Training Log
A journal of my running history, upcoming races and goal, and current training
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Personal Bests
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Indoor 5K at the Armory, NYC, March 6th, 2015. I ended up running 15:01, then a personal best
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Background
I started running in the fall of 2011 when my best friend from home in Massachusetts (shoutout to Dan Cabral: he and his awesome girlfriend Melinda just got engaged!) and I decided to go out for cross country, basically for the heck of it. Well, not exactly; I had played lacrosse the spring prior, and was looking for a way to stay in shape in the offseason. Turns out I like running way better than any other sport I had done before for a few reasons: 1) I was actually kind of good at it, 2) I liked the people better (not to get condescending, but go ask any runner and they'll probably tell you that the other runners they know are the most supportive and passionate people they know), and 3) It made me feel good, physically and mentally. Competitive running quickly because a big part of my life and I went on the run collegiately in a very solid NCAA Division 3 program at Ithaca College. Since I moved to New York City in August, 2018, I've been training with Central Park Track Club, an organization sponsored by New Balance and which amazingly enough sponsors me too (I basically get free shoes, great coaching, and some behind-the-scenes help getting into various races).
Training Philosophy
With each place I've lived and each group I've run with have come different approaches to training for middle- and long-distance competitive running. At Ithaca College, we were business-like, conservative, and smart. We hardly ran any weeks over 70 miles, even during cross country season. At Ithaca, I also tended to hit intervals in workouts a few seconds slower than what my expected pace would have been. At Indiana University, where I ran with the IU Run Club (a perennial powerhouse in the collegiate club running scene), we had an approach that emphasized higher mileage and higher intensity. Whereas a 1000m repeats workout at Ithaca may have looked something like [3–4 X 1000m on grass @ 3:00–3:10 w/ 3:00 rest], at Indiana we were more regularly doing sessions like [6–8 X 1000m on grass @ 2:55–3:05 w/ 2:30 rest]. Central Park Track Club has tended to be somewhere in the middle: train smart and race so that the second half of the race is always faster than the first, but push yourself like crazy in workouts. In a 1000m repeat session I did in NYC the week leading up to my early-April 5K PR (14:50) looked like this: [5 X 1000m on a track @ 2:53–3:00 w/ 2:30 rest]. But the look of workouts on paper alone doesn't tell the whole story. When training, I believe one really has to think about everything that goes into their routine: their stage of life (undergraduate student vs. full-time working adult), terrain they can train on (trails available vs. mainly roads), and diet, just to name a few. In Ithaca, for example, we ran trails for most of our easy runs. This had the great advantages of working a variety of muscle groups because we were going up and down hills and around twisting and turning routes all the time, forced us to slow down so that we would be sharper and more energetic on workout and race days, and prevented overuse injuries because of the softer surface of dirt. So even if we were doing less impressive workouts, we had a whole different weapon in our bag of tricks that aided us based solely on the landscape of New York's Finger Lakes region.
I feel lucky that I've lived and trained in a number of different environments because I've learned what works for me. As I progress in my running career I pick what has worked from me with a specific training regimen and keep doing it, and leave behind the rest. I want to keep training to run competitively and continue setting personal bests until I either physically can't, can't because of work or familial obligations, or am totally burnt out on it, which I don't see happening any time soon. On this page, you will find a log with my current day-to-day training, a list or recent results (sometimes with a commentary from me on the race), and a calendar with upcoming events. Scroll to the very bottom of the page for link to more detailed information on my training and history. If you want training or advice, please reach out to me on the contact page! I love talking about running with people; backup career choice if "Professor of Music Theory" doesn't pan out is definitely "Cross Country and Track & Field Coach."
