Summer Training Blog: Adam Nakasaka (Entry #4)

The week started off with a seven miler through the trails by Candy Cane Park. Had an easy pace of 8:35 per mile average with about a 7:40 fastest mile to ease into the next few days and workouts ahead. 

Fartlek day! Today the team did a seven mile fartlek. Josh Fry and I ran our fartlek ladder beside each other (configuration: 1 min on, 1 min off, 2 min on, 2 min off, all the way up to 5 min and back down again). We started at Candy Cane Park, taking the Rock Creek Trail to the Georgetown Branch Trail and then to the Capital Crescent Trail, managing to get ourselves past Little Falls Parkway before we turned back. All in all the fartlek felt solid, especially because of the fact that I had someone to run with and push me throughout it.

Ran at 7:00 AM at Candy Cane today with the rest of the team. 5.46 miles at about a 7:19 per mile pace for this day's run. 

Geared up for the next day's tempo with a 5.18 mile run by, yet again, Candy Cane Park.

The squad ran a 4 mile tempo. It was originally scheduled for Saturday but was moved due to the blistering heat the next day was expected to bring. Josh and I ran alongside each other during the tempo. I took it out at a somewhat harsh pace, causing us to slow and slightly fade as the run progressed. We ended the tempo with a 6:08/mile average pace and a 5:48 fastest mile. Not the greatest tempo ever to have been done but no one workout will make or break one's season. Definitely something to learn from.

Today was an easy day. We ran 6.26 miles today on what we call the "Dojo Run". Starting from B-CC we ran on the Georgetown Branch Trail to the Rock Creek Trail and through a forested area until we reached the dojo. From there we ran on the roads back down to the forest by the Capital Beltway and eventually made our way back on to the trails headed towards B-CC.

Woke up fairly late at 11:00 AM and went for my run at 2:22 PM. Despite running later in the day the heat was bearable. Ended up running 5.13 miles by myself to finish up the week. Ran from my house up to American University and then went down the trail by Nebraska Ave and Foxhall Rd, turning back once I had hit 2.5 miles.