week in workouts + bolt run recap
One final week until the Lake to Lake 10K! A smooth week of workouts except for some arch pain, which I’ve treated day-by-day successfully with comfortable house shoes and rolling the region on a tennis ball. On Sunday I ran my peak workout during the Bolt Run 5-mile race, which satisfied but also disappointed with regards to the event’s logistics and overshoot of the 5 mile promise. Read on for my log, my breakdown, and some thoughts on the Bolt Run for those interested for 2020.
Past 10K training: Week 1 | Week 2
All 15K training logs can be found here.
Monday, 10/21: 45 min incline walk intervals + 20 min gentle yoga
Tuesday, 10/22: 3.7 miles, 9:20 pace + 25 min strength
I was 100% not feeling a strong leg workout, so I focused mostly on upper body – this was a good decision, and I left feeling quite accomplished.
- Circuit: 3 rounds of: 8 pushup to Superman, 10 burpees, 10 skullcrushers, 10 balanced single arm rows each, 10 standing clamshells, 1 min plank
- Core: 1 min right plank with leg raise, 20 scissor kicks, 1 min left plank with leg raise, 20 scissor kicks, 3 x 15 weighted reverse squats
Wednesday, 10/24: 8.72 miles, 8:52 pace – 2 x 25 min @ goal pace
I missed my target in two of the miles, but one I can at least blame the headwind. I averaged 8:24 over the session, which is pretty much on point, and grooved pretty well into this pace with some even left in the tank!
Thursday, 10/25: 4.35 miles, 9:35 pace (AM) + 1,320y swim (PM)
Friday, 10/26: 3.32 miles, 9:14 pace w/ 5 x :30ish strides (AM) + 40 min strength (PM)
The workout:
- Warmup: 10 min easy elliptical
- Circuit: 8 close squats to sumo squats, 8 Warrior 3 to high knees, 8 reverse flies, 8 triceps dips (straight leg)
- Main: Wave 1 – 10-8-6 deadlifts, 30# on barbell. 8 bicep curls in between…Wave 2 – 8-6-4 deadlifts, 40# on barbell. 8 upright rows in between…Wave 3 – 6-4-2 deadlifts, 50# on barbell. 8 military press in between
- Core: :75 plank, 30 butterfly kicks, :75 boat hold, 30 Russian twists, :60 bird dog (right), 30 butterfly kicks, :60 bird dog (left), 30 Russian twists.
Saturday, 10/27: 1,830y swim + 18 mile bike + 15 min recovery yoga
Finally the weather cooperated for J and I to take our wheels out for a spin. We rode a local 7-mile loop twice, plus the 2-mile extendor which leads to and fro. The wind was fierce but either I’m stronger or finally figured out how gears on a bike work (hah), and clouds drifted abundantly to keep the temperature comfortable. We rewarded ourselves after with a tub of hummus from our favorite Lebanese place – pretty sure the lady recognizes us now!
Sunday, 10/27: 10.41 miles, 8:48 pace: Bolt Run!
I broke up my long run today to include a workout phase during the Bolt Run 5-miler! This race was REALLY poorly organized, and the morning brutally warm and sticky, but I shocked myself with the quality of my workout! I’ll recap more below the separator, but the race clocked in at an 8:14 average. I ran 3 miles before and 2.18 miles after to round out the day’s long run mileage.
Total mileage: 30.5 miles
J and I signed up for the Bolt Run, sponsored by the Tampa Bay Lightning, as part of our respective training regimens. I treated the 5-mile race as a tuneup workout for my 10K next weekend, and so spliced it with 3 miles beforehand and 2 miles after to reach the 10-mile long run I intended for the day.
For one, I knew the race would prove tough because of the dewy morning windows: 77 degrees upon awakening at 6 a.m. I ambled out of bed to the gurgle of a pre-programmed coffee pot brewing up some nice pre-race energy. I sipped and munched on a slice of toast with peanut butter and some homemade berry jam, biding time until readying for the preliminary miles at 7 a.m. I ran a familiar loop that I knew would get me to the start area roughly around the gun, but I wound up hauling ass unintentionally and once I got to Thunder Alley I had to wait five or so minutes before I started running again.
I was not terribly impressed with the race’s organization. For one, the 5K and 5 mile participants were clumped together in the same starting wave, thus I shuffled behind several walkers before finally catching up much later to those around my pace. This also messed with my finish time, since the race results were based on gun and not chip – I find that rather unusual for age group awards, since most race’s in which I’ve participated base those off chip time and only the elites are measured by the gun. Either way, I think this pace disruption also threw me off mentally: I accidentally toggled the lap button early during what was supposed to be my first 1600m interval. So, I skipped it, and decided to pace myself during the “cooldown” portion to make up for the lost span.
The course measured .23 miles too long – J’s watch picked up .25 extra, so I couldn’t have been way off. I’m familiar with the route since it encompasses my usual training path, and once I hit the turnaround I knew something wasn’t quite right. I confirmed this later when my course-measured pace clocked higher than my total pace for the race + the three miles prior.
The finish area was quite unremarkable. Neat to end on the ice in the Arena and high five Thunderbug, but none of the village was located there and instead lay a steep climb upstairs. They didn’t even offer beer! I didn’t linger long except to greet J, guzzle some water, and check my results. Reasonably assured I didn’t place, I departed the grounds to jog through the final 2.18 miles of the day.
Regardless of logistical disappointment, the purpose of the Bolt Run was to measure progress and get a peak workout drilled into a long run. I am remarkably pleased with my splits, and surprised! Much of the time I thought I’d blow up, particularly once the sun seeped through my skin, but I stuck it out and am glad I did.
- 1 x 1600m at 8:20
- 2 x 800m at 7:56 & 7:52
- 2 x 400m at 7:32 & 7:34
- 2 x 100m at 7:04 & 7:18
- 1 x .92 mi at 8:28 * this mile should have been at the start, but like I said, I pressed the lap button by accident.
Overall: not sure I’d sign up again. I see potential in it, and J said past races were more enjoyable, but this year perhaps they tried to change too much and wound up with a bit more of a mess than anticipated. We did score tickets to a game in December, though!
Have you ever run a race you didn’t enjoy?