Training Log
Week of 11/4–11/10 | Goals: 80+ miles with 2 workouts and long run
Monday 11/4 |
Tuesday 11/5 |
Wednesday 11/6 |
Thursday 11/7 |
Friday 11/8 |
Saturday 10/9 |
Sunday 10/10 |
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Activity |
-5:30 pm–3.5-mile warmup @ 7:40/mile avg. -6:52 pm–6 X 1600m w/ 400m jog rest -7:40 pm–1.9-mile cooldown @ 8:21/mile avg. |
-6:20 pm–8.3 miles easy @ 6:59/mile avg. |
-5:49 pm–7.1 miles easy @ 7:38/mile avg. |
-6:17 am–1.3-mle warmup @ 8:04/mile avg. -6:30 am–started a tempo (.4 miles @ 5:31 pace) and had to stop for a bathroom emergency -6:42 am–2-mile cooldown @ 7:11/mile avg. -6:00 pm–4.3 miles (treadmill) @ 6:59/mile avg. |
-6:00 pm–8.8 miles (treadmill) @ 6:49/mile avg. pace |
-12:26 pm–2.36-mile warmup @ 6:55/avg. straight into 4 miles @ 5:50 pace then 10 X 1:00 on/1:00 off -1:33 pm–2.2-mile cooldown @ 7:16/mile avg. pace |
-1:52 pm–8.4 miles easy @ 7:10/mile avg. pace |
Notes |
-Awesome workout; a confidence booster to get me back excited about running after a bad last couple days -Splits–5:10, 5:09, 5:06, 5:08, 5:02, 4:58 |
-Ran into Nobu |
-Annoyed with this forced aborted tempo...I was feeling fine, just had a bathroom emergency and had to stop after about a half a mile |
-Exhausted from being at SMT all weekend; glad to have gotten in some kind of workout |
Week of 10/28–11/3 | Goals: 80+ miles with 1 workout and long run (Dash to the Finish 5K this Saturday)
Monday 10/28 |
Tuesday 10/29 |
Wednesday 10/30 |
Thursday 10/31 |
Friday 10/1 |
Saturday 10/2 |
Sunday 10/3 |
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Activity |
-7:17 pm–10 miles easy @ 7:09/mile avg. |
-5:00 pm–3.7-mile warmup @ 7:30/mile avg. -5:48 pm–10 X 400m w/ 60 second rest after first 4, 90 seconds between the rest -6:19 pm–3.2-mile cooldown @ 7:53/mile avg. |
-Off |
-5:37 pm–7.4 miles easy @ 7:38/mile avg. |
-4:41 pm–5.8 miles easy @ 7:00/mile avg. |
-7:48 am–3.2-mile warmup @ 8:09/mile avg. -8:45 am–NYRR Dash to the Finish 5K (16:01) -9:20 am–1-mle jog up to the rez then 1.6 miles @ 5:35/mile -2.3-cooldown @ 7:03/mile avg. |
-Off |
Notes |
-Felt very good on this workout; just getting in some turnover for the 5K on Saturday -Splits–:71, :70, :71, :71, :69, :68, :68, :67, :65, :65 |
-Had a pretty bad day...was just never in this race fully, especially after the first mile when I saw my split was slower than I wanted |
-Feeling depressed from yesterday's race; couldn't get myself to run |
Week of 10/21–10/27 | Goals: 70 miles with 2 workouts and long run (Boston Mayor's Cup 8K this Sunday)
Monday 10/21 |
Tuesday 10/22 |
Wednesday 10/23 |
Thursday 10/24 |
Friday 10/25 |
Saturday 10/26 |
Sunday 10/27 |
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Activity |
-4:16 pm–5.6 miles easy @ 7:40/mile pace |
-7:15 am–1.42 mile warmup; 15.45 miles @ 5:48/mile avg. -9:12 am–1.2-mile cooldown @ 8:24/mile avg. pace |
-5:43 pm–5.4 miles @ 7:59/mile avg. |
-6:49 pm–4.8-warmup @ 7:26/mile avg.; 1 mile fast (4:46) -8:04 pm–3.1-mile coolodwn |
-12:00 noon–8.3 miles easy @ 8:26/mile pace |
-10:50 am–5.4 miles easy @ 7:31/mile avg. |
-10:22 am–2.9-mile warmup @ 7:30/mile avg. -11:15 am–B.A.A. Mayor'sCup 8K XC (Franklin Park)–25:55) -12:09 pm–8.2-mile long cooldown @ 7:19/mile avg. |
Notes |
-Promised Nick I would help him with a marathon workout (last big one for him before NYC Marathon) |
-Just getting a little turnover in after pounding at a slow pace for 15 miles on Tuesday; heard that the Mayor's Cup course gets out fast |
-Ran with Tessa today |
-Was pretty happy with this race. Muddy, wet, sloppy conditions made the course probably ~30 seconds slower |
Week of 10/14–10/20 | Goals: 80+ miles with 2 workouts and long run
Monday 10/14 |
Tuesday 10/15 |
Wednesday 10/16 |
Thursday 10/17 |
Friday 10/18 |
Saturday 10/19 |
Sunday 10/20 |
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Activity |
-4:45 pm–3.32-mile warmup @ 7:30/mile pace; 5 X Mile w/ 3:00 rest, then 1 X 800m; 5.49-mile cool down @ 7:59/mile pace |
