40	Over
3:32	5:36	0.55	6:25	Park loop
3:23	8:59	0.55	6:09	Park loop
3:22	12:21	0.55	6:07	Park loop
3:20	15:41	0.55	6:04	Park loop
3:24	19:05	0.55	6:11	Park loop	Turn
3:23	22:28	0.55	6:09	Park loop
3:26	25:54	0.55	6:15	Park loop
3:23	29:17	0.55	6:09	Park loop
3:21	32:38	0.55	6:05	Park loop
2:39	35:17	0.43	6:10	Short loop
2:01	37:18	0.31	6:30	Back
	37:18	6.00	6:13

Lunch Loops

Back in July I got to change my work schedule to include an hour for lunch.  That meant I could do a 6 mile run (instead of the 4 I’d been doing previously).  I usually run “comfortably” and my pace is anywhere from 8:00’s to just under 7:00’s.  I rarely run under 7:00’s unless I’m feeling very good.  I’ve been testing my hamstring the last week and consciously kept the pace “fast” at lunch.  Today I ran my fastest lunch run (37:40) and also the fastest I’ve run since hurting my hamstring back in September.  So far everything feels okay.

Here are the five fastest Lunch Run 6, that I’ve done:

7-Nov    37:40    6:17

2-Nov    39:13    6:32

27-Sep  40:24    6:44

6-Nov    40:27    6:44

1-Nov    40:37    6:46

 

Lunch is good

Lunch Run

 

I decided to try something a little different this week.  Dan raced 50k over the weekend and I still felt "off" from the USATF 10 mile so a track workout on Tuesday was ruled out.  I chose to get a little speed by running my lunch loop (4 miles) a little faster each day.  It turned out to be a good way to get some turnover without doing anything too structured.

Mon - 27:02

Tues - 26:28

Wed - 25:33

Thur - 24:56

Fri - 24:00 

My only regret was not breaking 6:00's on Friday :-)

 

Hoping this training (15 miles a day this week) will pay off at the Half-Marathon next weekend...

 

 

Lunch run

I try to run my lunch run at the same "effort" pretty much every day. The time can range from 26 minutes the day after a long race to under 21 minutes on a fast day. I've only been running this particular version of the course since I moved back to our Methuen office. So, I've only got data from about 15 months. On Monday I ran my first sub 19, despite the wind and cold. I felt good from the start and although it wasn't easy, I would still call it comfortably hard.

Here is my CR progression for the 3m multiple loop course over the last 2 months
10-13-10 = 19:35
10-27-10 = 19:12
12-06-10 = 18:57