Top Secret Training - Matt Larsen #1

From time to time we are going to take an inside look at some of our favorite runners at various points in their training. The challenging balance of career, family, and for many, high school coaching duties, leads to crazy weekly running schedules.  By seeing a glimpse of a typical week for these runners you'll see that you are not alone in the challenges you face and the humorous moments you experience along the way.

Today we will check in with former University of Wisconsin Whitewater three time All-American Matt Larsen, whose training is rollin towards a sub 2:37 effort at the Boston Marathon on April 18.  Matt has personal bests of 14:45 for 5k, 24:49 for 8k, and 2:47 in the marathon.  Matt teaches at Oconomowoc High and coaches cross country and track.

Matt Larsen #1
I am currently training for Boston, and I believe that this is my 125th comeback into the world of running. Matt mentioned the idea of doing a blog, and I figured it would be fun and hold me accountable as I can be a wimp in training and can get lazy with little things like logging miles. I guess my serious Boston training started in November, and I am about where I hoped to be regarding mileage and little fitness tests along the way. I also teach and coach and hope to maximize my training volume in the weeks leading up to track, as I can get pretty busy during the season.

My training has been pretty simple with focus being on one workout per week (usually a Tuesday) and one long run (usually a Sunday). In the middle, I just try to get in whatever mileage is necessary for my weekly goal (anywhere from 6-12 miles with the paces being pretty slow). Last week was my first 70 mile week in quite a bit of time, and my recent weeks have been primarily in the 50s and 60s. I’ll give you the highlights over the last week and a half.

2/08- Pettit Center- The plan was run a 3 mile warm up to run 4 one mile repeats ranging from 5:25 to 5:20 with 2 minutes recovery followed by a 3 mile cool down. The workout went a little better than that, as I ran 5:21, 5:20, 5:20, and finally 5:13. I had the benefit of Matt Thull and Eamon Mckena to operate as pace cars which was very helpful. The first repeat did suck, and I spent the last quarter mile trying to think of injuries to fake or reasons not to finish the workout (you might see that as a reoccurring theme in my training until I get a little tougher.) Anyway the rest of the workout went well, and I felt very good. It actually gave me a little confidence to feel as comfortable as I did at that pace.

2/13- Delafield Roads- 18 miles with Mr. Thull. The plan was to find a route Delafield and get in a decent groove. We found a decent hilly route on a nice day, but didn’t find much of a fast groove. The effort was good, and I was a little tired. It was my 3rd week of doing an 18 miler on a Sunday which might have accounted for the fatigue.

2/15- Pettit Center- The plan was run a 3 mile warm up followed by a 5 mile tempo at 5:40 pace and cool down 3 miles. I had the benefit of Eamon M. as a pace car. We started out slow. (3 minutes through the half mile as we where both just not paying enough attention)- We went through the mile in 5:50 (at this point I thought again about ways that I could fake injury and call it a night. I was hoping I could find someone in spikes that might throw a kick my way and draw a little blood - no such luck. We soon found a rhythm of about 5:37 pace that actually felt really comfortable. We kept that rhythm until mile four and closed the last mile in about 5:25 for a total time of 28:08 for the 5. I ran a three mile cool down and then ate all but two pieces of a frozen pizza; I felt that I really showed restraint by leaving those last two pieces.

2/16- Oconomowoc Roads- I ran with 3 of Oconomowoc’s finest runners Todd Irvine, Patrick Middleton, and Charles Olson who I also coach with. I was hoping to go 7-8 miles, but settled for a little less than 6 in 39 minutes. These guys looked good, but I was run down. California native Patrick Middleton showed the people of Oconomowoc his legs, as 40 some degrees allowed for less cold weather gear. I could tell the ladies on the road where distracted by Patrick. I even saw a few of them appearing to cry as if they had just seen Justin Beiber. It helped me to muscle through a tough run.