-3:00pm–10.3 miles easy @ 7:10/mile pace |
-Off |
-6:30 pm–2.5-mile warmup @ 7:46/mile -7:17 pm–6.6-mile tempo @ 5:19/mile avg. -8:00 pm–5.9-mile cool down @ 7:35/mile avg. |
-5:40 pm–10.4 miles easy @ 7:29/mile avg. pace |
8:48 am–17-mile easy long run @ 7:19/mile avg. |
-3:00 pm–12 miles easy @ 7:49/mile avg. |
Notes |
-Awesome workout on the Columbia track with Mike Cobb; our first extended workout on a track since like June -Splits: 4:58/4:59/4:57/4:52/4:48/2:16 |
-Exploring Van Cortlandt Park (lots of elevation gain) |
-Medium long day after a long run yesterday to get up over 80 for the week |
Week of 10/7–10/13 | Goals: 80+ miles with 2 workouts and long run
Monday 10/7 |
Tuesday 10/8 |
Wednesday 10/9 |
Thursday 10/10 |
Friday 10/11 |
Saturday 10/12 |
Sunday 10/13 |
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Activity |
-6:03 pm–10 miles slightly up-tempo @ 6:47/mile pace |
-8:28 am–4.21-mile warmup @ 7:34/mile pace -9:06 am–Reservoir workout of 2K/1M/1K/800/800/500 (2–3 min. rest) -9:41 am–3.42-miles cooldown @ 7:16/mile pace -5:00 pm–light lift |
5:21 pm–13 miles easy @ 7:19/mile avg. pace (medium long run) |
-5:30 am–2 miles easy @ 8:21/mile -6:06 pm–3.9-mile warmup @ 7:39/mile pace -6:48 pm–16 X 400m w/ 60/90/120 second rest -7:40 pm–3.7-mile cooldown @ 8:22/mile pace |
-Accidental day off |
-9:29 am–long run of 17.68 miles up tempo @ 6:46/mile pace -4:00 pm–light lift |
-9:20 am–12.8 miles easy @ 7:27/mile avg. pace |
Notes |
-Workout splits–6:31/5:18/3:06/2:37/2:40/ 1:28 |
-:75, :71, :74, :73, :68, :68, :68, :68, :64, :65, :65, :64, :64, :66, :65, :65 |
-Went up to Rockefeller State Park Preserve with Daniel, Phil, Ryan F., and David F. AMAZING PARK -We all stopped our watches at 1:59:40 because Kipchoge broke 2 hours in the marathon this morning... |
-Met up with Daniel and Phil in Central Park then finished the run at the New Balance pizza shop for a free pizza! |
Summary: 80.5 miles in 6 days of running. Definitely feeling tired since this is my first week back up at 80 miles since the week of September 9–15 (three weeks ago). But it was a good type of fatigue, not an overwhelming or burdening type of fatigue. Plus the run in Rockefeller State Park Preserve was amazing! It's exciting and reinvigorating to run in a new place.
Recent Race Results
Philadelphia Marathon Weekend Rothman 8K (November 23rd, 2019)-24:51 (PR), 18th overall, 6th place age group
- Link to results: http://live.xacte.com/templates/philadelphiamarathon.com/for-runners/
- 8K on Saturday morning, the day before the Philadelphia marathon. Took a bus down from NYC with Mikey at around 7am and had to jog to the race camp area (go there at about 9:30 for a 10:45 race start time). Near perfect weather and a flat and fast course.
- Thoughts: So excited about this race and result, one of my personal best performances as a runner. The weather was perfect, the field was competitive, the course was flat and fast, and I was feeling confident that I could PR today. The first mile of this course is slightly downhill, and, according to my watch, I ran 4:46 for the first mile! Way too fast, honestly, but it didn't feel hard at all. The stretch from the first mile to about mile 2.7 were a false flat (in the slightly downhill direction), so I was able to keep up about 4:53 pace over that stretch. A little shocked when I saw 9:45-ish at the 2-mile mark! I was working of the back of a smooth pack, letting them do the work for me. The pack started to break up after the 2-mile, so I was alone for a stretch from 2.5 to about 4. Passed 5K at 15:10 (again...surprising myself along the way, my 5K PR is 14:50...on a track!), passed 4-mile in 19:56, then buckled down to just not fall apart over the last mile. Had two guys to catch up to and try to beat. I think I beat one of them. Great day, can't wait to do this race again next year and go for another PR.
- Link to results: http://results.tfmeetpro.com/Mitchell_Timing/46_th_Lehigh_Paul_Short_Run/
- Link to results: https://results.nyrr.org/event/19TEAM5M/finishers
- Small open meet at Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island, Manhattan. Nice night, not much wind by the time we raced and the sun was low in the sky; high low 70s and dry conditions.
- Thoughts: worked with college teammate Nathan Bickell for the first two miles. We switched off leading every 800m, and that was a great strategy (I've never successfully done that before, despite a few attempts). Definitely didn't feel easy, and I did not feel fresh or bouncy at any point; it's good to know that I have enough experience running and I know my body well enough at this point that I can kind of work with how I'm feeling and the conditions in a given race and get the most out of it. With some more competition up front, feel like I could have run ~10 seconds faster on this day. Only run two weeks of mileage since taking a week off after Brooklyn Half, so this was a nice rust buster and just a fun casual race in general.
- Link to results: https://results.nyrr.org/event/19BKH/finishers
- Course: Back and forth next to and in Prospect Park, north-central Brooklyn for ~7 miles, then a straight shot south on Ocean Parkway ending on the Coney Island boardwalk to cover miles 7–13.1.
- Thoughts: This was my first raced half marathon. My expectations were pretty high for myself because I was in great shape (just PR'd in the 5K and ran some stellar workouts) and had a bad race two weeks prior at the Healthy Kidney 10K in Central Park. Everyone (everyone) told me to go out conservative and then hammer the pace on Ocean Parkway as the course heads down from Prospect Park to Coney Island. I thought that I was conserving my energy well, and I wasn't particularly intimidated by the pace when I saw splits. I was actually getting really excited when I saw that me and my pack were right on 5:20 pace through 3 miles and hit ~33:30 through 10K. I had the same feeling I did in my 5K at Bucknell about a month prior where I was thinking to myself "this is going to be a good race...it's just inevitable that I do well today." Well, I felt pretty bad about myself when I quickly dropped off the pack of Central Park Track Club guys I had been working with from the start through mile 7. That's the one moment I wish I could do over again: right when we exited Prospect Park and passed mile 7, I started really feeling worn down–honestly all of a sudden–and dropped off my teammates over the course of about 400 meters. Being in no man's land for the entirety of Eastern Parkway was taxing mentally, and I was running backwards at that point too. I felt extremely exhausted from miles 8–12.5, but was able to give a strong kick at the very end of the race. Overall, I am happy that I gave my best effort in the moment on the day, and took a risk going for it from the beginning, but I don't think the time I ended up with reflects my fitness or my potential in this event.
- Link to results: https://results.nyrr.org/event/19UAE10K/finishers
- Course: Full loop of Central Park plus a little extra at the end on 79th Street transverse
- Link to results: https://results.leonetiming.com/?mid=1636
- Meet: Track meet in Lewisburg, PA; combination of D1–D3 NCAA schools (competitive D3 schools makes up the largest portion at this meet) and post-collegiates/a few professional runners
- Thoughts: Super excited about this race. I consider the track 5K to be "my baby," as in it's my strongest event and the event that I feel my physiology is most naturally suited for. I ran at this very meet all four years of my undergraduate track career and PR'd three times over that period, all in the 5K. My previous 5K PR of 14:55 was at this meet from 2015, my junior year in college. The race conditions were perfect and I was feeling confident going into it. There was a false start at the beginning but honestly that was not a problem; honestly, it helped to alleviate some of the race jitters. The only part of this race that I would take back was 3K–just after 4K. I saw the split at 3K (8:56 or so) and got mentally intimidated, which caused me to flatten out the pace a little bit and get passed by a few runners. Other than that, this was a lot of fun and a great road trip with two CPTC buddies, Luis and David.
- Link to results: https://results.nyrr.org/event/19WH5K/finishers
- Course: Infamously hilly course. North from ~170th street on Fort Washington Ave. loop around the Cloisters and head back to where you started. Large hills from 0M–.5M, 1.5M–2M, and 2.25M–2.5M.
- Link to results: http://newyork.usatf.org/Events/2019/NJNY_DualMeet.aspx
- Meet: Pretty low-key indoor track meet at Staten Island's Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex.
FOR MORE DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT MY TRAINING DATING BACK TO SEPTEMBER OF 2016 AND MY COLLEGIATE (2012–2016) RACE RESULTS, FOLLOW THESE LINKS TO MY STRAVA PAGE, MY TRACK & FIELD RESULTS REPORTING (TFRRS) PAGE, AND CENTRAL PARK TRACK CLUB'S WEBSITE: